Help with my decision

[gregsmy]

Hi everyone,
I am thinking about making a switch from my standard cable to DN but all the "deals" and hidden prices are confusing. Currently I have standard (no digital,no HD) cable that costs $53 a month plus taxes and fees. I would like to lower my monthly costs if possible or at least get improved performance (digital) and features (dvr) for the same price. I have 1 LCD (HD) tv and 3 older analog tvs in the house. Since I dont have digital svc the new tv looks crappy but we live with it because we dont want to spend any more for cable. I am looking at the Bronze 100 or Silver 200service because of the price. I am looking for help with my decisions from current customers that could make suggestions on the best route to take, things they would change now or eliminate. Should I go with a 2 year contract or not? Are there any way around the fees (dvr,local channels, etc.)? I also see where there is going to be a price change on 2/1/10, should I wait to see if new packages are going to be available or do it before? Thanks for any and all help.

 

[Scherrman]

I would go with a dual tuner hd dvr receiver(722). You would hook side 1 of the receiver to your HDTV and side 2 to your other SD TVs. The other 3 TVs would have to watch the same program but every TV would have DVR. If you went that route you could get HD and DVR and be around the same price as your cable.

I would suggest:
Top 100 with locals $39.99
HD programming $10.00
DVR $6.00
Total $55.99
This price would be after promotional discounts. You should get $15 off for 12 months and can get HBO and Showtime for 3 months. I would do the 2 year contract so you avoid the $99 activation fee. You'll also get their service plan free for 6 months.

This senario is assuming you would only need 2 independant tvs for programming. If you needed all 4 TVs to have separate programming you would need another dual tuner which would cost an additional $14 a month, $17 if it's another DVR receiver.

 

[gregsmy]

So with a 2 year contract I would deduct $15 off of that price for the frist 12 months ($40.99) or is that priced with the $15 discount and I would expect to pay $70.99 for the second year?

 

[Laddyboy]

So with a 2 year contract I would deduct $15 off of that price for the frist 12 months ($40.99) or is that priced with the $15 discount and I would expect to pay $70.99 for the second year?

The prices quoted by Scherman are the regular prices. The discount comes off that. Also check out Dish Store, one of this site's sponsors. They sometimes have additional rebates. See the link at the top of the page.

 

[gregsmy]

So with the price change 2/1 would it be better to do it before? I also see the programing name change from bronze 100 to top 120 I think. Are there going to be additional channels?

 

[gregsmy]

We could live with the other 3 tv's watching the same channel but how will it work with the remotes? Can you get and use multiple rf remotes? We have a 2 story house. Do you think we would have problems with the remotes working correctly or would we need to locate the box some where central? The HD tv is in the living room and the other SD tv's are in the bedrooms.

The Top 100 is fine but the only thing I will miss is The Speed Channel. Is there any other way to get additional programming without going to the silver 200?

 

[AriesGodofWar]

We could live with the other 3 tv's watching the same channel but how will it work with the remotes? Can you get and use multiple rf remotes? We have a 2 story house. Do you think we would have problems with the remotes working correctly or would we need to locate the box some where central? The HD tv is in the living room and the other SD tv's are in the bedrooms.

The Top 100 is fine but the only thing I will miss is The Speed Channel. Is there any other way to get additional programming without going to the silver 200?

Yep, you just buy additional UHF remotes, tune them all to the same channel and you are good to go. I have my TV2 output split to two TVs, one in the bedroom and one in the living room, and have a UHF remote tuned to the same channel in each room, no issues.

 

[gregsmy]

Can I split it 2 on one out put and 2 on the other?

 

[Bob Haller]

if you have multiple people your better off getting a second dual tuner DVR receiver and if thats the case a second 722K.

Of course E is reported to charge 17 bucks a month for the second receiver. But the 6 buck DVR fee is per account..

interestingly the second receiver fee for a dual tuner DVR is the same if its HD or SD. So the 722 costs nothing extra say in comparison with a 625 smaller hard drive at same cost

 

[gregsmy]

I think I would stay with one receiver, trading convenience for costs. I want to stay in the same or lower price range than my current cable.

Does anybody know if they are going to add any more channels to the bronze 100 / top 120 or whatever its going to be called? I saw in the past they used to have a package called Americas Top 120 that included Speed. If you had that does it stay the same or does it change every time they change the packages?