It just got to be too much, cancelled Dish

[jeslevine]

big difference between food and gas verses TV

I see all of the complaints about the price increases, DVR fees, ECT, ECT, ECT. Did you all stop driving when gas went up over $3.00/ga? Did you stop eating when food prices went up over the last 6 months due to the increase in gas prices? Did you cancell your health insurance (if you have health insurance) went your rates went up this year? Are you going to cancel you homeowners insurance when that goes up because of the huricanes last year?

Prices go up. It a fact of life just like death, taxes and road work. Enjoy cable. If memory serves me right their rates went up around 15 % this in South Jersey (COMCAST). Just wait when some moron hits a pole out on the main road and knocks your great new cable connection for 2 or 3 hours. Just wait until next year, I sure cable rates WILL go up accordingly.

And about the old HD receivers no longer being authorized after 2/1, E* needs to set a date so they can start converting all channels over to MPEG4 and doesn't MPEG4 provide a higher degree of compression? Maybe this might mean more channels and maybe even more HD channels. Just a thought. Whats going to happen 2/17/09 when the FCC and Congress has set as the date for the last analog TV Broadcasts?

I left cable about 12 years ago and I don't think I will ever look back.

Just some thoughts.

Rich Dunklee
NR2D

TV isn't essential.

I am a long time dish customer, but I can understand the feelings of some. comcast makes it relatively simple. Comcast has no 299, 100, or 50 dollar down payment to give them the privledge of leasing these receivers to you. The satellite companies require much more effort than subscribing to cable does

 

[FKy.Guy]

Very well put 6 bears

I am in the same boat (6 year subscriber). Cancelled a couple weeks ago. Just sick of the BS and the price hikes and losing channels (like OLN)

I agree w/u 6 bears 100% and a lot of others feel the same way.I switched 2 weeks ago for the same reasons yourself and Iceberg stated.However my local cable {Insight} is terrible,so went with D*. So far so good.

 

[sixbears]

Satellite better get with the program or they will be relegated to rural only customers. They lack true video on demand , broadband internet that is comparable in price to dsl/cable and no phone service. THere will come a day if nothing changes, that satellite technology will be second rate to other choices in the future.

Could not agree more! Like I said, consumers want the MOST service for the LEAST cost at the BEST quality.

And they don't like to be bogged down with rules and regulations on what you have to do or have in order to get something they are will to pay for.

KISSED - Keep It Simple Stupid Echostar Dishnetwork !!!!

 

[digitaldogger]

WOW, What a hot topic this is! I strongly agree with NR2D's comments about cable vs. dish or any other satellite provider. I am also a current Dish customer and work for a Directv and DishNetwork retailer. I did have cable about 6 years ago, and I can't believe people don't bring up the digital quality over analog.. There is a huge difference in Satellite companies technology vs. Cable companies, and don't think for one second cable's rates won't go through the roof within next 6 months to 2 years because they are on a deadline to get all analog signal off and get over to digital and hd signal only! I do think that some phone and cable companies are doing a good thing by putting together a package for phone, internet and tv. So, is Dish and Directv, they have partnered with Sprint, Quest and many others to do that same thing for you!! All you have to do is call your phone service and ask what satellite company they are merged with to give you the (WHOLE PACKAGE), so even though Dish doesn't really promote Starband and Directv really doesn't promote Direcway, you still have an option in most places for your phone company to put it all together for you.
Don't always believe that the Promo that cable companies have you on is permanent, most customers that walk in our door are feed up with having over one to three price increases per year!!! None of the satellite world does that!!! You also have to be careful where you shop for your satellite tv, for the past 7 years we are very honest with our customer's on new technology and that jumping into it too quickly (921, 942) might come back to haunt you! Although, I was at the Dish show in Nashville in May 2005, and one of the corporate guys told us, that a 942 was suppose to be MPEG 4 ready, so I do have empathy for where people are coming from with 921's and 942's... However I believe in both of the satellite companies, that their technolgoy, and pricing will beat out cable time and time again.... mark my words... Luckily Directv allows any customer to come back after 1 year, if they left in good standings, can qualify to be a new customer again, and DishNetwork allows customer's to come back after 6 months and be a new customer, if they left in good standings... that speaks for itself, I will bet most of you will come back!!!

 

[sixbears]

So you feel E* should let legacy receivers to be used indefinitely?

Oh come now, don't put words in my mouth Rich!

I don't think it is ethical for Dish to release a state of the art receiver (942) one year and the next year refuse to honor someone the ability to activate it. Heck the 942 is so new people are still writing reviews about it. And Dish is still trying to get the bugs out of it. Oh but that's SOP for Dish equipment.

Dish should just swapped out at NC HD Customer equipment PERIOD !! It's a small price compared to the long term loss of loyal customers that is occuring. Instead Dish has hit a NERVE with alot of HD customers.

As you stated, most customers are not aware of the 2/1/2006 changes yet. Dish, if you are reading this....... there still is time to stop the bleeding and save the patient.

 

[red hazard]

Man that is a thorough list of reasons. Now you got me thinking!!

 

[bobtx]

I have been a Dish subscriber for 3 years. Overall, I have had a fairly good experience (better than Comcast). I have an 811 (AT120/HD package/Voom) and a 311. I was spending way too many hours reading this board (not that this board is not great avenue for information) trying to figure out what was happening with HD and the new receiver's cost. I got very beat down by all the changes from day to day, and it seems like E did not want to take care of their current HD customers.

A Verizon FIOS tv salesmen knocked on my door this afternoon and sold me on a month free trial on FIOS TV along with the FIOS internet for one year committment (have a DSL line with them). I am very interested in the quality of the picture on SD and HD channels. I will compare the two and pick the best one. Basically for the same price (Verizon will be $3 cheaper), I will lose Voom, but I will gain Starz/Showtime/TMC, ESPN 2 HD, 40 more SD channels, and get an HD DVR. I guess if enough people leave E, maybe they will try to take care of the current customers.

 

[Peter Parker]

The first post in this thread indicates an increase in the extra receiver fee. Did I miss anything?

 

[nuts4scuba]

The first post in this thread indicates an increase in the extra receiver fee. Did I miss anything?

The extra receiver fee on HD boxes went from 5 to 6 dollars a month. SD boxes are
staying at 5 dollars.

 

[Tampa8]

I normally now ignore posts about someone leaving or just post a wave goodbye. But I think the post was well thought out and definately has some valid points. But I can't agree with the result of going to Cable, at least based on cable in my home area of CT or in FL.

Dish has a history of making rules, changing rules, not even knowing the rules they make. They do make it hard for the average person to figure out everything. If it is true that you won't be able to activate and use a 942 that is not acceptable. And I have agreed with the many posts that some of the receivers over the years are, well crap.
On the other hand, I have three 508's that have been great. I think the SD quality is overall good, and I rarely if ever lose service. I have the Top180 pack with HBO/MAX and that combination is about $15 less than a comparable package with Charter Cable. We have Charter cable at work, and the analog/local channels are not very good.

So I guess you have to decide not who is necessarily the best, but who for you is not the worst.

 

[emu1]

I have to disagree with NR2D's analogy of Microsoft and E*. While I do agree that all technology is dated and in time will be replaced with better or more advanced technology as time goes, the big flaw of E* has to do with timing. When Microsoft released Win 2000, they did not the same day stop shipping or supporting Win 98. You could still buy and get new programs for Win 98. Same thing when Win XP was released. How long ago has that been? I bought a new sever as late as last year with Win 2000 on it. My point here is MS gives people time to Migrate/Upgrade. They give them years to do so. How would you like it later this year when MS Vista is released and you can't buy any new programs or hardware for your XP Computer? All new games and application starting July 1st will only run on Vista. Oh and Vista requires a new Computer. So what if you bought a new computer in June. Send it back to Microsoft and they will give you $200 for it. LOL. Guess what... that is never going to happen from Microsoft. But that is exactly what E* has done to us all. Their logic is nothing but insane. E* has plenty of bandwidth in the air to offer every HD channel they have right now in Mpeg 2. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. They could have easy said on Feb 1st everyone with existing receivers can get all new programming until Aug 1st and after that point you will need a new receiver. That would give everyone 6 months to decide what to do about hardware. The madness over the 622 delays would not exist. This forum would not be going nuts. It’s all about timing!!! Who in their right mind goes live with new receivers, new HD programming, new Packages, new compression formats and isolates 99% of their HD customers all in the same day? Oh yeah.. E*

 

[dishguy]

Oh come now, don't put words in my mouth Rich!

I don't think it is ethical for Dish to release a state of the art receiver (942) one year and the next year refuse to honor someone the ability to activate it. Heck the 942 is so new people are still writing reviews about it. And Dish is still trying to get the bugs out of it. Oh but that's SOP for Dish equipment.

Dish should just swapped out at NC HD Customer equipment PERIOD !! It's a small price compared to the long term loss of loyal customers that is occuring. Instead Dish has hit a NERVE with alot of HD customers.

As you stated, most customers are not aware of the 2/1/2006 changes yet. Dish, if you are reading this....... there still is time to stop the bleeding and save the patient.

You are talking about ethics? Remember that Dish is run by two former poker players (Charlie and Jim) who were thrown out of Las Vegas for counting cards.

:devil: :devil:

 

[jsanders]

So you feel E* should let legacy receivers to be used indefinitely?

Sorry, but no, they shoudln't be used indefintetly. How many would think they should last longer than 8 months? That is about how long the 942 lasted before it was banned and obsoleted by E*. And for what? A fake transition to MPEG-4! The old receivers are capable of decoding all of the streams E* provides, they are just lying to the receivers, telling them they can't decode by using MPEG-4 headers.

A $700 receiver should last longer. Since you liked the example of Microsoft, how long has Windows XP been around? It has been longer than 8 months. Computers with old software/hardware generally have a life cycle of a few years before they get replaced.

Do you work for Dish or something? What is your motivation for defending policies like this?

 

[sixbears]

Guys,

Need clarifications on one of the issues we have been discussing.

Is it possible to activate a 811 or 942 after 2/1/2006 and get HD programming?

I was told by someone who call Dish that you actually can but you have to sign up and pay for the new HD package (even though you will only get MPEG2 content). I understood that only customers that were currently receiving the 9.99 HD Pack before 2/1/2006 would continue to be able to receive that package. All new customers would need to upgrade thier equipment and sign up for the new HD Package.

 

[jsanders]

Is it possible to activate a 811 or 942 after 2/1/2006 and get HD programming?

I was told by someone who call Dish that you actually can but you have to sign up and pay for the new HD package (even though you will only get MPEG2 content). I understood that only customers that were currently receiving the 9.99 HD Pack before 2/1/2006 would continue to be able to receive that package. All new customers would need to upgrade thier equipment and sign up for the new HD Package.

You can activate the 942 and 811 after 2/1/06, you just can't activate HD programming with one. If you already subscribe to it, you can view it. If you don't subscribe to it, you will need to activate it with an MPEG-4 receiver. You can still view the MPEG-2 channels with the 6000/811/921/942.

 

[tunagimp]

A $700 receiver should last longer. Since you liked the example of Microsoft, how long has Windows XP been around? It has been longer than 8 months. Computers with old software/hardware generally have a life cycle of a few years before they get replaced.

I love this. It's really quite funny.

I'm getting quite a kick out of the "Automobile/Computer/You Should have known about MPEG-4 and been Smart Like Me" Dish-bots.

Taking a look at the meager offerings of my Living Room "Entertainment Center." we find:

One Dish 34" HDTV Monitor
One Dish 942 Dishplayer DVR
One Panasonic VCR Player-circa 1980's
One Sony VCR Player-circa early 1990's
One Panasonic DVD Recorder
(Note: These last three items were so "Bleeding Edge" they were acutally "Made in Japan")
One Panasonic 6.1 Digital receiver (Remanufactured--$120)
One Panasonic 5-Disc DVD Player
Six of the cheapest speakers I could find on Planet Earth
One Perpetually Humming Brand Subwoofer

OK, kids, quiz time!

Guess which one of these items (not adjusted for inflation, deflation or sublimation) cost the most munny?

Guess which one is less than two months old?

Guess which one of these items listed above will become obsolete for much of its intended purpose first?

And finally, guess which of these item's "Customer Service" department stated that it could be "software upgradable" though a "download" to continue to maintain full functionality from now until the End of Time or Chuck Norris' demise (if that is even possible)?

Hint--Let's see. The TV is outstanding at TVing. Both VCR's still VCR. The DVD Recorder still DVD records. The receiver still receives and amplifies. The DVD Player still plays whatever junky CD/DVD/MP3/DVD-R/DVD RAM (or is it ROM?)/Personal Pan Pizza I shove into it. The speakers, still speak. The subwoofer, hmmmmmmmmm.

Ding, Ding, Ding, Kee-rect. The Dish 942!!!!

But becasue Charlie put up the good fight against Viacom/Lifetime/OLN and because he provides FSTV and Al Jazzera (What's the diff?) to the Huddled Masses (or is it the Wretched Refuse?), I'm 'sposed to buck up, shut up and pony up another $99 MORE so's I can see "Penguins in Peril," "Emeril's Too Much Pancake Make-up Stand-off" and my Local channels in HD.

It is to laugh.

 

[destrada]

I stay with Dish because they are best choice for my programming wants and needs. My little town doesn't even have cable anymore. I don't need NFL ST, my Cowboys are available to me every Sunday in HD OTA. Am I happy about all the price increases?...No. But price increases are a way of life. Am I 100% happy with E*?...no. I doubt anyone is really 100% happy with their E*, D*, or cable or whatever is applicable to you. You just go with what the best available option is for you.

 

[Van]

Funny thing is that when the special pricing that comca$t and TWC ends and the bills go up $40 - $60 a month there will be the same people on the comca$t and TWC forums posting the same exact comments there. See you guys in 2 years.

 

[BarryO]

You are talking about ethics? Remember that Dish is run by two former poker players (Charlie and Jim) who were thrown out of Las Vegas for counting cards.

There's nothing unethical about that. It's the corrupt Las Vegas casinos that are acting unethically by throwing people out for playing their games too well (e.g., "counting cards").

let's see: they'll happily take the money from dumb people who play their games badly, but ban smart people who play them "too well". What's ethical about that?

 

[Devil24]

All I can say is enjoy it while it last...

I'm dumping Time Warner here in Houston come Monday and getting Dish Network. Digital channels are pixelization city and even technician coming out didn't solve anything. He said that's the picture he gets. WOW!

Only reason I switched in the first place from Directv to Time Warner was because of some super promo and I regret it, picture quality on the digital channels bites. If I have to watch one more Houston Cougar basketball game on CSTV where the pixelization is frequent during fast action scenes...I 'll scream.

The picture can't be any worse on Dish and with the constant cable price raising I think I'll enjoy Dish and all the more choices it has to offer.

My 2 cents.

I'm not saying TWC is 'the best' option out there (there isn't one), but after a few weeks, I've had no probs with them.

I really didn't have a bad experience with E*, but after being a customer for 5+ years, subscribed to their top package all the freaking time and never having paid late once, they denied my request for a new HD-PVR a couple of times. And then, the whole drama about their new programming packages, their almost obscene lack of respect towards current customers in regards to special offers and their most of the times crappy customer service, well, it just add up to too much for me and I decided it was time for a change. I may give them a try once again in a few months, but we'll just have to see.