The OFFICIAL DISH / HBO Thread

[NashGuy]

Well then, Netflix had better hurry up and get Dish to launch a linear Netflix channel in HBO's old slot. There has to be a reason why Dish put a duplicate Netflix app on channel 302, when the Netflix app already had a channel number (370) in the premium movie range.

Ha. Netflix doesn't want to become THAT much like HBO. No, there will never be a live linear Netflix channel that is delivered offline, whether by satellite or by cable TV.

But going in the other direction, I do think we will see HBO start abandoning their live linear broadcast channels. Take a look at the new Plus and Max cable channel packages that AT&T now offers through DirecTV Now. Both automatically include HBO, but only three of its linear channels: HBO, HBO Family and HBO Latino. (Why those three? Probably because they're the three most different -- the original "everything" HBO channel, the one aimed at kids (no racy stuff), and the one in Spanish.) The Max package also includes Cinemax but only the original Cinemax linear channel, none of the others like MoreMax, MovieMax, etc.

It would be one thing if that was happening at, say, Verizon FiOS TV. But no, this is happening with AT&T's own new streaming TV service. And AT&T owns HBO. So I believe this tells us something about how they see the future of HBO and Cinemax: not so much as linear cable channels but rather as brands/pools of content to be streamed on-demand.

 

[mwdxer1]

I remember listening to an interview (probably on NPR) with I believe the CEO of Netflix. At the time DVD by mail was the thing and I think Netflix online was just beginning.Anyways the thing I remember is him saying something to the effect "Our company name is Netflix and not dvds by mail for a reason".

The only issue with that statement is many people still get their discs through the mail. Not the majority, but enough. Also Netflix doesn't seem to have the streaming rights for much of their old catalog. If you want to want an old TV series, you can only get it off Netflix by disc.

 

[NashGuy]

The only issue with that statement is many people still get their discs through the mail. Not the majority, but enough. Also Netflix doesn't seem to have the streaming rights for much of their old catalog. If you want to want an old TV series, you can only get it off Netflix by disc.

Oh, outside of Netflix originals, there's WAY more stuff that Netflix offers on disc than on streaming. It's not even close. I think a lot of people really overestimate the size of Netflix's streaming library.

 

[long_time_DNC]

So, now that the HBO/Cinemax channels have been pulled (officially), what happens with all that spare HD bandwidth?

 

[CyberSpock]

Oh, outside of Netflix originals, there's WAY more stuff that Netflix offers on disc than on streaming. It's not even close. I think a lot of people really overestimate the size of Netflix's streaming library.

I'd like to see the statistics, but there must be a large portion of North America people whose Netflix DVD is their only option.

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[Bobby]

I'd like to see the statistics, but there must be a large portion of North America people whose Netflix DVD is their only option.

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As a Netflix customer , yes, because they don’t have good enough speed.

 

[NashGuy]

So, now that the HBO/Cinemax channels have been pulled (officially), what happens with all that spare HD bandwidth?

Good question. DISH has long had a reputation of HD picture quality that's not quite as good/sharp as that of DirecTV. They should spread that spare bandwidth from the 15 or so lost HBO and Cinemax channels around to their 30 most popular national HD cable channels and give them each a 50% boost in picture quality.

 

[SandFarmer]

Good question. DISH has long had a reputation of HD picture quality that's not quite as good/sharp as that of DirecTV. They should spread that spare bandwidth from the 15 or so lost HBO and Cinemax channels around to their 30 most popular national HD cable channels and give them each a 50% boost in picture quality.

Dish may be bad. But DirecTV is worse. And since AT&T wants to get rid of DTV, improvements won't be coming. Just moved my neighbors from DTV to dish (new logo) on a 65" 4K TV and they were blown away with the picture difference. One of them is legally blind and picture improvement helps. He says he can see it better now.

 

[mwdxer1]

I'd like to see the statistics, but there must be a large portion of North America people whose Netflix DVD is their only option.

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It is quite small. I have read something like 15% still get their movies/tv shows from Netflix, via disc. But around here I know of two that get their movies via disc. But percentage, I doubt many watch a lot of the old TV fare (50s-70s). I will more of it did stream, but Prime streams a lot of it.

 

[NashGuy]

Dish may be bad. But DirecTV is worse. And since AT&T wants to get rid of DTV, improvements won't be coming. Just moved my neighbors from DTV to dish (new logo) on a 65" 4K TV and they were blown away with the picture difference. One of them is legally blind and picture improvement helps. He says he can see it better now.

I guess picture quality is a subjective thing but your neighbor's assessment is not the norm. If you look at reviews and a TON of comments over the years on forums like this one, you'll see that the consensus opinion has always been that, for HD channels (not SD), DTV has better PQ than DISH. And that assessment is, I believe, borne out by a comparison of hard numbers: resolutions and bitrates, with DTV having higher numbers on average than DISH.

I had both services some years back and my eyes told me that DTV was slightly better-looking than DISH when you average PQ across all HD channels on each service. My recollection is that there was a wider range of PQ across HD channels on DTV, with grades ranging from, let's say, A+ down to B-, averaging A-. Meanwhile, HD channels on DISH ranged from maybe A- down to B, averaging B+. But again, that was several years back. Could be different now.

 

[ncted]

If your TV is not properly calibrated, D* can definitely look worse than E*. Specifically, I am thinking about edge enhancement techniques that a lot of modern TVs do by default. It doesn't mean D* PQ is worse than E* though. It should be able slightly better to slightly worse, depending on the channel, based on my experience over the past two years. Some people think one looks way better than the other, depending on their tastes, and more people seem to think D* looks better than Dish on average based on what I've heard.

 

[osumike]

I regularly hear my customers that are switching from dtv say that the pic quality on dish is better.

 

[long_time_DNC]

Good question. DISH has long had a reputation of HD picture quality that's not quite as good/sharp as that of DirecTV. They should spread that spare bandwidth from the 15 or so lost HBO and Cinemax channels around to their 30 most popular national HD cable channels and give them each a 50% boost in picture quality.

Either that, or add-in some additional HD channels that are presently SD...

 

[edisonprime]

I regularly hear my customers that are switching from dtv say that the pic quality on dish is better.

That's not what I remember. I significantly remember when I switched from Dish to DirecTV in 2013 that DirecTV was a vast improvement. And when I switched back to Dish last year, the picture wasn't nearly as good.

 

[ChadT41]

Most people one way or the other will see an extremely better picture, if they were frustrated with their previous provider for any reason. It is confirmation bias. The pictures are negligible at best.

 

[ncted]

I went from OTA to DirecTV in 2016, and it was a step down in PQ. When I moved, and I switched to Dish due to LOS issues, the picture was different, but not necessarily worse. For me, it depends on the channel.

 

[NYDutch]

I've seen the same HD channel from Dish and DTV on identical side by side large format TV's at a dealer, and honestly did not see any difference. I was looking through 75 year old eyes at the time though...

 

[NashGuy]

I've seen the same HD channel from Dish and DTV on identical side by side large format TV's at a dealer, and honestly did not see any difference. I was looking through 75 year old eyes at the time though...

That doesn't necessarily surprise me. The PQ shifts somewhat from one channel to another, so you can't base an overall conclusion on just one side-by-side comparison. I remember noticing how the PQ would look better on DTV on the main Showtime channel than it would on its multiplex channels (e.g. Showtime Extreme). I think they shift bandwidth around depending on how complex the video is in a given show/scene but also how popular a given channel/show is too.

 

[ekilgus]

Either that, or add-in some additional HD channels that are presently SD...

I'd say that's probably the only thing that can be done because there aren't really any channels worth adding. It isn't the early 2000's where channels were being added all the time.

I read somewhere that VOOM is still hanging around in some reduced fashion but it no doubt isn't what it once was.

 

[NashGuy]

I went from OTA to DirecTV in 2016, and it was a step down in PQ. When I moved, and I switched to Dish due to LOS issues, the picture was different, but not necessarily worse. For me, it depends on the channel.

My overall impression is that DISH's HD channels, on average, look a bit softer and maybe have slightly duller color, than the best DTV HD channels. But the worst DTV HD channels exhibit worse compression artifacts than DISH's HD channels.