Is it me or is this DISH thing overcomplicated

[notorious]

Im sorry but this DISH thing is WAY too complicated for the average Joe. I think Im a bit more savvy than most TV viewers but I still get frustrated with all this Superdish, splitters, cables, sattelites etc etc talk. Its just too much...way too much for simply watch dam TV!

I just wish they would somehow simplify this all. DISH network doesnt help either as their website is useless. They sure dont educate their public with all this nonsense and constant upgrades.

End of rant.

 

[Cyclone]

Actually the Dish Pro Plus stuff will make the Sat stuff much simpler. Single cable feeds to duel tuner and other stuff will make it much easier than it was in the past.

 

[fv3]

You don't have to KNOW any of the stuff we discuss here. Your local retailer will take care of it all for you....

Remember we are all gearheads here.

 

[aperry]

Wait... There's gonna be a way to split a single cable to feed a dual tuner receiver? WHEN????? Or is it out already? I have a DishPRO quad.

If this is possible, I'm all over it, and I may even pick up that 6000 receiver I was thinking about...

 

[Tom488]

Wait... There's gonna be a way to split a single cable to feed a dual tuner receiver? WHEN?????

Early next year - the DishProPlus-44 (DP+44 for short) switch. It has four inputs (DishPro LNBs only), four outputs, and four cascade ports (to connect to another DP+44 to expand the number of outputs). The outputs have built-in legacy adapters (meaning they can connect directly to a legacy, ie. 2800, receiver), and can also drive two-tuner receivers on one output, by using a splitter at the receiver.

As explained in another thread, the receiver (must be DP+ aware in it's software) says, "I'm tuned to satellite 119, transponder 6 on tuner 1, satellite 105, transponder 13 on tuner 2. I'll tell the switch to send 119° transponders 1-16, and stack 105°, transponders 1-16 on top of that". It signals the switch as such, and the splitter splits out the low frequencies to tuner 1, the higher frequencies to tuner 2 (after dropping them back down to their original frequencies, I would imagine).

 

[AppliedAggression]

It sounds confusing because we all do our own installs and switch them around whenever we find something that we feel is better.

For the average customer, they don't need or actually know how many cable lines they have run, how many satellites they're looking at or even how many dishs are on their roof. They need to learn the remote, just like any other customer with a set top box.

 

[Guest]

Yeah the original attraction of DBS was its simplicity (small dish, one satellite location, one LNB, no motors).

With six satellites we're inching back to the size / complexity (and low reliablility) of C band dishes ten years ago.

Will local retailers benefit due to more service calls or will they suffer when confused customers move back to cable ?

 

[Bruno]

But dont worry the install price will stay close to the same.

 

[AllieVi]

notorious,

You're right - it IS complicated, particularly to anyone who is just jumping on board now.

DISH started with a simple system that required a single, simple antenna as mentioned above. As the number of channels grew, more satellite locations were needed to provide access to them. Even more satellite locations are in the works, so even newer solutions are needed.

What is probably most confusing to a newcomer is that all of the different configurations of the past are still functional and discussed on forums/boards. Newer solutions are also jury-rigged with adapters that allow them to be backward-compatible with receivers that weren't designed for the newer capabilities. Those who have been with DISH for a while understand those differences. To add more confusion, you'll also read about (hypothetical?) future solutions and suppositions about how they will work.

One thought that may comfort you: just when you think you understand it all, something newer and even more complicated will come along.

 

[xgrep]

It sounds confusing because we all do our own installs and switch them around whenever we find something that we feel is better.

For the average customer, they don't need or actually know how many cable lines they have run, how many satellites they're looking at or even how many dishs are on their roof. They need to learn the remote, just like any other customer with a set top box.

I was going to agree with you, but on second thought, it's not really as easy as it should be.

Let's say as a consumer, you start with three "simple" decisions:

1. What programming do I want?
2. DVR or not?
3. HD or not?

You might have already made your decisions, but figuring out what equipment to get is not easy at all! And to complicate matters, if you're willing to wait a little, you may be able to get exactly what you want instead of a poor compromise.

I agree that all the technical details of how many dishes, satellites, switches and cables is irrelevant to most people, but if you don't know all the technical stuff, you may not know how to get what you want.

It's too complicated. And worse, it keeps changing.

x

 

[Forward]

"You might have already made your decisions, but figuring out what equipment to get is not easy at all! And to complicate matters, if you're willing to wait a little, you may be able to get exactly what you want instead of a poor compromise. "

Very well said. Indeed, I consider myself a very well educated A-V consumer, have always done my own Dish installs, etc. Yet I am finding the current choices perplexing and unsatisfying. So much so that I am getting more and more comfortable with the idea of sitting this one out and just staying with a Dish 500/300 setup and my old, non Dish Pro receivers for a while. I had planned to get an 811 to replace an old 4000, but the more I look at it the more I sense it's just a marginal upgrade from the 6000 (which I already am using in a projector setup), particularly as respects the guide software, always Dish's weak spot. I haven't bought an HD ready TV set yet anyway, and one thing we all know is that the price of those sets is in serious free fall. Six months from now I will get more for less. Moreover, I use my 4000 for home distribution. With the 811, I would need to get an external modulator -- an unnecessary irritation.

Meanwhile, as respects DVRs, I'm loathe to invest now in a standard definiton DVR (particularly with the monthly fee), yet I'm also loathe to plunk down $1000 for the 921, particularly since it too seems to have old generation software.

Then there's all the uncertainty with the Superdish itself. Can we install it or not? Will we get a "type 1" or a "type 2" dish? Does it NEED to be ground mounted on a pole -- a larger pole than many of us use now, at that? This will be an additional installation charge, surely. Are the adapters for non-Dish Pro receivers going to be part of the "free" install? How about the switches? I have seen no clear indication from Dish -- only speculation. It's not even clear whether we will need it for some of the HD channels (including ESPN -- by far the one I most want). I believe I read somewhere that the current HD pack channels will NOT migrate from 110. And I find it ridiculous that Dish has no current solution for Superdish buyers who also want international channels from the wings.

All in all, I'm thinking maybe I should put my new toy money in a DVD-recorder now, and wait until Dish has a coherent path forward before changing my satellite setup at all.

 

[xgrep]

All in all, I'm thinking maybe I should put my new toy money in a DVD-recorder now, and wait until Dish has a coherent path forward before changing my satellite setup at all.

Yup, that's exactly where I am. I suspect Santa will be bringing an iPod this year, not a 921 .

x

 

[video62]

All in all, I'm thinking maybe I should put my new toy money in a DVD-recorder now, and wait until Dish has a coherent path forward before changing my satellite setup at all.

Exactly what I did... I got a Panasonic DMR-E80H DVR/DVD recorder combo, aka 'E80' based on reports in this forum.