DBS Channel Cards?

[Mark Holtz]

Out of the stupid ideas department....

When I first received Dish Network, they included some channel cards that listed the channels in alphabetical order. Those charts were also included as part of the back of the Dish Magazine.

Well, the channel cards are no longer available, and some us refer to the listings. So, I'm kinda playing with the idea of having channel cards as downloadable PDF files, with perhaps a certain DBS web board logo in the corner. :lol: The charts would be AT50, AT100, AT150, Premium, and Everything chart.

So, how should I best organize it? Alphabetically? By channel number? Divided by theme? It appears that I may need to use 10 point font with a narrow font width.

Any suggestions? I'm probably going to cheat and use TNG Tony's chart for the initial data.

[gopherscot]

Great Idea .. I like it by channel number!:cool:

[tampa8]

For comparison purposes (to DTV or cable) I like it alpabetized.

[toomuchtv]

you can print a list from the DISH Online Guide...
http://204.95.170.116/dishsite/listings/lineup.asp

[Nick]

When I first got dbs, I did 2 lists -- alpha and by ch #. Used 'em few times, then tossed 'em.

Almost all my info now comes from the EPG.

[Mike123abc]

It would be handy... the other day I got the infamous phone call... tune to this channel real quick to see this... Of course it was on a channel I never watch, so I had no idea what the channel number was. By the time I scrolled through the guide it was too late. I suppose I could have booted up the computer and then searched EKB in less time...

This leads to the question:

Which is slower? Microsoft WinXP booting or Dish Channel Guide scrolling?

I think it could be a tossup.

[Lyle_JP]

You need a faster computer. Windows XP is the fastest loading OS (outside of dos or linux) I've ever used. Having a 1.4 Gigahertz Athalon XP and half a gig of memory don't hurt. ;)

-Lyle

[DarrellP]

Lyle, you obviously never used DOS. ;)
Even Windows 3.1 outboots XP. :D

[TNGTony]

XP boots in half the time it took Win98sp2 on my computer. There are plenty of issues I have with XP, but load time isn't one of them. Granted that DOS and Linux load in an instant by comparison. :)

See ya
Tony

[cnsf]

Originally posted by TNGTony
XP boots in half the time it took Win98sp2 on my computer. There are plenty of issues I have with XP, but load time isn't one of them. Granted that DOS and Linux load in an instant by comparison. :)

See ya
Tony

Keep in mind, you're talking about OSs that have kernels a fraction of the size of XP, with a fraction of the functionality in DOS's case. I think Linux and XP are comparable if you haven't loaded down XP with numerous startup third-party apps.

As for the Programming guide, how about a Palm OS version? Maybe download your favorite channel schedules or favorite search term results? Could be easily web-based...

[Mike123abc]

Well in all fairness my machine boots fairly quickly (2.6GHZ P4/1GB memory/2Mbit dedicated internet), it is just the factor of having to get up off the couch and go into the office to get the list.

It does not happen very often... just when someone calls on the phone and wants you to watch something that is going to be over in less than 30 seconds...

[dlsnyder]

Originally posted by cnsf

As for the Programming guide, how about a Palm OS version? Maybe download your favorite channel schedules or favorite search term results? Could be easily web-based...

For that matter, how about an EPG for the Palm OS? It could work just like the one on the box and when you click on a program it sends the IR code for the channel number. That would have to be a hecuva lot faster than the standard E* EPG is now.
You could maybe have the data sent to your Palm off of Zap2It or something like that.

Now that I think about it it could be the way to get around the lack of TiVo-like functionality on a 508.