Could you advise me?

[GeneralDisarray]

I've bought a new HD TV to replace our second TV. We've been using a 622 receiver since we didn't have HD capability before. Now I'd like to see about getting HD for our second television.

I've already found out that we're eligible for leased receivers with a 24 mo. commitment. What should I be asking for? Or what will they likely do?

A. Have us keep the 622 and add a 612 for the second television? (Which means the 622 would be redundant as a dual receiver)

B. Set us up with two 612's?

Also, what is the expected increase in cost? I'm thinking $7.00 for another receiver lease and $5.00 for another DVR fee? Is this correct? When I asked in chat they said something about $10.00 for HD programming. We're already buying GoldHD + PlatinumHD so would there really be more HD charges for a second receiver? I think the CSR wasn't paying close attention, which is why I'm asking you all these questions too.

Thanks.

 

[Laddyboy]

I've bought a new HD TV to replace our second TV. We've been using a 622 receiver since we didn't have HD capability before. Now I'd like to see about getting HD for our second television.

I've already found out that we're eligible for leased receivers with a 24 mo. commitment. What should I be asking for? Or what will they likely do?

A. Have us keep the 622 and add a 612 for the second television? (Which means the 622 would be redundant as a dual receiver)

The 622 would just be used in single mode. You'll have a two tuner HD DVR with PiP now. You can still leave the TV2 cable hooked to your second HDTV just in case you want to watch something on that set recorded on the 622 you already have. You can also run either a component or HDMI cable to the second TV to see in HD what's recorded on the 622, although both sets would have to be viewing the same thing.

I don't really like the 612 all that much. Its biggest advantage is that it counts only as a single tuner since it can only supply one TV even though it actually has two sat tuners and an OTA tuner. The 622 counts as two tuners. E* has a 4-tuner limit for leased tuners but that is often waived for good customers. I suppose the 612 would be cheaper than another 622, 722, or 722k, but I'd rather have the 722 or 722k myself.

B. Set us up with two 612's?

I'd keep the 622 instead of replacing it with the 612. It has more storage space on the HDD than the 612 and can be used for PiP in single user mode.

Also, what is the expected increase in cost? I'm thinking $7.00 for another receiver lease and $5.00 for another DVR fee? Is this correct? When I asked in chat they said something about $10.00 for HD programming. We're already buying GoldHD + PlatinumHD so would there really be more HD charges for a second receiver? I think the CSR wasn't paying close attention, which is why I'm asking you all these questions too.

Thanks.

$12 as you said, $7 for the lease and $5 for the DVR fee under the DDA program.

 

[GeneralDisarray]

Thanks so much for your response. Per your advice I think the best thing is to keep the 622 and get a 612 to go with it. I just wanted to know what I was talking about before I agreed to anything with a CSR. Satellite Guys is definitely the place to get your facts straight first. Thanks Laddyboy.

 

[harshness]

For the extra $25, I would recommend the ViP622 over the ViP612. The ViP612 is... how should I put it... not up to par.

 

[KAB]

For the extra $25, I would recommend the ViP622 over the ViP612. The ViP612 is... how should I put it... not up to par.

+1!

 

[Scherrman]

Why don't people ever go to a local retailer to buy their Dish. You can do all this with a someone in person. I never recommend buying directly from Dish (unless they offer you something a retailer can't) This is just my opinion of course.

 

[tcreek]

Why don't people ever go to a local retailer to buy their Dish. You can do all this with a someone in person. I never recommend buying directly from Dish (unless they offer you something a retailer can't) This is just my opinion of course.

What if you don't like your local retailers?

 

[GeneralDisarray]

We just spent $$$ having the local retailer do an installation of our new dish so we could pick up Ciel 129. I'm thinking I might like to keep some cash in my pocket and let Dish take care of this one. Now that our locals are available in HD I'm not shopping around for TV service. For us the choice is satellite only, either Dish or Direct. I've been with Dish for 13 years; two more years doesn't scare me.

 

[Laddyboy]

For the extra $25, I would recommend the ViP622 over the ViP612. The ViP612 is... how should I put it... not up to par.

I agree with this as well.

 

[whatchel1]

Why Not

For the extra $25, I would recommend the ViP622 over the ViP612. The ViP612 is... how should I put it... not up to par.

Why not go with a 722 in the location where the 622 is now have them move the 622 to the 2nd TV? That will be your 4 tuner limit and you will have larger HDD in the main location.

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm about a month away from making this same decision but as someone who's been using the TV2 SD output on the 622 for over a year, I can't give up the DVR access at the 2nd TV location. You should think carefully about this. Will you record things on the 622 DVR and be OK without having access at TV2? I regularly pause DVR playback at TV1, go to the bedroom and resume there. There's a lot of talk on this forum about splitting HDMI or running both the component and HDMI at the same time so that you basically mirror the TV1 HD output. However, you have to realize that you don't get to run two different contents.

 

[bebop]

I'm about a month away from making this same decision but as someone who's been using the TV2 SD output on the 622 for over a year, I can't give up the DVR access at the 2nd TV location. You should think carefully about this. Will you record things on the 622 DVR and be OK without having access at TV2? I regularly pause DVR playback at TV1, go to the bedroom and resume there. There's a lot of talk on this forum about splitting HDMI or running both the component and HDMI at the same time so that you basically mirror the TV1 HD output. However, you have to realize that you don't get to run two different contents.

This got me thinking that it would be nice to access the main DVR from the new TV, even someone got a 2nd receiver. It might be a bit cumbersome (or just a simple input button push on the 2nd tv remote), but you could SD recordings still.

My setup is that I have tv2 in the bedroom and it would be nice to add a coax line for SD DVR viewing from the main receiver even if I had a 2nd receiver for HD in the bedroom.

Basically you'd have access to 2 different DVR's on the new HDTV (one SD from the 1st receiver and one HD from the new receiver.) Plus lots of recording space. There's probably a cheaper monthly fee that can obtain the same goal, but it got me thinking...

 

[harshness]

Will you record things on the 622 DVR and be OK without having access at TV2? I regularly pause DVR playback at TV1, go to the bedroom and resume there.

If you can stomach watching the program in SD in the bedroom, there's no reason you can't maintain the setup that you already have.

 

[GeneralDisarray]

I followed the advice of harshness and whatchel1 and kept my 622 for my second television and added a 722 as my primary receiver. Thanks for that.

Everything went great with the CSR. He was able to arrange everything I wanted for only a two-year commitment (which I was figuring on anyway, I just thought they might want cash on top of it). The CSR "Doug" even offered me the HBO/Showtime promo. He was able to schedule my installation for the very next morning.

The installer called in the morning and deferred till 2:00 p.m. since he chose to do another job first. Then he didn't actually arrive until after 4:00 p.m. His work order only told him he was installing the 722. It said nothing about moving the 622 to TV2, which required running a new line from outside. I was very detailed with the CSR about what I wanted so it's amazing to me that most all of it was lost in translation.

When the installer looked over our set-up he got all upset that we weren't properly grounded. He didn't want to do the install because he didn't want QC blaming it on him. According to him the only proper grounding is to the electric meter grounding and you can only go 20 feet from that with the dish. Is this true? I'm thinking because of line of sight 50% or more of customers out there couldn't have a dish if that were the case. Anyway, he claimed our grounding rod was only about two feet. Later my husband told me that it surely was 8 feet because he started hammering it in from the top of a stepladder. It took the installer 45 minutes and several phone calls before he decided to take the chance and do the install.

He started the install and finished after 9:00 p.m. He claimed both 722s that he had with him were unwrapped by him on site and didn't have their smart cards. He had a problem with how the last installer had wired our dish. Then he couldn't get the first 722 to work at all and had to open and use the second one. Then he couldn't get the programming. We had all the patience in the world because I was grateful he was even doing the install, but good grief. In the end we got everything we wanted so I would say all's well that ends well.

Oh, and our HBO/Showtime promo was never even added to the account. I had to call after that. So CSR was a big fail, despite his promises and helpful attitude. The installer was just having a bad day from start to finish.