AMP2003 - 02 April 2008 05:05 PM

Using the excuse that there is not enough true HD contect on Speed to justify it's carriage is just total BS. There is mor HD content than there is SD.

DirecTV is just a superior provider and anyone who can should switch.

I've found you're right. We thought we didn't have a choice here in north Texas for hi-speed internet so we took a package with Embarq. Unfortunately it was with dish as the satellite provider. The two year deal is up in October and I'll be switching back to DirectTV unless something drastic happens between now and then.

Bill

AMP2003 - 02 April 2008 05:05 PM

Using the excuse that there is not enough true HD contect on Speed to justify it's carriage is just total BS. There is mor HD content than there is SD.

DirecTV is just a superior provider and anyone who can should switch.

Actually, a whole lot of what you see in "HD" is upconverted SD. Often times you will find your TV zooms the picture from an SD source, such as S-Video, better than the provider.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/features/2808/8-ways-networks-jump-the-hd-line.html

There is another thread on avsforum.com were an individual took it upon his or herself to make photo and digital comparisons between FIOS HD and Comcast HD and found Comcast HD delivered about 60% of the content of FIOS. I am too lazy to dig that article up. But, I recored the same Stargate Atlantis episode in SD and HD and could tell little to no difference in picture or sound quality. In fact, my TV did a better job upconverting and zooming the SD image than SciFi/DirecTV resulting in less shadow. Audio separation (Dolby Digital vs. Dolby Pro Logic II, 5.1) was identical as well.

In the end though, ignorance is bliss. If you see 16x9 image and the receiver reads Dolby Digital and think you are watching HD, be happy.

Heard from a Dish Insider the true reason we will not see SPEED HD is because Fox News is suing Dish to be moved in to the 100 package. Currently, Fox News is in the second, 150 tier. Do not know when it is going to trial. And no one knows if the pending outcome will solve clear the way for SPEED HD.

Personally, I would not mind if Dish dropped Fox News, it has become a joke of a news network. Neil Cavuto used to have a great business show. Now it is 30 minutes of celebrity news. Can not speak for anyone else, but my world continues whether some pop tart lives or dies. If the stock market crashes or a company goes belly up, my world is rocked, hard!

Slipstream - 03 April 2008 09:02 AM

AMP2003 - 02 April 2008 05:05 PM

Using the excuse that there is not enough true HD contect on Speed to justify it's carriage is just total BS. There is mor HD content than there is SD.

DirecTV is just a superior provider and anyone who can should switch.

Actually, a whole lot of what you see in "HD" is upconverted SD. Often times you will find your TV zooms the picture from an SD source, such as S-Video, better than the provider.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/features/2808/8-ways-networks-jump-the-hd-line.html

There is another thread on avsforum.com were an individual took it upon his or herself to make photo and digital comparisons between FIOS HD and Comcast HD and found Comcast HD delivered about 60% of the content of FIOS. I am too lazy to dig that article up. But, I recored the same Stargate Atlantis episode in SD and HD and could tell little to no difference in picture or sound quality. In fact, my TV did a better job upconverting and zooming the SD image than SciFi/DirecTV resulting in less shadow. Audio separation (Dolby Digital vs. Dolby Pro Logic II, 5.1) was identical as well.

In the end though, ignorance is bliss. If you see 16x9 image and the receiver reads Dolby Digital and think you are watching HD, be happy.

I can easily distinguish between what it upconverted and what is HD. The NASCAR stuff is HD. The F1 stuff is upconvert. But there are some other shows that are HD that I don't really watch. Overall, the PQ of SpeedHD vs. Speed SD is night and day. Even the SD programming they show on SpeedHD looks 10 times better than anything on the SD version.