# DISH HD Channel Lineup



## Jim148 (Jun 22, 2004)

I have been looking for a list of which DISH HD channels are MPEG2 and which are MPEG4. Can anyone point me to a list?


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## Ken Green (Oct 6, 2005)

Jim148 said:


> I have been looking for a list of which DISH HD channels are MPEG2 and which are MPEG4. Can anyone point me to a list?


 ESPN 2 HD (MPEG-4)
Universal HD (MPEG-4)
Rave HD 
Equator HD 
Gallery HD 
Treasure HD (MPEG-4)
Animania HD 
World Cinema HD (MPEG-4) 
Rush HD 
World Sport HD (MPEG-4) 
Ultra HD 
Kung Fu HD
Film Fest HD 
Monster HD 
HD News 
Game Play HD (MPEG-4) 
TNT HD 
Discovery HD 
HD Net 
HD Net Movies 
ESPN HD 
HBO HD
Showtime HD 
HD-Pay Per View 
All LiL HD Locals (MPEG-4)
Family HD (MPEG-4)
CBSHD


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## Mikey (Oct 26, 2004)

At the last report, it was only the HD LIL that are MPEG-4 (except for NYC and LA). The rest are MPEG-2 encoded but wrapped in MPEG-4 headers so that the older HD receivers (811/921/942/6000) can't see them. A blatant marketing ploy by E* to get people to upgrade their receivers.

Maybe someday when the real-time MPEG-4 encoders are fast enough, they really will be in MPEG-4, and Dish will be able to push more data out for each channel.


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## Jim148 (Jun 22, 2004)

Does that mean that a DISH 622 will do BOTH MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 or only MPEG-4?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

The 622 will do both formats.


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## cosmo (Mar 3, 2005)

James Long said:


> The 622 will do both formats.


how about a 6000?


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## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

cosmo said:


> how about a 6000?


Nope! Not even the newer 811, 942!

411, 211, 622 only!


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## whatchel1 (Jan 11, 2006)

Jim148 said:


> I have been looking for a list of which DISH HD channels are MPEG2 and which are MPEG4. Can anyone point me to a list?


This is a site that list all channels and formats they are on. It is updated often.
http://www.dishchannelchart.com/


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

Here's one that's not updated as often (not as many changes) but is HD specific. http://ekb.dbstalk.com/hdchan.htm


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## ashu (Mar 9, 2006)

Mikey said:


> A blatant marketing ploy by E* to get people to upgrade their receivers.


Oh - Joy! 

My 811 currently receives the regular/free HD channels (ESPN, Discovery, TNT, HDNet, HDNMV, HBOHD, SHOHD per my other packages)
If, with my SuperDish/Dish 500 setup, my channel guide shows RAVE, and a bunch of other ex-Voom channels in Red, does that mean I can (for now) get a package to include those few MPEG-2 channels?

Their website seems to imply any HD package I pick would be MPEG-4/211 based ONLY. Can I just call and have them activate me on DishHD Silver (apparently the HD equivalent of my Top-120 with HD for 9.99 that I currently have)? And would I get all but the (fake) MPEG-4 channels, then?

Oh, and if they have MPEG-4 headers ONLY on a still-PMEG-2 stream, how stupid are the EchoStar folks? Didn't they buy VOOM (and all the MPEG-4 technology/hardware that came with it)?


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## Mikey (Oct 26, 2004)

ashu said:


> ...
> Oh, and if they have MPEG-4 headers ONLY on a still-PMEG-2 stream, how stupid are the EchoStar folks? Didn't they buy VOOM (and all the MPEG-4 technology/hardware that came with it)?


Apparently, real-time encoding in MPEG-4 is hard. Maybe that's why all the VOOM HD programming was canned.


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

ashu said:


> My 811 currently receives the regular/free HD channels (ESPN, Discovery, TNT, HDNet, HDNMV, HBOHD, SHOHD per my other packages)
> If, with my SuperDish/Dish 500 setup, my channel guide shows RAVE, and a bunch of other ex-Voom channels in Red, does that mean I can (for now) get a package to include those few MPEG-2 channels?


No, E* will only active HD on 622/211/411 receivers. In your case you could active any mpeg2 HD receivers to you current package, you cannot add to it.



ashu said:


> Their website seems to imply any HD package I pick would be MPEG-4/211 based ONLY. Can I just call and have them activate me on DishHD Silver (apparently the HD equivalent of my Top-120 with HD for 9.99 that I currently have)? And would I get all but the (fake) MPEG-4 channels, then?


No.



ashu said:


> Oh, and if they have MPEG-4 headers ONLY on a still-PMEG-2 stream, how stupid are the EchoStar folks? Didn't they buy VOOM (and all the MPEG-4 technology/hardware that came with it)?


No, E* is part owner and Voom did not have mpeg4 perfected at the time of the sale. You'd have to ask them how stupid they are.


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## ashu (Mar 9, 2006)

garys said:


> No, E* will only active HD on 622/211/411 receivers. In your case you could active any mpeg2 HD receivers to you current package, you cannot add to it.


Brilliant tactics. Pay us extra for the new technology that we aren't yet offering you so that we can finally afford to offer you that new technology and raise your ratesand let you pay obeisance to our greatness.



garys said:


> No, E* is part owner and Voom did not have mpeg4 perfected at the time of the sale. You'd have to ask them how stupid they are.


Thanks.

I'll consider asking them that question point blank. AFTER Verizon FiOS rolls out and Series 3 HD TiVo's with dual Cable Card slots are available 

"Dish HD - the stopgap solution for those waiting for the real thing"


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

ashu said:


> "Dish HD - the stopgap solution for those waiting for the real thing"


More like "the best HD we can offer". D* isn't doing any better (actually worse) on the national channels and IS using MPEG4 for nearly every local HD channel on the system.


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## ashu (Mar 9, 2006)

Currently, their content/depth may be the best ... but only in range, if past VOOM subscribers are to be believed 

I'm test-driving the motorola 6412 HD DVR from Cable right now at home, side-by-side with the Dish 811, and the quality equation is a no-contest on my 1080P LCD HDTV. Cable trumps the Dish (MPEG-2) HD feed on EVERY channel I've tried (ESPN, HDNet, HDNMovies, HBOHD, SHOHD).

I plan to convert and ask how/where to send my Dish receivers in. The best (standard) Dish could offer was an additional fee for the 211 swap, and they insisted I'd be tied into a contract. While I'm not complaining about the fact that an upgrade is needed (even though I was informed I would get HD locals when I signed up with them, but didn't yet own an HDTV), I'm miffed that they are insisting on the contract AND the upgrade fee. 

It has always been my intention to treat EVERYBODY like a stopgap solution until the S3 TiVo with Cable Card TiVo arrives ... hopefully using a Verizon FIOS Cable Card by then!

The only HUGE loss (for now) with going to cable ... my local Adelphia franchise doesn't yet have a deal With Discovery HD  But Comcast does, and the takeover is nigh ... Oh, and my TiVo can control the second tuner in the HD DVR, so I have the best of both worlds! But I do now get STARZ HD as a bonus, and inHD seems to have a lot of extra Sports & Discovery-like content.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

ashu said:


> It has always been my intention to treat EVERYBODY like a stopgap solution until the S3 TiVo with Cable Card TiVo arrives ... hopefully using a Verizon FIOS Cable Card by then!


This isn't a bad idea, but I would suggest a careful investigation of how it all goes together.

Suggesting that you're going to jump, sight unseen, to anything that isn't yet available for real-world testing is probably a little premature. If you have your mind set, you may miss something that comes along in the interim.


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## ashu (Mar 9, 2006)

harsh said:


> This isn't a bad idea, but I would suggest a careful investigation of how it all goes together.
> 
> Suggesting that you're going to jump, sight unseen, to anything that isn't yet available for real-world testing is probably a little premature. If you have your mind set, you may miss something that comes along in the interim.


If 'what comes along in the interim' is a Cable Card from Dish Networks, I'll be happy to slide said CableCard into my future S3 TiVo. :grin:


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

ashu said:


> I'll be happy to slide said CableCard into my future S3 TiVo. :grin:


I hope that, when it is released, the TiVo S3 lives up to your expectations. It could be that before or concurrent with the S3 release, Comcast will be offering their own version which may be better or worse. It would certainly be better to pay less than $13 for the monthly service if you can get similar features/performance.

I'm also interested in seeing whether TiVo goes towards the lease model.


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## ashu (Mar 9, 2006)

harsh said:


> I hope that, when it is released, the TiVo S3 lives up to your expectations. It could be that before or concurrent with the S3 release, Comcast will be offering their own version which may be better or worse. It would certainly be better to pay less than $13 for the monthly service if you can get similar features/performance.
> 
> I'm also interested in seeing whether TiVo goes towards the lease model.


Isn't Comcast's 'own' version going to be running new TiVo software, per the deal they struck?

Irrespective, both will be a choice seing as Comcast is taking over Adelphia in my region. To Adelphia's credit, their reliability has been rock-solid lately! I wish they had Discovery in HD, though  About the ONLY thing I'll miss when I mail in my Dish 811 receiver.

In any case, TiVo hasn't yet announced pricing for the new systems, IIRC. And I currently have one TiVo on Lifetime (bought when it was cheaper) and two on 6.95 a month.


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