DISH Network Adds Another Channel to Industry's Largest HD L

[Shane]

DISH Network(r), home of the best sports and movies in high definition (HD) as well as the best HD DVR in the industry, announced today the launch of its latest HD channel: NHL Network HD. This addition brings DISH Network's national HD programming lineup to 75 channels -- the most offered by any pay-TV provider in the United States.

NHL Network is the first national network dedicated entirely to hockey giving viewers unprecedented 24-hour access to the most comprehensive hockey coverage, both on and off the ice. NHL Network will broadcast...

[url=http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/news/2007/10/dish_network_ad.php]Read the Full Article[/url]

[dgmeansit1]

Dish Network is excellent. Too bad I have no interest in sports... I like exercising and staying in shape, but could care less about football, basketball, baseball, or hockey... Lately that seems to be what they are aiming for.

Personally, I want more movies, music, science specials, news, educational...

[harmil2]

Thank you...I couldn't have said it better myself. I am proud to be a 63 year old who runs or walks 4 or 5 miles a day. That is all the sports I want with the exception of a good boxing match usually found on HBO and sometimes Showtime. More movies channels, educational, news, SciFi, ect. in HD would be welcome. Dish is saturated with HD sports which I understand a lot of folks love, but lets focus now on other HD programing.

[markmalone]

As a Dish subscriber, they need to catch up fast or I may dump um. Direct rules right now. I want more HD. I want all those Starz movie channels. I want that MGM channel. I want CNN and CNBC, USA and FX. I want the Smithsonian channel. I even want the damm weather channel, damm it.

[regman]

I have to admit that I too could give a sh*t about more sports programs (when I quit drinking beer some years ago it all stopped making sense anyway) but I am over 60 and the younger target demographic wants this. I read somewhere about the "larger the ball the lower the IQ" (since hockey uses a puck there has to be exceptions ;-) When a basketball player gets paid more than a brain surgeon I have to wonder about that societies values truly are. I have to confess though that watching the Superbowl is one of my guilty pleasures but not so much for the game but the commericals.

When I count "useable channels", I exclude sports and all of the shoping channels. They are simply not in my "favorites list" - I even exclude PPV. 0h and don't forget all of those foreign language channels (the ones without subtitles anyway - although I have to admit they have some pretty sexy babes on Telemundo ha ha). So actual channels you WANT to watch is always way lower than the total content that they offer anyway (and that's not just the satellite providers either). So 75, 72 who cares?!?!

markmalone - you left out APL and History HD. It is sweet having NGC and Smithsonian, and all of the "new HD Showtime and Starz channels are very nice as well.

Dish will catch up though... It was the reverse a few years ago when DirecTV offered the NFL Sunday Ticket.

Shane how about doing a comparison chart between the Dish DVR and the Direct DVR. I would love to see what I am "missing"?!?!

[film11]

Have to agree with others here...sports channels are a waste (and I'n a bit younger!) Why a waste? Because if there is no game, these channels take up bandwidth and offer NO High-Def at all. Right now (with Comcast) there are three channels taking up space with absolutely ZERO HD scheduled for weeks! (VSGLF, YES, and TBS) THREE channels with no HD that could easily be used for valid HD channels with on-going HD programming. What a waste.

[dgmeansit1]

With Dish Networks DVR, you can create several 'Favorites' for the channels you prefer. One of the default favorites is All HD programming. Right now, there are so many HD sports channels that I felt I needed to create a "My HD" favorite channel list that has all HD channels except the sports ones so that I don't have to sift through all of it. HD Sports channels seem to outnumber regular HD programming.

Let's hope they read this forum and take some action on this subject that clearly matters to a lot of their subscribers!

[regman]

Me too. You can have 2 "favorites" on the DirectTC DVR's as well. They know what your watching and also when you fast forward through the commercials.

[Billtetz]

I agree with previous comments re Dish's HD channels. It's ads now tout it as having 75 HD channels, the most anywhere. But 30 or so of these HD channels are PPV movie or sports channels ($169 to watch a hockey game on TV?). Directv now has a legitimate total of 70 national HD channels, including USA, FX, SciFi, etc.
Unfortunately, it's not as easy or inexpensive as Directv's ads claim to switch. Direct's HD receiver, which still costs $200 upfront to lease, requires 2 cable feeds, while still only providing a signal to one tv. I tried to switch, but when Direct's installer said it would cost me $105 to run a 2d cable, & also wanted $45 to put the dish on a mast (he said it was too heavy for my roof, even though my house is only 2 years old & currently has 2 DISH dishes up there) I cancelled the install. But when Direct follows DISH & offers the HD DVR for free, I'll make the move.
I should note that a major contributing factor to my wanting to switch is DISH's failure to offer the Orlando networks in HD, after enticing me to upgrade to the VIP HD DVR by claiming the availability of those channels was imminent in May of '06.
And then there's the failure of my HDMI connection to work with either of DISH''s HD DVRs...

Bill