Thinking of going to Turbo HD Bronze, I have some questions...

[gilmoregirlz]

I currently have AT100, which is costing $50 a month, and I'm thinking of using "Dish N it Up" to go to Turbo HD Bronze, which (I think) would be $37 a month with locals and dvr. (that's right, isn't it?)

I have a few questions...
1. I've read about 4:3 stuff and 'stretch-o-vision' being on these HD channels. How common is that type of thing? Is there really any actual HD content on these channels? I'm especially curious about SciFi, ABCFamily, History and Discovery, but I'm curious about the other channels as well.

2. I'd be going with a 2 room set up, 1 HDTV and one SDTV. What's the different between the "High Definition DVR" and the "Enhanced High Definition DVR"?

3. Are there going to be any more channels added to the Turbo Bronze package anytime soon? Just curious....

Those are the only questions I can think of right now.....
Thanks so much for any info!

 

[Pepper]

TurboHD Bronze might be $37 but you can't get it until February, after the price has gone up. It's available to new customers only and contains only the HD channels.

What you can get is AT100+HD for $10 more ($20 if you want the "Platinum" tier).
1. There's a good amount of actual HD content but not nearly as much as there should be. ABC Family is one of the worst. Unless it's one of their original productions it will not be in HD, I can 99% guarantee that.
2. The "HD DVR" is the ViP622, the "Enhanced" is the ViP722. The main difference is the size of the hard drive.
3. Who knows.

 

[gilmoregirlz]

Awww, thats a bummer! I logged into my dish account online, and under the "Offers" section, it has this Dish 'n It Up area, and it has the TurboHD logo, and talks about the channels and programming packages. I had heard about the 'new customers only' thing, but I figured that I was somehow eligible since it's on the "offers" page in my account....it's been there for about a month, it wasn't there before that.

How much are they going to raise the price to? Is that information available yet?

 

[pfan1981]

TurboHD Bronze might be $37 but you can't get it until February, after the price has gone up. It's available to new customers only and contains only the HD channels.

What you can get is AT100+HD for $10 more ($20 if you want the "Platinum" tier).
1. There's a good amount of actual HD content but not nearly as much as there should be. ABC Family is one of the worst. Unless it's one of their original productions it will not be in HD, I can 99% guarantee that.
2. The "HD DVR" is the ViP622, the "Enhanced" is the ViP722. The main difference is the size of the hard drive.
3. Who knows.

I switched to TurboHD Gold by emailing ceo@echostar.com and ceo@dishnetwork.com . I told them I would be switching to cable if they wouldn't allow me to go to the TurboHD package. As you have suggested the price will go up in Feb, so I did everything to get in before that happened. Good luck!

pfan

 

[gilmoregirlz]

I switched to TurboHD Gold by emailing ceo@echostar.com and ceo@dishnetwork.com . I told them I would be switching to cable if they wouldn't allow me to go to the TurboHD package. As you have suggested the price will go up in Feb, so I did everything to get in before that happened. Good luck!

pfan

Oohhhh, now this makes things interesting. I thought the price would be going up for everyone in February. But, if I'm understanding correctly, people who get in at the current price won't get a price increase in Feb? Is that correct?

 

[pfan1981]

Gilmore, this was my assumption that the price would not go up if you were able to switch before feb1. That's why I chatted, called, and emailed extensively to switch now. My bill for the TurboHD Gold is $62/mo and we'll see what happens come feb 1. I don't know how they would distinguish me from a new customer with TurboHD Gold. I think their software would not recognize me as a sneaky existing customer

pfan

 

[Jim5506]

It would be the exception if TurboHD Gold did not have a $2 -$5 price increase in February.

Two years ago Charlie froze the price of AT100 for 2 years, but I have not heard any such promises for any packages since.

 

[jwalk40]

I also switched to TurboHD by emailing ceo@dishnetwork.com. It's been a little bit of a hassle to get everything to what I want. Know that you will need the Silver package to have a RSN or the multi-sport package. Also, I'm now trying to get the Silver TurboHD rolled into the DishDVR Advantage package, which gives you the locals and DVR service for $6 instead of $11 when billed apart (but you would have to agree to a 24 month committment or autopay). The website is telling me there is a "technical difficulty," but I've let the service rep who changed my account to TurboHD know.

Good luck to all and here's to hoping the price increase in February is bearable.

 

[M Sparks]

1. I've read about 4:3 stuff and 'stretch-o-vision' being on these HD channels. How common is that type of thing? Is there really any actual HD content on these channels? I'm especially curious about SciFi, ABCFamily, History and Discovery, but I'm curious about the other channels as well.

Of those 4, only History stretches their 4:3 programming. Discovery does a slight zoom...cuts off the top and bottom edge, but at least there's no distortion. I usually don't notice until the credits come on at the end and you can't read them all.

SciFi (as well as all NBC/Universal) and ABCFamily (as well as all ABC/Disney) show 4:3 programming in it's proper aspect ratio. The worst stretchers are A&E Networks, Lifetime, Turner, and Scripps (Food/HGTV)