DISH Network and Sony Pictures have recently forged an agreement that will provide programming that will allow DISH to broadcast films and other programs belonging to Sony.

The Sony content will be available on DISH Network through pay-per-view and video-on-demand and will include both high definition and standard definition programming. DISH Network’s video-on-demand content requires subscribers to have a DVR to access the programming that is offered, which sometimes offers movies and programs on the same day they are released on DVD.

DISH Network has recently upgraded the software in capable DVRs that allows delivery of 1080p HD content for some video-on-demand content, an area where their main competitor DirecTV, still lags behind.

About a week ago, I received my analog-to-digital converter box from DISH Network. There was a lot of confusion when DISH first announced plans to offer a $40 converter, and then ended up releasing one for about $60. A while later, DISH promised that they would be coming out with a $40 converter, making it essentially free for those who have the $40 government-issued coupons that are being issued to help ease the transition to digital TV in February.

Although I do have DISH Network satellite service, I do have another TV in the lower level of my house which is simply connected to a roof-top antenna, which means that I would not be able to receive anything on it after the digital switch without the converter, other than some low-power stations that are reported to be remaining on analog, but I am not sure if there are any in my area, and if there were, they are probably not of much interest to me anyway.

I opted for the cheaper unit, which DISH Is calling the TR-40 CRA and is the one that sells for $40. The unit was very easy to set up and seems to work well so far. Other than the 20-minute process I had to endure on the telephone with a customer service rep who I’m guessing was in India, and having her share of computer problems, I’m pretty happy with the deal.

DISH, like so many other online retailers I have done business with, does inflate the cost of “shipping and handling,” however. They are charging $9 to ship a single unit, which is way more than the actual cost they forked over to UPS to bring it to my door.

So far, I’m quite satisfied with the unit, although one slightly annoying “feature” is that it goes through the process of downloading programming data for the on-screen program guide each time you turn it on. This can be stopped if you want to start watching something right away though.

It is rather cool to have a program guide on an over-the-air TV. It looks a lot like the one on my DISH Network ViP622 DVR, but with fewer features, of course.

It also has a nice feature called “Analog Pass-through,” which allows you to press a button and bypass the converter and watch the plain old analog signal if you wish. Due to the nature of the way digital TV seems to operate (at least in my area), this is a handy feature because we’ve seen our share of problems with digital TV signals here.

We’ve actually been watching digital TV here since the beginning of 2007 since our DVR is able to receive over-the-air digital broadcasts using a standard TV antenna and most, if not all of the stations in Boston have been broadcasting in both analog and digital for a while.

From my experience, the digital signal does not seem as reliable, and may be much more susceptible to weather conditions than the old analog signals.

Just this morning I was watching my local Fox channel’s digital broadcast via my new converter box, and suddenly the picture just became totally distorted, and then was lost completely. I had to use the “Analog Pass-through” feature so I could continue watching the program via the analog signal. The weather was clear and dry, so it does not seem as if bad weather had anything to do with it, and I could see from the converter box’s on-screen signal strength indicator that the signal strength was indeed lower than normal.

Although we do enjoy much better picture quality when watching the digital broadcasts here, it does seem like there will be occasional problems with reception due to factors I do not yet fully understand. I’m even more pleased that I recently decided to add our local broadcast channels to my DISH Network programming package so that we can view those channels via the satellite now. I suspect we will have that need from time to time depending on how the over-the-air digital broadcasts are coming in at any given time.

DISH is planning to produce a unit called the DTVPal Plus that is supposed to have a more sensitive receiver, but buyers will pay a premium for that at $70. Perhaps that is what we need here for more reliable digital reception, but I do not see myself ordering any of those new improved converter boxes anytime soon.

They’re at it again. This time, in an effort to make up for their lack of HD programming content, Comcast once again resorts to some clever deception to make it appear that they have more HD channels than DirecTV, which actually has more HD channels than Comcast. They don’t mention DISH Network, but they also have more HD channels than Comcast.

The key word here is “channels.” That word is never mentioned during the commercial, because that is not what they are comparing. You’ll notice that the first thing they say is simply “You might think DirecTV has more HD than Comcast…” Not more HD channels. Then they ask who has more HD programs, again not channels.

They then switch to using the phrase “HD options,” and once again avoid using the word channels.

This clever phrasing is used to give viewers the impression that Comcast has more HD channels than DirecTV, but since that is not true, they don’t actually use the word channels.

There is a grain of truth in these commercials. The key is that Comcast is including all their on-demand programming when they count up all the HD programming that is available. Due to the technical differences between how cable TV delivers programming versus how satellite does, cable has always been able to offer more on-demand programming than satellite.

On-demand programming offered by cable TV companies is programming that is stored on servers and can be accessed by customers whenever they choose to watch it. It is one advantage that cable TV has when compared to satellite. DISH Network has already begun work on offering more on-demand content and DirecTV will probably follow suit, so this may diminish that advantage for cable in the future.

Anyway, with hundreds of HD programs stored on Comcast’s servers that customers can access when they want, that is how they give the impression that Comcast has more HD channels than DirecTV during this commercial.

This is not the first misleading commercial I have seen from Comcast, and I suppose more can be expected in the future as they face increased competition from services like FiOS, which probably blows cable away when comparing both TV picture quality and internet speed.

Comcast and DirecTV have been engaged in a war of words for a while now, even involving a lawsuit a while ago. I suspect there is a bit of misleading language used by both sides when it comes to HD programming claims.

I readily admit that I am not fan of Comcast, and since I still have to rely on their service for my high-speed internet (the only choice where I live) and they are charging me $72 a month just for internet access, they certainly aren’t doing anything to change my mind regarding my long-standing complaint that cable TV companies charge too much and raise prices too often. I was paying about $62 to Adelphia for internet before Comcast took over that bankrupt cable company’s customers in this area, and of course, Comcast saw this as an opportunity to raise the prices.

I wish both sides would simply stick to counting actual channels when they brag about their HD content. From my personal experience, I know that DISH Network has more actual HD channels than Comcast. When I last visited my parents a couple of months ago (who have Comcast cable TV), I checked for myself and found that Comcast had fewer actual HD channels than my DISH Network service here at home.

I have personally seen this particular Comcast commercial a number of times, although I do not see many for DirecTV in my area. If and when I see the kind of misleading language used in this commercial in a commercial from DirecTV or DISH Network, you’ll see it here.

I did spend some time perusing YouTube and watching quite a few DirecTV commercials, but I did not find anything particularly misleading. If you know of any, feel free to leave a comment.

As just about anyone who watches TV now knows, all over-the-air television broadcasts will be converting to the digital format in February. Here in the Boston TV market, we have been inundated with commercials reminding us of this fact.

If you receive your television programming the "old fashioned" way with an antenna on your roof, and your TV is not capable of receiving digital broadcasts, you will need a digital converter box if you want to continue watching TV the way you are now.

If you have cable or satellite TV, you have nothing to worry about and you will not notice any changes in February.

Well-known review site cnet has completed a review of the digital converter box that was recently introduced by DISH Network. Although DISH Network’s primary business is providing satellite TV programming, the company has decided to market digital converter boxes as well.

What’s very nice about the TR-40 from DISH Network is that it costs $40, which is the same value of the coupons that the government is giving away to help consumers pay for the cost of the switch to digital. This means that the TR-40 is essentially free, excluding any shipping and handling costs that might be required.

Although I am a DISH Network satellite customer, we do still have two televisions in the house that are connected to a roof-top antenna and will require a digital converter box to continue working after the switch-over in February.

I’ll be ordering a couple of TR-40 units for our home in the near future.

For more on the switch to digital, check out this site.

Thanks to a new deal with DISH Network, the Golf Channel, the channel will be available in 80 million households.

The new deal is reported to be a multi-year contract, but the details on the length of the contract have not been revealed.

Previous to this new deal, the Golf Channel was available on DISH Network’s "Top 250" programming package, but under the terms of the new agreement, it will be available on the "Top 200" programming package as well.

"This new partnership with DISH Network continues the significant growth we’ve realized since the announcement of our historic partnership with the PGA Tour,” said Golf Channel president Page Thompson in a statement. “We’re excited that more Dish customers will be able to enjoy the great golf action delivered by the biggest names on all the leading golf tours around the world.”

Recent News from DISH Network brings word that the satellite broadcaster is the first television provider to transmit 100 percent of their standard and high-definition programming using the MPEG-4 video coding standard.

Previous to the upgrade to MPEG-4, DISH Network was using the MPEG-2 standard and DISH Network’s competitor, DirecTV is said to be using a combination of MPEG-2 and MPEG-2 currently.

MPEG-4 offers customers a superior picture according to DISH Network.

DISH Network’s chief marketing officer, Jessica Insalaco had this to say about the new development: "DISH Network once again leads the pack in providing customers with an unparalleled entertainment experience. Our complete MPEG-4 solution – which will offer up to 150 HD channels by the end of the year – uses the most advanced technology in the industry to deliver the best quality picture to any television set in the home, perfect for those who have or are considering upgrading to high definition."

One of the most recent additions to DISH Network’s programming choices is INSP: The Inspiration Network.

The new channel launched on DISH network on August 27 and will substantially boost the Inspirations Network’s subscriber base. The  channel was also launched on DirecTV on the same day.

INSP senior vice president John Roos commented about the new deals with the satellite broadcasters and was pleased by more than doubling the network’s distribution footprint, which allow the network to do more original programming, which has been one of its goals.