Putting HDTV on the map in Oklahoma

13 Responses to “Dish Network Adds 15 HD Channels”

1. Waimea responds: July 10th, 2007 at 7:30 pm

   Hi,

   First, I’d like to thank you for this blog. I’ve subscribed for awhile, and it’s really helped out (e.g. you broke the news, at least for me, about the addition of OKC local digitals to Dish’s HD Lineup). Your post today re Dish’s addition of 15 HD channels is another great bit of news. I walked away from DirecTV about two months ago, and haven’t missed it a bit. Before that, I subscribed to DirecTV SD for about 1 & 1/2 years. Some time last Fall I finally got my attic OTA antenna wired up, and began watching OTA HD. I was hooked right away, and eventually realized that I was going to have to upgrade to DirecTV HD. Unfortunately, I thought Dish was a second-rate company, and never considered switching to them (i wasn’t aware of the disparity in HD programming between the two, so I upgraded to a non-DVR HD DirecTV Sat Receiver. That’s when I really got hooked on HD, and started digging deeper into just what Dish had to offer. It didn’t take me long to decide that it was worth breaking contract with DirecTV to make the move, and am I glad that I did. DirecTV continues to make empty promises (maybe they’ll come through, maybe not: when I left them two months ago they still hadn’t completely delivered on the Digital locals that they’d promised late last year…) while Dish delivers. Your post today reinforced my conviction that switching was the right thing to do.

   By the way, I have the Dish HD DVR, and it lives up to it’s reviews: it’s one amazing piece of gear, and that’s from a guy that tends to nitpick technology to pieces. It really is a great device.

   Thanks again, and keep up the good work.

2. trueview responds: July 10th, 2007 at 8:31 pm

   This is really great news; tho the regional sports HD packages so far do not add anything in the oklahoma city area. I am happy that channels I often watch are among this list. Seven nationals? More to come. Looking good!!!! [if only PBS HD was among them].

3. Newshawk responds: July 11th, 2007 at 2:11 am

   Waimea,

   I glad you’re happy with your Dish subscription. However, I think you left DirecTV just a bit too early. DirecTV has all four OKC local channels in HD as of 6/30/07, and last Friday launched DirecTV 10, which will provide over 70 channels of HD programming come this September. I just hope you don’t find out you jumped too soon.

4. Waimea responds: July 11th, 2007 at 4:56 am

   Newshawk,

   Here’s the thing: I’m getting tons of HD now (Voom Monsters, Voom Kung Fu, and Voom Gallery are some of my favorites), without having to wait untill DirecTV gets their stuff up and running. Furthermore, I have absolutely no commitment to Dish: I can break at any time. If DirecTV ends up being better off (and Frankly, I can’t imagine that they will be BETTER than Dish anytime soon, certainly not this year) then I should be able to switch back without a problem. If DirecTV HD really gets going then I’ll just wait untill I’m eligible for the installation/gear discounts again (anyone know how long it takes after leaving to requalify?) and then switch back.

   My big mistake was to upgrade to DirecTV HD once my initial DirecTV contract expired (I should have done more research and switched to Dish then). That left me on the hook for $250 when I broke contract to switch to Dish, but it’s been worth it.

   BTW, DirecTV’s HD DVR had very mixed reviews when it was released, which is the primary reason I opted for a DirecTV non-DVR HD Receiver when I upgraded. On the other hand, Dish’s DVR was highly rated, and considered stable, and was also widely available (lack of availability plagued the initial release of the DirecTV DVR). Issues with DirecTV’s DVR, their lack of follow-through after committing to deliver Digital locals by the end of ‘06, and a few other things that happened to me as a customer, made me question the honesty of the company, and their commitment to being a real and immediate contender in the HD market. It seems like they’ve dropped the ball in the HD game, and they’re willing to make any claim to prevent the loss of more customer base to Dish. I’m sure they’ll come through in the end, and at least be competitive (they’ll have to) but, for now, (with the possible exception of sports packages) , in terms of available content, there is no way that DirecTV HD can be considered even mildly competitive to Dish HD.

5. pluckymce responds: July 11th, 2007 at 7:10 am

   PLus dish network gives their HD DVR away FREE!!! Try to get the from directv

6. Bobarino responds: July 11th, 2007 at 2:02 pm

   There is a strong possibility that Dish will enable the external storage feature on their DVR by the end of this year. So you will be able to buy a 300gb external disk drive for $100 locally, plug it in and have lots of extra storage. Since HD takes up so much more disk space this feature will be invaluable.

7. trueview responds: July 11th, 2007 at 4:27 pm

   Whether DIRECTV has that many channels by September or not I doubt DISH is going to allow them to pull ahead in numbers of HD channels. This “battle” can only provide us with a more rapid growth of HD programing. It would really take something remarkable to get me to return to DIRECTV. Whether they both provide an exact equal number of HD channels is not material to me as long as the ones I like to view are HD. I hope that after all the things that have happened in the past that DIRECTV really does finally live up to the promises for the sake of their customers.

8. NormanHD responds: July 11th, 2007 at 5:58 pm

   I glad you’re happy with your Dish subscription. However, I think you left DirecTV just a bit too early. DirecTV has all four OKC local channels in HD as of 6/30/07, and last Friday launched DirecTV 10, which will provide over 70 channels of HD programming come this September. I just hope you don’t find out you jumped too soon.

   Dish has 3 of the four (KFOR, KOCO and KOKH) as of 6/30, so whats your point??? Also, here’s a newsflash for you, Newshawk..there are not “over 70 channels” in existence nor will there be by September! Why you D* fanatics cannot realize that fact is beyond me. I’ll stick with Dish, which doesn’t make bold predicitons for their service. I don’t doubt that D* will have the CAPACITY for 70+ HD channels come September, but its just wishful thinking that they’ll have 70+ lit up by September.

9. rickster responds: July 20th, 2007 at 8:56 am

   Just got a new 5 LNB dish and new Receiver with HD-DVR for FREE from DIRECTV. Works great ….

10. zenithtv responds: July 21st, 2007 at 10:33 am

    SO????? Big Deal!!!!!

11. trueview responds: July 21st, 2007 at 1:03 pm

    are those KNBs 5 totally seperate units or are they molded into one? Seems like if they are one single unit like the 3 LNB became it could be expensive if one of them quit.

12. trueview responds: August 8th, 2007 at 9:39 pm

    As of 8/8/07 KWTV-DT

13. trueview responds: August 8th, 2007 at 9:45 pm

    Well I have no idea what just happened to the above post but it was posted incomplete! Today KWTV-DT was added to the Dish line up making it four local HD outlets. But where oh where is PBS-HD? It would be a real gain for me.

    Any rumors about the channel numbers for the up coming 15 new channels [HD]?

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