View Full Version : What do converts from E to D miss?
Bob Haller
10-29-03, 06:32 AM
What do you all miss? Supers? Etc? anything unfriendly about tivos?
The channel numbers. After three months of Directv I an still not as good with channel numbers as I was after 6 years of DISH. Other than that very happy with base receivers and TiVo.
greylar
10-29-03, 09:42 AM
I have been doing some research and it appears that the HD Tivo that is supposed to come out next year has only one tuner. Can someone confirm this? I'm with you Bob, just about ready to switch but that would be a deal breaker for me.
G
buzzdalf
10-29-03, 09:53 AM
Channel numbers. It's hard to change them in the brain.
Bob Haller
10-29-03, 09:58 AM
I THJOUGHT it was originally one tuner but the internet reaction gopt them to redesign it and delay a bit for a two tuner unit.
I wanted to wait on this but my patience is all used up
Mark Holtz
10-29-03, 10:03 AM
I'm still getting used to the channel numbers, but since I watch most everything pre-recorded, it really doesn't matter. I think I got my favorites down to just the locals, news, and C-SPAN.
I do miss the Superstations, but the only program I record off UPN/WB is Angel. Buffy has ended it's run, and Enterprise got dropped off my season pass. Oh, yeah, and the Charlie/Technical chats.
Curtis0620
10-29-03, 10:59 AM
I THJOUGHT it was originally one tuner but the internet reaction gopt them to redesign it and delay a bit for a two tuner unit.
I wanted to wait on this but my patience is all used up
4 tuners.
2 OTA
2 Sat.
However can only record 2 at a time.
GreyGhost00
10-29-03, 01:22 PM
I gave up Distant nets (E&W) and miss them, but not nearly to the degree that I once thought I would. The TIVO makes timeshifting pretty easy, so it's not that big of a deal to me.
I'm still getting used to the channels numbers as well after 6 years of Dish, but I'm learning my favorites quickly.
In all, I'd say it was a farily painless conversion and the plusses - Sunday Ticket/ choice of multiple electronic brands / HD package - were way worth it to me.
Bob, run, don't walk to your local Circuit City.
Here is the deal I just got:
2-HDVR2 Directivo's $49.00 each= $104.00
1 pizza rebate (whatever that is) (-$100.00)
1 Multi- room rebate (-$100.00)
My net cost (-$96.00)
Including installation!!
They gave me a duel LNB single slot dish. They would not give me the 3 slot dish or switch. I guess I will have to use my rebate for that!!
I plan on doing my own installation.
:grin: :grin: :grin: :grin:
crkeehn
10-29-03, 02:44 PM
The channel arrangement is very different and does take getting used to. Not better or worse, just different.
pez2002
10-29-03, 02:48 PM
it does take time getting uesd too
Its so freakin easy though
Can i say freakin on this site ??
valand_krisban
10-29-03, 07:14 PM
After 5+ years of E*, the only thing I miss is the big text on the guide, and the color scheme. The E*guide is much easier to read from the couch.
I don't miss anything else. I actually am disapointed that I didn't switch sooner.
Neutron
10-29-03, 08:36 PM
Bob, run, don't walk to your local Circuit City.
Here is the deal I just got:
2-HDVR2 Directivo's $49.00 each= $104.00
1 pizza rebate (whatever that is) (-$100.00)
1 Multi- room rebate (-$100.00)
My net cost (-$96.00)
Including installation!!
They gave me a duel LNB single slot dish. They would not give me the 3 slot dish or switch. I guess I will have to use my rebate for that!!
I plan on doing my own installation.
:grin: :grin: :grin: :grin:
What features does the HDVR2 have? That isn't HD is it?? How did you get that price??
I am not sure that the sales folks who helped me knew what they were doing. They had to call another store to find out how to ring up the package. I sure was not going to argue over the price. :)
It is the Hughes Directivo 35 hr two tuner PVR. It is not HD.
tivosmart
10-29-03, 10:24 PM
I have been doing some research and it appears that the HD Tivo that is supposed to come out next year has only one tuner. Can someone confirm this? I'm with you Bob, just about ready to switch but that would be a deal breaker for me.
G
(edit) ops, sorry... missed the post from Curtis0620 above...
The HDTV Tivo receiver will have 4 tuners: 2 will be capable of recording DirecTV HDTV feeds and the other 2 will be capable of recording OTA HDTV feeds. The hard disk is going to be at least 250GB. DirecTV is aiming a price point of around $200 less than their main competitor, the Dish Network DVR 921 (which sells today for around $900, so do your arithmetic).
tivosmart
10-29-03, 10:26 PM
I am not sure that the sales folks who helped me knew what they were doing. They had to call another store to find out how to ring up the package. I sure was not going to argue over the price. :)
It is the Hughes Directivo 35 hr two tuner PVR. It is not HD.
Amazing deal. Do you know if it was one of a kind or if this is the price for everybody now at CC ?
tivosmart
10-29-03, 10:28 PM
I don't miss anything else. I actually am disapointed that I didn't switch sooner.
Same here...
Mark Holtz
10-29-03, 11:05 PM
What features does the HDVR2 have? That isn't HD is it?? How did you get that price??
The HDVR stands for Hughes Digital Video Recorder, but with the HD in front, many people confuse it was a Hi-Def recorder. Hughes newer models have a different moniker.
sfowler2
10-30-03, 07:00 AM
Like most others have mentioned the arrangement of the channels is difficult to get used to. Something that no one has mentioned is that the picture quality is not as good. Lots of pixelization, although this is supposed to improve when the new satellite is finally launched.
Amazing deal. Do you know if it was one of a kind or if this is the price for everybody now at CC ?
Like I said the clerks were pretty clueless, but I saw them enter the receiver numbers into the register and it came up with the $49.00 price. The rebate coupons looked like they printed out automatically.
crkeehn
10-30-03, 10:23 AM
Picture quality worse? Picture quality is a subjective issue and for as long as I have been reading DBS postings there has been an ongoing debate as to which has better picture quality D* or E*
Both of them have reasonably good picture quality, although that varies from channel to channel and day to day. When we dropped E* last Spring, the picture on E* was softer and not quite so detailed. Certainly we have had no complaints with the D* picture
bonscott87
10-30-03, 11:17 AM
The Hughes HDDVR2 is the DirecTivo. It's suggested retail price was dropped to $99 everywhere a couple weeks ago. It should cost you no more then $99 to get a new DirecTivo and depending on other deals or rebates, can be much less. I got mine at CC for $49 as well the first week of Oct. because they were $99 minus $50 rebate.
Nothing Bob. Nothing at all. Get your butt over to a CC or BB and get one of these Tivos. Now!
Then go to Weaknees.com and get a larger HD.. you're all set!
valand_krisban
10-30-03, 06:48 PM
Something that no one has mentioned is that the picture quality is not as good. Lots of pixelization, although this is supposed to improve when the new satellite is finally launched.
I have the same picture quality as I did with E* on my 36" CRT HDTV, which is super clear and no pixelation. You may have some tweaking left to do on your setup to take care of that.
sfowler2
10-31-03, 07:38 AM
On my 57" RPTV my digital OTA looks great. My D* HDTV looks really good, but not as good as my former E* setup. My SD D* system looks good, but once again, not as good as my SD E* setup. It is blatantly apparent when watching The Cartoon Channel. On my 27" TV in the bedroom the picture looks fine, similar to E*. It is fairly well known that D* does not have the capacity that E* has at the moment and due to all the locals being transmitted picture quality is suffering.
Bob, if you have a large screen TV you will notice a difference between the two providers.
scooper
10-31-03, 08:02 AM
Large HDTV Ready displays will not look as good as smaller CRT TV's for either provider. Beyond that, it comes down to which set of "flaws" bother you more - D* will have a "sharper" picture, but show more digital artifacts, while E* has fewer artifacts, but the picture will seem "not as sharp / colors not as rich". Pick your poison.
Having said that, calibration (by either an ISF Technician or using a calibration DVD such as Avia or Video Essentials) can help you to get the best possible picture out of any source.
mnassour
11-02-03, 09:01 PM
What do you all miss? Supers? Etc? anything unfriendly about tivos?
What do I miss? Buggy Dishplayer hardware, slow remotes and watching Charlie Chats while drunk !
Ohyea...when you increase the recording time on your DirecTivos to 240+ hours they do tend to slow down a bit! :D
What do I miss from E*?
I miss the overcompression.
I miss the false promises and stalling and delaying of new features.
I miss the buggy software.
I miss the PVR reboots.
I miss finding all the shows I planned to watch on the PVR that evening were on a different times or didn't record.
I miss the higher cost for the same service.
I miss the crappy local feeds.
I miss my wife asking me to fix the "Dish thing" all the damned time.
I miss the Charlie Chats where he never commits to anything.
I miss complaining about my satellite company.
I miss having to watch the Yankees once every few weeks.
I miss having to install new equipment because E* changed its technology strategy (2nd locals dish).
I miss getting thumb cramps from those crappy remotes.
I miss upgrading the PVRs....oh, wait, that stopped after the Dishplayer.
I miss the Dishplayer.
I miss the really knowledgeable and helpful first level CSRs.
I miss having to comb through my bill every month to find where they inadvertently charged me extra fees.
I miss the really high costs of the PVRs.
But, MOST of all, I miss E* thinking I would never switch.
What I "really" miss....
I miss the Caller ID on the PVR.
I miss the Manage Files function.
I miss the speed of the PVR guide and deletion of files.
I miss the Kids Music channel.
I miss the ceo@echostar people who were very helpful.
I miss the Dishplayer wireless keyboard.
I miss the absence of PVR fees (but gone now anyway unless grandfathered).
Like most others have mentioned the arrangement of the channels is difficult to get used to. Something that no one has mentioned is that the picture quality is not as good. Lots of pixelization, although this is supposed to improve when the new satellite is finally launched.
I haven't found this AT ALL. In fact, it's the exact opposite for me.
Bowtieman
11-11-03, 07:28 AM
What do you all miss? Supers? Etc? anything unfriendly about tivos?
I am a 5 year dish customer and after last night I have pretty much decided to give up on the. I have waited and waited for the 811 and now it's going to be next year. Geeezzz
Is there anything in the rumor mill that Direct will pick up ABC-CBS-NBC-FOX for high definition.
That is all that is holding me back if they would get just one network I would change in a heartbeat.
ChrisPC
11-11-03, 03:15 PM
Is there anything in the rumor mill that Direct will pick up ABC-CBS-NBC-FOX for high definition.
That is all that is holding me back if they would get just one network I would change in a heartbeat.
Yes. :D D* is launching brand new satellites next year, and they'll have the capacity for HD locals, possibly even every market in the US!
greylar
11-11-03, 03:58 PM
Yes. :D D* is launching brand new satellites next year, and they'll have the capacity for HD locals, possibly even every market in the US!
I thought I read somewhere in these forums that Dish has tried to get the networks in HD but that there was some kind of resistance from the networks themselves that made it unlikely that there will be HD networks any time soon.
I live in an area where I don't get any OTA and I am extremely bummed that I can't get any decent HD channels.
G
The rumor mill has Direct TV lauching a satellite array that allows up to 1500 HD channels, more than enough for every local to be on it. See other threads here at at avsforums for more info.
greylar
11-12-03, 11:08 AM
I was under the impression that is was not a matter of room but that the networks didn't want their HD channels on the satellite. In other words they could have room for 40,000,000,000,000 HD channels but in this case it seems like I read that there was resistance from the networks.
So I ask is it because of the extra room that DirecTV is SUPPOSED to have, that you are guessing that they will have HD locals? Or are you saying you have heard something specific? Because HAVING THE ROOM for every HD channel in the world doesn't mean they will HAVE every HD channel in the world. And to say so is frankly just making crap up.
G
I miss rumours like this about Echostar........
bonscott87
11-12-03, 02:17 PM
greylar,
Right now DirecTV has no more room for anything. Period. They might be able to squeeze in a couple more HD channles and that's it. Once the new 7s spotbeam sat goes up in 1st quarter, they can offload a lot of locals to that and it will free up more room for a few more channels.
What alv is talking about are the new super high powered sats that News Corp is going to retrofit to be used for DirecTV video use in the next 2-3 years. There have been press releases on this and threads on dbsforums (with lots of technical info) and even the tivocommunity on it. With those new sats along with new LNB's on current dishes (or maybe new dishes, no one knows), there would be enough bandwidth to carry hundreds of HD channels.
Why are there no HD locals on DirecTV now? There is no bandwidth to do it.
In 2-3 years they may actually have the bandwidth to do it if they so choose.
Same for DISH, there don't have the bandwidth right now to offer HD locals. In 2-3 years? Maybe. Superdish may give them some bandwidth for a couple markets soon but that's about it.
No one has any facts on these things other then neither provider has the bandwidth right now.
And you can bet the farm that DirecTV will try to offer the standard def locals for all 210 markets before they even think about widespread HD locals.
National HD feeds of the networks have all the same problems as the standard def one do now. Almost no one will qualify for them so it's not economical to put them up right now. They will be better served and make more money by putting up the new Cinemax-HD or Starz-HD that everyone can get vs. ABC-HD which almost no one can qualify for. It's all basic economics.
Karl Foster
11-12-03, 02:25 PM
I miss rumours like this about Echostar........
..enough to trade your HDRV2's for them? :D
SlicerMDM
11-12-03, 03:21 PM
greylar,
Right now DirecTV has no more room for anything. Period. They might be able to squeeze in a couple more HD channles and that's it.
So which is it? "no more room for anything. Period." or "They might be able to squeeze in more HD ..."
What alv is talking about are the new super high powered sats that News Corp is going to retrofit to be used for DirecTV video use in the next 2-3 years.
From the press releases, the new sats (or at least the first) will be functional mid-2004. That's hardly 2-3 years.
Overall, there has been no official comment from anyone that these sats would be used to carry HD locals. Only that they will have the bandwidth to do so, if D* wanted. I think the point is to simply state the enormous amount of bandwidth available from these sats.
geneb11
11-12-03, 04:23 PM
I miss those buggy receivers(not)
I don't miss anything. I thought that I would miss the supers,but with Directv having my locals their covered.
As or the channels,do like I did. Make a printout of the channels you sub to and put a copy in each room. I did this on my own webpage. I have a list of Total choice plus with HBO(no PPV's).
Mark Holtz
11-12-03, 05:45 PM
Printable Channel Lineup in PDF Format:
http://www.directv.com/see/pdf/chnllineup.pdf
geneb11
11-12-03, 06:08 PM
This is what I came up with a channel line up. You can print it out or source view it and change it to your liking.
http://domania.us/geneb11/directvchannels.html
Pegesus
11-14-03, 09:07 AM
The TWO channels I miss from E that I hope D starts to carry are
Wisdom and GAC.
I contacted The Wisdom Channel and they said they are in "negotiations" with D.
But from the previous posts it sounds like D is out of room???
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