Opinions/Thought/Input on my Dish System

[rss79]

I am a newbie to this forum, but need some opinions. I have been a Dish customer for many years. I have a 4 room setup, and I purchased all the receivers (Three 301's and one older model). I have the America 150 package with locals, along with HBO. The older receiver does not work anymore, and I cannot receive any kind of stereo audio signal on my 301's. I recently purchased a new 64 inch RPTV, and want to upgrade to HD. I have an OTA antenna in my attic. I have a cable input, as when I discontinued cable they forgot to turn it off outside. I believe that the cable and SAT are all run through one cable and a diplexer. I have been torn between switching to Direct TV, but figure I may be able to swing something with Dish, since I own the equipment and have been a long time customer. A Dish 921 seems like it would work well, since I have the OTA antenna already in place. What would you do if you were me???

[Gordon Small]

I am a newbie to this forum, but need some opinions. I have been a Dish customer for many years. I have a 4 room setup, and I purchased all the receivers (Three 301's and one older model). I have the America 150 package with locals, along with HBO. The older receiver does not work anymore, and I cannot receive any kind of stereo audio signal on my 301's. I recently purchased a new 64 inch RPTV, and want to upgrade to HD. I have an OTA antenna in my attic. I have a cable input, as when I discontinued cable they forgot to turn it off outside. I believe that the cable and SAT are all run through one cable and a diplexer. I have been torn between switching to Direct TV, but figure I may be able to swing something with Dish, since I own the equipment and have been a long time customer. A Dish 921 seems like it would work well, since I have the OTA antenna already in place. What would you do if you were me???

For me the Jury is still out on Dish. I'm a new subscriber and I'm seeing problems with my 811 receiver as mentioned in other posts. I will say this though; If Dish gets the problems fixed and I expect they will I can be a happy camper. I do plan on getting the 921 in the future but I'm waiting for the bugs to be resolved before I spend the big bucks. Actually I would be ready to buy now except for the issues with the 921. I know they will get everything resolved eventually.

On the other hand DirectTV has the new HD Direct TV Tivo coming out soon. IMO the TIVO is the best DVR product on the market.

I'd have gone with Direct TV but I 'm in a Pegasus ares and Pegasus is not known for their customer service.

[bsic]

I recently upgraded a reciever to the 811 (HD Reciever, no DVR). Its got some bugs- but most are just minor irritants until SW fixes patch it up. The 811 also accepts OTA antenna input just like the 921.

Id call up dish and see if you can get an 811 upgrade for $99 or $149- they are in short supply right now but this should be getting better in the very near future as more units come out of production.

The 921 seems to be too buggy- Im also waiting to get a 921 and am just gonna wait a few months for the kinks to be worked out.

[rss79]

I recently upgraded a reciever to the 811 (HD Reciever, no DVR). Its got some bugs- but most are just minor irritants until SW fixes patch it up. The 811 also accepts OTA antenna input just like the 921.

Id call up dish and see if you can get an 811 upgrade for $99 or $149- they are in short supply right now but this should be getting better in the very near future as more units come out of production.

The 921 seems to be too buggy- Im also waiting to get a 921 and am just gonna wait a few months for the kinks to be worked out.

Thanks to the two of you for responding. When you are a newbie, I am never sure if the post I make is considered proper or not. Any thoughts as to my problem receiving stereo audio signal from Dish? If I have my cable running, I can receive that in stereo, but nothing in stereo from Dish. Kind of annoying when you want to watch a movie or The Sopranos.

[gpflepsen]

I agree with staying put and getting an 811. Unless you have the need to change to D*, the least expensive choice would be ordering an 811 for $150-$200.

[rss79]

I agree with staying put and getting an 811. Unless you have the need to change to D*, the least expensive choice would be ordering an 811 for $150-$200.

Agreed on staying with E* as opposed to changing to D*. I can see your point on the 811, my only thought being that I was also looking to add the DVR technology, as I have never enjoyed it previously.

[melvis1907]

I am a newbie to this forum, but need some opinions. I have been a Dish customer for many years. I have a 4 room setup, and I purchased all the receivers (Three 301's and one older model). I have the America 150 package with locals, along with HBO. The older receiver does not work anymore, and I cannot receive any kind of stereo audio signal on my 301's. I recently purchased a new 64 inch RPTV, and want to upgrade to HD. I have an OTA antenna in my attic. I have a cable input, as when I discontinued cable they forgot to turn it off outside. I believe that the cable and SAT are all run through one cable and a diplexer. I have been torn between switching to Direct TV, but figure I may be able to swing something with Dish, since I own the equipment and have been a long time customer. A Dish 921 seems like it would work well, since I have the OTA antenna already in place. What would you do if you were me???

I to am a long time customer who moved last may. I wanted to switch to the larger sat provider but I'm also in a pegasus area and you can't get any of the advertised deals w/them - have to lease equipment, etc. I was able to get an 811 installed for $149. Like many others, I've had numerous issues w/the 811, but I'm going to wait and see if they resolve them. The OTA tuner in this unit seems to work fairly well, but if you read all the posts, it's very apparent they have alot of issues to resolve. Good luck.

[boba]

Ch3/4 output on satellite receivers is mono you can't get stereo from those connections. If you want stereo connect the yellow,red and white RCA connectors to your TV. If your tv dosen't have the RCA connections you can buy a stereo modulator and create a stereo channel to send to your TV.

[gpflepsen]

Regarding the 811's bugs, none (to me) are so bad that it is unusable. Just to read the complaints on the DBS forums you woukld think E* laid a rotten egg with the 811. That's not so in my book.

[bsic]

Same here gpflepson---