Poll: With over 100 HD channels, are you switching to satellite?

by Darren Murph posted Aug 2nd 2008 at 12:00PM

Phew. Talk about a whirlwind of high-def announcements this week. No sooner did DirecTV trumpet its march to 130 HD channels did DISH Network hit back with a nice round 150 figure. Cablevision tried its best to garner some attention with a boastful press release to celebrate the big six-o, but it's clear who the two HD leaders in America are now (with Verizon breathing down their necks in a few 'hoods). That being said, are you finally getting the itch to throw caution to the wind and toss a dish upside your house? Are you really ready to say goodbye to those cable company bundle discounts? And if 130 / 150 isn't enough, what milestone will the satcasters have to reach before you cave?

[Image courtesy of WikiMedia]

Filed under: Polls, Satellite

Tags: channel, channels, hd channels, HdChannels, lineup, listing, poll, polls, satellite, switch, switching

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highest Ranked

Scott @ Aug 2nd 2008 12:15PM

How about "Already using satelite"

Been there for years and will never go back, Dish is amazing compared to cable!!

Neutral

Rob @ Aug 2nd 2008 12:45PM

Wow, I need one of those dish antennas to improve my OTA reception. I'm not paying to watch commercials and hidden fees.

Neutral

Money Mike @ Aug 2nd 2008 12:46PM

I have Verizon FIOS and we just got a slew of new HD channels in North Jersey.

Neutral

James Jones @ Aug 2nd 2008 12:48PM

Verizon fios is the one to have.Dish still goes down in bad weather.

Neutral

pji @ Aug 2nd 2008 2:54PM

It is funny, the only time my directv service would act up would be during a sprinkle AFTER we had ordered a ppv movie. Had it for a year, will never go back.

Neutral

MNJayW @ Aug 2nd 2008 1:16PM

I just wish you could get a fully featured TiVo just like my TiVo HD for DirecTV so I could have everything that I already love, plus the Sunday Ticket.

Neutral

michael @ Aug 2nd 2008 1:58PM

unfortunately as a resident of manhattan, most landlords don't allow satellite dishes. so my options are time warner, time warner and time warner. verizon hasn't unleashed fios in most of the island yet, just a handful of buildings in three neighborhoods.

Neutral

GhostDoggy @ Aug 2nd 2008 2:35PM

Having a lot of HD channels is meaningless unless the majority of the time, as a minimum, contains content originating in HD to begin with.

Upscaled content is not acceptable. A channel where only a minority of the time original-HD content is only available is not acceptable.

Cowsumers are too stupid to realize this. Just because a channel has the capability of sending HD doesn't mean it will automatically show any HD content any of the time.

Now eat your grass and be quiet on the way to the slaughterhouse. Moooooo

Neutral

Matt @ Aug 2nd 2008 10:14PM

SO would those of us that know much of the content is not hd and still choose to buy it be "COWSUMERS". I guess i could just buy a blu-ray of every single movie i've ever wanted to watch even though movie channels are mostly HD. I don't understand what you are using as the alternative that makes you an hd enthusiast except for ota and a limited supply of blu-rays. I hope you don't pay for ANY of your tv because guess what, your a cowsumer too. It doesnt matter if you get hd or not your paying for channels your not watching so MOOO your way into the hd-less slaughter house at least i'll die with better picture.

Neutral

kcmurphy88 @ Aug 2nd 2008 2:48PM

DirecTV since 1995. Right then, right now.

Neutral

David S @ Aug 2nd 2008 3:20PM

VMC + CableCard = No Sat

Neutral

Skimoney22 @ Aug 2nd 2008 7:27PM

I am waiting for them to come out with an HD only plan. If Directv does that and I can get local internet from Verizon(Fios is not available at all here, they make you get Sat, but pay thru Verizon)

Maybe $50 a month for every HD channel, except Pay channels, and internet.

I'm signing up. Until then I am stuck with Comcast.

Neutral

Pingmeister @ Aug 2nd 2008 3:34PM

Switched to DirecTV when our Charter Office told us they only had NINE HD channels.

Nine.

Now we're on basic DirecTV HD and loving it. Heartbreaking when we want to watch something and have to struggle through SD quality on our big TV. Be nice when everything goes HD.

Highly Ranked

Frank Furter @ Aug 2nd 2008 3:53PM

Said it once, I'll say it again. As much as I'm starting to despise Tivo (and Cox), a bad day of using my Tivo HD is better than a good day with those joke-of-a-DVR units that DirecTV or DISH try and sell.

No TiVo HD = No Satellite for me.

Neutral

jason @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:40PM

I'm totally with the hotdog man here...

We've been TiVo users for years. From way back when on the S1 and S2 with Crapcast, then onto DirecTV with a DirecTiVo dual tuner unit. Back in June, when we got our HDTV, we decided to take DirecTV out back and shoot it. Why? Their crappy HD DVR that's miles behind TiVo. Make it a TiVo again, and we'll think about coming back.

For now, we're totally happy with FiOS TV with a TiVo HD.

DirecTV HD DVR? Three Thumbs Down.

Neutral

Scott @ Aug 2nd 2008 9:40PM

I had the TWC triple play and was fine until I bought my HD set earlier this year. Only got about 15 HD stations with them so I switched to Directv and loved it. How can TWC not give Raleigh History HD, Discovery HD, USA HD, Scifi HD, Science HD, FX HD, etc and expect to keep their customers. I even cancelled the phone and got vonage just so I could stop giving them extra money. I asked them to match vonage and they said no so bye, bye TWC. As soon as I can get just as good of an ISP I'll drop them completely. They lost out on $150/month in revenue from me. Over two years with all the deals DTV comes out ahead in price.

Neutral

Matt @ Aug 3rd 2008 9:35AM

If you watch local sports in Philadelphia then satellite is not an option. I'll probably be a Comcast user for life, unfortunately.

Neutral

UnnDunn @ Aug 3rd 2008 11:33AM

I'm sticking with my current provider (Cablevision) for the foreseeable future.

Neutral

erichollins @ Aug 3rd 2008 9:53PM

I've had DirecTV and their HD DVR for almost a year now. I'm happy with it, but I've never used a TiVo though. I'm still waiting for Verizon FiOS like 75% of the rest of the country. I've heard a lot of people complain about DirecTV and I think they are pretty good. There are some stupid things like their recent announcement of adding 30 HD channels on August 14th, but I only get a total of 2 of them. Bastards.

Neutral

Unknown @ Aug 3rd 2008 11:11PM

I'm a dish subscriber as of last Thursday, luv it

Neutral

Glenn Gore @ Aug 4th 2008 5:41AM

Most of these so-called "HD channels" have yet to show anything in actual HD on them, so it is pretty much all marketing-speak at the present time.

Neutral

NotATreoFan @ Aug 4th 2008 9:48AM

When I switched to DirecTV from Comcrap several months ago, it was for several reasons. 1- 94 HD channels (vs 23) 2- Hardware (Comcrap's HD DVR could record 20 hours of HD tops. My HD721 holds 50+ hours of HD and doesn't freeze 15 times per day). 3- Price. As much as I like the Phillies, I cannot see paying what amounts to an extra $45/mo for the privilege of 70 less HD channels being replaced with Phillies games.

Neutral

CDN Crockett @ Aug 4th 2008 7:33PM

Pay? For TV? Ha! OTA 4 life, baybee

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