# DirecTV vs. Dish HD Channel Comparison



## johnlnelms (Dec 1, 2007)

I haven't been able to find a good side-by-side channel comparison between DirecTV and Dish. So, I got DirecTV's latest channel listing and Dish Network's latest channel listing and threw them into Excel.

Went to DirecTV: http://www.directv.com/see/pdf/chnllineup.pdf
And Dish Network: http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/whats_on_dish/programming_guides/HD_Channel_Lineup.pdf

Here's what I ended up with: http://www.amrax.com/hd.htm

On a side note, right after I finished the chart, I cancelled cable, ordered DirecTV, and purchased some of their stock.


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## Ken984 (Jan 1, 2006)

One error I see is that the BigTen network is on Dish in HD, I have no idea what channel # though.


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## Thaedron (Jun 29, 2007)

That's a great list! I assume most of the Dish channels that aren't on DirecTV are Voom?


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## Alexandrepsf (Oct 26, 2005)

Nice job.

Would be nice to have a cable company like Comcast in that comparison table.


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

NHL Network in HD is missing from that list. It is on D* channel 215. Don't know if E* carries it or not in SD or HD or neither.


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## ethos (Jun 15, 2007)

One thing, you counted all of Directv's HD PPV but not Dish's. 

I don't have dish but i know they have a few HD PPV channels.

edit: from what i can tell they have at least 7 HD PPV
And NBA HD is 560 on dish


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

Nice work...



johnlnelms said:


> On a side note, right after I finished the chart, I cancelled cable, ordered DirecTV, and purchased some of their stock.


good call !!


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## johnlnelms (Dec 1, 2007)

Ken984 said:


> One error I see is that the BigTen network is on Dish in HD, I have no idea what channel # though.


Just added it! I saw Dish's new Sports HD page with channel numbers... I Wonder why they don't include them in their channel guide!


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## Redlinetire (Jul 24, 2007)

Alexandrepsf said:


> Nice job.
> 
> Would be nice to have a cable company like Comcast in that comparison table.


Yea, that's being done over at AVSForum. Not updated for November yet though:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=419472


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## johnlnelms (Dec 1, 2007)

Thaedron said:


> That's a great list! I assume most of the Dish channels that aren't on DirecTV are Voom?


Exactly... Those 'oddballs,' as I call them, are the leftovers from Voom.


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## johnlnelms (Dec 1, 2007)

Alexandrepsf said:


> Nice job.
> 
> Would be nice to have a cable company like Comcast in that comparison table.


Thought about doing that... I've got Time Warner here... Decided there were two few to actually matter


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

johnlnelms said:


> Exactly... Those 'oddballs,' as I call them, are the leftovers from Voom.


With channels like those, no wonder Voom augered in.


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## Alexandrepsf (Oct 26, 2005)

Redlinetire said:


> Yea, that's being done over at AVSForum. Not updated for November yet though:
> 
> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=419472


Thanks.


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## Alexandrepsf (Oct 26, 2005)

johnlnelms said:


> Thought about doing that... I've got Time Warner here... Decided there were two few to actually matter


As Comcast is right now making noises about their HD compared to DirecTV, that is why I asked. but you are right not much to worry about.


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## bbaleno (Aug 1, 2007)

Does anyone see any class action suites by customers changing services because of the "we have more HD ads" or do the companies protect themselves by the way they count, so they are technicly right depending on the deffinition


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

johnlnelms said:


> I haven't been able to find a good side-by-side channel comparison between DirecTV and Dish. So, I got DirecTV's latest channel listing and Dish Network's latest channel listing and threw them into Excel.
> 
> Here's what I ended up with: http://www.amrax.com/hd.htm


You've made the same mistake as many others in your comparison, not figuring in the number of satellite locations / number of dishes utilized in each system, to receive those channels, and any difference in receiving site (where in the country) of that location.

Do that, and you'll have a different 'look' at the two systems 'side-by-side'.


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## grooves12 (Oct 27, 2005)

ethos said:


> One thing, you counted all of Directv's HD PPV but not Dish's.
> 
> I don't have dish but i know they have a few HD PPV channels.
> 
> ...


They have 7 PPV Channels in HD... 531, 534-537,539, and 540 (9467 is a mirror of 539)

NBATV is in HD on 402 http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=107315&highlight=nba
NHL Network in HD on 403 http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=105455&highlight=nhl


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## kaminsco (Nov 27, 2006)

1948GG said:


> You've made the same mistake as many others in your comparison, not figuring in the number of satellite locations / number of dishes utilized in each system, to receive those channels, and any difference in receiving site (where in the country) of that location.
> 
> Do that, and you'll have a different 'look' at the two systems 'side-by-side'.


???? Can you clarify this point?


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## Ken984 (Jan 1, 2006)

kaminsco said:


> ???? Can you clarify this point?


He is referring to the fact that ALL HD is available on DirecTV from one 5lnb dish. But on Dish you need more than one dish to get all the HD channels, and depending on where you are in the US you may not be able to see some of the sats(129 on the East coast and 61.5 on the West coast).


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## Pink Fairy (Dec 28, 2006)

Talk about a wide range.


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## gulfwarvet (Mar 7, 2007)

Good Job


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## cariera (Oct 27, 2006)

Good job

Something similiar was already being discussed in this post:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=110316

Post #3 has two good links.


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

Ken984 said:


> He is referring to the fact that ALL HD is available on DirecTV from one 5lnb dish. But on Dish you need more than one dish to get all the HD channels, and depending on where you are in the US you may not be able to see some of the sats(129 on the East coast and 61.5 on the West coast).


You might add to your memory database, that DISH states that the 129deg sat, although receivable in the Pacific Northwest (and several other areas), will *require* an additional 18" dish due to the beam pattern coming off it being several db down up here. So, the rain fade margin is significantly below the threshold of the 110/119 (on the Dish1000) and 148 signals (separate dish anyway). Although honestly I haven't seen anyone do this, I can verify that the signals on 129 drop off (past threshold) well before any on 110/119 even begin to get more than 10 or so points below max.

If I used DISH as my primary source, I'd have put up another dish to 'correct' this, but.... maybe next summer if I get ansy


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## somguy (Oct 2, 2006)

Thank you for this comparison chart, it is quite interesting. I would like to know what made you switch to D*? Was it the 30 more HD Channels? I am surprised that MTV and USA channels Dish has no listing for? D* actually offers more bang for your buck although there customer service has a lot to be desired.



johnlnelms said:


> I haven't been able to find a good side-by-side channel comparison between DirecTV and Dish. So, I got DirecTV's latest channel listing and Dish Network's latest channel listing and threw them into Excel.
> 
> Went to DirecTV: http://www.directv.com/see/pdf/chnllineup.pdf
> And Dish Network: http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/whats_on_dish/programming_guides/HD_Channel_Lineup.pdf
> ...


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## braven (Apr 9, 2007)

As previously posted, don't forget about NHLHD channel.


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## johnlnelms (Dec 1, 2007)

1948GG said:


> You might add to your memory database, that DISH states that the 129deg sat, although receivable in the Pacific Northwest (and several other areas), will *require* an additional 18" dish due to the beam pattern coming off it being several db down up here. So, the rain fade margin is significantly below the threshold of the 110/119 (on the Dish1000) and 148 signals (separate dish anyway). Although honestly I haven't seen anyone do this, I can verify that the signals on 129 drop off (past threshold) well before any on 110/119 even begin to get more than 10 or so points below max.
> 
> If I used DISH as my primary source, I'd have put up another dish to 'correct' this, but.... maybe next summer if I get ansy


Great information! I appreciate it!


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## johnlnelms (Dec 1, 2007)

Updated it today to include NHL and more PPV. Thanks for the tips!!


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## johnlnelms (Dec 1, 2007)

somguy said:


> Thank you for this comparison chart, it is quite interesting. I would like to know what made you switch to D*? Was it the 30 more HD Channels? I am surprised that MTV and USA channels Dish has no listing for? D* actually offers more bang for your buck although there customer service has a lot to be desired.


Good question.

I actually got fed up with cable back in June. Here in Austin, they had only 6 non-OTA channels at the time (but of course, they thought they were the "HD Leader"). SD looks horrible on my TV so I basically stopped watching all SD programming.

My Windows Media Center was recording shows, often 3 at a time - all in OTA HD. Not bad at all. But, I missed Discovery, History, Weather, and CNBC.

So, I could either get cable again and suffer the SD picture, or pay about the same amount to get all those aforementioned networks in HD - only available on D*.

Long story short, I got D* for HD.


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## johnlnelms (Dec 1, 2007)

Alexandrepsf said:


> As Comcast is right now making noises about their HD compared to DirecTV, that is why I asked. but you are right not much to worry about.


If you get me a list of Comcast HD with channel numbers, I'd be happy to include it.


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## KTrentLR (Nov 3, 2007)

johnlnelms said:


> If you get me a list of Comcast HD with channel numbers, I'd be happy to include it.


LOL - Well, according to comcast.com and with my city's information (Little Rock), this is the HD channel lineup. - Kudos for Comcast; they offer my locals in HDs where DirecTV doesn't. (yet) And hopfully DirecTV will carry more than those 3 since there are 5 local HDs in Little Rock (NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and CW)

Again, this is according to their website - so if it's wrong, yell at Comacast, not me.  If I were shopping for HD providers this is all I would have to go by. Who knows if a few of those are mirrors too... I typed the channels names exactly as they appear in the lineup.

103, ESPNHD
300, HBO HD East
319, Cenemax HD East
339, Showtime HD East
369, Starz HD
408, INHD1
412, Discovery HD
416, HOB East (HDTV)
417, Cenemax HD
418, Showtime East (HDTV)
419, Starz HD
431, KATV (ABC) - HD
433, KTHV (CBS) - HD
434, KLRT (Fox) - HD

I will note that Comcast has a lot more HD channels on demand than listed as HD channels. And I've yet to see *any *HD VoD on DirecTV (but that's another post).


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## kaminsco (Nov 27, 2006)

Ken984 said:


> He is referring to the fact that ALL HD is available on DirecTV from one 5lnb dish. But on Dish you need more than one dish to get all the HD channels, and depending on where you are in the US you may not be able to see some of the sats(129 on the East coast and 61.5 on the West coast).


Thank you, did not understand it. This must be why I see some homes having two dishes that are pointed in two different directions.


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## Ed Campbell (Feb 17, 2006)

I've been acquiring my TV access from mostly other-than-OTA since I subscribed to DirecTV in February of 1994. Every year or so, I would do a comparison like this one. The result was always the same.

That's why I'm still here.

Even though DirecTV changes hands, the essential crew in charge has always delivered the goods.


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## sean10780 (Oct 16, 2007)

Excellent comparison list of HD channels.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Updated often:

http://jameslong.name/hdcount.html

Sometimes even the provider's websites get behind.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

History 9491


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

johnlnelms said:


> If you get me a list of Comcast HD with channel numbers, I'd be happy to include it.


There is no single "national" HD channel set for Comcast (at present). Many C* franchises
differ in HD carriage, especially with recent acquisitions such as Adelphia. My local C* HD
offerings total a meager 23 channels, including six HD locals out of JAX FL, so a net of 17.
If you count VOD offerings, which I don't have, then they "claim" some 200+ HD "program
choices" at any given time.

It's been said that "Figures don't lie, but liars figure".

Go figure! :lol:


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## bookwalk (May 10, 2005)

Thaedron said:


> That's a great list! I assume most of the Dish channels that aren't on DirecTV are Voom?


Also--there a lot of public service channels that I saw on DISH that are not on Direct: Pentagon channel, University, Health & Human Services, Free Speech, Classic Arts, Education & more.

I wonder why Direct doesn't carry -- as they are all free public access?


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

bookwalk said:


> Also--there a lot of public service channels that I saw on DISH that are not on Direct: Pentagon channel, University, Health & Human Services, Free Speech, Classic Arts, Education & more.
> I wonder why Direct doesn't carry -- as they are all free public access?


They would pad the channel number but most subscribers would have little interest in them--I've never seen anyone ask about them before.

Even if there are no carriage fees, every channel costs in bandwidth and receiving/uplink equipment.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

PIs, including religious PIs, pay for their carriage.
The carriers still need the SPACE to carry the channels, but the costs are covered.

The PI requirements are based on a percentage of capacity.
D* has lower capacity on their DBS satellites thus a lower requirement for PIs.


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## GregLee (Dec 28, 2005)

paulman182 said:


> They would pad the channel number but most subscribers would have little interest in them--I've never seen anyone ask about them before.


I used to watch Classic Arts sometimes, when I had TWC, and also CSPAN3.


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## johnlnelms (Dec 1, 2007)

Added Dish History HD, sample Comcast, and sample TWC.


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## EMoMoney (Dec 19, 2005)

How many people wouldn't watch Kung Fu HD if we had it?


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## ScoBuck (Mar 5, 2006)

James Long said:


> Updated often:
> 
> http://jameslong.name/hdcount.html
> 
> Sometimes even the provider's websites get behind.


I'm thinking that on the DISH column (as you already do mention on the DirecTV column) that you note in the heading that the RSNS are game only.

Thanks.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

OK ... next time I update (hopefully to add Sci-Fi and USA to the E* side) I'll add a note.

I had it noted on the D* side because there is a difference between RSNs within D*.
I didn't note it on the E* side as all RSNs are the same (a logo in HD unless there is a game).


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

EMoMoney said:


> How many people wouldn't watch Kung Fu HD if we had it?


Not me!:lol:


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## dreadlk (Sep 18, 2007)

Fantastic chart, Thank you for making it.

Just wondering, Does Comcast really have 250 HD channels?


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## sNEIRBO (Jul 23, 2006)

In late October I switched from DISH to DirecTV - mainly for the amount of NATIONAL HD that was available. Today I got a call from DISH Network asking why I switched. When I told them for the better HD, they started giving me a sales pitch claiming they had the better HD Package. I laughed at them, because I had looked at this thread just yesterday. I explained to the woman, that DirecTV has more NATIONAL HD than DISH does. More stuff I WANT to watch. She then started arguing with me that they had the same channels. At which point I opened this thread up and started rattling off all of the channels that DirecTV has, that they don't. Having no where left to go with her pitch / argument she then says "Well when you decide you want to come back to the best HD and best equipment in the industry give us a call." For some reason that got my blood boiling. I told her -

1) I was already with the best HD in the Industry, and based on their inability to launch anymore Satellites to support further HD they would probably NEVER catch up.
2) My bill is considerably cheaper under my PROMO for the first 4 months, much cheaper for the next 6 months after that, and about $10 per month cheaper after that.
and 3) Based on such confrontational unsolicited phone calls, I doubted that I would ever return to their service.

At which point I went into my Call Screening service for my VoIP and added their phone number to be BLOCKED.

Has anyone else who has switched from DISH to DirecTV gotten these types of phone calls??


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## sNEIRBO (Jul 23, 2006)

I just did a little re-organizing of the numbers in the DirecTV vs DISH battle. If I take out all of the other RSNs other than FSN Detroit for me - there are 19 other HD RSNs on both DISH and DirecTV. 

DirecTV 73
DISH 51

Then I took out the 15 Voom Channels from DISH (Anamania, Equator, Family Room, Film Fest, Gallery, Gameplay, HDNews, Kung Fu, Monsters, Rave, Rush, Treasure, Ultra, World Cinema & WorldSport - none of which I ever watched - they were HORRIBLE). That brings me to -

DirecTV 73
DISH 36

Then take out the HD PPVs - 13 for DirecTV and 7 for DISH. The final count for actual NATIONAL HD Channels that I would watch is -

DirecTV 60
DISH 29


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

So that is the 55 national HD channels on D*, plus FSN Detroit HD and four local HDs making 60?

On the E* side, 42 national HD _less_ 15 Vooms plus FSN Detroit is 28.


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## sNEIRBO (Jul 23, 2006)

James Long said:


> So that is the 55 national HD channels on D*, plus FSN Detroit HD and four local HDs making 60?
> 
> On the E* side, 42 national HD _less_ 15 Vooms plus FSN Detroit is 28.


Used the numbers off of the original attachment -

92 DirecTV HD - 19 RSNs other than FSN Detroit - 13 HD PPVs I don't use = 60

70 DISH HD - 19 RSNs other than FSND - 15 VOOM - 7 HD PPVs = 29


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## msmith198025 (Jun 28, 2007)

sNEIRBO said:


> In late October I switched from DISH to DirecTV - mainly for the amount of NATIONAL HD that was available. Today I got a call from DISH Network asking why I switched. When I told them for the better HD, they started giving me a sales pitch claiming they had the better HD Package. I laughed at them, because I had looked at this thread just yesterday. I explained to the woman, that DirecTV has more NATIONAL HD than DISH does. More stuff I WANT to watch. She then started arguing with me that they had the same channels. At which point I opened this thread up and started rattling off all of the channels that DirecTV has, that they don't. Having no where left to go with her pitch / argument she then says "Well when you decide you want to come back to the best HD and best equipment in the industry give us a call." For some reason that got my blood boiling. I told her -
> 
> 1) I was already with the best HD in the Industry, and based on their inability to launch anymore Satellites to support further HD they would probably NEVER catch up.
> 2) My bill is considerably cheaper under my PROMO for the first 4 months, much cheaper for the next 6 months after that, and about $10 per month cheaper after that.
> ...


Wow, seems to be a few rumors of rude calls to customers who switched from them lately.

I know some of them are people trolling, but its a little disturbing that a company would treat ex customers that way


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## laurie_lu (Dec 2, 2007)

sNEIRBO said:


> Has anyone else who has switched from DISH to DirecTV gotten these types of phone calls??


I switched from DISH to DirecTV a month ago. I've not gotten one phone call from DISH. I was with them for 7 years.


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## N5WD (Dec 27, 2007)

msmith198025 said:


> Wow, seems to be a few rumors of rude calls to customers who switched from them lately.
> 
> I know some of them are people trolling, but its a little disturbing that a company would treat ex customers that way


Well, count me in the non-troll column of ex-Dish customers who have received, shall we say, calls from aggressive "account reps" who are trying very, very hard to pressure Dish-alumni back into the fold. My second such call came this morning, about 8:30 a.m. I'll refrain from complaining about the early morning call's timing (except to say that because we're on holiday, it was just chance that I was up and about at that time - unfortunately, my wife wasn't)...

The rep continued to try to convince me to re-establish my account, even when told that the cables had been cut and the dish taken off the roof ("Since you'd need another dish for the HD channels, our installer can just re-do your installation for you!") and that it was a done-deal, as far as I was concerned ("But, you have 7-days from the beginning of the contract to cancel with DirectTV if you're not happy, and they can't charge you anything").

I dumped-the-Dish because of rude customer service folks when I called to see about moving to Dish's HD service - got such folks twice in different calls - even after being a very happy Dish customer for 7 years. And now, getting the jerks calling after I've quit them just makes me even more happy to be watching my D* system, tonight!

So, in summary... such calls are not rumors... they're fact!

Wayne


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## msmith198025 (Jun 28, 2007)

N5WD said:


> So, in summary... such calls are not rumors... they're fact!
> 
> Wayne


Wayne in your case i believe you. In others i dont. I am sorry you had to deal with that though


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## yuppers519 (Aug 6, 2007)

Local high-def channels in albany/schenectady/amsterdam/troy areas are now on d*


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

msmith198025 said:


> Wow, seems to be a few rumors of rude calls to customers who switched from them lately.
> 
> I know some of them are people trolling, but its a little disturbing that a company would treat ex customers that way


Charlie must have received a bill from his lawyers.


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## PoitNarf (Aug 19, 2006)

Am I reading this comparison correctly??

Dish Network doesn't have:
Cartoon Network
CNN
FX
Sci-Fi

I must be reading this wrong, right???


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

DISH has those channels, but not in HD.


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## PoitNarf (Aug 19, 2006)

James Long said:


> DISH has those channels, but not in HD.


Oh, haha. Stupid me. Should have read the thread title. Forget I said anything :lol:


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## RakyeshM (Mar 7, 2008)

I don't understand the technicalities involved but as far as the picture quality, sound quality & value for money is concerned, I think DirecTV offers these. I have subscribed to DirecTV because I am addicted to the news channel, NDTV 24x7.


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## jramire2 (May 1, 2008)

I'm waiting for my 18 month contract with DishNetwork to expire so that I can switch to DirecTV and get more HD. I'm happy to see that DirecTV now has the NFL network, can't remember if they did a few months ago or not.

I live in the Dallas area, can anyone recommend the best place to sign up for DirecTV through? One of the big reasons I originally signed up for DishNetwork was the $0 upfront costs in order to get what I needed at the time.

But now our needs have changed. We have three HD tv's, and no standard def TV's anymore. One of them doesn't have to be hooked up, we use it mainly for video games and the occasional DVD. Or (and I don't know if this is possible) could I use a line splitter to have 2 TV's hooked up to the same receiver? I know that both TV's would have to show the same channel all the time, but that would be fine w/us.

Anyway, does anyone know if I'll be able to sign up for DirecTV, get 2 HD receivers and have $0 upfront costs?

I'm a noob on this board, so if these have been answered elsewhere, let me know.

thanks,

Joshua


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## cooldude919 (Sep 21, 2006)

jramire2 said:


> I'm waiting for my 18 month contract with DishNetwork to expire so that I can switch to DirecTV and get more HD. I'm happy to see that DirecTV now has the NFL network, can't remember if they did a few months ago or not.
> 
> I live in the Dallas area, can anyone recommend the best place to sign up for DirecTV through? One of the big reasons I originally signed up for DishNetwork was the $0 upfront costs in order to get what I needed at the time.
> 
> ...


With the current AAA deal http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=116105 You will be able to get 2 $100 discounts. Hd recievers are $100 each so you would be able to get 2 for free. Or you could get 1 hddvr for $99 and 1 HD reciever for free. Check out the thread for current info and deals.


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## bryan 93 ? (May 1, 2008)

Directv does have Sports Time Ohio in HD, channel 657-1. It is not enabled all the time but is available for all Indians Games.


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## C-Note76 (Oct 20, 2007)

How come directv advertises 95 HD channels and the list only has 92??


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

I can count 112 HD channels on DirecTV before locals/distants ... it takes some padding.
(But generally I don't count RSNs/PPV.)

A list: http://jameslong.name/hdcount.html


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## DodgerKing (Apr 28, 2008)

C-Note76 said:


> How come directv advertises 95 HD channels and the list only has 92??


In Direct's count they include DSN networks for LA and NY and/or you local networks for ABC, NBC, and CBS. These three bring it up to 95.

Some areas, like mine have 8 locals carried in HD by Direct, so in a sense, if I have the premium package, I can get up to 102 HD channels.


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## DodgerKing (Apr 28, 2008)

James Long said:


> I can count 112 HD channels on DirecTV before locals/distants ... it takes some padding.
> (But generally I don't count RSNs/PPV.)


I count the RSN's because I do watch them (part time) with MLB EI. If I had the premium or sports pack I could watch them almost all of the time.


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## jramire2 (May 1, 2008)

Has this been updated w/the new list of HD channels from Dishnetwork for "TurboHD"?

I'm still thinking of switching to Directv. Does anyone know if you can still get a referall credit if you're referred by someone who already has Directv? I heard they discontinued that offering, but I don't know what good it would do me, as I don't know anyone who has Directv.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

jramire2 said:


> Has this been updated w/the new list of HD channels from Dishnetwork for "TurboHD"?


Which list? There have been several posted in this thread.

The OP's head-to-head list has not been updated since December.

James Long's list is up-to-date until tomorrow.


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## jramire2 (May 1, 2008)

Thanks Harsh, exactly what I was looking for.


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## DodgerKing (Apr 28, 2008)

harsh said:


> Which list? There have been several posted in this thread.
> 
> The OP's head-to-head list has not been updated since December.
> 
> James Long's list is up-to-date until tomorrow.


Good list.

He needs to list sports programming package channels like ST, LP, CI, and EI. With these, in addition to game channels there are other special channels such as the strike zone channel.

Also, since RSNs are available on CONUS for both E and D subs, maybe he can include these as well?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

That "compare" page is actually one of many ... it focuses on the national channels. There are separate pages for RSNs, SD channels both DBS companies have, SD channels only DISH has, SD channels only DirecTV has, premium channels (including porn).

The HD Count page would have all the HD that can be listed ... and no, I'm not going to list all the sports packages that simply mirror content off of RSNs. I pay for hosting so I get to choose! 

(It seems unfair to count an RSN despite blackouts and then count it again for multiple sports of lifted blackouts. At most each RSN can only be one channel - two if there is an overflow.)

As noted earlier in this thread, price should be part of the comparison. Comparing 25 HD channels of TurboHD Bronze for $24.99 vs DirecTV Platinum+HD+all sports packages isn't a fair comparison. If you want to count all that stuff you have to add in the price of all that stuff.


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## CT_Wiebe (Oct 7, 2007)

Good list, but it is a little misleading, since you didn't include the cost. When I compare the channels received, I also look at the cost for them. On DirecTV, I have the 3rd package up (the one they used to call Total Choice Plus, in addition to all the HD options). It has all of the channels that I want to watch (no HBO, Stars, or any Sport packages, etc.). I watch sports programming, on occasion, on the available ESPN channels or my OTA locals. We watch movies on DVDs or the "old" movies on channels included in my "package".

In order to get my "wanted" channels and HD programming, Dish Network would cost about 20% more (plus 2 dishes) and my local cable (Comcast) would cost 50+% more. I also have their local channels, but I also have a Channel Master 4228 on my roof for all of the channels in my area, not just the main networks (it's also a backup, just in case). This is an example for my location.

I'm sure that if I included the sports programming, and/or HBO, etc., the cost of the complete service would change. However, the cost of the service has to be included in the trade-off, in order to make it a complete and valid comparison of the available services.

The problem with local coverage is that it varies by region/area. DirecTV pads its "number of HD channels" by including all of the HD locals nationwide, even though only a small portion is available to the individual customer. The other providers do the same, of course.

In part I'm echoing what James Long just said.


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## DodgerKing (Apr 28, 2008)

James Long said:


> That "compare" page is actually one of many ... it focuses on the national channels. There are separate pages for RSNs, SD channels both DBS companies have, SD channels only DISH has, SD channels only DirecTV has, premium channels (including porn).
> 
> The HD Count page would have all the HD that can be listed ... and no, I'm not going to list all the sports packages that simply mirror content off of RSNs. I pay for hosting so I get to choose!
> 
> ...


This link does not work.

As far as sports packages. There are channels that are specific to the sports packages such as the strike zone channel


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Link fixed: http://jameslong.name/hdcount.html



DodgerKing said:


> As far as sports packages. There are channels that are specific to the sports packages such as the strike zone channel


Is it in HD? Is it listed on DirecTV's HD channel listing?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

CT_Wiebe said:


> Good list, but it is a little misleading, since you didn't include the cost.


The subject of the thread is a channel comparison, not a cost comparison. From this information, you can derive what is best for you.


> In order to get my "wanted" channels and HD programming, Dish Network would cost about 20% more (plus 2 dishes) and my local cable (Comcast) would cost 50+% more.


Two dishes are not required in San Jose with either DISH Network or DIRECTV (unless you subscribe to international programming through DIRECTV).


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

CT_Wiebe said:


> Good list, but it is a little misleading, since you didn't include the cost. When I compare the channels received, I also look at the cost for them.


That's good ... and the reason why I set up that domain/site in the first place comparing the SD packages channel by channel and showing the minimum package one would have to subscribe to and the price needing to be paid to get each channel listed. Also to show the "Only DISH" and "Only DirecTV" channels clearly (for SD).

As HD has grown I've barely kept up ... I do maintain the HD compare page and the HD counts list. Price comparisions get a little wild with DISH offering TurboHD packages and DirecTV requiring SD subscriptions. But apples to apples (SD+HD vs SD+HD) DISH and DirecTV run about even with AT200/Silver vs Choice+HD and AT250/Gold vs Choice Xtra+HD).


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## DodgerKing (Apr 28, 2008)

James Long said:


> Link fixed: http://jameslong.name/hdcount.html


Thanks


> Is it in HD? Is it listed on DirecTV's HD channel listing?


Yes it is in HD, but no it is not included in the count (it is package specific and part time). Then again, you did list the NFL HD and NBA HD special event channels which are also not included in the count.

It was just a suggestion. You seemed to have a lot of channels and information. Just thought you may want to add this as well.


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