HD Only on MPEG4?

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Dan Berndt

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Dec 2, 2003
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I own a couple of 942s and I have an HD + VOOM only package. My Dish bill runs around $50 per month including dvr fees, etc. I'm thinking of switching my 942s out with 622s and going for the MPEG4 HD channels.

When I called csr today and asked about MPEG4 HD Only pricing I was told that an HD Only package was not available and that I could only get HD bundled in a metals package. I've read in this forum somewhere that the MPEG4 HD Only package is available. One of the reasons I went to Dish after VOOM got out of the DBS business is that I read on this forum that Dish offered a HD Only package.

Can someone point to the information on the MPEG4 HD Only package that I can refer to when I'm on the phone to Dish? Can someone tell me how to get around the csr people that don't know about the HD Only package? Can someone tell me what the real price of the HD Only package is without the access fee (I've seen it listed as $20 and $28.85 in this forum)?

Also what satellites do I need to pickup to get all the MPEG2 and MPEG4 HD channels? I currently get 61.5, 110 and 119. Will I be able to get all the new MPEG4 channels with my current dish setup or will I need to replace it?

Can someone point me to a listing showing what channels are on what satellites? I know I've seen one here somewhere.

Thanks

Dan
 
From what we can piece together, Dish quietly quit offering the HD Standalone package at some point in June. A number of people have reported that CSRs have told them that no such package is presently available.
 
... and that anyone who did the mpeg4 upgrade in Feb and got all the new channels, is now screwed because no more HD channels will be activated in the HD Only Pak starting with HG & NFL, while the Bronze pak will continue to get new channels...

Hammer
 
Tom Bombadil said:
From what we can piece together, Dish quietly quit offering the HD Standalone package at some point in June. A number of people have reported that CSRs have told them that no such package is presently available.
Click to expand...


Funny it is still available for me when I hit add programming. OF course I can't add it since I already have platinum pack.
 
Another thread posting has now updated this. Apparently Dish will offer the HD stand alone again, but only for PR, U.S. Virgin Islands, AK &, I think, HI.
 
I found the post- It's from Scott, and listed as "Some Dish Network News."
It's on 110 only and costs $9.99/mo. You must sub to an AT pack also.
It includes these channels:
- ESPN HD
- Discovery HD Theater
- HDNet
- HDNet Movies
- TNT HD
 
Remember, Dan, the original poster, already has the HD Pak plus VOOM.

He was looking for a standalone package that included all, or nearly all, of the HD channels, including the MPEG4 ones. Dish did sell this package for $29.99/mon plus a $6/month fee from Feb-June of this year. People who subbed to it then, still have it.

However Dish on second thought, apparently isn't interested in selling this package for they have discontinued it, and are screwing those who signed up for it by not including any new HD channels in it. Obviously it is their intent to deep six this option.

If you want a large HD package, you are stuck with going with HD Bronze at $49.99/month. And even at that price, they are going to stick you with Lease and/or DVR fees on top of it.

Still, at least you get a goodly number of HD channels, unlike what DirecTV is (not) offering.
 
Dish is pushing people to all hd packs because they want more money and they want the average customer to get used to hd as the norm. When everyone is switched over to mpeg 4 receivers in the next 2 - 3 years , I bet that Dish will require everyone to take an hd pack . IF you want your hd ota channels then you will have to take an hd metalic pack. THen I am sure only the sd customers could still get the old programming packs.

Of course they could just make the hd packs standard and do away with all older programming packs . The new mpeg4 receivers could still see the hd channels and they could downconvert to sd for those who don't have hd tvs. I am sure eventually the older sd versions of the hd channels will eventually go away and they will show just the hd version in its place. They are already working on software that will enable the hd version in place of the sd version on the hd channels. So instead of Standard sd Starz you will get Starz hd on channel 350.

Yes I am sure we will see hd packs as the standard programming packs for everyone in the next 3 years. Especially after they turn off the analog channels in 2009. I sure hope they have all the locals done in the country by then.
 
As you say, the world is moving to HD, so it makes sense for Dish to, in effect, have their base line packages include HD. So the metallics will be the base line, and the "AT" packages will be discontinued. No big deal.

Is there any real plan to cover ALL the nation's DMAs, ever?
 
I think it will be a while until all of the SD-only packs are discontinued. Probably several years. After all, right now Dish can advertise that they have $19.99 and $29.99 packages. And there will still be a LOT of customes with only SD TVs for many years.

Cable would eat them alive in advertising if Dish's intro packs were $49.99.

However I do agree that Dish will push hard to get people into the metallic packs and will likely make them the centerpiece of new incentives and their marketing campaigns.
 
Last edited:
Certainly, several years. 2009 at the earliest is my guess. But the owners of SD only sets can still get output from HD STBs, and so they can still enjoy HD programming, just not to the degree an HDTV owner can.
 
Dish has three SD receivers (625, 322 & 311) and only two HD receivers (VIP211 & VIP622). To my knowledge none of these receivers have digital only OTA receivers like the old VOOM receiver had. We have come a long way since the introduction of digital broadcasting started but it looks like we are still several receiver generations away from all digital much less all HD.
 
navychop said:
As you say, the world is moving to HD, so it makes sense for Dish to, in effect, have their base line packages include HD. So the metallics will be the base line, and the "AT" packages will be discontinued. No big deal.

Is there any real plan to cover ALL the nation's DMAs, ever?
Click to expand...


If they don't they should consider finishing all of them. With the courts saying that Dish will have to terminate the distant locals for everyone - Under Appeal by Dish at this time, Dish ought to finish all the dmas left in the country. Then it wouldn't matter if they turn off all the distants.

Besides they have plenty of satellites up there to finish the 40 or so cities. They aren't even using the 105 or 121 for much of anything , why not take advantage of these two satellites that are sitting empty of most locals?

The sat provider that can be the first to say we have all the locals in the country and Peurto Rico , will have a big advantage over the competition -both satellite and cable. Isn't that what Directv is doing? They are trying to do all the dmas in the country in hd. Dish can't afford to let Directv get ahead of them on the local issue. Dish started them first so they need to finish them at least in sd. Then they can decide whether they want to change them to the hd version or 480p by 2009.
 
Here is an excerpt from an email I sent to Dish on the HD Only package issue. I doubt anything will come of it but at least I got to vent. I'll post their response if any:



Hello,

I switched over to Dish when VOOM discontinued DBS service a little over a year ago. The two most important reasons I chose Dish was that Dish carried some of the VOOM channels and because I read on the internet that Dish allowed a HD Only programming package as long as the customer owned their own HD receivers. At the beginning of the year I purchased two 942 receivers and about a couple of months ago I cancelled all my programming with Dish accept the HD and VOOM channels.

I recently was considering replacing my 942 receivers with VIP622 receivers so I could pickup the new MPEG4 HD channels. But when I called Dish to talk about the switch, the csr I talked to said that Dish no longer allowed customers to subscribe to the HD Only package but had to buy a metal package that includes at least 60 standard definition channels that I never watched when I had them before. Knowledgable people on the internet said that Dish stopped allowing customers to subcribe to a HD Only package some time in June without any annoucement.

The thought of having to pay thirty extra dollars a month for 60 channels I never will watch has really put me off upgrading. I have decided to stay with the package I've got at least for the foreseeable future and put all the money I'm saving to other uses such as renting DVDs. I hope that Dish will see their way clear to allowing customers to subscribe to new HD channels in an HD Only programming package in the future so people like me won't be forced to pay for all that Standard Definition programming they don't want.

Thank you
 
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