Turbo HD

[uptownvideo]

Does anyone know why the Turbo HD Bronze package does not include all of the HD channels that are in the Bronze classic package? This has bothered me for a while since I am paying for 100 SD hannels that I don't watch just to get the HD channels that I do watch. It does not include NICK, MTV, VH1, FOX News and probably more.

 

[STL]

Because Charlie is too cheap to pay for the other new HD channels to be added to TurboHD. He is fine with charging his customers a premium for an HD-only package (meaning the cost per channel is higher in TurboHD) but he won't pay a premium to content providers to be able to offer only their HD channels in a package. So much for the Charlie Chat where they tried to justify the $10 price increase to the TurboHD as being "worth it" for all the HD channels coming. Classic packages that only had a $3 price increase are getting more new HD channels than any TurboHD package!

Rumor on the street now is Charlie is going to get rid of the TurboHD packages. I guess he has decided they are too costly to maintain now and he's already baited enough people away from DirecTV with them (and those people are now locked into long-term contracts).

 

[Dah-Henny]

Well, there are two rumors:

1. Turbo gets canned in August.
2. Turbo will get fixed.

Take your pick. They're both rumors.

#1 came from Scott.
#2 came from an E* employee that frequented this forum.

It wouldn't surprise me either way it goes. Turbo & Absolute, still, are very good bangs for the buck.

IMO, I don't think Chuck intended to B & S anyone. It was just stupid of him to assume that the programmers would play nice.

 

[STL]

Well, there are two rumors:

1. Turbo gets canned in August.
2. Turbo will get fixed.

Take your pick. They're both rumors.

#1 came from Scott.
#2 came from an E* employee that frequented this forum.

FWIW, last week I replied to E* employee's post where he said that asking if the "fix" is to get rid of them, and he has still yet to answered. So IMO, it's just E* trying to string people along more misinformation -- like when they ensured Scott (over a month ago) there was fix coming that would make TurboHD customers happy.

It wouldn't surprise me either way it goes. Turbo & Absolute, still, are very good bangs for the buck.

I agree with the statement when it comes to AbsoluteHD but not with TurboHD after the prices increases they've had.

IMO, I don't think Chuck intended to B & S anyone. It was just stupid of him to assume that the programmers would play nice.

Or he knew exactly what he was doing making those claims -- knowing full well he could blame it on the programmers if things didn't work out.

 

[KAB]

FWIW, last week I replied to E* employee's post where he said that asking if the "fix" is to get rid of them, and he has still yet to answered. So IMO, it's just E* trying to string people along more misinformation -- like when they ensured Scott (over a month ago) there was fix coming that would make TurboHD customers happy.

I agree with the statement when it comes to AbsoluteHD but not with TurboHD after the prices increases they've had.

Or he knew exactly what he was doing making those claims -- knowing full well he could blame it on the programmers if things didn't work out.

 

[TheKrell]

Or he knew exactly what he was doing making those claims...

Why do you take such joy vilifying people like this? It can't make you feel better about the bad situation TurboHD customers find themselves in. I'd rather assume good ol' fashion incompetence than evil intent from the beginning. After all, we're talking about predicting the future here.

If you were Charlie, you might assume other execs could be persuaded to behave reasonably and embrace an HD-only package. Or failing that, you might expect that money would smooth over differences (hence the big price increase for TurboHD customers), and allow the Turbo packages to go forward as intended. Only after protracted negotiations fail miserably do you discover that your fellow execs are brain-dead idiots trying to stop the clock and force their particular HD+SD bundling scheme on Dish no matter the consequences. In the end, I applaud Dish for trying to innovate with HD-only packages, even if the brain dead idiots succeed for now. And I have to give the brain dead idiots a really big : for trying to stop the clock. May they find themselves unemployed rather soon and unexpectedly.

 

[Dah-Henny]

+1

 

[STL]

Why do you take such joy vilifying people like this?

You see the glass half full and I see it half empty.

If you were Charlie, you might assume other execs could be persuaded to behave reasonably and embrace an HD-only package. Or failing that, you might expect that money would smooth over differences (hence the big price increase for TurboHD customers), and allow the Turbo packages to go forward as intended. Only after protracted negotiations fail miserably do you discover that your fellow execs are brain-dead idiots trying to stop the clock and force their particular HD+SD bundling scheme on Dish no matter the consequences.

IF that happened AND Charlie truly cares about his TurboHD subscribers, then why hasn't he cut back that large price increase that was proclaimed would be so "worth it" since he now knows that won't be the case? Maybe just maybe Charlie isn't so innocent after all.

...even if the brain dead idiots succeed for now. And I have to give the brain dead idiots a really big : for trying to stop the clock. May they find themselves unemployed rather soon and unexpectedly.

Why do you take such joy vilifying people like this? It can't make you feel better about the bad situation TurboHD customers find themselves in. I'd rather assume good ol' fashion incompetence than evil intent from the beginning. After all, we're talking about predicting the future here. LOL You see, you're acting no different really -- except that you are a Dish Network fanboy so you choose to blame someone else.

 

[TheKrell]

IF that happened AND Charlie truly cares about his TurboHD subscribers, then why hasn't he cut back that large price increase that was proclaimed would be so "worth it" since he now knows that won't be the case?

Excellent point. I expect further promotions/discounts to make up for this fiasco. And I would have expected them before now. Maybe negotiations are still ongoing?

Why do you take such joy vilifying people like this?

Touche!

Actually it does make me feel better because I really do have contempt for providers who don't understand there are a whole lot of us out here who won't watch their crappy SD channel whether or not it's available. They're idiots. In my experience, idiocy is a whole lot more common than evil. That makes me feel better too.

 

[STL]

Well I am a relatively new DISH customer (who was lured from DirecTV with TurboHD) and I've quickly grown very cynical of them. I don't like being told one thing -- at several levels (even arguably the highest level) -- then finding out it's not true later after I've locked myself into a long term agreement. I can honestly say this never happened in the 8+ years I was with DirecTV; in fact they bent over backwards to make things right even when they clearly didn't have to (like when the price of my HD DirecTiVo dropped several hundred dollars about 4 months after I bought it).

 

[JFaber99]

I'm in the same boat. I switched back in February when I read an article in Engadget about DISH getting 14 new HD channels. I went to the website and on their channel lookup (pdf) it states that TurboHD is equivalent to the Classic package without the SD. I signed up. At that time DirecTV had more HD but no locals for Albany, Ga (still doesn't) and start up cost are crazy!

I left the TurboHD Gold package for the Classic Gold w/HD and now I'm thinking after race season to switch back to TurboHD Gold if it still exist at that time. $20 a month extra for one or two channels (that I watch) is extreme. Money better spent upgrading my Netflix or something.

All and all I still like Dish ten times better than my Mediacom cable that I had. I think they are still at 7 national HD channels.

 

[STL]

I'm in the same boat. I switched back in February when I read an article in Engadget about DISH getting 14 new HD channels. I went to the website and on their channel lookup (pdf) it states that TurboHD is equivalent to the Classic package without the SD.

I think I might have that PDF saved off somewhere (or maybe I just printed a hardcopy). Their CSRs were telling potential customers the same thing, and the Charlie Chat claim is also well documented. Add all those up and it easy to see (now) that it painted a pretty decieving picture -- and some people around here wonder why we are so upset?

At that time DirecTV had more HD but no locals for Albany, Ga (still doesn't) and start up cost are crazy!

What startup costs? Just like DISH, DirecTV give you a free HD DVR if you sign contract.

 

[JFaber99]

What startup costs? Just like DISH, DirecTV give you a free HD DVR if you sign contract.

I went to DirecTV and built my "system". Three rooms with HD and of the three rooms one would have a DVR. Then you pay an extra $50 for antenna jacks on each receiver. Startup was around $350! That was after the free HD DVR receiver. (image attached) Then I would have to buy an antenna and join the OTA forum!! In my shoes Dish made life a little easier to put HD with locals in three rooms of my house.

 

[STL]

JFaber99,
I see where you are coming from now. I myself only have one HD DVR but it's connected to 5 televisions (3 via HD connections and two via SD coax).