Tired of paying for HD, and not getting HD content? It's time to act!

atascaderokid

Member
Original poster
May 14, 2008
14
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Since the VOOM debacle, its time we realized that as long as we allow providers to repackage SD programming unchanged and sell it as HD, we will continue to get screwed.
This is about truth in advertising and we need to demand a change.
I am writing my congressional reps, and the FCC, asking that providers cannot promote or offer a channel and sell it as HD unless it includes at least 75% true HD content, at least 1080i. Remastering from low def video tape should not count, nor should commercials count as part of a channel's HD content.
Now, this may not have a snowball's chance, but at least it is something we can do.
This, along with cutting back on our programming purchases to let provider's know you are not satisfied with their slight of hand efforts to deceive us, may make them realize we are not as gullible as they think we are. !protest
 
Bait-and-Switch, plain and simple. Extremely sleazy business practices. I would expect this from a shady online merchant, not from a company that "prides" themselves on their customer service. Yeah, customer service after they bend you over and stick to you.
 
I'm sorry to hear that the production value is so poor on this channel.....I think this channel could be very popular if done correctly. As for me, I would not watch programming about fishing if was provided in full bandwidth 1080P, but that is just me.
 
Since the VOOM debacle, its time we realized that as long as we allow providers to repackage SD programming unchanged and sell it as HD, we will continue to get screwed.
This is about truth in advertising and we need to demand a change.
I am writing my congressional reps, and the FCC, asking that providers cannot promote or offer a channel and sell it as HD unless it includes at least 75% true HD content, at least 1080i. Remastering from low def video tape should not count, nor should commercials count as part of a channel's HD content.
Now, this may not have a snowball's chance, but at least it is something we can do.
This, along with cutting back on our programming purchases to let provider's know you are not satisfied with their slight of hand efforts to deceive us, may make them realize we are not as gullible as they think we are. !protest


Ummm..you are blaming the worng people.. you CAN'T, in any way, shape or form, blame the providers.. they simply carry the signal provided to them by the Channels...
TBS offers an HD channel, dish and Dtv carry it. It is advertised, by the Channel owner as HD, so dish and dtv advertise it as HD...they are in no way resposible for TBS not putting HD content ON the channel...

IMHO, your gripe is ridiculous
 
Ummm..you are blaming the worng people.. you CAN'T, in any way, shape or form, blame the providers.. they simply carry the signal provided to them by the Channels...
TBS offers an HD channel, dish and Dtv carry it. It is advertised, by the Channel owner as HD, so dish and dtv advertise it as HD...they are in no way resposible for TBS not putting HD content ON the channel...

IMHO, your gripe is ridiculous

Excuse me? if a seller cannot sell something that is not what it is claimed, then it will be up to the channel, say TBS, to ensure that their HD programming meets the definition.
Dish, and all the other providers BUY their programming. Without a market for SD programming masquerading as HD, things will change.
 
Excuse me? if a seller cannot sell something that is not what it is claimed, then it will be up to the channel, say TBS, to ensure that their HD programming meets the definition.
Dish, and all the other providers BUY their programming. Without a market for SD programming masquerading as HD, things will change.
it IS up to the channel..the provider simply PROVIDES.. blame the channels...Dish adn DTV have ZERO control over a channels content, they can't force TBS, or any other channel to offer MORE HD and as long as a channel is showing SOME HD, there is nothing the FCC will or can do...
If you are disatisfied, contact the channel.. blaming Dish or Dtv is completely unwarrented
 
it IS up to the channel..the provider simply PROVIDES.. blame the channels...Dish adn DTV have ZERO control over a channels content, they can't force TBS, or any other channel to offer MORE HD and as long as a channel is showing SOME HD, there is nothing the FCC will or can do...
If you are disatisfied, contact the channel.. blaming Dish or Dtv is completely unwarrented

Which begs the question...Why would these programmers offer a channel as an HD when they have no HD content to provide? Wouldn't they be better served waiting until they DO have the content?

I don't know about anyone else, but I am immediately turned off by any channel masquerading as an HD, when in fact they aren't.
 
Providers could stipulate in their carriage agreements that the programmer must have xx% of hd programming before they will carry the channel. Unfortunately, the programmers and NAB have all the power when it comes to packaging their channels to providers. In many cases, it's an all or nothing deal. That's why we need an option for ala carte channel pricing so that subscribers can pick and choose what channels they want to watch and pay for. This would give the consumer a lot more flexibility. Providers can offer both package AND ala carte. Maybe the package programming can be broken down into smaller tiers to allow more flexibility of choice. I wish I could just buy HBO or Starz without having to buy a tiered package too. It should me my choice to make.
 
I am writing my congressional reps, and the FCC, asking that providers cannot promote or offer a channel and sell it as HD unless it includes at least 75% true HD content, at least 1080i.

Under your definition, the ESPN channels could not be called HD, even if they produced 100% of their programming in HD. They are 1280 x 720P. Every broadcast standard considers this "HD"

Also, a great deal of programming that you would consider "True HD" is shot in DVCPro-HD. That's 960 x 720P.

Meanwhile, I have a camera that shoots 1440 x 1080i. It is nowhere close to the quality of DVCPro-HD

I've said it a million times...raw resolution is not the issue.

Other than the "at least 1080i" part, you're absolutely right.
 
Do you happen to be an employee for Dish? You sound a lot like their pre-programmed, status-quo monkeys manning the phones.


Wow...lot of anger there..if you hate them so much, WHY are you subing to them??? if you aren't subbing then you've got no reason to be poking your nose in...just my 2 1/2 cents
 
Wow...lot of anger there..if you hate them so much, WHY are you subing to them??? if you aren't subbing then you've got no reason to be poking your nose in...just my 2 1/2 cents

I am just waiting until all of this is played out. After there is confirmation that Voom is gone permanently, D* will be my new home. I am not going to pay $140 for crappy programming and a company that engages in shady and deceptive tactics. I realize D* has issues of their own, but I think it's a matter of the lesser of two evils. In that regard, D* is a no brainer. Besides, how long do you think it will take E* to catch up with D* in content? Not anytime soon.

And yes, I am angry. Unfortunately, all of this is preaching to the choir, I realize that...
 
The problem with your complaint is that you don't allow for a difference between a channel that is advertised as an "HD channel" but is not - such as CNBC-HD which is just SD video plus graphics (which you can find on many web sites) and a channel like World Fishing Network that happens to have HD as its broadcast choice - so that it can have HD video in the future.

It's similar to Turner Classic Movies - they often broadcast a lot of black-and-white movies - but no one is outraged because they are using a "color channel".

In other words, if you are interested in a channel, you want it to use the highest quality (HD and DD5.1) even if they don't always utilize it for every program.

I want any particular channel to get the best possible content, and if that content happens to only be available in an SD format, then so be it.
 
The problem with your complaint is that you don't allow for a difference between a channel that is advertised as an "HD channel" but is not - such as CNBC-HD which is just SD video plus graphics (which you can find on many web sites) and a channel like World Fishing Network that happens to have HD as its broadcast choice - so that it can have HD video in the future.

It's similar to Turner Classic Movies - they often broadcast a lot of black-and-white movies - but no one is outraged because they are using a "color channel".

In other words, if you are interested in a channel, you want it to use the highest quality (HD and DD5.1) even if they don't always utilize it for every program.

I want any particular channel to get the best possible content, and if that content happens to only be available in an SD format, then so be it.


exactly..I'd gladly (And do) take the higher quality SD thats broadcast on some HD channels, over the crappy normal SD Dish or Dtv broadcasts..
Take Scifi for instance.. the SD feeds on the HD channel rival C-band analog quality and when there is HD content that they have acces to I get great HD (Versus the crappy SD feed)
As far as Voom, I'll miss MonstersHD, but other than that, it had zero value for me...I'm not one to take HD content for the sake of just taking it. It has to also be entertaining (For ME)
 
it IS up to the channel..the provider simply PROVIDES.. blame the channels...Dish adn DTV have ZERO control over a channels content, they can't force TBS, or any other channel to offer MORE HD and as long as a channel is showing SOME HD, there is nothing the FCC will or can do...
If you are disatisfied, contact the channel.. blaming Dish or Dtv is completely unwarrented
Not exactly. When D* rolled out their big "Upgrade" push they twisted a lot of arms to get content providers to add an HD to their brand. SciFi and SPEED had no intention of going HD at the time of their roll out. D* hosted the telecast by providing all personnel and equipment to deliver SD programming in HD at D*'s expense.

Does E* do the same?
 
Details...details. Resolution, the percentage, etc can all be worked out. The idea here is, quit selling a channel that offers little HD content as an HD channel. If they want to put these channels into the regular SD tiers, that would be ok. You could buy an HD sports pack, and then get the partial HD channels as part of your regular programming. Or, a true HD movie pack would also allow you to watch the partials. Even just rental of an HD receiver would get them for you. But, and here is the crucial difference, when you agree to pay EXTRA for an HD pack, it should contain majority HD content. Its all about truth in labeling, not the resolution, future intent, or any other secondary issue.
Think of it like this, you go into a restaurant and order a New York Steak. The waiter brings you out a hamburger. You say, "What's up with this?", and he says, "well, it was a New York Steak, but we ground it up". Still got grilled, but IT IS NOT WHAT WAS ADVERTISED TO BE SOLD.

If you want to grind up steak and sell it as hamburger, fine call it what it is. But if you are going to advertise meat as steak, and sell it at steak prices, it had better be a steak, not hamburger.

Hopefully, just getting the regulators interested in this will be enough for the providers to act of their own accord, to avoid regulation. It has worked with classification of program content, G, MA, etc. It has worked with video games, and movies. All of whom chose self regulation over government interference. But, none of those things would have happened without regulator's threats or interest.
 
I was thinking, why don't the chanels simply "switch" from SD to HD, instead of adding a seperate feed? That way they could have as much or as little HD as they wanted because there is no alternative feed? I really think that would satisfy some of the complaints that there is not enough HD content on an HD channel. This type of change wouldn't affect those subscribers with SDTV's at all either. I guess they do it this way to make more money, I don't know. It just seems like it would be simpler the other way.

Some people have equated the HD switch to the B/W to Color switch years ago; but back then they did it the simple way, one feed for all content.
 
I think there's a little to much harshness going around in this area.

We are in a HUGE time of transition. Everyone (producers, contentent providers, viewers) want everything in HD, but some people don't seem to appreciate the effort involved in converting the whole production/broadcast/viewer world from SD to HD.
This is just like back when everything transitioned from black and white to color. It did not happen over night.

Do you really think in 5 or 10 years anything will still be getting produced and broadcast in SD? Do you think there's a conspiracy to hold back HD and keep the world in SD?
I doubt it.

By that logic, a lot of what we watch now would still be in black and white. Back then the writing was on the wall: The future is color - adapt or die. Now it's: The future is HD - adapt or die.

Getting congress and FCC involved is just a huge waste of tax payers money.

Hey, I'm paying $10/month for the HD Essenials package. It's not perfect, but it's only $10 and it's a start.

Be patient - this transition will take time and money.
 
Not exactly. When D* rolled out their big "Upgrade" push they twisted a lot of arms to get content providers to add an HD to their brand. SciFi and SPEED had no intention of going HD at the time of their roll out. D* hosted the telecast by providing all personnel and equipment to deliver SD programming in HD at D*'s expense.

Does E* do the same?

Do you have facts to support your comment or are you just speculating?