Switching to D* for HD

[Curtis]

Reasons are evident to me after last night's chat. I thought I'd start a new thread for those folks who have decided to switch...not especially interested in a debate.

So, what do you know about D* HD receivers? Looks like the choices are Sony, Samsung, Hughes, or Zenith in decending order of price.

Any major choices to be made on an antenna or does it really matter as long as I get the triple LNB?

I've been an AE sub for a few years so it looks like Total Choice Premier, plus Locals is the way to go. They have a special if I sign up for the NFL package......

Any guidance from anyone else who has switched?

Thanks,
Curtis

[gpflepsen]

I'd also like to know the way to make the switch. Is D* offering incentive packages on HD/SD packages?

I've been with Dish Network since 1997. I have about one month to my descision to switch.

[Jeff_R]

I'd also like to know the way to make the switch. Is D* offering incentive packages on HD/SD packages?

I've been with Dish Network since 1997. I have about one month to my descision to switch.

I was with Dish for 4 years, switched to D* last month for HD. At the time, Good Guys, Circuit City, and Magnolia were all offering a $399 special for new D* customers. Includes the Phase III dish, Hughes E86 and install. Good Guys was actually even offering the same package for $299 with purchase of any HDTV.

I think expertsatellite.com and maybe orbitsat.com are offering the same deal right now. The Sony reciever is apparently among the best available, but it significantly higher priced than any of the competition.

Jeff

[gpflepsen]

I have to have DVI on my HD STB. Samsung will get my first look.

[Ken_F]

So, what do you know about D* HD receivers? Looks like the choices are Sony, Samsung, Hughes, or Zenith in decending order of price.
I am waiting for the release of the LG LSS-3200A (formerly known as a Zen HD-SAT530 and otherwise known as Sony HD300). Screenshot below:

http://www.kornerklub.com/DSC00088.jpg
[Image taken by JFerg, read his preliminary review right here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=282599).]

It will be comparable to the current Zenith HD-SAT520 and Sony HD200 models except it will feature simultaneous 480i output, a 7-day guide, a RF remote, and a [claimed] improved ATSC tuner. As you can see, it features a 16:9 guide and identifies HD programming in the guide; it also offers 480p output for SDTV and an all-native HD output option to preserve the quality of 720p and 1080i on displays that can natively accept both formats (it appears these features will be absent on new Dish HD receivers). This model is 30-60 days away from widespread availability, according to the LG employee who posted the preliminary review (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=282599).

If the Superdish and a superior HD offering aren't out and shipping in some form when this model becomes available, then I will be leaving Dish. I've had DirecTV on and off over the years, and at times I've reduced my Dish packages, but I've never dropped Dish. But there has to be a breaking point somewhere. With the September chat, they'd better give me a lot of good reasons to stay. I'd have left already if I didn't have Comcast for ESPN-HD (I'd have Comcast anyway for CSN-HD).

[RAD]

Check this out from :


http://cableworld.com/ar/directv_introduces_hdtv/index.htm


Starting this week, DirecTV's HD equipment is available on a limited basis for an up-front lease cost of $99.99 for a stand-alone DirecTV HD receiver, a DirecTV multi-satellite dish antenna and professional installation.

The limited offer to lease DirecTV's HD equipment excludes hi-def programming and was launched this week in "a very, very, very limited test market that we're doing in conjunction with DirecTV," according to a spokesman for Circuit City.

According to a source close to DirecTV, the Circuit City $99 HD lease test will be followed by a limited test in a Best Buy market on Sept. 7. That's the same day CBS Sports kicks off its 44th season of NFL broadcasts with The NFL Today, its pregame studio show, followed by a full slate of seven games in week one.

First-time DirecTV subscribers can also now lease the $99.99 DirecTV equipment package online.

The special launched this week on the American Satellite website, which is offering a DirecTV HDTV receiver and off-air antenna dish for a $99.99 up-front cost in six markets to start: Las Vegas, Charlotte, N.C., Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Dallas, and Tampa, Fla.

After paying $99.99 up front, a monthly lease fee of $10 kicks in. Customers must also sign up for the Total Choice Plus programming package with locals for $39 and pay another $10.99 monthly for DirecTV's HD programming package of ESPN HD, Discovery HD Theater, HDNet and HDNet Movies, bringing the monthly total to $60.98.

The offer applies to a whole home package only; customers may not use cable service in the home with DirecTV as their HD service. Customers can lease up to three additional receivers for an up-front cost of $49 each plus $4.99 per receiver for HD programming.

The Circuit City spokesman declined to confirm the terms of its DirecTV HD equipment lease test and referred any additional questions to DirecTV. A DirecTV spokesperson wasn't aware of the limited market tests and declined to comment.

The low-priced leases could tempt prospective buyers experiencing sticker shock over the price of HDTV sets-which can cost from $750 to more than $10,000-to test-drive the product.

DirecTV retailers are also offering a competitive sales offer to lure HD subs.

Good Guys and Ultimate Electronics are currently selling a $399 DirecTV HD equipment package (after a $100 mail-in rebate) that includes an HD receiver, dish and professional installation.

Ultimate Electronics is offering that in-store deal with a $50 gift card to new DirecTV subscribers until Oct. 17. A salesman at an Ultimate Electronics store in Las Vegas said he could drop the deal's price to $299 post-rebate (for a Hughes E86 HD receiver plus a satellite receiver and installation) if the customer also purchased an HDTV set in addition to signing up for the lease.

Cox Communications charges cable customers in Las Vegas about $120 a year to lease its HDTV equipment ($9.95 a month for an HDTV converter and 22 cents a month for an HDTV remote) plus $49.95 for installation if they already own a 1080i HDTV-ready set. The customer must already be a digital cable subscriber, while a package of HD programming featuring Discovery HD Theater and ESPN HD costs $6.99 (or $5 for either one) monthly. Cox's HBO and Showtime subscribers receive those HD feeds with their premium subscriptions.

Also partnered with Ultimate Electronics in Las Vegas, Cox in that market is offering until the end of this month a $500 rebate on a new Pioneer HDTV from local retailers-plus the first three months free for ESPN HD, Showtime HD, HBO HD and Discovery HD Theater and three free months of digital cable programming-for a total estimated savings of over $641 to new HD customers.

DirecTV launched its $10.99 monthly HD programming package on July 1 with a free month of service for dish owners who sign up before Sept. 30. DirecTV bundles HBO-HD and Showtime-HD in those multiplex premiums, and charges $4.99 extra for HD pay-per-view movies.

DirecTV is also boosting its HD appeal to football fans.

Starting Sept. 7, DirecTV will present CBS's primary NFL game each week of the 2003 regular season schedule in 1080i high definition and broadcast in 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound for DirecTV Sunday Ticket NFL package subscribers.

The primary games will be determined on a week-to-week basis and the hi-def transmissions will be subject to the NFL's hometown blackout rule when the hometown stadium is not sold out. The HD games will also available on a regionalized over-the-air basis to non-DirecTV subscribers via CBS affiliates.

"Our agreement with CBS to offer NFL games in HDTV for the first time makes our exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket package even more appealing," said DirecTV president and COO Roxanne Austin in a statement last week. "Only DirecTV has NFL Sunday Ticket and only DirecTV will offer NFL games in HDTV nationwide. Try as it might, cable just can't match us."

DirecTV is also offering (until Oct. 17) four free months of DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket to new DirecTV customers who sign up for 12 months of Total Choice plus the 2003 NFL Sunday Ticket package and a Total Choice Premier package with local channels within 30 days of equipment purchase.

CBS has embraced HDTV enthusiastically, with most of its prime-time programming this fall airing in hi-def for the fifth year running. It was the first network to broadcast a pro football game in high definition (on Nov. 8, 1998).

Meanwhile, the nation's biggest cable operator is still waiting to get in the game with CBS.

Despite reporting in its second quarter earnings call that it expects to have HDTV available in 65% of its homes by year-end, Comcast-which now has HDTV available in 54% of its homes-has yet to strike a deal with Viacom to transmit CBS local over-the-air HD feeds in any of its cable markets. Whether Viacom's new NFL-in-HD commitment will spur Comcast to overcome its reluctance to pay for CBS HD local feeds remains to be seen.



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[rowdymon]

I don't see how D* can enforce this "The offer applies to a whole home package only; customers may not use cable service in the home with DirecTV as their HD service."

[SD493]

I made the switch and went with the Samsung receiver, mainly because it has better aspect control than Hughes and, I think, Zenith. I'm not sure about Sony but I didn't see anything that justified paying $100 more. The Samsung seems to have everything I need. I did notice that the Sony automatically recognizes widescreen programming, I'm not sure about the other receivers in that regard.

[dswallow]

I made the switch and went with the Samsung receiver, mainly because it has better aspect control than Hughes and, I think, Zenith. I'm not sure about Sony but I didn't see anything that justified paying $100 more. The Samsung seems to have everything I need. I did notice that the Sony automatically recognizes widescreen programming, I'm not sure about the other receivers in that regard.
The Zenith HD-SAT520 and Sony HD200 are almost identical (the only operational difference is how you can change output formats via remote vs. front panel).

The Sony includes a DVI cable; the Zenith does not. That's much of the price difference. Not that it justifies $100, but a 2m Monster DVI cable is $100 and I got stuck buying one while my long DVI cable was on order because that's the only brand DVI cable the store had.

[DarrellP]

I'm not switching to D* since they require another package in order to receive the HD package. This, IMHO, totally sucks. I will wait and see if E* does the same and if they do, I will drop Dish and stick with OTA. To hell with the greedy batsturd$.

[Mike Richardson]

Hmm. Now is the time for DISH Network to announce that they're going to start leasing 811 receivers on the Digital Home Plan.

[HalfMoon]

I switched. Here's the breakdown of my costs:

Sony HD200: $649.00
Hughes DirecTivo: $199.00
Terk 2lnb Dish: $79.00
"Free Install" $0.00
Rebate for install: -$100.00

Total for Hardware (after rebate, including tax): $914.

Took the Sunday Ticket deal, $59.99 for 4 months (pays for S.T.) and get the Total Premier package for free for 4 months. After the 4 months you can downgrade if you like. HDPackage: $10, free for the first month.

Boy, it's nice to have a nice quide on my HDTV.. No more 1990 RCA quality guide on a $600 receiver. :lol:

Edit: Forgot to mention, got it at Circuit City... the rebate printed on a seperate reciept, a hidden surprise to me, and to the salesman.

[ocnier]

I have the Samsung model and have been pleased with its performance. I would also like to point out that the three HD games for the sunday ticket per week from (1-cbs, 2-fox) will be on channels 70-72. D* hasn't done a very good job advertising this and I had to have a tech research it on the phone for 10 minutes before finally getting the answer. You probably would notice it on the guide, but if you weren't channel surfing that day you miss it. I am still holding out hope that E* will get its act together soon, but the horizon doesn't look promising.

[Ken_F]

ocnier,

FOX won't be doing HDTV football this season (based on current information). What you probably will get is two games in widescreen 480i, but that's nothing compared to HDTV. There is a good chance that next season will be HDTV on FOX, however.

[Robert James Clark]

Is there something wrong with the Hughes HD box?

Does anyone have this one?

[Jeff_R]

Is there something wrong with the Hughes HD box?

Does anyone have this one?

There is nothing wrong with it, per se. I have the Hughes box, and it is a decent box. It's smaller than the rest, but is more basic in it's on screen display capabilities than the Samsung or Sony, and also has a well documented problem with overheating.

The overheating problem basically is because it doesn't dissipate the heat as well as it should. If you have it out and exposed, you should be fine with it. I wouldn't cram it into a cabinet or under one or more other components.

It is a good box overall, however, and worth the several hundred dollars less than the other boxes.

jeff

[ocnier]

Ken F,
My bad, you're right. I forgot that fox is still being damn cheap when it comes to NFL coverage this season. Anyway at least 480i is stll better than nothing at all. The only thing that really sucks for me is that I am a Saints fan and Fox has all the NFC coverage. The few CBS feeds I saw were razor sharp in comparison.

[ocnier]

Jeff R,
The only thing you want to be careful with is if your hd tv has a DVI port. This is the way to go and is becoming the industry standard (firewire & Mitsubishi aside question aside). The Hughes receiver is decent enough, but the lack of a DVI port was a real deal killer for me. If you TV doesn't have this, then I wouln't worry about it.

[scottchez]

My Neighbor got tired of waiting for Dish to get a real HDTV system going.

He just switched to Direct TV with HDVT and got the new Direct TIvo and Tripple LNB for $99 for new customers plus he got the switch to HDTV deal.

[kelliot]

Actually, you may be just as well off if you get CBS-HD on Dish since DTV just mirrors the CBS broadcast. Virtually all of the HD broadcasts are on the national feed. This is of course subject to the LA or NY affiliates and your local blackout rules.

I watched the KC-SD game on Dish today and it was outstanding PQ.

[Marcus S]

FOX HD NFL was on *D today. Even I was surprised. Now showing at your local tavern or in your own home if an NFL sub. Got the impression that 3 channels where being simulcast in HD today. CBS, FOX, ESPN or was it ABC? *D Channels 70-72.