4th HD receiver? How to go about it...

[David Taylor]

I am contemplating putting a TV in the kitchen. I current have 3 HD receivers (one of them is a 722 with the second SD output going to an old TV in my son's room).

I have some questions I'm hoping people on this forum can answer:

1) I've been told that Dish will only lease 3 receivers to you. True?

2) As part of #1, I've heard that you have to purchase your 4th receiver. I'm willin g to do this, but...

3) If I purchase the HD receiver, will Dish do the installation for me? Specifically, I do not have the required switch to add a 4th receiver and do not have a coax drop to the location. I am on the service plan if that makes a difference.

Basically, I'm looking for the best way to add a 4th HD TV. I know I could split the coax from the TV2 output of my 722, but that doesn't give me HD obviously.

Any advice is appreciated. I'm trying to keep costs as low as possible, but at the same time I do not really want to go and tamper with a professionally installed system in case I introduce problems.

Thanks!

 

[TheKrell]

You may be able to get Dish to install a DPP44, but they are rather pricey if you have to buy it yourself. The hard part of the installation is already done: the alignment of your dish antenna. The rest is relatively straightforward, though time consuming if you want "neat". Routing coax from antenna to switches (if any) and then on to your receivers is IMHO best done by yourself anyhow if you want to avoid cables draped all over the outside of your house. I go to the trouble to fish cables through walls because I can't stand looking at coax all over the place on the outside (or inside). Professional installers are not paid enough to fish cables through walls.

You could also play games with separators to drive one duo and 2 solos from 2 dish drops... What other receives do you have besides the 722?

 

[David Taylor]

My other two receivers are both VIP612s. Basically, I hate to add a switch that was not professionally installed--what if something goes haywire in 6 months. I know I'm on the service plan, but will they still service something that I installed myself?

So is it true that Dish won't lease a 4th receiver to me? That seems like an odd--and arbitrary--restriction.

 

[TheKrell]

Same here: I have one 722 and 2 612's. Our 612's are called "Solo" receivers, but actually they have two satellite tuners, so there is no opportunity to play games with separators. You will simply have to get that DPP44. The only other possibility I see is acquiring a Sling Adapter and using the TV2 output of your 722 to sling to your kitchen. But then you have a new issue of what to use as a target for the Sling data stream, since an HDTV all by itself won't work. You might use an iPad or Android equivalent, but I don't think they're actually HD. Plus when in use in your kitchen, your son wouldn't be able to watch anything. You could get around that by upgrading one of your 612's to another 722.

It is somewhat arbitrary that Dish only allows 3 leased receivers. I think exceptions have been made, though.

 

[David Taylor]

I believe Dish showed some sort of Sling receiver at CES that would basically act as the receiver to the Sling adapter that is putting out the signal. I may just sit tight and wait for something like that.

 

[TheKrell]

Indeed that made a reappearance at CES2011 after disappearing off the Dish website last fall. Still missing but announced at CES2010 was the Sling Monitor 150:

About the Sling Monitor 150
The Sling Monitor 150 is a light-weight, portable flat screen display that wirelessly takes a viewer's primary HD DVR video experience to any location in the home, eliminating the need to run cables or purchase a second DVR. Now viewers can watch HD programming in places they may not have installed a second TV like the kitchen, office or workshop.

 

[David Taylor]

Nice! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is reasonably priced.

 

[stephenh@DISH]

Hey David, If you want to PM me your account number I could get you some prices for receivers and we could discuss the install.