Anyone else feeling jipped by DISH??

[deepmoz]

So, I recently come to find out that Dish Network does not show most of its HD programming in true HD format. This is clearly evident when comparinig HD locals through dish and HD locals through OTA. Even more than that, all the voom channels aren't in true HD format as well. Why should we be paying for HD service when we aren't receiving it in it's full glory?? Also, Dish Network advertises all their locals on HD, but this isn't true because most markets only get abc, nbc, cbs and fox on HD.

Can someone please give me an answer to these issues? Also, why would anyone stay with dish if Comcast can deliver true hd programming? Please advise....I'm growing very impatient with Dish.

 

[wtb955]

You're wrong. Most of the HD channels are in "full resolution." Only a few, (VOOM to name one) are "down resd." I challenge you to find a local Comcast affiliate that offers the amount of HD programming Dish offers. If you have an MPEG4 reciever then you will get your major locals (not all areas have LiL service just yet) in HD when the station broadcasts them in HD.

 

[Edgar_in_Indy]

I subscribe to Dish HD and my local Cable HD (Insight), and I also have 2 OTA HD tuners, and all three of the sources look great. If I had to say one source was best, it would be the HD I get over cable. I would say that Dish and OTA look at least 95% as good as the cable feed though. No complaints about Dish HD quality here.

Edgar in Indy

 

[Cold Irons]

Can someone please give me an answer to these issues? Also, why would anyone stay with dish if Comcast can deliver true hd programming? Please advise....I'm growing very impatient with Dish.

Jeezzz - so many of these types of posts - just go get Comcast it Dish is so bad....

 

[tfoss]

"it" should be "if"

 

[riffjim4069]

You're wrong. Most of the HD channels are in "full resolution." Only a few, (VOOM to name one) are "down resd." I challenge you to find a local Comcast affiliate that offers the amount of HD programming Dish offers. If you have an MPEG4 reciever then you will get your major locals (not all areas have LiL service just yet) in HD when the station broadcasts them in HD.

Er, VOOM is a not a single channel....rather, it is 15 channels of HD-Lite Bliss. Think about it! VOOM alone is more than 50% of the DishHD lineup...without even getting into the new MPEG-4 HD channels and dreaded HD LIL-Lite with their endless video and audio problems.

Forget Comcast...FiOS TV is gaining momentum here in the Mid-Atlantic states and the their PQ is awesome. I really like the DishHD package and I agree that it's the most complete HD lineup currently available. However, let's be honest and objective in our assessment of DishHD picture quality. I equate the DishHD experience to opening a lavishly wrapped gift only to discovered a pair of soiled Fruit of the Looms.

While some people may enjoy receiving a skid-marked pair of skivvies (just as long is is comes with fancy wrapping paper and a box), others do not...it's just a clever way of selling sh*t in my opinion

 

[vurbano]

So, I recently come to find out that Dish Network does not show most of its HD programming in true HD format. This is clearly evident when comparinig HD locals through dish and HD locals through OTA. Even more than that, all the voom channels aren't in true HD format as well. Why should we be paying for HD service when we aren't receiving it in it's full glory?? Also, Dish Network advertises all their locals on HD, but this isn't true because most markets only get abc, nbc, cbs and fox on HD.

Can someone please give me an answer to these issues? Also, why would anyone stay with dish if Comcast can deliver true hd programming? Please advise....I'm growing very impatient with Dish.

The heck are you crying about? You wanna feel ripped off? Go sign up with Directv and fork out 700 bucks like a lot of us did to watch HDLITE on an HDTIVO.

 

[mlb]

DishHD does not look bad at all... I came from Time Warner Cable in my area and I do not regret leaving at all. Every channel I had (except for INHD/2) is on Dish, and they are at full HD resolution and bit rates (they all look the same in side by side comparisons). The Voom's, even though I know is downrezzed, still looks great to my eyes.

Personally I think the most important thing they need to do is keep the bit rates up (D* lowers theirs, causing even more issues with their HD). Most people today don't have a display that can show full 1080i anyway, so most would not see a significant difference if they went full resolution 1920x1080i. My 720P display looks good all around with Dish.

 

[riffjim4069]

The heck are you crying about? You wanna feel ripped off? Go sign up with Directv and fork out 700 bucks like a lot of us did to watch HDLITE on an HDTIVO.

Yep, anytime I get discourage with DishHD I just think about all you D* subs with your handful of HD-Lite channels and slow-as-mollasses HDTivos...and I feel much, much better.

 

[wtb955]

Er, VOOM is a not a single channel....rather, it is 15 channels of HD-Lite Bliss. Think about it! VOOM alone is more than 50% of the DishHD lineup...without even getting into the new MPEG-4 HD channels and dreaded HD LIL-Lite with their endless video and audio problems.

Forget Comcast...FiOS TV is gaining momentum here in the Mid-Atlantic states and the their PQ is awesome. I really like the DishHD package and I agree that it's the most complete HD lineup currently available. However, let's be honest and objective in our assessment of DishHD picture quality. I equate the DishHD experience to opening a lavishly wrapped gift only to discovered a pair of soiled Fruit of the Looms.

While some people may enjoy receiving a skid-marked pair of skivvies (just as long is is comes with fancy wrapping paper and a box), others do not...it's just a clever way of selling sh*t in my opinion

Yeah, I know VOOM is more than one channel. And not all of the VOOM channels are down-rez'd, only some. I guess I have to spell it out for some people. If the HD is that bad, go to FIOS!

 

[BrianB]

The bitrate is MUCH more important then the resolution. Yes, DISH has had to slightly downrez some of the MPEG4 channels because of technical reasons, but they keep the bitrate up as much as they can.

As someone who recently switched from DirectTV, I can tell you DISH is light years ahead on HD PQ.

 

[mlb]

Exactly BrianB.

 

[Jeff_R]

Er, VOOM is a not a single channel....rather, it is 15 channels of HD-Lite Bliss. Think about it! VOOM alone is more than 50% of the DishHD lineup...without even getting into the new MPEG-4 HD channels and dreaded HD LIL-Lite with their endless video and audio problems.

However, let's be honest and objective in our assessment of DishHD picture quality. I equate the DishHD experience to opening a lavishly wrapped gift only to discovered a pair of soiled Fruit of the Looms.

While some people may enjoy receiving a skid-marked pair of skivvies (just as long is is comes with fancy wrapping paper and a box), others do not...

All of the national HD channels from Dish, except for Starz HD, are in full native HD resolutions. National Geographic is in MPEG4, however it's a 720p native channel, and is being carried in it's full resolution. Locals are another issue, and I agree with the quality issues there. specifically on NBC and CBS.

The Voom channels are great for constant content, however those are the icing on the cake for me. I subbed to Dish for the national HD channels, and I couldn't be happier with the quality and variety of those channels that I receive.

 

[mbetts]

The bitrate is MUCH more important then the resolution. Yes, DISH has had to slightly downrez some of the MPEG4 channels because of technical reasons, but they keep the bitrate up as much as they can.

As someone who recently switched from DirectTV, I can tell you DISH is light years ahead on HD PQ.

Ditto. I switched a week ago and have no regrets.

 

[riffjim4069]

Yeah, I know VOOM is more than one channel. And not all of the VOOM channels are down-rez'd, only some. I guess I have to spell it out for some people. If the HD is that bad, go to FIOS!

Most people cannot subscribe to FiOS TV because it's not yet available in their specific area. In my case, I'm stuck with good ole bankrupt Adelphia as my sole cable provider...and it will probably be another 10-20 months before FiOS service [hopefully] is available. You're again incorrect regarding VOOM because ALL of their HD Original channels are being shown in less-than-spectacular 1280x1080i and not in their native 1920x1080i HD format. Why VOOM is being downrezzed in another story, but we're positive that both Dish Network and Rainbow Media are culpable.

Again, I'm with DishHD because they provide the best overall package and value: Adelphia is worthless and DirecTV, although the self-proclaimed "HD Leader", is even more worthless...so DishHD wins be default. Sad, but true! Anyway, the last time I view my monthly billing statement I noticed that I was paying for HD and not HD-Lite or enhanced TV. It's just that simple. We are paying for prime rib (HD) and being served cold cube steak (VOOM-Lite, HD LIL-Lite and StarzHD-Lite). Granted, it's still steak ...but it's a far cry from prime rib.

Jumping ship isn't an option so it's time to demand the quality service we're paying to receive. DishHD could be a great product if only quality were a prime consideration.

And no, I don't feel like I am being "gypped" by E*...just not receiving quality HD services.

 

[DaveyBoy26]

Dish says they are not downrezzing the VOOM channels, that Rainbow Media is sending them the channels in "HD-Lite"and I tend to believe that. Simply because, if Dish was receiving these channels in full HD, then downrezzing them, why is it that the national HD channels are being broadcast natively? Dish has told us about Starz HD. There's no deception going on in my eyes. Why give us Discovery HD Theatre and HDNET, etc. in all their glory and not Voom?? Do they hate VOOM?? I don't get that some of you guys think Dish is lying about the situation.

 

[riffjim4069]

Dish says they are not downrezzing the VOOM channels, that Rainbow Media is sending them the channels in "HD-Lite"and I tend to believe that. Simply because, if Dish was receiving these channels in full HD, then downrezzing them, why is it that the national HD channels are being broadcast natively? Dish has told us about Starz HD. There's no deception going on in my eyes. Why give us Discovery HD Theatre and HDNET, etc. in all their glory and not Voom?? Do they hate VOOM?? I don't get that some of you guys think Dish is lying about the situation.

There has been plenty of discussion about this subject in other forums...to include the Pub Members Forum. First, it is known that RNC (aka VOOM) is sending all their HD channels in 1280x1080i; Dish Network says they are uplinking the signal VOOM is sending; VOOM says Dish Network has requested them in 1280x1080i; There has been word about some mysterious "fiber problem" the past 8 months...and everything else is heresay and speculation since there is no official statement from either camp. Whatever the reason, both parties are culpable to some degree.

If anyone can tell us what's up (or down) with VOOM's resolution...please spill the beans. To quote My Cousin Vinny, "I would love to hear the answer to this."

 

[Paradox-SJ]

I subscribe to Dish HD and my local Cable HD (Insight), and I also have 2 OTA HD tuners, and all three of the sources look great. If I had to say one source was best, it would be the HD I get over cable. I would say that Dish and OTA look at least 95% as good as the cable feed though. No complaints about Dish HD quality here.

Edgar in Indy

Seriously? Your cable HD looks better than OTA? Where do you live? As this is the extream excepting to the rule. OTA (and now HD-DVD) is the standard that all HD is compared to as they use the highest bit rates and do not usually down rez the siganl.

 

[wayne231]

Finally

Jeezzz - so many of these types of posts - just go get Comcast it Dish is so bad....

These guy's are just Direct grumps that just want to bash Dish because that's the kind of people they are. I have almost quit looking at this forum because a lot of the posters just seem to have the adgenda to bash dish at every chance. I wish they would all leave and get cable. It's tiresome to try to learn something and every answer from certain poster's is "Dish is a POS. Get Direct"

 

[shanewalker]

I can vouch that my OTA HD locals look significantly sharper than the Dish sat HD locals in my area (Chicago)...why, I'd assume its the secondary MPEG-2/4 compression, but someone could probably get more exact than me. I made darn sure that my roof antenna and locals were all set up as they were w/ my 942/811s when I had my recent receiver upgrades done, exactly for that reason.

Maybe the compression PQ on locals will improve--we can hope. I'm sticking w/ my antenna for as long as it takes, though.

I do have to say that Starz HD isn't too bad to my eye, but I recognize others' PQ criticisms and that Dish has acknowledged some compression issues. Likewise, I think they're working on it... Lets all keep our fingers crossed that HD-lite will ultimately fade away as the technology matures and 1080p sets move into the mainstream (cause those folks are really going to notice, as they've made known here ). Dish isn't going to want to field complaints from the broad swath of its client base...it just might take some time. Dish is tops for HD in the here and now, though, and that's why they've got me as a customer.