I'm moving this weekend and seriously debated whether we should stick with D* or switch to Comcast. I did a lot of research. It was a much more difficult decision than I thought it would be. After much deliberation, I decided to stick it out with D* for a while longer, even though that means I will have to forego HDTV for a little while longer and pay a bunch of money for the equipment when HD local channels are activated our area.
Here's why it was a tough decision for me:
We have a 50" Samsung high-def TV, connected to a standard D* Tivo box and a 2 LNB dish. We've been on D* for several years. For high def, I've been getting by with off-air HD through a Windows Media Center HTPC with an HD tuner card. Works decent and has recording capability, but it is buggy. I want to ditch the HTPC and get good HD service through my provider, not off air, and I want my DVR to record HD. I want it all to work seamlessly.
D* is a good service, but it could be a lot better. They charge way too much for new equipment. Many channels, even the new XM music channels, are WAY over-compressed, and it's irritating. They are way overdue in getting new birds up for high def. From what I'm hearing, it will be several years before they get done adding all the HD locals, and they won't even THINK about reducing the compression on their existing channels until that's done (they still have to serve all the existing channels to existing customers with old boxes and dishes). And I'm assuming that their existing HD nationals (DiscoveryHD, etc.), which are currently running at high compression and reduced resolution, are not going to improve for several years to come. All they care about right now is getting the HD locals up. We're in Sacramento, which is scheduled for D* local high-def channels early next year (so I hear). So for now I have to get a new 2LNB dish, then call them back out again in 2 months to put a 4 LNB new dish up and drill even more holes in the wall to bring a ridiculous number of coax cables in for local HD service. And pay a bunch of money for a new HD DVR box, which HOPEFULLY will be as good as the Tivo, and HOPEFULLY will be available by then.
Switching to Comcast was tempting. Our new home is already wired up for Comcast (and it only takes 1 cable!), and they are offering HD national and local channels and their HD DVR (Moto 6412) for $10/mo with no equip costs at all. Their HD channels look great from what I hear. But Comcast has problems too. The first 100 channels are still analog, and they look lousy (so I hear). That includes many channels we watch frequently. Their DVR is buggy and unpolished. It is missing many of the features we love about our Tivo, including the fast-forward 3 second jump-back (for more accurate skipping through commercials), wishlists, etc. Many of their digital channels are over-compressed too. My wife loves the Tivo, and she is very used to it. If we go with Comcast and end up hating the box, she will be very unhappy.
Supposedly Comcast will be adding digital simulcast of the analog channels to all markets eventually, but who knows when, or if they'll stick to the schedule, or how compressed those channels will be. Also, supposedly they have struck a deal with Tivo, but I've heard late '06 is when we might start seeing the boxes.
After all this, I figured screw it… we will stick with what we know works, and look forward to it improving, and hope it improves enough, and soon enough, to keep us happy.
I know this is a long rant but I think it echoes the feelings and frustrations of many people here.
Here's why it was a tough decision for me:
We have a 50" Samsung high-def TV, connected to a standard D* Tivo box and a 2 LNB dish. We've been on D* for several years. For high def, I've been getting by with off-air HD through a Windows Media Center HTPC with an HD tuner card. Works decent and has recording capability, but it is buggy. I want to ditch the HTPC and get good HD service through my provider, not off air, and I want my DVR to record HD. I want it all to work seamlessly.
D* is a good service, but it could be a lot better. They charge way too much for new equipment. Many channels, even the new XM music channels, are WAY over-compressed, and it's irritating. They are way overdue in getting new birds up for high def. From what I'm hearing, it will be several years before they get done adding all the HD locals, and they won't even THINK about reducing the compression on their existing channels until that's done (they still have to serve all the existing channels to existing customers with old boxes and dishes). And I'm assuming that their existing HD nationals (DiscoveryHD, etc.), which are currently running at high compression and reduced resolution, are not going to improve for several years to come. All they care about right now is getting the HD locals up. We're in Sacramento, which is scheduled for D* local high-def channels early next year (so I hear). So for now I have to get a new 2LNB dish, then call them back out again in 2 months to put a 4 LNB new dish up and drill even more holes in the wall to bring a ridiculous number of coax cables in for local HD service. And pay a bunch of money for a new HD DVR box, which HOPEFULLY will be as good as the Tivo, and HOPEFULLY will be available by then.
Switching to Comcast was tempting. Our new home is already wired up for Comcast (and it only takes 1 cable!), and they are offering HD national and local channels and their HD DVR (Moto 6412) for $10/mo with no equip costs at all. Their HD channels look great from what I hear. But Comcast has problems too. The first 100 channels are still analog, and they look lousy (so I hear). That includes many channels we watch frequently. Their DVR is buggy and unpolished. It is missing many of the features we love about our Tivo, including the fast-forward 3 second jump-back (for more accurate skipping through commercials), wishlists, etc. Many of their digital channels are over-compressed too. My wife loves the Tivo, and she is very used to it. If we go with Comcast and end up hating the box, she will be very unhappy.
Supposedly Comcast will be adding digital simulcast of the analog channels to all markets eventually, but who knows when, or if they'll stick to the schedule, or how compressed those channels will be. Also, supposedly they have struck a deal with Tivo, but I've heard late '06 is when we might start seeing the boxes.
After all this, I figured screw it… we will stick with what we know works, and look forward to it improving, and hope it improves enough, and soon enough, to keep us happy.
I know this is a long rant but I think it echoes the feelings and frustrations of many people here.
