america's top 250 vs america's gold

[kstevens]

what is the difference between the 2 packages besides $10?

thanks,


Ken

[tedb3rd]

There IS a difference between the 250 and HD package. I THOUGHT it was the channels listed on the website where they list the HD channels that you get when you add HD to your 250 package. I spoke w/CSR online and here's what she listed as of 6/3/2010 in the gold package:

A&E 9419
TNT 9420
HD THEATER 9421
HDNET 9422
ESPN 9424
ESPN2 9425
USA NETWORK 9431
SYFY 9432
DISNEY CHANNEL 9433
ABC FAMILY 9434
CNN 9436
THE TRAVEL CHANNEL 9437
THE WEATHER CHANNEL 9438
CNBC 9439
HOME & GARDEN 9461
FOOD NETWORK 9462
CARTOON NETWORK 9463
PALLADIA 9469
LIFETIME 9470
COMEDY CENTRAL 9485
DISCOVERY 9487
THE LEARNING CHANNEL 9488
HISTORY 9491
COUTRY MUSIC TV 9493
ESPN NEWS 9494
TBS 9499
SPIKE 9506
GOLF CHANNEL 9473
LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK 9471
ANIMAL PLANET 9489
BRAVO 9492
BIG TEN 9500
COLLEGE SPORTS TV 9495
DISNEY XD 9449
WGN AMERICA 9446
NFL NETWORK 9426
TNT 9420
FOX SPORTS NORTH 5436
SPORTSOUTH 5437
COMCAST SPORTS NETWORK 5435
NEW ENGLAND SPORTS NET 5434
SPORTSTIME OHIO5431
FOX SPORTS DETROIT 5430
FOX SPORTS PITTSBURGH 5428
FOX SPORTS CINCINNATTI 5427
FOX SPORTS NORTHWEST 5426
FOX SPORTS OHIO 5425
COMCAST SPORTS NET MID ATLANTIC 5424
FOX SPORTS FLORIDA 5423
SUN SPORTS 5422
COX SPORTS TV NEW ORLEANS 5421
FOX SPORTS SOUTH 5420
FOX SPORTS SOUTHWEST 5416
FOX SPORTS MIDWEST 5418
FOX SPORTS ARIZONA 5415
FOX SPORTS ROCKY MOUNTAIN 5414
FOX SPORTS PRIME TICKET 5411
ALTITUDE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT 5410
COMCAST SPORTSNET CALIFORNIA 5409
FSN FLORIDA 423
ENCORE 9505
THE SCIENCE CHANNEL 9490
VERSUS 9466
PLANET GREEN 9457
HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL 9444
TENNIS CHANNEL 9442
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL 9429
SPORTSNET NEW YORK 5438
SPORTSOUTH 5437

[coldsteel]

OK, you need to remove most of those Fox Sports and Comcast channels (5400s), you'd only get the 1-4 in your area, not all of them. Gotta love unthinking copy/paste...

[garys]

You do get al the rsn's if you order the Multi-sports pack as well, you just won't see much (if anything) as most games will be blacked out.

[coldsteel]

You do get al the rsn's if you order the Multi-sports pack as well, you just won't see much (if anything) as most games will be blacked out.

Correct, but they're not all included in the Dish America Gold as standard.

[BarryG]

And hasn't Palladia and HD Theatre been taken out and moved into the $10 extra Platinum package?

[tedb3rd]

I just copied the list directly from the transcript I had with a CSR online. I could tell she was copying it from somewhere because it came in three 'chunks'... The only thing I did was remove the CSR's name and cleaned up the formatting a little... But that's the list I was given on 6/3. Guess we can take off some Disney channels too..(or do they get the SD version of that too :lol:)

Palladia?--Yes, it's been moved...unless you reference the official website. It's still in the 'basic' HD add-on packages. I guess the receivers out there are just as confused/mixed up as the website. My neighbor signed up for HD for life last week (after they messed up and tried to charge her $10/month... the old pricing scheme when HD add on and Ultimate were combined). When the billing part was corrected, she still had palladia, HD Theater, and a FEW of the other (now) platinum package.

[James Long]

New subscribers who do not accept the terms of "Free HD for Life" the cost is $10 per month but they do get HD Theater, Paladia, and Epix1 and Epix2.

Existing subscribers who continue with HD 120, HD 200 or HD 250 for $10 (not accepting the free offer) will continue to get HD Theater and Paladia.

I have not seen reports of existing subscribers getting Epix1 and Epix2 with their $10 HD 120/200/250 subscription - but I doubt (and hope) that there are not many people here paying $10 for the base HD package. If one is going to pay $10 per month get all the Platinum channels.

[tedb3rd]

James--exactly. She had NO HD before she signed up for it. She signed up the week AFTER the 6/3 new pricing/offer scheme. (HD Free for life via CC autopay/paperless billing). But it wasn't that clean cut.. I think the transition was crazy for Dish. Long story short (over a week of online chats, phone calls in attempts to get HD for life)... The website had one thing (that didn't work). The automated upgrade service on Dish's 800 number only had the old $10 HD(w/platinum)--which is how we finally got HD added at all. The CSR (real person we had to call because the automated system NEVER offered the HD for life option) could only remove HD (for a downgrade fee!) at the time we called. But we know Dish... "The right hand ALWAYS knows what the left hand is doing." The website still has some channels listed in the wrong categories. You can change to the HD only packages via the website, but (to my knowledge), there's no way to see an official list (as if it would be accurate!!) on the Dish website.

The neighbor I helped is not 'tech savvy' so that's why I was helping her upgrade. She would have had no clue that she was paying $10 she didn't need to for HD if she had called up by herself and used the automated system. In fixing the error (the part that took a week) she ended up still having SOME of the channels that are in the platinum package... for now at least. I'm sure Dish sends programming change signals out more than once to any particular receiver/account so eventually she'll probably only get what she's supposed to. (If 'big brother' is reading these posts, it will probably be 3AM tomorrow morning!!)

[James Long]

I'm sure Dish sends programming change signals out more than once to any particular receiver/account so eventually she'll probably only get what she's supposed to. (If 'big brother' is reading these posts, it will probably be 3AM tomorrow morning!!)Perhaps ... if they can identify her by these posts. As long as you have checked to make sure she's paying for what she wants and getting what she's paying for she should be ok. Hopefully she's not paying for Platinum and missing channels due to bad authorizations or antenna issues. If she's not paying for Platinum and has HD Free listed on her account I wouldn't worry about the extra channels.

[BarryG]

And hasn't Palladia and HD Theatre been taken out and moved into the $10 extra Platinum package?
CSR just told me that Palladia and HD Theatre are still part of Dish America Gold - they haven't been removed from DA packages - just the AT packages.

[bnborg]

CSR just told me that Palladia and HD Theatre are still part of Dish America Gold - they haven't been removed from DA packages - just the AT packages.

True, they are part of Platinum.

But you will lose Chiller, Sleuth, HMC and BBC, and others. See my post: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=2522526#post2522526.

[Michael P]

Palladia has been added back to HD250 (along with an SD version on a different channel number!?! This is the only channel that does not mapdown to the same channel number as it's SD counterpart. Could it be due to the SD channel being added after the fact (a formerly HD only channel).

[James Long]

Palladia has been added back to HD250 (along with an SD version on a different channel number!?! This is the only channel that does not mapdown to the same channel number as it's SD counterpart. Could it be due to the SD channel being added after the fact (a formerly HD only channel).Paladia on the former Fuse channel (158) is a mess.

If I were DISH I'd put a mirror on 369 (duplicate channel number, same feed) and use the mapdown on 9469 to create 158. It seems silly to have the HD version hidden so far away from the SD version ... unless they are expecting to restore Fuse and don't want to undo the mapping.

[BarryG]

Palladia has been added back to HD250
It's back in HD200 and HD120 as well.

HD Theater is supposedly viewable on 5710 without Platinum.

Chaos must be the rule with Dish Network HD programming.

[bnborg]

The new newsletter explains it: Platinum Free Preview (http://www.dishnetwork.com/entertain/preview/default.aspx).

[klang]

The new newsletter explains it: Platinum Free Preview (http://www.dishnetwork.com/entertain/preview/default.aspx).

I wonder if that is why some of those channels are duplicated in the 290's now?

[James Long]

I wonder if that is why some of those channels are duplicated in the 290's now?Probably ... although it would make more sense if the advertising actually told customers those channel numbers.

People (like me) who lock and hide unsubscribed channels don't see free previews without unlocking and unhiding channels - unless DISH puts them on a new channel. DISH used the 280-290 channel range for their free previews in the past ... it makes sense to use the 290s - if they would only advertise those channels.