Hugh's last post is correct. We look at the extra cost of going to US satellite. Imagine how cheap Cdn satellite would be to Americans. Heck, most of them say that DirecTV is waaaaay cheaper than cable. Add in all the benefits that we have (like not needing OTA equipment to pick up the networks, timeshifts, no extra receiver fees) and it would make for an interesting competition.

The HD networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, Fox, CBC - but not including CTV or Global) on ExpressVu is our main draw. If we switched to DirectTV we would lose access too many HD network programs that we enjoy.


Directv offers the Networks but you can't get HD timeshifting. OTA is also available if you have cities close enough (like most Americans and plenty of Candians). Once Directv's launches its additional satellites, they will be offering HD channels from over 140 US cities.

The strangest thing is in any of these comparisons is that the choice is really very personal.

On my side I actually like the Canadian locals/timeshifts (even with that BS that is simsubbing). Primarily because with a single tuner I can tivo pretty much every "network" show I want.

At the same time if I had to pay for them I wouldnt waste a dime on most of the "specialty" channels in canada. Sorry but with 30 million people canada simply cannot support 200+ channels well. As such many of the specialty channels pretty much suck in comparison to the US equivalants. (For those with ReplayTV/Tivo or other pvr in Canada check out the original air dates listed for some of the "new" shows on the discovery type channels - ie "new" as in originally aired in the US in 2003)

TMN / MP isnt really too bad. While I like HBO and Showtime, very little is misssing from the Canadian movie networks. The biggest loss for me is Penn & Tellers B___S___ which doesnt air anywhere in Canada to my knowledge.

Realistically Bev and other providers dont do too badly, the real issue tends to be in relation to economics - in that many specialtys are underfunded.

Basically DTV would offer nothing if bev & other canadian providers would just pickup: USA, TNT,FX , SciFi and maybe VH1C (I love VH1C). Err and whenever I upgrade to HD I would want HDnet, HDnet Movies and HD Universal.

The BMW vs. Chevy comparison is a bit far-fetched. My DTV bill last month was actually lower than my Expressvu bill, and I get substantially more non-duplicated content on DTV. IMHO, there's substantially more 'bang for the buck' on Directv.

I love the idea of timeshifting but at our house we hardly ever actually need to take advantage of it. More and more we just use the PVR. The big advantage I find for Bev is being able to flip around and find out where syndicated shows like Friends/Seinfeld/Frasier/Raymond are currently playing. This is the programming that's not important enough to program the PVR ahead of time for, but you're still happy to see that it's on when you want to watch a sitcom.

Ultimately, though, I watch TV for the content, and that's where DTV has the edge. If forced to choose, I'd pick the ESPNs and FSNs over TSN & the Sportsnets, CNBC World and 24 hr Bloomberg over RoB TV, FoxNews over the various Canadian outlets, and USA, Discovery Health, VH1, et. al., which really don't have Canadian equivalents. Heck, I even prefer CSPAN to CPAC, and I'm not too ashamed to admit that I watch both. Besides, I can get quite a bit of Cancon OTA if I need to.

No doubt "most Canadians" would disagree with me, and I agree with Hugh's point that Bev could survive with open competition from US satellite cos.

Luckily, I'm "rich" and can afford both. :D

I didn't mean to imply that DTV was like BMW, and ExpressVu like a chevy, but if I said a Pontiac vs. a Buick, the point may have been lost!

I have both and have for years...If Finances (or anything else) forced me to give up one of them it would surely be Direct TV that would be gone...

Timeshifting, Cancon, and Hockey would be the three biggest reasons...

And in order to get ALL of the new movies available on TMN, in roughly the same time frame, you would need HBO, Showtime, and Starz from Direct TV at a Monthly cost of $33. US.

Certainly the content on Expressvu could be improved, but for the most part that is beyond their control. For MOST Canadians though, being without Canadian TV channels is not something we would seriously consider

Starz and Showtime are so-so channels. I rarely watched either when i had them. Most things worth watching on these 2 channels were available during the frequent free weekends. HBO still has lots of content that i watch that is unavailble in Canada.

Those movie packages may be more $ than TMN but you get way more channels for the $. So, you pay more but get more.

I agree that a great many Canadians would miss local news, sports, etc. The best solution to this mess would have been the CRTC accepting the appliacation put forth by the cable industry a good year ago that allowed Canadian providers to pick up the channels Canadians have been bitching about for years. If you want HBO, you have to buy TMN, etc.

Those movie packages may be more $ than TMN but you get way more channels for the $. So, you pay more but get more.


Quantity does not equal quality. Starz, Showtime, HBO can only show movies from specific studios. TMN/MC can show movies from all studios. As much as I hate MC, I have to admit that their movie selection is better than any of the above mentioned 3 packages individually. But, yes, if you pay for all those 3 US packages, you get more movies. Most of them just fillers, but still much more.

Thread Subject: ExpressVu Vs. Directv Comparision: Official what-if Thread

Repeat: The Rule in this thread is you gotta pick one or the other!

hugh, who just deleted posts because they had nothing to do with the subject.

This is intersting - as much as people grumble (me included) about the 2 yr contract), I would pick Bell Expressvu over DirecTV for pricing. That's why I picked Expressvu over digital cable and star choice - price and choice.
Price over Rogers Digital cable (for what I wanted) - I don't subscribe to the sports packages- Choice over Starchoice - I like my Much More Retro, Loud, etc....

If both competed against each other, that pricing issue might change... I guess we'd have to wait and see!

Me I would take DirecTV Premier in a minute. If you watch just 1 HBO live boxing (and in HD no less), DTV is cheaper as HBO live boxing is PPV in Canada and in SD. Starz, ShowTime, SciFi channel is also a plus on my books.

That being said with the recent addition of Voom HD to Dish and CBCHD to Bell, it now changes how a person may think. I have total repect for CBC and what they have done in their short time with the HD channel. Voom content is now coming to Dish, so that is a plus for them.

But as we are Direct or BEV, so yes Direct it would be. Now give me HBO/SciFi/Showtime/Starz/Discovery Channel/Nick At Nite (HD channels as well as SD were available) on BEV and I will stay with them to the end.

Alt

Quantity does not equal quality. Starz, Showtime, HBO can only show movies from specific studios. TMN/MC can show movies from all studios. As much as I hate MC, I have to admit that their movie selection is better than any of the above mentioned 3 packages individually. But, yes, if you pay for all those 3 US packages, you get more movies. Most of them just fillers, but still much more.

But HBO and Showtime have shows that are not available in Canada on any channel. Starz and Showtime are okay channels but HBO is much better than TMN. The fact that TMN finally went 24/7 HD narrows the gap though.

Another thing nobody seems to have mentioned in this thread is that the picture quality (average over most channels) on DTV is the worst there is out of all North American DBS providers. They also started the HDTV-lite initiative (HDTV channels with resolution reduced from their original 1920x1080i to 1280x1080i). They are launching hundreds of local MPEG4 HDTV channels (talk about waste of satellite bandwidth, which will be both of inferior picture quality (judging from previous record). It remains to be seen how much this will put them ahead of the competition, but for the individual customer, especially if he's in Canada, this means absolutely nothing that ExpressVu doesn't offer yet. Even after those hundreds of new channels are launched, DTV customers will still have no timeshifted networks and that is pathetic (talk about absurd US TV regulations).
In terms of content - yes, probably on the DTV channels you will find more content overall, given you are willing to pay for it more than what you pay to BEV. But the difference won't be that much and it comes down to how much people are willing to spend to subscribe to channels carrying those shows. It also depends on what you are watching. If you want music, the only watchable US channel is VH1 Classic. All the rest have turned into the dumbest teenage reality show crap with 50% commercials. On BEV I have 10 music channels, 9 of which still play music (MTV excluded, but they were never allowed to by licence) and 6 of them I actually enjoy. In the US they don't have even one channel for dance/electronica or jazz.
In terms of international channels the winner would be Dish, but it's not a subject of the current comparison.
I absolutely agree that if CRTC allows DTV here neither BEV nor SC will die.

In terms of content - yes, probably on the DTV channels you will find more content overall, given you are willing to pay for it more than what you pay to BEV.

More content overall and far more HD content, even if it is HD Lite. The $69.00 Cdn. I pay is worth it just for the nine HD channels alone. Add the SD channels TNT, USA, FX, Fox Sports Net, VH1, AMC, TCM, FitTV, SciFi etc. and it becomes a real bargain for me.

Don Cherry, cost, CFL, corner gas, and curling..........in that order would make me pick BEV. I prefer DTV, but if I could only have one I could not give up Grapes! (although I seemed to survive this winter! Could have been the Quizno's commercials!)

ExpressVu makes east and west HD network feeds available
DirecTV makes east and west HD network feeds available in areas that do not have local coverage, such as most of Montana, due to the local broadcast laws. If it was to be available in Canada, E/W would be available because canada doesn't have local laws like the US, thus ExpressVu offers the feeds to everyone.

I currently have the premier package plus hdtv and the nba package.

Some notes, once you use hd tivo, you can never go back to any other pvr. It's the greatest. Tried the 921 before, tried the shaw boxes before, no comparison. Also, people complain about hdlite, I have shows recorded in 1920x1080 then later reshown in 1280x1080. The difference is barely noticable, but I only have a 720p display so that may be the problem. Even with hdlite, the quality is much better than shaw's low bandwidth hd offerings.

DirecTV makes east and west HD network feeds available in areas that do not have local coverage, such as most of Montana,

How many Americans fall into that category though? I think I saw an ad for either DirecTV or Dish that said that they had locals available for 90% of the population. That would mean that only 10% don't. Now there is some play in those numbers, like in Montana where some cities have 3 of the 5 networks available so you might get CBS and Fox from LA and the others local. I'm not sure how you would count those.

How many Americans fall into that category though? I think I saw an ad for either DirecTV or Dish that said that they had locals available for 90% of the population. That would mean that only 10% don't. Now there is some play in those numbers, like in Montana where some cities have 3 of the 5 networks available so you might get CBS and Fox from LA and the others local. I'm not sure how you would count those.
I'm just saying if DTV is in Canada E/W would also be available like ExpressVu. I currently have all 4 networks, east/west all in HD based out of Montana.

The choice would be DTV with TIVO what ever package. Once you have TIVO you never go back to watch TV any other way.

Tivo with the commerical skip makes watching anything a pleasure.

The choice would be DTV with TIVO what ever package. Once you have TIVO you never go back to watch TV any other way.

Tivo with the commerical skip makes watching anything a pleasure.

TIVO and DTV are a dead combo - changeover to NDS units starts this September