D* or E* for cricket?

[bigloo]

I am considering switching from comcast and coming back to sat. My main concerns are HD, international sports (rugby, soccer, cricket). I have been trolling this forum and have a fair idea on the HD performance of both. I also know that D* has setanta which is a huge draw for me for Rugby. What I cannot get lots of info on (here or on the D* but especially the E* websites) is the cricket. Cricket ticket on D* looks great but apart from the ICC tourney going on now, there is nothing I can find on the E* website. Which would you guys recommend for cricket? If Direct TV has better cricket AND setanta, even with HD lite directv would be a home run for me.

Thanks in advance.

Lu

 

[ramcm7]

For cricket, it really depends on where your cheering interests lie. D* and E* have each secured broadcast rights to hosted matches by a number of countries' boards. D* has Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies signed to exclusive contracts for international matches they host. E* has England and Pakistan signed to exclusive contracts. Because India has had a court dispute in its country over the broadcast rights, I don't know if either D* or E* has an exclusive contract. The current ICC Champions Trophy and the upcoming Cricket World Cup are/will be carried by both systems.

E* had been a bit exorbitant in their pricing of some tours in the past. With D*'s Cricket Ticket package being a much better value, E* has recently offered some more competitive pricing. The current Champions Trophy tournament is being offered by D* for $199, while E* is offering it for $100. No guarantee on future pricing, of course. Another note, D* charges extra to receive matches with India involved, calling it the Cricket TIcket India, I believe.

From my avatar, you can see where my interests lie. I am looking forward to the upcoming Ashes series. D* has not posted info on anything after the Ashes tests, including the VB Series, but in general they have made a decent commitment to cricket. One thing to note, if you are getting D*'s Cricket Ticket, you will need to get a separate (and larger) dish installed to receive the 95W satellite that carries much of D*'s international programming.

Also, Setanta is great for rugby. I am enjoying the Mooloo men's current run in the Air New Zealand Cup. [Cue the cowbells and the chainsaw.] ANZ and Currie Cups wrapping up now. Magners (Celtic) League just gearing up. There has been limited Guinness Premiership coverage so far this season. Heinekin Cup matches on the way, I believe. 13-man code also on offer, including upcoming Tri-Nations. Aussie Rules just finished; it was nice to see Setanta pick that up as Fox Soccer Channel has dropped almost everything except soccer.

Hope this helps in your decision.

 

[bigloo]

Thanks for your response. I'm an expat sprinbok so the SA games are definately more attractive for me. also, as I said, not having Setanta is a huge downside to Dish. Currently they dont carry all my locals in HD (Portland, OR) and I want the HR20 which has the OTA disabled. So my plan now is to wait until either all the locals are up or OTA is enabled and go with Directv with HR20 and verizon fios. Cheers Comcast.

 

[cueman98]

hi. I'm interested in seeing the ashes series. Can you get the cricket on a standard D* round dish? or do you need a different size?

 

[ramcm7]

Ashes

hi. I'm interested in seeing the ashes series. Can you get the cricket on a standard D* round dish? or do you need a different size?

The small round dish only receives signals from the 101W satellite. The Phase III (medium sized oval) dish can get signals from 101W, 119W and 110W. Some Cricket Ticket matches have been simulcast on the 110W satellite. The current Champions Trophy matches have not. If you sign up for Cricket Ticket, they will likely require installation of the 95W.

 

[bigloo]

Would one of the newer 5 LNB dishes pick up all the needed siganls?

 

[ramcm7]

Would one of the newer 5 LNB dishes pick up all the needed siganls?

Not possible, as far as I know. The 95W is not one of the 5 sats readable on the new 5lnb dish. I believe it is also larger because it uses FTA polarity (horizontal and vertical) versus DSS polarity (circular) used for most of D* and E*'s signals. (Tech folks on this board can probably explain better.) I do not yet have a 5lnb dish, so I could not tell you if they are co-broadcasting the Cricket Ticket on the new 99 or 103 Ka sats, but I doubt it. Give D* a call at 1-800-243-0530 and ask them on which sats they will be broadcasting the Ashes matches.

You can buy just the 5 Ashes tests for $99, according to D*'s web site.

 

[ramcm7]

D* now offering the current Champions Trophy tournament for $100, down from $199. Saw ad on cricinfo.com.

 

[girl4cricket]

Dish looks better...

Dish seems to be a better option. They charge 199 bucks which includes ALL 51 ICC matches. This also includes watching it online, mobile updates and interactive highlights. Nothing to beat it, coz if I miss a match while at work I can always watch the highlights. Also, Dish plays the warm-up matches and I guess some other good stuff too. Check out http://www.dishcricket.com.

I am considering switching from comcast and coming back to sat. My main concerns are HD, international sports (rugby, soccer, cricket). I have been trolling this forum and have a fair idea on the HD performance of both. I also know that D* has setanta which is a huge draw for me for Rugby. What I cannot get lots of info on (here or on the D* but especially the E* websites) is the cricket. Cricket ticket on D* looks great but apart from the ICC tourney going on now, there is nothing I can find on the E* website. Which would you guys recommend for cricket? If Direct TV has better cricket AND setanta, even with HD lite directv would be a home run for me.

Thanks in advance.

Lu

 

[jpn]

I'm not much for cricket, but I can tell you that the last world cup was exclusive to Dish. Some Indian folks I know are rabid fans, and subscribed to Dish specifically for (a) the World Cup, and (b) coverage of India and Pakistan teams. In their opinion, the cricket on D* is minor in comparison.