Why doesn't Dish add online streaming?

Get your Fire stick out and add a recast to it along with an outboard HDD. You will have a free 2 week guide for OTA and the DVR function. It works great and you can also add Dish Anywhere app to have access to On Demand. It is great if you miss a movie, you can generally find it on demand. Dish does have a lot of great perks, but many people never use them.
Firestick outboard HDD?? How do you do that?
 
Get a Recast, that takes the HD. But does Amazon still sell the Recast?
No. This past August, Amazon has discontinued selling/making the Recast. Amazon says they will continue to support the Recast until at least 2026, so if you can still find one online, it will continue to work for a few years.

Recast Discontinued
 
I had Dish for 25-years, but tree issues caused me to switch to a cable provider. And soon went to YoutubeTV, which has a clunky interface. If Dish had a competitive online service with locals, I'd switch back because I think Dish has a superior guide, interface, and DVR. It seems they are missing a market.
I agree. Sling is definitely *not* a streaming version of Dish, as it has different (smaller) channel packages and is a cheaper, lower-feature service.

Interestingly, a few of the channels that Dish offers, such as some of the HBO and Cinemax channels they added back a year or so ago, are streaming-only; you watch them live and record them to your Hopper DVR via an internet connection, not through your rooftop dish. Why not do that with *all* of Dish's channels and give customers the option of receiving service via the internet and not even need a satellite dish and its related wiring? The service could still use the same TV receiver boxes and remotes.

I think we very well may see Dish do this in the next few years as they get closer to the time when all of their current satellites run out of fuel and become inoperable. Those sats have an expected lifespan of 15 years and the two youngest sats in the fleet (i.e. the last two to go) will both hit 15 years of age in 2025. By that point in time, I expect Dish and DirecTV will have merged and they'll be doing all new dish installs aimed at the newer DirecTV satellite fleet. As for the pre-merger Dish customers with dishes still aimed at the old Dish satellite fleet, well, they'll either have to have do an expensive re-install for them or possibly get them to switch over to broadband delivery of the service. That latter option would save the company a lot of money, so I predict that an internet-delivered version of the main Dish service is something we'll see in the coming years.
 
Interestingly, a few of the channels that Dish offers, such as some of the HBO and Cinemax channels they added back a year or so ago, are streaming-only; you watch them live and record them to your Hopper DVR via an internet connection, not through your rooftop dish. Why not do that with *all* of Dish's channels and give customers the option of receiving service via the internet and not even need a satellite dish and its related wiring? The service could still use the same TV receiver boxes and remotes.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was in Dish's contract with the channel(s) that they can only provide them via satellite. I don't know if that's Dish didn't ask for streaming rights when contract negotiations last happened or if the channel owners said "no". Is there a channel that isn't streamed by it's parent company?
 
I wouldn't be surprised if it was in Dish's contract with the channel(s) that they can only provide them via satellite. I don't know if that's Dish didn't ask for streaming rights when contract negotiations last happened or if the channel owners said "no".
This I doubt since other Traditional Providers do stream, both Comcast and Charter have a app that turns, for example, a Roku into a cable box, all channels and no box fee.

My step-father has Comcast back in Michigan, no cable boxes, just the xfinity app on all his Rokus.

Maybe they just demanded it in channels negotiations, I doubt it was more money since neither company charge for this option and actually makes less because of no box fees.
 
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I wouldn't be surprised if it was in Dish's contract with the channel(s) that they can only provide them via satellite. I don't know if that's Dish didn't ask for streaming rights when contract negotiations last happened or if the channel owners said "no". Is there a channel that isn't streamed by it's parent company?
Yes, it's possible that Dish would need to amend some/all of their carriage contracts with the various national and local channels to allow them to distribute them to customers over the internet in addition to via satellite. But assuming it could only be streamed to Dish hardware connected to the customer's home network (and not to apps on retail devices used in other locations), I wouldn't think it would be a big deal.
 
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Yes, it's possible that Dish would need to amend some/all of their carriage contracts with the various national and local channels to allow them to distribute them to customers over the internet in addition to via satellite. But assuming it could only be streamed to Dish hardware connected to the customer's home network (and not to apps on retail devices used in other locations), I wouldn't think it would be a big deal.
How would Dish determine a subscriber's "home network"? I use three different Internet providers with frequently changing IP addresses and physical locations, for instance.
 
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How would Dish determine a subscriber's "home network"? I use three different Internet providers with frequently changing IP addresses and physical locations, for instance.
I never have read of this as a issue with all the other providers that allow streaming of the channels.
 
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I never have read of this as a issue with all the other providers that allow streaming of the channels.
I have a number of apps that determine my current location from my current IP address, but none of them set any sort of "home network" as far as I can see. Paramount+ for example, uses my current IP address to determine which local CBS station I watch. Next time we move, the station will change when my IP address changes.
 
How would Dish determine a subscriber's "home network"? I use three different Internet providers with frequently changing IP addresses and physical locations, for instance.
I'm not sure exactly how they do it, but streaming providers have ways of determining what is your home network. DirecTV Stream does it now and it looks like Netflix will do it soon as well.
 
I'm not sure exactly how they do it, but streaming providers have ways of determining what is your home network. DirecTV Stream does it now and it looks like Netflix will do it soon as well.
So what would my "home network" be since I don't have a stable location and use multiple Internet services?
 
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for youtube tv it does. When you sign up you have to be in your "home area" and if you leave that area there is a time limit on locals

When you sign up for YouTube TV, we’ll ask you to share your home zip code. We may also ask you to verify your area via your device location permissions. This is to make sure you get the right networks in your location.

What you can watch and record on YouTube TV is based on your home area:

  • Watch programs aired over affiliate networks in your location.
  • When you travel outside of your home area, you can’t watch local networks airing in your home area. You can see local programs in the location you travel to, but you can’t record anything outside of your home area.
  • Keep in mind:
    • You can only change your home area twice per year.
    • You have to be physically in your new home area to update your home area in YouTube TV.
    • If you're a frequent traveler, make sure to use YouTube TV at least once every 3 months in your home area. This check in makes sure YouTube TV can continue to offer you the correct local networks.
 
for youtube tv it does. When you sign up you have to be in your "home area" and if you leave that area there is a time limit on locals

When you sign up for YouTube TV, we’ll ask you to share your home zip code. We may also ask you to verify your area via your device location permissions. This is to make sure you get the right networks in your location.

What you can watch and record on YouTube TV is based on your home area:

  • Watch programs aired over affiliate networks in your location.
  • When you travel outside of your home area, you can’t watch local networks airing in your home area. You can see local programs in the location you travel to, but you can’t record anything outside of your home area.
  • Keep in mind:
    • You can only change your home area twice per year.
    • You have to be physically in your new home area to update your home area in YouTube TV.
    • If you're a frequent traveler, make sure to use YouTube TV at least once every 3 months in your home area. This check in makes sure YouTube TV can continue to offer you the correct local networks.
After we moved from Michigan to Florida, I did not change my home area till a few months after the move.

All I did was go on YTTV site and change it, if they check where devices are located, they must not do it often.
 
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