All installed, and so far so good
I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice and pre-sale help.
I got my 921 installed under Free Dish yesterday, and I'm happy with the deal. After alot of thought I decided to go with just the 921 and a Dish 500 (no locals) for now. The installer was nice enough to run another RG6 line for me so I could install an outdoor antenna for locals if necessary. Actually, the installer said that he himself had a 921 and liked it, which was nice to hear. They also did the smart thing, which was to upgrade the 921 to L211 in the shop before bringing it out, so we didn't have to wait for it to upgrade to finish the install.
One thing people might not be aware of, that I found in an older thread, is that in order to get the full Club Dish benefits the retailer must participate in Club Dish, and most don't. I assume that non-participating retailers will give you the $50 discount off the install fee (just to get your business), but then won't send in the necessary info for the kickback to whoever gave you the Club Dish card. When I called the Dish Network number they gave me only 3 retailers anywhere near me, and Rochester is a city of over 1 million. The closest one I called first and he flat out refused to install a 921, saying that so many people had been unhappy with it that it was too much trouble for him (I assume DHA cancels had alot to do with that). Nice guy though, and I can understand his decision. Another one I couldn't get ahold of on the phone, but the last one on the list worked out well. When the installer called in my activation he gave the Club Dish card number to the CSR so I assume everything is all set.
Cost breakdown (rounded to nearest dollar):
$200 for 921
$0 Free Dish install
$275 1 year AT60 prepay
$110 1 year HD prepay
$60 1 year DVR prepay
-$60 6 months free HD (didn't realize that apply to a Free Dish install, but I'm not complaining)
-$50 first bill Free Dish discount
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$535 total
Considering that's slightly less than what I'd pay for a year of standard cable here, I consider it a pretty good deal. Obviously I haven't gotten the 1st bill $50 discount, but when the charge goes through on my CC hopefully it will show there. If not I'll have to give E* a call and figure out how that's going to work given the 1 year prepay on everything.
-- Dave