Satellite: Dishing up the HD Hits

If you’re currently using Dish Network or DirecTV, you will need to buy or lease a new set-top box before you can step up to HD programming. Both companies currently offer proprietary HD receivers that will replace your old tuner with a device that can decode all their satellite programming, HD included, plus let you dial in the local HD broadcast stations with a separate antenna. DVR options are also available from both providers, allowing you to record your favorite shows.

Dish Network (www.dishnetwork.com) offers a monthly package that includes favorites like ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD, A&E HD, Food Network HD, HGTV HD, TNT HD, Universal HD, Discovery HD Theater, and more. If you’re already subscribing to premium channels like HBO or Showtime, you’ll receive HD versions of those channels automatically. But the real differentiator here is a group of ten unique HD channels that Dish Network acquired with the demise of the old Voom system. The Voom Original HD Pak, for a small additional charge, includes proprietary channels devoted to music, fashion, animation, martial arts, monster films, and more – all exclusive to Dish Network. All told, the company offers more than 30 channels of HD programming.

Dish subscribers have their choice of three HD-capable set-top boxes. The ViP211 is a single-tuner model, for users with a single television. The ViP222 adds a second tuner, and allows simultaneous output to SDTV and HDTV, so you can have both kinds of TVs on the same system without switching. The ViP622 is their flagship offering, with dual tuners and a built-in DVR that can record up to 30 hours of HD programming or 200 hours of standard TV (or a mix of the two).

DirecTV (www.directv.com) subscribers can sign up for the DirecTV HD Package that includes ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, TNT HD, Universal HD, Discovery HD Theater, HDNet, and HDNet Movies. Customers in selected areas can also get national feeds of ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and WB, but this is subject to restrictions, so check the DirecTV web site to see if you’re eligible.

HD-capable tuners from DirecTV include a basic model, the H20, and a DVR-equipped version, the HR20. Either model can accept a B-Band Converter module (BBC) to enable access to expanded programming from DirecTV’s next-generation satellites.

The space race

DirecTV and Dish Network are both beefing up their systems to handle more HD programming. Since it takes more than four times the bandwidth to send a show in HD format, they need to add new capacity, both by launching new satellites and through upgrading to the more sophisticated MPEG-4 data compression system. DirecTV has announced a series of satellite launches through 2007, and has already started a multi-phased implementation of MPEG-4. The extra bandwidth will be used first to add local HD channels over satellite, then to expand the number of system-wide HD offerings. Dish Network and its parent company, Echostar, have been less public about their expansion plans, but are thought to be pursuing a similar course. As the transition unfolds, satellite customers will have even more reasons to switch to HDTV.

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