DISH / Blockbuster Announcement Discussion Thread!

[Hall]

And why if it is supposed that the 922 is the "best receiver winner of awards"

They will want it available to the highest number of customers. The number of 922 receivers out there isn't that high, at least not as high as 622 or 722/722k numbers.

 

[Hall]

But I would say my question about the Brick and Mortar stores is relevant since I'll be returning discs there under the new service as a Platinum sub. I'm opted in and getting at least one disc anyway, if I choose it, right? So I need to return it somewhere if I want the fast turn around. What will Dish do to keep those stores open?

It's not (really) relevant. This thread is about Dish's new streaming service. The 1-disc-plan from BB is an add-on. The fact that you can return to stores is an added benefit. There are, and will be, many customers who have NO BB stores within hundreds of miles. What do they do ? Oh, they return by mail as is standard.

 

[Hall]

I suppose "movers" are screwed with the mail service unless you can have them sent to the billing address, which is doubtful.

Screwed is a bit strong of a word.... By "moving", one has to accept ANY trade-offs that come with it.

 

[cloudy]

Considering almost every 922 software update has caused a few problems here and there, I imagine they're a bit hesitant to add a completely new Icon option that might screw up everything. They're not exactly known as having quality programmers.
So my wife can get this in her craft room (722K), but not me in the theater room (922). Oh well. It'll still be nice to have Blu Rays as an option again (since dropping Netflix Discs).

 

[thamac]

I hope they do a little tweaking with the menu interface for the streaming selection.
- A queue would be nice.
-Scrolling through the results list is kind of hard on the eyes.

Overall I like what I have seen up to this point.

 

[myron243]

Yes, I do understand that. But what I want is control over what I get, I always want 1 movie and 1 game. If they are all mixed in the queue and things are unavailable or unreleased then I might end up with 2 movies or 2 games instead of forcing the 1 game 1 movie I want. I wanted to know if they have separate queues or a way to force 1 game 1 movie or if I have to set up my queue to make sure it pulls a movie when I send a movie back and a game when I send a game back.

I currently have the 1 out at a time plan. There is only 1 queue. And the DVDs and games that are not yet available are clearly marked on the web site along with a date they will be available. When you select a DVD or game it goes to the bottom of the queue. You can move any DVD or game to the #1 spot in the queue. Just put the DVD or game you want sent when you return a DVD or game in the #1 position and that DVD or game will be sent.

The statement "unlimited store exchanges is a bit misleading. You can trade a mailed DVD for a store DVD but that DVD must be returned to the store. When it is returned to the store you will be sent the next one in your queue. You may then take that one to the store and trade it. Basically you can get every other DVD or game from the store. The times I have done it by the time I get home 30 or 45 minutes later I have an email telling me the DVD has been shipped.

 

[goresnet]

I currently have the 1 out at a time plan. There is only 1 queue. And the DVDs and games that are not yet available are clearly marked on the web site along with a date they will be available. When you select a DVD or game it goes to the bottom of the queue. You can move any DVD or game to the #1 spot in the queue. Just put the DVD or game you want sent when you return a DVD or game in the #1 position and that DVD or game will be sent.

The statement "unlimited store exchanges is a bit misleading. You can trade a mailed DVD for a store DVD but that DVD must be returned to the store. When it is returned to the store you will be sent the next one in your queue. You may then take that one to the store and trade it. Basically you can get every other DVD or game from the store. The times I have done it by the time I get home 30 or 45 minutes later I have an email telling me the DVD has been shipped.

OK... you get mailed one. You take it to the store, exchange for a new one. They mail a third. Can you take the second (first from the store) and exchange it in store again? I don't see where you'd ever mail one back. Just keep exchanging the mailed one at a store... there has to be some limit.

 

[TheKrell]

Good question. It's also unclear to me what happens when you return a mailed DVD to the store and fail to exchange it for something else. This might be the case if all the disks you want are unavailable in store.

 

[sethwell]

Screwed is a bit strong of a word.... By "moving", one has to accept ANY trade-offs that come with it.

not really, your service location might not receive mail delivery. i have a p.o. box to receive my mail because no postal delivery to my area in the country. also i'm sure there are some neighborhoods that have a central delivery location that have a box number and not a mailbox at the house. we will probably just have to wait to find out some of these things next week.

 

[sethwell]

Considering almost every 922 software update has caused a few problems here and there, I imagine they're a bit hesitant to add a completely new Icon option that might screw up everything. They're not exactly known as having quality programmers.
So my wife can get this in her craft room (722K), but not me in the theater room (922). Oh well. It'll still be nice to have Blu Rays as an option again (since dropping Netflix Discs).

Not every update, i for one have not had trouble other than some timer and remote problems. There is hope for the 922 though since they used a 922(although it could have been a mocked up one to demo it) to show the product off on the news conference.

 

[Coach Knight]

You can exchange the ones you receive by mail for a store disc...but that store disc cannot be exchanged a second time at the store. When you turn it back in to the store, they ship out a new mailed disc, which can then be exchanged at the store. When that store exchange is returned, they mail another...lather, rinse, repeat.

I have had the BB by mail service recently and I know for sure that is how it works. One exchange per mailed title, but "unlimited" in how many mailed titles you can exchange in the store per month.

The big advantage over Netflix (or whatever they are gonna call themselves now) is that you can watch two movies from one mailing with the in-store exchange...if you live close to a store, obviously. So even if their mail time is a little slower than Netflix, you can get in as many or more movies per month if you have a store nearby.

For those who primarily watch movies on weekends, like me, it is great since there is no way I could watch two movies from one disc out at a time on Netflix in the same weekend...whereas I can with BB.

 

[Tyralak]

Not every update, i for one have not had trouble other than some timer and remote problems. There is hope for the 922 though since they used a 922(although it could have been a mocked up one to demo it) to show the product off on the news conference.
View attachment 70000

It wasn't a mock up. It was beta software.

 

[cashcobra]

Why are there 1000 more movies available on a computer vs. TV?

Contracts with Hollywood studios limit how some movies can be distributed. This is something new in the future expect the numbers to be closer to even.

 

[skysurfer]

I wonder if this is going to be a DISH PPV killer. Why pay for 2 DISH PPV movies when you can just pay the $10 for the Blockbuster option and watch the movie through that instead of through the PPV channel? I won't be doing the BB - I only spend $2 to rent movies (if even that) a month and lately it's been $0 with all the bad movies out there.

 

[alane]

I wonder if this is going to be a DISH PPV killer. Why pay for 2 DISH PPV movies when you can just pay the $10 for the Blockbuster option and watch the movie through that instead of through the PPV channel? I won't be doing the BB - I only spend $2 to rent movies (if even that) a month and lately it's been $0 with all the bad movies out there.

A simple fix for that will be to exclude any PPV type programming from the streaming option. And I assume it will be like that.

 

[alane]

Is the blockbuster announcement possibly the reason they have been dragging their feet on releasing the extender? Perhaps they are going to give the extender streaming capability such that it doesn't need to tie up a tuner. ??? The hardware could probably do it, but whether that's what they have in mind I have no idea.

 

[mike123abc]

A lot of people compare the Netflix number vs. the BB number of streaming. I wonder how many movies BB has vs Netflix. Netflix has a ton of old TV episodes in their streaming library.

 

[Ilya]

What Dish is doing is absolutely great! Bundling the services is the key here!
It is great to have a choice of content delivery method in one attractively priced plan.
For some movies I may prefer the convenience of streaming. For others I will insist
on the best possible picture and sound quality, which means Blu-ray!
Am I going to watch three times more movies just because I have three different ways to get them?
Of course not! But I will be a happier customer because I have more options.
This is the advantage that NetFlix had until recently and gave it up!

 

[satjay]

I think current dish subs will play a role in giving feedback come October 1 on streaming. Many have said that the streaming will be different then the current vod setup for dish, I think this will be big for new subs to dish. Iif the streaming does not stream at a acceptable rate (pending you you current Internet speeds) this would be a issue for new subs

The concept is a great idea of dish part!

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys!!

 

[jdad11]

Oh crap.. I just signed for Dish as new customer and they've already activated me yesterday (Sept 23). I'm 7 days too early for that Oct 1st launch which is free for one year for new customer.