Help with upgrading to HDTV

[sgilbert]

I recently purchased a 57" Hitachi HDTV and im looking to upgrade, first thing i did was get a little OTA antenna and SIR-150 to play with, but now i would like to upgrade to an HDTV satallite service. I currently have DirectTV with about 2 months left on my commitment, i have a TIVo and 2 hughs 501's, my main question and one i didnt find the answer to is, What specifically do i need to upgrade my current system to HDTV, i mean i know i need a HDTV receiver but after that do i need a new dish and LNB's? I currently have a tripple LNB setup installed last year. On the DirectTV website they claim a upgrade price of $400 for existing customers coupled with at least a $100 for a good OTA antenna ( which i will need because im 60 miles from the stations). theres no way ima pay that when i could go Voom for free and get a OTA antenna installed for nothing. I would like to stay DirectTV if i could maybe gather up some parts for 200 or less and do it on my own. Anyone got any experiance with this?

thx

Shawn

 

[beast37799]

um i beleve that best buy has an upgrade offer for 99 dollars if u go to best buy there should be a display for it

 

[rkr0923]

Go with VOOM
Dtv charges $10.95 a month extra for 3 HD stations

 

[mini1]

Go with VOOM
Dtv charges $10.95 a month extra for 3 HD stations

this is wrong. $10.95= 4 or 5 HD channels, depending on the day if a special event is in HD or not on the 5th channel. this also get you access to HD PPV. stay with DirecTV, they will have 14-20 total HD channels by year end, and they will start adding locals in HD next year by satellite. they have the best line-up of HD receivers and do plan on surpassing Voom over the next few years in terms of HD. you can get an HD receiver if you know how to deal with DirecTV and are a current customer, you can get an HD receiver for as little as $99. your Tri-LNB dish is all set for HD, and you already have an antenna. then you can go ahead and sell you ATSC STB and use that one that it included in the DirecTV receiver. good luck!

 

[ramcm7]

Not $99 at my BB

um i beleve that best buy has an upgrade offer for 99 dollars if u go to best buy there should be a display for it

Are you sure about the $99 at BB? Just swung through the D* section at my BB (Albany, NY) and they had most HD boxes at $299.

Also, it appears the $99 upgrade to HD for existing subs is not quite as good. Check out http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=337667 for the current offers folks are getting.