DISH Network calls first to 100% MPEG-4
By Richard Lawler 
posted Aug 26th 2008 7:07AM
posted Aug 26th 2008 7:07AM
Taking a page from Usain Bolt, DISH Network has engaged in a little chest beating as it crosses the line as first in the pay TV space to transmit all HD & SD channels in MPEG-4. Those living in 21 markets in the eastern half of the U.S. (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) who sign up for DISH Network HD will get the all-MPEG-4 service, not to mention access to all those HD channels and 1080p VOD on the way. Take that, DirecTV. 
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Awesome, but Dish doesn't carry the Yes Network, so it's not worth it to me.
Hmm... The first? Huh, I guess the big write the history ;) In USA maybe, but the first in the industry - that's quite an overstatement.
I think uverse has always been mpeg-4.
Too bad their new standalone HD package (TurboHD) is only available to *new* customers. I'd gladly give up my less-than-SD crap-o-vision package with them to get TurboHD (fewer HD channels) for the same price. I think it's time to call their cancellation department and see how much they care about loosing a customer.
Really? That is crap. I like the notion of their turbo HD package, but can't pull myself to switch because they don't seem to have to many channels available for that package. Now if they had an entry level and I could go up from there I'd be more interested that's for sure.
Oh really? I guess they changed their policy when they changed the name of the service to Turbo HD... As an existing subscriber, I got to change to the True HD (or total HD... i forget the actual name) where you pay $30/mo for only HD channels, but that was a while back (maybe 7 months...)
I tried to get TurboHD a couple weeks ago and my only option was to add it to an SD package. I wanted TurboHD Silver standalone for $32.99/mo but my only option was to upgrade from my Top 100 package to the Top 200 and then add TurboHD Silver on top of that. That would bring me up to $54.99/mo. At this point I hate all cable & satellite providers.
i'm thinking of cancelling my account. i've been with them almost 9 years and spent $150.00 to get a very bad 811 model hd upgrade about 3 1/2 years ago. unfortunately that gives me zip in local channels and the new hd channels. i dropped the hd package and am like you on the el crappo sd system. i couldn't get them to give me an upgrade so its time to hit the road. did you find a way to get an upgrade package without paying out more money? i'm going to be forced into going with direct or cable it seems.
This is why competition is a GOOD thing IMO... Now, if we could only see this type of arms race aimed towards internet speeds, the circle would almost be complete!
Go easy here. There's two things you can do with better compression (MPEG-4 vs. 2). You can give better quality in the same bandwidth or the same quality in less bandwidth. I assure you they are doing the latter. DISH is a little low on bandwidth on their east coast locals satellites.
Good point, it would be terrible if Dish Network gave us more channels to choose from.
Oh wait! It wouldn't!
I wonder if this means I can't tape Dish programs on my D-VHS VCR. D-VHS uses MPEG-2.
So, do all their legacy east-coast boxes support mpeg-4? Or do they broadcast two signals (which would be weird)?
Has anyone actually tried 1080p with their boxes? I didn't think they could output it...
The interesting question is: in what future year will they turn off their last MPEG-2 feeds?
I had dish for almost the last 2 years here on the west coast. I had the VIP611 and VIP211 receivers for my 2 HD TVs. I canceled my dish account about a month ago and switched to Verizon. I have to say that Verizon's PQ blows away dish's PQ for standard def. I wouldn't watch the fox soccer channel on dish due to the quality being so terrible. With verizon, PQ is pretty good for SD. My biggest complaint with verizon is that they still have bugs in their system. I wouldn't go back to dish though, even with the problems in verizon's system.