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story category Dish First To Be All MPEG-4
'Nonny nonny,' says satellite operator
10:28AM Tuesday Aug 26 2008 by Karl Bode
tags: satellite · competition · business · bandwidth · Dish Network
Dish Network is tooting their own horn this morning by announcing they're the first company in the pay-TV industry (in the U.S., anyway) to transmit all standard and high definition programming in the MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding Standard. New customers living in 21 markets in the eastern half of the United States will be the first to get the all MPEG-4 service, with new markets arriving "in the coming months." The MPEG-4 compression standard uses less bandwidth, allowing carriers to provide more HD channels. Dish hopes that MPEG-4 and 1080P content will give them a competitive edge over telcoTV and cable.

Related:
  1. Troubled Satellite Launch Impacts Dish Network HD Plans
  2. Analysts Say TiVo Battle Puts Dish in a Bad Position
  3. Satellite TV Sees First Quarterly Subscriber Loss Ever
  4. Dish Discussing Merger With DirecTV
  5. AT&T Partners with DirecTV
  6. Thursday Morning Links
  7. Thursday Evening Links
  8. HughesNet Widens Cap-Free Window
Forums » Dish First To Be All MPEG-4
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Post a:
ITALIAN926

join:2003-08-16
Stratford, CT

millions of yankee fans....

Yea, they want an edge ?..... get the damn YES channel in NY already.
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:23:17 · Reply to this

sansri88
Go digtal you analog laggards
Premium
join:2005-12-17
Iselin, NJ
clubs:

Re: millions of yankee fans....

YES! If they had that channel I would have switched ages ago.
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:54:52 · Reply to this

Cubmaniac

@Virginia.EDU

Re: millions of yankee fans....

But you can watch them lose on Dish tonight! They will be carried on WWOR.
permalink · 2008-08-26 13:42:58 · Reply to this

DaveNJ
No Fear

join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

hello Comcast

I wonder if Comcast will notice?? They still dont provide PIP on there boxes. MPEG might be too advanced for them to notice
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:25:09 · Reply to this

TK Junk Mail
Go ahead, make my day
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Margate City, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast

Re: hello Comcast

said by DaveNJ See Profile :

I wonder if Comcast will notice?? They still dont provide PIP on there boxes. MPEG might be too advanced for them to notice
You mean MPEG4. All Comcast boxes use MPEG2.
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:30:00 · Reply to this

Scree
In the pipe 5 by 5

join:2001-04-24
Mount Laurel, NJ

Re: hello Comcast

Looks more like MPEG1 a lot of the time. lol
permalink · 2008-08-26 14:28:51 · Reply to this
patcat88

join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

Re: hello Comcast

Nothing like looking at cinderblocks oops I ment raindrops falling.
permalink · 2008-08-27 07:31:56 · Reply to this

TK Junk Mail
Go ahead, make my day
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Margate City, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast

edit:
August 26th, @10:36AM

Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

New customers in 21 designated markets* in the eastern half of the U.S. who sign up for any DISH Network(R) HD package
And you must have one of their new MPEG4 HD boxes. So if you have an old HD box, you are out of luck.

List of 21 locales:
Cleveland; Richmond, Va.; Baltimore.; Columbia, S.C.; Tampa,
Fla; Green Bay, Wis.; Greensboro, N.C.; Providence, R.I.; Greenville,
S.C., Knoxville, Tenn.; Raleigh, N.C.; Chicago; Detroit; Charlotte,
N.C.; Dallas; Nashville, Tenn.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Philadelphia.;
Washington, D.C.; New York, N.Y.; and Hartford, Conn.
--
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permalink · 2008-08-26 10:29:01 · Print · Reply to this

Hall
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

Why would a new customer have one of their old boxes to begin with ?
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:53:38 · Reply to this

TK Junk Mail
Go ahead, make my day
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Margate City, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast

edit:
August 26th, @11:02AM

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

said by Hall See Profile :

Why would a new customer have one of their old boxes to begin with ?
They wouldn't. So if you are an existing customer, you will have to upgrade your STBs to take advantage of this new higher quality DISH experience. And you can bet that DISH will be pushing upgrades sooner or later for existing customers after the initial rollout to new customers is well underway.
--
My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page
Ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?
permalink · 2008-08-26 11:00:35 · Print · Reply to this

Hall
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

I'm an existing Dish customer with an MPEG4-capable box today and there is NOTHING "new" that I am missing out on at this point.

Also, word is, when Dish does eventually go all MPEG4, they will replace customer's equipment for free.
permalink · 2008-08-26 12:04:30 · Reply to this

kenn10

join:2003-09-10
Kennesaw, GA
·VoicePulse Connect
·Vitelity VOIP
·Comcast
·Vonage
·Verizon Online DSL
·ViaTalk

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

said by Hall See Profile :

Also, word is, when Dish does eventually go all MPEG4, they will replace customer's equipment for free.
I had an 811 HD receiver and they sent me a VIP211 (leased) for no additional charge. I was not happy that I have to pay the $7/month for an additional leased receiver but I did not have to pay for the equipment otherwise.
permalink · 2008-08-26 12:13:07 · Print · Reply to this

cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

It's been a while since I had Dish, but do the "lease fee" and the "additional outlet fee" cancel out each outher? It use to be you were charged one or the other, but not both.
permalink · 2008-08-26 15:35:24 · Reply to this

JSY

join:2000-04-05
Elmhurst, NY
clubs:

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

The lease fee is for the second receiver. The additional outlet fee is also for each additional receiver (a piece of crock if you ask me) but you can avoid that charge by connecting your receivers to either a phone jack or broadband connection.
permalink · 2008-08-26 18:44:42 · Reply to this
nasadude

join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
·Comcast
said by Hall See Profile :

...
Also, word is, when Dish does eventually go all MPEG4, they will replace customer's equipment for free.
admittedly, this was several months ago (over a year?), but I switched from DISH to comcast when:

a) they refused to waive the $300 "fee" for the privilege of renting an HD-DVR

b) they insisted I would have to purchase a new HD rcvr with MPEG4 capability to get any new HD content

maybe they finally saw that requiring a customer to spend several hundred dollars on a rcvr to get their HD programming was a little bit of a turnoff for some customers.
permalink · 2008-08-26 12:13:48 · Print · Reply to this

Hall
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
·EarthLink
·AT&T Midwest
·Earthlink Cable Mo..

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

I'm very aware of what you're talking about... I was with Dish many years ago when their only HD-DVR option was $1000 ! I left them back then too. I'm not sure what their reasoning was, but I believe it was more along the lines of the total cost to build their hardware. Years ago, they couldn't afford to give the hardware away or even discount it and re-coup the costs. As time goes, the hardware price drops and they can re-coup the cost in a reasonable time frame. I still paid $150 "for the privilege" of leasing the 622 I currently have. I can get a 2nd one for $75 or a 722 for maybe $100 today. New customers, who do always get the best deals, can get those for free.
permalink · 2008-08-26 12:57:53 · Print · Reply to this

jofaz

@cox.net

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

Be glad you didn't buy that $1000 921, it wouldn't work for HD starting this month and dish would give you $10 credit for it.
permalink · 2008-08-27 02:41:33 · Reply to this

JSY

join:2000-04-05
Elmhurst, NY
clubs:		 The way I understand it - the existing customer who doesn't already have MPEG4 compatible boxes will also need to repoint their dish to the Eastern Arc satellites that house the all-MPEG4 lineup.
permalink · 2008-08-26 14:31:36 · Reply to this

Hall
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
·EarthLink
·AT&T Midwest
·Earthlink Cable Mo..

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

Existing customers aren't (currently) eligible for Eastern Arc. For the foreseeable future, existing customers gain *nothing* by switching to Eastern Arc, therefore Dish won't do it for free. If a customer wants to, they have to replace any MPEG2 receiver(s) on their own dime, buy the req'd dish and LNB, and either re-point themselves or pay an installer to do it.
permalink · 2008-08-26 17:57:29 · Reply to this

JSY

join:2000-04-05
Elmhurst, NY
clubs:

Re: Must sign up for the HD pkg in these 21 locales

That's right - I heard that too - about Dish not doing anything to the existing customer since it's no gain. I upgraded to the HD package about a month ago, so they replaced my old MPEG2 receivers with new ViP722s so at least I have the receivers ready, but won't be doing anything more until Dish deems it necessary and does it for free.
permalink · 2008-08-26 18:37:14 · Reply to this

jofaz

@cox.net

 Existing mpeg4 HD customers wanting to use the all mpeg4 system that dish calls Eastern Arc only needs a new dish pointed at the new satellites and a new smart card. Dish is starting a card swap so all customers will eventually have the needed smart card.
permalink · 2008-08-27 02:39:47 · Reply to this

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK		 To be fair, most of the HD receivers are lease receivers. Which means if your 1 year lease was up, you should be able to return the boxen and lease the new MPEG4 boxen.
permalink · 2008-08-27 00:39:17 · Reply to this
Burrens

join:2006-01-17
Austin, TX

What about U-Verse

Hasn't U-Verse been doing MPEG-4 since its inception?
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:36:10 · Reply to this

djrobx

join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA

Re: What about U-Verse

Sure is! Whoops.
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:41:43 · Reply to this

Matt
You can't fix stupid
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
·Corporate Colocation
said by Burrens See Profile :

Hasn't U-Verse been doing MPEG-4 since its inception?
Yes, although I believe they are using a Microsoft version of it. Why?
--
Linux Haters Unite!
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:42:51 · Reply to this

djrobx

join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Time Warner VOIP
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME

Re: What about U-Verse

According to Wikipedia and most rumblings on the U-verse forums, they are using H.264.

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-verse

"U-verse uses H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) encoding which compresses video more efficiently than the traditional MPEG-2."

I think they were talking about using VC-1 pre-launch, but seem to have gone with the standard.
--
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permalink · 2008-08-26 10:52:08 · Reply to this

Matt
You can't fix stupid
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
·Corporate Colocation

Re: What about U-Verse

said by djrobx See Profile :

I think they were talking about using VC-1 pre-launch, but seem to have gone with the standard.
I didn't now they switched back from the VC-1 codec. Good find. (Thanks for reminding me of the name of the MS codec too)
--
Linux Haters Unite!
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:55:29 · Reply to this
bogey780

join:2004-03-19
Covington, LA		 IIRC they use VC-1 for VOD. Can't remember where I heard it.
permalink · 2008-08-26 11:16:04 · Reply to this

Hall
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
·EarthLink
·AT&T Midwest
·Earthlink Cable Mo..
said by Matt See Profile :

Why?
Since AT&T U-Verse has been doing it all along, Dish is hardly the "first" to offer this...
permalink · 2008-08-26 10:56:01 · Reply to this

Matt
You can't fix stupid
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
·Corporate Colocation

edit:
August 26th, @11:06AM

Re: What about U-Verse

said by Hall See Profile :

said by Matt See Profile :

Why?
Since AT&T U-Verse has been doing it all along, Dish is hardly the "first" to offer this...
I think the distinction is ALL standard definition and high definition channels. Doesn't U-Verse transmit standard def channels using a different codec?

Looks like they just vary the bitrate.

I've had a DirecTV MPEG4 box for over a year now also, but they don't broadcast everything in MPEG4.
--
Linux Haters Unite!
permalink · 2008-08-26 11:01:54 · Print · Reply to this
Joe12345678

join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

Re: What about U-Verse

they only have have 7-10 MPEG2 HD left and they are going away soon.
permalink · 2008-08-26 11:17:10 · Reply to this

bbfser sdff a

@sbc.com

Re: What about U-Verse

said by Joe12345678 See Profile :

they only have have 7-10 MPEG2 HD left and they are going away soon.
Uverse is all MPEG-4 for live TV.
permalink · 2008-08-26 12:55:42 · Reply to this

Hall
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
·EarthLink
·AT&T Midwest
·Earthlink Cable Mo..

 Dish has been offering an MPEG4-capable box for a couple of years now. The ViP622 was their first.

Also, anyone with an older MPEG2-only HD box with Dish hasn't gotten many, if any, new HD channels in a LONG time. I believe that all of the new ones they've added are MPEG4-only (though initially many were MPEG2 in an MPEG4 "container").
permalink · 2008-08-26 12:02:07 · Reply to this
mrsdrgn

join:2007-12-25
Lake Worth, FL

MPEG 4

Who cares what they use. I don't care what system these companies use.
ALL I WANT IS MORE HD! ALL THE HD CHANNELS AVAILABLE! AND IN GOOD QUALITY.
permalink · 2008-08-26 11:05:09 · Reply to this
richardak

join:2001-07-08
Seguin, TX

MPEG-2 > MPEG-4

Nothing to "toot their own horn" about. MPEG-2 is superior to MPEG-4. The only reason DISH Network and DirecTV want to use MPEG-4 is so they can compress their signals even more, and we can be subjected to even more pixelation.

Both DISH Network and DirecTV should have limited MPEG-4 to HD Local channels that don't really matter. Premium channel providers like HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. should be complaining that the signal that the end user is getting is subpar.
permalink · 2008-08-26 11:28:12 · Reply to this

See 15 replies to this post
flyingjoey

join:2005-11-07
Jersey City, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Verizon FIOS

edit:
August 26th, @03:45PM

What's Really HD?

Directv says they offer 95 HD Channels that's counting all the PPV+Premium Channels.

Verizon claims that they're now offering 100 Channels in the NY/NJ Area. I just counted the channels available in my area including premiums but excluding PPV and they aren't lying... It's 100.

Can it be that Verizon beat DirecTV at their own HD Game?

502 CBS — WCBS HD
504 NBC — WNBC HD
505 FOX — WNYW HD
507 ABC — WABC HD
509 My WWOR HD
511 CW — WPIX HD
513 PBS — WNET HD
550 USA HD
551 TNT HD
552 TBS HD
553 FX HD
567 Universal HD
568 Superstation — WGN HD
569 HD Net
570 ESPN HD
572 ESPNews HD
574 ESPN2 HD
576 YES HD
577 SportsNet New York HD
583 Speed Channel HD
585 Big Ten Network HD
588 NFL Network HD
590 VERSUS/Golf HD
591 Outdoor Channel 2 HD
597 World Fishing Network HD
598 MavTV HD
600 CNN HD
602 CNBC HD+
617 Fox Business Network HD
618 Fox News HD
619 The Weather Channel HD
620 Discovery Channel HD
621 National Geographic
622 Science Channel HD
625 Smithsonian Channel HD
628 History Channel HD
629 Bio HD
630 Animal Planet HD
631 HD Theater
639 TLC HD
640 Lifetime HD
641 Lifetime Movie Network HD
650 QVC HD
664 Food Network HD
665 HGTV HD
668 Planet Green HD
669 Wealth TV HD
670 Travel Channel HD
680 Sci-Fi Channel HD
681 A&E HD
685 Bravo HD
699 ABC Family HD
711 MHD
740 Hallmark Movie Channel HD
744 MGM Channel HD
746 HD Net
750 Disney Channel HD
751 Toon Disney HD
840 Starz HD
842 Starz Edge HD
845 Starz Kids & Family HD
847 Starz Comedy HD
865 Showtime HD
866 Showtime West HD
867 Showtime Showcase HD
868 Showtime Showcase West HD
869 Showtime 2 HD
870 Showtime 2 West HD
873 Showtime Extreme HD
874 Showtime Extreme West HD
885 The Movie Channel HD
886 The Movie Channel West HD
887 The Movie Channel Xtra HD
888 The Movie Channel Xtra West HD
899 HBO HD
901 HBO West HD
902 HBO 2 HD
903 HBO 2 West HD
904 HBO Signature HD
905 HBO Signature West HD
906 HBO Family HD
907 HBO Family West HD
908 HBO Comedy HD
909 HBO Comedy West HD
910 HBO Zone HD
911 HBO Zone West HD
912 HBO Latino HD
913 HBO Latino West HD
920 Cinemax HD
921 Cinemax West HD
922 More Max HD
923 More Max West HD
924 Action Max HD
925 Action Max West HD
926 Thriller Max HD
927 Thriller Max West HD
928 WMAX HD
929 At Max HD
930 Five Star Max HD
931 OuterMax HD
permalink · 2008-08-26 15:37:20 · Print · Reply to this

JSY

join:2000-04-05
Elmhurst, NY
clubs:

Re: What's Really HD?

I don't have Directv nor FiOS, but Directv has said that they will get to 150 HD channels by the end of the year and I think DishNetwork has said up to 130 by the end of the year. I don't think FiOS has ever claimed that they would have more than satellite, have they? I thought their ads were more geared against cable.
permalink · 2008-08-26 18:42:14 · Reply to this
eric87m

join:2003-12-07
Princeton, NJ		 Of course they are because Verizon's channels aren't compressed to hell.
permalink · 2008-08-26 20:25:56 · Reply to this

JSY

join:2000-04-05
Elmhurst, NY
clubs:

Re: What's Really HD?

What does that post have to do with the point? Someone talked number of channels and that's what it was.

Why the hell do people who have X provider get so defensive when someone makes any critique on it? That always makes me feel that the person isn't sure they made the right choice and needs to vindicate him/herself by making comments like that.
permalink · 2008-08-27 01:13:10 · Reply to this
Forums » Dish First To Be All MPEG-4

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