I have only one TV, I subscribe to AT120, and I have a stable, ancient Dishplayer (3rd HD, now 80G, ~10x the size of the original 8.6G drive). I want an HD DVR, a similar bunch of channels, locals, and Showtime.
When I got the HDTV in January to replace an analog set, I signed up for Charter HD cable to see if the grass might be greener. I knew the 921 wasn’t for me, and the 942 wasn’t available, but I didn’t want to cancel Dish until cable proved better. I'm not sure it has, or will.
So here’s a comparison of Charter HD cable against my hopes for Dish with a 942:
Picture Quality
HD is stunning, and makes everything else look like garbage. Though analog channels are seriously bad, it’s criminal when so-called HD channels (like NESN in the Boston area) upconvert and stretch 4:3 480i to fill an HD 16:9 screen!
Charter offers about 70 analog channels, including CBS and other non-HD locals, CSPAN, CNN, MSNBC, TNT, TBS, SciFi, Comedy Central, and the rest of the Expanded Basic tier.
My Digital channels include 10 Showtime/TMC premiums, PPVs, VODs, and other interactive channels.
For HD, Charter gives me ESPN, Discovery, NESN (supposedly!), Showtime HD, and 3 locals (no CBS, UPN, WB, or PBS).
Charter’s analog picture quality is substantially worse than what the 942 would offer on the Expanded Basic equivalents, and the 942’s OTA HD tuner would crush the cable locals. Plus, the 942 OTA HD tuner should give me access to the DTV subchannels that Charter probably won’t ever carry. Advantage 942.
Programming
Charter has the “Snow Emergency. All Schools Closed.” channel, and Dish doesn’t --it’s my kids’ favorite! And Charter has VOD that I’ve grown to like in just a few weeks. But Dish has HDNet and HDNet Movies. Bottom line, there’s not a significant difference between the two for me.
EPG
Let me start by saying I love my Dishplayer’s EPG. It’s a bit slow, but looks great, works fine, lets me search a variety of ways, and hands-down blows away the incompetent and user-hostile EPG of the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. But that’s not a relevant comparison. I need to know how the awful 8300 compares with the 942. Or maybe does the 942 compare favorably with the Dishplayer? I have to cross my fingers unless the 522 can give me an indication of what the 942 will be like. Advantage, probably 942.
Future Considerations
Don’t believe Dish’s promises. Don’t believe that Charter or Scientific Atlanta give a rat’s a$$, either. Disadvantage, me.
Cost
Here’s where things get interesting. An apples-to-apples comparison shows a monthly cost of $1.06 more for Dish. But Charter is giving me $25/month as a “former” satellite customer. And if Dish offers me a lease for the 942, they will likely charge me $249 up front, plus ~$100 installation (assuming my switches/LNBs are adequate). I’m really not interested in spending $600 (or even the $249 fee) for an MPEG-2-only receiver.
So Dish is clearly more expensive, unless some promotion materializes. Over 2-4 years, a 942 will cost nearly $700 more than Charter ($300 for switching from satellite, plus >$350 equipment/installation expenses).
Another way to look at it is Dish for one year would cost about 110% more than Charter. Over four years, Dish would cost about 20% more than Charter.
Value
I want to believe that my complaints about Charter’s picture quality will largely disappear on the 942, especially since locals will be OTA digital, not rebroadcast compressed crap.
I want to believe that using the 942 will combine the best of the Dishplayer and more (NBR!), without the stupidity and complexity of the Scientific Atlanta box.
I want to believe that $700 is simply the value of the goodness that will come along with the 942.
But I also want to believe I’m not an idiot, and I’m struggling to make sense of this.
Comments?
When I got the HDTV in January to replace an analog set, I signed up for Charter HD cable to see if the grass might be greener. I knew the 921 wasn’t for me, and the 942 wasn’t available, but I didn’t want to cancel Dish until cable proved better. I'm not sure it has, or will.
So here’s a comparison of Charter HD cable against my hopes for Dish with a 942:
Picture Quality
HD is stunning, and makes everything else look like garbage. Though analog channels are seriously bad, it’s criminal when so-called HD channels (like NESN in the Boston area) upconvert and stretch 4:3 480i to fill an HD 16:9 screen!
Charter offers about 70 analog channels, including CBS and other non-HD locals, CSPAN, CNN, MSNBC, TNT, TBS, SciFi, Comedy Central, and the rest of the Expanded Basic tier.
My Digital channels include 10 Showtime/TMC premiums, PPVs, VODs, and other interactive channels.
For HD, Charter gives me ESPN, Discovery, NESN (supposedly!), Showtime HD, and 3 locals (no CBS, UPN, WB, or PBS).
Charter’s analog picture quality is substantially worse than what the 942 would offer on the Expanded Basic equivalents, and the 942’s OTA HD tuner would crush the cable locals. Plus, the 942 OTA HD tuner should give me access to the DTV subchannels that Charter probably won’t ever carry. Advantage 942.
Programming
Charter has the “Snow Emergency. All Schools Closed.” channel, and Dish doesn’t --it’s my kids’ favorite! And Charter has VOD that I’ve grown to like in just a few weeks. But Dish has HDNet and HDNet Movies. Bottom line, there’s not a significant difference between the two for me.
EPG
Let me start by saying I love my Dishplayer’s EPG. It’s a bit slow, but looks great, works fine, lets me search a variety of ways, and hands-down blows away the incompetent and user-hostile EPG of the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. But that’s not a relevant comparison. I need to know how the awful 8300 compares with the 942. Or maybe does the 942 compare favorably with the Dishplayer? I have to cross my fingers unless the 522 can give me an indication of what the 942 will be like. Advantage, probably 942.
Future Considerations
Don’t believe Dish’s promises. Don’t believe that Charter or Scientific Atlanta give a rat’s a$$, either. Disadvantage, me.
Cost
Here’s where things get interesting. An apples-to-apples comparison shows a monthly cost of $1.06 more for Dish. But Charter is giving me $25/month as a “former” satellite customer. And if Dish offers me a lease for the 942, they will likely charge me $249 up front, plus ~$100 installation (assuming my switches/LNBs are adequate). I’m really not interested in spending $600 (or even the $249 fee) for an MPEG-2-only receiver.
So Dish is clearly more expensive, unless some promotion materializes. Over 2-4 years, a 942 will cost nearly $700 more than Charter ($300 for switching from satellite, plus >$350 equipment/installation expenses).
Another way to look at it is Dish for one year would cost about 110% more than Charter. Over four years, Dish would cost about 20% more than Charter.
Value
I want to believe that my complaints about Charter’s picture quality will largely disappear on the 942, especially since locals will be OTA digital, not rebroadcast compressed crap.
I want to believe that using the 942 will combine the best of the Dishplayer and more (NBR!), without the stupidity and complexity of the Scientific Atlanta box.
I want to believe that $700 is simply the value of the goodness that will come along with the 942.
But I also want to believe I’m not an idiot, and I’m struggling to make sense of this.
Comments?
