# Boycott non HD Premiums!!!



## jash69 (Feb 25, 2005)

Hi Everyone,

It just occurred to me that I might be the only one that did this and shame on me for not suggesting it sooner to my fellow HD lovers out there. Back when i got HD at home over a year ago, I called DTV to cancel my non-HD Premiums, Cinemax and Starz. I knew I would no longer have the patience or tolerance to watch them in SD. I have a feeling many of you did not do this so you are not voting with your pocketbook to tell DTV to flip the switch and give us 50% more HD Premium content overnight like they should. Please join me in doing so, call today and cancel your non-HD Premium Movie Channels and tell them to call you back when they are available in HD. If we all do this, I bet they will move them over and scrap some of the countless worthless content like Shopping channels overnight.

Please help.

Thank you.

Jash
SF, CA


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## bidger (Mar 30, 2001)

Well, I haven't subbed to Starz! since 2002 or 2003 and the last time I had Cinemax it was part of a combo HBO package long before I went HD. I currently don't sub to any premiums, but if were to it would probably be HBO.

As far as any kind of movement getting D*, or any other content provider, to drop the shopping channels, good luck with that.


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## jash69 (Feb 25, 2005)

understood bidger. of the 1.5 million of us HD subscribers, i have to believe i'm not the only one that had all the movie channels before or have an interest in all of them today if they were available in HD. today they only offer HBO and Showtime in HD, fwiw. i'm so frustrated that we cannot watch Cinemax and Startz too. i'd pay for them overnight.


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## Bob_Newhart (Jul 14, 2004)

I'm thinking seriously about cancelling those as well. Since going HD last summer I don't think I've watched a single non-HD movie. Just a waste of money. Does Dish or Cable have those channels in HD?


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

I agree with you in principle. But where would they put the other HD channels today? They are out of bandwidth. They will get added eventually but in mpeg4 which the HR10 won't get. So you still don't win....


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## jash69 (Feb 25, 2005)

bob, please pick up the phone and vote with your dollars. 

hidef, i disagree. the folks at dtv have plenty of flexibility to move things around like they do on weekends when tnt hd goes dark for the nfl ticket crowd.

we are not organizing enough as a group to show them they are being foolish and leaving money on the table.

i'm quite confident a large percentage of the 1.5mm of us that have hd would want all 4 premium channels if they were available in hd. the first thing we have to do though is tell them sd won't cut it.


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

Although, most of us deplore the shopping channels, our rates would be higher without them.


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## bidger (Mar 30, 2001)

Absolutely Jim. I have a DVR...well, several actually , and I find the shopping channels very easy to ignore.

I would like to see D* add HD channels and even got a HR20 in anticipation of that, but I personally want channels added to the HD package. I'm really not that gung ho to pay $12/mo. or more for that 1 HD channel the premiums offer.


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## pmturcotte (May 7, 2001)

Agree 100%, havent watched a nonHD movie in years. Have HBO for Boxing, Entourage and Sopranos and thats about it. I still say the channel stinks otherwise, seem to have the same 10 movies in heavy rotation over a three week period.

I maintain I would rather pay a much higher rate for more HD programming. 

What kind of bandwidth do all those XM channels take up? Not an electronic techie, but have to think that might save something, not much but something.


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## Bob_Newhart (Jul 14, 2004)

pmturcotte said:


> Agree 100%, havent watched a nonHD movie in years. Have HBO for Boxing, Entourage and Sopranos and thats about it. I still say the channel stinks otherwise, seem to have the same 10 movies in heavy rotation over a three week period.
> 
> I maintain I would rather pay a much higher rate for more HD programming.
> 
> What kind of bandwidth do all those XM channels take up? Not an electronic techie, but have to think that might save something, not much but something.


Personally, I wish there were more HD movie channels such as HDNET Movies that shows older movies in HD.


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## bidger (Mar 30, 2001)

pmturcotte said:


> What kind of bandwidth do all those XM channels take up? Not an electronic techie, but have to think that might save something, not much but something.


Saw this same thing asked in another thread and someone responded that they take up very little bandwidth, which make sense to me because it's just compressed audio with very little graphics.


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## bidger (Mar 30, 2001)

Bob_Newhart said:


> Personally, I wish there were more HD movie channels such as HDNET Movies that shows older movies in HD.


Here's what my fingers are crossed for: TCM-HD.


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## jash69 (Feb 25, 2005)

ok. so those of you who do not have cinemax or starz in sd today cannot help me with this strategy. maybe you could in another way however. how about sending an email to dtv suggesting that you would consider adding them if they were available?

personally i find the quality of the signal for showtime hd consistently better than hbo hd. i'm not sure why and it frustrates the hell out of me.

lastly, if they added these other two premiums in hd, you'd get plenty of older movies to watch all the time. trust me.


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

bidger said:


> Here's what my fingers are crossed for: TCM-HD.


I second that. :up:


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## jash69 (Feb 25, 2005)

you second wanting another free channel being added to our 10.00 hd package? 

great. i won't hold my breath for the execs at d*tv to care what you want.


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

jash69 said:


> you second wanting another free channel being added to our 10.00 hd package?
> 
> great. i won't hold my breath for the execs at d*tv to care what you want.


I presume you're responding to my post. Please tell me where I insisted or even insinuated the the channel be free, or if in any way I even addressed the cost of the channel. I believe you can not do this. All I did was second a desire to see another HD movie channel, specifically, Turner Classic Movies.


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

jash69 said:


> It just occurred to me that I might be the only one that did this and shame on me for not suggesting it sooner to my fellow HD lovers out there. Back when i got HD at home over a year ago, I called DTV to cancel my non-HD Premiums, Cinemax and Starz. I knew I would no longer have the patience or tolerance to watch them in SD. I have a feeling many of you did not do this so you are not voting with your pocketbook to tell DTV to flip the switch and give us 50% more HD Premium content overnight like they should. Please join me in doing so, call today and cancel your non-HD Premium Movie Channels and tell them to call you back when they are available in HD. If we all do this, I bet they will move them over and scrap some of the countless worthless content like Shopping channels overnight.


Shopping channels may be worthless to you or I, but to DirecTV they are income-producing channels. DirecTV is paid per subscriber to carry them.

The only way DirecTV is adding HD channels is when the new Ka-band satellites go up in 2007 that provide national coverage. Then the gates will open wide.


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## Meathead (Feb 19, 2002)

jash69 said:


> you second wanting another free channel being added to our 10.00 hd package?
> 
> great. i won't hold my breath for the execs at d*tv to care what you want.


Isn't that EXACTLY what the point of this thread is? You are asking (nay, demanding) that DTV give us more HD for the same money. I am all for that, but I am not going to shoot myself in the foot to make a point that no one will listen to.

I have the Sports pack. Not one channel in that pack is in HD even though many sporting events are filmed in HD. This needs to change, but I am not going to give up on sports just because DTV won't get off their asses.

I have HBO. From that pack, I get one HD channel. All the shows I watch on HBO are on that channel. I only use the SD HBOs when I miss a show & need to get it on the west coast feed. This needs to change, but I am not going to give up on Entourage, Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, etc. just because DTV won't get off their asses.

I have Showtime. Same as HBO, I only watch the HD channel in that pack. I don;t think I have ever tuned in to the SD Showtime channels. This needs to change, but I am not going to give up on Dexter & Sleeper Cell just because DTV won't get off their asses.

Would I love to have all the HD channels in one package? Absolutely! In fact, I would pay $20 a month for it! But I am not going to give up on my shows just to make a point that will fall on deaf ears anyway.


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## jash69 (Feb 25, 2005)

understood mh. we are in the same boat. you would pay more for more hd premium channels. please tell them that via email or something. they need to hear it.

drew, sorry i was short with you. its like hearding cats to get some folks to care about your cause and i was unjustly terse. i'm presuming something like tcm will be bundled into our current hd package like tnt was since i doubt most folks would pay extra for it. the premium movie channels are an entirely different story however since they are never free.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

Bob_Newhart said:


> Does Dish or Cable have those channels in HD?


mine has this in HD:

254 Showtime HD	
215 HBO HD	
241 Cinemax HD	
266 The Movie Channel HD	
273 Starz HDTV	
603 CBS - HD
604 WB - HD
605 Fox - HD
606 ABC - HD
610 NBC - HD
612 PBS - HD
614 UPN - HD
615 Discovery Theater
616 HDNet
617 HDNet Movies
618 Universal HD
619 Comcast Sports HD
620 ESPN HD
621 TNT HD
622 NFL Network HD
623 Wealth TV HD
624 Outdoor Channel HD

and I may be wrong, but if we are paying the same price for the premiums but cable gets the HD for 'free' for all the movie channels, then DTV sure is ripping us off by charging us the same


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

JimSpence said:


> Although, most of us deplore the shopping channels, our rates would be higher without them.


(edit i had no idea i wasted my 12,000 on this )

I have zero problem with them also. I don't understand how some people do, speaking strictly logistically

Assuming people here have tivos since we are in this forum:

A. how much live tv do you honestly watch?
B. do you really channel surf that much that skipping the 10 or whatever channels is that difficult with 2 page down strokes? (and even if you do surf, why not do it via guide instead of by flipping the channels and waiting 2.x something seconds for it to lock in?) 
C. Will you pay the higher price that they supposedly are keeping us from paying, for the right not to see them? I am not.

I have no clue what shopping channels we even have. I have too much else to watch that it's just not a consideration. Hats off to those with empty tivos and the time to watch em all! 

I'm obviously biased since I have over 750 gigs of ..oops forgot the 160 on the sony....stuff waiting to be watched and they are usually 80% full now.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

newsposter said:


> mine has this in HD:
> 
> 254 Showtime HD
> 215 HBO HD
> ...


No ESPN2 HD ? How sad.


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## jash69 (Feb 25, 2005)

i dont really care if they cancel the shopping channels. that was more a comment about the content i could care less that seems to be taking up the limited pipe we have today.

i wonder how much money d* makes from all those shopping channels anyway?


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## Krookut (Apr 7, 2002)

dswallow said:


> The only way DirecTV is adding HD channels is when the new Ka-band satellites go up in 2007 that provide national coverage. Then the gates will open wide.


Do we have an idea when these launches are schedule for in 2007?


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## Bananfish (May 16, 2002)

newsposter said:


> I have zero problem with [the shopping channels] also. I don't understand how some people do, speaking strictly logistically.


My problem with them is not that they're provided, it's that D* keeps putting them back on my Channels I Receive list after I take them off. I don't wanna see em in my guide.


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## mjbvideo (Feb 29, 2004)

UPN-HD? I need to subscribe to DISH!!!


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

HiDefGator said:


> No ESPN2 HD ? How sad.


well they were the first cable company in the USA, I never said the best 

Plus I doubt I could handle the moxi box compared to tivo


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## Dmtalon (Dec 28, 2003)

I would imagine that you'd have a better chance of them attempting to 'increase' the value of HD if you dropped the HD package, not any SD packages.

But with the mpeg4 stuff even that isn't going to accomplish much at this point IMHO. For $10/mo you should get EVERY HD channel they broadcast. Hell, make it $15/mo and include ALL channels. That might be worth it.


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## ShiningBengal (Mar 19, 2001)

HiDefGator said:


> I agree with you in principle. But where would they put the other HD channels today? They are out of bandwidth. They will get added eventually but in mpeg4 which the HR10 won't get. So you still don't win....


They ought to have an HD Premium Package, consisting of the HD Package plus HBOH and SHOH. Why would I want to pay $21 to get two HD channels? DirecTV could charge, say $18.00 for HD Premium package.

Makes sense to me.


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## mikeny (Dec 22, 2004)

ShiningBengal said:


> They ought to have an HD Premium Package, consisting of the HD Package plus HBOH and SHOH. Why would I want to pay $21 to get two HD channels? DirecTV could charge, say $18.00 for HD Premium package.
> 
> Makes sense to me.


Make it $12, like the other "1st premiums" .


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## cheer (Nov 13, 2005)

The premium channels are highway robbery, esp. HBO. I don't subscribe to watch movies, because I don't like my movies butchered. HBO butchers the aspect ratios, as do the rest (though Showtime at least sometimes runs things in OAR). HDNet Movies is the king as far as I am concerned.

I could care less whether Starz or Cinemax goes HD, and once Sopranos is done I'll be dropping HBO as well.

Someday I truly hope that some smart premium channel comes along that understands that those of us who paid thousands for our TVs aren't the sort of imbeciles that complain about the DVD they just bought of the latest Adam Sandler Crapsterpiece because "it has those funny bars." Gahhhhh.


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