Is it really practical to consider switching to E*?

[CPanther95]

I'm fast losing patience with D* (since getting 2 of the first 2000 units shipped in 1994) and have seriously begun to think about alternatives. Cable is not an option in my area, so I'm flirting with switching to E*, but it seems that there'd be no way to feasibly switch without a huge investment.

I'm willing to spend some, and also factor in what I can ebay D* equipment for (I wouldn't expect E* to offer a free switch - I paid D* plenty for what I have now) but I don't want to get into huge monthly lease fees.

Here's what I have now:

(2) 3LNB dishes each feeding a 5x8 multiswitch
*** also have my old Voom dish still hooked up
(3) HD-Tivos
(1) HD STB
(2) SD-Tivos
(1) SD STB

I have all wiring run to those multi-switches and have very little interest in running new runs to accomodate multiple dual STBs.

Anyone have a clue what it would cost to switch and what the monthly fee (hardware only) would be?

 

[boba]

Ask again after Feb. or whenever DISH gets it's MPEG 4 HDDVRs to the market place.

 

[JamesJ]

I would second that panther, I would wait till after the 1st kinda let the air settle on all this mpeg4 talk, then I would jump in, I think that would be a Perfect time to come on over! by the way love the avatar! too bad they didnt show that scene here in cleveland, didnt want to see their fans getting thrown around by the steelers too!

 

[Sean Mota]

panther wait until Feb 1st (like everyone says). Once CES is over and the smoke clears on Feb 1st there will be more information about this MPEG-4 and probably more newer information. I have both Dish and DirecTv right now and I am planning to dump one by May 1st. So it will very important to me how they both look by then. I have a budget to cover me until May/June.

 

[Purogamer]

Forget the 1st, you should be able to make a decision after monday if we get all the info we're supposed to get...Just sit tight for now...

Man D* was the bomb back in 94 when it came out...All we could get out in the sticks was locals...

 

[mdonnelly]

I would take everything I hear Monday with a grain of salt. Wait until the press release comes out, or it appears as an option on the web site.

 

[gpflepsen]

Wait until you SEE what they're doing, not just what they are saying.

 

[CPanther95]

I definitely won't do anything until they are MPEG4 ready, but based on previous promotions - is it likely they will have much to offer beyond the first stb or two?

 

[mdonnelly]

I definitely won't do anything until they are MPEG4 ready, but based on previous promotions - is it likely they will have much to offer beyond the first stb or two?

Based on previous promotions, they do 4-room installs free, which means 2 dual-tuner SD receivers. Everything else is extra cost.

 

[BrianMis]

Wait until you SEE what they're doing, not just what they are saying.

Well Charlie knows there will be a lot of people watching on Monday, if he says something on the chat then he'll have to buck up. If he doesn't then we'll have to call him to task.

I'm not saying we'll know anymore on Monday, but if he finally lets the cat out of the bag....well then he's going to have to stick to it.

 

[mdonnelly]

Well Charlie knows there will be a lot of people watching on Monday, if he says something on the chat then he'll have to buck up. If he doesn't then we'll have to call him to task.
I'm not saying we'll know anymore on Monday, but if he finally lets the cat out of the bag....well then he's going to have to stick to it.

You haven't seen many Charlie Chats, have you.

 

[CPanther95]

After looking at the 622 specs, I'm not sure E* is gonna work. I've got both OTA tuners fired up during primetime of most days. In fact, there are some timeslots I have to watch a 3rd show live because the tuners are occupied on other channels.

I must be the odd one, I rarely have a need for 2 DBS tuners at the same time.

 

[CPanther95]

Well, with MPEG4 HD-Lite - it's all a moot point now. I can stay with D* for crappy HD.