Which stations would you sacrifice for more HD?

Even though no one watches BET, it has to be carried b/c of political correctness. CSPAN is a public service channel that must also be carried. I beleive Cablevision owns some of the really annoying channels, so they can't be dropped. But I'm different than most; I wouldn't care if they dropped MTV, E!, CourTV, and Fuse. But obviously Voom can't drop these b/c of contract obligations, and women and teenagers like these channels. Most people probably have a list of 10-15 channels that they watch 90% of the time, but everyone's list is different. If anything, Voom's adding more SD channels. Right now, there are no more HD channels for Voom to add. As discussed elsewhere, HDNET and InHD are off the table.
 
where the hell is Moov? or 5 cinema channels? You have to sacrifice HD channels.

It would take at least 10 sd ones for one HD.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What about one of the Barker channels in HD? thats 7 HD channels right there.
 
cyuhnke said:
I thought it was 5 sd for every hd? Is it really 10?

It all depends how mbps for each SD channel. I do not think SD channnels are given more than 2mbps. It could be in the 5-10 range. I agree with Vurbano, you have to look at HD channels not SD channels. I maybe wrong since there are premium SD channels that are always given more bandwith.

Given the current situation, there's probably room for 2 more. But as Vurbano has pointed out, Inside Voom, MOOV, and HD Cinema 10 are possible candidate to get more.

When it is all and said. The immediate solution is to go MPEG4/WM9 right away.
 
Obviously, ESPN SD, HBO SD, etc. could all go. Any Sd channel with an hd brother shouldn't be there.
 
cyuhnke said:
Even though no one watches BET, it has to be carried b/c of political correctness.

I watch BET, and um I don't think I'm the only one. Maybe noone watches it on your block. And BET is far from politically correct, in fact it shows alot of videos with rather negative stereotypes. But hey, you're the expert.

C
 
Yeah, I don't think there should be multiples channels unless they are multiple HD channels (ie movie channels). Get rid of all espn except HD, golf, tennis, ( I can't believe people watch sports this much), of course the media companies force them to have all these crappy channels in order to get one, so blame Viacom, etc.
 
thugnerd said:
I watch BET, and um I don't think I'm the only one. Maybe noone watches it on your block. And BET is far from politically correct, in fact it shows alot of videos with rather negative stereotypes. But hey, you're the expert.

C

I should have never mentioned BET. This conversation is not allowed.
 
I would not eliminate any mentioned in the poll. My choices:


1. SD clones of HD channels -- HBO-SD, ESPN- SD, etc -- that have the exact same content, just in lower definition. (I am not referring to things like HBO2, which does not have an HD counterpart, or things like Bravo, which has different programming from BravoHD). It was speculated elsewhere that Voom may be contractually obligated to carry the SD versions, but they should try to get those contracts changed to allow them to carry the HD feed in lieu of the SD feed. The contracts may have served a purpose with SD cable and satellite carriers, but they make no sense in the era of HDTV, especially with a service like VOOM that is catering to HDTV owners.

2. The auido-only music jukebox channels, 852-885 (I am NOT referring to MTV, VH1, and other channels that play musically-oriented programming). I don't see a lot of point in these channels; I have satellite radio if I want to listen to music. But I would assume that these channels do not use a lot of bandwidth, so eliminating them may not make much of a difference.

3. MOOV
 
Getting rid of all the simulcast channels would be wise. I mean really ... are you going to watch HBO or HBOHD? No brainer!

I am not even subscribed yet and I am pretty sure I'll only watch the Cinema 10 channels about 2 times a year. It is just not my kind of content, I have been surfing the online guide and I would rather have 2 PPV channels than the Cinema 10 offering.
 
Contract negotiations dictate that V* will not be able to get rid of SD channels such as HBO or ESPN. The programmers had basically said if you don't carry these, you will not allow to carry the HD counterpart.
 
Sean Mota said:
Contract negotiations dictate that V* will not be able to get rid of SD channels such as HBO or ESPN. The programmers had basically said if you don't carry these, you will not allow to carry the HD counterpart.
I hope that changes someday.
 
Well, my poll is serving its purpose well - generating some discussion on what content is not very appealing. Thanks for chiming in with your thoughts.

My comments:

1. I only included 10 channels in the poll because that's all the site allows in polls. I would have included every channel in the list if I could to get a better sampling of opinion.

2. I mentioned over on the Yahoo Voom forum that a number of channels come in a negotiated package and wouldn't be easy to get rid of. Nonetheless I agree with everyone here who suggested that having SD equivalents of HD stations is by definition a waste of bandwidth.

3. The list in the poll is what first came to my mind from the SD stations that I don't care to watch. I don't think I'd ever watch these channels even if they all were in HD. There was an old saying when I did computer animation for a living, "Content Rules!", it applies here as well. Unless there was full on contact between players or they had Penthouse Pets caddying in the buff I still would prefer a sharp stick in the eye versus watching the Golf channel.

4. I'm all for swapping out several of the HD stations to get better content. Like I've said before once the DVR ships there will be a thunderous chorus in VOOMdom railing against the repetitive content as found on Cinema 10 or any of the VOOM exclusive channels for that matter. As soon as we are free to watch any program at any time there will be no usefullness in having movies play over an over again on Cinema 10, no reason to replay soccer games multiple times, no reason to play concerts over and over again. We'll have them recorded so we can replay them whenever we want.
 
mike528 commented:
> but they make no sense in the era of HDTV, especially with a service like VOOM that is catering to HDTV owners. <

Especially since the Voom box provides a simultaneous downconverted SD feed at all times (that's higher quality than the direct SD feed). Some have mentioned the contractual obligations, which is a good point, but these should be renegotiated, since it's in no one's best interest in the Voom domain.

- Tim
 
I say Voom should show HBO SD etc but reduce the bitrate until it becomes a slideshow.

I'd get rid of the Auction channel
 

DHDT: 5/24 Premiere Programs Starting at 8pm EST

TNT-HD being narrated?

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