Coming back after 15 years, some questions

[kluken]

I started with DTV back in 1995 when it was $800 and stayed with them 6 years until Dish had some better deals. I then stuck with Dish until earlier this year when I was tired of PQ, channel disputes and their constant nickel and diming fees. I had gotten Comcast Internet becasue UVerse was just not fast enough for my huge uploads anymore and Comcast offered some nice bundles so I left Dish. Comcast PQ is awesome, but that X1 DVR platform is junk, laggy, does not work if your cable is down and the EPG is junk as I was often stuck recording duplicates becasue the Comcast guide flagged repeats as new shows. I tried to go back to Dish, but clearly they were jerks and wanted all sorts of fees.

I decided to wander into ATT store and looked into a bundle of Uverse and Directv. I was able to get 45/5 UVerse and DTV Select for 2 rooms for $100 a month locked in for 2 years. Install is next week. I can actually drop my Comcast to 75/15 (from 150/20) and use that for my massive uploads then get Directv and Uvesers for less than I was paying for Comcast's big bundle which was about to go off promo and cost me a bunch. Also in 8 months of Comcast I have had 2 3-4 hours outages and so many interruptions I can't count. In 15 years of Dish all the rain fade outages added up probably did not get to 4-8 hours total. Sure I lose a few channels (most I would never miss) but I now will have redundant internet and back to a reliable Sat provider.

Now for my questions. First I see a eSATA port on the Genie, is it enabled? I am a bit bumed by 1TB drive as I like to record numerous shows for the entire season then binge on them all summer and fall. 1TB will limit me to about 5 maybe 6 shows for 22 episodes.

Can someone confirm the satellite location so I can check LOS issues, I come to 99, 101 and 103? My Dish was WA so 110/119 and 129 and 129 was borderline about to get lost in trees. I was hoping for something more in the East as I have better LOS there and control any trees that may interfere.

Is there an OTA option for the Genie, I saw one referenced some where , but can't find any details.

Any other tidbits to help me get the most out of my DTV return would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[doctor J]

esata works for external drive.(Internal is inactive, either or not both) I've used a 6TB on a HR44 with tons of recording space.
Sats are 101 and 99/103. Some markets SD locals on 119 but can opt out if not needed.
AM 21 OTA tuner can be paired with Genie but none factory available , have to get on ebay. Pricey due to supply/demand. Installation strictly DIY.
OTA may not have all subchannels in market due to guide limitations. Workarounds available but again DIY.
Need to know if you have an active 4K TV that you want service for.

Doctor j

 

[dishrich]

esata works for external drive.(Internal is inactive, either or not both) I've used a 6TB on a HR44 with tons of recording space.

Not that he specifically asked, but you also cannot move shows between the internal & external HDD's like you can on DISH receivers

 

[kluken]

Thanks. I see the AM21 is pricey so will skip it. I am going to look into a nice 3TB AV drive and eSata case before my install. I will use Dishpointer, but should be good since disk 110/119 were good.

 

[kluken]

I have 2 Dish dishes on the roof now, from what I can tell the DTV mast will be different, can anyone tell me what the current dish setup is for DTV? I want to try and avoid them putting more holes in my roof.

 

[dishrich]

As long as you are NOT getting any international stuff from the 95 bird, you'll get the normal slimline dish, which DOES require a 2" pipe mount...so none of the existing DISH mounts can be used.
You COULD always see about having it mounted on a pipe in the ground, so that you don't have to have ANYTHING on your roof - as long as there is a place that can see the sats, of course...

 

[raoul5788]

I think a rarely used Dish mast was 2", but that's unlikely what you have. The old dishes can be left on the roof, or just the footings if aesthetics are important. If you have an asphalt shingle roof, you can replace the shingles with holes in them and remount a new dish. That removes the possibility of leakage.

 

[dishrich]

I think a rarely used Dish mast was 2", but that's unlikely what you have.

Yes, the old "SuperDISH" dishes, that were needed in certain areas for locals on the 105 & 121 birds

 

[Zashel]

DishNet uses 2" mast as well (not sure if thats the same thing?). unfortunatly, using those mounts is unapproved and the tech may tell you he wont use it anyway.

 

[dishrich]

DishNet uses 2" mast as well (not sure if thats the same thing?)

It's not; it's DISH's internet service