DISH Network Expands Services

Charlie Ergen, EchoStar Communications Corp Chairman and CEO was standing in front of me talking to a colleague just before the DISH Network press conference was to begin. When I saw a break in their conversation I introduced myself, not as an Audioholics staffer but as a very satisfied Dish Network fan. I told Mr. Ergan that what I had always liked about DISH was its easy-to-use viewer interface and the network's consistent reliability.

My relationship with satellite TV reception started about three months after DISH had hit the market in 1996. I had just purchased my Mitsubishi 40" CRT TV. And I already had a really nice, very high gain antenna on my roof. My home, however, was at the end of a peninsula-like spit in the neighborhood and there was a maze of telephone and high power lines right in between my antenna and Mount Wilson (in Los Angeles) where all the network TV antennae are mounted. So I was picking up a heck of a lot of visible interference on my big Mitsu tube.

At that time, early adopters to Dish's service had to pay ~$600 up front to get the dish, receiver, wiring and a two years worth of service. Installation was more. I went for the deal. Watching interference on a set you know it capable of so much better performance wasn't acceptable.

The install took a couple of hours, mostly running the wire through my attic, down through the wall, under the house and back up into the custom home entertainment center I had built into the space underneath my living room bay window.

Once that was done, I had interference-free TV from then on. But the picture I now had was more than just interference free. The DISH service gave me the cleanest picture I'd ever had on any television.

I performed my ISF calibration on the set almost nine years ago now. And through two other moves with the big Mitsu, each new set-up with DISH has required only very minor re-tweaking of my original settings to get all parameters back to spot-on.

A friend of mine is the V.P. of Engineering for Fox Television here in Los Angeles. He knows what his signal looks like before it is sent out to DISH. He's seen my set, admittedly still NTSC analog only, but has confirmed on the times he's been over for dinner that what I'm seeing over DISH is basically exactly what the signal looks like going out of FOX. (We do joke though about the audio sometimes being "half a frame off" of the video, a never-ending coordination challenge for the audio and video guys at the station.)

Back to the press conference... During one short period when I was in a rental house, I got such a deal on installation with DISH's competitor that I opted to for that service. The menu, specifically the locations of stations and increased hassle with navigation, was not to my liking. I went back to DISH, and I've subsequently installed a two-receiver set-up for my fiancée's 82 year-old father. So as I began to listen to the press conference, my foremost apprehension about their new services was 'How are they going to keep this change-over to HDTV programming simple?'

Charlie Ergan must be a mind reader. He started out "We determined if you have to read an instruction manual to use our new receivers or services we've lost 75% of the population. It's easier to get a driver's license." (He got a good laugh, especially from the California contingent.)

Here are the highlights of Charlie's presentation:

• DISH has moved past Time-Warner to become the third largest MSO (Multimedia Service Operator) for content in the United States.
• Video-On-Demand: DISH will begin offering downloads to a customer's DVR at a time that can be specified by the customer (such as 3AM). The customer will not be charged until he/she begins watching the movie or TV show. So the movie or TV show could sit, for instance, on the hard drive for a couple of weeks. Once playback begins, however, the customer has twenty four hours to view the movie after which it will disappear from the hard drive.
• The download of movies or TV shows available will of course offer HD content. This can be done now with customers already signed up for HD services who have current MPEG 2 boxes. When available in six months though, current customers will probably be offered a direct swap-out of their MPEG 2 boxes for the newer MPEG 4 units which are more bit-efficient and have performance more conducive to HD playback.
• Will DISH re-enter the two-way communications market? (I.e. high-speed internet); Two satellites are already up in orbit and being prepared to come on-line. Wild Blue (an internet satellite company working with EchoStar) is preparing the satellites now but the service probably will not come on-line until fall.

Now Michael Schwimmer, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Programming took over and made some interesting points:

• DISH will start their video-on-demand service with about 30 movies which, research indicates, are the most popular. To these first 30 movies they will add the most popular TV shows and other movies until they reach their first plateau of the top 100 shows people want to see.
• With video-on-demand you'll be able to ask for previews of the programs offered.
• Over time, DISH's VOD will gain the functionality of a DVD player.
• "Mosaics", the simultaneous ability to watch six separate events on-screen, as was available with the 2004 Olympics, will be expanded so that an individual viewer can make up his own. For instance, a mosaic could be made up of CNN, Fox News, CSPAN, MSNBC and Comedy Central.
• "Coming soon": On-line horse racing with wagering and a much requested interactive karaoke !
• Interactive Television Shopping (ITV): DISH has inked a deal with Sharper Image so you no longer have to go on-line or use the phone to buy merchandise.

The Video-On-Demand service will probably show up on your DISH play list as an option or possibly as an icon.

Mark Jackson, President of EchoStar Communications then came up to speak specifically about the top-of-the-line new satellite receiver making its debut:

• The DISH Player-DVR 942 is the first-of-its-kind dual tuner, HD DVR with the ability to view independent programs - one in high definition and one in standard definition programming on two televisions at once. It features a massive 250 GB hard drive with a recording capacity of up to 25 hours of high-definition and up to 180 hours of standard-definition content.
• The DVR 942 features rewind, fast-forward and pause as well a picture-in-picture feature on any TV and the ability to record Dolby Digital when available. The DVR 942 will be available for purchase in the first quarter of 2005 for $749 which includes the dish antenna and free standard professional installation.

The DISH Player DVR 942 also features:

• Digital/analog off-air tuner
• Up to 9-day , Picture-In-Guide, widescreen Electronic Program guide (EPG)
• High-Definition Resolutions: 480P, 720P, 1080i (480i is up-converted)
• All DISH Player-DVR functionality, including name-based recording and DVR menu
• Records two programs simultaneously in high definition, but programs can be viewed in standard definition on other TVs in the home.

DISH also announced the eminent availability of the following products:

• DISH Player-DVR 625: enhances the TV viewing experience by allowing viewers to watch recorded programming on the DVR as well as pause live TV for up to 2 hours, perform slow-motion instant replays, fast forward and fast reverse. It features 100-hour tapeless recording capability. No MSRP was given.
• Dish Network's Digital Home Advantage lease program allows customers the option to purchase state-of-the-art, 30" or 40" LCD TVs for an MSRP of $1,599 and $3,999 respectively. The LCD TVs include the following features:
• • 1280 x 768 resolution with widescreen aspect ratio. Accepts 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i resolutions
  • Contrast ratio of 600:1 and brightness of 450 nits, combining to deliver a brilliant and razor-sharp picture
  • 3:2 reverse pulldown and 3-D digital comb filter for enhanced standard definition viewing
  • Vertical and horizontal viewing angles of 170 degrees so the entire family can have a clear view of the screen
  • Attractive, black-colored face and base with silver speaker
  • Picture-in-picture and split screen viewing
  • A compact, detachable media box for convenient connection of audio/video equipment such as DISH Network satellite TV receiver, DVD player or even a computer. Setup horizontally or vertically, the box includes one digital interface (DVI) input, two high definition component inputs and one video graphics array (VGA) input, as well as a full complement of standard definition input and output connections.

Overall this was a very interesting press event, full of very positive things for Dish Network and Echostar Satellite. For more information please visit www.dishnetwork.com .

- Patrick Hart