That's great except that there's not ten to twenty channels operating at this time. You have CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, HBO, Showtime, HDNET and DishPPV, DirecTV PPV.
With the exception of HDnet none of these are full time HD channels. And many will chime in here to point out Showtime and NBC do not even belong on the list.
I think it's safe to say a combined DBS provider will easily have the CAPACITY for 20 HD channels, but the program suppliers must step up to the plate. No DBS company has the power to change that let alone the money needed to foot the bill. Even with mutilple PPV movie channels, there is still a very small amount of movies in HDTV format considering the total collection of film works over the last century. HBO is doing it's own transfers on most of the B and older films. That's mainly because the studios will not invest in the cost to re-transfer in HD. If HBO wants HD versions, they are forced to have them transferred at their cost or do it them selves.
With the exception of HDnet none of these are full time HD channels. And many will chime in here to point out Showtime and NBC do not even belong on the list.
I think it's safe to say a combined DBS provider will easily have the CAPACITY for 20 HD channels, but the program suppliers must step up to the plate. No DBS company has the power to change that let alone the money needed to foot the bill. Even with mutilple PPV movie channels, there is still a very small amount of movies in HDTV format considering the total collection of film works over the last century. HBO is doing it's own transfers on most of the B and older films. That's mainly because the studios will not invest in the cost to re-transfer in HD. If HBO wants HD versions, they are forced to have them transferred at their cost or do it them selves.
