DirecTV Ultimate -- not so ultimate?

[Mark Walters]

Out of curiosity, any feedback regarding my opinion of the Ultimate package not being very ultimate?

I'll explain: I currently have Plus (CHOICE XTRA) HD DVR Monthly service for $79.99.
For Ultimate with HD and DVR the price is $85.99. I would have one, I repeat one HD channel added to my current plan. If you do a side-by-side comparison of the packages, Ultimate has two more HD channels than Choice Xtra.

https://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/new_customer/base_packages.jsp?footernavtype=-1

The two channels are TMCeHD and CBSCHD. But the old Choice Xtra already had CBSCHD so I would only gain one channel.

Secondly -- I did a little research and found that besides Encore East and West HD, the Encore multiplex channels have made no announcements for HD plans. So for sure nothing should be expected in 2010 or anytime early in 2011.

Last but not least -- they should bundle the package to include HD, DVR, etc. And perhaps cut the price a little --as the Choice XTRA HD DVR package did before it expired. People like having everything priced on one line and like the idea of saving some scratch when they bundle a few services together with a package.

If you're a SD subscriber perhaps Ultimate has it's perks, but not for an HD customer. Just an opinion -- I'm fine with my current package but find it hard to understand why it's worth spending an extra dollar on the same DVR service I receive and spending five dollars more to get a bunch of SD channels that look dreadful on an HD set.

Not a sermon -- just a thought.

[paragon]

I'm not trying to argue with the rest of your post, but I think DIRECTV's website listing CBS College Sports in the CHOICE ULTIMATE package is a mistake. It was just expanded to CHOICE XTRA last year, so I have a hard time believing they moved it again already. It also doesn't make any sense because every other additional channel you get from moving up to ULTIMATE from XTRA is a movie channel. Can anybody confirm that they actually did this?

[JoeTheDragon]

Out of curiosity, any feedback regarding my opinion of the Ultimate package not being very ultimate?

I'll explain: I currently have Plus (CHOICE XTRA) HD DVR Monthly service for $79.99.
For Ultimate with HD and DVR the price is $85.99. I would have one, I repeat one HD channel added to my current plan. If you do a side-by-side comparison of the packages, Ultimate has two more HD channels than Choice Xtra.

https://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/new_customer/base_packages.jsp?footernavtype=-1

The two channels are TMCeHD and CBSCHD. But the old Choice Xtra already had CBSCHD so I would only gain one channel.

Secondly -- I did a little research and found that besides Encore East and West HD, the Encore multiplex channels have made no announcements for HD plans. So for sure nothing should be expected in 2010 or anytime early in 2011.

Last but not least -- they should bundle the package to include HD, DVR, etc. And perhaps cut the price a little --as the Choice XTRA HD DVR package did before it expired. People like having everything priced on one line and like the idea of saving some scratch when they bundle a few services together with a package.

If you're a SD subscriber perhaps Ultimate has it's perks, but not for an HD customer. Just an opinion -- I'm fine with my current package but find it hard to understand why it's worth spending an extra dollar on the same DVR service I receive and spending five dollars more to get a bunch of SD channels that look dreadful on an HD set.

Not a sermon -- just a thought.
more HD in that pack is likely with D-12 and CBSCHD seems like a error as this is billed as the movie pack.

[ThomasM]

Ultimate is a package for movie lovers who do not want to spend $12+ for a premium channel. Not for HD fanatics.

It includes the ENCORE movie channels, The Movie Channel (east & west), FLIX, and Sundance. These are all commercial-free movie channels.

It's not for everyone-especially those who do not want to discontinue their grandfathered package like the ones that offer a buck a month off on the DVR fee.

[Mark Walters]

Ultimate is a package for movie lovers who do not want to spend $12+ for a premium channel. Not for HD fanatics.

It includes the ENCORE movie channels, The Movie Channel (east & west), FLIX, and Sundance. These are all commercial-free movie channels.

It's not for everyone-especially those who do not want to discontinue their grandfathered package like the ones that offer a buck a month off on the DVR fee.

Gotcha - Thanks. I remember SatRacer mentioning a possible HD package in the future.. That's probably what I'm looking to go with.

[paragon]

Ultimate is a package for movie lovers who do not want to spend $12+ for a premium channel. Not for HD fanatics.


What good are movies that aren't in HD? Answer: no good. When I am comparing channel packages, channels that aren't in HD don't even count.

[Mark Walters]

What good are movies that aren't in HD? Answer: no good. When I am comparing channel packages, channels that aren't in HD don't even count.

Agreed!

[paulman182]

There are a lot of really good movies that can't be seen in HD on DirecTV due to their being on IFC, TCM, and Sundance.

[dcowboy7]

Bluray & HD sports/movies have ruined SD sports/movies for me.

Cant do it.

[curt8403]

I wonder just how many would be interested in a "Choice Not So Good" Package.

[kevinturcotte]

If/when they add some additional HD channels to this package (That aren't already available in Choice Extra) I might be interested.

[Davenlr]

I wonder just how many would be interested in a "Choice Not So Good" Package.

Have to ask Dish 120 customers.

[ThomasM]

What good are movies that aren't in HD? Answer: no good. When I am comparing channel packages, channels that aren't in HD don't even count.

A perfect quote from an HD fanatic-like my post alluded to.

I don't have HD. I don't think it's worth $10 a month. (and a new 2 year commitment) Judging from the zillions of 18" DirecTV dishes in my area there are a lot of others who are watching every penny in this economy.

PS: I DO have a flat screen HDTV-which is hooked up to my R22 and receives DirecTV at 480p. I bet I enjoy the programming as much as you.

[kikkenit2]

A perfect quote from an HD fanatic-like my post alluded to.

I don't have HD. I don't think it's worth $10 a month. (and a new 2 year commitment) Judging from the zillions of 18" DirecTV dishes in my area there are a lot of others who are watching every penny in this economy.

PS: I DO have a flat screen HDTV-which is hooked up to my R22 and receives DirecTV at 480p. I bet I enjoy the programming as much as you.No you don't. It's blurry as heck and doesn't sound as good. Most importantly it is not widescreen! If you are poor that is a valid excuse, but comparing sd as close/similar as native hd is an irrational bogus excuse.

[scoop8]

No you don't. It's blurry as heck and doesn't sound as good. Most importantly it is not widescreen! If you are poor that is a valid excuse, but comparing sd as close/similar as native hd is an irrational bogus excuse.

I go along with that. All I can say is that I was a late-arrival to the home HD party. I upgraded my DTV to HD in Aug '08, the main reason being that the fall NFL season that year was the 1st time that all of the ST games were available in HD. That was my primary reason to upgrade at that time but after watching movies in WS OAR HD, movies that I know well, there's no comparison between SD 1.33:1 than say, a movie on HDNET, MGMHD. The difference is amazing.

Of course, your HDTV model will affect it all :) I went the distance in '08 and bought my 1st HDTV, the 50" Panny Plasma. "There's no going back" :)

I still enjoy my SD DVD collection, upconverted on my Plasma and I watch everything in OAR (no "zoom or stretch" for me). I've found that the "pillar box" thing doesn't bother me at all. But my advice for anyone that's considering upgrading to HD, is don't buy that 1st HDTV with a screen size too small. I measured the actual picture size with a 1.33:1 picture at the store before deciding on my 50" set since I wanted to get a larger 1.33:1 picture than my previous Sony 36" Wega set.

My biggest concern/question at the time was, will my SD TV/DVD's look ok on an HDTV (not over-amplifying picuture imperfections from older TV shows on DVD). I found that this wasn't the case. It's been a great ride so far.

If I have one "negative" about making the switch from SD CRT TV/Satt to HD, it's that, watching sports on SD is where it "hurts" vs HD :lol: There, I see a big difference watching, say, the SD MSG NHL feeds (or baseball, football) vs the same game's HD feeds.

[paragon]

A perfect quote from an HD fanatic-like my post alluded to.

I don't have HD. I don't think it's worth $10 a month. (and a new 2 year commitment) Judging from the zillions of 18" DirecTV dishes in my area there are a lot of others who are watching every penny in this economy.

PS: I DO have a flat screen HDTV-which is hooked up to my R22 and receives DirecTV at 480p. I bet I enjoy the programming as much as you.

Your R22 doesn't receive DIRECTV at 480p (except maybe your locals), it receives it at 480x480i and upscales it.

CHOICE XTRA with DVR is 70.99, add HD to go to 80.99. That's a 14% increase in cost. Now lets look at the numbers:

DIRECTV SD (480x480i) = 115,200 pixels per 60fps frame (due to interlacing)
HD (1280x720p) = 921,600 pixels per 60fps frame
HD (1920x1080i) = 1,036,800 pixels per 60fps frame (due to interlacing)

Given that HD subscribers get ~10x the pixels for only 1.14x the cost, I'd say that I definitely enjoy my programming more than you do. That doesn't even take into account the better audio.

[damondlt]

Well against grandfathered base packs, of course the price and value seems lame.
But I think its a good value in overall programming for $68.99 per month.

[upmichigan]

It includes the ENCORE movie channels, The Movie Channel (east & west), FLIX, and Sundance. These are all commercial-free movie channels.


Ultimate does not include FLIX.

[namja]

A perfect quote from an HD fanatic-like my post alluded to.

I don't have HD. I don't think it's worth $10 a month. (and a new 2 year commitment) Judging from the zillions of 18" DirecTV dishes in my area there are a lot of others who are watching every penny in this economy.

PS: I DO have a flat screen HDTV-which is hooked up to my R22 and receives DirecTV at 480p. I bet I enjoy the programming as much as you.
I guess it's for situations like this that the phrase "Ignorance is bliss" came about. Once you get HD into your home, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. I haven't watched anything in SD since ... 2005.