FYI: New Dish Network Package $9.99/mo.

[BabaLouie]

I discovered this package now offered by Dish Network: Essential Service Package. It costs $9.99/month and includes:

Hallmark
HGTV
Food Network
The Weather Channel
Discovery Kids
Boomerang
The History Channel
MSNBC
Bloomberg
TLC
AMC
Comedy Central
CMT
We
Oxygen
TBS
MTV2
and several shopping channels

Locals may be added for $5.00/month.

The catch is that, besides locals, you can't add anything else to the package, and, should you ever upgrade, you won't be able to go back down to this package.

Of course, this is not "worry-free" TV; several of these channels will be blocked out at our house.

I assume you could add the PI channels and free channels, such as
Angel One. Don't know if Angel Two and KTV will be available with this package.

If you are interested in getting this package, you need to call 1-888-773-2162. You may have to ask for an account specialist, as regular CSRs may not know about it.

I'm now leaning toward going with this package as well as Glorystar, at least for the short term.

 

[Scroll]

Amen! You never know what they'll be showing on that darned Weather Channel anymore!

 

[Elkview]

Does Glorystar have the Liberty channel?

 

[JohnH]

Does Glorystar have the Liberty channel?

The Liberty Channel is only on C band at this time.

 

[DarrenS]

It seems like you are paying $10 a month for 4 or 5 channels that the content is acceptable? I went ahead and got the family plan for $20 I was paying $15 a month with skyangel plus $5 a month second tv fee, now i will be paying $24.99 a month with a upgraded 625 PVR, so $5 more a month with new channels. and i also have FTA package coming to get Glorystar channels. and for local channels I think the content on mine is not acceptable unless your only watching news,

 

[BabaLouie]

It seems like you are paying $10 a month for 4 or 5 channels that the content is acceptable?

Well, IMHO, there is quite a bit of acceptable programming on:

Hallmark
HGTV
The Food Channel
The History Channel
Discovery Kids
Boomerang
The Weather Channel
Bloomberg

Other than some occasional shows, those channels won't be blocked at our house.

Channels that may have some acceptable programming:

TLC
TBS
MSNBC

MTV2 will always be blocked at our house. The rest, I don't know much about.

Along with Glorystar, I expect this essential package to meet most of our viewing needs. In my judgment, if we can accomplish that for $9.99 a month, that's a lot better than shelling out $19.99.

 

[jashobeam]

Out of those channels we get with DirecTV:

Hallmark- has adult theme shows (murder mystery) and cursing but has G rated kids movies on Saturdays
HGTV- God's name used sometimes in a non respectful way, other than that, clean
Food Network- No cursing I've heard and good entertainment
The Weather Channel- Clean
Discovery Kids- We don't watch this
Boomerang- This has a lot of the old cartoons we grew up with, but it also has some cartoon magic shows and such. We program the TV DD is allowed to watch alone so that after a show like the Jetsons goes off, that TV will switch back to a "safe" station where cartoon magic is less likely to be shown.
The History Channel- Cursing, nudity even in commercials ("natives" with nothing on), discussions on sex, etc.
MSNBC- We don't watch this
Bloomberg- We don't watch this
TLC- Has clean shows, but also has murder documentaries and specials with cursing, violence and sexual topics
AMC- Has TV14 and R rated movies I think, but also has G rated family movies. We almost always just DVR off this channel
Comedy Central- R rated movies
CMT- We don't watch
We- Disussions on sex, PG 13 movies, cursing, murder mysteries
Oxygen- TV 14 shows, discussions on sex (very explicit)
TBS- Shows with cursing, sexual situations, PG 13 movies
MTV2- Haven't watch MTV since I was a teen. All non-Christian music channels are not on our watch lists.

All in all, the DVR is our friend. With having it we can tape clean shows and movies that appear at night or when we are not home and watch those as we want to. Without it, I don't think we would have DirecTV since you don't have something clean to watch that is also interesting 24/7 without DVR. Other than MTV, none of the other channels we have blocked. My child is unable to change channels, so we are in control of what gets shown in our home. Channels never on my guide: Al Gore's channel, REAL (all reality TV shows), the Disney set and the lesbian channel.

 

[catkoko]

I would like to add that HGTV does have quite a bit of openly gay/lesbian couples "house hunting" as well a few gay? designers.

I recently saw WE, they are running it as a preview and was not impressed, skimpy clothes sex etc

I hve to ask, is ther really a "lesbian channel" on direct tv? I guess we have been sheltered with only sky angel all these years

 

[DarrenS]

Yes HGTV does have alot of that gay couples, there also is a few channels on Skyangel that teach false Doctrine witch can be just as dangerous as the Sin in secular channels. when i stood in front of TV for the first time after newbirth i could see the Sin so clearly that i ran to my attic and pulled cable out of my house. witch i was stealing by the way. also sold all my DVDs except good ones Old yeller, Little house, etc

 

[jashobeam]

I would like to add that HGTV does have quite a bit of openly gay/lesbian couples "house hunting" as well a few gay? designers.

I recently saw WE, they are running it as a preview and was not impressed, skimpy clothes sex etc

I hve to ask, is ther really a "lesbian channel" on direct tv? I guess we have been sheltered with only sky angel all these years

Yes, it's called LOGO.

With HGTV I've noticed that the gay couples are almost always on Sunday, or HGTV will have a day of almost all gay couples for several hours. They even poke fun of it in one of their commercials where a man and woman watching the show has this conversation:

Man- I thought they were brothers.
Woman- They are not brothers.

At least with those you can tell at the beginning. On PBS I've been watching a simple documentary and someone started using four letter words suddenly. Very dissappointing.



One more thing, the ratings on DirecTV don't give you the whole picture. There can be four letter words and nudity in a show, and it will get a G rating.

 

[Scroll]

I'm beginning to think there needs to be a rating to inform of gay & lesbian content. Yea, I'm sure that wouldn't cause a bit of controversy.

I was watching a science fiction series on BBCA and midway through the 2nd season they launched a full blown gay love affair between 2 of the main characters. I was sad.

I'm not suggesting they don't have a right to create and air content of their choosing but I think the public at least deserves to know ahead of time if subject matter is going to be in this area.

Many have said after switching to even Dish Family they must have been sheltered from a lot of such content thanks to the SA values in it's programming. Yet another reason it will be missed.

 

[Katybug]

I am also a current SkyAngel only subscriber and I can tell you that I have been shocked multiple times at the programming on regular cable while over at my elderly father's house recently and some of it is commercials!!!

I am already seeing myself going into withdrawl from lack of Christian programming when Sky Angel ends. I have ordered a good digital TV antenna in the hopes that I will be able to pull in a TBN station that antennaweb says I should be able to get, but I don't. I am hoping to eventually get Glorystar, but that is going to take some saving.

Has anyone signed up for the Dish Essentials package at this point? This may be an option for us because of the price and then try to save and get Glorystar when we can, or we may just get Digital Programming with our antenna and save all our entertainment budget for Glorystar. However, My 11 year old son loves the History Channel and he has been wanting to get the Dish Essentials since he heard that the Dish Essentails package has it. I may just have to call and see how much hook up fees would be. Does anyone have this information? Will the receiver and dish we use for Sky Angel be good enough to receive this? From what I understand, we will have to have the satellite repointed? I am really not knowlegeable about this at all, so I am sorry if the questions seem really dumb! Thanks for the help!

Katybug

 

[Scroll]

Oh don't even get me started on commercials!

I can be watching some mild, older, PG movie and out of the blue here comes scantily clad models hawking this thing or the other and often making outlandish claims or unrealistically asking me to "call them" at some ridiculous cost.

I'm not that much of a prude but it really upsets the continuity of the experience, especially some of those late night renderings.

I like how the Brits & and some Canadians used to handle commercial breaks. They'd just run them at a block in between shows if I'm not mistaken. Back when I had a StarChoice sub sometimes they would just play music to fill in the commercial gaps.

I have always been irritated at having to pay a subscription fee yet STILL have to endure worthless commercials one after the other, and some much worse than others. My solution was Tivo, at least if I wasn't watching live. But now with SA going dark and most other options not so Tivo friendly looks like I'll have to figure something else out.

 

[BabaLouie]

I am also a current SkyAngel only subscriber and I can tell you that I have been shocked multiple times at the programming on regular cable while over at my elderly father's house recently and some of it is commercials!!!

I am already seeing myself going into withdrawl from lack of Christian programming when Sky Angel ends. I have ordered a good digital TV antenna in the hopes that I will be able to pull in a TBN station that antennaweb says I should be able to get, but I don't. I am hoping to eventually get Glorystar, but that is going to take some saving.

Has anyone signed up for the Dish Essentials package at this point? This may be an option for us because of the price and then try to save and get Glorystar when we can, or we may just get Digital Programming with our antenna and save all our entertainment budget for Glorystar. However, My 11 year old son loves the History Channel and he has been wanting to get the Dish Essentials since he heard that the Dish Essentails package has it. I may just have to call and see how much hook up fees would be. Does anyone have this information? Will the receiver and dish we use for Sky Angel be good enough to receive this? From what I understand, we will have to have the satellite repointed? I am really not knowlegeable about this at all, so I am sorry if the questions seem really dumb! Thanks for the help!

Katybug

They won't let me sub to the Essentials package while I have Sky Angel.
So the day after SA ends, I'm going to do this.

You can use your current receiver. Yes, the dish would have to be re-pointed to get the programming. It's not that difficult to do. Your present dish will probably only get one satellite at a time; since the Essentials package has programming on both the 119 and 110 satellites, you will likely have to get a dish 500 (two-position dish) to get all the channels. I don't know what an installer would charge you for this...You may be able to find one of these dishes for cheap at a garage sale.

 

[jashobeam]

I hate most commercials, and the PG ones are just terrible these days. I use DVR for movies, then I can just skip all the commercials at a high speed.

 

[Scroll]

They won't let me sub to the Essentials package while I have Sky Angel.
So the day after SA ends, I'm going to do this.

You can use your current receiver. Yes, the dish would have to be re-pointed to get the programming. It's not that difficult to do. Your present dish will probably only get one satellite at a time; since the Essentials package has programming on both the 119 and 110 satellites, you will likely have to get a dish 500 (two-position dish) to get all the channels. I don't know what an installer would charge you for this...You may be able to find one of these dishes for cheap at a garage sale.

Actually you can also use a 2nd 18' dish and connect the 2 positions with a SW21 multi switch. This is the easiest self-install as far as pointing.

But I suppose if you're going to the expense of having an installer do the work I would go ahead and pay the extra bucks for one of the newer dishes since you might eventually need it. Maybe not something you need today, but it's cheaper than a 2nd call later short of a Dish upgrade promo.

 

[Scroll]

I'm already having 2nd thoughts on sticking with Dish at all. After my last post I went to check out my account information.


First, Dish had credit card info for me from like a year ago when I had paid programming. Since I signed up for Dish Family a few weeks ago I also switched to mailed statements and requested no more auto pay. So I showed a balance for 1 month in advance and my partial month. Fine.

So tonight I see that my account is again showing me on auto pay and they've already tacked on another month in advance, so I'm up to over $50 due on a $20 a month service and haven't received 1 bill yet.

These kind of games is why I stopped subbing to a Top Pak many years ago and limited my subs to add-ons like locals & Encore. (I later dropped those too about a year ago due to yet more games, which I posted about in this forum previously)

I guess for many folks this is not that big of a deal. But for those who choose Dish Family or Essentials mainly as an alternative for the cash strapped be advised!

Personally I just find these little billing games pretty darned frustrating.

 

[Scroll]

Well lemme tell ya!

The moral of the story, if you want the Essentials Service call the regular Dish number and ask for an "Account Specialist." Apparently there's no other way to get it.

Now the story.

After numerous emails I got nowhere with switching to the Essentials Service. I was told they weren't allowed to process the change. Did the online chat and got essentially same answer.

So I called the number on the screen from one of the now gone SA channels that says call Dish and the rep only knew about the HD Essentials and then transfered me to a regular rep. She was sure no such thing as the Essentials Service even existed, though after reading my account notes I think she began to believe me based on what other reps had written.

Get to the 1st rep and he can't help. Then I got transfered to an "Account Specialist" who I was on the phone with all of 30 seconds and the change was done.

Good night! All this grief for something that took all of 30 seconds?

The sad news, once the change took place the old Sky Angel channel placeholders evaporated entirely. I'm gonna miss that music! Maybe I'll find it on one of the info channels. I just don't recall hearing that particular format before. It was just right to help block out street noise at night and wasn't disruptive.

Well the best part is she confirmed that my bill will now be $14.99 for the Essentials Service, locals, and Cinemax. And this programming actually suits me much better than the Family Pak w/ locals which was I was paying $25 or so to get in hopes that perhaps the SA channels might linger a while in that tier.

I retained the Info Pak channels but lost Fox News and DayStar but gained CNN & MSNBC plus a few channels that play movies.

Wish I'd have known of this Pak long ago! Along with GloryStar I have tons more programming I actually watch all for $15 a month than I would have under any other service tier.

 

[Katybug]

Has anyone who had only SkyAngel DBS made the move to Dish for the Essential Service or Dishfamily? I have been wanting to make this call, but my Dad is in the hospital and I have just not had the chance. I was hoping my current Dish(Dish 500 dual LNB) would work and am wondering what kind of hook up fees and/or install fees I am looking at? I was wondering if an install is even necessary, maybe I could possibly even turn the dish myself? If anyone has this info, thanks for sharing.

Also, anyone who now has the essential service package. Are you happy with the programming/selection? Am I understanding that people changing to this option are able to get the PI package? Would the PI channels at 110 and 119 both be able to be added to this package?

I am somewhat reluctant to jump to Dish because I have friends and family that have had really bad experiences. However, after 4 days of only OTA digital programming, (or NOT watching) I am ready to have something to watch! This package seems like an amazing deal and I am hoping it won't cost too much to get set up.

Thanks,
Katybug

 

[TheKrell]

I was hoping my current Dish (Dish 500 dual LNB) would work...

Dish 500 dishes are usually teamed with a Y adapter and a really wide LNB assembly called a "twin" which can see 119 and 110 with a single dish. A "dual" is merely a single LNB with two receiver outputs. So the question of the hour is, do you have a wide twin LNB, or a narrow dual LNB? The narrow one will only see a single satellite at one time, regardless of the dish.