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david4455

Last reply Jan 2, 2006 · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

$5.95 a mo. warranty program... something we should have?

I spoke to a CSR yesterday ( having a tech issue with my failing 508) ...she recommended that I think about adding the warranty program on my account. I guess you pay $5.95 a month and it covers most equipment with replacements in case of failure as well as the first $70 of a "house call" for tech assitance.... is this something that is a good deal or just added $$$ to the DN coffers?

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SimpleSimon

Jan 2, 2006

tbenning said:
I did not have the warranty plan. My 508 died well outside of warranty. When I called dish they offered to exchange it for under $20. I saw no reason to carry the warranty.
Recently buttons on both my 508 and 721 remotes stopped working. I was pricing getting replacement from eBay or DishStore. I decided to call Dish and the CSR offered the prices for each replacement was $29. Then she said, "Add the warranty plan today and I can send out 1 free replacement remote...You will receive that in 2 days. On the day you receive that call back and we'll send a free replacement for the other. Once you receive that I advise you call back and cancel the warranty. This way you'll get both replacements for under $6." Within 5 days I had received both replacement remotes from dish, but I have not cancelled the warranty plan yet as I felt I should keep it at least a month.
I called dish with every intention of buying replacements, but their CSR told me to do it the other way...

Nice story - especially the 508 deal, and I wish it happened more often.

Quite moral of you to keep the DHPP for at least a month - most people cancel it as soon as they get their stuff.

I'm happy that I'm still grandfathered in on the $2/month warranty deal.

Even though I will NEVER need an installer to come out here (that's like having a contractor hire someone else to build his house

), the hardware ain't cheap.

Stargazer

Jan 2, 2006

Maybe they hope that you forget to call in and cancel the warranty or hope that you will keep it. It could also be their way of getting something rather than nothing, perhaps to at least cover part of the shipping costs. By doing this they keep the subscriber instead of losing the subscriber to churn and probably average making a profit since a lot of people keep the warranty.

I am actually surprised that Dish Network has not done something about people getting the warranty then cancelling it unless they wanted to do as I stated above.

LER

Jan 2, 2006

Stargazer said:
I am actually surprised that Dish Network has not done something about people getting the warranty then cancelling it unless they wanted to do as I stated above.

When their own CSR's suggest it, they'd be hard pressed to stop it.

I was prepared for a $200 or more charge for the 721 refered to above.

LER

Stargazer

Jan 2, 2006

Dish Network does have an out of warranty repair available for around $69 if I am not mistaken for the DVR's.

tbenning

Jan 2, 2006

I am not sure of the economics behind the decision, but Dish Network is not alone in having CSR's suggest a warranty plan to cover already broken equipment. Last year I had a High-end HP scanner break. I called their Support department and they made a similar suggestion. They offered $150 for a 1 time exchange. Then the HP CSR said I am also authorized to offer a 1 year "warranty" for $49 which would both cover the exchange costs and cover that exchange for 1 year.

Dish did offer a similar out-of-warranty exchange when my dads 501 died. They exchanged it for about $20 "shipping" even though he'd never purchased a warranty. I assume they'd have let him purchase the warranty for a "free" exchange, but he felt the $20 offer was more than fair enough...

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b4pjoe

Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge

Last reply 8 minutes ago · posted in Computers and Gadgets

Fox Is Buying Roku in $22 Billion Deal

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Neutron

Yesterday at 3:04 PM

Another reason I'm glad we are swapping or Rokus out for Apple TVs. I was already planning on ditching the Rokus earlier this year and had been waiting on Apple to announce the new one last month. Our Rokus have had issues the last year or so with freezing video and reboots, and one with an HDCP issue randomly.

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TRG

Yesterday at 9:50 PM

Neutron said:
Another reason I'm glad we are swapping or Rokus out for Apple TVs. I was already planning on ditching the Rokus earlier this year and had been waiting on Apple to announce the new one last month. Our Rokus have had issues the last year or so with freezing video and reboots, and one with an HDCP issue randomly.

Hmmm... I don't have any of those problems with my Roku devices. I have 3 of them.

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navychop

Yesterday at 10:36 PM

I suspect Fox will make me consider 2-3 more Apple TV STB purchases.

harshness

Today at 9:48 AM

navychop said:
I suspect Fox will make me consider 2-3 more Apple TV STB purchases.

Until I can get a mortgage on an ATV, I doubt that's going to happen for me.

As much as the price has gone up, the complaints on the forums about this, that, and the other nits surrounding various limitations and Apple business decisions seem to be keeping pace.

Jimbo

Today at 9:55 AM

TRG said:
Hmmm... I don't have any of those problems with my Roku devices. I have 3 of them.

I have the Roku's, 2 or 3, I just rarely use them ... I prefer the Google/Android Sony set up.

People tell me that the Apps on the TV will end thier usefulness as they age ... They are doing ok for me so far ... I also have the TV take the App Updates whenever possible ... then again, I don't know how often App updates come to it.

So, so far, I'm doing ok, but if they start to get sluggish, I'll eventually change to a Roku ... I don't want to, but eventually ... (Or buy another new TV :eeek

reubenray

8 minutes ago

navychop said:
I suspect Fox will make me consider 2-3 more Apple TV STB purchases.

As long as my Roku Ultra works I will use it. I use it for all of my streaming apps except for Prime. I read that Prime works best with Android TV's.

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 9 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

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....

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long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 9:21 PM

Really Wanna Know You - Gary Wright

hwkn

Today at 2:43 AM

Don't WANNA KNOW-Maroon 5

harshness

Today at 9:51 AM

I Want to Know What Love Is - Foreigner

Bobby

Today at 11:11 AM

Oh What A Night For Dancing - Barry White

sdfntx

9 minutes ago

It's a Good Night for Singing - Jerry Jeff Walker

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply 11 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Gas Price Info With National Gas Temperature Map

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

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Bobby

Yesterday at 11:49 AM

Regular$5.459
Premium$5.899
Diesel$7.999
at Costco, Rohnert Park.

Reactions: harshness

dishstaller

Yesterday at 11:59 AM

Billboard along I-10 had reg at $3.81 and diesel at $5.54

Bobby

Today at 11:10 AM

Regular$5.399
Premium$5.899
Diesel$7.999
at Costco, Rohnert Park.

osu1991

Today at 11:49 AM

$3.55

reubenray

11 minutes ago

$3.45 in Jane, MO.

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Linus Tech Tips

35 minutes ago · posted in Linus Tech Tips

I’ve never seen this before (and it’s 20 years old.)

Time for another AWESOME video from Linus Tech Tips!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hlTu95nOCw

Direct YouTube Link - I've never seen this before (and it's 20 years old.)
Linus on Facebook
The LTT Store

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 11:22 AM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Claude Designed a Linux Kernel Exploit in 53 Minutes #shorts

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/H5w96sy17FM

Direct YouTube Link - Claude Designed a Linux Kernel Exploit in 53 Minutes #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

0 Replies · 6 views

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KyL416

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge

Last reply Today at 10:46 AM · posted in DIRECTV Programming Forum

Genre Packs from DIRECTV

https://www.directv.com/insider/mysports-changes-the-game/
https://streamtv.directv.com/mysports/ (You might have to logout or open a private window to see the details)
As of now this is only available for streaming customers in select markets. Existing streaming customers can switch to it for $69.99, but they are not eligible for the $20 off for 3 months discount. More genre-specific packages will launch during the first half of the year.

At launch, MySports includes 40 sports and broadcast channels and is initially available in 24 metro areas, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, and others. Click here for more information and the list of initial launch markets. The availability of MySports will expand into additional markets as DIRECTV adds more local stations to the package.

The streamlined MySports package includes national and local channels in select markets, as well as live news channels.

National sports channels immediately available through MySports include ACC Network, Big Ten Network, DIRECTV 4K Live, DIRECTV 4K Live 2, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, NHL Network, SEC Network, TBS, TNT, TruTV and USA Network. Local channels will initially include any stations owned and operated by ABC, FOX, and NBC, with additional stations coming online soon.

Additional networks, local stations and ESPN+, will be included in MySports at no extra cost in the near future.

Consumers who sign up online for the contract-free package before Feb. 28, 2025, can receive MySports for $49.99 monthly for the first three months, a $20 monthly savings. After the free trial, it auto-renews monthly, and consumers can cancel anytime.

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KyL416

May 26, 2026

They recently split the news channels off of MySports, so CNBC, CNN, FBN, FNC and MSNOW are no longer part of it.

MySports was decreased to $64.99, and a new "MySports+MyNews Duo" pack is $79.99, which will also give you Bloomberg, CNBC World, CNNI, the C-SPANs, i24 and Newsmax.

Tennis Channel also joined MySports at some point over the past year.

Curtis0620

Jun 16, 2026

KyL416 said:
They recently split the news channels off of MySports, so CNBC, CNN, FBN, FNC and MSNOW are no longer part of it.

MySports was decreased to $64.99, and a new "MySports+MyNews Duo" pack is $79.99, which will also give you Bloomberg, CNBC World, CNNI, the C-SPANs, i24 and Newsmax.

Tennis Channel also joined MySports at some point over the past year.

AMC+ now included in MyEntertainment Pack. I guess we know why the $8 price increase.

KyL416

Jun 16, 2026

Here's the Insider article. Shudder is now part of MyCinema and Fanatiz1 was added to the Spanish packages last Friday. PX Sports was also added a few weeks ago.

It's not just AMC+ driving the price increases on the genre packs, the rest of the AMC Networks (AMC, WE, IFC, Sundance, BBC America), along with Paramount/CBS, Hallmark, Weigel and others joined since they debuted last year.

Reactions: mario315 and Mr Tony

KyL416

Yesterday at 10:35 PM

MySports now has some CW affiliates, and MyNews now has some CW affiliates and the MyNetworkTV O&Os.

At quick check, it looks like the CBS and Sinclair owned CW affiliates are missing.

Curtis0620

Today at 10:46 AM

KyL416 said:
MySports now has some CW affiliates, and MyNews now has some CW affiliates and the MyNetworkTV O&Os.

At quick check, it looks like the CBS and Sinclair owned CW affiliates are missing.

No Hearst owned CW in Orlando

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osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 10:29 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

EV News

America’s Fastest-Growing EV State Isn’t California—Not by a Long Shot

New data shows electric vehicle adoption is increasingly driven by state policies, electricity prices and charging access—not federal incentives

www.autoweek.com

The number-one US state for EV growth, according to the June 22 Yardi report?
Oklahoma.

:eek

It has no ZEV mandates and "minimal" incentives, Yardi says, but also has cheap electricity, high multi-car household rates (so, for example, a non-Lightning Ford F-150 pulls their trailers), and a consumer base willing to switch.

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meStevo

Oct 31, 2026

View: https://youtu.be/z1-G2Qn9F1Q

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osu1991

Sunday at 2:08 PM

View: https://x.com/itskyleconner/status/2116861127883702684?a=dBYY7Yu2XtKD-LA0vzo&s=20

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osu1991

Yesterday at 11:30 AM

The Tesla Cybertruck Is Dead, The Ford F-150 Lives - The Autopian

The Cybertruck was supposed to make the F-150 obsolete. It wasn’t supposed to be boring, like a Ford or a Chevy. It was supposed to be “more truck than truck.” It turns out, people just wanted trucks that were trucks, and CEO Elon Musk announced on X earlier this morning is that the Cybertruck...

www.theautopian.com

The Cybertruck was supposed to make the F-150 obsolete. It wasn't supposed to be boring, like a Ford or a Chevy. It was supposed to be "more truck than truck." It turns out, people just wanted trucks that were trucks, and CEO Elon Musk announced on X earlier this morning is that the Cybertruck is dying.

Ending production in middle of next year at gigatexas for cybercab production.

Reactions: dishstaller

dishstaller

Yesterday at 12:09 PM

IF they had made the cyber truck more like a conventional truck, more would have bought it. There is a REASON trucks all have a very similar layout....it's what people want AND it serves the purposes those of us who have a truck needs.

Reactions: osu1991

harshness

Today at 10:29 AM

dishstaller said:
There is a REASON trucks all have a very similar layout....it's what people want AND it serves the purposes those of us who have a truck needs.

As it is, most consumers buy trucks as comfortable transportation rather than commercial utility. The Cybertruck approach to that goal was way out in left field. It turned out to be more of an austere sedan with awful daily-driver attributes (visibility, parking). The expectations regarding truck durability were dashed early on.

Reactions: osu1991

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Neutron

Supporting Founder

Last reply Today at 10:07 AM · posted in Computers and Gadgets

Apple HomePod Home Automation

Does anyone here use Apple Home/HomeKit with HomePods or Apple TV to automate smart devices in their house? We have had Amazon's Alexa set up in our house for the last 10+ years and I have been waiting to switch them out to Apple for a few reasons; We are already in the Apple ecosystem with our phones, tablets, and computers. I have never liked Amazon's stance on privacy and I really like that Apple has pushed for privacy for a long time.

I bought 4 of the new HomePod Mini 2 speakers to go in various rooms in our house and we have one of the new Apple TVs on preorder that will be the start of me replacing our Rokus. I have the HomePod Mini 2s set up and have an RPi that is running HomeBridge for our legacy smart devices that worked natively with Alexa but don't work with Apple Home natively. I had trouble with the older smart bulbs not keeping the brightness or light color consistent with what our routines were with Alexa despite trying every setting in HomeBridge with the bulbs just not shining very bright. I ended up replacing them with updated versions that are Matter compatible so they work in Apple Home natively. That in and of itself has been interesting to set up because I have my home network segretated with the IoT devices on their own vlan and wifi and pretty locked down. Matter requires IPv6 and due to how my home network is designed I had to do some digging with AI to figure out how to make it all work correctly.

Apple Home definitely has some shortcomings that Alexa does much better with but I am hoping Apple will continue to improve their Home products and introduce features that will bring it closer to the functionality of Alexa.

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b4pjoe

Yesterday at 3:44 PM

I tried HomeKit to be able to see my Ring cameras on my Apple TV as they are not supported natively on Apple devices. The best I could get was to be able to view the cameras live but I could not view any recordings. After the last major update version of HomeKit I could not even view the live cameras anymore. I gave up on it after that. If I were going to do it again I would only buy devices that can work on Apple devices natively as HomeKit didn't work well at all for me.

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Neutron

Yesterday at 4:01 PM

b4pjoe said:
I tried HomeKit to be able to see my Ring cameras on my Apple TV as they are not supported natively on Apple devices. The best I could get was to be able to view the cameras live but I could not view any recordings. After the last major update version of HomeKit I could not even view the live cameras anymore. I gave up on it after that. If I were going to do it again I would only buy devices that can work on Apple devices natively as HomeKit didn't work well at all for me.

That's what I started doing after seeing legacy devices work hit or miss using the HomeBridge. At least Apple is following a standard now with Matter which is unusual for Apple. Looks like HomeBridge does allow you to see the live views but I haven't seen how to view past recordings. I'd really like to ditch Ring altogether due to their stance on privacy and if I had my choice I'd go with UniFi since that's what I use for my network and I like the idea of my camera recordings being all local and not in the cloud. UniFi doorbells and cameras are quite pricey though.

I'll try to access the Ring doorbells in Apple Home for now but I'll see if it's useful any.

Foxbat

Yesterday at 4:20 PM

I found that the IoT devices need to see the Apple TV to be able to use it as the HomeKit Hub. Unfortunately, that means being in the same IPv4 subnet.

I was thinking of getting a HomePod Mini for my Mother-in-Law to play music and set up HomeKit scenes, as well as make FaceTime Audio calls. When Apple announced their price rises due to RAMageddon, I kicked myself as they went up 50% in cost. I'll be curious to see the HomeView in person as this might not be a bad way to get her started on automation.

She asked about it because her friends have Alexa and they use it to control lights. But like you, I feel better putting in a HomePod or HomeView that's listening for commands instead of Amazon or Google.

b4pjoe

Yesterday at 4:28 PM

Neutron said:
That's what I started doing after seeing legacy devices work hit or miss using the HomeBridge.

Homebridge is what I meant when I said HomeKit. Forgot the name of it.

harshness

Today at 10:07 AM

I find that I don't interact with my home automation system (Hubitat Elevation) as much as I thought I would.

Apple made everything more expensive and less flexible with its "our way or the highway" approach. To be sure, a Homebridge server addresses some of the major deficiencies, but it seems like it will always be a battle to keep pasting things together.