Hey Verizon : Where are the new HD channels? - Page 5

wasn't FAN BOY a super hero that used small sharp fans to dice his enemies into little pieces?

I'm still calling it by the name it had since the beginning...hard to get used to its new name. It's encouraging that they said 'soon' for the other Discovery HD channels. However, from what I've read on the D* forums, these are not showing true HD most of the time. Very strange for Discovery to do that. It appears that many of these channels went on line well before they should have since they have an extremely limited HD library.

check with your friend again there here

Current HD Channels
* = not a simulcast of the SD channel (if available), programming will vary.

Pre-existing MPEG2 Channels
ESPN HD (206/73)
ESPN2 HD (209/72)
(Discovery) HD Theater (76)
HDNet (79)
HDNet Movies (78)
TNT HD (245/75)
Universal HD (74)
CD USA (101)
HBO HD East (70/501/509)
Showtime HD (71/537/543)


MPEG4 RECENT ADDITIONS
Wave I Added 9/26:

A&E HD (265)
Animal Planet HD (282)
Big Ten HD (220)
CNN HD (202)
Discovery HD (278)
History Channel HD (269)
TLC HD (280)
NFL Network HD (212)
Science Channel HD (284)
Smithsonian HD (267)
TBS HD (247)
Versus HD / Golf Channel HD (604)
Weather Channel HD (362)
The Movie Channel HD (544)
SHO Too HD (538)
Showtime HD West (540)
Starz Comedy HD (519)
Starz HD East (520)
Starz HD West (521)
Starz Edge HD (522)
Starz Kids and Family (518)

Wave II Added 10/3 & 10/4:
Bravo (273)
MHD (332)(added 10/4)
SCI FI (244)
USA Network (242)
Cinemax-E (512)
Cinemax-W (514)
HBO-W (504)

Wave III Added 10/10:
CNBC (355)
Food HD* (231-1)
MGM (255)
National Geographic (276)

Regional Sports Networks
Available nationally, but local blackout rules still apply.
Comcast SportsNet Chicago (640)
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (629)
New England Sports Network (623)
SportsNet New York (625)
YES (622)
Other HD channels
Miscellaneous Events Channel (95)
PPV Events (98)
PPV Movies (99)
NFL Sunday Ticket Superfan (700's)
MLB Extra Innings (700's)

Added 10/5:
NHL Center Ice HD (700's)

Announced HD Additions

October 2007 (source: DirecTV website)
Cartoon Network
FOX Business
Fuel
FX
HGTV*
NBA TV
Speed
Coming by End of 2007 (source: DirecTV website)
Biography
CMT
MTV
Nickelodeon East
Spike
VH1
CSTV
The Tennis Channel
Previously announced as "Fall 2007" (source: Press releases and/or statements made by one or more of a variety of sources)
Chiller
Sleuth
MoreMax
HBO2-E
HBO2-W
HBO Family-E
HBO Family-W
HBO Signature
Previously announced as "Spring 2008" (source: Press releases and/or statements made by one or more of a variety of sources)
ABC Family
Disney Channel
ESPN News
Toon Disney
Channels that showed up in Engineering Mode with no official carriage announcement
NHL Network
Outdoor
Comedy Central

Regional Sports Networks
Available nationally, but local blackout rules still apply.
Fall 2007
Altitude
FSN Arizona
FSN Bay Area
FSN Detroit
FSN Florida
FSN New England
FSN North
FSN Northwest
FSN Ohio
FSN Prime Ticket
FSN Rocky Mountain
FSN South
FSN Southwest
FSN West
SportsSouth
Sun Sports
Channels that showed up in Engineering Mode with no official carriage announcement
FSN Midwest
FSN Houston
FSN New York
FSN Pittsburgh
MSG
FSN Cincinnati
Comcast SportsNet West
MASN/SportsTime Ohio

Did you really need to post the whole thing from the 2007 DirecTV HD rollout sticky thread in this same forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=914047? Saying that DirecTV now has 37 HD channels on their new satellite with a link to the thread would have been sufficient, especially all the new HD channels that only have vague start-ups dates. Given the volume of postings on the new D* HD channels here at avsforum, I don't know anyone can have missed the news.

A summary of most of the challenges/business decisions that Verizon has made(and noted in this thread) in regards to the HD race

We definetly have plenty of trolls and cheerleaders.

To the other poster.. Like I said, there aren't 150 NOW. Planned doesn't mean squadoosh. Fios has had the main HD channels (like locals, which are the most important imo) for a long time. Then comes ESPN, NFL HD, and HGTV/Food for the GF. TNT is also nice during the basketball season. More channels will come in time, and I'm perfectly happy with the ones available now. Like I said, if they're a little behind the curve that's no big deal. They've been ahead of the curve for a while (and they're considerably cheaper) so no complaints here.

hardly, I have Comcast with 25 HD Channels and I am debating whether to switch over to FIOS or D, but since FIOS is stuck with what it has for a while D is looking good although sat tv has its own problems. Yeah I should have posted the link my bad. However that list does show 53 available now + locals so that would be for me 59 HD Channels Now versus 25 for Comcast and 20 something for FIOS, just wanted to point that out.

I agree,my buddy has dtv for years.He's always upgrading his boxes,had to upgrade his dish,signal goes out with bad weather and he waited a couple of years for hd channels. Comcast only stepped up to the plate because of all the competition. So verizon is a little behind, big deal. I'm not going to give up media sharing and clearer channels for more hd channels.I haven't lost a signal from fios internet or tv since I switched over a year ago.Like everybody else, I wish they would just give us some kind release date on future channels.

Everyone keeps saying quality over quantity and ignoring the fact that I have FIOS and Comcast so i can compare both directly in house on my isf pro calibrated 1080p displays. The HD nor SD is any better on FIOS then Comcast and ironically more often the opposite. That was FIOS one redeeming quality the "supposed" better SD quality. It was never worth what you lost from Comcast (like HD on demand) among several other things to get that supposed better SD picture quality.

Talking about sports, how are the MLB playoffs in SD on fios on tbs? Comcast and DTV have TBS-HD.

as far as I know DTV has Comcastsportsnet and every channel that FIOS has plus a lot more in HD, but i'll be keeping my Comcast as well so i wont be missing anything with fios as DTV has HDnet and HDnet movies which is the one hd chan that fios has that comcast doesnt while comcast has a few now that fios doesnt.

the supposed inside scoop from verizon and reported on certain threads is that the wait for certain HD chans that the compeition already has may be 6mo to a year if ever. Ppl claim fios has all this bandwidth and all but the actual facts are they can't add any more HD chans right now.

FIOS was something ppl wanted because it was new and if it want in their area they wanted what they cant have. now that many ppl have gotten it in the Phila area, they see not only is it not better then Comcast, but is in several ways inferior. hence the switch back.

it was someone else who first brought up the internet services of the 2 in attempt to defend fios. I never claimed comcast internet was better or brought it up at all, i hve fios internet and am keeping it along with phone and dtv at a package discount.

but when someone else brought up internet as a way to defend fios, reachign for straws and being a verizon fanboy. you call me a fanboy... of what? whichever service is best? which right now is DTV first and Comcast 2nd. FIOS has fallen to 3rd.

that is the whole point of this thread, "FIOS-Where are the HD channels" it is a place to vent that frustration with fios. You are going to have ppl mention they gave fios enough time , were un satisfied and are jumping ship.

But its also a thread to get news on when fios may eventually catch up, and those ppl are still fios customers and therefore defensive of there laziness to switch and defensive of fios and flame anyone who puts it down even if the topic of the chan is about voicing frustration with fios.

Then at the end you say what everyone says including clueless fios phone reps "Fios sd is better then others" Sorry that isn't true. my comcat sd is better then fios.

so i love how everyone keeps repeating what they've been brainwashed to be believe but never panned out and fios never matched the competition let alone beat them and are only falling more behind. I dont have much confidence in them. I said if they ever get better and beat the competition then i would come back but i really dont see that happening for a long time if ever, so if you have the patience to wait loyaly by fios possibly forever, then more power to you but dont bash others that wasted their time and money with fios and are fedup.

the point he was making by posting the facts of the current channel lineup is that DirecTV whether you like it or not is #1 right now. Were they crap in the past, it sounds like it, and I for one would have never gotten DTV.

You yourself said you go with whichever service is best. Well that changes a lot and right now its DTV and not for some short stint. Its well ahead of Comcast and FIOS now and its not a matter of more HD channels coming soon, they've been adding several new ones at a time in waves and its not a maybe its a definite promise that the rest will all be out by the end of DEC. at which point their price goes up when all the stubborn ppl who didnt' want to believe that dtv could possibly be suddenly #1 is and they wanted to believe that fios would compete but they haven't really from day 1 and real supposed inside info is that its going to be a long while before they add even basic HD chans like USA that comcast h as.

listen its tough with technology chaning so quickly, and the competition is good, one minute one service is best, the next another and you cn't always change so quickly and rather just stick with one that you think will suffice.

And yes while FIOS for a short sting had I believe a couple more hd chans then comcast, it is not the complete opposite and in many ppls eyes including myself, FIOS promised a lot and actually was never even as good as Comcast let alone better and has now fallen to last place.

maybe it seems like jumping the gun to DTV, but its fact, they are clearly making the most improvements the fastest and are the service to beat, plain and simple. no matter how crappy they were once upon a time.

with what they have now let alone what they will have next month and in Dec. many are comfortable that DTV will be the best for a long time as neither Comcast nor FIOS are going to be able to compete with what they are offering for a long time.

When something is better is then DTV , i will switch, but again DTV is on top whether you realized it or not, or choose to believe it or not even when furnished with the facts. So it looks like i wont have to switch tv provider from DTV for a long time.

No Vod!

Fios.... no HD on demand!

DTV- hd vod next month! ..... and prob long before fios gets hd on demand, lol.

the fios defenders reaching for straws.

not sure of the exact definition of a fan boy , but i would think someone who defends an inferior product or service falls in the category while i'm just going with whats better and have the right to be annoyed after having had fios.

Actually, I stated the reverse - quality over quantity


My eyes tell me differently - I frequently have the opportunity to compare the 2, and my eyes tell me that FIOS SD is superior in PQ to Comcast.



In your opinion, this was FIOS' one redeeming quality - in my opinion, there are other things that FIOS has and continues to offer that differentiate it from Comcast. For me, superior SD quality is just one of the things that I like about FIOS --- Other features that FIOS offers which are important to me include the multi-room DVR, availability of the HDNet channels, a superior bundled package (internet, phone, tv) in both quality of service and cost, and, as compared with D*, the availbility of my local RSN (Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia) in HD.


It is both ignorant and irresponsible for you to state what "I" lost when I swithed from Comcast - speak for yourself. For me, I had Comcast for many years prior to switching over to FIOS TV - HD OnDemand is not a feature that I ever used with Comcast and I do not miss it one bit. If it's important to you, great - but I could care less.


It sucks - but I blame this issue as much on MLB as I do on FIOS. I am confident that this will be the only year that I will have to deal with SD playoff baseball - I'd be surprised if TBS-HD is not offered by Vz by the 2008 playoffs. Outside of the MLB playoffs, I really could care less about TBS-HD.


First let me clarify that we are speaking about Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia - with that said, you are absolutely incorrect. D* has never been able to obtain the rights from Comcast to add this channel to their lineup. See the Wikipedia entry under 'controversies' here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast

With that cleared up, it amazes me that you could make such a big deal about TBS-HD being available for the ~10-13 MLB Playoff games that will be broadcast while you totally ignore the fact that a D* subscriber will miss out on ~140 Phillies games, ~75 76ers games, and ~70 Flyers games in both SD AND HD. As I wrote previously, if you are a Philadelphia sports fan living in the region, D* is not an option no matter how many 'other' HD channels they offer.


Are you serious - if ever? That's just a flat out dumb statement.


Actually, the fact is that A&E HD will be added any day as channel 842 - this is per the scroll bar on the weatherscan channel (ch. 49 for me). Not that I care, because like most of the other HD channels currently being added by D* and Comcast, there is VERY, VERY little HD programming currently available on this channel. IMHO, an HD channel is only valuable if it offers HD programming - and even then, only valuable if I care to watch such HD content.


Once again, you make a blanket statement without any facts to back it up. Also, once again, you speak in the third person - YOU made a determination that FIOS is inferior to Comcast and YOU decided to switch back. Until you produce figures showing that "many ppl," as you quote, are coming to the same realization as you and are switching back to Comcast, let it go! Speak for yourself - your generalizations without facts remove the credibility from your posts. You are entilted to your own opinion - feel free to state it as your own ---- but nobody elected you king to speak for the masses. Until you produce facts, stop making blanket statements on what others are doing/not-doing.

dtv and comcast ftw!

not quite true- FiOS has HD VOD in testing(at least in my area). in fact I noticed tonite there were additional programs added.

as another sub in Hampton Roads, VA pointed out HD VOD apparently steals bandwidth from internet. in fact no HD VOD program is longer than 50 min.

but it looks like Vz is working on it.

No offense, but some of you guys are really old, and your eye sight might not be that good anymore. Well I'm young and have very good eye sight, and I'll definitely stand with the group that says the SD channels are much better on Fios, and the HD channels are a bit better too. I've watched enough HD to pull bitrates out my ass, so I'll say Fios is 15-18Mbps, and Comcast is 12-15 Mbps.

But really, all these visual opinions are hearsay. The only way to truly confirm SD and HD is better on Fios is to record the exact same program on both Comcast and Fios to PC, and compare bitrates and exact frames, like Xylon did with DTV vs Dish.

I don't know where you live, but here is a breakdown which may help.

I had D* for 7 years and now I have fios. I really like both, but here are my advantages and disadvantages of each:

D* advantage: Great CS, many HD channels, I have few outages, decent HD PQ, good price packages for new subscribers.

D* disadvantage: No RSN (here in Philadelphia), lousy SD channels ( PQ, that is...over compressed), no vod or HD vod and LIMITED ppv movies, lousy and SLOW equipment/guides.

FIOS advantages: VOD, Rsn (mains reason I switched...local sports), excellent sd pq (best I've seen yet), excellent HD quality, decent cs, many ppv movies, no outages (only 2 months of sevice though).

Fios disadvantages: lack of HD channels and verison's STUPID policy of keeping you in the dark about future HD additions. No hd vod. A bit more pricey.

To me, if Verizon gave news of 20 new HD channels coming soon or if FIOS had more HD it would be a "no brainer" to me that verizon would be the company to stay with...or go with. however, i have 8 months to decide (D* account is suspended while I check out FIOS).

I'll play straight man Quatre, which HD channels have better PQ on Comcast as opposed to FIOS.

Also, you have been asked to back up your statement regarding all these people that are switching back in the Phila area, but as of yet you've provided nothing.

Are you completely ignoring the PRICE or do you just have more $ than sense? I said it's best FOR THE PRICE, hands down. And I never said fios was better than comcast SD (although I haven't compared the two), but it's leaps and bounds better than D* crappy SD. Like I said, which you've ignored, FIOS is CONSIDERABLY cheaper than D*, or ANY other cable provider (if you have an employee discount or any special discount that doesn't count). A friend switched last yr from D* to fios, got ALL the same channels, and paid close to $50 less PER MONTH. My verizon bill is something ~$130/month for internet/tv/phone. That's with 2 dvrs and an SD box. Please let me know which service is even comparable to that.

I am in Philly and have a display calibrated by Greg Loewen and Quatre is way off base on PQ. I am not happy with the lack of new HD but as far as quality, there is no comparison. Quatre was bitching about FiOS in the PHilly thread from day one. I know several people at Comcast and not one has disagreed that the PQ on FiOS was better. The difference with CSN-HD was astounding and what's more, the people at CSN have acknowledged it to me as well as people at KYW in Philly, the CBS affilliate who have switched to FiOS. Give me a break Quatre.

On top for you is not the same as everyone else. lol Just because they have the most HD channels does NOT make them the best service, like I said before. J6P is VERY concerned about PRICE (and D* is considerably more expensive). Like I've said before D* has their issues. Crappy SD, higher prices (than fios), and all that damn hardware and crap you need to get, AND you need two coax cables for each damn dvr box. Perhaps the last one isn't too big a deal, but if your home is already nicely wired with coax cables in each room, the installers clearly won't do as nice of a job running that second coax cable.

Like I said before, for J6P, the price/performance of fios is unbeatable. Most people don't like playing "musical service provider." I sure don't. I can only see a handful of HD channels that are worth having that fios doesn't have already. If you deem that being worth it fine, but don't state your opinion as the majority opinion, and blindly believe D* is clearly the best.

Thanks for the confirmation JWhip. There is little veracity to Quatre's comments and I think we can all see that now.

If I could get your deal, it'd be no brainer for me to stay with fios. But I pay $167 for basically same thing you have -- ~$85 for phone+internet and ~$80 for TV (1 DVR+1 $15 premium channel). And now they want me to sign up for 1 year or they'll increase my TV by $5. Totally sucks.

Where are you?

I'm in Northern VA. Well, I just checked my bill and it's actuall $136. That sounds about right, maybe you signed up for the 15/2 internet service? I have the 5/2 service (which is plenty for most people), and have no premium channels. I pay $40 for internet, $70 for tv, and the rest for phone.

Like I commented before.. the fios service is great, but their customer service is HORRIBLE. Moving was a big pita switching the service over, and I'll leave it at that. Their whole customer "back end" schema must be horrible because I remember having to call and talk to different departments for the different service. My option was either Fios/comcast when I moved (I'm excluding DTV for the reasons I provided above). Comcast wanted a whole helluva lot more for their service (I think something ridiculous like $55 STARTING just for digital cable?!) so I said screw it, bit my lip, and stuck with FIOS. So, I definetly feel you pain when it comes to dealing with their "customer service." That's one thing that D* is/was pretty good about.

Interesting thread, although I'm sorry to be entertained by your pain! Who would have thought the medium with such incredible potential, like fiber, would wind up being used the way it is? Like someone selling you a Lamborghini and then deciding to not sell you gasoline for financial reasons.

nope, 5/2 internet. South CA. I've called 4-5 times now. No dice.

Unlike D*, they don't seem to have a retention center. I have a feeling if I threaten to drop them they'll say "we're sorry to hear that. have a nice day"

Dropping them for D* isn't an attractive option either. I'll pay about same if not more, and I'll probably have to sign 1 or 2yr contract for the hr20 and new dish (I'm an old D* customer). bummer.

Sorry to get things back on topic, but according to ch 49 here in Tampa, A&E HD will be added soon at channel 842.

Too bad as it carries almost no HD. With the NL playoffs all but over, TBS-HD is no longer a priority for me as they also have little HD other than baseball.

Yes, back on topic! Maybe we can get a break from the ramblings postings by Quatre. The scrolling information on the Weather Scan channel says that Fox Business Channel is coming to channel 94 and A&E-HD to ch 842. So, we may not be getting the core new HD channels we really want, but Verizon will be at least providing one more national HD channel soon. Hope we get at least several more useful HD channels added with this upgrade round, but Fios simply is not ready to announce them in advance.

The bright side of getting A&E-HD is now we Fios subscribers can see the channel for themselves and complain about the lack of much HD on it. There is a half full / half empty thing with the HD channels that are a simulcast of the main SD channel (or is it 1/5 full, 4/5ths empty?). I see people posting complaints that there is hardly ever any HD on TNT-HD, but TNT-HD despite it's use of the stretch-o-vision from hell, is somewhere around 50% to 75% true HD these days. So I will curious to see what the HD percentage really is with A&E-HD, although I don't expect it to be very good.