Dish-Well, no new HD, see ya
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Some people just can't believe that a cable company can provide a quality product. A good analog picture can beat the pants of the over compress SD channels that D* , V* and E* broadcast.
Bruce
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rad said:
Well, I could not believe it either, I switched because of more HD and a great lease plan for the HD-DVR, I never thought the picture would be that much better, ( well I thought HD would be about the same, SD did make me wonder) both for SD and HD, the analog channels are being moved to the digital spectrum, done by March 3rd here.
Last thing, I thought I would miss the HD-Nets a lot more, but I really like the InHD channels, one thing to look forward on InHD, MLB games in HD all summer long.
bruce said:
bruce said:
Now do you remember? You said that on the last page.
Regarding Analog vs Digital SD, I will watch OTA Analog over a subchannel digital SD anyday. Our local NBC broadcasts the Jail Blazers on 2 digital channels and they both suck big time, I have to watch the analog channel.
FWIW, the Japanese HD system is Analog at 800 lines resolution. The US almost adopted that, but digital compression came along before the standards were ironed out.
bruce said:
Ok, first off. HD PQ on cable is NOT any better than it is on *E. I don't think anyone else here would dispute that. I mean, that is pretty much just impossible. Also, I've seen cable PQ on a widescreen TV on both Time Warner Cable and Comcast Cable vs. *E and in both instances it was worth than the native digital output from *E or even *D for that matter. I'm sure some areas are better than others but I haven't seen it. But hey, in the end, if it suits you better, and you are happy. Then I'm happy for ya.
Bruce
Bender and Chloe, the real Members of the Year
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- Nov 29, 2003
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ocaddict said:
Go talk to Ken H at AVS, he is the main mod there for HDTV, he also lives in the Metro Detroit area as I do, he has reported over and over, whatever Comcast gets here from the main feeds, they send out, no compression for HD at all, just because you have not seen it does not mean it is untrue.You are right, every area is different, but here, it is great, which is what I am basing the SD/HD picture on.
I have had E* since 1999, so I think I know what the picture looks like on it, soft on SD, great on HD, now with Comcast, it is sharper with SD and a little better on HD.
All my displays have been ISF'ed, so I am not just off the bus as far as picture quality goes....dude.
Here in NJ the local cable companies are still using analog for the bulk of the channels and they look awful (Weather Channel has ghosting). I keep hearing rumors that Cablevision is going to sell its wired assets to Time Warner or Comcast. I couldn't be happier... then finally they may upgrade things here in Central NJ and make Cable at least a competitor again in my area quality wise (I'd love to be able to get an HD PVR if the hard disk was large enough (I've got about 6 hours of HD programs and 80 hours of SD programming recorded).
C'MON E* gimme some more HD... I can't believe I'm actually considering going back.....
C'MON E* gimme some more HD... I can't believe I'm actually considering going back.....
No clear leader in HD
In my area there is no clear leader in HD at the present. E* and D* are essentially equal with E* having TNT HD and D* having Universal HD. The distant HD nets of D* appear to be available to subscribers in O&O DMA's. VOOM has a lot of HD, but they do not have HDNET, HDNET Movies, INHD, or many of the essential SD stations. If I switched to my local Comcast cable, I would lose HDNET, HDNET movies, TNT HD, WB HD, UPN HD, and TBS HD and gain INHD1, INHD2, and STARZ HD.
Since I invested in a very good OTA system which picks up all of the Atlanta HD stations perfectly except for CBS and PBS that are presently low powered and I am eligible for the E* CBS HD feed (over 60 miles away), I am as well off staying with E*. If I was starting into HD today, I would go with Comcast and not spend the money and effort to erect a good antenna system.
Right now it appears that the HD customers of E* and D* are in limbo until they offer MPEG-4 capable HD DVR's. If the 942 appears to be relatively stable when it is introduced, I might sell my 6000 and apply the $250 for the initial lease fee on the 942. It appears that most HD customers are better off waiting for 6 or 9 months until a real HD leader emerges and then jump (if the new leader is not who we are with).
In my area there is no clear leader in HD at the present. E* and D* are essentially equal with E* having TNT HD and D* having Universal HD. The distant HD nets of D* appear to be available to subscribers in O&O DMA's. VOOM has a lot of HD, but they do not have HDNET, HDNET Movies, INHD, or many of the essential SD stations. If I switched to my local Comcast cable, I would lose HDNET, HDNET movies, TNT HD, WB HD, UPN HD, and TBS HD and gain INHD1, INHD2, and STARZ HD.
Since I invested in a very good OTA system which picks up all of the Atlanta HD stations perfectly except for CBS and PBS that are presently low powered and I am eligible for the E* CBS HD feed (over 60 miles away), I am as well off staying with E*. If I was starting into HD today, I would go with Comcast and not spend the money and effort to erect a good antenna system.
Right now it appears that the HD customers of E* and D* are in limbo until they offer MPEG-4 capable HD DVR's. If the 942 appears to be relatively stable when it is introduced, I might sell my 6000 and apply the $250 for the initial lease fee on the 942. It appears that most HD customers are better off waiting for 6 or 9 months until a real HD leader emerges and then jump (if the new leader is not who we are with).
bruce said:
Bruce, you are right, however, you are fortunate to live in area of influence by a certain senior engineer John Stennis (if I recall right). Stennis is one of the proverbial jedi engineers that comcast happened to pull to the "dark side" and work for the empire many years ago. He's rock solid in know how and I am pretty sure he's one of those special people that happened to push your comcast above the call.
The point though is that your area is by far the exception, half the time comcast doesn't give a damn about quality, but that area just happened hire a few gunslingers engineers who know their sh*t backwards and forwards. The vast majority of cable areas lag behind in pq and service compared to satellite. I will, however, not dispute your claim about the detroit area. PS just remember your the exception and not the rule.
Not just Comcast in Detroit
In SW PA, Adelphia HD is certainly at least equal if not a bit better than E* most certainly. Of course, you can really only compare on a few channels because there isn't much there on E*. In fact, it's pretty much just HDNet and DiscHD. I can't really compare CBS because it's local CBS in HD on Adelphia vs NY CBS via E* so you never know where any difference would come from. No other networks on E*, so no way to compare. PQ is pretty close I think. Sound seems a bit better on Adelphia. I never have sound dropouts on Adelphia and did have them with E*.
So, not just a jedi knight or two, and if Detroit is the exception - it's not the only one. A couple weeks ago a local HT shop dropped E* in favor of Adelphia for that reason. Last week a local cigar and coffee shop dropped E* in favor of Adelphia. To be honest, it had far more to do with content than with PQ, but both have agreed that PQ was "at least" as good via cable HD.
In SW PA, Adelphia HD is certainly at least equal if not a bit better than E* most certainly. Of course, you can really only compare on a few channels because there isn't much there on E*. In fact, it's pretty much just HDNet and DiscHD. I can't really compare CBS because it's local CBS in HD on Adelphia vs NY CBS via E* so you never know where any difference would come from. No other networks on E*, so no way to compare. PQ is pretty close I think. Sound seems a bit better on Adelphia. I never have sound dropouts on Adelphia and did have them with E*.
So, not just a jedi knight or two, and if Detroit is the exception - it's not the only one. A couple weeks ago a local HT shop dropped E* in favor of Adelphia for that reason. Last week a local cigar and coffee shop dropped E* in favor of Adelphia. To be honest, it had far more to do with content than with PQ, but both have agreed that PQ was "at least" as good via cable HD.
Bruce
Bender and Chloe, the real Members of the Year
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kelljc said:
No HD-DVR, no RSN, no Lifetime,no InHD 1 and 2, too much money ( $100.00 dollars a month with just one STB, my bill is $120.00 for all those channels, 2 HD-DVRs, broadband, landline phone for six months, then $130.00 for 16 months) and I have enough HD now, with all my network locals in HD ( and UPN and WB in HD which I pick up with my Samsung-165 OTA STB), all the premium movie channels in HD, Discovery, ESPN and InHD 1 and 2, I miss too much now, which is why I have a HD-DVR.
And kelljc, I read your posts in the Voom Forums, and you complain about how non-Voomers post over there, one word for that-Hypocrite
question
just a question, i'm thinking about leaving dish for direct tv, since we pay for a month in advance when we sign up for dish, do they leave the service on for a month after you cancel. also if i stay with dish and i leave my recievers connected to a phone line, can i avoid the 4.99 additional reciever access fee. thanks for any help anyone has
just a question, i'm thinking about leaving dish for direct tv, since we pay for a month in advance when we sign up for dish, do they leave the service on for a month after you cancel. also if i stay with dish and i leave my recievers connected to a phone line, can i avoid the 4.99 additional reciever access fee. thanks for any help anyone has
NO you can only avoid the phone line or outlet fee. The additional receiver fees are not negotiable.
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