Dish serves 100% HD service
I heard Dish Network was offering 1080p video a couple weeks ago and thought this was a compelling service. But then I heard conflicting information, so I decided to take a closer look.
The Dish Network TurboHD plan was announced 1st August with 1080p video – the first 1080p broadcast available. The initial announcements made it sound like the channels were all 1080p, but this is not the case. The channels are all in either 720p or 1080i, as they are with other services. The 1080p content is from their Video-on-Demand (VOD) service.
Another confusing part about the 1080p video is none of the current HD receivers from Dish output a 1080p signal, according to their product brochures. Maybe the brochures simply haven’t caught up with their programming availability.
The main goal of TurboHD is really that it is an HD-only service. All of the channels are in high-definition. This means you don’t have to pay for standard-definition channels you don’t watch. TurboHD can be added to a standard package, however, and your locals (which are $5.00 more per month) may not be available in high-def yet.
So at this point it’s just picking a package that has the channels you want and going with it. For me, the top-tier package still only has seven channels I watch, and the locals (networks such as NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS) aren’t in high-def in my area. I think I would rather have à la carte programming. But this is the ways of the world.
I’m also waiting to hear what XstreamHD is going to offer.
