[810DVR]

I emailed [email protected] and asked them about current customers' ability to get Turbo HD packages. The response was that the Turbo HD packages will not be offered to current customers. Hopefully they'll change their minds, I'm pretty displeased to be a current customer and not be offered the opportunity to get HD only plus my RSNs, Big Ten, etc.

From: Xxxxx, Xxxxxx [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 11:42 PM
To: Xxx
Subject: RE: TurboHD

Greetings,
The Turbo HD packages will only be available to new customers as a new customer promotion. The current package you have will remain on your account and new channels available will be added to your current package. Please visit our website for more information.

Thank you,
Xxxxxx Xxxxx
Executive Communications Team
Dish Network Corporation
E-mail: [email protected]

 

[Doug E]

I emailed [email protected] and asked them about current customers' ability to get Turbo HD packages. The response was that the Turbo HD packages will not be offered to current customers. Hopefully they'll change their minds, I'm pretty displeased to be a current customer and not be offered the opportunity to get HD only plus my RSNs, Big Ten, etc.

From: Xxxxx, Xxxxxx [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 11:42 PM
To: Xxx
Subject: RE: TurboHD

Greetings,
The Turbo HD packages will only be available to new customers as a new customer promotion. The current package you have will remain on your account and new channels available will be added to your current package. Please visit our website for more information.

Thank you,
Xxxxxx Xxxxx
Executive Communications Team
Dish Network Corporation
E-mail: [email protected]

What a joke! Their website makes NO mention of the new HD packages yet.

 

[Stewart Vernon]

I still don't believe this. It would be monumentally stupid to have new packages that current customers cannot get of this nature. There are several tiers to the packages, and disallowing any existing customer to get them would mean current non-HD customers could never upgrade to HD with Dish after 8/1! And the existing customer base of HD customers would never be able to upgrade either if they wanted and actually pay more.

I have to believe some wires are crossed here as it makes no sense at all.

 

[phrelin]

Unbelievable. I just sent the following email to investor relations:

A friend just inquired about your new TurboHD packages and received the following response:

From: Xxxxx, Xxxxxx [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 11:42 PM
To: Xxx
Subject: RE: TurboHD

Greetings,
The Turbo HD packages will only be available to new customers as a new customer promotion. The current package you have will remain on your account and new channels available will be added to your current package. Please visit our website for more information.

Thank you,
Xxxxxx Xxxxx
Executive Communications Team
Dish Network Corporation
E-mail: [email protected]

You need to rethink this policy. As a stockholder and an Echostar customer since 1988, I believe this is not a good approach. I don't want to change to a Turbo package. But existing customers who have supported your HD upgrade program through subscriptions deserve more consideration when a whole new group of subscription packages are introduced with a big PR/Marketing fanfare.

I have recommended Echostar to many over the years. I hope to continue to do so

.

 

[DTHguy]

I emailed [email protected] and asked them about current customers' ability to get Turbo HD packages. The response was that the Turbo HD packages will not be offered to current customers. Hopefully they'll change their minds, I'm pretty displeased to be a current customer and not be offered the opportunity to get HD only plus my RSNs, Big Ten, etc.

From: Xxxxx, Xxxxxx [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 11:42 PM
To: Xxx
Subject: RE: TurboHD

Greetings,
The Turbo HD packages will only be available to new customers as a new customer promotion. The current package you have will remain on your account and new channels available will be added to your current package. Please visit our website for more information.

Thank you,
Xxxxxx Xxxxx
Executive Communications Team
Dish Network Corporation
E-mail: [email protected]

look, he say that new channels will be addes to your acurrent package, with out additional charger, may be including you local RSN.
new customer will be charge MORE MONEY.

 

[Paul Secic]

I emailed [email protected] and asked them about current customers' ability to get Turbo HD packages. The response was that the Turbo HD packages will not be offered to current customers. Hopefully they'll change their minds, I'm pretty displeased to be a current customer and not be offered the opportunity to get HD only plus my RSNs, Big Ten, etc.

From: Xxxxx, Xxxxxx [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 11:42 PM
To: Xxx
Subject: RE: TurboHD

Greetings,
The Turbo HD packages will only be available to new customers as a new customer promotion. The current package you have will remain on your account and new channels available will be added to your current package. Please visit our website for more information.

Thank you,
Xxxxxx Xxxxx
Executive Communications Team
Dish Network Corporation
E-mail: [email protected]

They'll give you new HD channels for your package. It seems to be a way to get more MPEG4 customers on board. This is just a theory.

 

[brant]

although i really want my RSN's, i'm pleased that they'll be adding whatever new HD channels they get to my absolute HD package. maybe the 'new customer' part will only be for a limited time so they don't get bombarded with current customers trying to switch. we'll see in time.

 

[brant]

although i really want my RSN's, i'm pleased that they'll be adding whatever new HD channels they get to my absolute HD package. maybe the 'new customer' part will only be for a limited time so they don't get bombarded with current customers trying to switch. we'll see in time.

 

[anex80]

I had a tech chat with E* today and then also called their VIP support line and was able to verify the following information:

1. New HD turbo packages will NOT be available to existing customers. This may change in the future but not in the short term.
2. HD Absolute package will be grandfathered in as is with no additional changes to programming, meaning none of the 17 new channels coming August 1 will be added to this package.
3. HD Absolute package will no longer be available to any customer after August 1, so if you want it, you better get it now.

 

[aloishus27]

So not only will I not get any new channels added to my current package, I can't get them by subscribing to a new package where it is included. If this is the case I will be a Dish customer no more. Voom was almost the last straw for me, this definitely would be.

I had a tech chat with E* today and then also called their VIP support line and was able to verify the following information:

1. New HD turbo packages will NOT be available to existing customers. This may change in the future but not in the short term.
2. HD Absolute package will be grandfathered in as is with no additional changes to programming, meaning none of the 17 new channels coming August 1 will be added to this package.
3. HD Absolute package will no longer be available to any customer after August 1, so if you want it, you better get it now.

 

[jclewter79]

I had a tech chat with E* today and then also called their VIP support line and was able to verify the following information:

1. New HD turbo packages will NOT be available to existing customers. This may change in the future but not in the short term.
2. HD Absolute package will be grandfathered in as is with no additional changes to programming, meaning none of the 17 new channels coming August 1 will be added to this package.
3. HD Absolute package will no longer be available to any customer after August 1, so if you want it, you better get it now.

I just can't see how they are not going to add the new channels to HD absolute. I am glad that I have not made the HD switch yet though.

 

[Jim5506]

I had a tech chat with E* today and then also called their VIP support line and was able to verify the following information:

2. HD Absolute package will be grandfathered in as is with no additional changes to programming, meaning none of the 17 new channels coming August 1 will be added to this package.

You are wrong about the channels not being added.

Did you read the original post by 810 DVR?

I think I'll go with the email from ceo over a chat with a csr.

 

[Bobby H]

Add to that the issue roughly half or more of those 17 new channels will be premium channels in the HBO and Cinemax packages.

Since I subscribe to HBO there should be no problem in getting the HD versions of HBO2, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Zone and HBO Latino.

 

[phrelin]

Oh, I'm sure that the HD Absolute will get Lifetime HD, Lifetime Movie Network HD, and Planet Green HD. Maybe even CBS College Sports HD too.

The other additions are 13 premiums. But remember, these mean Dish is "surpassing its goal of reaching 100 national HD channels five months ahead of schedule."

I'm sure that doesn't mean we won't get more HD non-premium channels next year after the rate and package structure changes in February.:sure:

 

[Taco Lover]

Dish website confirms TurboHD is only for new customers:
http://www.dishnetwork.com/turbo_is_coming/index.shtml

It also says "VOD in 1080p"???

 

[Stewart Vernon]

I firmly believe there is a lot of misinformation floating around and a lot of over-panicking in reaction to that.

I simply cannot believe that after 8/1 Dish would not allow any of their existing 13.5+ million customers to have any of these new packages. It would be monumentally stupid, considering that not only could they lose customers over this BUT many customers would actually pay more to get the TurboHD packages.

Also... IF "Dish HD Absolute" is only going to be grandfathered until Feb 2009, then they will effectively be kicking out existing customers and not allowing them to upgrade and pay more even then.

I think this is a combination of people asking the questions wrong (expecting HBO and StarzHD to be part of DishHD for instance) and Dish representatives giving wrong answers... then the cluge meets in the middle and people go running and screaming.

It's just so monumentally stupid a decision that I can't believe it is true.

I could believe they would grandfather us for a while... I could believe they wouldn't let us downgrade to a cheaper HD-only package... and I could believe they would set a date after which they would not add new HD to our grandfathered-deal to force us to upgrade... but not ever allowing us to upgrade makes no sense at all.

 

[James Long]

Available to existing customers on August 2nd ... please?

Odd.

 

[grog]

Seems about right to me. :sure:

Let's see:

• Dish dropped MLB
• Dish dropped Voom
• Dish gives new HD package to customers yet to be defined. Current customers need not apply!

Seems about right to me. :sure:

 

[coldmiser]

How can one company be so monumentally stupid?!?!

My contract is up this month and I can't see myself sticking around much longer.

 

[phrelin]

I'm waiting for that 1080p VOD, or won't that be available to me either. Of course it may be available only to the select few who have Bluray players and discs - pop the disc in and voila - a video you demanded.

Now the 8PSK - what don't I understand there? I had to go to Wikipedia to refresh the context for my terribly out of date brain. The best quote I could come up with is:

Notably absent from these various schemes is 8-PSK. This is because its error-rate performance is close to that of 16-QAM - it is only about 0.5 dB better-but its data rate is only three-quarters that of 16-QAM.

So why again should I be impressed? I'm sure I don't understand something.

And its 100% HD Programming. So those getting it won't get the shopping channels? Yeah, right. And apparently they won't get 90%+ of the programming on most of the HD channels....

I don't mind a bit of spin in marketing, but geesh.