# Sci Fi HD on DISH?



## paulcdavis (Jan 22, 2004)

Any hope we'll get SciFi HD on DISH anytime soon so we can see Eureka and Galactica in HD?

Paul


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## HobbyTalk (Jul 14, 2007)

Pick any of the below as that has as much of a chance of being right as any opinions you will get here 

1) Yes
2) No
3) Maybe
4) Never


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## zlensman (Jan 15, 2006)

paulcdavis said:


> Any hope we'll get SciFi HD on DISH anytime soon so we can see Eureka and Galactica in HD?


At least you are not being unreasonable, Paul. Except for "BSG: Razor", Galactica won't be back until April. Eureka is a summer show, so it shouldn't be back until July. By that time, E* may have new satellites in the sky and plenty of bandwidth for more HD. The magic 8-ball says, "signs point to yes". 

As for Razor, San Francisco is one of the very few cities that will be showing it in theaters on the big screen:

http://www.battlestarevent.com


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## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

HobbyTalk said:


> Pick any of the below as that has as much of a chance of being right as any opinions you will get here
> 
> 1) Yes
> 2) No
> ...


yeah, exactly...call E* themselves and they will tell you they don't even have a clue


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## archer75 (Oct 13, 2006)

zlensman said:


> At least you are not being unreasonable, Paul. Except for "BSG: Razor", Galactica won't be back until April. Eureka is a summer show, so it shouldn't be back until July. By that time, E* may have new satellites in the sky and plenty of bandwidth for more HD. The magic 8-ball says, "signs point to yes".
> 
> As for Razor, San Francisco is one of the very few cities that will be showing it in theaters on the big screen:
> 
> http://www.battlestarevent.com


Galactica is supposed to be back in January.


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## Brad B (May 26, 2006)

archer75 said:


> Galactica is supposed to be back in January.


Was pushed back to April 2008. Bummer!


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## KTrentLR (Nov 3, 2007)

Brad B said:


> Was pushed back to April 2008. Bummer!


Don't be too bummed; Currently, there are not a lot of HD shows on SciFiHD. (Stargate A/SG1, Eureaka, etc.. are all SD)


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## jkane (Oct 12, 2007)

I watched a couple old SGA's on one of the channels in the HD package. Picture is awsome! Would be VERY happy if dish found a way to squeeze SciFiHD into the line up. It's the only one I know of we (dish customers) don't get that I would really watch.

Not sure even HD could save Flash.  I keep watching that horrible show for some reason I can't explain. Acting is aweful, and plots are predictable. I guess it is because they keep a story line, but end each show so they can be watched withouth leaving viewers hanging each time like most modern shows try to do.


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## jrb531 (May 29, 2004)

Call 4 times and you will get each of those answers 

-JB


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## FogCutter (Nov 6, 2006)

jkane said:


> I watched a couple old SGA's on one of the channels in the HD package. Picture is awsome! Would be VERY happy if dish found a way to squeeze SciFiHD into the line up. It's the only one I know of we (dish customers) don't get that I would really watch.
> 
> Not sure even HD could save Flash.  I keep watching that horrible show for some reason I can't explain. Acting is aweful, and plots are predictable. I guess it is because they keep a story line, but end each show so they can be watched withouth leaving viewers hanging each time like most modern shows try to do.


Flash has potential. A decent editor could breathe life into it, acting aside. As it stands I agree, HD isn't enough. 3D HD wouldn't do it. The rift thing dispells the need for spaceships tooling around but I suspect was developed more for budgetary than story telling reasons. The show is Flash Gordon in name only. And the Birdmen were pathetic.

Oh well.

As far as SciFi HD, I learned from the external HD thing not to invest any energy in speculation. Until the picture is on the screen nothing E* says or doesn't say matters. Could be today, might be a couple of years from now. Charlie could be at my front door promising and I still wouldn't believe it.

I bought an HD DVD player to limp along until the content perks up, and I was surprised to see that the disc gives better PQ than anything I've seen from the 622. Better detail, color depth and saturation, just better.

I'm not complaining, but I'm not cheering, either.


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## DIRECTV-11 (Apr 2, 2007)

paulcdavis said:


> Any hope we'll get SciFi HD on DISH anytime soon so we can see Eureka and Galactica in HD?
> 
> Paul


Just waiting for my cousin to launch. AMC-14, 1st Q of 2008.


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## KTrentLR (Nov 3, 2007)

l8er said:


> Not true, Stargate Atlantis is shown in high def on Scifi-HD (as is Flash Gordon). I haven't checked out re-runs of the other shows but most first runs and some movies are shown in high def on Scifi-HD. And the high def stuff looks awesome!


Please don't hang me, but I do have DTV and in their guide Stargate Atlantis shows as SD in the guide. I'll have to look closer... Thanks for the info...


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

jkane said:


> Would be VERY happy if dish found a way to squeeze SciFiHD into the line up.


I'd be even happier if it wasn't squeezed when it's added.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

paulcdavis said:


> Any hope we'll get SciFi HD on DISH anytime soon so we can see Eureka and Galactica in HD?
> 
> Paul


I heard there's not much HD on it.


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## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

Paul Secic said:


> I heard there's not much HD on it.


Regardless ...I want to see the shows that are in HD...

How funny that now Cablevision has added CNN HD and getting ready for Weather channel HD...not that i care about those all that much...but I think it's funny that the "HD LEADER" doesn't even have them...yet every damn cable company and D* do

I know I'll hear the "who cares about those channels" comments...but those are becoming pitiful claims by us E* customers still hanging on to the "HD LEADER" claim. If they really were, they would already have what the second rate cable companies are offering.:nono2:


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## Hound (Mar 20, 2005)

There is a post over at DSLreports that Comcast has added Sci Fi HD in
Frederick, MD.


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## mattopia (Oct 30, 2007)

Hound said:


> There is a post over at DSLreports that Comcast has added Sci Fi HD in
> Frederick, MD.


Lucky sons'a.....

Well, at least we know it's not a D* exclusive.


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## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

great...should be interesting to see if they add it for good before E* does...to go along with TWC and CNN...they already claim to be the HD leader over D* in quality (or something)....next you'll see them promoting "channels you won't find on E*"


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## HDlover (Jul 28, 2006)

Hound said:


> There is a post over at DSLreports that Comcast has added Sci Fi HD in
> Frederick, MD.


Comcast doesn't need to add the channel, they could simply put the few HD shows "OnDemand". E* ought to do it with their "DishOnline"-mpeg4.


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## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

HDlover said:


> Comcast doesn't need to add the channel, they could simply put the few HD shows "OnDemand". E* ought to do it with their "DishOnline"-mpeg4.


E* doing something is the first step....hopefully it will be soon.


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## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

4 more days until Razor....our chances for HD look slim...anybody know if they will show it on Universal HD...and not 6 months later...really sucks having to wait 6 months to watch a fav show in HD


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## mkpolley (Dec 8, 2003)

texaswolf said:


> yeah, exactly...call E* themselves and they will tell you they don't even have a clue


I see you have the Toshiba HD dvd player?
How does it look,ive been thinking of buying one soon,whats the difference between the one you have and a blu-ray disk?1080i vs 1080p?i do have a 1080p hd set.


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## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

mkpolley said:


> I see you have the Toshiba HD dvd player?
> How does it look,ive been thinking of buying one soon,whats the difference between the one you have and a blu-ray disk?1080i vs 1080p?i do have a 1080p hd set.


I love it... picture is great. I love the up conversion on my regular dvds...it makes my regular dvds look as good and sometimes better than the HD movies channels we have...however the HD-A2 i have is not 1080p...so you may want to check out the HD-A3 (1080p) which i think will be going for $159 this friday. As far as comparison of HD-DVD vs Blue Ray...thats a whole other argument..and really a personal choice....and certain studios back each format...so you'd want to see what your favorite movies are on which format. That all said...the HD-A2 and A3 are great players and you can't beat the prices..i think the cheapest blue ray is going to be in the $300-$400 range around Christmas. So if there are movies on HDDVD you want...go for the sale. Here is the HD vs Blue ray thread, that will give you tons of opinions and info about each.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=86101&highlight=blue+ray


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## whatchel1 (Jan 11, 2006)

texaswolf said:


> 4 more days until Razor....our chances for HD look slim...anybody know if they will show it on Universal HD...and not 6 months later...really sucks having to wait 6 months to watch a fav show in HD


Uni HD is only listing playing the the 3rd season.


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## mkpolley (Dec 8, 2003)

texaswolf said:


> I love it... picture is great. I love the up conversion on my regular dvds...it makes my regular dvds look as good and sometimes better than the HD movies channels we have...however the HD-A2 i have is not 1080p...so you may want to check out the HD-A3 (1080p) which i think will be going for $159 this friday. As far as comparison of HD-DVD vs Blue Ray...thats a whole other argument..and really a personal choice....and certain studios back each format...so you'd want to see what your favorite movies are on which format. That all said...the HD-A2 and A3 are great players and you can't beat the prices..i think the cheapest blue ray is going to be in the $300-$400 range around Christmas. So if there are movies on HDDVD you want...go for the sale. Here is the HD vs Blue ray thread, that will give you tons of opinions and info about each.
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=86101&highlight=blue+ray


Thanks Texas..good info to know


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

Hey Texaswolf, the Tosh A3 is still 1080i. If you really need 1080p, you have to get the A20 (not recommended), A30, A35, or XA2. The A3 is the 3rd generation whereas the A2 is the second generation. The A20 is not recommended due to it's poor upconverting processing chip. The A2 and A3 are very good at upconverting standard DVDs.

From everything I've read, you need a really big screen and sit really really close to be able to distinguish 1080i from 1080p.


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## texaswolf (Oct 18, 2007)

> Hey Texaswolf, the Tosh A3 is still 1080i. If you really need 1080p, you have to get the A20 (not recommended), A30, A35, or XA2. The A3 is the 3rd generation whereas the A2 is the second generation. The A20 is not recommended due to it's poor upconverting processing chip. The A2 and A3 are very good at upconverting standard DVDs.
> 
> From everything I've read, you need a really big screen and sit really really close to be able to distinguish 1080i from 1080p.


ahhh...my fault...the A30 not A3....i have heard the same about 1080i vs 1080p.

Anyone hear catch Razor on HD? Just wondering if they kept it like BG or if they did anything different with the battle scenes...I have it recorded (sd) but didn't watch it yet...im holding my breath that E* will actually add it this next month, and maybe catch a replay in HD


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

IF DISH would take the test channel they have right now on 5710 and use it for SCI -FI we could get it today. But who knows They might be testing on this channel to see how great the new mpeg 4 encoder works putting 6 or more hd channels on one transponder. We can always hope that by the end of next month that DISH maybe able to reclaim enough bandwith by consolidating all the internationals on 118.5 , reclaiming some transponders from SKy Angel and maybe consolidating the hd locals on 61.5 and 129 down to 6 per transponder vs the 4 today. Any combination of the above might give us more hd . If one transponder could be freed up using the new mpeg 4 encoders we might see upto 3-6 hd channels.


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## DBS Commando (Apr 7, 2006)

Mike D-CO5 said:


> IF DISH would take the test channel they have right now on 5710 and use it for SCI -FI we could get it today. But who knows They might be testing on this channel to see how great the new mpeg 4 encoder works putting 6 or more hd channels on one transponder. We can always hope that by the end of next month that DISH maybe able to reclaim enough bandwith by consolidating all the internationals on 118.5 , reclaiming some transponders from SKy Angel and maybe consolidating the hd locals on 61.5 and 129 down to 6 per transponder vs the 4 today. Any combination of the above might give us more hd . If one transponder could be freed up using the new mpeg 4 encoders we might see upto 3-6 hd channels.


This is one thing that puzzles me - Dish does seem to have the room to run the new high-demand HD channels such as USA, SciFi, FX, etc. yet there is no word about them working on carrying them.

Seems a bit weird to me.


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## FogCutter (Nov 6, 2006)

Dish seems to be struggling. Directv has deeper pockets now and they are beating Dish with a salvo of HD channels. There was a rumor that Dish was trying to attract a buyer, so keeping expenses down to appear more profitable is a priority, but at the expense of losing new viewers and not keeping existing ones as Directv attracts them with much better content. 

Dish either has to be bought out soon or get back in the game. If neither happens they will wind up as a doorstop for Directv. 

HD content is the crown jewel right now, but as HD DVD and BluRay improve their penetration, the jewel sparkles less and less. The new DVD formats are worth the move just for their better sound formats. Really amazing. 

Come on Dish -- I want my SciFi HD! And a DVR with two independent HD outputs while you're at it. And a price cut. That would make the wife happy.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

I know this keeps coming up... but the test channel in question here is not a discrete channel. It's a mirror of an existing channel, so it is not using any additional bandwidth beyond the minimum required data for the channel mapping.

Who knows what they are actually testing by mirroring the channel... but it could not be replaced with an actual channel.

There *may* however be some actual test channels for all we know that are taking bandwidth... BUT they can't take those down either, as how else would they test anything?


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

FogCutter said:


> HD content is the crown jewel right now, but as HD DVD and BluRay improve their penetration, the jewel sparkles less and less. The new DVD formats are worth the move just for their better sound formats. Really amazing.


HD DVD (or Blu ray) will no more kill HD via satellite than did DVD kill SD over satellite.

IF HD DVD (or Blu ray) were any danger to satellite... satellite would already have been killed by DVD sales, since SD DVD looks way better than most SD delivered by satellite today.

Hence, satellite and cable do NOT have to worry about Blu ray (or HD DVD) killing their HD business.


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## Cyclone (Jul 1, 2002)

I will add my Voice to the "Dish please add SciFi-HD" chorus. Heck, I'll add my voice to the "dump TBS-HD" movement as well.


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## gsalem (Feb 4, 2004)

FogCutter said:


> Dish seems to be struggling. Directv has deeper pockets now and they are beating Dish with a salvo of HD channels. There was a rumor that Dish was trying to attract a buyer, so keeping expenses down to appear more profitable is a priority, but at the expense of losing new viewers and not keeping existing ones as Directv attracts them with much better content.
> 
> Dish either has to be bought out soon or get back in the game. If neither happens they will wind up as a doorstop for Directv.
> 
> ...


http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/19/ec...-cx_cg_1119markets39.html?feed=rss_popstories


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## FogCutter (Nov 6, 2006)

*By Jon Hemingway -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/19/2007 11:25:00 AM
EchoStar Communications stock is on the rise again on reports that the satellite-TV company will be a takeover target.

The company's stock has been pushed around in recent weeks, bid higher on press reports that AT&T will make an overture to buy the company, only to be beaten back following a weak earnings announcement.

On Friday, Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet upgraded the stock to a buy based on the attractive valuation after the pullback and a 65% chance that the company will be bought by AT&T in the next 12 months. "We think the market has more than priced in the higher churn and related subprime," Bazinet wrote, "but it is not factoring in the likelihood of AT&T buying Dish."*

That about sums it up -- bad quarter, higher churn, but deep pockets might buy them -- but nothing in the pipe for sure.


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