April 27, 2008
Dish Network vs DirecTV
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Anyone who’s looking for satellite TV deals will be asking this common question: Dish Network or DirecTV? Both Dish Network and DirecTV offer quite the same programming packages in close price ranges; more over, their satellite system, DVR functions, and promotion free gifts are quite alike as well. Considering all the similarities on their services, it is not surprise that most satellite shoppers faced dilemma when choosing between Dish Network and DirecTV. However, there are still substantial differences between these two satellite companies when you dig deep enough. The purpose of this article is to sort out the plus and minus point for both Dish and DirecTV which in turn, help you to choose between them.
Dish Network
There are lots of advantage with Dish Network when compare to DirecTV.
If you own a HD television, I am sure you wish to have as much HD channels as you can. In this case, Dish Network is the choice you should go with, as Dish Network is offering the most HD channels in the States (31 national HD channels plus a big chunk of local channels in HD including their latest release in HD regional sports network). In contrast, DirecTV has less HDTV programming to offer (11 national HD channels at time of writing).
Despite HD channels availability, monthly subscription fees is also lower with Dish Network. Dish Network monthly fees starts from $19.99/mo (with DishFamily); DirecTV, $29.99/mo (with DirecTV Family). Both programming package offers 40+ programming choices but the monthly price turned out $10 in difference.
For other standard programming packages, Dish Network America’s Top 100, Top 200, Top 250, and Everything Pak cost $29.99, $42.99, $52.99, $89.99 monthly; compare with DirecTV similar package: Choice $39.99/mo, Choice Xtra $54.99/mo, Plus $59.99/mo, and Premier $99.99/mo – the difference should tell you clearly who’s the winner.
On the other hand, there is weakness with Dish Network services as well. The main negative point with Dish Network services is their customer service. Dish Network does provide 24-7 live call customer support. However, the quality of the support is where it should be improved. Many complain that the persons who answer customer calls hardly speak English and do not have sufficient technical knowledge in answering their questions. A simple search of ‘Dish Network complains’ on the Internet should provide you enough customer feedbacks on the problem.
DirecTV
DirecTV is so far the top satellite company in United States in term of customer subscriptions.
The main advantage DirecTV has in the competition is their special sport package subscription. On top of their standard programming, DirecTV subscribers get more sport actions than Dish Network users. A good example is DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Tickets; you will get 14 live games per week! That’s a whole lot more NFL actions than what Dish Network subscribers getting. Beside NFL, DirecTV also owns some other sport event broadcast rights such as HotPass (for Nascar race) and Mega March Madness (extra college basketball games). The amount of live sport game broadcast in DirecTV is incredibly big.
Nevertheless, as said at above, there are a few minus points with DirecTV when compare with Dish Network – mainly in term of the price and the HD channels.
Conclusion
The choice between Dish Network and DirecTV is simple. If you want the tons of live sport games more than anything, DirecTV is your choice. In case you can live with a little lesser live sport games on your TV, but more HD programs and in a cheaper monthly price, then you should go with Dish Network.
April 18, 2008
News
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Bank of America sold Liberty Media Corp. nearly $2 billion worth of shares in DirecTV Group Inc., taking the media conglomerate up on its offer to provide the bank stock options in exchange for increasing Liberty’s stake in the satellite television company.
The April 2 financial transaction, detailed in a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, leaves Liberty Media owning 548.7 million shares, nearly 48 percent, of El Segundo-based DirecTV. Englewood-based Liberty (NASDAQ: LCAPA, LCAPB) acquired a controlling 41 percent stake in DirecTV earlier this year from News Corp.
Liberty acquired the additional 73.8 million shares from Bank of America at a value of $25.25 per-share in return for committing buy and sell options to the bank on 110 million of DirecTV’s shares.
The arrangement could net Bank of America between $2.4 billion and $3.4 billion, depending on the price of the “>DirecTV shares (NASDAQ: DTV) when the options expire over the course of three years starting in 2009.
April 18, 2008
Digital TV
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With broadcast TV stations preparing to switch to all-digital signals early next year, about 5.3 million U.S. households have taken the government up on its offer of discount coupons for a gadget to ensure their sets will continue to get the picture.
Each U.S. household is eligible for two $40 coupons toward the purchase of converters that sell for about $60. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration reported last week that 10 million coupons had been requested since the program began Jan. 1.
“We’re doing a pretty good job so far,” Meredith A. Baker, head of the telecommunications agency, told a Senate hearing. “We have a lot more work to be done.”
Redemption is going much more slowly, as consumers need to wait for manufacturers to roll out the boxes and retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart to stock them. As of Friday, 280,128 coupons had been redeemed. The government started mailing the coupons in February, and Baker said the backlog of requests was being worked through.
On Feb. 17, all full-power TV stations must turn off their analog signals and broadcast in digital. People who use an antenna and don’t own newer digital sets will need a converter box or their screens will go blank.
People can apply for the converter box coupons at www.dtv2009.gov or by calling (888) DTV-2009.
April 18, 2008
DirecTV
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The FINANCIAL — Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) on April 14 announced it is working with DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV) on a deployment to offer local TV channels for its viewers in selected cities across the U.S. Using Motorola’s multiplexing and video compression technology, DIRECTV will process and transmit TV signals with advanced MPEG-4 technology.
DIRECTV has implemented Motorola’s encoders in each of seven cities to receive signals from local TV stations. Each encoder features a terrestrial receiver so that TV signals are received and converted to MPEG-4 in a single unit. The encoder transmits its signals to a Motorola multiplexer in DIRECTV’s Broadcast Center, where the signals from various encoders are packaged together and dispersed via satellite to DIRECTV’s customers. “We chose the Motorola MPEG4 encoder for its flexible inputs and muxing capability,” said Hanno Basse, DIRECTV vice president of Broadcast Systems Engineering.
“More service providers are looking to MPEG-4 to improve their video offerings and venture into next-generation services,” said Doug Means, vice president and general manager, IP Video Solutions, Home & Networks Mobility, Motorola. “Our deployment with DIRECTV is a perfect example of how Motorola can help service providers reap the benefits of MPEG-4 by enabling the delivery of high-quality content and improving the experience of their customers.”
More on DirecTV.
April 15, 2008
Digital TV
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PARKERSBURG — The transition to digital television may have some people confused about whether or not they’ll still be able to tune in when the change occurs.
The federal government has mandated that all television stations start broadcasting digital over-the-air signals by February 2009. The change, commonly referred to as the digital TV transition, applies only to over-the-air signals.
According to the government, digital TV is an advanced broadcasting technology that enables broadcasters to offer television with better picture and sound quality. It can also offer multiple programming choices, called multicasting, and interactive capabilities.
The switch means normal analog televisions alone will not be capable of receiving the digital over-the-air signal.
This leaves two options for TV viewers who rely on over-the-air signals. They can either purchase a converter box to receive the digital signal, or they can purchase a television with a digital tuner.
The government also mandated that as of March 1, 2007, all new televisions must include digital tuners.
According to Suddenlink officials, signals transmitted over cable lines will not change in 2009. Viewers with non-digital cable should not be affected by the change.
Suddenlink officials said any TV set hooked up to Suddenlink cable service should not be affected by this transition.
According to federal officials, all U.S. households will be eligible to request two coupons, each worth $40, to be used toward the purchase of up to two digital-to-analog converter boxes. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is responsible for administering the coupon program and more information is available at www.DTV2009.gov.
Suddenlink officials said they do not have access to the coupons and Suddenlink customers should not need to purchase the converter box.
The government and television service providers are working to educate the public about the digital TV transition, but a great deal of confusion remains.
Virginia Rapp of Williamstown said she has never heard of the digital TV transition. She said a government mandate regarding television service just seems excessive.
“I think it’s crazy. It just sounds like an awful lot of extra expense,” she said.
Rapp said she was thankful she has cable and doesn’t have to worry about the transition.
“I’ll just stick to what I have. You can only watch so much at a time anyway. I have other things to worry about than that. The election is the big worry right now,” she said.
Kathy Stoltz of Vienna said she heard a lot about the transition to digital TV before she ever learned that cable subscribers most likely won’t have to worry about it.
“I’d been hearing about it for a long time. What I hadn’t been hearing was an explanation of who would be affected. Lately, there has been a lot more info put out that explains if you’re on cable, you’ll be fine,” she said.
Stoltz said the initial confusing information may have a lasting effect, as some people may still not know if they need a converter or new television.
“It was distressing to a lot of people who have four or five TVs in their house and thought, ‘I don’t want to buy that many boxes or new TVs.’ It would have been easier right up front if they told us we weren’t going to have to. I was asking my kids about it. They said, ‘Mom, you’re fine, you have cable.’ It is very helpful they’re putting more announcements out now that set the record straight,” she said.
News Source: http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/504200.html?nav=5061
April 13, 2008
Satellite TV Shopping
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How the Dish Networks works is clearly explained in their information guide. Then you can decide whether is satellite TV more suitable for you or you should be better off using cable TV. There are many reasons that satellite TV is much more superior to cable TV and we will find out why in this article.
Dish Network has gone live since year 1996 and built up over 15 million customers at the time of writing. Subscribers could choose from a variety of choices such as America’s Top 100, Top 200, as well as Top 250 packages. Besides that, they could also select foreign language programming. There are over 250 channels to choose from. To add more value to that, subscribers can participate in interactive programs in channels that offer interactive viewing, games and shopping.
Why should you choose Dish TV?
More and more viewers are turning to satellite TV for their entertainment needs. This is because satellite TV is constantly meeting the consumers demand. So, they don’t need to pay for what they do not want to watch. Furthermore, the quality of picture from a satellite TV is much better compared to the service from cable TV. If that is not enough, satellite TV has better signals to provide you with superb audio and great customer service.
It is known that good customer service is a key factor for consumers to choose satellite TV. Lastly, the key to the rising users of satellite TV is the free installation provided by service providers plus the ability to record or pause live programs with the DVR device.
Will there be problems?
With all the positive factors about Dish Network made clear with their information guide, the advantage of satellite TV is undeniable. However, there a few factors that will cause problems. The first factor is the cost. For subscribers who want a few channels available in a single package, they won’t have much difficulty. If you choose wide range of channels covering from sports to travel, you will have to gets more than one programming packages. This might cost you more. Also, additional service like recording and viewing at your own pace will have an extra cost.
April 12, 2008
News
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Just off the wire, Dish Network has failed to convince an appeals court to overturn TiVo’s earlier patent win against the company. TiVo’s earlier win is upheld.
This means that you very well may be screwed if you use Dish Network and may be seeing your DVR go away very soon. It also means that TiVo gets to keep at least $94 million in damages from Dish and possibly up to $200 million depending on the judge.
Today’s courts decision is the final decision and means that Dish Network can no longer appeal their loss to TiVo.
It is unlikely that TiVo would negotiate with Dish going forward to allow them to use TiVo’s patented DVR technology. Instead TiVo will enjoy the windfall from the company as well as be able to use Dish as an example when negotiating with other companies.
Two weeks ago on an analysts conference call TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said as much:
“I would say based on our experience with litigation, the cost of litigation are far less than the returns that we are seeing just from the cap side of this equation and I don’t think people have seen the end of what the cap side of that equation is, but just on the basis of damage award, what we’ve spent versus what we’ve gotten back, its been a great business move.
But again, my hope would be that the perception of what we’ve achieved and the value of our intellectual property and the enforcement of an injunction and what the implications of that are will help us significantly to drive forward broader distribution deals than do so without having to litigate.”
An updated statment released by TiVo (source):
“We are extremely pleased that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today denied EchoStar’s petition for a rehearing en banc, upholding the Court’s unanimous ruling in our favor on January 31, 2008, in EchoStar’s appeal of the district court judgment of patent infringement, full award of damages and an order for the injunction to be reinstated.
Today’s ruling brings us closer to resolution of EchoStar’s infringement and reconfirms the strength of TiVo’s Time Warp patent, which is in addition to the other benefits TiVo has to offer. We look forward to full enforcement of our rights in the near term.”
April 11, 2008
DirecTV
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An original series entitled DirecTV Hometown Heroes, premieres April 6th on DirecTV’s original entertainment channel The 101. As the satellite television provider continues to expand its home grown series lineup, how does its newest offering measure up?
DirecTV Hometown Heroes is a series saluting the heroes among us. Well, in this case the heroes among us who also happen to be DirecTV subscribers. The series is a collection of stories focusing on those who have improved their communities, generally through acts of giving, courage, and compassion. Delivered in neat, 30-minute parcels - DirecTV Hometown Heroes brings to the table plenty of feel-good stories. Just don’t expect much more than that.
Each episode features three viewer stories. Hometown Heroes correspondents explore the good deeds and hard work select DirecTV subscribers have done on behalf of others. Each feature runs about 9 minutes in length and shows the “hero” at work while the correspondent voices over with their story.
The first episode features DirecTV customer Carolyn Blashek, who founded Operation Gratitude shortly after the September 11th attacks against America. The organization sends care packages to troops around the world with the goal of maintaining and boosting morale. Care packages contain snacks, entertainment items, toiletries, and letters of appreciation from home. Every once and a while, they throw in something really special, such as the brand-new Jeep featured in this week’s show.
The second story on the debut episode tells the story of Larry Scott, Director of Corporate recruitment at Verbum Dei High School. Located in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, the school has put in place an innovative work-study program to help parents offset the high educational costs normally associated with private schooling. Each student works five days per month as part of a four-student team employed by local corporations. The money earned by each student, over $6,000, goes directly to the school to help pay tuition.
Finally, tonight’s third story is the inspiring story of DirecTV customer Joanna Bull, who helped found Gilda’s Club. Bull, a psychotherapist who worked with Gilda Radner during Radner’s cancer treatments, was inspired to form the club as a way to help others battling the disease. Along with Radner’s husband Gene Wilder and Joel Siegel, Gilda’s Club has expanded to 30 locations across the nation. A non-profit organization, the club brings together those battling cancer - along with their friends and families. Support is the theme of the club, helping cancer patients find the social and emotional network they need at this important time in their lives.
DirecTV Hometown Heroes is hosted by Joan Lunden, the former Good Morning America anchor who has been out of the spotlight for the last few years. Show correspondents include Dr. Winnie King, and former Eight is Enough star Grant Goodeve. While some nice journalistic talent has been assembled, the correspondents are rarely seen in the features. The correspondents mainly serve as voice-over talent for the pieces and this lends an over-produced feeling to the show.
Overall, DirecTV Hometown Heroes gives you that happy feeling inside, but leaves you wanting more. Spending more time, and some probing into the minds, hearts, and motivations of the “heroes” would certainly enhance the show, giving it some needed depth.
DirecTV Hometown Heroes is currently scheduled to run for 10-episodes, Sunday nights at 9 ET. The series is presented exclusively on the satellite provider’s original entertainment channel, The 101.
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