Dish to start upgrading HD customers to MPEG4

[mdonnelly]

I have an old crappy 811 and a SuperDish - AT250 w/locals and the MPEG 2 $10 HD's. I have some questions...

1.) Will I be contacted by E* and they will tell me about the upgrade or should I call them? How long shall I wait?
2.) Will I be offered a "free" upgrade to either 622 or 722?
3.) Will I need a new dish (1000?) and is that free?

Also, my retailer told me that the 622 is no longer offered and if I go direct to E* - if they do give me a 622 it's refurished. Is that true?
THANKS!

1.) Call them, why wait?
2.) Doubtful they will offer you a free DVR for a non-DVR.
3.) You will need a new dish, if all you have is a Superdish. You might be able to get it for nothing, or you might need a contract extension. A lot of stuff has moved off the 121 location to 118.7, so you may qualify for a free 1000+ dish.

Refurbished 622? Possible, you might get one that has the HDMI connector soldered in and anchored correctly.

 

[Derwin0]

I don't think they'll let you reactivate the 921 as an HD box.

They will if you already have a vip receiver on the account. I added my 942 that way.

 

[abricko]

Threads like this make me laugh and demonstrate that people CAN'T (or DON'T) read.

If you read the original post by scott it CLEARLY states:
DISH Network will be upgrading the MPEG II (Legacy HD) subscribers to our MPEG IV technology

So that implies, if you currently subscribe to a HD package and don't have a VIP receiver they will be contacting you to upgrade your legacy MPEG 2 (Legacy HD) receiver to upgrade to one of the VIP family of receivers.

This is good, because once they get those last 10 die hards who just will not let go of their "state of the art" MPEG 2 HD receivers to upgrade, they can convert those last few (bandwidth hogging) MPEG2 HD channels to MPEG4, and give us all more HD channels.

This is also beneficial for those same 10 people as they will finally be able to experience the hordes of HD channels they've been missing and will eventually appreciate the upgrade to better/newer receiver technology.

Yes, I'm sure they will allow you to add your old box back onto your account, but don't be surprised or complain, someday when it just stops seeing any HD.

 

[bspei]

A good questions is...If you OWN your MPEG2 HD reciever will you OWN the one they upgrade you too?

I just upgraded my 811 today for a 211. $25.00 shipped $50.00 installed and it's a lease with a 2 year commitment. They will give me $10.00 for the 811.
I don't know why but my 811 did not have an extra receiver charge,

 

[942owner]

Oregon 942 110/119 single dish upgrade path?

Has anyone received a DISH-initiated upgrade offer for this program yet? I read through the posts so far and either didn't see--or outright missed (definitely a possibility)--seeing anyone who's gotten a DISH-initiated offer.

I presently have a 942 and a single dish, dual feedhorn setup for 110 and 119, and wonder what, if any, antenna work needs to be done.

Thanks!

 

[kstuart]

With Eastern Arc installations set to begin later this year, I wouldn't expect any more national HD to be available only on 110.

No one said anything about "only".

All the National SD & HD channels currently on 110 and 119 will be mirrored on 72.5, once EchoStar 6 goes online there.

So, logically speaking, National HD channels added to 110 will also be mirrored at 72.5.

Since Eastern Arc does not start until September, it is a moot point anyway.

 

[Cantonsurroundsound]

Wow upgrading equipment when they have taken away their best HD content the Voom HD channels. Most of their new channels are low clarity up converted shows not true HD. Before committing to a two year deal I'd recommend reviewing your HD options as right now they have 80 and directv has 90 at a lower package price.

 

[kstuart]

Wow upgrading equipment when they have taken away their best HD content the Voom HD channels. Most of their new channels are low clarity up converted shows not true HD. Before committing to a two year deal I'd recommend reviewing your HD options as right now they have 80 and directv has 90 at a lower package price.

Gosh, no one had considered any of those factors before !

 

[JimMcC]

I guess I'm one of the "10" people left with the old MPEG 2 receivers. Actually, I own one 811 and lease one 811. I never switched because I didn't want to have to increase my monthly HD fee. I have the $9.99 per month package. Currently I pay $9.99 per month for HD package, $5.00 lease fee, and $6.00 access fee. Dish' website is confusing to me(as far as their HD package costs go). What is the cheapest way to upgrade to MPEG 4? I don't want any packages other than the cheapest HD package. I receive my locals over my OTA antenna. Would I need 2 receivers like I have now? I have one in 2 different rooms(one TV in family room, and a projector in basement). What would the new cost be per month? Thanks.

 

[eddie willers]

I guess I'm one of the "10" people left with the old MPEG 2 receivers. Actually, I own one 811 and lease one 811. I never switched because I didn't want to have to increase my monthly HD fee. I have the $9.99 per month package. Currently I pay $9.99 per month for HD package, $5.00 lease fee, and $6.00 access fee. Dish' website is confusing to me(as far as their HD package costs go). What is the cheapest way to upgrade to MPEG 4? I don't want any packages other than the cheapest HD package. I receive my locals over my OTA antenna. Would I need 2 receivers like I have now? I have one in 2 different rooms(one TV in family room, and a projector in basement). What would the new cost be per month? Thanks.

Swap the 811 for a ViP 622 for around $100. They will also upgrade the antenna to whatever you need to receive the MPEG4 transmissions at the same time for no additional charge.

Sign up for the Dish DVR Advantage program and it wipes out the DVR fee.

Hook the 622 up to a land line phone or modem and you won't have to pay the $5 "mirror" fee for the second tuner that is built in.

Ask for the "HD Essentials" package for $10.

If you sign up for credit card auto-pay and paperless billing, you can receive one year of Cinemax (including 3 HD Cinemax offerings) for one penny.....a year!

So....all in all....for about $100 upfront, you will get a pantload of new HD channels, a kick butt DVR with an addtional tuner built-in for little or no change in your monthly fee.

I think the kids call it a "no-brainer".

 

[JimMcC]

Thanks eddie. But do you know what the monthly cost would be(if I did what you describe)? Their website is so confusing to me.

 

[eddie willers]

Thanks eddie. But do you know what the monthly cost would be(if I did what you describe)? Their website is so confusing to me.

As best as I can tell, your monthly wouldn't change (assuming a phone line connected to the receiver and signing up for DVR Advantage)

 

[JimMcC]

Eddie, Dish' website says the HD Essentials package for $10 per month is only available in conjunction with at least the Top 100 package. I can't just get the $10 per month HD Essentials package? Thanks.

 

[kb7oeb]

The HD only package was made for you. It cost $30 and does not require the access fee you are paying now and includes many more HD channels. If you go with a 222 it will run one tv in HD and one in SD to avoid the extra receiver charge., otherwise get two 211s to replace the 811s.

The page you are looking for is DISH Network -- Dish HD , the requirement for AT100 does not apply to the HD only package.

 

[jrlead]

What about the 811. Will they be replaced?

 

[Jim5506]

Dish should contact owners/leasors of 811/921/942/6000 to replace them with a ViP receiver, because dish is going to move ALL HD to MPEG4.

I'm not sure about status of replacements, whether they be owned or leased.

Edit: Second thoughts - ALL Dish directly provided receivers seem to be leased nowdays, so I you want an owned receiver you must purchase it from a retailer.

 

[JimMcC]

kb7oeb, thanks a lot. Their website sure makes it confusing. I'll have to think about what to do because my upstairs TV is a 32" analog set. I guess it boils down to whether we want a DVR or not.

 

[nsafreak]

kb7oeb, thanks a lot. Their website sure makes it confusing. I'll have to think about what to do because my upstairs TV is a 32" analog set. I guess it boils down to whether we want a DVR or not.

The upstairs set being a 32" analog (or SD as most folks around here call them) set would work well with the 622. Just have the box down by the projector to use the HDMI/component output on it and then feed the modulated TV 2 output to the TV in the upstairs. It sends the signal as a regular standard def signal which your 32" set will handle just fine. Oh and believe me you'll want a DVR. I personally started out my whole DVR experience with a ReplayTV unit a while back and no matter which provider I go with I get a DVR unit. Although I have to say that my Motorola 3412 doesn't really live up to my expectations the same way my Dish DVR did.

 

[JimMcC]

Thanks nsafreak. I know nothing about DVR's. Would the projector have to be turned on every time we wanted to record something? Because we only use it to watch HD movies/DVD's and football games. If so, it would be easier to have DVR hooked up to the TV, wouldn't it? But then if we recorded something on the DVR/TV hookup, how do we watch it on the projector? Would I have to first burn it to a DVD to watch it on projector? Does anyone have a setup like mine(projector and TV in different rooms)? If so, what do you have hooked up to each?

 

[dfergie]

Jim, I use my 622 in living room with an older CRT HD set and in my HT room with a 50' toslink and homemade (RG6) 50' componont cables to my HD1000U, I run the 622 in single tuner mode and have an extra UHF remote I keep in there... it works fine. The 622 S-video out you could use for your SD set