Dodging an ETF and Other Charges

[HanoverPretzel]

If you are very low income you should maybe just switch to antenna OTA programming.

Don't get any channels OTA with indoor antennas in my apartment (Literally, not just saying the channels are bad, I literally don't get any channels. I almost got a FOX affiliate, but it clicked in for a few seconds and out for a few minutes). Potentially I might if I bought a real high powered antenna and paid someone to mount it on my roof, but that's a lot to do for someone in my financial situation for a "maybe", especially considering the lack of channel selection you get OTA. It's definitely something I've considered, though.

 

[lparsons21]

I got to thinking about the OP situation and from his description, maybe some adjustments are needed in the entertainment arena. Assuming you can get out of the Dish contract somehow, here's something that might be good enough.

With no Dish bill, then the internet issue should be more doable which opens up online viewing. Hulu and other free sites from the computer could fill a lot of gaps from having just over the air. I'm retired and watch way too much TV when I'm home, so I understand that wouldn't be ideal, but it might be good enough.

 

[harshness]

well that would suck.. it would be nice if dish could be flexible.

Oddly enough, DISH is one of the more flexible.

On the other hand, as subscription TV is not a lifeline utility, you can't expect that you're going to get much of anything for free.

I've had more trouble keeping my water turned on than I have had with DISH Network.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Alright, I called them. They are sending a tech out tomorrow. They say it's free. If they can fix it for free, then I guess I'll stick with them under the circumstances.

I am a little surprised, because it doesn't really match their published policies, but I'll take it.

You posted all of this doom and gloom before contacting Dish?? I could see if you explained your story to a CSR, got no satisfaction, and then came here to vent....

 

[HanoverPretzel]

You posted all of this doom and gloom before contacting Dish?? I could see if you explained your story to a CSR, got no satisfaction, and then came here to vent....

That's a fair criticism. Honestly, I've gotten so used to calling companies and not getting adequate service, that I had scant hope, especially since every time I've seen it mentioned on the forum, people have said that service calls are charged period and you don't get them free. I'm glad I (and they), were wrong, though, in this case. It'd be really nice if we could get this back up and running without any cost on my part.

 

[TG2]

As to OTA programming ... don't "guess" know.. TV Fool left hand column ... scroll down to the "Click Here" enter your real address, and you'll get a listing of the stuff you should get. In my case it expected I would have difficulty picking up Fox/ABC/CBS (all at same tower) because I'm 60 ~ 75 miles from broadcast towers... but all I had to do was re-aim the antenna a little, and then I added by previous cable company installed power amp .... and signals went from 68~70 up to 75~80 and the side channels are nice to have (weather radar by ABC/CBS, TV Classics (or what ever its called, where they show The Saint, I Spy, and airwolf, plus..)

report for my location:
TV Fool

I'm getting the stuff in the 90° and 280° true azimuth positions. upto 65 miles in the 90° direction (forward aim, 280 is rear) and with the OTA module I added 2 OTA channel recording to my 722k (yeah I realize you don't have that ability now, but it really makes the OTA worth it!)

 

[HanoverPretzel]

As to OTA programming ... don't "guess" know.. TV Fool left hand column ... scroll down to the "Click Here" enter your real address, and you'll get a listing of the stuff you should get. In my case it expected I would have difficulty picking up Fox/ABC/CBS (all at same tower) because I'm 60 ~ 75 miles from broadcast towers... but all I had to do was re-aim the antenna a little, and then I added by previous cable company installed power amp .... and signals went from 68~70 up to 75~80 and the side channels are nice to have (weather radar by ABC/CBS, TV Classics (or what ever its called, where they show The Saint, I Spy, and airwolf, plus..)

report for my location:
TV Fool

I'm getting the stuff in the 90° and 280° true azimuth positions. upto 65 miles in the 90° direction (forward aim, 280 is rear) and with the OTA module I added 2 OTA channel recording to my 722k (yeah I realize you don't have that ability now, but it really makes the OTA worth it!)

Thanks for the link. It does seem a little off for my location, though. It says there are two stations I can get indoors, which I can't get. However, I have tall buildings and trees and such around. It's sort of an urban area in a rural region (If that makes sense). So, that's a factor -- there's really no way I can absolutely verify what I can or can't get without doing it. It gives me a rough idea of what I could hope to get, but it's still sort of a cash upfront for something that might not work for sure type of deal.

It's definitely something worth sort of considering in the background, though. With my financial situation combined with my credit, plus some general difficulty sometimes dealing with big businesses, it's worth keeping stuff like that in mind. So much in the sports world has gone cable only that I can't see ever truly being happy with it, but the no monthly fee part of it is a big selling point (Though the upfront cost could be too much to handle).

 

[Mr Tony]

Looks like this whole thread is moot as in your other thread you said DIsh will come out to fix the dish alignment issue for free