Posted Thu Apr 29, 2010 at 11:40 AM PDT by Mike Attebery
by Michael S. Palmer
A fellow HD enthusiast's plea for help!!!
I remember it well. Bored with nothing to watch. At the time I was a young man of modest means whose only companion was a Comcast HD-DVR. Sure, we didn't have many HD channels, but I could spend all day watching Discovery HD Theater anyway, so it didn't really matter.
Then, some anonymous genius snuck AMC's first original series, 'Mad Men', onto the On Demand feature. It was moving. Dramatic. And above all, for anyone craving a high definition fix, gorgeous. Sure the AMC channel itself wasn't in high-def, but who cares, I had their best product commercial free.
Next came 'Breaking Bad', another fully awesome cinematic TV experience. I couldn't believe my good fortune. Every week, I went back to On Demand, afraid. Perhaps it was mistake. What if this amazing, high-def programming would be taken away? But it never was. Life was perfect.
Until football…
Two years. A fiancée. And a quest to watch the New England Patriots each Sunday morning at home instead of a bar (beer still included) changed everything.
Enter DirecTV stage left with the NFL Season Ticket. The technician was late. The fine print terrifying. But I had the world. A satellite dish; an HD-DVR receiver that not only records a gazillion hours of high-def programming, but also doesn't break every week; and football. Life was ultimo-perfect.
Only On Demand is gone and AMC-HD doesn't exist for those of us bouncing TV signals off a microwave orbiting the Earth (insert sad emoticon here). 'Mad Men: Season 3' and 'Breaking Bad: Season 2' came and went. I wanted to watch them. Truly. But I couldn't. The letterboxed standard definition was indescribable. So I gave up. Decided to wait for the Blu-rays. And they are excellent.
If you have DirecTV, you are currently watching substandard (image quality) 'Breaking Bad: Season 3.' This summer, you'll choke down 'Mad Men: Season 4.' And finally this fall, die a little each day, for Frank
Depressed, I thought to myself. How can I fix this? How can one man make a difference (without a talking car named K.I.T.T.)? How can I fight The Man? Then I realized…on High-Def Digest, I have tens of readers! Mad with power, I had an idea. A rallying cry for high definition everywhere…
Friends, Romans, Country Forum Trolls, lend me your ears…!
And your ability to use the world wide webisphere. It's time to make noise. The more people who contact DirecTV, who demand to have a cable channel that just about everyone else already has… the sooner we all are to enjoying television shows we're currently paying not to watch. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is simple, and takes less than one minute:
DirecTV Customer Options:
A). Send an email. It's easy. Fill out your information (with account number if you have it handy, and CC me said info and your credit card number. Just kidding). Under the "Topic" menu, select "Programming". And under the sub-menu, select "HD Programming." Subject line: "Please add AMC-HD." And finally, a dull form letter for you to use, or adjust accordingly:
"Dear DirecTV. Please add AMC-HD to your channel lineup. It is unclear as to why this channel -- which is currently available on Fios, Comcast, and TimeWarner Cable -- has taken so long to join your programming. Please don't make me want to switch television providers. Regards."
Or B). Call 1-800-531-5000, press a few buttons, and ask them when they are getting AMC-HD. The customer service reps won't know, of course. So simply ask them to note the request.
Non-DirecTV Customer Option:
Using the Option A link, send this letter: "Dear DirecTV. I am considering switching to DirecTV, but I see you do not currently carry AMC-HD. Please add AMC-HD to your channel lineup so that I may enjoy it's quality programming. Regards."
Done and done. The more people who chip in, the better. Lacking AMC-HD is not the biggest problem in the world – there are always the Blu-rays, and it's high time someone finally got into an argument either for or against 'Avatar' – but just know you'll be helping fellow HD-junkies enjoy some quality TV.
Thanks in advance for all of your help.
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