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misbehaving
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
The inevitable is here. After months and months of investigation, data collection, comparisons, forum reading and interactions with numerous folk in this community, the time has come to take the plunge and move forward.

I am writing this post for three reasons. First, to put this out there for any and all to read so that you can "check my math" so to speak and make sure I have not forgotten some crucial piece of information. Second, to let the results of my journey serve as information for the next person who is in a similar situation. And finally, as a way to say thank you to the forum for all of the invaluable facts and opinions with which I could never have made it to where I am today……comfortable with my choice.

A little bit of background is probably a good idea before we go much further. My family is a long time basic cable user in central Arkansas. We have a total of seven TV's hooked up at the moment, three of which are used sporadically. This large number of sets is the main reason why I had remained as a cable subscriber for so long. Last December for my 50th birthday my wife bought me a 58" Plasma TV which we had installed in our living room. Since that time we have also replaced the TV in the Rec room with a 37" HD LCD. Because our local cable company does not currently have the capability to broadcast in HD, the only way I was going to get HD was by either signing up with a satellite service or utilizing a OTA (over the air) antenna to pull in our local channels. Since I am a thorough individual I was not going to sign up for a satellite service until I knew which one I should choose first, so we purchased an OTA antenna (CM4228) with a pre-amp (CM7777) as temporary fix. It was up and connected in less than two hours.

Just a short side step here for those people who are reading this forum and are on the fence about whether or not high definition television is really worth it. Absolutely, without a doubt, no hesitation at all, YES! From the very first time that high definition content spilled out and illuminated the pixels on our television we have been addicted. And I emphasize the we, because although my wife purchased the plasma out of her love for me and the significance of my 50th birthday, she has been equally enthralled by the visuals we have witnessed over the past nine months.

But just being able to view the local channels in HD wasn't going to cut it because I am a college football fanatic and come August 30th when LSU plays Mississippi State on ESPN that game had to be in high definition. Of course I ventured to both Direct TV (D*) and Dish (E*) sites to begin with, but I didn't really start discovering the stuff I really needed to know until I found my way to this forum. I was not in a hurry because I had already set my deadline as August 30th, so I read as many posts as I could to first learn as much about satellite technology, and then the differences between the two providers. As I stated previously, cable was not an option because HD was unavailable where I live and that is still true today.

A key determining factor for me was going to be my use of the PIP function. Our prior primary TV was a dual tuner unit with PIP, and our family had become accustomed (especially during football games) of utilizing that feature. Any satellite selection I made was going to have support that feature. I have read numerous posts that suggest a good DVR could be used as a substitute for this functionality, but it really doesn't. I don't want to record a whole game to watch later, but rather keep track of it in the PIP and swap to it during commercials or when things get interesting.

So the time is now here and the research is done. It is August 7th and I have 23 days to my deadline. From the location this post is logged you can probably guess which system I chose, but would you care to know why?

Hardware. The VIP622 is a very well respected piece of equipment. Does it have its issues? Sure, but any receiver available has them and the 622 has fewer than most. Key selling points – the PIP, TV2 output and DVR functionality. In order to make the PIP work with D* I was going to have to utilize a second receiver and set up a complicated system using two different remotes. The 622 was much simpler solution. I also plan on attaining a VIP222 for my second HDTV which also is a well respected piece of hardware. I know that I will have to slave (share) three of my TV's to keep my monthly bill as low as possible, but that is a sacrifice I have accepted.

Price. E* was cheaper in both the upfront cost (only 49.99 if I didn't want an 18 month commitment) and month to month. The America's 200 DVR advantage plan had me spending $39.99 + $20.00 (HD) a month, plus 5.00 for an additional receiver (VIP222). A comparable set-up with D* would run me close to $85 a month with $298 in upfront costs. Yes, I did leave out the rebates and other short term incentive plans (6 months free, or $20 rebate for 10 months) because I had to be able to live with what the cost would be when the incentives ran out. If the cost of the two systems were close, then this could be used as a tie-breaker, but they were not.

HD Channels. E* is the current leader hands down. D* just launched a new satellite and in my opinion will catch up to and exceed E* by early next year, but E* has another satellite itself scheduled for launch in 2008 and will either take back the lead or equal D* next year. What's it all mean? The competition is such that both companies will continually be adding new channels and services, so as long as the channels I really want are there now (which both have), then it is a wash.

Picture Quality. I have seen positive and negative post for both sides in equal proportions. HD Lite, overall signal compression, SD pic quality, are just a few issues from either camp. Again, no clear winner here either.

Customer Service. Everybody complains about customer service, but I have to say that unfortunately E* stands out negatively in this area. Everything from unknowledgeable CSR's to incompetent installers, E* is serious lacking in this regard.

So my decision to go with E* was based primarily on the hardware and price, and I am very comfortable with my choice. But is there anything that I am still concerned about? Certainly and here is my list of those items.

  • When I order my system I would expect to have a Dish 1000.2 installed which would provide me signals from the three satellites (110, 119 & 129) I need being a HD customer. This configuration sometimes has exhibited unacceptable signal levels on 129. I am wary of this.
  • The HDMI output was glitchy earlier with the 622, but I am hoping these issues have been resolved.
  • Even though I will be receiving plenty of HD content, the broadcast industry is not at a stage yet where you can totally disregard SD. Since picture quality is very subjective I am worried that the SD content I receive will be inferior to what I am receiving now.
Thanks for taking the time to read my manifesto. I hope this helps any newbies out there who are starting out where I was nine months ago. Please leave me a comment, positive or negative, and let me know what you think. I plan to follow up with a post in a month or two letting everybody know how I feel then about my decision.
:)
46 Replies · 9165 views
FitzAusTex
MB,

is it possible that someone is on the phone when the daily reboot happens? I had this message happen A LOT. I can hear clicking on the line when I'm on the phone and the receiver is dialing out. Not sure why it dials out more than once a month, but it seems to do a dial out daily. EVERY TIME i heard clicking on the line, i had that message the next time i turned on the receivers - just a thought. (fyi...I have a 622 in my bedroom, and the fan during reboot would wake me up at 3am, so i changed the time to 8am, and invariably i would be on the phone during reboot at 8am - for those who are wondering why I set it to 8am).
misbehaving
Concerning the phone connection issue, I have been told to try and re-boot the box which I will do at lunch. I have also been informed of some 622's that have had the modem go bad in them, so if the rebooting doesn't work I guess I'll be calling DISH tonight.

On a seperate note I have noticed another peculiar issue, this time on my 722. I have my OTA antenna running through my 722, but I also have it split off and run straight to the TV. I have a digital output cable run from my 722 to my audio receiver. I have noticed that for the past two nights that the majority of the commercials on NBC the only sound that I can hear is the bass. This is only the commercials on NBC, and not all of them. When I switch my TV to view the OTA channels directly from the antenna, and not through the 722, the sound is fine (albeit it is from only the TV and not the receiver). Anybody have any idea's on this one?

MB
misbehaving
I'd thought I'd update a couple of issues I had reported earlier.

First, the problem with my 722 not shutting down at night was fixed by me switching the software update check to 9 AM instead of 3AM. It now works perfectly.

The other issue, the lack of sound (except bass) from NBC commericals, I'm embarrassed to say was my own fault. Somebody in our household turned off my main speakers connected to my receiver. So when a show or a commercial was broadcast in 5.1 sound my center channel, sub woofer and back speakers would put out sound, but if the channel broadcast in regular stereo (which apparently a lot of commercials on NBC are) only the sub woofer was active and could put out sound. I found the issue this weekend as I was listening to some CD's. Duh!

It appears rebooting my 222 has not fixed my phone connection problem, so I'll be calling DISH tonight.

Thats where everything stands right now.

Oh yeah.......TBS in high def is great.
misbehaving
Dish Selection Manifesto - One Year Later

It's hard to believe but it has been a full year since I decided to get DISH and I thought I would update this thread to give those of you who are on the fence like I was something more to mull over.

Overall I will say that my experience with DISH this year has exceeded my expectations. I had a couple issues where PPV that I didn't request was charged to my account, but an e-mail to CEO@dishnetwork.com took care of that problem. Service wise my 722 has operated flawlessly and the wife and I are now fully integrated with the DVR experience. An external hard drive will be my next purchase as the fall season approaches. MY 222 has had numerous difficulties that required system reboots (averaging about once a week), but that is only an irritation as that unit services our rec room and a lesser used TV. Another minor disappointment is the service failure we experience when thunder storms rumble through the area, which is much more frequent than I was led to believe.

As far as the HD channel selection goes, as I stated in my opening comments I'm in this for the long haul so who reached 100 channels by when wasn't really a concern. The amount of HD that is available for the Olympics is both plentiful and impressive. I am concerned about the lawsuits that DISH has been fighting and it makes me wonder about their stability going forward, but not enough to consider switching or to second guess my decision.

When all is said and done I guess I'm in the satisfied customer category. With college football season just around the corner, which is why I originally switched to DISH in the first place, I will be sitting infront of my media center with a large smile on my face once again.

Come on in the waters fine.....even one year later.
DishSatUser
I am very glad to hear this. This month we'd switched back to E* as we'd finally moved to an HDTV.

We've gone with one of the TurboHD packages (TurboHD Gold) as we really are not interested in the SD stations and didn't see a reason to pay for a package that includes both. We also have a 722. To see a year follow-up with you still feeling good about your decision helps to lend me a similar feeling that all should be good going forward.

Thanks again for such a great thread.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68645 Replies · 2679569 views
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harshness
Show and Tell - Al Wilson
sdfntx
On with the Show - The Rolling Stones
gms49ers
The Show Must Go On - Pink Floyd
  • Love
Reactions: dishstaller
Bobby
If Love Must Go - Dobie Gray
FTA4PA
Drift Away - Dobie Gray
Van
Van
Last reply · posted in What's Cooking?
Who says dinner or lunch has to be the only good meals of the day?

Honey butter grits with scrambled eggs and grilled boneless pork ribs on flakey biscuits washed down with cranberry juice.
6633 Replies · 380099 views
dfergie
Dos cackleberrys over easy on top of 2 corned beef hash patties fried in skillet... Chocolate milk.
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Reactions: TRG and Bobby
TRG
TRG
Cold morning today, only 32 degrees. Fired up the oven and made cinnamon rolls (from a tube) and a pot of coffee.
  • Like
Reactions: dfergie
TRG
TRG
2 egg burrito with bacon and a side of hashbrowns. Coffee.

1645.webp
TRG
TRG
Breakfast Quesadillas. Grilled flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, chopped green chile, cheddar & Jack cheese and bacon. Coffee.

q.webp
Bobby
Taco omelette. 3 eggs, taco meat from yesterday, diced green chilis, cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, avocado, black olives, chopped tomato, La Victoria Salsa Brava.

This one was really, really good!
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 4 views
osu1991
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
6 Replies · 86 views
sdfntx
Sorry to hear this. R.I.P.
FTA4PA
R.I.P.
dishstaller
My Mom was a huge McMillan & Wife fan.

RIP
dfergie
Mcmillan and wife was where I remember her from, R.I.P. ...
M
R.I.P.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Some of the channels start next week.

3 Replies · 29 views
comfortably_numb
My favorite is probably Holiday Pops.
TRG
TRG
It's not even Halloween yet.
  • Haha
Reactions: Howard Simmons
Scott Greczkowski
I like the Jimmy Fallon channel. This will be its third year. I like that it's all fresh each year. Also fun when he pops on live from time to time.
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Terrible tragedy. You would think that they would have safe guards in place that would prevent something like this from happening. I guess if you are going to ride in a passenger train it might be best to get a car near the rear.

1 Replies · 25 views
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Reactions: Jimbo
Jimbo
Terrible tragedy. You would think that they would have safe guards in place that would prevent something like this from happening. I guess if you are going to ride in a passenger train it might be best to get a car near the rear.

They will have to look at the switching sections to determine WHY 2 trains were on the same track ... at the same time.