Satellite Blog » DISH Network

Dish Network Cuts Service to nearly 1m Customers

Administrator — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 22:54:58 +0000

Dish Network shut off access to out-of-local-market network stations to 900,000 people nationwide this week. For many, morning rituals of watching New York City morning news, or catching tidbits from ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox stations from outside their local markets.

Dish’s new tricks

Administrator — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 20:05:49 +0000

Dish’s new tricks

Dish Network has long been seen as the Wal-Mart of home TV services, offering a cheaper package of cable-type channels than either the local cable service or its main satellite competitor, DirecTV.

But over the past two years, Dish also has built a reputation for delivering advanced technology and new features. Last year, it became the first satellite service to offer a receiver with a built-in digital video recorder (DVR) capable of recording programs in high definition.

This spring, Dish began selling the DVR 942 ($699), an upgraded version of the receiver, which comes with even more new tricks. Two in particular stand out:

Multiple recording. The 942 has three built-in tuners — two for satellite channels and one that works with an over-the-air antenna. That means you can record three different programs at once, with one in high-definition.

Remote delivery. Other satellite services make you buy separate receivers and sometimes pay a monthly surcharge if you want to watch different programs in different rooms. The 942 can service two TVs in different parts of the house with just a simple coaxial cable connection. The extension TV gets its own remote control that can order up live or recorded programs, but not high-definition.

The 942 has other features that make it compare favorably to digital cable or DirecTV.

The unit has a 250GB hard drive, which can hold up to 25 hours of HD programming or 180 hours of standard broadcasts.

A look at Dish Network’s HD receiver/recorder and Toshiba’s tunerless TVs

Administrator — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 19:58:47 +0000

A look at Dish Network’s HD receiver/recorder and Toshiba’s tunerless TVs

What’s the richest source for programming to show off your super-grade, high-definition TV? At present, that honor goes to satellite TV provider Dish Network and its second-generation HD receiver/recorder, the Dish Player-DVR 942.

While broadcast networks reserve most high-def shows for prime time or weekend afternoons, there’s always something super-sharp and sparkly playing on this box – live on Dish’s (unrivaled-in-quantity) 19 satellite-fed HD channels or waiting in reserve on its hard-disk-drive video recorder.

Dish Network is the “we try harder” brand in pay TV, and the DVR 942 is quite the technological statement. It features two high-definition and two standard-definition satellite TV tuners, plus high-def and standard-def broadcast tuners.

Working this box to the max, you can record from any two sources simultaneously while watching something previously captured on the hard drive. (The 250 GB drive holds about 25 hours of HD content, 120 hours in standard def, or combinations thereof.)

In typical tech guy fashion, I pretty much figured out how to run the show just from fiddling around with the logically laid-out remote control and on-screen menu/program guide, without reading that pesky owner’s manual.

Read the rest of this review…

Bridges TV Launches Nationwide on DISH Network at Ceremony at Islamic Center

Administrator — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 11:57:51 +0000

Bridges TV Launches Nationwide on DISH Network at Ceremony at Islamic Center

Muslims of America now have a new venue for television programming with the announcement today that Bridges TV, the American Muslim lifestyle network in English, is now available nationwide on DISH Network. EchoStar Communications Corporation’s (NASDAQ: DISH) DISH Network(TM) satellite television service has added Bridges TV to its programming lineup on channel 578.

Look at the big picture when deciding on cable or satellite

Administrator — Mon, 23 May 2005 19:43:29 +0000

Look at the big picture when deciding on cable or satellite

Q: I am thinking of changing from cable TV to satellite and would like to know what you think about Dish Network versus Comcast. I’ve seen a lot of advertisement spam and snail mail about Dish that promises the world, and I need the real word from someone I trust.

– Barry Werber, Pittsburgh

A: Subscription TV has become quite complicated, but I can tell you a bit about the industry in general and relate my own experiences with both vendors. I subscribe to both Comcast (cable TV and high-speed Internet) and Dish Network (satellite TV).

First, how many services do you want, and how important are they to you? Cable companies offer high-speed Internet service and, increasingly, phone service. You can bundle them together in packages to save money.

Satellite TV is pretty much a television-only service, but what great television! I have had Dish Network for eight years and could not be more pleased. For the serious audio/videophile, I think satellite is the way to go. The picture is 100 percent digital, unlike digital cable, which is a hybrid analog/digital system. Satellite picture quality is exceptional, and I can recommend Dish unhesitatingly based on my own experiences. Friends who have DirecTV tell me they are a great choice, too.

Dish Network to Pay $50,000 for Violating State No Call Law

Administrator — Tue, 10 May 2005 18:47:29 +0000

Dish Network to Pay $50,000 for Violating State No Call Law

Satellite television provider EchoStar Communications – which does business as Dish Network – will pay a civil penalty of $50,000 for telemarketing calls made to Missourians on the state’s No Call list in an agreement reached with Attorney General Jay Nixon. Dish Network is the nation’s second-largest satellite television company.

The assurance of voluntary compliance, filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court, alleges that EchoStar and its authorized dealers placed telemarketing calls soliciting the sale of satellite television services since July 2001 to consumers on Missouri’s No Call list. As part of the agreement approved Wednesday by Circuit Court Judge Lucy D. Rauch, EchoStar and its authorized dealers will cease calling Missourians on the list, and will provide Nixon’s office with a report of measures the company has taken to assure future compliance with state law.

DISH Network Expands High-Definition Package with Addition of VOOM Programming

Administrator — Thu, 05 May 2005 16:11:45 +0000

DISH Network Expands High-Definition Package with Addition of VOOM Programming

EchoStar Communications Corporation announced that its DISH Network(TM) satellite TV service will expand its high-definition television (HDTV) package by adding 10 original VOOM HD networks, expected to be available May 1, 2005. With the addition of these originals to its current slate of HD programming, DISH Network further establishes itself as the leader in high-definition TV.

The 10 VOOM HD networks will include RUSH HD, Gallery HD, Rave HD, Ultra HD, Equator HD, Monsters HD, Animania HD, Majestic HD, HD News and Guy TV HD. These networks will give viewers a high-def experience in such entertainment categories as science fiction, fashion, travel, music concerts and more.

DirecTV Offers Rebate to Voom Customers

Administrator — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 19:38:24 +0000

Voom subscribers who switch over to DirecTV will receive a $200 rebate and three months free of DirecTV HD, according to SkyReport.com. Voom subscribers, who will be stuck without the service’s 39 HD channels when they officially go off air April 30th, can choose from either an HD system or an HD digital video recorder (DVR) system.

It has been an up-and-down few months for Voom, as owner Cablevision voted to shut down the money losing service after chairman Charles Dolan was unable to come up with enough private funding to keep it alive. Since it launched in 2003, Voom has lost an estimated $661 million.

EchoStar Communications, provider of satellite rival Dish Network, recently purchased Voom’s satellite for $200 million.

Good service and bad from Dish Network

Administrator — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 16:46:33 +0000

Good service and bad from Dish Network

I have been using Dish Network for more than a year.

In my December bill, there was a pay-per-view charge of $10.99 which we did not use.

I called to inquire and my extra charge got eliminated from the bill. I was impressed with their customer service.

Later, when I tried using pay-per-view in February, I was told that I can no longer use it without paying a charge of $5 per view in addition to the regular charge.

Nobody advised me of that before. They were very rude, too.

Mercedes-Benz USA Previews Its New M-Class on DISH Network

Administrator — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 15:00:54 +0000

Mercedes-Benz USA Previews Its New M-Class on DISH Network

Mercedes-Benz USA is giving the 10 million interactive TV subscribers of EchoStar Communications Corporation’s DISH Network satellite TV an advanced “all-access pass” to experience and experiment with the new generation M-Class through an innovative interactive advertising campaign beginning this week and running through March, 2005.