ALL VOOM TO GO MPEG4 AUGUST 15th

[harshness]

Regarding the terms and conditions of the VOOM Dish'n It Up program:

I just got off the phone with an account specialist and she said (after a call to the executive branch)

1. I still own my 921 (and can return it for a $10 credit).
2. The ViP622 is leased under the DIU plan.
3. The upgrade costs will be credited on the bill.
4. If I activate my 921 again, they will back-charge me for the DIU.

The ViP622 is cool. I'm giving serious consideration to replacing my leased 508 (without the DVR fee) with another ViP622 (with the DVR fee and an extra dollar on the lease). Because I am DHP, I'll have to wait for my next regular bill to see how it all pencils out.

 

[jsanders]

The people who have a bunch of HD channels for 13 cents and no basic SD package, have profited and benefited from a loophole for many months.

Now that E* is removing the loophole, they are whinng ??

Up until 2007, HD has been an early adopter situation. Now, E* has to begin the changeover to providing an ever increasing number of HD channels. Both Discovery and HBO (both of which have many channels) are involved in changing all their programming to HD.

But, the capability to subscribe to a large package of HD channels without having SD channels was a temporary loophole.

It's also hard to find parts for horse-drawn carriages...

That is just stupid. Not wanting SD programming is not a loophole, it is forward looking. Do you think E* will have any SD programming in 15 or 20 years from now? Do you think that they will still force you to purchase SD channels in order to get the HD channels in 20 years? Are you telling us that becuase this is just a loophole that we better hold onto our "horse-drawn carriages", uh, I mean SD receivers and TVs for a long time?

As time passes by and more HD channels become available, more and more customers will be wanting to ditch thier SD subscription. It wasn't a "loophole", it is a precedent of things to come.

 

[Cyclone]

I guess we now know why Dish is forcing all of the Voom channels to MPEG4 on August 15th.

 

[navychop]

"Do you think E* will have any SD programming in 15 or 20 years from now? "

Of course they will. They'll still be running reruns of "I Love Lucy."

 

[pdxsam]

"Do you think E* will have any SD programming in 15 or 20 years from now? "

Of course they will. They'll still be running reruns of "I Love Lucy."

Upconverted to breathtaking 2160P

 

[jsanders]

"Do you think E* will have any SD programming in 15 or 20 years from now? "

Of course they will. They'll still be running reruns of "I Love Lucy."

"I Love Lucy" was filmed on a 35mm negative with a spherical Cinematographic process. The aspect ratio was 1.33:1, and the audio tracks were on the side of the 35mm film. There is a lot more information on that film than 480i resolution. They can crop the top and bottom and make it a wide screen aspect ratio if they want.

Have you ever seen "Hogan's Heros" on HDNet? It runs in 16:9, and looks good.

You just have to do a film transfer, and it is good. There are a lot more than 2 megapixels worth of information on the 35mm print. There is no need to watch "I Love Lucy" in SD.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Well if you are going to make I love Lucy in hd, then you might as well colorize it while you are at it. No need to watch black and white, even if it is in hd.

 

[Peter Parker]

Please it is a callsc as it si. There is no need to colorize it.

 

[KKlare]

Regarding the terms and conditions of the VOOM Dish'n It Up program:

I just got off the phone with an account specialist and she said (after a call to the executive branch)

1. I still own my 921 (and can return it for a $10 credit).
2. The ViP622 is leased under the DIU plan.
3. The upgrade costs will be credited on the bill.
4. If I activate my 921 again, they will back-charge me for the DIU.

The ViP622 is cool. I'm giving serious consideration to replacing my leased 508 (without the DVR fee) with another ViP622 (with the DVR fee and an extra dollar on the lease). Because I am DHP, I'll have to wait for my next regular bill to see how it all pencils out.

This is great if I can get it with my current 622/921-owned/501-leased-unused and AEP+HD. (DHP no longer mentioned on bill. Not sure when last noted.)
I assume this means no more 921 replacements when it squells.
I assume that 921 serves only as local tuner NTSC/ATSC and for stored or new ATSC programs.
I hated the thought of giving up a nearly useless $950 owned for a leased.
This looks like an easy-to-live with lease buy-in.
-Ken
P.S. Mike is sounding like Ted Turner.

 

[harshness]

This is great if I can get it with my current 622/921-owned/501-leased-unused and AEP+HD. (DHP no longer mentioned on bill. Not sure when last noted.)

The free DIU upgrade is available only to VOOM subscribers. DishHD subscribers aren't eligible.

 

[Dan Berndt]

This last week I received a flyer from dish stating that my existing receivers would not pick up HD programming after August 15 and that, if I want to continue getting HD programming, I had to replace my receivers. I called Dish up and I was told that Dish would no longer transmit in MPEG 2 after August 2 and that I would have to replace the two 942 receivers I own with 622s. I've had HD only for over a year now and I've been real reluctant to upgrade but the deal they gave me makes having to sallow the A120 package I need to get HD a little more palatable.

Not only is Dish going to upgrade BOTH my 942s for FREE, since I own the 942s, Dish is going to give me ownership of the 622s so I won't have to pay lease fees. In addition I get $100 of HD programming ($10/month for 10 months) and three free months of HBO. Dish said they would give me $10 for each of my 942s if I turn them in to dish.

I scheduled to have the technicians come out August 2 to setup the 622s. The two main issues I had with switching over before now was having to pay for the none HD channels of A120 and having to pay lease fees when I already owned my equipment. The promotion money will help take some of the sting out of having to pay for A120 channels I will seldom watch.

 

[smooth28la]

Are you a HD DISH or the $5 Voom subscriber?

What phone number was on the postcard?

 

[wysocki]

I got the card too, the number is 888-609-5972 but I don't know that it'll do you any good if you don't meet their criteria for the upgrade.

Dan:
If you own the 942's and they're offering you $10 for them, tell them to shove it! 942's are going for a couple hundred on eBay right now although I don't know why someone would buy them?

I'm holding off until the last minute hoping that maybe Dish will not force me to double my expense and buy one of their stupid SD packages. Right now I'm paying a $10 fee to NOT get any of the SD packages but they say that offer is now void.

 

[harshness]

Dish is going to give me ownership of the 622s so I won't have to pay lease fees.

This isn't how it works. You will not own the ViP622s. Expect to see at least one six dollar lease fee on your bill. Note also that your billing cycle will likely be moved to the date that you activate the new services.

I did the upgrade a week ago and I've already received the new billing. It is notable that the $10 DishHD credit isn't on it.

 

[clrntsqueak]

Did you send in the rebate redemption form?

 

[Jim5506]

And you must send in a copy of your bill showing that you subscribe to or purchased the appropriate service/items.

 

[BFG]

i got the postcard too

 

[HDFan]

Also have a owned 622 and 942 with the old HD Pak and Voom only. I should be able to get the Voom pak on the 622 and only lose it on the 942, so it will be interesting to see what happens to my service on the 15th.

 

[jsanders]

Stand Alone HD pack???

What happened to it? I don't want to subscribe to an AT pack, and dish really sticks it to people like me. Even though, I subscribe to the $10 HD Pack + Voom, they still charge me the HD enablling fee, and locals cost an extra buck + the VOD fee, etc...

Basically, it is $23 of fees and $15 of programming. It is a cheating pair of scales the way they set it up. I paid $700 for my 622 when it came out, and then they dropped the price by $200 right after I bought it.

They used to offer the Stand Alone HD pack, but I don't see that anymore. I am willing to pay for HD, but not at the expense of subscribing to a bunch of SD programming that I won't watch. It seems that they want me to pay them $50/mo regardless. Did anyone manage to get the HD programming added to the dishFamily subcription?

Has anyone seen any resolution for this? Maybe it is time to drop dish and switch to an HTPC. $33/mo for the HD Pack just doesn't seem worth it when compared to no money per month for a MythTV DVR.

 

[pdxsam]

Just like analog tv will be it's gone but not forgotten. You can't get HD without an AT package now.