Looking to switch from Cable

[GMFreak8]

I'm looking to possibly switch to Dish, mainly because they offer the most HD programming of any provider I can get. The only thing I'm going to miss by switching is On Demand channels such as HBO on Demand. I'm looking for the cheapest, easiest, and best way to switch. I need 1 HD DVR, and 4 SD receivers (If 5 receivers in total isn't possible, I can deal with 4 I suppose. Doesn't the HD DVR allow for 2 room individual viewing anyway?). I want a setup capable of receiving all the HD Channels including the VOOM channels, and the local channels. What are my options, and what will this cost me?

One thing I probably should mention, I have high speed cable internet and AT&T Callvantage. I have no POTS line. Will all the Dish receivers work with VOIP? I know my standalone TiVo doesn't.

Thanks guys.

 

[Van]

Wait to switch, dish has to many issues with its hd sat to provide you with reliable service at this point, just go to the hd thread and the tech support thread and you will see threads labeled lost transponders, 129, 622, 211, and 411 wich will show you alot of the problems.

 

[GMFreak8]

Wait to switch, dish has to many issues with its hd sat to provide you with reliable service at this point, just go to the hd thread and the tech support thread and you will see threads labeled lost transponders, 129, 622, 211, and 411 wich will show you alot of the problems.

Damn, yeah, one thing I can say about Time Warner cable here is the fact that I never have service interruptions. If that's the case, I'll wait a little longer. Thanks for the information.

 

[danwolf101]

Switch to dush

Do yourself a big favor and switch.I have been with dish for 6 months and I luv it.I could give a sh*t less about HD but there regular lineup is great.180 channels and finally something on.THE cable companies need to learn better customer service and better picture quality.The picture on dish on so much superior to cable.GOOD DAY.

 

[Van]

The mans got an hd set so I dont blame him for wanting more hd content but for him to switch over just to get sd and no hd is like going to the store to get skippy peanut butter and instead leaving with goverment issued peanut butter.

 

[GMFreak8]

The mans got an hd set so I dont blame him for wanting more hd content but for him to switch over just to get sd and no hd is like going to the store to get skippy peanut butter and instead leaving with goverment issued peanut butter.

That's right!

 

[topcats69]

hey gov issued peanut buter is good here beter than store bought.

 

[Pyewacket]

DISH Network does have HD..but there are only 7 channels right now. Apparently next year there are supposed to be more. I have DISH HD and it ROCKS.

 

[topcats69]

29 buddy don't post when your drinking. But Dish is Great

 

[wtb955]

Go ahead and make the switch. The lastest versions of the 622 DVR are mostly "Bug Free." As with any new technology there are small issues, but nothing which should prevent a switch. Many posts of problems with the new MPEG4 receivers were made when they first arrived on the market. In my humble opinion, those posts have fallen off greatly. I have two 622s and they are 99% reliable. I don't think even cable can make that claim. However, if you going for a "bug Free" environment then by all means wait.

 

[mlb]

I have a VIP622 HD-DVR and love it. I switched from Time Warner here in Ohio and have not looked back. Outside of a small issue or two with the install (that was corrected right away) I have been very happy with Dish.

 

[GMFreak8]

I'm not worried much about the boxes. I've had a DVR from Time Warner since they first came out with them (before that a standalone Series 1 TiVo that I still use), and honestly they shouldn't have even called them a DVR until maybe last year. The reliability was horrible, but that's been fixed. Now they just need to work on adding features and making the interface easier to live with. I switched mainly because of the two tuner capability, and HD capability of the TW DVR, but when I gave up TiVo it felt like I went from Mac OS X to DOS.

My hangups with Dish right now include the upfront cost (I had none with Cable, even with a HD DVR), the lack of interactive features (such as On Demand), the cost of the boxes (I can still choose rather or not I want a box on all my TVs with cable), and the overall cost of the programming. Right now I get all the movie channels, all the HD channels, all the regular channels, the HD DVR, a SD box, and all the Premium On Demand channels for right around $105. Now unless I'm missing something, Dish can't touch that price, and I really can't justify the upfront cost, plus the increase of the monthly cost, just for 17 more HD Channels, especially when Time Warner is supposedly adding more HD channels including locals in my area soon. I thought maybe I could get more for less with Dish when I made this post, but after reading things here, and researching, it doesn't look like it'll happen.

As far as reliability, I've had two outages with Time Warner that I can remember. One involved the Ice Storm in 1998 when I was without power and cable for a month, and the other was just recently when some drunk took telephone pole out. It's been rock solid. More than I can say for my DirecTV dish at my camp (which to be fair was a bad installation that the installer refused to fix), which went out if you sneezed. I know that with a proper installation a Dish can be just as reliable, so that's not a problem really.

Anyway, thanks for the information, I may still switch in the future.

 

[Zookster]

I find it a little ironic myself with Dish's "Feed the pig" ad campaign, that I can also get a better deal for HD through cable... and that's even before "bundling" with phone and internet discounts kick in. My cable co., Cox, has as good if not better HD PQ than my 811 had, is more reliable, has excellent customer service, and doesn't require that I subscribe to every single SD channel to get all the HD channels. Granted Dish has more HD channels, but I think they really need to rethink their pricing structures before IPTV launches nationally and cable works out their bandwidth issues that prevent them from adding more HD channels.

 

[Van]

GMfreak I would stay with your current provider then seeing as you have had such reliable service and they are going to be adding more hd content shortly. Yes dish does have more hd content but many of the voom channels are in short nothing more than filler designed to pull you in but once your there your left wondering where the parties at.

What would be nice is to have mainstream stuff in hd, channels that people watch on a daily basis and not fluff stuff.

 

[GMFreak8]

GMfreak I would stay with your current provider then seeing as you have had such reliable service and they are going to be adding more hd content shortly. Yes dish does have more hd content but many of the voom channels are in short nothing more than filler designed to pull you in but once your there your left wondering where the parties at.

What would be nice is to have mainstream stuff in hd, channels that people watch on a daily basis and not fluff stuff.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

 

[Visitor]

I've been a suscriber to Dish for about 6 years now and also have Time Warner Cable. Why do I have both - that's a long story - but yes, my monthly costs are astronomical having both. I have HD with Time Warner and I am generally pleased with it. I've thought about moving my HD package to the one from Dish, but one thing that has always prevented me from doing it is that I seem to get too many dropouts from poor weather with Dish. I don't hear other people with this issue, and my signal levels are almost maxed, but I can usually tell a storm is coming when the picture starts sparkling and then is just lost. Perhaps it's my setup, but it's just odd - sometimes the worst storms won't affect my Dish signal in the slightest, then a passing shower will knock out the signal. On comparison, my cable rarely goes out but the non digital channels don't look as good as their counterparts on Dish. It's such a catch-22 but I think that is one of the principal reasons I never did move my HD to Dish and have kept it with Time Warner.