State of HDTV 2006 good/bad? (1 Viewer)

[JediFonger]

here is what is available to me here in sunny Boston (avg/typical of most US cities). over the air includes:
1. PBS
2. CBS
3. ABC
4. NBC
5. Fox
6. CW (assuming both WB&UPN is combined in sep.)

cable&sat? includes:
1. TNT
2. Discovery
3. ESPN
4. CineMax
5. HBO
6. Starz
7. Showtime
8. inHD1
9. inHD2

so... that's it? are we forever stuck with around 9 HD channels in cable&satellite?

the 6 channels over the air is fine by me because that's roughly the same number we had pre HD. the only beef i have is not everything is 100% wall to wall HD. most commercials are still SD or SD-upconverted to HD. even the local news broadcasts in 4:3... wtf? it's very disheartening. yeah i know, equipment costs, $, etc. but what's the phrase in field of dreams? =).

but i expect more out of cable. hell, if you're paying for it, where's the content? on top of the 9 channels, there is VOD/PPV-HD. there are typically 3-4 HD films you can view for free... but it comes through as stereo only... =(. and with the titles they have for paid PPV/VOD-HD is incredibly slim, about 4 average.

is HD still trying to vye for some sort of attention? i'm already seeing transitions that can take upto 10 years to replace what we have. if you look elsewhere in other countries like Japan or some European countries, HD content is frequently wall-to-wall. what is it about the American public? why don't they like HD?

 

[KevinJ]

More HD channels should be coming[at least on cable]once the analog channels are switched over to digital[thusly increasing available bandwidth at some point].

 

[Joseph S]

It's only getting worse in several cities for OTA. Lots of multi/crapcasting at the expense of quality. Boston at least still has full bit-rate ABC, CBS, FOX. Dish has more to offer channelwise and PQwise than Directv and Comcast over TWC.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The general public isn't as keen on having to replace their SD TV just to see HDTV content when their SD content was sufficient for them. That's the big hold-up, plus the deadline for broadcasting solely on ATSC bandwidth is pushed back for a few more years, thus delaying people's need to upgrade their TVs until then.

 

[TravisR]

That's fine by me because if less people are watching, it means that they'll be less inclined to put the bugs all over the screen in the HD broadcast. No one likes the network logo but it goes beyond insanity when I'm watching a show in SD and suddenly an animated news van drives across the bottom of the screen with a banner saying something like "A product in your home could be killing your children! Find out what at 11."

 

[JediFonger]

does this mean that SD will NEVER die because everyone will complain and HD will forever be a niche product? or will the transition take place slowly over the course of a decade? from 2010-2020?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

YiFeng, if you have Comcast, check your lineup. They have added a NESN specific channel, ESPN2, Universal-HD and a couple others.
http://www.comcast.com/Support/Chann...sult&Zip=02134

 

[JediFonger]

to get everything in HD, i'd have to pay through the nose =). can't afford it.

802WGBH PBS (Boston**)

804WBZ CBS (Boston**)

805WCVB ABC (Boston**)

807WHDH NBC (Boston**)

825WFXT FOX (Boston**)

828MHD

833TNT HD

833TNT HD

838WSBK HD

839Discovery HD***

846Universal HD

849ESPN HD***

850ESPN 2 HD

851NESN HD

856WLVI HD

868Cinemax HD***

870HBO HD***

875STARZ! HD***

877Showtime HD***

881INHD1***

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Actually, the cost for everything but the pay channels (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and Starz) is only $2 a month over your regular plan. Of course, if you have a bare bones regular plan, you get bare bones HD. But if your plan includes the SD channels, you get the HD counterpart for the extra $2 you pay for the box.

 

[JonZ]

Off the top of my head,my list is pretty close to Jedis - take away the Cinemax channel and add a Discovery Channel and Universal channel

"does this mean that SD will NEVER die because everyone will complain and HD will forever be a niche product?"

I hope that rear projection never dies.

 

[JediFonger]

jeff,

but that's the rub =). i'm not paying for hundreds of channels i don't watch. the only reason i need cable HD is because i live in an area surrounded by hills and i can't get ANY OTA reception whatsoever. all my neighbors and i have tried it all. doesn't work. *sigh*.

this brings up another thing about cable. why not let users pick and choose which channels and charge them that cost? truly paying for what you're viewing. the technology is there... but the politics... isn't.

 

[Eric F]

If you have Comcast in the Boston area, you can get the DVR box, HD locals, TNT-HD, ESPN1-HD, Disc-HD, INHD1/2, UHD for ~$30/mo. Just make sure you ask for the $6 Digital Classic package along with Basic Service.

What we really need on Comcast is an all movie channel like HDNet Movies or TCM-HD (whenever that starts up)

 

[JediFonger]

i do have comcast, i pay roughly $18 for HD local+DVR box and that's it. i get ondemand HD movies for free and there's hundreds of SD on demand movies. i don't think TNT, INHD, UHD are worth $12 more/mo. besides i get their broadband for $63/mo. and basically HDTV for free. it's $63/mo. for broadband with or without HDTV package.

 

[Garrett Adams]

You might find your broadband cost reduced if you subscribe to the basic cable tier. Comcast has two price tiers for broadband based on whether the customer subscribes to standard (or perhaps expanded cable TV). My Comcast broadband is $45.95/mo.

 

[JediFonger]

that's exactly what i said garrett.

if i buy only broadband, then it costs me $63, if i buy broadband and basic HDTV package, my broadband costs $48 because i get $15 "package discount" but still get charged $18 for basic HDTV and that comes to (gasp) $63 again. either way HDTV basic is like "free".

on the other hand, Verizon DSL offers $15/mo. for 1.5m/328k. not2shabby.

 

[RAF]

Right now the best offering of HDTV choices is, without a doubt, The DISH network. If you happen to live in an area where locals are already offered in HD (like in NY where I am) you have about 30 channels available. And at least 13 of these are at full bandwidth (1920x1080) rather than "HD-Lite" like DirecTV and some other providers. I could even up that number more if I chose to put an antenna on the roof (no desire to go back to those days) to capture a few more HD stations that are only OTA at this time. I'm never at a loss for something to watch in HD and with 4 dual tuner HD DVRs I have the capacity to record 8 HD events in HS simultaneously if it ever came to that.

Suffice it to say, I have all the HD I need for the foreseeable future. And as someone else mentioned, this doesn't come cheap. Right now I'm paying over $130 a month for the luxury of having all these channels and equipment. However, that should come down eventually. Already I'm paying about $8 less/month for more HD programming ever since DISH restructured its pricing. And you can save some more on the monthly cost if you don't want or need all the equipment I have. This is all a personal choice. The HD content is out there in 2006 if you really want it and can afford it.

 

[JediFonger]

interesting... but i can't dish (in the valley, no direct line of sight to the south or any direction for that matter, can't even get decent cell reception).

now, are those HD channels 1920x1080 all the time or just 1/2 the time? for OTA network HD channels, it's only about 1/3-1/4 of the time because commercials aren't HD, most of the daytime shows aren't HD, only primetime and certain event movies.

 

[RAF]

Naturally, the downside to satellite TV is that you are limited by geographical barriers (and sometimes stubborn coop boards in some high rises). If you can't see the birds in the sky then you are out of luck and I feel your pain. Good point.

According to the StopHDlite site the 13 channels, like HBO, that are "True HD" (1920x1080) are that way for all their presentations. I was going to link to the information but the site is currently down with a server crash so I can't be any more specific at the moment.

Here's a link in case they resolve the issues (no pun intended):

http://www.stophdlite.com/


Speaking of specifics: A couple of people questioned my claim of 30 HD channels from The Dish Network. Actually, I have 35(!) distinct HD offerings with the vast majority 24/7. You can get more information on the individual stations at the Dish Network Site.

Here's the lineup in my area (where locals are also offered)

WCBS HD
WNBC HD
WNYW HD (FOX)
WABC HD
TNTHD
DSCHD (Discovery HD)
HDNET
HDNMV (HDNET Movies)
ESPHD
ES2HD
NFLHD
UNIHD (Universal)
NTGHD (National Geographic)
STZHD (Starz Movies)
HDTV3 (Demo Channel)
HBOHD
SHOHD
HGHD (HGTV HD)
HDEV1 (Specialty events - part time)
NBAHD (part time)
HDPPV (Pay Per View)
RAVE*
EQUTR*
GLLRY*
TRESR*
ANIMA*
WORLD*
WSPOR*
ULTRA*
KNGFU*
FILMF*
MNSTR*
HDNWS*
GAMEP*
FAMLY*
*"Voom" Channels

That's enough to keep me in HD content for most of my needs. The only HD channels I miss are PBS HD (which you can get over the air) and YES HD - which Dish doesn't carry since Charlie Ergen can't reach an agreement with George Steinbrenner)

 

[Jeff Pounds]

I have the same lineup as Robert.

I have the DISH VIP 622 HD DVR receiver and get the full DISH HD lineup (sans Showtime, Starz and Cinemax).

It's actually pretty nice. With all of those channels, there is always something worth watching in HD.

My one big wish right now would be for History Channel to launch an HD channel. That way, I would have almost no reason to watch SD!

 

[Joe_H]

I wish that more channels were sent by Comcast unencrypted through QAM, thats for sure. I get CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC, WB, PBS, and then a ton of useless subchannels. I guess I'm lucky in that I get my channels up to 23 in digital 480p as well, but I'd love to have ESPN/ ESPN2, Discovery, and TNT in HD as well.

(I should mention this is for a second room. I do get these channels as well as HBOHD and InHD1/2 in the main TV room).