dont flame me, plz

[wase4711]

So, I have been a member of this forum for years, having gone through Direct TV then Voom, then back to direct, then back to comcast..

After 3 years with Comcast, I cant handle them anymore, so I want to go back to a Sat provider, but can't choose between the 2.

My MAIN criteria is HD programing of ANY SORT; we will watch an awesum quality HD picture regardless of what the program is, so PQ and Quantity is the most important for me; we have 4 HD TV's in the house, with the main one being a Sony 70 XBR2 so PQ is #1 importance..
It appears that DISH is going all MPEG 4 very soon, so I am leaning towards them, but after reading 100's of threads here and at AVS, its obvious that this is a tough question to answer..SO, can you guys/gals just post a quick vote on what your suggestion would be fore me?
I assume they both get top notch HD Local PQ in chicagoland, so that wont be an issue for me, and, as I said, since we try and watch 90% HD programs, the HD PQ is most important to me..
BTW Comcast HD PQ is Very Good in my area, its just their pricing and service levels and so horrid I just cant take it any more..

thanks in advance!

 

[chaddux]

Very informative subject to this thread. A subject that actually referred to the contents of the post would be far less informative.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

They all look the same to me.In my opinion go with what ever gives you best price,and has the channel lineup you can live with.But keep in mind Directv has BIG HD plans.And Directv's HD looks just fine to me on my $4000 Sony, TNT looks like crap though.

 

[wase4711]

Very informative subject to this thread. A subject that actually referred to the contents of the post would be far less informative.

Sorry man, but I thought that title would grab attention from both sides of the fence, and from other curious folks..I guess it worked!

Now that you have read it, do YOU have any input that might help me?

thank you.

 

[ClemSole]

What difference does it make witch provider you go with, you'll just change to another one in a couple of years anyway.

 

[wase4711]

good point, ClemSole, but i havent been keeping up with all the changes in the last 60 days or so, with both D and E, so I thought this would be the best place to get knowledgeable people who are on the cutting edge of the latest info, to give me their valuable opinions..it appears MPEG 4 is the way to go as of today, and it seems like DishNEt has that in place, as of the next 30 days or so..or am I wrong?

 

[Jhon69]

good point, ClemSole, but i havent been keeping up with all the changes in the last 60 days or so, with both D and E, so I thought this would be the best place to get knowledgeable people who are on the cutting edge of the latest info, to give me their valuable opinions..it appears MPEG 4 is the way to go as of today, and it seems like DishNEt has that in place, as of the next 30 days or so..or am I wrong?

Directv's HD will be MEG4 also.Make sure you double check which provider you go
with as both provide some of the same channels,but not all.As for Directv's HD plans if D10 is successfully launched on July 6,2007.Look for the Directv HD package to increase around September,2007.Good Luck!.

 

[Spike]

Wase4711,

I recommend waiting it out until September. That is what I'm attempting to do. But, if you can't wait.... Directv's upcoming lineup looks really strong.

Sci-Fi channel even! WOOOT!

And HD Locals in our area (chicago) look real good on Directv. I was checking them out today! MPEG-4 looks as good as OTA. I compared today.

And you are right, Comcast here looks VERY GOOD!

 

[Jimbo]

wase4711,
You mentioned that DISH is mpeg 4 or soon to be ...
Direct is in the process of going that route as we type, they have many local cities up in mpeg4 as well as RSN 's
I believe that all of the HD channels coming, starting in Sept. will also be in mpeg4.

Jimbo

 

[Proc]

wase4711, you sure switch providers alot....

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Depends on what programming you like.

If you like sports programming go with DirecTV, if you dont care about sports go with Dish.

As far as HD goes, I expect them both of them to have most of the HD channels available if not all by this time next year. And both are going to be rolloing out some good quality MPEG4, so I dont expect "HD lite" to be a factor in deciding this time next year.

 

[datwell]

Depends on what programming you like.

If you like sports programming go with DirecTV, if you dont care about sports go with Dish.

As far as HD goes, I expect them both of them to have most of the HD channels available if not all by this time next year. And both are going to be rolloing out some good quality MPEG4, so I dont expect "HD lite" to be a factor in deciding this time next year.

Sports. It depends upon your preferences. Dish has every Redskins game in HD and pretty good soccer (MLS) coverage. I'm not huge on baseball and the rest, so Dish is just fine with me.

--Doug

 

[Jhon69]

Depends on what programming you like.

If you like sports programming go with DirecTV, if you dont care about sports go with Dish.

As far as HD goes, I expect them both of them to have most of the HD channels available if not all by this time next year. And both are going to be rolloing out some good quality MPEG4, so I dont expect "HD lite" to be a factor in deciding this time next year.

I don't care about sports,but I want the most national basic channels I can get.That's why I have DirecTV.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I think they are about the same there. I cant notice any channels missing form my DirecTV system which I don't have on Dish (and vice vera)

 

[wase4711]

Well, for me. sports is basically the Cubs,(glutton for punishment),the Bears, and the Bulls (for Basketball), so, since all are handled pretty much by WGN,and CBS which, I assume, whether I source it from Direct TV or Dish as a local station, will be awesum. Things like Nascar and NHRA, which are also nice in HD on Comcast, I assume would look decent as well, since most Nascar seems to be on FOX, which would also be a local station, so PQ would be great.
As far as QUANTITY of HD proggies now, and within the next 60 days, are both providers pretty similar?
I know Direct TV has been shouting about 150 HD channels for over a year now, but as someone pointed out somewhere else on this board, there aren't even 50 HD channels in existance at this point, so that is kind of a meaningless boast.

do both providers have nice hd dvr hardware and packages now, or is DISH in the lead here being able to offer a MPEG4 capable machine now?

Where is VOOM or something similiar, and why hasn't some billionaire seized the opportunity to offer a large HD package, now that HD sets are selling like hotcakes?

Thanks for your help everyone, and I apoligize if I am acting like a newbie..

 

[rad]

Well, for me. sports is basically the Cubs,(glutton for punishment),the Bears, and the Bulls (for Basketball), so, since all are handled pretty much by WGN,and CBS which, I assume, whether I source it from Direct TV or Dish as a local station, will be awesum.

I took a quick look through the thread and didn't see it mentioned. DirecTV carries the HD channels for WGN and Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, Dish carries only the SD versions at this time. Neither provider carries WCIU-DT which does carry some Cub/Sox/Bulls games so you'd need an OTA for that.

 

[wase4711]

You are right man, some locals from Dish, INCLUDING WGN are NOT in HD...I just got confirmation from them by calling their sales dept..

so, that pretty much eliminates DISH at this point...

 

[rad]

You are right man, some locals from Dish, INCLUDING WGN are NOT in HD...I just got confirmation from them by calling their sales dept..

so, that pretty much eliminates DISH at this point...

You don't say where you are in the Chicago area but you might be able to just go the OTA route and E*, that would cover you except for Comcast Sportsnet HD. I used to live out in Mundelein and got everything, including WBBM-DT with an antenna on the roof (in the attic worked for everything except WBBM-DT). If you don't have OTA antenna now you might want to check out Chicago, IL - OTA - AVS Forum for assistance in what you'd need, there's a lot of helpful folks on that thread.

 

[wase4711]

You don't say where you are in the Chicago area but you might be able to just go the OTA route and E*, that would cover you except for Comcast Sportsnet HD. I used to live out in Mundelein and got everything, including WBBM-DT with an antenna on the roof (in the attic worked for everything except WBBM-DT). If you don't have OTA antenna now you might want to check out Chicago, IL - OTA - AVS Forum for assistance in what you'd need, there's a lot of helpful folks on that thread.

Well, I live in in-incorporated DuPage, about 1 block from Burr Ridge, so not sure how an OTA would work here..we are sort of down in a valley, so not sure how OTA would be..Plus, if Direct offers the locals all in HD, which it appears they do, why bother with Dish & an OTA at all?

 

[rad]

Well, I live in in-incorporated DuPage, about 1 block from Burr Ridge, so not sure how an OTA would work here..we are sort of down in a valley, so not sure how OTA would be..Plus, if Direct offers the locals all in HD, which it appears they do, why bother with Dish & an OTA at all?

D* doesn't offer all the locals in HD either, just 2, 5, 7, 9, 32 and Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, check DIRECTV - Local Channels. You'd miss 11, 26 and 50's HD channels plus all the subchannels that the ATSC stations carry that you could get via OTA. As I said, check out the thread over at AVS, they might be able to let you know if you have a shot or not at them.