Number of HD Channels?

[300sflyer]

Let me start off by saying I am a current Star Choice customer. I get a phone call from Bell this afternoon, trying to get me to switch over to ExpressVu.

The guy on the phone tells me that Bell EV has the most HD channels in Canada. I ask him how many, and he responds to me by telling me that with the standard digital package, there are 51 HD channels included at no extra charge.

I find this a bit hard to beleive, so I tell him Im going to look on the Bell website and confirm what hes telling me.

When I looked it up, I count 23. Am I looking in the wrong place or is this sales guy full of you know what...?

Thanks

[TJ77]

There are no where near 51 HD channels, 23 seems about right, plus most of them are not included with digital standard.
This doesn't really suprise me. Bell customer service is rather sad. Just a few weeks ago I got a call from Bell Sympatico and I don't even live in a provience that has Sympatico.

[Omis]

I've got every HD channel I can possibly get and it's up 29. But that includes the same east/west channels. It is definitely not worth the money, unless you are a big CSI fan and you feel the need watch it in HD all day.

[hugh]

Last I looked Bell had around 40 although its impossible to subscribe to all of them since you cannot sub to both TMN and MC channels.

Channel Listing

They've added some since then.

[57]

Hugh, you have some updating to do. Rogers has that new Movie channel - Mor-HD, plus National Geographic, plus Show. Depending on how you count timeshifts, PPV, special sports channels, etc Rogers has between 30 and 40 channels.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17706

[hugh]

That was early November, as noted in the article! I plan on updating in the next couple of weeks.

I exclude Sports Channels that aren't 24/7 with regularly scheduled programming. For example, Rogers has 12 HD Sports Channels but they are seldom used (as I learned when I subbed to Rogers Sports Pack!) so I don't count them a "regular" channels.

[SensualPoet]

Counting HD channels can be aggravating. If you take a look at the lyngsat data, and acknowledge that Bell only puts 2 HD signals (live) at any time on a transponder, the absolute maximum channels is 43. And that assumes up to five sports events are on.

Rogers does not drop channels (like HD PPV) to run NFL Sunday Ticket in HD. If I allow for 5 sports channels for BOTH services (Bell and Rogers) as a maximum, and count HD Movies On Demand as 1 channel, I get 39.

Anyway, the point is, both offer around 40 channels at this time and each has a few channels the other doesn't; and Bell has a slight edge in channels.

And both definitely are well ahead of anyone else in Canada -- and for that matter the US. Most cable operators there offer around 20 or less channels; and the satellite boys about 30.

[tdti1]

Funny how channels keep being added to Bell SD or HD with there massive piracy problem, you would think Star Choice would be the leader for satellite HD in Canada since there system is so secure, there are many more HD channels coming this year I guess we must wait and see who will be adding them to there line up.

[markb]

I actually count a total of 51 HD channels available on Expressvu. When they give there HD number, you have to assume they are including TMN/MC as two seperate channels, the promo channel on 829, the 4 HD PPV channels and 2 HD french PPV channels, all the recent french channels that were added, 2 NHL Centre Ice HD channels, 3 NCAA HD channels, 4 NFL Sunday Ticket channels.

[radiers4545]

I agree it depends on how you count them, I would count them at 51 based on the fact there are 51 different channels I could see HD on during the week.

If you count fulltime channels that have some HD it's 43 not including any of the sports.

And fulltime HD channels with nothing but hd, 21.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by radiers4545

If you count fulltime channels that have some HD it's 43 not including any of the sports.

Well, except, when the event sports channels go up, the PPV come down. And the French PPV are, I believe, the english feed with a French language soundtrack.

And if 4 movies max can be seen in PPV at any time, how do you count Rogers HD Movies On Demand where it's "one channel" but you can choose to start any of 10 or so movies? If it were delivered via PPV that would be 10 channels. Plus with On Demand you don't have to wait for a specific start time and you can pause, rewind, fast-froward.

So -- aggravating. I'm comfy with the notion that Bell and Rogers are more or less at par with more or 40 channels each; and Bell can be said to have a slight count advantage.

The controlling factor for now is the number channels per transponder and, today anyway, that's a max of 43 for Bell.

[trilam]

I would argue that what is important is WHAT HD channels are available, not necessarily how many.

Which HD channels do Rogers offer that ExpressVu doesn't, and vice versa? Not much difference, at least not for channels that matter.

Don't fall for the PR escalation of who has more (depending on how you count). Care about what channels you want and if you can get them.

Just my 2 cents.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by trilam

Care about what channels you want and if you can get them.

ABSOLUTELY! Which is why I easily concede Bell and Rogers, more or less, have a parity on HD services.

I just happen to like access to Showcase, National Geographic, a third TMN HD commercial free 24/7 movie channel, OMNI 1 and OMNI 2 (one person in our household speaks Mandarin and Spanish), and HD Movies On Demand where -- if I feel like springing for the dough -- I can buy a movie for 24 hrs in full HD and pause, rewind and replay to my hearts content. Until I spring $1k for an HD DVD and some media, $8 a pop isn't so pricey.

And Bell doesn't have any of those services yet. (Bell DOES has five French language and four niche HD eye-candy services which some folks like a lot; to each his own.)

[Tom.F.1]

I have 40 800 series channels on my guide. That includes the channels I don't subscribe to, ppv, ads channels, shameless bell self promotion etc. etc..
Channels worth watching is another story. I have 21 (sometimes HD) channels in my favorites, that includes timeshifts. Once i a while i watch a hd ppv, so that would make 22.

[QualityIsJobOne]

Methinks that StarChoice scored big when they added Nat Geographic HD & Showcase HD & ExpressVu didn't.