DISH Smartbox

[Cold Irons]

So that's what they call monitors these days...

 

[Bobby]

So that's what they call monitors these days...

When it is 75" and does 4K, HDR, and Dolby Vision, yes....

 

[DWS44]

When it is 75" and does 4K, HDR, and Dolby Vision, yes....

I'll take a pair of those "monitors" for my dual-screen CAD workstation @ the office!

 

[ChadT41]

Lol. I have the 55" version. I can pass on the QAM and all other tidbits. I have the Dish OTA module. Push come to shove, I'll add a TiVo

 

[dishdude]

So that's what they call monitors these days...

That's what Vizio calls them! Great displays.

 

[Katie Kirchner]

I can already imagine what the issue is.

The retailer who probably sold this never installed a smart box before, and got mis-information from someone at Dish. Now they have no clue how to fix it, without having the dreaded discussion of how much it's going to cost to fix. The retailer sounds like they screwed up, so now they don't want to open a can of worms.

The smart box should have never been installed as a solution to provide basic cable to begin with if the intention was to upgrade tenants later.

A few questions we need to ask to get to the right solution...

#1 how is the wiring ran to the apartments? Are we home run from a central location or is it split all over the place. Was the wiring taken over from Comcast or a cable company for example?

#2 what do you consider basic channels? ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX? Any basic channels like CNN?

#3 what is the customer upgrading to? A higher tier package with more channels, or pick and choose such ad adding HBO.

#4 does the upgraded package require a receiver?

Sounds like you need Directv's MDU solution....

Every apartment gets an HD/DVR and up to 3 additional HD receivers which is provided for free by Directv.

The apartment picks the package they want to provide with the rent. They can choose to pay for as little or as much programming as they like.

If the customer is not happy and wants HBO, they call Directv and pay only for HBO or the difference in cost to upgrade to the higher package.

I don't know if Dish offers a similar MDU solution, but what I described is probably what you need.

Call me at 800-807-0837 ext 245 if you want to go into specific details.

I promise not to sell you Directv, unless you want it.

I just don't see why a smart box was necessary.

The whole problem in any apartment is people expect DVR, on demand, ppv and multi room dvr viewing.

12 years show you could provide a handful of channels. Today customers want the full experience the service has to offer.

The last apartment we did with Dish the owner bought the everything pack because everyone had to get the same programming package and he was tired of people asking for specific channels.

It was like $40-mo per tenant for everything in bulk. He just includes the difference in everyone's rent.

What about internet ?

I am certain that has happened at my 146 unit retirement facility, Built in 1986 - we installed Smartbox last May for the HD capabilities. We are having continuous problems, already had a blade go bad. TV's randomly drop stations at all hours of the day, my Maintenance crew spend at least an hour to 2 hours a day rescanning tvs to find the channels again. We have ensured that the TVs are newer and compatible to this system which peeved some of my residents that had to buy new tv's. We even had Don Lorr group in here to troubleshoot and install and run some additional wiring and connector boxes in closets. I am at my wits end with this system and not sure where to turn or what to do next. We spent about 28grand on this system and my residents are pissed off at me, so that is fun. Any ideas guru's?

 

[primestar31]

I am certain that has happened at my 146 unit retirement facility, Built in 1986 - we installed Smartbox last May for the HD capabilities. We are having continuous problems, already had a blade go bad. TV's randomly drop stations at all hours of the day, my Maintenance crew spend at least an hour to 2 hours a day rescanning tvs to find the channels again. We have ensured that the TVs are newer and compatible to this system which peeved some of my residents that had to buy new tv's. We even had Don Lorr group in here to troubleshoot and install and run some additional wiring and connector boxes in closets. I am at my wits end with this system and not sure where to turn or what to do next. We spent about 28grand on this system and my residents are pissed off at me, so that is fun. Any ideas guru's?

Call Claude at the phone number he listed in his post you quoted. If anybody can help you, he can. He's only located in Detroit, so not far from you in Grand Rapids, if it's the one in Michigan.

 

[navychop]

And he will be honest and forthright. He'll tell you what can and can't be done, and if the situation is fixable or time to start over.

He no longer sells Dish, just DirecTV, but he is likely to still have the knowledge to understand the situation.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Give me a call. I'm out of Detroit...

800-807-0837 ext 245

This is my specialty dealing with large hotel or MDU type situations.

Grand Rapids is a hop and a skip away for me.

At 146 units we can switch to Directv for free with a 48 channel com 2000 System.

 

[Katie Kirchner]

Claude, you are a gem! thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today and helping me understand this system better. I will update you on results.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I am certain that has happened at my 146 unit retirement facility, Built in 1986 - we installed Smartbox last May for the HD capabilities. We are having continuous problems, already had a blade go bad. TV's randomly drop stations at all hours of the day, my Maintenance crew spend at least an hour to 2 hours a day rescanning tvs to find the channels again. We have ensured that the TVs are newer and compatible to this system which peeved some of my residents that had to buy new tv's. We even had Don Lorr group in here to troubleshoot and install and run some additional wiring and connector boxes in closets. I am at my wits end with this system and not sure where to turn or what to do next. We spent about 28grand on this system and my residents are pissed off at me, so that is fun. Any ideas guru's?

It was a pleasure speaking with you also.

You didn't tell me they installed the system last May?

The last time I was a Dish dealer (6 years ago) all Dish Network branded equipment had a 1 year warranty. If it was less than a year I think that blade should have been covered under warranty.

I honestly think for what you where charged, the retailer you signed up with just needs to come and re-wire the place like I said and should not be charging for service calls for at least the first 12 months.

 

[Marti Staprans Barlow]

I can already imagine what the issue is.

The retailer who probably sold this never installed a smart box before, and got mis-information from someone at Dish. Now they have no clue how to fix it, without having the dreaded discussion of how much it's going to cost to fix. The retailer sounds like they screwed up, so now they don't want to open a can of worms.

The smart box should have never been installed as a solution to provide basic cable to begin with if the intention was to upgrade tenants later.

A few questions we need to ask to get to the right solution...

#1 how is the wiring ran to the apartments? Are we home run from a central location or is it split all over the place. Was the wiring taken over from Comcast or a cable company for example?

#2 what do you consider basic channels? ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX? Any basic channels like CNN?

#3 what is the customer upgrading to? A higher tier package with more channels, or pick and choose such ad adding HBO.

#4 does the upgraded package require a receiver?

Sounds like you need Directv's MDU solution....

Every apartment gets an HD/DVR and up to 3 additional HD receivers which is provided for free by Directv.

The apartment picks the package they want to provide with the rent. They can choose to pay for as little or as much programming as they like.

If the customer is not happy and wants HBO, they call Directv and pay only for HBO or the difference in cost to upgrade to the higher package.

I don't know if Dish offers a similar MDU solution, but what I described is probably what you need.

Call me at 800-807-0837 ext 245 if you want to go into specific details.

I promise not to sell you Directv, unless you want it.

I just don't see why a smart box was necessary.

The whole problem in any apartment is people expect DVR, on demand, ppv and multi room dvr viewing.

12 years show you could provide a handful of channels. Today customers want the full experience the service has to offer.

The last apartment we did with Dish the owner bought the everything pack because everyone had to get the same programming package and he was tired of people asking for specific channels.

It was like $40-mo per tenant for everything in bulk. He just includes the difference in everyone's rent.

What about internet ?

 

[Marti Staprans Barlow]

Hi Is it possible for a hotel with the Smart Box to do a local channel insertion for their local info? Can input our signal after the card output?
Thank you!

 

[Robc]

Hi Is it possible for a hotel with the Smart Box to do a local channel insertion for their local info? Can input our signal after the card output?
Thank you!

You can definitely insert channels after. Its actually really easy. You can also insert the local content into the Smartbox