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C
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
New to Satellite TV. Have decided to go with E*. I like the prices and that they appear to have the best DVRs and that some of them are dual tuners - I have two older TVS on two different floors. I will be going with SD until later when I plan to update one of those TVS to HD. I also have a outdoor Channel Master antenna that pulls in stations 60 miles away. Some of these staions now bradcast in HD. The antenna is wired throughout the house with RG-59U and uses an amplifier.

Now for some questions and advice.

I want to be able to use my existing antenna and wiring to get local programing which some of it is already in HD. I believe this is called OTA. Is this correct? So I am looking at getting a dual DVR that would be able to incorporate that signal and output it to the TV. Keep in mind that down the road I will be purchasing a new HD TV.

This is where I have questions and could use some advice from some experienced users on the forum. Which DVR should I go with that will fit my needs now and in the future when I update to a new HD TV - keeping in mind that the only HD programming I will use would be OTA Local Stations? I would not use any HD from DishNetwork. Was looking at the 625 - nice receiver. But would I be better off going with a 622 or a 722 now so I can pick up local HD programming OTA when I update to a new TV? Will the 622 or 722 allow me to use 2 SD TVS now? Will E* allow a 622 or 722 with a standard SD Dish 500 albeit with an added fee?

And one last question. Will the OTA stations show up in the progamming guide on the DVR? If I understand this correctly one needs to subscribe to Dish's Local programming for this to happen.
15 Replies · 2889 views
B
Correct that the "ViP" series receivers (including the 622/722) have only digital tuners. The antenna you currently have should still work for you with some caveats. The digital channels are usually on a different frequency, most often in the UHF band chs 14-59, vs. the analog channels, so your system needs to be capable of a greater frequency range. To see what analog and digital channels are available in your area, along with a whole bunch of additional information (bearing, range, antenna height, radiated power, etc.) check AntennaWeb.org .

You can probably use just a simple (passive) splitter to send TV signals to both the TV and the receiver. Assuming your TV has an analog tuner, then that is your obvious option for receiving those analog channels that you still want until Feb. '09 when all analog OTA channels "go dark". One possible consideration: a passive splitter will impart about a 3.5dB loss to the signals going both ways. If your signal strength is marginal, that might be too much additional loss. The analog signals will have additional "snow"/noise and the digital signals will have pixelations/drop-outs, or not work at all. In that case you will need some kind of distribution amp.

You may find out that the digital OTA tuner in your TV is superior to the one in your sat. receiver. That was certainly the case with my Sony XBR TVs vs. the tuner in my 622. I'm in a very marginal OTA signal area, so that difference is noticeable. You may not have the same situation.

To get your Detroit local channels via Dish, you could "move". That's a trick many folks use to get different local service from one area to a "remote" system they own but receive the bill at their main residence, when in fact they are one in the same. Search that topic ("moving") in this site if you're interested in exploring it more.

Oh, one other thought: comparing the HDD size vs. recording time in the 625 vs. the 722 is not an exact science. Tho' the HDD in the 722 has much more capacity, its actual recording time could be considerably less than that of the 625 as HD programs gobble-up that space at a much higher rate vs. SD. You won't have any control over that rate unless an HD program is also available in SD on another channel (often is) and you record only the SD version. Of course the 625 records SD only.

Good luck with it all...!
C
bhelms - Thanks again for your well thought out reply. I finally understand everything enough to make my decision regarding the receiver and programming thats right for me.

Based on the information provided in your clear explanation of digital vs anolog signals, I will use my outdoor antenna (vhf/uhf) with a spliter to pick up digital channels on the receiver and analog channels on the TV. Then on Feb. 09 when there is no more analog, I can disconnect the splitter and use the 722 exclusivley to pick up all the digital channels. I will be able to keep both of my older (10 yr old) TVs and not have to buy converter boxes in Feb 09. This also allows me to change to E* HD after 18 mo. without a penalty if I chose. I could also elect to get one HD TV to replace one of my older analog TV's at any time.

So my decision is: 722 DVR - Since the 625 DVR can not receive OTA
SD Programming
America's Top 100
Local Channels - If I move (thanks for the hint)
18 Mo committment

Do you agree with my thought process?

Thanks again for the help!!!!!
A
I don't particularly reccomend the 18 month commitment.
DirtyTurbin
Ya eat the 49.99 install fee or ask me for a club dish card and stay out of the 18 month contract.
B
Mostly, but you might want to avoid that commitment even if it costs you a bit more up front, and take advantage of any Club Dish incentives from current subs, like above. Even with a commitment, you don't need to wait 18 months to upgrade to HD. It's good to try to stay out of commitments/contracts (as I alluded in my first reply) simply to give yourself more flexibility later on if you decide to change equipment or providers. Confirm the exact details both ways. In my case, I don't plan on leaving E* anytime soon (customer since Dec. '98) so another 12- or 18-mo. commitment is no big deal to me. But I was in a 12-mo. commitment resulting from my HD upgrade that included a leased 811 when I wanted to upgrade to the 622 5 months later. I wasn't allowed to under a lease plan, but it was OK for me to purchase a 622 - which I did - and add it with no impact to the then-existing contract. I probably wouldn't have purchased the 622 otherwise. There is no payback, other than the small amount I might someday get selling it.

Again, I encourage you to also try the digital tuner in your TV. If your current TV doesn't have one, your new HDTV might (some are only "HD ready", meaning that you need external tuners), and it might be superior to the OTA tuner in the 722.

Good luck with it! You'll love the service, and I bet you'll end up upgrading to a new HD TV and full HD service from E* before long...!
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
I'm surprised Walmart hasn't banned this guy from all of their stores. He has been on their CASE the past few months.


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f3zr37ekgKM?feature=share
7 Replies · 56 views
Jimbo
I'm surprised Walmart hasn't banned this guy from all of their stores. He has been on their CASE the past few months.


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f3zr37ekgKM?feature=share

Walmart isn't the only one ...
Juan
I'm surprised Walmart hasn't banned this guy from all of their stores. He has been on their CASE the past few months.


View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f3zr37ekgKM?feature=share

When walmart set a price...they weigh the container and the product...the product label only shows the weight of the product...I am sure if you brought your own plastic baggies to bring the product home you could get the cheaper price
harshness
Walmart isn't the only one ...
I've been seeing this more and more on Amazon. Sometimes it seems there is no way they could have arrived at the number.

What rankles me even more is Costco changing units of measure between similar products, so you have to convert them to compare prices.
dishstaller
When walmart set a price...they weigh the container and the product...
Then they are stupid. Everyone knows that the price per ounce should be the price per ounce of actual product.
b4pjoe
Meat with a bone in it. It contributes to the weight.
harshness
Meat with a bone in it. It contributes to the weight.
Bone-in is a well-known and often prized attribute. Adding the tray and the film isn't right.
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Juan
Then they are stupid. Everyone knows that the price per ounce should be the price per ounce of actual product.
You are paying for the whole thing
SuperDish_Fan23
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Why are ViP922s So rare? like its crazy how ebay has none, i checked everywhere, also, i got a ViP222k now, which is actually activated!
9 Replies · 324 views
HipKat
I think they were more of a transitional receiver bridging the VIPs to the Hopper. They were a PITA to install and were buggy. Personally, I thought at the time that they were the best receiver out there. The versatility of the VIP's with the new Hopper GUI and, by far, the coolest-looking front plate and lighting.
T
I think they were more of a transitional receiver bridging the VIPs to the Hopper. They were a PITA to install and were buggy. Personally, I thought at the time that they were the best receiver out there. The versatility of the VIP's with the new Hopper GUI and, by far, the coolest-looking front plate and lighting.
I don't recall that they came out just before hopper, but rather that they came out even before 722. Or could be thinking of 921.

As to the title pf the post, "rare" does not necessarily mean valuable or desirable.
Nominal
I don't recall that they came out just before hopper, but rather that they came out even before 722. Or could be thinking of 921.

As to the title pf the post, "rare" does not necessarily mean valuable or desirable.
You are thinking of the 921. The 922 was the first DVR with Sling functionality built in (that was eventually disabled along with the Sling Adapter for the 722s and the 1st Hopper because they relied on now-defunct Adobe Flash technology). With the bugginess described by others and the removal of its marquee feature (Sling) the 922 faded into obscurity once the Hopper 2 with built in Sling was released and they finally made the concept into a fully functional product.
dishdude
I had one, the front panel lighting was cool, the menus were fresh and a lot more modern looking than the ViPs. However, it was very buggy and the Sling functionality just didn't work well - I think it was due to internet speeds at the time. I think I had to pay $40 for the Sling app on my phone iirc.
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MikeD-C05
I had one, the front panel lighting was cool, the menus were fresh and a lot more modern looking than the ViPs. However, it was very buggy and the Sling functionality just didn't work well - I think it was due to internet speeds at the time. I think I had to pay $40 for the Sling app on my phone iirc.
I had both the 921 and the 922. I used to buy them from DishDepot.com in Florida and trade in my older owned receiver towards the newest receiver. The 921 was a reboot receiver and the sling part was hit or miss. I look back on all those receivers I paid for over 25 years and I think it was just TV. If I had that money back now I would be lot richer. My Owned Hopper 3 is sitting in a drawer in my office not being used.
T
That was part of the Ergen scheme, to sell the product as well as the service. And who didn't want the best box?

Maybe they went to the hopper because they were running out of 3-digit model #s- 1022 would have been kinda clunky. Folks would have tried to say "one-thousand and twenty two" instead of "ten-twenty-two".

Like some say "two thousand and twenty six".
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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....
68562 Replies · 2675161 views
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gms49ers
Where's My Thing? - Rush
harshness
I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing - Aerosmith
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Bobby
Good Golly, Miss Molly - Little Richard
dishstaller
Little Miss Dangerous - Ted Nugent
RaiderPower
Little Miss Can't Be Wrong - Spin Doctors
R
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Every time my Dish contract comes up I weigh the options of keeping Dish or switch to streaming. Right now I can watch/record the OTA channels vis my HDHomerun. I also can stream CBS and NBC via the Paramount+ and Peacock apps. What I would need to find is how to watch the Food Network, HGTV, Syfy, USA, Hallmark channels, Great American Family, Lifetime channels plus a few more with an app or two. My current Dish bill is $118, so I should be able to get a few apps for a lot less.

Any suggestions? I would want the best picture quality and audio quality I could get.
1 Replies · 42 views
Bruce
Every time my Dish contract comes up I weigh the options of keeping Dish or switch to streaming. Right now I can watch/record the OTA channels vis my HDHomerun. I also can stream CBS and NBC via the Paramount+ and Peacock apps. What I would need to find is how to watch the Food Network, HGTV, Syfy, USA, Hallmark channels, Great American Family, Lifetime channels plus a few more with an app or two. My current Dish bill is $118, so I should be able to get a few apps for a lot less.

Any suggestions? I would want the best picture quality and audio quality I could get.
Ask this question in the Internet TV part of the forum, do not feel like getting yelled at, if I answer the questions here.
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dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Stumbled across this ... http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearch.asp
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy

Ethanol Free Stations

5561 Replies · 461016 views
harshness
I wonder if California is getting into the Winter formula.
harshness
I wonder if California is getting into the Winter formula.
It turns out I was justified in my suspicion.

Gavin Newsom somehow authorized the temporary move of the distribution date of the Winter blend to September 28th.
Foxbat
It turns out I was justified in my suspicion.

Gavin Newsom somehow authorized the temporary move of the distribution date of the Winter blend to September 28th.
Does that raise, or lower, the overall price? Our State Government has been doing everything it can to minimize the impact of the current situation and put a freeze on the State Taxes on fuel sales at the pump. That's why we're still under $4.00/gal. while across the border in Michigan it's much higher.
Bobby
Does that raise, or lower, the overall price? Our State Government has been doing everything it can to minimize the impact of the current situation and put a freeze on the State Taxes on fuel sales at the pump. That's why we're still under $4.00/gal. while across the border in Michigan it's much higher.
Winter blend is cheaper than Summer blend.
Bobby
Regular$5.839​
Premium$6.299​
Diesel$7.999​
at Costco, Rohnert Park.​
harshness
Does that raise, or lower, the overall price?
Winter blend is reportedly 10-30 cents cheaper, but I would point out that prices have dropped as much as 62 cents at RP.
Former member 209992
Last reply · posted in SatelliteGuys Support Center
For some reason, the satelliteguys.us site is loading a lot slower than usual on both Chrome on my Asus laptop and Safari on my iPhone.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
542 Replies · 18823 views
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Scott Greczkowski
Ok checked it out and for some reason the web server (NGINX) tried starting before the DNS resolver fully loaded. This is why it worked when I rebooted the machine.

Thanks to ChatGPT it had me change the NGINX config to prevent this from happening again.

With that said I can't prevent the ISP from doing emergency upgrades which was the cause of all of this.
navychop
Nature will develop better idiots.
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TRG
TRG
Nature will develop better idiots.
God help us.
Scott Greczkowski
I guess this is what the downtime was about.

IMG_0607.webp
Scott Greczkowski
Just a heads up... I just patched our PHP to close the major PHP exploit announced this morning.

Now on PHP 8.4.27 (cli) (built: Oct 20 2026 00:00:00)
Gary Toma
Staff member Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in DIRECTV Technical Resources Forum
The TPN Map Excel Presents all DIRECTV Channels:
​
National (50-States or wide/NAT+PR beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
​
Additional tabs provide:​
OTA the (Over-The-Air) Database
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
​
Domestic Satellites
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8​

Understanding the TPN Map

Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
2147 Replies · 934836 views
K
WCWW/25 CW South Bend and WBKP/5 CW Marquette are now testing on the stream server. These are both already available on satellite.

Now live in the satellite guide:
663-2 PISTONS (663-1 is likely being reserved for an overflow feed of Detroit Sportsnet, if there's a 2027 MLB season)
675 THUNDER
693 CLIPPERS
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D
DirecTV Satellite Transponder Updates for Oct 21 2026

Comparison of Transponder Data for Oct 21 2026 vs Oct 14 2026:


No changes in system tables for any transponder tuning parameters.

Changes to the use of defined transponders:

1 Transponder cleared of all Streams::
Net 10 TID 126 Beam NAT is a National Transponder on D11@99cb, TPN 3

1 Previously unused Transponder with current APG records::
Net 15 TID 15 Beam NAT is a National Transponder on D12@103ca, TPN 16

Stream (PID) counts:

LIVE Streams​
National​
Spot Beams​
Count​
Change​
Count​
Change​
4K​
4​
​
​
​
HD​
264​
2​
1449​
​
SD mpeg4​
145​
​
194​
​
SD mpeg2​
433​
​
​
​
RB​
​
​
​
​
Audio​
89​
​
​
​
Push​
26​
​
​
​
Slate​
19​
​
1​
​
​
TEST Streams​
National​
Spot Beams​
Count​
Change​
Count​
Change​
4K​
​
​
​
​
HD​
​
​
1​
​
SD mpeg4​
​
​
​
​
SD mpeg2​
​
​
​
​
RB​
​
​
​
​
Engr Work​
38​
-2​
​
​
​


The PID count Excel workbook provides much more count detail.

Newly updated tables of Streams on each transponder are available in the DataDigesters TPN Grids

More details of changes in individual channels will follow in the Weekly Analysis
and Gary Toma's Domestic TPN Map Excel files

NBA Updates
Weekly Analysis soon
Enjoy
DataDigesters
D
weekly Analysis for 10/21/2026:
K
HAWKS, HORNETS, GRZZLIES, HEAT, MAGIC, CAVLIERS, TWOLVES, BUCKS, PACERS and SPURS channels have also been added, however they are pointing to a TV Promise slate, which says they are working with DAZN and others to strike a deal for those teams.

Some more TPN swaps
M
HAWKS, HORNETS, GRZZLIES, HEAT, MAGIC, CAVLIERS, TWOLVES, BUCKS, PACERS and SPURS channels have also been added, however they are pointing to a TV Promise slate, which says they are working with DAZN and others to strike a deal for those teams.

Some more TPN swaps
Wait…..
So even though DAZN keeps touting 'only way to see games' if you are a subscriber to Choice (like my stepdad) if an agreement is reached he can see the Wolfies on 668?
I know the Wild are in dispute and a slate is on 668-1.
Marques Brownlee
· posted in Marques Brownlee
0 Replies · 13 views