Cannot get HD

[davelaf]

Hi everyone. I just found your forum and am a brand new satellite user. I have a couple of questions. When I had the dish installed the technician said I would not be able to get HD because of interference from a big maple tree in the neighbors yard. When I called customer support they said I should be able to get it with a better dish and had the tech. come out again. Using his hand held thing to check the angle (sorry, I don't the name of the thing), he walked around the yard and said no way can I get it. He put up a Dish 500 which works great but I can't get HD. Does that sound right? The tech. sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

My other problem is I have to use two remotes for the televisions. He said my TV1 will not accept any codes for the satelitte remote so I have to use the original TV remote to turn it on and for volume and mute. He said my TV2 will not accept the satelitte remote because it has a built-in DVD player. Is there anything I can do to fix these problems? Other than that I am really happy with the dish. Keep in mind I am not the most tech savy person.

 

[JohnEL]

First welcome

Second; Will need additional information from you. Model of Sat receiver you have. Model and type of TV's would be needed to answer your questions. I'm guessing you are on what is called the Eastern Arc. While DISH may say you should be able to receive their services, they do not SEE your house lot and the trees around it. If you can not cut the tree, you may be just SOL. Sorry for that, but that may just be the reality of things.

Again welcome.

 

[davelaf]

Thanks for the welcome JohnEL,
My televisions are an RCA 32"and an Emerson 19". Both TV's are about a year old. The Emerson has the built-in DVD. The satelitte is a Dish 500. That's all I know. If I could cut the tree down I would but it's the neighbors. I'm hoping some some disease will kill it. You're probably right, I'm just out of luck. If I could get the remotes to work, that would make it a little better.

 

[magnum2066]

Did you ask to see if you could be set up with a wing dish?

 

[Koilvr]

Your box what model number is it?

 

[magnum2066]

Your box what model number is it?

I missed the remote part in the OP... Do you have black or silver remotes? If you have the black ones there is most likely a code for it or you can force it to "learn" from the original remote. If you have the silver remotes you might be SOL if the code isn't in the big gray manual.

 

[TheKrell]

IMHO either remote can probably be made to work with your Emerson. Just follow the directions in the manual for a "Power Scan". None of the TVs in my house are in the manual, but I found a compatible code for all of them by scanning.

...he walked around the yard and said no way can I get it. He put up a Dish 500 which works great but I can't get HD. Does that sound right? The tech. sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

No that does not sound right. First of all, if you have a D500 on 110/119, then the HD satellite he was trying for was doubtlessly 129. That is rather low for many of us out east. But! Dish Network has two completely separate arcs of satellites. If you have no LOS to one, then you can use the other with one caveat: you could be missing your HD locals if they are only on the arc you can't see. I'm on the so-called Eastern Arc, and at least from VA they are very high in the sky (nearly 45 deg elevation) and almost due south. Many of us can fire right over our house from the eaves and the neighbors' trees are no problem.

 

[magnum2066]

The code list in the remotes are LONG, you might spend 10-15 min pressing ch+ to find the right one.

 

[fbara]

I have a 3year old Magnavox tv/dvd and could never get the silver remote to work it. I tried everything, no luck. My wife went to a moving sale and found a new black/gray remote for sale. I don't know he model but it's one of the newer remotes, the kind that can 'learn' from your original remote. Following instructions on dish website, I had it workin both the tv and dvd controls.

I would recommend upgrading your remote. Try eBay or craigslist.

 

[davelaf]

I missed the remote part in the OP... Do you have black or silver remotes? If you have the black ones there is most likely a code for it or you can force it to "learn" from the original remote. If you have the silver remotes you might be SOL if the code isn't in the big gray manual.

Sorry I didn't get back earlier, I've been away for a few days. Yes, I have the black one and I read in the owners manual about making the remote "learn". I am just a little worried about trying it and losing all control with the remote. I am also a little confused about which buttons to press on it. The things I can't do on it is volume, mute and power to turn the TV on and off. As I said I'm pretty lame when it comes to this. I almost need someone to hold my hand when I do it.



magnum2066: Did you ask to see if you could be set up with a wing dish?
What is that?

Koilvr: Your box what model number is it?
ViP722k DVR

The tech. told me that only way to get HD would be to cut the tree down. He said the tree is blocking the signal from the satelitte that supplies HD. I guess there are two or three up there. He said because the tree is so close to the house it is blocking the signal. He also said witout the tree he would be able to get the correct angle from the top of my house over the other trees to connect to the other satelitte.

 

[whatchel1]

Sorry I didn't get back earlier, I've been away for a few days. Yes, I have the black one and I read in the owners manual about making the remote "learn". I am just a little worried about trying it and losing all control with the remote. I am also a little confused about which buttons to press on it. The things I can't do on it is volume, mute and power to turn the TV on and off. As I said I'm pretty lame when it comes to this. I almost need someone to hold my hand when I do it.



magnum2066: Did you ask to see if you could be set up with a wing dish?
What is that?

Koilvr: Your box what model number is it?
ViP722k DVR

The tech. told me that only way to get HD would be to cut the tree down. He said the tree is blocking the signal from the satelitte that supplies HD. I guess there are two or three up there. He said because the tree is so close to the house it is blocking the signal. He also said witout the tree he would be able to get the correct angle from the top of my house over the other trees to connect to the other satelitte.

Where is this tree. That is what we need to know. If it is SSE of the house then you can't get what is know as EA (eastern arc). If it is SW of you he is looking at WA and should be looking for an EA setup. Where in CT are you? So it can be found out which arc your locals are on.

 

[davelaf]

The tree is about twenty feet from the house. It is more SSE than SW. He has the Dish500 pointing toward the SSW. I think I am out of luck. The only other thing I can think of is to call Dish Network and see if they can have a different technician come out for a second opinion.

 

[whatchel1]

Where?

The tree is about twenty feet from the house. It is more SSE than SW. He has the Dish500 pointing toward the SSW. I think I am out of luck. The only other thing I can think of is to call Dish Network and see if they can have a different technician come out for a second opinion.

You still didn't tell me where you are. You may be able to do WA from your location. Must be a pretty tall tree to block the sky for what sounds like EA install. You are getting 2/3 of WA w/ the dish 500.

 

[sethwell]

The tree is about twenty feet from the house. It is more SSE than SW. He has the Dish500 pointing toward the SSW. I think I am out of luck. The only other thing I can think of is to call Dish Network and see if they can have a different technician come out for a second opinion.

don't call dish back, find a local retailer in your area and have them come out. a local retailer will usually put more effort into getting your system up and running. at least it was that way for me when i signed up. good luck

 

[kvnfl]

WA referrenced by whatchel1 is "Western Arc." Many locations can access both WA and EA (Eastern Arc). One should be available from somewhere on your property. Sometimes the only place to mount is a pole in the yard.

 

[Jimmerinwi]

The code for an RCA on the 20.0 and 21.0 remote is "503".
Press and hold the TV button on top of the remote until all four lights on top light up. release the TV button, he TV button will now be flashing. enter 5-0-3 on the remote number pad, press pound (#), the TV light on the top of the remote wil flash three times letting you know your code is locked in. Push "Sat" to control your satellite receiver. Done! You should now have control of your TV w/ your Dish remote. Your DVD/TV combo, you will have to scan.

Magnavox code for the other poster is "566"

 

[davelaf]

You still didn't tell me where you are. You may be able to do WA from your location. Must be a pretty tall tree to block the sky for what sounds like EA install. You are getting 2/3 of WA w/ the dish 500.

Sorry about that. I'm in central Connecticut. In a town named Wethersfield, about five miles south of Hartford. Why wouldn't the Dish tech. try every angle to get a good signal? And I would prefer not to pay for a service call. That's why I want Dish to come back to do it right. The tech. said he would come back and set the dish up for free when the tree comes down.

 

[kvnfl]

Sorry about that. I'm in central Connecticut. In a town named Wethersfield, about five miles south of Hartford. Why wouldn't the Dish tech. try every angle to get a good signal? And I would prefer not to pay for a service call. That's why I want Dish to come back to do it right. The tech. said he would come back and set the dish up for free when the tree comes down.

Installs and repoints are covered by a 90 day warranty.

 

[davelaf]

I called Dish to have a different technician come down to take a look. A second poinion and a fresh look wouldn't hurt.