New DishHD Packages to be added February

Status
Please reply by conversation.
tomdkat said:
read the press release
The cutting-edge ViP622 DVR also features reverse, fast-forward, and pause as well as a picture-in-picture feature on any TV and the ability to record Dolby Digital(R) when available. The ViP622 DVR will be available in the first quarter of 2006 for a one-time upgrade price of $299 for new lease customers, which includes a dish antenna and free standard professional installation (monthly DVR fee applies).


says nothing about existing subs....

They also had that press release about hitting the 12 million subscriber mark. Wonder how many existing subs they will lose

Not good. I do not know very many people around here that would be willing to pay a $299 upgrade fee just to lease a system when they can get the HD receiver from cable for nothing upfront. Also the price is up to $299, it was only $250 for the 942.
 
Just listening to a Twisted Sister's song "We are not gonna take it, no!". How appropriate.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see but E* really dropped a bomb on us today. Very disappointing news today at the conference.
 
What a disappointing day to be a Dish customer. Here we thought this morning we would have new HD channels by 5:00 tonight, and now we find out we may not have them for a month and probably longer than that. And the topper is that it is going to cost us more money for programming and equipment to view the new channels. I am really down on Dish. They handled this terribly. They should at least had a transition period.
 
As a very former customer (I'm thinking that I'll be able to get in on the new customer deals, if not, my wife will), I think this is great news! I've been with Comcast for a while now, waiting for all of this to shake out, and not having to put some big money out to get new hardware all the time.

I had a 6000 several years ago, bought the 8PSK, bought the OTA, and I was tired of forking out more cash.

Now, my biggest dilemma - keep Comcast with their paltry HD offerings and working firewire, or switch to Dish for pretty much all of the existing HD channels.

Of course, with several new channels coming online in the next few months, we'll have to see what Dish does with 'em.
 
i for one will not do anything until new channels are up and running .the way d changes there mind who knows what format the new hd will be in,or when it will start this could not be the last delay or the last format decision ..........aaarg
 
Here's a letter I sentto ceo@echostar.com just now.....

To Whom It May Concern......

I have been a subscriber since May 2000. In that time I have been frustrated on numerous occasions with your firm, but I can honestly say that this is the first time I have been furious with your decisions. You've turned off Lifetime, announced price hikes, AND now announced that you will finally be adding HD channels (all but Voom available elsewhere) BUT that all of us existing customers will be out of luck as only new lease customers will be welcomed with the new "upgrade" deal. In addition, you've compressed the Voom Channels to the point that they are basically HD Lite.

I live about 50 miles away from New York City and am unable to receive OTA HD signals without putting an enormous antenna on my roof. I rely on your firm exclusively to provide me with my programming. When I switched from Cablevision in 2000, your channel offerings, audio, pricing, and picture quality were vastly superior. That gap has closed as your competitors have met or exceeded your technological capabilities. I've waited patiently for you to move into the HD era. Since that time, Cablevision now provides FIFTY HBO/Showtime/Cinemax/Starz/Movie Channel channels, HD PVRs, Fox Sports New York HD, and a host of other offerings. DirecTV has also constantly peppered me with offers to try and get me to switch. Verizon is expected to announce shortly Fios service in our area.

Through it all, I remained loyal and currently spend over $200 a month to subscribe to your service.

On various internet forums, rumors were circulating that ESPN2, NYC broadcast networks, and the additional Voom channels would be added maybe as soon as 5pm today. You've even been testing the Mpeg2 feeds of the channels for the last month, although we couldn't yet see them. Two years ago, I had the Super Bowl in HD on WCBS's HD channel provided by your firm on a 921 receiver that I paid a THOUSAND dollars for (as you would not sell it directly or as an upgrade at the time, I had to go to a retailer and pay full price). I missed the game in HD last year, and had to watch on an overly compressed standard definition channel you provided. I had high hopes that I would not have to be subjected to that again.

I think that you would agree that the 921 has been one of the worst receivers you have ever released. Every software update fixed two bugs and introduced three new ones. I would have replaced it with a 942, but I figured that it would be a lame duck receiver as it could only receive Mpeg2 broadcasts and could not be updated to receive Mpeg4 via software. Today, you proved me right.

Not only have you delayed for a month channels which we have been waiting for (and which can be seen on DirecTV and Cablevision in my area), you've willingly created a supply imbalance by adding these channels without having hardware ready to ship. I was lucky and was able to get a 921 within a month or two of its release date. I saw many of my frustrated fellow subscribers wait up to another YEAR to wait for you to produce them in quantity. Are we going to have a similar shortfall in supply to look forward to? When the Olympics start next month, will you make that Mpeg4 as well and deny it to all of us "existing" subscribers who continue to be treated like second class citizens?

I see that you will be discussing the HD upgrade on Monday's Charlie Chat. As someone who has always been a supporter of Dish Network, it pains me to say that these actions are forcing me to consider looking elsewhere for a program distributor. I implore you to provide at LEAST the ESPN2 and broadcast network feeds until the 622 is "ready for prime time" and shipping in sufficient quantities to meet demand. You've basically turned the 622 into another XBox360 at this point. The only people happy with this decision will be speculators who exploit the imbalance by selling the handful of units at a 50% to 100% markup on EBay. I understand that bandwidth constraints are forcing you to go this route, but The Super Bowl and the Olympics are right around the corner and I feel that I pay a LOT for the privilege of getting these channels in HD and I expect to get them, especially when every other distributor has them available to me has them BUT you..

Please have someone from your office contact me to let me know your upgrade plans for existing customers. I don't mind extending my commitment IF there is a reasonable trade-in value for my 921. As it has an extremely high failure rate (through faulty software coding as well as hard drive and tuner card failures) , it may even be prudent to subsidize the removal of these units from "the channel" to cut down on your CSR expenditures.

Thank you in advance for your prompt response to my concerns.

Bob Murdoch...........
(address and contact info deleted to keep the D* fanboys from laughing their asses off at me directly)
 
Last edited:
$5 says you get this email back (though you make a good point!):

Thank you for your interest in Dish Network HD programming. We have a strategic plan that we are currently developing, but for obvious reasons it cannot be publicly disclosed. With a successful purchase of the Rainbow Satellite coupled with the launch of the Echo X Satellite early next year. We plan to use the incremental bandwidth to support the launch of numerous new HD channels. We hope to have something to announce sometime in the near future. Rest assured…we are aggressively working this plan.

(Well, i doubt it, but thats there HD 'script' so to say in the past)

Edit: Funny part is, isnt echo X supposed to launch in the beginning of FEB anywho? Wouldnt that be one hell of a coincidence!
 
Last edited:
gah, boo mpeg4, what geniuses, poor money making scheme, 2 months ago it was mpeg4 was ready, now it's oh let's add new channels in mpeg4, even though we still have room for more mpeg2 HD channels just so we can get more dough
 
Last edited:
Good News!

The E* press release says that we can get the entire 25 channel DishHD lineup + more than 70 SD channels plus locals in SD and HD for $54.99. The 25 HD channels include HBO HD, Showtime HD, ESPN2 HD, and Universal HD. The Americas Top 60+ with SD local channels is $36.99. It appears that the charge for the 25 HD channels with HD locals is $18.00 per month, which is not bad. Maybe it will be less if you subscribe to the better packages.

I'm going to get a ViP 211 soon (will be looking for upgrade deals) and enjoy more HD. The 622 is scheduled for the first quarter, which probably means May. Will pick one of those up when available if given a decent deal. It certainly appears that E* will be the HD leader for some time!
 
HOW are these guys going to staunch the furor that will erupt when people have to pay for 30% more HD channels that they WANT to receive, but which E* refuses to provide by replacing obsolete equipment at a fair price????

I thought that they have made some boneheaded decisions in their day, but this one takes the cake. I don't mind switching to Mpeg4, .... in the long run this will free up bandwidth for more channels. What I DO have a major league gripe with is providing NO bridge to that scenario during Super Bowl/Olympics season. If you thought the XBox360 price gouging was bad, wait until you get a lot of this frenzy they just willingly created.....
 
Paradox-SJ said:
I see no mention of HD Ciniemax or Starz or TMC...or did I miss read?

Don't complain, we (D* subs) are left sitting on the edge of our seats hoping the new Dating channel is in HD. :rolleyes:
 
CPanther95 said:
Don't complain, we (D* subs) are left sitting on the edge of our seats hoping the new Dating channel is in HD. :rolleyes:

The DirecTV press conference is at 6:30...
 
Let's see...leased a 942 for $250 in October...got a D1000 for $100 installed in November. There'd better be a free (or damn close to free) upgrade to the 622 or I won't bother with it, especially with the package rates going up and HD package rate going up.

After 9 years with E*, I hate the idea of going back to cable. I won't go to D*.
 
long_time_DNC said:
Let's see...leased a 942 for $250 in October...got a D1000 for $100 installed in November. There'd better be a free (or damn close to free) upgrade to the 622 or I won't bother with it, especially with the package rates going up and HD package rate going up.

After 9 years with E*, I hate the idea of going back to cable. I won't go to D*.

Imagin about the people who bought there recivers.. I have owned my 942 sence day one... :)
 
As a Public Relations professional, I can't understand why DISH would allow all this frustration to build among their loyal customer base. It seems totally uncecessary. What Charlie should have done was have a special Charlie Chat from CES this evening to announce what the upgrade path would be. All this venting is ridiculous and a waste of time but DISH seems to not think on their feet. I won't tell you where most of their thinking seems to come from. I would fire their entire PR department for allowing the company to be put in this postion.
 
Status
Please reply by conversation.

Fee question

Hello everyone... Quick question on a 322

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Latest posts