Why does D* charge extra for HD equipment and programming?

[john262]

IMO it's ripoff and it's greedy. Look at Cablevision. They don't charge even a dime extra for HD equipment or programming.

Cablevision Adding 15 More HD Channels - Across entire market by August 1 - dslreports.com

 

[skyviewmark]

Call the cable company and get there service.. Then you will understand the real truth.

 

[NutFlush920]

From what I understand DirecTV charges less then Dish for HD programming. As far as the equipment goes, you get what you pay for. If you get something for free, chances are it's not got going to be very good.

 

[FlyingJ]

No offense john262 but that has to be the dumbest thread and statement that I have seen on Satguys in ....well....about ever, and I have seen some hum-dingers! Go get your cablevision. Geez.

 

[john262]

No offense john262 but that has to be the dumbest thread and statement that I have seen on Satguys in ....well....about ever, and I have seen some hum-dingers! Go get your cablevision. Geez.

LOL. No offense taken. But you didn't answer my question. Why does D* charge extra while Cablevision does not? It's a simple question.

 

[Rey]

LOL. No offense taken. But you didn't answer my question. Why does D* charge extra while Cablevision does not? It's a simple question.

because people are willing to pay. if you want something better your gonna have to pay.

 

[berck]

LOL. No offense taken. But you didn't answer my question. Why does D* charge extra while Cablevision does not? It's a simple question.

Well good for them. Comcast certainly charges extra fees for HD. Unless you just want your locals in HD. The question could easily be changed to why doe Cablevision not charge extra for HD when everybody else does (including other cable TV providers).

My experience has been that cable's basic rates are much higher than satellite. Even adding HD to satellite still puts it as a cost savings when getting the same programming as on cable.

You haven't shown what the overall cost of programming is for Cablevision. Only then, can a fair comparison be made.

 

[scottie_h]

LOL. No offense taken. But you didn't answer my question. Why does D* charge extra while Cablevision does not? It's a simple question.

Conversely - why doesn't Cablevision charge extra when everyone else does?

(looks like you just beat me to it berck )

 

[dirtydog]

Yea go get cable and a motarola hd dvr and then ask that same question.

 

[FlyingJ]

LOL. No offense taken. But you didn't answer my question. Why does D* charge extra while Cablevision does not? It's a simple question.

Shoot John262, I have to give you credit for not getting all hot and bothered about my comment. Most guys on here get a bit too serious. Anyway, fact is that Cablevision may not have the customer base that will even pay for it. Maybe they are making it up in other ways, maybe, well, I could go on and on. I don't know how many channels they carry, the quality, mpeg2 or 4 or whatever else is out there. What I do know is that I am getting outstanding quality, especially on the mpeg4 stuff, MLB EI with a ton of HD, Sunday Ticket, HD etc.... more channels than anyone else...etc.... so hey, if I have to pay to get what I want, than so be it!
D* has put their money where their mouth is, new sats, contracts with the stations we want, more locals, etc...Remember, their primary purpose is to make money! Anyway, nice to chat with you!

 

[DFWHD]

IMO it's ripoff and it's greedy. Look at Cablevision. They don't charge even a dime extra for HD equipment or programming.

I don't have any experience with CableVision, but I do with VZ FiOS and Time Warner Cable - so here is my two cents...

IMO, D* is well worth it. Like anybody else, I wish it was less expensive, but I have no problem paying what I do for what I get. I had D* for almost 9 years and was totally satisfied, then decided to try FiOS because of their HD offering. We had FiOS for about a year and while it was inexpensive during the intro offer, they gig you after it expires - big time. Like my cable bill went up close to 40%. Near the end, they raised the monthly rental cost of an HD DVR close to $15 per month. On top of that, their tech support and customer service was not that good.

We finally ditched VZ after we moved last summer and ended up with TWC for a few months while we remodeled the new house. The cable PQ was horrible, the DVR/program guide software left much to be desired, the customer service sucked and as for cost - they nickel and dime you to death. Once we were done with the remodel last fall, I signed back up for D* and never looked back. Bottom line - D* has the best overall quality and service. Sorry for the long post - but I think I get what I pay for!

 

[charper1]

The quick answer is his cable co may not because the nickle & dime him everywhere else to more and make up for it and then some; but give it a bit longer and then they will be charging extra for the HD on top of what they get out of you now.

 

[BluegrassGuy1976]

Why do they charge for HD? To make money. Every business does that.

 

[johnml]

Dumb question -

With more and more HD channels becomming available in the future, when will the HD fee's stop ? (The first tier $10.00 then HD extra $5.00) I mean eventually, most channels will be in HD, so will the bills be double of what they are now ? I,m guessing eventually, they will stop charging extra for HD ? Any thoughts ?

 

[rkicklighter]

I can't speak about Cablevision as they are not in my area. But, both local cable companies charge extra for both the equipment and HD programming. Neither of which can compare to D* in quality, quantity or price.

 

[satjay]

I can't speak about Cablevision as they are not in my area. But, both local cable companies charge extra for both the equipment and HD programming. Neither of which can compare to D* in quality, quantity or price.

I would agree with this, for example our local comcast office will charge you I think 9.95 for each DVR that you would like, that can add up...and not to bring up and old bit but in our area comcast is lacking in HD channels!!

 

[DodgerKing]

IMO it's ripoff and it's greedy. Look at Cablevision. They don't charge even a dime extra for HD equipment or programming.

Cablevision Adding 15 More HD Channels - Across entire market by August 1 - dslreports.com

Read through some of the posts on the link you provided. According to some of their subs or posters, Cablevision may not charge a separate HD fee, but they do charge fees in other areas to compensate. And I believe the extra fee or price one pays for digital conversion compared to their analogy or basic cable is pretty much the same thing as an HD fee. Cablevision just calls it by another name. That is how they get away with claiming that they do not charge an HD fee, when technically they do.

Also, Cablevision charges a monthly fee for all boxes (with Dish and Direct the first box does not have a fee) and a remote fee for $0.25. When you add up all of these other costs, it all even outs or may even cost more than satellite.

 

[iwc5893]

Dumb question -

With more and more HD channels becomming available in the future, when will the HD fee's stop ? (The first tier $10.00 then HD extra $5.00) I mean eventually, most channels will be in HD, so will the bills be double of what they are now ? I,m guessing eventually, they will stop charging extra for HD ? Any thoughts ?

I don't think this will ever happen. First of all, SD is going to be around for a long time as not everyone is going to switch to HD. Secondly, when have you ever heard of a satco or cableco stop charging a fee for something they used to charge for?

 

[kanderna]

I can't speak about Cablevision as they are not in my area. But, both local cable companies charge extra for both the equipment and HD programming. Neither of which can compare to D* in quality, quantity or price.

Exactly. My cable company won't even provide more than one HD DVR... that's worthless.

 

[Neilkn]

Yea go get cable and a motarola hd dvr and then ask that same question.

That is what I currently have. A Time Warner Cable (TWC) Motorola DCT6416 III DVR. Time Warner quite generously gives me 13 HD channels at no extra cost. I can add 4 more HD channels for only $5 a month more. I can only use one output from the DVR at a time, so I can't record to a DVDR or even a VCR without giving up my HDMI connection. The USB, SATA, and Ethernet ports are all disabled, "Not supported" according to Motorola, so I can't add extra storage, nor even move unwatched recordings elsewhere to make more room. When we record a 30 minute SD show, and the DVR is at 50% or more, it will sometimes jump to 100% and keep giving us warnings that our disk is full and we must make room to record scheduled programs. If we delete that 30 minute show, it will drop back down to 50%. We saw the same TV as ours at a friend's house with Direct TV ... and were amazed at the difference in HD quality. It made our TWC look like ... well, not quite HD. It still looks nice, but not quite close to what we saw at the friend's.

My Direct TV gets installed this coming Friday and I can't wait. Getting the Plus HD DVR plan with currently 35 channels of HD, the HD-DVR on which ALL ports and outputs work, and the two extra SD boxes for the two bedrooms which are not used very much, for the first year will actually be lower priced than the TWC plan we are now on. Granted, after one year it will go up about $15 a month above what we are currently paying TWC, but then again .. who knows how much TWC will jack up their prices again in that time. We used to pay $40+ for this TWC plan, it is now up to $68, it just was increased again. I think the $15 a month is well worth the much better quality and additional channels. The only negative I see at this time is the difference in having to pay for any service calls if needed. That part does bug me as I am supposedly leasing/renting the equipment and believe that anything leased like that should be covered. But again ... TWC ... it will be a pleasure to say Goodbye!