HD feeds being added to Welcome Pack!

[pattykay]

I have been getting HD in the Welcome Pack since I downgraded to it a couple years ago. My name is Groucho Marx in case anyone from Dish sees this.

Yes, this is an old thread, and the post you quoted was from 2015. So, HD in Welcome Pack has been official for about four years now.

My complaints are I can't get Fox News in the Welcome Pack and my bill is still too high. And the harddrive in my H3 is way too small 8 or 10 TB would be better.

I agree on all of the above. It would be nice if we could at least add the News Pack to Welcome Pack. In the meantime, I just go to my local McDonald's to eat whenever I want to watch Fox News, since that is usually what is playing on the TV's in the restaurant. I don't know if they are going to increase the size of the internal hard drives in the receivers anytime soon, but I hear Dish is finally working on supporting larger external hard drives. I have no idea what the exact size limitation will be (in other words, whether it will be close to the 8 or 10 TB you suggested) but at least it should be significantly larger than the 2 TB external hard drives currently supported.

 

[jerryez]

Dish has removed the Welcome Pack from the compare packages list now. Scott, have you heard anything about when those of us grandfathered in would be terminated and forced into another package, like we were with several other packages in the past.

 

[DISH Support]

Dish has removed the Welcome Pack from the compare packages list now. Scott, have you heard anything about when those of us grandfathered in would be terminated and forced into another package, like we were with several other packages in the past.

Most of the time when a package is no longer in circulation like that, it'll hang on for quite a while before it's removed completely. I haven't heard one way or the other on this, but for instance the Dish America Gold and Silver packages have been grandfathered and not able to be added for the last three or so years, and it's only been recently that they've been phased out completely. Still, unless the packages are removed from all of our internal systems, the package change usually isn't forced unless something else is happening like a different programming change or an equipment change.

- Phoenix

 

[comfortably_numb]

Most of the time when a package is no longer in circulation like that, it'll hang on for quite a while before it's removed completely. I haven't heard one way or the other on this, but for instance the Dish America Gold and Silver packages have been grandfathered and not able to be added for the last three or so years, and it's only been recently that they've been phased out completely. Still, unless the packages are removed from all of our internal systems, the package change usually isn't forced unless something else is happening like a different programming change or an equipment change.

- Phoenix

So, is Welcome Pack still available for purchase?

 

[DISH Support]

So, is Welcome Pack still available for purchase?

Great question! When these packages are retired, some departments *may* have access to add them in extenuating circumstances, but as the eventual goal (as I said before, so far it's been a couple years) is probably to completely remove the package that will be highly discouraged, and most agents won't be able to add it.

- Phoenix

 

[pattykay]

Dish has removed the Welcome Pack from the compare packages list now. Scott, have you heard anything about when those of us grandfathered in would be terminated and forced into another package, like we were with several other packages in the past.

If that does happen (forcing us to another package) then we had better get some deep long-term discounts on the new package, just like what happened when other packages were phased-out in the past. (The Absolute HD package comes to mind, as one example.)

 

[pattykay]

What is the current price for Welcome Pack? I've been out of the loop for awhile.

To update my answer, the new pricing effective January 14, 2020 is $30.99 per month for grandfathered subscribers and $34.99 per month for all other Welcome Pack subscribers. So, a $5 per month increase either way.

 

[jerryez]

To update my answer, the new pricing effective January 14, 2020 is $30.99 per month for grandfathered subscribers and $34.99 per month for all other Welcome Pack subscribers. So, a $5 per month increase either way.

I would not call that a deep discount, but maybe a deep screw. Dish has phased out so many packages over the years and every time we the customer got screwed. MY image imoji has been blindfolded, so I can't see how deep they are screwing me.

 

[satjay]

The price for sure seems to be making the welcome pack lose the luster it once had

 

[pattykay]

I would not call that a deep discount, but maybe a deep screw. Dish has phased out so many packages over the years and every time we the customer got screwed. MY image imoji has been blindfolded, so I can't see how deep they are screwing me.

Oh, I completely agree. Our "discounted" price is going to be a dollar higher than the previous non-discounted price. At least we are being allowed to keep the package, though. If the package were completely phased out, and we were allowed to keep paying that same price (for awhile anyway) for a higher package which would normally be much more expensive, then that would be the type of deep discount to which I was referring. Such as the discount that Absolute HD subscribers got when they were forced to switch to an America's Top package.

 

[pattykay]

While these are obviously not HD feeds (since they are audio-only channels) I thought that I should mention that many music channels have apparently been added to Welcome Pack. Dish never ended the free preview of the channels that had been playing Holiday music. This means that any receiver with International Basic, Chinese Basic, Welcome Pack, Flex Pack, or Smart Pack (or even deactivated receivers with a purple G3 Smart Card) can still access the following channels at no additional cost:

892 - Viva Mariachi​

927 - City Lights​

939 - Mo' Soul​

941 - Viva Mariachi​

951 - Country Gold​

967 - Jazz Traditions​

972 - Intermezzo​

974 - Swing Kings​

6014* - SiriusXM Coffee House​

6049* - SiriusXM Soul Town​

6058* - SiriusXM Prime Country​

6063* - SiriusXM The Message​

6076* - SiriusXM Symphony Hall​

​

*On receivers with the Hopper interface, SiriusXM channels appear on collapsible channel 99. So, replace the "60" with "099-" to get the Hopper channel number.

As far as I know, this is the longest Dish has ever gone without ending the Holiday music channel free preview, so this change may be permanent this time. If so, it is a very welcome addition, and is much appreciated!

 

[Bobby]

While these are obviously not HD feeds (since they are audio-only channels) I thought that I should mention that many music channels have apparently been added to Welcome Pack. Dish never ended the free preview of the channels that had been playing Holiday music. This means that any receiver with International Basic, Chinese Basic, Welcome Pack, Flex Pack, or Smart Pack (or even deactivated receivers with a purple G3 Smart Card) can still access the following channels at no additional cost:

892 - Viva Mariachi​

927 - City Lights​

939 - Mo' Soul​

941 - Viva Mariachi​

951 - Country Gold​

967 - Jazz Traditions​

972 - Intermezzo​

974 - Swing Kings​

6014* - SiriusXM Coffee House​

6049* - SiriusXM Soul Town​

6058* - SiriusXM Prime Country​

6063* - SiriusXM The Message​

6076* - SiriusXM Symphony Hall​

​

*On receivers with the Hopper interface, SiriusXM channels appear on collapsible channel 99. So, replace the "60" with "099-" to get the Hopper channel number.

As far as I know, this is the longest Dish has ever gone without ending the Holiday music channel free preview, so this change may be permanent this time. If so, it is a very welcome addition, and is much appreciated!

Or, maybe you just let the cat out of the bag and they will now be removed after their oversight....

 

[pattykay]

Or, maybe you just let the cat out of the bag and they will now be removed after their oversight....

It wouldn't be the first time that has happened with channels that I listed in this thread, and it probably won't be the last.

Here is the uplink report from when they ended the mapdown to the 70's - 90's range that they normally do during the Holiday season: Uplink Activity Updates » 2020 » January » 15

Notice that the preview status ended for the three channels that had been mapped to the 96 - 98 range. Two of those channels (947 and 949, mapped to 98 and 97) are only carried during the Holiday season, and thus were Hidden. The other channel (962) that was mapped next to them on channel 96 also had the Preview flag removed. All of the other Holiday music channels remained in Preview mode on their regular channel numbers.

 

[pattykay]

It has been awhile since I last updated this thread. As I already posted in a new thread recently, ShopHQ HD has been added to Welcome Pack on channel 244, but the HD feed is apparently only available on Eastern Arc.

Also, I just noticed today that my sister is getting Tennis Channel HD (channel 400) with her Welcome Pack subscription. She is only getting the HD feed, which probably makes sense, since she is on Eastern Arc. I checked my receivers (both Eastern Arc and Western Arc) and I am not getting Tennis Channel with my International Basic subscription. So, it is definitely not a free preview.

 

[DISH Support]

It has been awhile since I last updated this thread. As I already posted in a new thread recently, ShopHQ HD has been added to Welcome Pack on channel 244, but the HD feed is apparently only available on Eastern Arc.

Also, I just noticed today that my sister is getting Tennis Channel HD (channel 400) with her Welcome Pack subscription. She is only getting the HD feed, which probably makes sense, since she is on Eastern Arc. I checked my receivers (both Eastern Arc and Western Arc) and I am not getting Tennis Channel with my International Basic subscription. So, it is definitely not a free preview.

Hello, crodrules! We can look more into your concerns regarding the Tennis Channel. If you'd like to reach out to our Customer Support team for help, they can be reached here, MyDISH. Thank you!

 

[pattykay]

Hello, crodrules! We can look more into your concerns regarding the Tennis Channel. If you'd like to reach out to our Customer Support team for help, they can be reached here, MyDISH. Thank you!

Translation:
"Your sister should not be getting this channel. Please give us her account information so we can get that channel removed as soon as possible. Thank you!"

Comment above is based on the Welcome Pack list on the mydish site, here: MyDISH
If this list is outdated, and Tennis Channel actually is included in Welcome Pack, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[DISH Support]

We'd be happy to take a look into this concern further with you as there have been some updates to the channel packs. Please reach out to our Customer Support team for help, they can be reached here, MyDISH. Thank you!

 

[pattykay]

Chat confirmed the same things I already knew:

• Tennis Channel is not included in Welcome Pack, and they provided a link to the same webpage that I linked in post number 236 above.
• Tennis Channel is not currently in free preview, either.

They did assure me that my sister will not be charged extra for this channel. I was just curious if anyone else with Welcome Pack is also receiving Tennis Channel, which is why I posted here.

 

[ChadT41]

Chat confirmed the same things I already knew:

• Tennis Channel is not included in Welcome Pack, and they provided a link to the same webpage that I linked in post number 236 above.
• Tennis Channel is not currently in free preview, either.

They did assure me that my sister will not be charged extra for this channel. I was just curious if anyone else with Welcome Pack is also receiving Tennis Channel, which is why I posted here.

The DIrT team has been kind of robotic on all platforms, and unfortunately about as useful as the IVR when you call in. Not just the SG DIRT members, I am talking any and all platforms. Oh how I wish Bernie was still around here so he could see himself how ineffective the online support has become. That was one of their greatest strengths, and now they are equal to the 3rd world junk that ATt offers up for Directv.

 

[pattykay]

The DIrT team has been kind of robotic on all platforms...

Even worse, now whenever you use Chat, you literally get a bot answering you, before you ever get the chance to chat with an actual person. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to get past the bot. Rather than typing my question, I simply type "Agent." At that point, it prompts me to enter my name and account information, just like I would expect to have to do in order to start a chat about my account. After entering that, I get right through to an agent, with no long wait times like there almost always used to be on chat. So, maybe the bot actually is helping to weed out many people with questions that can be easily answered, in order to keep actual agents available for those of us who need them. It is still a bit annoying to be greeted by a "virtual" agent, though.