Am I the ONLY one excited about the new HD deal?

[Reefer123]

Funny I see no mention of people with SD receivers being mentioned other than the $299 for the 622.

The 211 is $49 if you are upgrading from a 811

The 622 is $99 after $200 rebate for people w/ a 921/942.

The only people I see this being fair to is those who lease a 811/921/942 otherwise for those who own their equipment you are getting it up the you know what. I seriously doubt that E* would upgrade you to a 211 for say a 301/311 for $49 bucks. I can see these people w/ SD receivers getting a rude awakening shortly. If I am wrong please link me to the correct info, no rumors/speculations.

 

[BigFella]

Funny I see no mention of people with SD receivers being mentioned other than the $299 for the 622.
The 211 is $49 if you are upgrading from a 811
The 622 is $99 after $200 rebate for people w/ a 921/942.
The only people I see this being fair to is those who lease a 811/921/942 otherwise for those who own their equipment you are getting it up the you know what. I seriously doubt that E* would upgrade you to a 211 for say a 301/311 for $49 bucks. I can see these people w/ SD receivers getting a rude awakening shortly. If I am wrong please link me to the correct info, no rumors/speculations.

Simple - SD viewers don't have an immediate need to upgrade their receivers as programming/encoding isn't changing for them (at least not yet). This deal is for HD viewers and has to do with the switch over to MPEG4.

cincyguy2k4, I'm with you. Thank you for being the voice of reason. All though it seems so, I don't really believe that we are in the minority.

 

[bloomingtong]

I lease Dish HD equipment (811) and I do not feel the upgrade fee of $49.00 is fair. I think there should be no charge for leased equipment upgrades. The equipment belongs to Dish Network. They should be upgrading their units and not passing the cost onto the existing customer base.

After reading many posts concerning the HD upgrade path on this forum, my view is certainly not that of the majority of Satelliteguys.us members.

I live in an area where OTA is not possible (due to terrain), so I guess if I want my locals in HD, I will need to swallow the bitter pill of paying the upgrade fee.

G

 

[mperdue]

Cincyguy,

You're not alone, I'm looking forward to the new channels as well. Things may not be perfect, but they are moving in the right direction.

Mario

 

[Reefer123]

Simple - SD viewers don't have an immediate need to upgrade their receivers as programming/encoding isn't changing for them (at least not yet). This deal is for HD viewers and has to do with the switch over to MPEG4.
cincyguy2k4, I'm with you. Thank you for being the voice of reason. All though it seems so, I don't really believe that we are in the minority.

Granted. What I have been seeing is people that have multiple receivers say one 811 and 1+ 301/311 and they think they may be able to upgrade one of those SDs for a 211 and keep their 811s. I don't think thats what they meant. When they said swap I think they want the HD receiver back not a 301/311.

 

[Grandpa J]

Reefer while we can never be sure about anything Dish says - I believe you are right that you must turn in your old MPEG2 HD receiver to upgrade MPEG4 receiver.

To all the - happy with deal people -
I have been with Dish since 1995. I can not even remember the number of times Charlie/Dish promised if you pay this you will be set for a long time and then ended up needing to pay more and more. Just a few years ago if you got a 6000 plus the 2 upgrade mods you were pomised "... you will be able to get all future Dish HD channels"

I have 2 942s and are not looking forward to being able to see the new channels on just the one 942 replacement and not being able to get those same new channels I am paying for on the second set while still paying the second (mirror) box charge

On top of the 1 box limit and all the price increases Dish is downgrading the HD signal too. If you are not now getting/seeing the full rezz HD signals on a professionally tuned set you might think you will be happy with the downrezzed HD signal, but you are missing the the true PQ value of the HD set you spent all that money on. I hate to use analogies but its like getting a new high end car that has 8 cylinders but gas is going to only 4 cylinders. The car works but not as well as it was designed.

 

[hopper]

i also lease all my equip ,why buy with the speed technology moves .i have already ordered my 211 should be in monday .the problem i have is why in 2006 are we having to grab hold and shake hd programing out of everyone. my local cable does not even offer hd .ill be glad when... the man.... will just give us the top quality programming we long for instead of having antenna farms in our yards. one for this ,one for that ,and dont forget your ota and your wire ties to tie it all up..just bit the bullet invest in the technology and subs will come........to dish or direct or cable

 

[gdarwin]

The 211 is $49 if you are upgrading from a 811

I upgraded to a 211 using my 311.

 

[Reefer123]

wow you must have hit the CSR jackpot. From what I have read they are not taking any upgrade offers till Feb 1st.

 

[gdarwin]

Lets see what shows up...

 

[Weezknight]

Lets see what shows up...

There may be hope. Someone started a new thread and said they actually got the 211 hooked up. It was the installer's first one, so they are bouncing around somewhere.

ETA: I believe they were a new installation, though.

 

[Reefer123]

Yeah that was a new install. From every thread I have seen people call in and the CSRs either have no clue about the upgrade path or they confirm the upgrade path and tell you to call back Feb 1st.

 

[NOHDjunkie]

I don't know if I'm "excited" about the new stuff ( in reference to the OP question.)

I was happy and exited about CES and the Charlie chat, Finally some new news and the new channels were finally here...

But all the hoopla for the first week in January just turned into another round of waiting and the promise of having to spend more money. And as usual, prompted a barrage of unanswered questions.

The new Feb 1st deadline will probably come and go without me being able to see any new content, and April 1st will probably come and go as well since there seems to be an availability issue with receivers and the whole 1 receiver per household thing has just knocked my enthusiasm down another notch.

So patiently waiting till Jan 2006 for new channels has turned into a reality where I don't expect to see anything new till probably May or June 2006. And even then only on one of my three HD sets

At this point I hope I can lease a 622, Keep my leased 942 and get the $200 rebate. but that probably won't happen either.

Honestly I could care less about the new Voom Channels (or the current ones I have now, but it's only $5 a month). The same goes for ESPN2HD.

UHD would be cool as would Distant networks and or Locals in HD. But Distants and locals for me are still up in the air so I'm really in no hurry to upgrade. I just want to get a 622 while I can for $99. Before you know it that deal will be gone and it will probably cost more. Who knows?

All things considered, I'm just gonna wait some more. No real reason to rush into it ASAP because the cost for the new channels isn't Worth it for me unless the networks in HD are involved.

But who knows? maybe all this won't be a problem by April 1st and I'll be able to upgrade all three of my HD sets for $200 and the Networks will be in HD? and Charlie will send a team of beautiful strippers to install the new receivers and One of them will fall in love with my best friend and they will get married and she will turn out to be a long lost love child of Bill Gates and we'll all be rich and happy and we'll buy Dish network and give everyone a free 61" HD set with Free mpeg4 HD DVR's and free programming for a year !!!!

Woo hoo now I'm excited again!!

 

[les017]

...Just a few years ago if you got a 6000 plus the 2 upgrade mods you were pomised "... you will be able to get all future Dish HD channels"...

I completely agree on this count, but it also seems to be the nature of the business. Technology keeps changing but, while I do not like to keep paying and paying and paying, I also can't reasonably expect E*, D* or cable to continue to provide more and more for free.

...I have 2 942s and are not looking forward to being able to see the new channels on just the one 942 replacement and not being able to get those same new channels I am paying for on the second set while still paying the second (mirror) box charge...

True again, at least for now. I would suspect (hope) that additional upgrade deals are provided for your other STBs. Sooner or later I imagine the MPEG2 will be turned off. I know, hoping and wishing won't make it so, but again I feel (at least for me and my situation) that E* has provided a reasonable path to upgrade. It all depends on your specific needs at any specific time and what deal is offered at THAT time. I have a 942 and a 921, so getting the 921 upgraded will be a BIG deal in and of itself.

...On top of the 1 box limit and all the price increases Dish is downgrading the HD signal too. If you are not now getting/seeing the full rezz HD signals on a professionally tuned set you might think you will be happy with the downrezzed HD signal, but you are missing the the true PQ value of the HD set you spent all that money on....

Gramps - I agree 100% and am NOT happy about this. But again...I am not seeing any real cost effective alternative. D* has been down-rezzing for some time with no change of policy in sight and MY Adelphia cable is simply not worth considering. I guess I will need to get what I can off of E* whie enjoying the decent OTA coverage I get here in So Cal.
Not arguing with you here, just pointing out how the same scenario and issues carry different weight for different people in different situations in different parts of the country.

 

[Grandpa J]

Les017-

Yes it just my take on this downrezz problem. As a retired producer & studio exec I and other spent lots of time & money to get the best possible picture to the public (even on less than great shows) so I am upset when theaters and boardcasters downgrade our work be it bad projection equipment or HD Lite. Our name is on screen and the public should see our product as it was designed to be seen, that was the hope with full HD be it via DVDHD/Blue Ray or broadcast.

Just venting!

 

[langlin]

Les017-

Yes it just my take on this downrezz problem. As a retired producer & studio exec I and other spent lots of time & money to get the best possible picture to the public (even on less than great shows) so I am upset when theaters and boardcasters downgrade our work be it bad projection equipment or HD Lite. Our name is on screen and the public should see our product as it was designed to be seen, that was the hope with full HD be it via DVDHD/Blue Ray or broadcast.

Just venting!

I'm a retired broadcaster, don't confuse cable and DBSA with Broadcasters, there is a huge difference and you would not have seen any down rezing if the viewers had not chosen to accept cable and then DBS with their need to cram 500 channels into the bandwidth of 10. Also Theaters only show what is distributed to them, I do share your feelings though as I spent 35 years building the greatest FREE distribution industry of information and intertainment in the world, Television Broadcast, and then see it slowly die because viewers were to lazy to insall antenna to receive what was given to them at no charge. But I accept it and now I also must pay for my television and get compressed signals.

 

[Grandpa J]

Leon thank you for your comments, I wish you were correct. I have done theatre checks with my Directors and DPs. Many screens are not kept up - they have marks on them - focus on many projectors are soft and I am not even going to start about sound systems.

Viewers ultimately accept what is push on them as "standards". That's way I believe a stand should be taken now. In an e-mail from Dish it was stated:
DISH Network strives to offer the best quality of high definition
programming that meets industry and television standards

I agree that OTA is the best but as you know many channels do not have space on the free broadcast spectrum. If the cable/satellite companies force HD Lite as the "industry and television standards" broadcasters will follow and everyone loses.

This is not against OTA broadcasters, it is as you point it is against cable and DBS operators. I and others in the production area have pride in our work and want people to see it in the best form possible - even if the acting and story are not award winning.

 

[cebbigh]

Because Dish has chosen to not allow current Mpeg2 customers view the new programming until they obtain the new equipment the main rub for me is waiting to get set up. I do wish Dish had been more consistent to this point (ie: talk about a preview, openly stating that the new deals would be for one receiver, etc). But when I consider the other options, Dish does seem like my best choice. After the wait is over I'll be happy. I'd be a lot happier if Dish would let me view the new programming on my 942 (if indeed the new programming is Mpeg2 disguised as Mpeg4). I think the 622 will be a great machine and I can't wait to get my hands on it. The upgrade costs seem fair to me. I am excited by the new programming too. So I will sit tight and wait.

 

[les017]

Les017-

Yes it just my take on this downrezz problem. As a retired producer & studio exec I and other spent lots of time & money to get the best possible picture to the public (even on less than great shows) so I am upset when theaters and boardcasters downgrade our work be it bad projection equipment or HD Lite. Our name is on screen and the public should see our product as it was designed to be seen, that was the hope with full HD be it via DVDHD/Blue Ray or broadcast.

Just venting!

vent away!!!!
I am completely and totally with you on the down-rez subject!! I, on the other hand, have spent a lot of time and money making sure that I receive and DISPLAY the best possible picture (as provided by you) :up but again, I am just not seeing any viable alternative. I'd loe to vote with my wallet and just drop E*. But my dilema is "then where do I go"? :

signed,

Starving for HD (as long as I am gonna bother watching TV at all)