Dish Network -- have it?

[Muushka]

Yup, I know that I can pay extra for the TV in the LR, but I hate to add $5 a month extra for it. But if I can do it for free, I will.

I will have to look for that antenna. Nope, no antenna. Anyone else?

 

[Elwood Blues]

Some of the newer receivers from Dish have dual tuners. These are in the PVR models which allow you to record one channel while watching another. I believe you will still be charged $5 for the second tuner. In the case of the dual tuner models, you could feed that signal to another TV via a video cable but that TV would have to watch the same channel as the main receiver. I have not looked at the back of a dual tuner model so it's possible that the second tuner could be hooked up to a second TV. But I don't know how you would change the channels with only one remote. It probably can be done but it might be a PITA for the person watching the main TV.


If you want to watch satellite in another part of the house, you need an additional receiver(s). Also, you will need to run a cable from the DISH antenna to each separate receiver. I think you need to run a second cable from the DISH antenna to the dual-tuner model as well. I think you can have up to 4 receivers per DISH antenna.

Some of the receivers use a dual-function remote. They have both the traditional INFRARED (invisible light) and UHF (radio waves) to control the receiver. If you have multiple receivers that have the UHF feature, you need to reprogram the remote/receiver to a different UHF setting otherwise, one remote would change the channel on every receiver. The main reason for the UHF type remote is to control the receiver from another part of the house. The range is pretty good too. One of my neighbors has DISH and occasionally he accidentally changes my channels.

 

[DarrenSt]

Jetmom it sounds like your parents have more of an install problem than anything else if the dish is not pointed well enough the weather will really affect it. The strongert the signal you have the less likeley the weatehr will play into it mind you it still can and will but not as easily or frequently.

 

[RadioNate]

We have Direct TV now but used to have Dish. I'd choose EITHER satalite provider over cable in a heart beat.

You can ususally get the equipment for free (dish and one or 2 receivers) from places like best buy or satallite companies. They run a lot of radio ads here. I know with Direct TV we got the dish and 2 receivers and installation free.

We have rarely had any weather related outages and when we did it was only for pretty heavy storms.

 

[mickeyfan1]

I have had cable, Direct TV and Dish. Of the 2 non cables, I prefer Dish.

No Contract, DIrect TV requires a year.
Free Install for my 2 TV, free DVR.
If I want to cancel, they provide the return boxes and paqy for the UPS charge

The only complaint I have with Dish is that they seem to think the locals should be the Boston channels, I would like them to add the local NH channel, because Boston is notlocal to me. It is also less expensive than Comast.

 

[DenMig]

Here is the 911 on the dual tuner. I have dish hooked up to 4 tv's and I only have 2 boxes. I have the dvr522 and the dual tuner 322( no dvr ). Basically the box has 2 tuners in it. The room where the box is requires two satellite cables coming in. Both connect to the back of the box. Then a cable runs out of the box and snakes its way somehow to the other room. In my case it goes from the living room to the master bedroom via our crawlspace, and my other box is in my daughter's room. ( 2 satellite inputs) and runs to our exercise room also via our crawlspace. Now for the room without a box : the cable coming from the box in the other room goes into the back of your tv or vcr/dvd, depending on your setup. You tune that tv to channel 60 ( that is a default, you can change it, but not to 3 or 4 ). The coolest part is the remote in room 2 is powerful enough to go through walls. There is a little antennae on the back of the box that has to be up, but it works great. The remotes are on different settings so they don't interfere. You do not have to pay an extra $4.99 as long as you have a phone line plugged into the box also. I do pay $ 4.99/month on the 522 but that fee is for the digital recording feature ( greatest invention since the wheel ) . So, 4 tv's, 2 have dvr functions.......2 boxes . I pay an extra $4.99 for box 2, and $ 4.99 for digital recording. The dual dvr is great, anyone have any questions, feel free to ask.

Hope this explanation helps and isn't too confusing. The only other point is that i"m not sure the dual tuners are available to existing customers, they may only be for new customers.......which I think sucks even though I benefitted.

Dennis

 

[DenMig]

OOPS !!!!! I'm such a dork. I meant 411, not 911.

Dennis

 

[DenMig]

Just to make sure I was clear. i have dish in 4 rooms, via 2 boxes, and yes I can watch 4 different things at the same time. Each room is independent of the other rooms despite the fact they share a box. That is why you plug 2 satellite inputs in per box.

Dennis

 

[Elwood Blues]

Originally posted by DenMig
Just to make sure I was clear. i have dish in 4 rooms, via 2 boxes, and yes I can watch 4 different things at the same time. Each room is independent of the other rooms despite the fact they share a box. That is why you plug 2 satellite inputs in per box.

Dennis

How do you control the channels? I'm assuming you only have 2 remotes.

 

[Muushka]

Thank you Dennis, that was a great explanation. I don't know if they will update our boxes but it would be worth a call.

These companies are so irritating that they probably won't take care of an old customer like me!

Thank you again for all of your help.

 

[snarfer1]

I got a free Direct TV, (radio contest) and never used it based on negative comments from family and friends (it is still in the box in my basement).

Our local cable TV (service electric) is the worst. Bad signal quality, lack of any customer service, one way cable MODEM (I had a 33K dial-up return.)

Got my first DISH at Costco, now have the super-deluxe package, and three rooms.

All three are PVRs (like TiVo) and worth their weight in gold. Skip commercials, or rewind to hear mumbled words, and the caller ID pops up on my TV screen!

Also they record 80 and & 100 hours each (508,508 & 510) and feature an 8 day guide. (Only complaint used to be a two week guide, I really miss that.)

Very easy to program your favorite show to record.

Customer service has been great.

There are a million 'deals' out there, look carefully for the best one for you. Club dish (a referral from an existing dish subscriber) offers you free equipment (that you own, not rent) and free activation. Sprint has some tie in as well.

Good luck and enjoy!


Tony

 

[Disney Enthusiast]

I have Dish and LOVE it. We did have Direct TV and we couldn't get any local channels. First we had to get signed letters from the networks stating we couldn't get the feed in this area. We had a monster antenna in our attic and the networks didn't believe us that we couldn't get the channels because we were supposed to get them. They told us to put our antenna up higher. We are at 1000 foot elevation at the very tippy top of mtn. Anyway after months of trying, we finally got the letters and sent them to Direct TV. Direct TV only had NBC at the time and so we couldn't even get the other local channels.

We got hit by lightening, lost our satellite system, so we switched to Dish. I went from like 30 hrs of record time to like 120 hours. It's awesome. I can record movies and let them sit there until I can watch them. Dish had all of the local channels for us and installed the locals w/in a day. I think Direct TV does provide them now. But the main difference is on Direct TV I could watch one channel and record the other. You had 2 venues. But on Dish I have 3. I can actually record 2 channels at the same time, while viewing a previously recorded channel on a 3rd. Plus I had a ton of recording time. And they were very prompt and courteous. I get a bill on my credit card each month for the movies I rent. It's absolutely amazing.

Direct TV calls all the time to tell me they have a special offer and that they have local now... but I can't change due to the amount of recording time and amount of venues comparitively. JMHO.

As far as satellite vs. cable.... no contest. Flipping past the commercials and pausing for phone calls so as not to miss the ending are musts and I can't imagine life w/o them now (just like the microwave). The reception is a million times better. I can record and record on the hard drive and w/ kids and a busy life that works out great! I am still catching up on finales from last years season. I can pause a good news item for 2 hours until I put the kids to bed, eat dinner, and finally sit down to watch. Then I flip past the commercials. If I want to record a past item, I can rewind for an hour, hit record, and save it for my DH. On Dish, once you passed it, you could rewind, but not rewind and record. You could only record forward. And the guide is wonderful. I did like having the 2 wks better, but at least I can look a week ahead to see what's on the Travel Channel and such. Satellites are just so great!