Commentary
Comcast HDTV vs. DIRECTV HDTV
If you could choose, which one would you pick?
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (January 25, 2006) -- Many new HDTV owners ask me whether they should get cable or satellite. I always say it depends on where they live and what's offered. Some cable operators have a great high-def lineup while others seem slow to embrace the new technology.

I recently did a real-time comparison of DIRECTV's HDTV lineup vs. Comcast's high-def lineup in the Washington, D.C. area. Although the comparison was done at different times of the day, I think it's a helpful guide to which channels are offered by each TV provider. (The same channels are available 24 hours a day.)

So, sit down, pick up your virtual remote and let's start watching HDTV.

Comcast HDTV (Washington, D.C.)
Digital and HDTV Channels
January 23, 2006, 7 p.m. ET.

*The local ABC affiliate has a 24-hour digital channel called "Doug Hill's Weather Now." The channel offers real-time video of local radar and occasional taped segments with the aforementioned Doug Hill, the affiliate's chief weather guy. It's basically a local version of The Weather Channel.
* One channel down on the dial, WRC, the local NBC affiliate, has a similar digital weather channel, except this one is called "NBC Weather Plus." I guess WRC's top weatherman, Bob Ryan, doesn't have the same clout as Mr. Hill.

* On the main ABC digital channel, there's the syndicated game show, Wheel of Fortune, but it's not in high-def. Which may be just as well. The show rarely puts its camera these days within a zip code of the aging letter-flipper, Vanna White.
* NBC's digital channel is airing the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. No high-def here, either.
* Ah, here we go. WUSA, the local CBS affiliate, is airing a local newscast in high-def. WUSA has been doing the local news in HD since last spring -- and its broadcast is sensational. You feel like the station's anchors are guests in your living room. That is, if your guests were particularly knowledgeable about the day's events.
* Fox's digital channel is showing a repeat of The Simpsons. No high-def. So let's keep looking.
* The local WB digital channel is airing Damon Wayans' My Wife and Kids. Although the sitcom in broadcast in high-def on ABC, the repeats are not.
* WETA, the local PBS affiliate, is showing a high-def edition of American Family, starring the un-HD friendly Edward James Olmos. But that's okay. It's an interesting looking show in high-def.

* Discovery HD Theater is airing Profiles of Nature, a high-def documentary on wildlife predators. They just showed a HD close-up of a giant cockroach. I almost ran to the kitchen to get a can of Raid. Yikes.
* INHD is showing a semifinal round of Tennis' AIG Japan Open. Great picture; great detail. Better than being there.
* INHD 2 is airing a high-def version of The Twilight Zone. No, not the old one, but an all-new color edition. The HD production is very well done.

* HBO HD is playing Men in Black with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. It's a great movie for high-def, with special effects galore. The best special effect, of course, is Tommy Lee Jones' face. How did this guy become a movie star with that mug?
* Cinemax HD is showing the forgettable comedy, Along Came Polly, with Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston. In high-def, Ms. Aniston is no beauty (check out the acne-caused pockmarks in her cheeks), but her charm is immeasurable.

* Showtime HD is airing the 1990 movie, Mermaids, starring Cher, before she went under the knife, and Winona Ryder, before she went over the edge.
* Starz HD is playing some remake of The Little Rascals in high-def. But, wait a minute, it just ended and now it's playing a commercial for an upcoming Tommy Lee Jones movie. The preview shows Tommy Lee getting a facial, with cucumbers on his eyes. Might be a little late, Mr. Jones.
* TNT HD is showing a high-def repeat of Law & Order and crime has never looked so good.
* Comcast Sports Net HD is airing some highlights show, but not in high-def.
* ESPN HD is airing a HD broadcast of a Big East college basketball game between Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Looks beautiful, particularly the cool-looking orange uniforms worn by the Orangemen.

Not bad, huh? If you're a DIRECTV subscriber (see below), you must be envious as hell. Not every Comcast digital channel is playing a high-def show, but there are oodles of options.

DIRECTV HDTV
HDTV Channels
(DIRECTV does not carry the additional digital channels from the local network affiliates.)
January 23, 2006, 3 p.m. ET

* HBO HD is airing Miss Congeniality 2, starring Sandra Bullock in the sequel, as if the first one wasn't enough. Ms. Bullock plays a cop who goes undercover to investigate a kidnapping in Las Vegas. During the film, she poses as a Vegas showgirl. Thank God this is a comedy. In high-def, the 40-plus, acne-plagued Bullock looks more like a Vegas strip club reject than a high-class dancer. When is Hollywood going to stop giving her featured roles?
* Showtime HD is playing Bandwagon, a 1996 film that I've never heard of. So, let's move on.
* ESPN 2 HD is airing the Australian Open, but, unfortunately, it's not in high-def.
* ESPN HD is showing !st and 10, one of about 20 daily shows on ESPN that feature  sports writers who yell at each other. Unfortunately, they are not yelling at each other in high-def, so let's move on yet again.
* Universal HD is playing a 20-year-old repeat of Knight Rider, starring the omnipresent David Hasselhoff. The show has been re-mastered to air in high-def, but it's Hasselhoff's career that really needs to be re-mastered.
* Discovery HD Theater is airing Monster Garage, which features a bunch of tattoo-wearing guys who turn old cars into new ones. In high-def, I wish they could turn their nasty tattooed-arms into sweaters.
* HDNet Movies is playing Guns of the Magnificent Seven, a sequel to the earlier classic starring Steve McQueen. This one, though, stars George Kennedy and James Whitmore before he discovered that the real bucks were in playing Mark Twain in small dinner theaters.
* HDNet is showing Smallville, the story of Superman as a boy. If he really had super powers, though, he could turn DIRECTV into a more interesting HDTV provider.
* And, finally, on DIRECTV's channel 101, it's the 198th repeat of Saturday's premiere episode of CD USA. See Ashlee Simpson. See Ashlee Simpson lip synch just like she did on Saturday Night Live. But this time, she doesn't have to blame that pesky acid reflux problem.

You notice a trend here? It's no surprise that DIRECTV's high-def owners are getting frustrated. There are some good channels in the lineup, but it's simply not enough. We need more choices, more channels.

Note: DIRECTV recently added local HD channels in the Washington, D.C. area, but there are reports of equipment shortages. We'll do this comparison again when we are able to get the local channels from DIRECTV.

This feature was originally published in
The High-Def Life.

© TVPredictions.com

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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