Echostar Press Conference Recap

[gjh3260]

I can think of a lot of reasons why it is a fitting slogan....... "It's About Time"

I think alot of subscribers will all be saying the same thing...."It's About Time"... when they finally give us what we have been waiting for...... and still waiting for...... too bad the year has just started though. 2007 is only 8 days old..

When do we we get to say "It's About Time" is the main question!?!?

HD RSN's - "It's About Time" ???
External Storage - "It's About Time" ???
Picture by Picture - "It's About Time" ???
More HD Channels - "It's About Time" ???
<Insert what you have been waiting for here> - "It's About Time" ???

"Its About Time" for a lot of what was mentioned.....including the HD RSN's.....I was really hoping there would be some positive news about the RSN's. Doesnt sound that way. I think "Its About Dime" is a better slogan.

 

[Ronald_Jeremy]

Yes, Yes, YEs. Any off the shelf USB2.0 HDD!!!! This is great; I am not surprised by the "enabling fee."

Except the 1TB at this time.

And I think the enabling fee is BS!!!!!!!!

 

[PowerMax]

Except the 1TB at this time.

And I think the enabling fee is BS!!!!!!!!

It would have been nice of E* to include an eSATA port since they obviously knew this was coming. I agree about the fee, IMHO R&D costs should be passed to the consumer within a reasonable limit. Enabling the USB interface for a single purpose did not cost E* a dime, it is built into the the 622 costs and presumably since they are now going to give then away (lease them) the R&D costs have been satisfied.

I am happy to hear about the advancing of IPTV though, I just hope it is good and/or worthwhile and of course free or VERY low cost.

 

[dimi1963]

This is a whole lotta of nothing!!!!! I cannot wait for FIOS to be rolled out in my area!!! Fees here, fees there. *E is becoming the pig that we thought we were fighting when, 10+ years ago, we signed up for *E. I am sorry but I am out!!!

 

[Neutron]

"It's About Time" should be "It's About the Benjamins"

 

[PowerMax]

"It's About Time" should be "It's About the Benjamins"

Time is money Jimmy!

 

[KingofKaty]

I agree about the fee, IMHO R&D costs should be passed to the consumer within a reasonable limit. Enabling the USB interface for a single purpose did not cost E* a dime, it is built into the the 622 costs and presumably since they are now going to give then away (lease them) the R&D costs have been satisfied.

How do you figure that? The USB interface may be there, but the software to store, retrieve, and play programs from an external hard drive had to be written by somebody at E*. Then E* has costs associated with promoting the service and training the CSR and tech support people to support it.

Who knows how many potential customers might subscribe to such a service? The Satellite Guys readers likely are not representative of the average Dish Network subscriber. We might like this service but most subscribers won't be that interested. E* should charge a reasonable fee that recoups its development costs for this service. A 250 GB external USB 2.0 drive will set you back around $100. It seems that $50-100 is a reasonable activation fee given the cost of the hardware.

 

[PowerMax]

How do you figure that? The USB interface may be there, but the software to store, retrieve, and play programs from an external hard drive had to be written by somebody at E*. Then E* has costs associated with promoting the service and training the CSR and tech support people to support it.

Who knows how many potential customers might subscribe to such a service? The Satellite Guys readers likely are not representative of the average Dish Network subscriber. We might like this service but most subscribers won't be that interested. E* should charge a reasonable fee that recoups its development costs for this service. A 250 GB external USB 2.0 drive will set you back around $100. It seems that $50-100 is a reasonable activation fee given the cost of the hardware.

If you say so charlie.

Now for the rest of us that are computer literate we know that all that development to get it to record these here fancy TV shows are all built in. We also know USB functionality, when purchased on such a scale (from a chip maker) costs about .89 cents. Then there is the fact the the ViP622 is a Linux box, which means some lazy coder needed to add '/dev/sdb1' to the list of devices allowed for output ... we know this becuase the DishPlayer already used the USB ports!!!!!

Still think that $100 is fair?!?!

Sorry, I guess I could have been more calm, but if you want to state what is fair, please back it with knowledge.

Oh as far as the support costs, anyone who does not know in this day and age to reboot should get in line behind Saddam.

EDIT: Actually, Dude (or chic) no need for me to be a jerk, I do apologize. Just please, please, please do not suggest to a big American company how much money they should try and squeeze from their loyal public.

 

[db2]

Ok, I just woke up from the heart attack I had after reading E*'s response on the HD RSN's and just wanted rant a bit.

How can E* possibly say there isn't enough content to light up the HD RSN's? All this time we thought it was a software bug and/or transponder sharing issue and today they tell us they haven't lit them up because there isn't enough content???

A quick count on HD Sports Guide reveals 70 sporting events in the next 14 days broadcast on regional networks. Not all of the RSN's are uplinked on E* and some might be duplicates so let's call it 35. 35 live HD sporting events in the next 14 days isn't enough content? How many events does ESPN have in the next 14 days?

If E* chose not to light up the RSN's for CES I shudder to think when they will actually go live. April for MLB? September for Cedia '07?

We missed MLB games this past summer, CFB games this fall and now we're missing NHL and NBA games. E*, please light up the RSN's in HD.

Thanks

 

[riffjim4069]

DishDVR Advantage Package Fees...

- DVR

DishDVR advantage package
$49.99
No extra fees
AT 200 with locals
Dual Tuner DVR comes standard
Free Install
7% savings over purchasing items separate

Ok, for those having multiple 622/625s, does "No extra fees" mean no additional DVR Fees?...or is this Dishspeak for "No extra fees" for the first DishDVR Advantge Pak DVR, but you'll be paying $5.98 for each additional DVR on your account?

 

[Drone35]

I can think of a lot of reasons why it is a fitting slogan....... "It's About Time"

I think alot of subscribers will all be saying the same thing...."It's About Time"... when they finally give us what we have been waiting for...... and still waiting for...... too bad the year has just started though. 2007 is only 8 days old..

When do we we get to say "It's About Time" is the main question!?!?

HD RSN's - "It's About Time" ???
External Storage - "It's About Time" ???
Picture by Picture - "It's About Time" ???
More HD Channels - "It's About Time" ???
<Insert what you have been waiting for here> - "It's About Time" ???

Better HD PERIOD! as in pq!

 

[kstuart]

Does anyone know more precisely what the following means with regards to the USB HD feature:

Drive will be locked to your system, to protect content

 

[PowerMax]

yeah, it means the external storage will only work with receivers on your account. So say your brother has a 622 also, that storage is not portable to his unit.

 

[kstuart]

I assume that the content is encrypted in such a way, as to make it useless to connect the USB HD to a PC ?

 

[KingofKaty]

Still think that $100 is fair?!?!

I have been a professional programmer. In my opinion there will be a lot more to it than you think.

Since neither you nor I has seen the Linux source code, we don't know how much time and effort might have been invested in making this feature work.

It is much mor than just adding another output device to a list. The software has to be able to detect and potentially format the disk, copy user account information to the disk (to prevent users from sharing hard drives), verify the security settings.

A lot of menu and user intrefaces need to be written to enable you to use this function. Users will want to be able to record directly to the hard drive or to move recordings from the internal hard drive to the external one.

Plus, these functions must be enabled for ALL users of a certain platform (and greyed out for those who don't have it enabled). Otherwise they have to maintain two seperate versions of the software. There is added costs for maintenance any time you add new features.

If E* wants to charge $100 for this function and you don't think it is a good value, then don't order it! I haven't decided yet if it is worth it. E* could have just set up a proprietary hard drive, which would have been much easier for them to implement.

 

[dont24]

"Scott asks a question. First one is about HD RSN's, and second is about CourtTV.

HD RSNs didnt roll out because not a lot of content and providers wanted more money. Carl Vogel (programming) says it will be launched sometime in 2007. "


Not a lot of content It Charlie nuts For me, it's only the ability to watch the Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics in HD. What the hell is he thinking? Dish already provides the NESN SD feed. How much more $$ can providers want? Sounds like another load of BS from Charlie. This just pisses me off! I would have thought they'd be more interested in getting the HD RSN's to their customers. I'd gladly give up a few of the Voom garbage channels, Kung Fu comes to mind, to get NESN in HD.

 

[PowerMax]

I have been a professional programmer. In my opinion there will be a lot more to it than you think.

Since neither you nor I has seen the Linux source code, we don't know how much time and effort might have been invested in making this feature work.

Are you sure about that? I know what I have seen, that you were not aware of!

It is much mor than just adding another output device to a list. The software has to be able to detect and potentially format the disk, copy user account information to the disk (to prevent users from sharing hard drives), verify the security settings.

A lot of menu and user intrefaces need to be written to enable you to use this function. Users will want to be able to record directly to the hard drive or to move recordings from the internal hard drive to the external one.

Plus, these functions must be enabled for ALL users of a certain platform (and greyed out for those who don't have it enabled). Otherwise they have to maintain two seperate versions of the software. There is added costs for maintenance any time you add new features.

Again I say, this has already been done. The unit in question the 622 is able to do this to DishPlayer, (a proprietary iPod if you like) and the 622 also recognizes other USB hardware through the kernel such as digital cameras, etc, all before this announcement.

If E* wants to charge $100 for this function and you don't think it is a good value, then don't order it! I haven't decided yet if it is worth it. E* could have just set up a proprietary hard drive, which would have been much easier for them to implement.

At $100 they would have one user and that would be you. For free they are likely to have ten of thousands satisified, brand loyal customers. You have proven once again that most coders don't even understand the inter-workings of a PC ... and that is why they code.

 

[tnsprin]

Announcing the names of the new programming packages.

- America's top 60 is now the top 100 $19.99
- Top120 is now top 200 $32.99
- Top 180 is now top 250 $42.99

America's Everything pak $79.99

DishHD
- 30 National Channels
- Add to any AT package for $20

Are those new prices right? This is a lower price for AEP then now. Means The equivalent of Platinum is $99.99.

 

[dont24]

Are those new prices right? This is a lower price for AEP then now. Means The equivalent of Platinum is $99.99.

I was thinking the same thing. No way Charlie's going to annouce the price increase at the Press conference. AEP pack will be $89.99 Feb 1st.

 

[BobaBird]

the 622 is able to do this to DishPlayer, (a proprietary iPod if you like)

The portable player is called PocketDISH. The DISHPlayer is a model 7100 or 7200 receiver/WebTV box. Some of the newer DVRs unfortunately also had that name attached. I think it's a better name for a portable device than a STB, but the name is already in use.