Dish and Cable HDTV upgrade prices...

[pioneernut]

For months, I've contemplated upgrading to HD from various cable, and sat providers and as an existing customer of Dish it seems the best deal is to just jump ship and switch to a competitor to get free equipment.

However, this is were it starts to peeve me off.
1 why don't they give the same deal to existing customers? You'd think they'd want to keep us, but no, you have to pay to upgrade equipment while new customers get it for free. Total BS.
2 Why do they have to charge so much more for HD content? Its going to be standard anyway in a year, why should I pay more for something thats a standard broadcast that should be offered by default.

Seriously, what do they think they are going to charge when HD is the norm and its no longer just an added perk? At this point, I don't want to pay more for what will be regular HD broadcasts in a year anyway. I almost want to hold out until all broadcasts are HD over Satillite and cable and then they have to give me new equipment just to be a customer.

I know it won't happen though, as this is a perfect way to acustom all these early adopters to paying more for the same content.

Does anyone else think the pricing for HDTV is suckering us all in for higher cable bills in the long run?