DIRECTV (NYSE:DTV), the nation's leading satellite television service provider, is now offering 72 national HD channels - significantly more than any other television provider in the nation. This is the first wave in DIRECTV's unprecedented expansion of HD services that is building towards up to 100 HD channels by year-end(a).
The full DIRECTV HD programming lineup, including the new channels, and details on receiving equipment needed for the new DIRECTV HD services, are available by calling 1-800-DIRECTV or visiting directv.com.
DIRECTV's current HD lineup includes...<br><br><a href="/news/2007/10/directv_hd_revo.php">Read the Full Article</a><br>
Does this mean that D*TV customers who subscribe to HD will get all of the FSN, CSN and Network HD feeds that are available? Or is this another bit of "fluff" from D*TV?
I'm guessing that a given individual customer doesn't have nearly that many choices. Am I right?
The release lists items marked with a "b" as "Eligibility Required". And of course, HD versions of premium channels are only going to be available to those who have those premium packages. Otherwise, that implies that customers will receive all other channels if they have the HD package.
I checked my line-up and I don't get the FSN or CSN channels, but I also don't have the "Sports" package on my plan, so I'm assuming if you did you would receive those as well.
To answer your question directly, it appears that any given customer would get most of those channels with the "HD" package. And a majority of the remainder with premium packages if they are subscribed.
Does anybody have a list of the channel numbers for the HD lineup on DirecTV? Last time I checked their site online, it was difficult to find out where all the new channels are.
Some of the 72 they were already offered but there has been a significant increase in HD channels. They actually kept their promise. Some of these are additional HD PPV also. They claim even more by year end. I'm glad that I had already updated my DVR's and dish. All I had to do was reprogram the custom channels list. They also continue to tweak the software and both my H20-700 and H20-100 are working perfectly. It is a good idea to do a periodic reboot (reset button) and also turn the box off (it'll still "wake up" to record your shows) when you're not using it.
Directv's list of HD channels include eight HD PPV channels and eight DNS (Distant Network Signals) channels on the list. I just looked over the new HD channel list Directv is bragging about I would get 42 HD channels from them (not having paid channels such as HBO) and I am already getting 42 high def channels from Dish Network. So the next press release from a sat provider should say "here are the number of HD TV channels you will really get"
If you go look at the Dish website I count 38 national channels (not counting HBO etc.) then in my case a few of the locals are HD also. So what they are advertising is what you get ! Dish has 9 HD pay movies channels, You said "Why do DISH owners hate DirecTV so much? This sounds like the Mac vs. PC debates." I had Directv for 2 years but changed to Dish because of better stations in the package price I want and also a very good reason to have the new High Def system from Dish is the external hard drive to save an unlimited (depending on number and sizes of hard drives) amount of programing. I joined this board thinking it would be pretty even to stories suggestions etc but what I am finding it is seems to be a Pro Directv website and mentions Dish once in a while.
With all these additions, how many have any HD content at all? It is funny for me to see Speed HD on their list when they made an announcement last month that they would begin broadcasting in HD in Feb. 2008. How much HD programming does USA, Bravo, Sci-Fi, Cartoon Network, CNN, FX, and Speed actually have. I am sure it looks better than SD versions, but do they really have HD (by definition)?
DanLee is correct - not all of the HD channels are broadcasting HD all of the time and many go to "paid programming" late at night and that's all SD, but the HD content overall offers many more choices. I will count them tonight and report back later. I have always had the HD package as well as all of the premium channels (Total Choice Platinum) I think they call it. They added additional HD versions of 3 Showtime, 2 HBO, 3 or 4 Starz and a Max as well. And I have been getting all of the locals channels in HD for some time. But most of the channels in his first post, he asked about, are broadcasting some HD anyway.
One thing I have been noticing are more commercials in HD. I really like the "Target" commercials. Very forward thinking. THAT's how to get people from not fast forwarding.
Competition is good for the economy and we will ALL benefit from Dish and Direct TVs competition (and subsequently forcing the cable companies) to add more HD content. It is win-win. When ATT finally has FO drops directly into everyones house it will change everything.
The H20 DVR works exactly like my old TIVO H10 box incidentally... (only without the H10's unreliability [I went through 5 of them]).
Sorry but those 38 Dish national channels include 5 premiums (HBO, Showtime, etc.).
This is a chicken/egg thing - you can't broadcast HD without a DTV channel. If you go out and procure HD shows without a DTV channel you're wasting money. This is easier for some stations that show mostly film based shows - those can easily be converted to HD while video must be filmed in HD from the beginning.
They can't magically create HD shows from SD sources. They'll catch up - be patient. Remember when we only got 2 or 3 HD football games per week? Now they're all HD.
You said the Dish HD channel list I mentioned included Pay channels such as HBO sorry you are incorrect here is the list. The total HD channels on Dish at this time is 36, I was off a few because I was counting local Sports networks.
I still remember when TV stations would make a big deal if the show was in color. So it is fun to see such a big change come to TV once again. Baseball is almost unwatchable in Standard TV now that I have watched it in HD.
A&E HD
Animal Planet
Animania HD
Big Ten Network HD
Discovery HD
Discovery HD Theater
Equator HD
ESPN HD
ESPN2 HD
Family Room HD
Film Fest HD
Food Network HD
GamePlay HD
Gallery HD
Golf/Versus HD
HDNet
HDNet Movies
HDNews
HGTV HD
History Channel HD
Kung Fu HD
MHD
Monsters HD
National Geographic Channel HD
NFL Network HD
Rave HD
Rush HD
TBS in HD
The Science Channel
TLC
TNT HD
Treasure HD
Ultra HD
Universal HD
World Cinema HD
WorldSport HD
Sounds like Dish and Directv are pretty equal now. They have a similiar amount of channels. Dish has some channels Directv does not and vice versa. But there is still the issue of quality. Why does it seem to me that Dish HD quality is so much better than Directv HD? Am I wrong about this? What are the formats they use? Are they different? After all the hype about Directv HD over the past year I'm not very thrilled about this "revolution". There is no revolution. All Directv did is barely catch Dish, and I'm not even sure about that. Competition is good.
The only quality issues I can think of were the old SD compression issues which have been improved dramatically with the new version decoders. 1080i is 1080i. Some stations don't do as good a job upconverting but I am sure that Dish has the same issues there. Direct TV is not done launching new channels either. There is supposed to be 25 more before year end. The fact is that they have 4 satellites in orbit now. I am sure that Dish will increase their offerings as well. I think it's good for the consumer that there are choices. Who knows? Maybe there will be a price war and costs may decrease, especially when cable and FO become contenders.
I should also add that I have an external Seagate FreeAgent 750G eSATA drive on my H20-100S so with the 320G internal drive my total storage capacity is over a terabyte.
At the time that I subscribed to Direct TV they had the best offerings and that has see sawed back and forth as Dish is obviously competitive so I am confused by the animosity from either camp.
Those are not the same channels that are listed on the Dish website under the title 38 national HD channels. That list does contain 5 premium channels (National Geographic HD, HBO, Showtime, Starz, Max) but actually adds up to 36 without the 5 premiums. The sports and local channels are separate.
I'm not bashing Dish - I'm just saying that DirecTV is not the evil empire that all the Dish owners seem to think it is.
I keep hearing HD Lite about DirecTV but I think that was based on the old mpeg2 channels before they launched the new satellites and should not be an issue on the new HD channels. Then again I've never noticed any problems with any of the DirecTV HD feeds although I have not done a valid A/B comparison. And neither have 99% of the DirecTV bashers.
Add to that Dish list local/regional sports stations. I get Altitude HD and FSN Rocky Mountain HD. Don't need a sports programming package to get them. I believe DirectTV only offers a few of them. I believe Dish offers virtually all of them.
I've been a Dish subscriber for about 7-8 years. It seems like all of the hype about something new, in this case, the addition of HD channels, is always with DirectTV even though, in my subjective opinion, the programming and equipment choices offered by Dish have always been at least as good, if not better than DirectTV's. Right now, DirectTV has finally kind of caught up with Dish on the HD programming issue. Dish quietly adds new HD channels, like TBS a couple of weeks ago, but when DirectTV adds channels, it makes it look like some major accomplishment, duping people all of the way. Dish offers USB hard disk storage on the DVR's. What has DirectTV done with this issue? DirectTV was also last to activate local OTA tuners on their latest receivers. Dish's came activated. DirectTV uses, in my opinion, a rather bulky 5 LNB dish compared to Dish's more compact 3 LNB dish.
The thing that really turns me off about DirectTV is their marketing model. If a retailer wants to sell DirectTV (read Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.) they have to agree NOT to sell Dish. I believe they've made the inroads they've made in subscriber numbers via this model, which I guess is a credit to their success. But they certainly didn't want consumers to comparatively shop in the same store. Perhaps Dish offered too stiff of competition.
Instead of just saying someone is wrong please go and look at the actual site here http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/our_ ... ndex.shtml
I posted the list without the premium channels. I get National Geographic with out paying extra !
That is exactly the site I was using.
Why don't you actually read what you're posting before saying I'm wrong.
This is what is listed:
National Geographic Channel HD*
*Denotes Premium Channel - only available with select packages.
Dish calls it a premium channel. I assume you have whatever package it requires. I'm just repeating what Dish says. You can call them and tell them they're wrong.
DirecTV was also the first with HD Local channels by several months. Why does it always have to be a pissing contest? At various times DirecTV and Dish have had advantages over each other in different areas. One is not inherently better than the other. The difference is you hardly ever hear DirecTV owners bashing Dish.
I "bashed" DirectTV at the end of my last post, but it was factual information, not a subjective "my PQ is better than your PQ because it isn't HD-Lite" opinion.
The overall point I was trying to make was directed at the title of this thread "Direct TV HD Revolution Begins". Folks put names like that on threads because they must naively believe that, in this case, DirectTV is at the forefront of some spectacular new programming in HD. After this much publicized intro of additional HD channels, DirectTV has merely caught up with Dish. That's also not a he said-she said argument, it's a fact. Why people get so enthusiastic over an "event" such as this is beyond my comprehension. Actually, I guess it's beyond their comprehension.
The overall point I was trying to make was directed at the title of this thread "Direct TV HD Revolution Begins". Folks put names like that on threads because they must naively believe that, in this case, DirectTV is at the forefront of some spectacular new programming in HD.
Or it could be that Shane was merely copying the headline of the PRESS RELEASE. Did you think he just makes that stuff up?
The fact remains that they're broadcasting 72 national hd channels. If you don't qualify or choose not to subscribe to all of them then you'll have less than that. I wouldn't have a problem if Dish advertised their channels that way either.
I think it's safe to say that this thread has ceased being informative and has been reduced to a "My service is best" conversation. Let's wrap it up by simply saying that competition is a good thing. No matter which service you have, it's good for "your" provider to think the "other" provider is ahead ... that means more for you, and probably for less. And if you subscribed to everything both providers offer, DirecTV has more channels. Does it cost more? Sure.
