The Dish receivers won't do QAM. I think the cable companies should've been forced to leave the OTA signals in 8VSB, but every time I bring it up I get shouted down by the businesses-know-better-than-consumers crowd.
I just had a new VIP722k installed this week. It's my first time with Dish Network.
I'm located in Afton, NY and have Adams cable. Adams provides the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton stations in HD as well as my official Binghamton locals. Since Dish offers nothing for Binghamton - not even SD - I'm keeping the basic cable going.
I asked the installer about QAM and he tells me they offer a QAM compatible receiver but it's intended for commercial installations. I assume the QAM receiver works with a different box than are offered to home users. I didn't push for more information, but now wish I had.
I signed up for networks with All American Direct. I was able to get ABC and NBC out of Chicago with out a waiver in my OTA free area and they would submit waivers for CBS and Fox for a $3.00 service charge each. I decided not to bother with those two since they charge $4.99/month per channel. At least I can see Lost in HD!
All American Direct also offers LA channels in HD and NYC in SD.
They do this independently of Dish to get around Dish's legal probation. They simply lease transponders on Echostar's satellites and sell the service directly. Apparently this arrangement has been tested in the courts so it should be safe.