Spare me please. When the loss of signal occurs I can with the push of a button direct the OTA signal directly to the TV tuner where the picture is perfect. Push the button again and direct the OTA signal through the Hopper, and that "loss of signal" remains. All this under a completely clear sky.Weather conditions can affect the OTA signal. We have had a lot of heavy storms that have affected my OTA channels.
$250 isn't terrible but it's also 5 months of PS Vue which I can use today with no additional hardware costs.
I can't help but think there was perhaps some planned obsolescence here.
I work in Telecom & IT integration. If one of our manufacturers released a mandatory software update with these adverse effects, dealers around the globe would be expressing their concerns until it was patched or the customer was given the option to revert back. I've actually seen similar situations where significant software build upgrades run subpar on older "supported" hardware although it technically still works. Working and working well are two different things.
First, new, significant mandatory upgrades on older hardware are garbage. Period. Second, you should have the ability to revert when problems arise. Not in this case...
I've had nothing but positive things to say about Dish for 3 years, and I'm generally very laid back. Changing my tune a bit here recently regarding this upgrade. They'll likely lose my business soon over this.
Vue just added CBS to my market so I can get all of my watched channels, including locals, excluding the History Channel for ~$35 a month cheaper. That's also Vue over 5 screens versus the HWS + Dish Anywhere (use a PC + DA instead of a 2nd receiver) I currently pay for.
I was trying to find excuses to stay with Dish & pay the extra for "premium" TV , but instead they're giving me a reason to leave.
...The installer who set up the dish for my H3 told me that Dish isn't really gaining any new installs anymore. Techs are either repairing broken installs or doing upgrades. ...
I agree that Dish is certainly doing new installs, but they obviously don't even come close to offsetting subscriber losses.I've personally done at least 5 installs for new customers in the last couple of weeks and that's just our little company here. So as always I would take anything and everything that the 'techs' say with a grain of salt.
I agree that Dish is certainly doing new installs, but they obviously don't even come close to offsetting subscriber losses.
I've personally done at least 5 installs for new customers in the last couple of weeks and that's just our little company here. So as always I would take anything and everything that the 'techs' say with a grain of salt.
Only 5 in a couple of weeks ? That can't possibly be considered good, is it ?
It's the nature of things period in technology right now. I was designing and bringing in multiple on premise phone systems each month. Now that business is actually going up but it's all shifted to cloud/VOIP/hosted. The over the top TV or IPTV consumer shift is very similar to cloud based PBX shift in the business world. Lots of parallels there.
Folks crack me who say they're "cord cutting" and are signing up for Vue, Direct TV Now, Sling, etc. Really? It's just a different type of delivery for similar services.
Same in the telephony world. Businesses are "getting rid of their phone system" and lines. Nope... you're getting SIP trunks and your VOIP "system" is hosted by a CLEC.
We do more than just VOIP. I'd say the only premise markets growing right now are LAN server virtualization & surveillance/access control. Satellite TV is not an anomaly. It's a shrinking market with many other technology verticals.
Satellite TV will always have a place as long as there as rural markets without cable or Internet though. Also for folks looking for a premium service.
Back on topic... I was fine paying more for a premier products... until the GUI upgrade hit me hard & changed my user experience. Gave me an excuse to follow the wave towards IPTV/streaming.
We also do DirecTV, Exede, Hughesnet, Surveillance systems, and a lot more including upgrades and repairs on all of that. So yes 5 new Dish customers is pretty good in less than 2 weeks. Most small dealers are considered good if they do 4 a month. I've got another Dish new customer scheduled for tomorrow and at least 2 more this week. That's considered pretty darn good and our distributor loves us.Only 5 in a couple of weeks ? That can't possibly be considered good, is it ?
Does Dish send new customer install work to you ? Around here, in fact all of Ohio, I believe, is handled by "Digital Dish" - all they do is Dish work (new installs, upgrades, etc). Oh yeah, they repair Samsung washing machines too apparently.... I know that technically there are some Dish "retailers" around but I'm not sure how they get business (unless Dish sends it to them).
Wait .. how exactly is forced obsolescence "good" for them?So... sounds like Dish is taking a page from Apple's playbook and doing a forced obselesence thing. I get it; it's good for them, bad for us. Just is what it is.
Wait .. how exactly is forced obsolescence "good" for them?
Cost for the box, cost for the installer .. sure they get to pull the whole 2 year commitment garb, but even that isn't worth all that much .. you stem the tide of some losses only to have people (myself included) badmouthing dish at every turn because they've effectively destroyed my ability to watch TV ... and new shows from PTAT are starting in the next few weeks..
of course now I'm starting to get more pissy about it and getting ready to start heading on the demands for something to be done .. but the damage dish has done in my case is already there.. I'm not about the money of it (one of my friends says get freebies and stuff) .. I'm just to the point I want working service which we pretty much had BEFORE this crap update.. I mean there were some issues .. but not to the level of not being able to watch PTAT at all or even highly unreliably ... I'm calling for some lawyerly types to step up.. make this a class action .. you (dish) advertize this "whole home" concept then destroy it? you don't offer reasonable options for users to revert, you demand they pay an additional premium, just to get the shows and service that were already what I had?
Misrepresentation, and base fraud.
And for me, the hopes that the punitive damages would royally knock dish back a century or two for them to LEARN from their mistakes.. not keep repeating them day after day, etc..
I remember when I got my first ViP211 in 2006. The installer did not let me keep the HDMI cable that came with it because I did not have an HDTV yet. (I got the ViP211 to get grandfathered for the national feed of CBS HD, since the ViP211 can down-convert HD channels to watch them on analog TV's. The grandfathering became a moot point later that year when Dish lost the ability to offer distant networks. If I had known that I would lose CBS HD that quickly, I probably wouldn't have bothered to upgrade my receiver at that time.) I have gotten more than enough free HDMI cables from Dish since then, to make up for them not letting me keep the first one, though.Free HDMI wires come with all the latest Dish receivers but the Dish people and subs still try to sell you one. Local retailers don't pester you to buy anything you don't need and usually don't charge shipping or activation fees like the national retailers do. We can usually do it cheaper and give all kinds of good service.