Satellite Companies Begin Public VOD Rollout

Over the past week both Dish Network and DirecTV have started rolling out its broadband-based video on demand services to its customers.

Dish Network was the first one out of the gate launching its DishONLINE service to HD DVR customers in the Denver, Colorado and Atlanta, Georgia areas. DirecTV not to be outdone started rolling out its new DirecTV On Demand service to its HD DVR customers on the West Coast.

And while both services use a customers broadband internet service to deliver Video On Demand to the set top box that’s where the similarities of both services end.

DirecTV’s VOD service offers customers 50 virtual channel, with popular channels such as Discovery Channel, Noggin, TLC and others having their own virtual channel space where you can download clips as well as full length versions of  your favorite shows. The large majority of programming is free to the consumer. And if you subscribe to Starz you can also gain access the vast VOD catalog of movies and specials Starz and Encore.   The DirecTV VOD service uses a bright cheery interface, which is easy to use. The DirecTV VOD service seems to be designed as a way for consumers to feel they are getting more value out of their DirecTV service. I highly expect this service to a popular bonus feature for customers, one that will get much use by customers young and old.

I wish I could sing the same praise for Dish Networks new DishONLINE service, where the only purpose of it is to try drawing more revenue from their customers pockets. DishONLINE is just an online extension of its pay per view service. All movies are $2.99 and all adult titles are $11.99. DishONLINE currently offers nothing free for the consumer, and most movie titles are very old titles that no one would want to pay $2.99 for. In addition the interface is clunky and dark, a reader commented to me that trying to find a movie with DishONLINE was like searching through boxes in someone’s musty basement. 

The online reaction to DishONLINE has not been favorable, and the new software seems very buggy with many users reporting a number of lockups, black screens and unexpected receiver reboots. In addition the new software seems to have broken the over the air recording feature on the 622 and 722 DVR where users can record HD shows via an off air antenna, but many of the recorded shows have no audio. 

There have been complaints online about both service, the most common one about DirecTV’s is the time to download shows is slow even on the fastest broadband connections. On the Dish Network side a lot of complaints about the bugs and lockups and many people have noted that they don’t plan on trying DishONLINE again anytime in the future.

While I believe that the Dish Network 622/722 HD DVR is the far superior to the DirecTV HR-20 HD DVR, DirecTV’s new Video On Demand service could make lots of people forget about the minor issues the HR-20 has. My advice to Dish Network is to make DishONLINE a bright happy place people will want to visit again and again. They need to broaden their offering and offer free content to encourage people to use the service. And most of all they need to make it a happy place, people should enjoy going and looking for stuff to want, they should not feel like they are snooping around in someone’s moldy basement.

Have a great weekend!