Dish: The "90%" company - Who cares if the other 10% is the most important?

[dare2be]

DISH could shut down for 6 months and some would happily continue to pay their bill.

As much as I hate irrational fanboy behavior, I hate hyperbolic ridiculous claims like that one as well. Where has common sense gone?

 

[demsd]

As much as I hate irrational fanboy behavior, I hate hyperbolic ridiculous claims like that one as well. Where has common sense gone?

Please. As if you have rationality locked down.

Look up the word Facetious.

 

[TheKrell]

Look up the word Facetious.

Since your post was totally lacking emoticons, I too thought you were serious!

 

[Yespage]

Please. As if you have rationality locked down.

Look up the word Facetious.

Look up Poe's Law.

 

[demsd]

Since your post was totally lacking emoticons, I too thought you were serious!

Don't think emoticons are needed when making facetious comments like that.

 

[dare2be]

I knew he was being facetious and hyperbolic, which I even mentioned in my post. Still doesn't mean I like that kind of grandstanding, especially when it's malicious facetiousness instead of just for comedic effect.

 

[demsd]

Look up Poe's Law.

What does religious/fundamentalism have to do with my post?

 

[demsd]

Still doesn't mean I like that kind of grandstanding, especially when it's malicious facetiousness instead of just for comedic effect.

Wasn't aware posts were to meet your approval. Is that in the SatelliteGuys.us forum rules?

 

[navychop]

Look up Poe's Law.

Thank you. I'll remember that one!

 

[navychop]

What does religious/fundamentalism have to do with my post?

Read broader definitions.

 

[demsd]

Read broader definitions.

Poe's law suggests that it is difficult to distinguish extremism from satire of extremism particularly regarding religion or politics.

Again, what does that have to do with my post? If I called an apple an orange, would I be right?

 

[Pepper]

I'll go ahead and mention Hitler now, to get that one out of the way.

 

[demsd]

I'll go ahead and mention Hitler now, to get that one out of the way.

I suppose you should look up Poe's Law too...

:rant:

Was that the right emoticon to use?

 

[Pepper]

How about this one.

Would be nice to get back on topic.

 

[dfergie]

How about this one.

Would be nice to get back on topic.

Good Idea, back on topic, sideshow over... !

 

[TheKrell]

Poe's law suggests that it is difficult to distinguish extremism from satire of extremism particularly regarding religion or politics.

OK, back on topic. I don't think I've weighed in on the OP, so here goes.

Programming? Meh.

3D Olympics? Now there seems like an affordable idea for which there is plenty of bandwidth available (after loss of certain channels). 3D in general seems to have faded off the map at Dish, and the chipset improvements mentioned by Charlie at one of his last Chats never materialized so far as I can see. IMHO available chipset were never the problem; the glasses and the angular subtense of the screen are. To get a decent 3D effect, you need a pretty large screen. The best I've seen are 5 stores high. Sorry, but I personally can't afford a home theater setup at this point in time.

Firmware updates? Well, at least the Hopper is getting some!

Now I fully agree with the Sling comments, and mine are even harsher. Sling Media wrote a few standalone SlingPlayers that did a pretty good (i.e. reliable, fast, no hassles) job and at least in principle could work on your local LAN even if you had no Internet service or Dish servers all died at once. IIRC when Dish acquired Sling, they cancelled all such PC player development in favor of watching your Slingbox or Sling Adapter within a browser. My feelings about DishOnline are unprintable in polite company, so I'll just leave it at that. Like I leave my Sling Adapter doing precisely nothing for months at a time. 90%? I'd call this one an epic fail.

The acquisition of Blockbuster was inspired, and I had great expectations at the time. But the OP is right; what they've done is LAME. It is unbelievable that they've gone months (or is it years?) without negotiating some streaming rights to all those actual blockbuster movies they have on disk. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place, which is easy with the lousy receiver interface, but it appears that we still have pretty much the same bunch of obscure movies and shows that we did at launch. Most are so bad they're literally unwatchable IMHO. What I expected was for Dish to give Netflix a real run for their money, and offer as many streaming titles as possible. Netflix now has over 24 million streaming subscribers. How many does Blockbuster have?

 

[ChetK]

Are you talking about the Slingbox or the Sling adapter? The Slingbox should work as slick as any app out there. It works flawlessly on my Android phones, and worked fine on my past windows phones. To my knowledge it works very well on Iphones/pads. If you are having a problem with the actual Slingbox App (not Sling Adapter) let me know maybe I can help with that. I would be lost with the my Slingboxes.

I am talking about the Sling adapter with the Dish app. I've already paid for the Sling Adapter. I already pay for the programming. I already pay for the DVR. I already pay for the high speed internet required to sling. I already bought the mobile hardware (such as a phone and an Android pad), and I've already paid for the ability to watch mobile content. Why should I have to pay for a $30 app now?

I understand all listed gripes except for the BB@home one. Blockbuster would presumably be nothing without someone swooping in and acquiring them after going bankrupt. Dish actually added services for free in implementing the BB disc and VOD content, considering that the Platinum Pack stayed the same price and was just renamed after the disc and VOD services were added to it. So how is that a negative? Even if the service doesn't work at all, it is at worst a neutral.

I don't have the Platinum pack. In fact, I don't even think the Platinum pack is offered anymore. I have to pay $10 a month for Blockbuster@Home.

I can't think of one company out there runs their business 100% perfect. It's just not possible. I will agree with about everything you said though. Dish has had some great ideas but have not implemented them very well. I think you make some great points and I think some of is nit picking but overall pretty good feedback.

I'm in agreement with pretty much everything Chet outlined in the first post. I am for the most part (not sure if it's 90% but a pretty good number) satisfied with what Dish has accomplished over the years but it is frustrating to see all the things they've started, gotten something good going and dropped all development on just before it could have became great instead of just good enough.

And I have worked for companies where getting things working 90% (or 80% or even 60%) is all you're allowed to do before they drop some new high priority project in your lap. It's no fun at all, not to mention destroying any sense of pride in your work.

I agree, they get something to where it's close to being as advertised then bam the next thing is started and all hope is lost for the previous project.

Dish is notorious for this. Just enough to get by. I wish they would stop for a second, take a deep breath, look at all their issues, fix those issues, and THEN get back to innovating. They get almost to the point where their products are awesome and then stop on the implementation part. It's frustrating because I know they could be awesome if they just went one step further.

It's true that there would be no BB at all, without Dish buying their assetts in a fire sale. But, in some ways, it might have been better to just let them die instead of trotting around a stinking corpse, and advertising it as a fit, healthy body.

Is BB@H a good deal? Sure. It's the same Platinum Pack with the addition of discs at home. OTOH, has Dish implemented the whole BB@H concept well? Of course not. The discs at home website, selection, shipping speed, even quality of envelopes, leaves much to be desired. And, the streaming has no unique BB content. It's just the same old Dish streaming VOD.

They could do it right. If they did, it would be awesome, instead of just acceptable. But, it appears that acceptable is quite good enough for a lot of people here. I prefer awesome.

Yeah, I'm paying $10 a month for it.

Actually, it is outrageous for a mobile app, especially per device.

And, YEAH, there I go again. I do so because it is DESERVED.

Yeah, $30 for a mobile app in this day and age. If the Dish app worked, the $30 app wouldn't be needed. I'm not even sure the $30 app would work with the Sling adapter. I'd hate to spend the $30 and it not work.

I think you are spot on in your critique of DISH. I have had very little success with my sling adapter and have given up entirely. As for the receivers , they use the" one step forward /two steps back "approach to software updates. They usually fix something but break something else not intended. Block buster has been a real disappointment to me and I don't see it lasting into next year as it is today. Translation the physical stores will all close sometime between now and next summer and Blockbuster will be in name only for the streaming portion of DISH receivers.

Yeah, there is not a store close to me, so I don't even bother with that.

I'm not one for complaining about something that was added for free. If it's useless, then I'm no worse or better off for it. Now, if they start charging more for it, then I would expect awesome and have a reason to complain if it wasn't.

Trust me. An acquisition that costs Dish money is NOT free to you even if you perceive that it is. Higher operating costs raise rates in the long run.

I am with you 100%. The Funky DISH Lovin' is way too weird. DISH has been providing lackluster performance the last 3-4 years. Charlie has the attention span of a 3-year-old that runs from toy to toy, never spending much more than a few minutes with any one toy -- they just don't finish what they start -- and they want to get into providing mobile service?

"They don't finish what they start" is a great way to sum up most of my points.

 

[ChetK]

Now I fully agree with the Sling comments, and mine are even harsher. Sling Media wrote a few standalone SlingPlayers that did a pretty good (i.e. reliable, fast, no hassles) job and at least in principle could work on your local LAN even if you had no Internet service or Dish servers all died at once. IIRC when Dish acquired Sling, they cancelled all such PC player development in favor of watching your Slingbox or Sling Adapter within a browser. My feelings about DishOnline are unprintable in polite company, so I'll just leave it at that. Like I leave my Sling Adapter doing precisely nothing for months at a time. 90%? I'd call this one an epic fail.

Well, the 90% on this one is that the infrastructure is there. The 10% that is missing, is the "most important part" I was talking about. The web site, navigating, everything EXCEPT actually watching the videos, works. But the most important part, and the reason the infrastructure is there, is to watch the freaking videos! Epic fail indeed.

The acquisition of Blockbuster was inspired, and I had great expectations at the time. But the OP is right; what they've done is LAME. It is unbelievable that they've gone months (or is it years?) without negotiating some streaming rights to all those actual blockbuster movies they have on disk. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place, which is easy with the lousy receiver interface, but it appears that we still have pretty much the same bunch of obscure movies and shows that we did at launch. Most are so bad they're literally unwatchable IMHO. What I expected was for Dish to give Netflix a real run for their money, and offer as many streaming titles as possible. Netflix now has over 24 million streaming subscribers. How many does Blockbuster have?

All great points. I even wrote into Dish (ceo@dishnetwork.com) to let them know how excited I was to see them acquire Blockbuster. I gave them plenty of points that detailed what the customers expect. Faster shipping of discs from the online queue. Better stock of BD movies. Start focusing on adding 3D offerings. High quality streaming. Great VOD selection. Did any of that happen? Nope. But, they have a new President to keep things as lackluster as possible. :mmph:

 

[KAB]

I don't have the Platinum pack. In fact, I don't even think the Platinum pack is offered anymore. I have to pay $10 a month for Blockbuster@Home.

Well yes you do since the platinum pack is NOW BB@Home. Renamed when the mailed disc and streamingwas added. Guess you missed that one.

 

[Teehar]

Boy this thread has got to be doomed...

My .02 for anyone who cares.

Said it before and I'll say it again,Dish is a very good sat company.They do have a lot of room for improvement.imho if they got back to the way they were when they were the little guy they could possibly be the number 1 sat/cable company.When they started outsourcing csrs and getting involved in numerous lawsuits it took away from the stellar customer service they used to have.