DISH or DIRECTV

[Sarang]

You hit on a LOT of great points Bob but I think you forgot to mention some things.

Dish has the most original movie channel programming. What I mean is you get that East, West crap but going channel by channel you get MORE movie channel content on Dish.
I have to say that's one of Dish's biggest faults much as I like some of their offerings Bob. The buy equipment bit Dish needs to start cutting the CRAP and utilizing it in urban areas because locals aren't something that's a pain to pick up. If I were Dish I'd start selling my equipment at Costco. This is a win-win because Costco can get a deal on Dish equipment and Dish can start to get heavy production on these receivers done and lower cost.
Granted D* is more expensive package startupwise but it doesn't HELP E* when someone wants to buy their equipment and DirecTV is offering $100 off rebates for their HD receivers or just plain charging $200 when Dish's base HD receiver is $400. Can someone explain to me why Dish does this?
edit: I'm buying my equipment because I don't wanna pay the $5 fee per month Dish charges for an extra receiver.

 

[M Sparks]

Dish has the most original movie channel programming. What I mean is you get that East, West crap but going channel by channel you get MORE movie channel content on Dish.

More content AND more specialized channels. SPECIFICALLY (unless DirecTV has changed their lineup recently), Dish has...

HBO Comedy (much more valuable than Signature or HBO 2 IMO)
ActionMax (not for me, but...)
5 StarMax (more like 2 or 3 StarMax, but better quality on average than Cinemax.)
Showtime Beyond (again, better than Extreme for me, maybe not you)
Starz Cinema (my favorite Starz channel, and you get TWO feeds. Almost as good as IFC.)
Starz Kids & Family (Starz has access to many Disney films, so this may be better than HBO Family, but I don't have kids and haven't payed attention.)
TMC Xtra (seems to have more unusual films than TMC. It could be my imagination or coincidence, but I seem to watch it more than TMC. Two feeds of this too.)

Plus there's Monsters HD, Majestic HD and Guy TV HD, with 8 more HD movie channels promised for January.

Now that I think about it, this is probably what made me stick with DISH

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I agree with you. I'm foremost a movie buff and Dish is the superior provider of movies, both in HD and SD and in better quality in both formats.

 

[Sarang]

I agree with you. I'm foremost a movie buff and Dish is the superior provider of movies, both in HD and SD and in better quality in both formats.

In the SBS thread I mention AznTV also formerly known as "International Channel" that Dish might pick up if they want to snag MBC. If any of you might be interested in picking it up I would contact Charlie and say it's ok to tack it on for extra money if you're willing to pay it. Basically this channel has a variety of foreign programming and is the closest you'll get right not to an import channel for Asian stuff in English though not all of it is. Also you'll get Anime uncut to my knowledge. I remember they use to air DBZ and it wasn't butchered but it WAS in Japanese and didn't have English subtitles.
Just look up AznTV or "International Channel" and you should be able to find the info.

 

[mpeltz]

If you want to record two HD OTA shows at the same time (e.g., Desperate Housewives and Law & Order: Criminal Intent on Sunday at 9pm), go to D*. D* has the only HD DVR with dual OTA tuners.

 

[GaryPen]

If I were Dish I'd start selling my equipment at Costco. This is a win-win because Costco can get a deal on Dish equipment and Dish can start to get heavy production on these receivers done and lower cost.

They already do, and have been doing so for years. I bought my first Dish system there in 1998, some add-on receivers since then, and saw a Dish display there not too long ago.

 

[Sarang]

I'm surprised Gary because as far as I've seen it's that freaking lease bit offered there. The same one that Radio Shack and the others offer. I saw NO equipment around the place.

 

[Purogamer]

I love when one of those "ernest goes to..." movies on 5 Star Max...

 

[Tom in TX]

I'm surprised Gary because as far as I've seen it's that freaking lease bit offered there. The same one that Radio Shack and the others offer. I saw NO equipment around the place.

I saw "equipment", as in boxes of receivers, at my Costco on Saturday. I was getting a 32" Sony Bravia LCD to use while my TV is being repaired. I did not notice which models they were, however.
Tom in TX

 

[M Sparks]

If you want to record two HD OTA shows at the same time (e.g., Desperate Housewives and Law & Order: Criminal Intent on Sunday at 9pm), go to D*. D* has the only HD DVR with dual OTA tuners.

Isn't it funny that we've come back around to getting local signals OTA, but we're using a satellite receiver to do it. Better yet, we're recommending one satellite service over another because it picks up broadcast networks better. I bought satellite to get AWAY from broadcast TV!

The concept of wanting to see two broadcast networks at the same time boggles my mind. I watched so little network TV BEFORE I got HD, and now I watch even less. It will be interesting to see if my viewing habits change if I ever get HD-LIL. After all, I've watched so many more B-Horror movies since I got Monsters HD. Maybe I'd be more willing to try network programming if it's in HD, but it's still got to hold my interest for more than 5 minutes and that's writing and acting, not picture quality.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I hate to admit it, but I too have watched more B-horror movies since picking up VOOM. Some that I watched years ago and just turned to to see how they looked in HD and then stayed around to watch the whole thing. Stuff I would never buy on PPV or DVD.

Maybe we'll be lucky and there will be several more of these movies in VOOM's new 1000-1500 hours of HD content.

 

[Sarang]

I saw "equipment", as in boxes of receivers, at my Costco on Saturday. I was getting a 32" Sony Bravia LCD to use while my TV is being repaired. I did not notice which models they were, however.
Tom in TX

I asked someone at Costco about it and he said they were only offering the plans. In fact that's ALL I saw. Maybe it depends on the region. Dang shame if it does sometimes because this area was suburban, not neccessarily rural.