Who's got the most HD channels?
 

As of 7/07, from Sound & Vision

Cablevision - 39
Dish Network - 39
Verizon FiOS - 28
AT&T U-verse - 26
Time Warner - 26
Comcast - 23
Directv - 23
Cox - 18
Charter - 18
Brighthouse - 17
Mediacom - 15

I know I ended up going with Dish over Directv because I was only interested in HD channels. More added to all of them all the time, it looks like.

The question is not the MOST but the BEST to me.

I haven't found a place that just has the crap, but doesn't carry the networks, main stations, etc., personally.

There's been a few rumors that DirecTV will be going live with upwards of 50 new HD channels pretty shortly (maybe even only a week).

They've been promising that sorta thing for about 3-4 years now, however.

They've actually said they're adding 140 new HD channels between now and the end of the year. I would guess that a large number of those channels will be local HD channels for CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox in various markets. I started receiving local HD channels a few months ago in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They're also adding several new channels in September, because they sent something in the mail saying I needed to upgrade my HD DVR receiver if it hadn't been already in order to get them. I upgraded it at the first of the year in anticipation. I think DirecTV is the way to go if you haven't gotten anything right now.

Direct doesn't have KJRH-HD yet, do they?

I only switched because they didn't have my locals. But I remember them promising the moon every few weeks, and I would go with whoever had the best/most today if I were buying today. But I'm a little bitter from sticking it out for so long on the basis of promises with Directv.

It would be nice if they actually said what channels they were going to have and when. It might actually make people have an informed decision. The fact that they don't kinda tells me it isn't all they are hyping it to be.

Again, I'm a little bitter towards them. :lol:

I have AT&T Uverse and their HD quality is horrible. Worse than stuff I have seen on Direct TV. I canceled the HD service and went back to OTA.

I've been with DishNetwork for about a year now and could not be any happier. Considered going with Direct TV and waited to see what their promises will deliver (as mentioned correctly above)...and waited, and waited.

I have not experienced a single blip with them. I also plan on staying with them indefinitely as they are the ONLY satellite provider in my area that offers ESPN-Deportes and they have the Champions League exclusive rights for full coverage in the US (this was a very strong motivator for me as ESPN-"regular" appear convinced that real soccer is only played in England, hence their consistent bias in showing only British teams, yet I am interested in Italian and Spanish soccer: AC Milan/ Barca).

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1...ionixl4rp7.jpg
Ciao,
Pro-B

Directv send up a new satellite called D10 and will be providing new HD channels the first few weeks of Sept.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=87235

Available Now:

70 HBO East
71 SHO East
72 ESPN2
73 ESPN
74 UHD
75 TNT
76 Discovery HD Theater
78 HD Net Movies
79 HD Net

98 National Geographic Channel Sneak Peek (Times vary)
332 MHD Sneek Peek (Times vary)

99 HD Pay-Per-View

Depending on service area and equipment:

ABC
CBS
NBC
FOX
CW
MY Network TV

Local Regional Sports Network


Coming in September:

A&E
Animal Planet
Big Ten Network
Chiller
CineMax East
CineMax West
CNN
Discovery Channel (simulcast)
Food Network
HBO West
HGTV
History Channel
MHD (MTV)
NFL Network (Full-Time)
Science Channel
Showtime West
Starz! East
Starz! West
Starz! Edge
Starz! Comedy
Starz! Kids & Family
The Movie Channel
The National Geographic Channel
TBS
TLC
Versus/Golf

October 1st

The Weather Channel

November:

RFD TV

Fall 2007:

Bravo
Cartoon
CNBC
FX
HBO2 East
HBO2 West
HBO Family East
HBO Family West
HBO Latino East
HBO Signature East
MoreMax East
Sci-Fi
Sleuth
Speed
USA

21 Regional Sports Networks:

Blackout Rules still apply!

Altitude
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
FSN Arizona
FSN Bay Area
FSN Detroit
FSN Florida
FSN New England
FSN North
FSN Northwest
FSN Ohio
FSN Prime Ticket
FSN Rocky Mountain
FSN South
FSN Southwest
FSN West
New England Sports Network
SportsNet New York
SportsSouth
Sun Sports
YES

December 2007:

The Tennis Channel

Spring 2008

Disney Channel
Toon Disney
ABC Family
ESPN News
Hallmark Channel
MGM
Travel Channel

^ How much of a HD package price increase will all those channels bring?

Initially, I don't think there is a price increase. At least that's what they told me when I got the new MPEG-4 DVR. Of course, that will change in time.

das

In your opinion, how does that DVR stack up to it's TiVo predecessor?

I work for Cox and we're planning on rolling out close to 50 new HD channels by the end of '08. Good, because we need 'em.

Nationwide or in individual markets?

Good news! I like Cox's service, but wish they had more HD channels.

PLEASE dear lord change the DVR and menu interface to closer to TW. It's like 8 bit NES with that thing.

Gheez, I hope Dish adds Speed HD. That would be the one channel I would consider switching to DirecTV for.

I certainly won't try to speak for das, but for me the DirecTV DVR has been just fine. It doesn't have dual live buffers, but I didn't use it that much anyway. Other than that, it does what it is supposed to do, but I do miss the Tivo sounds a little :-) It takes some getting used to, but I found a handy quide at dbstalk that gave all the little changes and where things moved to.

http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=115

Click on "Tivo To HR-20 Survival Guide"

Cablevision/Optimum tied for first? Wow.

I was told just yesterday that DirecTV will be adding 35 HD channels come September 1st... with 15 more by January 1st.

It's fine, I guess. It's a little glitchy at times, and the fashionable blue lights are annoying (even if you can disable the primary one), but it does the trick, albeit with a somewhat goofy interface. One advantage is that navigation is much faster. The 30 second skip works well, but I do miss the jump-to-end button (I haven't gotten through the whole survival guide yet, so there may be a workaround). No dual-buffers sucks. I used that all the time. I've only used it a little bit, though, and won't really put it through the true torture of DVR life in my home theater until Fall.

das

They've been telling me Fall 2007 (and then Sept. 1) for almost a year now. It seems like they've been fairly consistent on it, so I'm hoping it comes true.

das

pinata, they had KJRH-HD when they launched local HD channels. Channel 6, KOTV wasn't HD originally, but it is now. ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX are all HD now.

Damn, I was told 2 weeks ago by the dude at ABS in Owasso that NBC wasn't in HD locally - that was the major factor that I couldn't make the switch from Cox.

Sure enough, they're on the stupid DTV website. Oh, what I get for trusting the pros in the flesh over the pros on the net.

I'm going to have to seriously consider...

Any news about Time-Warner?

IIRC, most of the channels DirectTV said it's adding dont have HD programming yet.

True, but if you go and look it up, every single channel they've listed have had pressers that said they were launching near the time DirecTV launches them.

What are Comcast HD plans?

pinata, I am very pleased with DirecTV's service. Before they went HD local for Tulsa area, I had Cox AND DirecTV, just so I could get Fox and ABC in HD. I already had CBS and NBC HD out of New York, and still do. Another big plus -- for me anyway -- is NFL Sunday Ticket and being able to watch just about any and every game in HD. I'm a Cowboys fan, so I'm going to get to see all their games anyway on Fox, but now that Adrian Peterson is a Viking, the only chance I'm going to be able to see most of his games are with the Sunday Ticket, and in HD to boot. I swear, after watching HD, there are very few non-HD channels I watch anymore. I haven't watched an HBO or Showtime non-HD channel in two years. A friend of mine calls me an HD snob.

Also, the ABS guy might have been correct a couple of weeks ago. It was only over the weekend that I discovered that CBS-HD had finally been added to the satellite local channels. But if he was talking about NBC, then he was definitely wrong.

To continue the kicking and screaming fest they have over adding *ANY* HD channels period yet run endless ads about how they have "the best HD picture quality." Trust me... we don't even have HDNet or HDNet Movies here, and they want an extra $5 a month for the NFL Network.

I'm seriously looking to jump to DirecTV. The current NFL Sunday Ticket offer is a seriously good offer. However I just don't like the idea of having to pay for a freakin box..... decisions decisions decisions.

EXACTLY why I don't use Comshaft anymore. Plus their prices are rediculous compared to other cable companies around me.

I use Wide Open West (WOW!) and they currently have 19 HD channels (22 if you count HBO and the such). They have the best customer service of nearly any company I've ever dealt with, and I have never really had an issue with their service in over six years. Plus they have HDNET and HDNET Movies, which other than DiscoverHD, are the two channels I watch the most.

With Comcast, we've got Discovery, Comcast Sportsnet, ESPN and ESPN2, Universal HD, MHD, Mojo, ABC,, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, CW, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz... And I think that's it. There might be one or two I'm missing.

I'd love to have Animal Planet in HD as well as National Geographic. And HDNet.

my Comcast has National Geographic in HD, and Food, NFL.

FoodHD owns. I'd like to have UniversalHD.

I just signed up for Dish Network and I'm having it installed on Monday morning. I've had Time Warner HD for a little over a year now. It's been nice but they only have 21 HD channels and the only one's I care about are the locals, ESPN, ESPN2, Discovery, and TNT for Basketball. Dish has 39 HD channels and I can wait for Food, TLC, HGTV, National Geographic, NFL HD, etc. Plus Time Warner doesn't have Bravo or NFL Network even in SD.

Very happy with Dish to date. Particularly fond of HDNET, HDNet Movies and Universal HD (who has been running stuff in HD like Northern Exposure in its proper 4:3 aspect ratio).

TNT HD is worthless though. They crop movies to 16:9 and stretch TV to 16:9. Just awful. LOTR looks wrong cropped. Not as bad as pan n scan but not much better.

The Dish HD-DVD is great (VIP-622). I'd say it's one of the best and most user friendly piece of electronics I've dealt with in recent years. Fantastic remotes, very stable, easy to use.

Hoping Dish gets the History Channel in HD. Would love that.

A few channels like Discovery HD are definitely bit-rate starved. Planet Earth would pixelate like crazy when there were flocks of birds flying around.

The Kung-Fu station (old Voom station) has been playing great Kurosawa titles like the Seven Samurai and the Hidden Fortress :D

could not agree more on TNT's HD channel... it's brutal.

If you have a really large screen (tv or projector), then you have to be careful with who you go with. Dish and Directv are known for bad artifacts in the pic due to not enough bandwidth so its compressed like crazy.

Im going with Fios when I move in Oct because ive heard its better. I have TWC now and I honestly think their channels are a bit better than when I had Dish.
So, just keep in mind, more channels does NOT always mean a good thing. It could decrease quality overall. On AVS and other forums, people call it HD-lite.

http://hdguru.com/?p=18

Q. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the following on their move into HDTV: the federal government, TV manufacturers, cable and satellite companies?

Satellite bottom dwells as 2. DirecTV and Dish Network seem to be racing to the picture quality bottom, delivering less than full HD resolution, or what I call “low hi-def.”

I just had Fios installed today. The HD quality is much better than Comcast's. It also came with an HD DVR.

My HD lineup, which is included in the base cable price is:

FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC, CW, TNT, ESPN, ESPN2, NFL, HDNet, HDNet Movie, Universal, Discovery, Wealth, Nat'l Geographic, MTV, Food, HGTV, Lifetime, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, TMC, and Starz

Kinda disappointed Comcast Sportsnet is not available since it was with Comcast.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't DirecTV broadcast in H.264 to newer receivers (available as of last year) as opposed to MPEG2? I have always thought this broadcast has looked better than my cable or my buddies Comcast cable. And we all use front projector screens ranging from 90"-110".