No HD Nationals with Welcome Pack?

[Mike]

Today I decided to switch to the Welcome Pack. It has most of the channels that I watch (I do not watch any sports). The chat rep said my bill would go from $80/mo to $30/mo and that sounded fantastic.

The switch went through, but it looks like the national HD channels are gone. I looked on my account online, and I can't even add that option back. However, my locals are still in HD.

Now, $10 more per month just to get a few channels in HD is a terrible value, and I probably wouldn't add the option anyway. But is it true that it's just not available at all?

 

[dare2be]

Welcome Pack and Smart Pack (names may be different now) do not have any HD channels, except for locals and any freeviews.

 

[BeckiB@Dish Network]

HD stations are not available in the Welcome pack, except for local stations. If you would like to look into a package that works better for you and has HD, please send me a PM with your account or phone number!

 

[ChadT41]

The smallest tiered English package that will give you Hd national channels is the Dish America package. I beleive its $44.99. Might be $39.99.

 

[TheKrell]

Wasn't there a family pack that includes HD?

 

[Scherrman]

Wasn't there a family pack that includes HD?

If there was it doesn't have HD any more. The only HD channels you can get in those lower packages are local channels and free preview channels.

 

[stardust3]

The best hd package ever is no longer offered. "Absolute" was the name of it.

The welcome pack for what it is, is a super deal but no hd other than locals if available.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I wish that DISH would allow people to add the HD $10.00 add on and let you get the hd versions of the channels in the Welcome and Smart packs. I would think that after 10 years since hd was released , that it would be mainstream in all packs. The Welcome pack with HD would be a good basic pack and would only cost you $29.99, smart pack $39.99.

 

[ChadT41]

If you are talking about the DishFamily Pack, it's name is now the SmartPack and it also hd never had HD except on the locals. The lowest tier HD capable pck, again, is DishAmerica

 

[Stargazer]

Are you still able to lease the receivers with DishAmerica Package?

 

[ChadT41]

Yes. It is a minimum qualifying pckage

 

[stardust3]

It is still an option when building an order. A new leased customer cannot sign up with the welcome pack, only existing customers.

 

[rusty813]

Dish should remove all sd stations, its 2014. Just offer HD standard, nothing special about HD anymore. It been around for 15 years, noone wants SD anymore. SD channels are horrible quality on dish, especially the fox sports network stations, I cant even get in HD in Hawaii.

 

[ChadT41]

The issue with that statement is there is still a lot of people that do not care about HD. No company, none, has gone full Hd because of all those customers that still have the old CRT tvs. SD is still alive and kicking. HD is prevalent, but you still cannot discount all those people that don't want nor care about it just yet.

 

[rusty813]

I think dish needs to upgrade everyone who is currently on SD, to 20" hdtv, get some promotion thing going.

 

[ChadT41]

Only if you promise to fund it first. It's really not dishes responsibility. Again. There are customers that blatantly DO NOT CARE about hd at all. And quite a few of them. It's not that they can't afford it, it is that it is of zero concern to them, so the expense is pointless.

 

[dare2be]

The issue with that statement is there is still a lot of people that do not care about HD. No company, none, has gone full Hd because of all those customers that still have the old CRT tvs. SD is still alive and kicking. HD is prevalent, but you still cannot discount all those people that don't want nor care about it just yet.

I think dish needs to upgrade everyone who is currently on SD, to 20" hdtv, get some promotion thing going.

All they need to do is swap out old SD receivers to HD ones. All HD receivers have analog SD outputs.

Still, either way it's a large financial outlay.

 

[ChadT41]

I can agree with you Dare... To an extent. A 211 will work with a crt, but the hd channels themselves, imho, look worse on the older tvs. The SD ones look fine. Rusty is talking about getting rid of the SD channels all together

 

[rusty813]

The SD channels are horrible, especially on fox sports regional channels. Cant even make out the text when I was watching the football, they are too pixelated.

 

[ChadT41]

I understand, that, that is your opinion. Now look at it from a business perspective. Do you alienate all those people who still watch their SD, by choice, while still giving a choice to HD subscribers? This way, everyone is happy... Your way, only you are happy.