DirecTV On Demand, very disappointed.

[IcEWoLF]

I had the premier package, and I wish they added more OnDemand stuff for premier customers, such as if you have HBO/Starz/CineMax/ and Showtime that you can access their HD content too, however they don't have that, they only have the SD version of it, which I am very disappointed with.
The only HD movies they have On Demand are PPV's.
DirecTV needs to kick it up a notch, On Demand has been around for way too long to still wait for this.
Could this be because of the bandwidth restriction?
Hopefully by the time D11 is fully function, we may be able to get some dowloadable HD content, but then again, I always thought we use internet to download those shows, so the Satellite factor should not affect this.
Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[cummingsje]

I had the premier package, and I wish they added more OnDemand stuff for premier customers, such as if you have HBO/Starz/CineMax/ and Showtime that you can access their HD content too, however they don't have that, they only have the SD version of it, which I am very disappointed with.
The only HD movies they have On Demand are PPV's.
DirecTV needs to kick it up a notch, On Demand has been around for way too long to still wait for this.
Could this be because of the bandwidth restriction?
Hopefully by the time D11 is fully function, we may be able to get some dowloadable HD content, but then again, I always thought we use internet to download those shows, so the Satellite factor should not affect this.
Correct me if I am wrong.

I've only had D* for a couple of days now (had E* for a few years). Prior to that I had Comcast and their premiums. I was able to get the HD premium package On-Demand content even back in '04 and '05. I don't understand why it would be a problem with D*'s On-Demand service.

 

[atp1313]

VOD content is delivered via internet connection, so D11 has nothig to do with holding back any HD content.

 

[IcEWoLF]

VOD content is delivered via internet connection, so D11 has nothig to do with holding back any HD content.

That's what I posted, however I am not sure what the delay is for.
Its been out for months...many months now.

 

[Jimbo]

It's STILL BETA I believe.

Personally, I don't care,I have it hooked up and NEVER use it, theres enough to watch already that I don't get a chance to, I'd never have time for the OD stuff.
That said, you make a great point ICE about if you have a premium, you should get the OD free.

I think in all my years that I've had D* I've probably ordered 1 PPV, I don't see this being any different, I did look into it the other day and many of them were Pay to view, so I have little desire to pay extra, I already pay enough for TV.

Jimbo

 

[rad]

Jimbo, DoD is not in beta anymore.

I don't use it a lot but it does come in handy at times. Grand Daughter was over and wanted to watch some cartoons, fired up DoD, selected a couple cartoon shows and all was well.

 

[agregjones]

It's STILL BETA I believe.

Personally, I don't care,I have it hooked up and NEVER use it, theres enough to watch already that I don't get a chance to, I'd never have time for the OD stuff.
That said, you make a great point ICE about if you have a premium, you should get the OD free.

I think in all my years that I've had D* I've probably ordered 1 PPV, I don't see this being any different, I did look into it the other day and many of them were Pay to view, so I have little desire to pay extra, I already pay enough for TV.

Jimbo

The only PPV items on VOD are, well, PPV. You don't pay extra to watch Showtime content on VOD. They haven't put HD from any of the premiums up but have for other channels like Smithsonian. HBO, in particular, is also working on getting all of their HD channels on DirecTV. I think, at this point, they have other priorities. They haven't asked you to pay more because it isn't offered at any price.

 

[Dog6869]

I am like you IcEWoLF I have the premier package, And I do agree that D does have to up grade their VOD.. The thing that really burns my A$$ is that NBC charging for programming that is free VIA OTA!!! Can some please explain this too me…

 

[joed32]

I don't understand why anyone would pay for it.

 

[charper1]

I am like you IcEWoLF I have the premier package, And I do agree that D does have to up grade their VOD.. The thing that really burns my A$$ is that NBC charging for programming that is free VIA OTA!!! Can some please explain this too me…

NBC is likely going broke; at least they are likely losing $$$ hand over fist and want to see what they can do to create another revenue stream; in time they may see the light and make it free, but I would not hold my breath.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I agree DOD isn't as good as it should be. This VOD stuff has been around for years on cable.

 

[skottey]

I had the premier package, and I wish they added more OnDemand stuff for premier customers, such as if you have HBO/Starz/CineMax/ and Showtime that you can access their HD content too, however they don't have that, they only have the SD version of it, which I am very disappointed with.
The only HD movies they have On Demand are PPV's.
DirecTV needs to kick it up a notch, On Demand has been around for way too long to still wait for this.
Could this be because of the bandwidth restriction?
Hopefully by the time D11 is fully function, we may be able to get some dowloadable HD content, but then again, I always thought we use internet to download those shows, so the Satellite factor should not affect this.
Correct me if I am wrong.

Bright House Cable has had HBO/Showtime/TMC/Cinemax On Demand for a few years, but last time I checked, they still do not offer anything on these premium channels in HD. They have what they call Showcase HD On Demand, which only has a few items from basic cable HD channels like AMC and Mojo. They have a lot of On Demand, just not in HD.

I find DirecTV On Demand to be pretty good, although it is crappy that they are lacking HBO/Max (BHN on the other hand was missing Starz On Demand and had less HD channels all together). But having no HD for the premiums or free stuff is no different than I am used to with BHN previously. Same thing.... you can get PPV in HD and that is about it.

I am sure they will add premium HD stuff at some point (as will BHN cable). It is new with DirecTV, so give it a chance. In the mean time do what I do. Search the guide for showings of the movie and record it to your DVR in HD. Plan ahead a little.

 

[skottey]

HBO, in particular, is also working on getting all of their HD channels on DirecTV.

There are 26 HBO and Cinemax HD channels available. It is going to be a while before DirecTV carries them all. I realize you didn't say Cinemax, but they are HBO owned and go hand in hand pretty much. We currently get what, five or six HBO/Max channels in HD? Putting them all up would be 20+ more channels. The new sat can handle 50 HD channels, so I have read on this site. I doubt DirecTV is going to use almost half their new capacity for HBO/MAX. Sh*t, they don't even carry all the HBO channels in SD. One thing I miss about cable was having all the Showtime, Cinemax, and HBO channels, including HBO Zone and HBO Comedy. I traded off bulk, for fewer channels of quality (HD). My cable provider only carried the flagships of HBO and Showtime in HD, all those multichannels were SD. It is nice to have all those Starz in HD with DirecTV, but yeah, they need to step it up a notch and give us more of the HBO, Showtime, and Max multichannels in HD.

 

[skottey]

I don't understand why anyone would pay for it.

Believe it or not, I know a lot of people that have at least basic cable and pay for cable and broadcast network shows on Xbox Live that they could otherwise see for free on the networks or with their basic cable subscription. I also don't understand why they would pay for it. It is strictly out of convenience I'm sure. $1.99 here and there adds up.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I, too, am disappointed in DoD. Very little HD content, outside of PPV. I did download a couple of free 40-45 minute HD programs, which took forever to download ... close to 2 hours each and I have a 10mb cable connection.

Some of the network programs which DoD changes 99 cents for SD and $1.99 for HD, are free from sites like hulu . I don't understand why they are free from internet sites yet for-fee from D*.

 

[harshness]

That's what I posted, however I am not sure what the delay is for.
Its been out for months...many months now.

Actually, VOD was officially rolled out three weeks ago.

 

[vurbano]

And you want it for free too huh Ice.

 

[rad]

I, too, am disappointed in DoD. Very little HD content, outside of PPV. I did download a couple of free 40-45 minute HD programs, which took forever to download ... close to 2 hours each and I have a 10mb cable connection.

Some of the network programs which DoD changes 99 cents for SD and $1.99 for HD, are free from sites like hulu . I don't understand why they are free from internet sites yet for-fee from D*.

Yea, the HD stuff is really slow, the SD stuff on my slower of my two connections (6MB) works fine. I think the HD slowness is the reason that D*'s pushing the HD movies out to the "My Movies (Showcase)" folder to help ease the pain.

 

[aztracker]

I noticed that when I am downloading VOD content my connection is not being saturated. Meaning Directv is not pushing the content out at full speed like they could.

Also, I want HD VOD for the movie channels. Currently the PQ on the SD movies is so bad that I will not watch them. Waaaay too overcompressed. So much so that dark scenes in a movie are barely defined and viewable. Kinda like watching a bootlegged movie recorded in a theater with a cam.

 

[jokeworm]

strange - for me, both HD and SD content downloads much faster than i can watch it .. i have zero delay between starting the download and being able to watch the program ... a 45 min HD show downloads in around 25-30 mins on my connection ... (12-15 Meg cable connection)