can't use 811 ota independently

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gL1

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Jan 10, 2004
19
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can the 811 receive ota channels independently without the satellite, or do i have to have a dish account active on the receiver in order to watch it :confused: :confused:

i tried with just an antenna hooked up into 811, power on and it would look for a satellite signal and nothing else....... works fine when i plug the satellite signal bk in...

i switched from comcast and one of the main reason was that i get to keep the box - if for whatever reason i don't renew after 1 year, i would wanna still be able to use the receiver to receive ota channels.

if that's the case can anyone suggest if any other hdtv receiver(dish/directv) would let you do just that??
 
My understanding is you have to have the HD package active to get OTA HD. So, if you disconnect the dish, the receiver will not work for OTA.

If you only want OTA stuff, there are receivers out there for that. Check with Best Buy, Circuit City and the like. (Get your check book out!)
 
The HD Package has nothing to do with OTA signals regardless of HD or SD.

However, I would also like to know how to do this as I was told it could be done.

I want to know for the same reasons, if I quit Dish Network, can I still use my 811 as a standalone Set-Top box to get my locals OTA and how?
 
oh mannn!! can't always have the best of both worlds i guess........
well i'm stuck now... they'll charge me $240 + $120(hd package) if i cancel now.
and the program contents is much inferior to comcast( i miss g4tv )...........
and i can't even get audio from optical out!!!
 
I remember hearing on Charlie Chat a few months back that all HD receivers must have an active Dish Account for the OTA tuner to work. If the 811 can't communicate with Dish the OTA will not work. I have not had any weather black outs since I got the 811, must I am guessing that if I cannot receive any sat signal the OTA will not work.
 
Check the owners manual. It says you must subscribe to E*'s HD package for your 811 to work with OTA. Without the subscription, no OTA. (Wish I'd known that before I bought the 811 but am still satisfied with the 811)

Yeah, the cancellation is a killer. You still pay for it even if you cancell it!
 
The way the 6000 use to work for OTA signals is that you needed to have a Dish hooked up and pointing at the sats, . . . but you did not have to have an active account for the 8VSB tuner to work (just needed to get past the 'aquiring satellite" message). Not sure if this is still true with the 6000, . . . and I am not sure if the 811 works the same way.
 
the message goes on forever on the 811... i read on some post that there might be a firmware upgrade to allow OTA without dish.......hmmmmmmmmm...
 
Harry said:
Check the owners manual. It says you must subscribe to E*'s HD package for your 811 to work with OTA. Without the subscription, no OTA. (Wish I'd known that before I bought the 811 but am still satisfied with the 811)

Yeah, the cancellation is a killer. You still pay for it even if you cancell it!
Click to expand...

From the Owners Manual, page 27:

"This input connection can only be used when your receiver is activated with qualifying DISH Network programming."

It does not say anything about subscribing to the HD pack. The 811 8VSB module can decode ATSC and NTSC. You could order up AT60 and qualify. That said, the 6000 will work as long as your dish is aimed at the satellites. Even if you don't have any programming subscriptions, there are some free to air channels, like 101. That is what allows the 6000 to open the 8VSB module. I don't see why that wouldn't work with the 811 as well. Has anyone tried?
 
gL1 test tried it without having the satellite hooked up. Not surprised that it does not work in this configuration. The true test is to try it before the box is activated. My guess is that you would get OTA. With the 6000 you can test signal strength of OTA without having Satellite hooked up.. I had to do this to troubleshoot a problem I had when my 811 was installed.
 
WeeJavaDude said:
gL1 test tried it without having the satellite hooked up. Not surprised that it does not work in this configuration. The true test is to try it before the box is activated. My guess is that you would get OTA. With the 6000 you can test signal strength of OTA without having Satellite hooked up.. I had to do this to troubleshoot a problem I had when my 811 was installed.
Click to expand...

My first 811 had problems after a couple weeks and Dish sent me a replacement. When I got the new one, I hooked it up without it being authorized and I was able to get OTA channels. Dish may change this with future software releases, but at least with the 263 version I could get OTA with the 811 connected to the satellite but not authorized.

Mike
 
When I cancelled E* to go back to cable, I still had my 811 connected. All the E* channels went away (except for the free stuff) and my OTA still worked, no problem.
 
rad said:
When I cancelled E* to go back to cable, I still had my 811 connected. All the E* channels went away (except for the free stuff) and my OTA still worked, no problem.
Click to expand...

Cool, that is exactly what I wanted to hear.
 
gL1 said:
oh mannn!! can't always have the best of both worlds i guess........
well i'm stuck now... they'll charge me $240 + $120(hd package) if i cancel now.
and the program contents is much inferior to comcast( i miss g4tv )...........
and i can't even get audio from optical out!!!
Click to expand...

g4TV IS ok, but damn, it's not ALL that. Anyways, how come you can't get audio from your optical out? Mine works and sounds incredible! Couple that with some HD lovin' and I can barely leave my living room! Dishnetwork has the best thing going hands down.
 
rad said:
When I cancelled E* to go back to cable, I still had my 811 connected. All the E* channels went away (except for the free stuff) and my OTA still worked, no problem.
Click to expand...

How did you get an 811 without being tied to any committment???
 
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