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I am a long time off and on forum visitor, recent member (yesterday) and first time poster. I just had to post somewhere about my extreme frustration with Dish network / their installers that I had to rant somewhere and maybe inform others of what could be their next install…

I called Dish Network on December 28, 2006 and asked them to give me the "Dishin it Up" promotion where I could add HD channels to my account and get a ViP622 HD DVR for $199.99 with free installation. I had the "America's Top 180" channel package with two Dish "legacy" MPEG2 decoders that I bought years ago and decided that I wanted to go with a four-room, three-tuner box installation (my two legacy tuners for downstairs and the ViP622 to power my HDTV upstairs and my other standard definition TV in another room with the "Dish HD Gold" channel package.

I was told I would have to pay an additional $6.00 for the HD receiver and another $5.95 for a DVR fee -- but was told if I upgraded to the Dish HD Platnium package that I could waive the $5.95 DVR fee. I always wanted premium channels but never got them so I accepted their Platnium package deal. We set up an installation for today (January 3, 2007) between 8:30 AM and 12:30 PM.

I decided I better get to work pulling coax cables through my walls because I am VERY particular about how things are done (part of why I am posting this I guess). I did a little research and found out that the Dish ViP622 required two satellite feeds and one feed to the second TV.

I crawled through the ceiling above my porch pulling cut sheets of plywood to lie on top of the rafters as I went to pull three RG6 coaxial cables behind me (and CAT5 for network too) to put into an exterior wall with an "old work" low voltage box with a nice keystone jack box that I could put my three coax lines with my network and phone line in.

After pulling cable to two upstairs rooms, through my garage attic with no floor, again pulling plywood around laying it down so I didn't fall through the drywall on the underside of it, running and mounting PVC conduit down the garage wall to the basement for my wires to go in and feeding them into the basement with PLENTY of extra cable to spare, and pulling my two new downstairs coaxial runs with the "old work" boxes in the walls where I wanted them I said I am done.

When today (January 3, 2007) came around, the Dish installer came knocking on my door at around 7:50 AM ready to install my new Dish 1000 and ViP622. This is when things go south. I had my dad stay at the house while the Dish installer was doing his install and I left for work (and didn't find out about any of this until tonight after getting home).

After all my hard meticulous work, he, in my opinion, botched my cable install in the basement cutting a good 20' off each coax cable not leaving me ANY spare cable (no O loop worth of cable or ANYTHING). All four coax wires were pulled to a central location for him to mount a DP43 switch to the beam in a nice dry location with PLENTY of slack left.

When he installed the DP43 and cutting all my spare coax off within one inch or so of slack left in the line (if that) and ran the cables all crooked and not even attached to anything (not even along the wall and up the beam like I ran my two downstairs coax wires) that were in a nice line with wire hangers. Some of the cables were run wrapped over the beam with the DP43 on it, some were under the beam. None were consistent it didn't seem.

During the entire install, he had to drill a total of one hole and that was when he pulled the three lines from the Dish 1000 to the multiswitch, drilling a hole through the foundation band board into the basement and had to run about a total of 15' of cable from the dish to the multiswitch. Again, he ran the cables crooked with absolutely no slack whatsoever and didn't take the time to make it look nice.

So maybe up to this point I am a bit anal about my basement and wiring in general? I don't know but I take pride in my work and I am very particular about the way things are done.

It doesn't stop there. The work order called for two power injectors to help power the new multiswitch and new Dish 1000 LNB modules because we were keeping two legacy receivers. He claimed the work order didn't say anything about them therefore he didn't have any to install to make our two downstairs TVs work (one in the kitchen and one in the living room). Fantastic… One of the most watched TVs in the house doesn't work!

After that fiasco I go check out my new ViP622 to see how killer the Dish HD channels look on my Sony 46" LCD TV. I left him a brand new Monster Cable HDMI cable which he used to hook up to my TV (which he did correctly) and that looked all OK. Here is the kicker on my new HDTV setup. IT DIDN'T WORK!

I called Dish technical support and they had me run diagnostics on it. Come to find out I am not getting a signal from the 110 satellite OR the 129 satellite – only the 119 and to complain about the power injectors for my legacy receivers. The CSR pulled up the work order and confirmed that the injectors were in fact on the work order and the installer goofed by not having them trying to pass the buck off on Dish screwing up the order.

So now I don't have half my standard definition, any local channels and no high definition channels to watch on the two TVs that at least get some sort of satellite picture and NO service on two of my other TVs.

I later found out that the technician wouldn't make a longer cable for the existing television we had as the RG6 from the wall to the tuner was pulled tight. He said that "I can't do that because it is existing work and they monitor our cable usage and we have to account for it). ARGH what about the 50+ feet you cut off and (took with you when you left AKA stole) that was MY RG6 that I bought at Home Depot?!

Basically, I am just so frustrated that I am tempted to tell them I want my money back and for them to remove all their equipment – I am going with DirecTV or Time Warner Cable. How does this happen? How can someone be so careless to do a crap install where 50% of the TVs work and the other 50% that DO sort of work, get 50% of the total channels? Now I am without 75% functionality on my one main TV for several more days.

Come on Dish! This is ridiculous. Maybe I am asking too much? Lesson of the story is if you want something done right you gotta do it yourself... Unfortunately for me, Dish required a "Professional" to install this unit. Some professional installation I got!