Losing HD Absolute. Any suggestions?

SD so probably won't watch them. If it ain't HD I don't watch it much.

I hear ya, the SD on Dish is disgusting. It's a shame that we now must pay for it or buy a overpriced DA package! I wish the DishAmerica GOLD pak would better represent a "get it all" HD package without SD instead of missing a bunch of channels.(Tru,E,FX,MTV,VH1,ect....):(
 
The channels from Absolute HD aren't accurate. Like Disney, ABC Family, etc. And since Absolute HD isn't available any more, maybe comparing what is available would be more worth while. Like the cheaper Dish America with free platinum channels...
I fixed Absolute VS. Choice Extra. If you are going to switch please help me out. BTW: The keep switching between a 2-yr and 1-yr lock. I'm not going to keep editing my calculations.
 
So how does HD compare between Dish and DirectTV....especially on Scifi?

Any differences with the audio?

There are all sorts of opinions about that very subject. IMO, I think the quality of what my eyes see is nearly the same, but I would give D* a slight edge. Technically D*'s is better.

The audio is the same.

And on SyFy it is just fine. I wish the Saturday nite stinkers were... :)
 
I fixed Absolute VS. Choice Extra. If you are going to switch please help me out. BTW: The keep switching between a 2-yr and 1-yr lock. I'm not going to keep editing my calculations.

I was just pointing out that the channel lineup was (and still is) incorrect. I didn't even look at the bottom calculations. I ran many of my own calcs and keep coming up with different numbers, but I'm switching anyway to Choice Xtra with all the offers I've heard of combined (except for the signup vendor. I chose Costco instead of the visa card or other vendor offers).

Edit:
The 2nd year price doesn't seem right. It's $63.99 now and going up to $65.99 (?) minus the $14/mo credit for the second year is about $50/mo. If you subtract the $180 like you did from the 2nd year to make it look better, you end up with $35/mo for year #2. That's with no extra costs for a 2nd receiver ($5), MRV ($10: whole home + DVR). So my average is $50 for year #2 and $37 for year #1 looking at it in the way you have on the spreadsheet. I also opted for HD-DVR on my second TV which costs $99 up front. I'll pay the same for the first year as I was paying ($10/mo savings from my current programming, but basically offset by the cost for the 2nd HD-DVR receiver), and pay $6 less per month for the second year than I'd be paying if I stayed. Plus I'll have HD on TV2 & more channels that I'd like to watch. Though I'm not looking forward to losing my recordings (not that many when it really comes down to it, and I'm not looking forward to the bill for year #3 (I'll have to do something about that before it comes).
 
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I fixed Absolute VS. Choice Extra. If you are going to switch please help me out. BTW: The keep switching between a 2-yr and 1-yr lock. I'm not going to keep editing my calculations.

In your spreadsheet: 2nd yr. $34.99*12=419.88-$180=$239.88/12=$19.99/mo
How can you get 2nd yr D* 'Choice Extra' for $34.99 ?
I thought the price will be regular at $65.99 after the ending of 1st yr promotion offers. Also, the 2nd yr $14/mo off is based on zip code, (not in no-cal either)
 
You can't. It will be about $51 without looking at the other fees. And the $180 is from the Costco cash card being applied to year #2 (bottom-loading it instead of up-front).
 
Don't forget to add the $15+ to ship your leased equipment back to Dish. That makes the switch a bit less attractive!
 
Same deal I got....maybe if they would have done a bit more than the $10 I might keep them. I can care less about the free plat and free starz. I dont find us watching any of the additional channels...we do miss the nat geo though. Decisions decisions on who to go to. Or maybe just cut the pay tv out and stick with OTA, Boxee, and netflix.

It was the same situation for me. I really liked natgeo. In the end, I ended up just canceling and going OTA (we already have netflix). Now that it's been canceled for a week+, I can say that I am happy I went that route, it's nice to save $50+/month.

Dish really went about this thing wrong and they may have kept me if they weren't so inconsistent (offering some people $15, some $20, and some only $10). They wouldn't budge on the $10 offer for me even though I've been with them since they took over voom customers. To add insult to injury, they continue to call and email me asking me to come back, with no incentives mind you...not gonna happen.

The only thing I truly miss is the DVR. I'm hoping Tivo will offer a lifetime subscription HD DVR at some point and I will pick one up...I'm not going to pay $13-$20/month for the sub.
 
iml,

An alternative OTA DVR that doesn't have monthly fees is this unit. I suspect there are others out there too. Amazon.com: Channel Master CM-7000PAL Digital Video Recorder, Black: Electronics
Its a bit pricy at $340 and its repeat recording isn't as sophisticated.

Yep, I've seen that one, at that price I would rather wait for a Tivo, I had a tivo many years ago and it was actually very good. Someone on the forum mentioned this Sezmi: Smart, Affordable DVR which I haven't ever seen before...it looks interesting but it isn't in my area.
 
iml,

An alternative OTA DVR that doesn't have monthly fees is this unit. I suspect there are others out there too. Amazon.com: Channel Master CM-7000PAL Digital Video Recorder, Black: Electronics
Its a bit pricy at $340 and its repeat recording isn't as sophisticated.

Yep, I've seen that one, at that price I would rather wait for a Tivo, I had a tivo many years ago and it was actually very good. Someone on the forum mentioned this Sezmi: Smart, Affordable DVR which I haven't ever seen before...it looks interesting but it isn't in my area.
 
But TIVO costs $15 a month, doesn't it??? Dish Pal, no charge.

Either $12/month or $19/month depending on what you pay upfront, which is why I would like to find a lifetime subscription Tivo. The lifetime subscription has no monthly charge.
 
For just a little more than the CM7000/DTVPAL price of $340, you can pick up a used HDTiVO (mine was $96 off eBay) then add Lifetime service for $299 and pay around $400 for what is REALLY the BEST OTA DVR there is.

It records two OTA channels simultaneously in HD and it can EASILY port ALL OTA recordings to your PC to do with as you please via TiVo designed software so there is no removing of the HDD or messing with the OS.

I despise TiVo the company, but I love their hardware - I have 4 of them, two currently active.
 

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