Making the jump from cable to sat

[gkjdc24]

So I finally have the wife convinced that satellite is good alternative to cable and I have signed up for E*.
The equipment that they will be installing is the 722 DVR, and the 1000 model dish. Is this the latest/greatest? Should I be asking for something better/newer?

I posted in another thread, asking about weather issues with satellite. If anybody on these boards lives near Oklahoma City, I would be curious to hear your satellite experience regarding all these crazy storms we get around here.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[HailScroob]

The 722 is an awesome box; enjoy!

As for the Dish 1000... 129 gets crappy when the cloudcover gets thick. I just ordered a new LNB for my (very) old 61.5 dish and when that comes I'm dumping 129.

 

[gkjdc24]

I assumed that the 722 was the best they offer, but had to ask.

Forgive my ignorance, but I assume 129 is a satellite? Yes? In regards to the 1000, should i maybe look for an older model on eBAY? If cloud cover is going to mess this thing up, then that's sort of a deal breaker for me, as it's almost always cloudy here in central OK

Is there a thread somewhere on these boards, that could better explain how the satellites work with the dish?

At any rate, thanks for the response and I look forward to further education!

 

[dishcomm]

I assumed that the 722 was the best they offer, but had to ask.

Forgive my ignorance, but I assume 129 is a satellite? Yes? In regards to the 1000, should i maybe look for an older model on eBAY? If cloud cover is going to mess this thing up, then that's sort of a deal breaker for me, as it's almost always cloudy here in central OK

Is there a thread somewhere on these boards, that could better explain how the satellites work with the dish?

At any rate, thanks for the response and I look forward to further education!

don't orry about it..The 129 does have issues wiht lower signal strenghts. Bit Dish has since rolled out the Dish 1000.2 antenna and the Dish 1000 plus...The reflectors are roughly the same size. Much larger than their Dish 1000 predecessor. The larger the reflector, the more gain or signal the dish collects.As long as thge tech dong the install takes his time ( 5 extra mins) and paeks the dish properly, you shoulkd have few concerns about signal loss in moderat erainfall. Now to be straight, you'll lose signal for certain during those "Oklahoma Gully Washer" thundestorms.

 

[griz_fan]

yep, you have the latest/greatest, so you should be in for a treat. I remember having to convince my wife to go with Dish and a DVR; she was very skeptical at first. Now, I think she'd give up indoor plumbing before parting ways with our 622. Of all the tech in our house, the Dish DVRs are the most "wife-friendly" in my opinion. Enjoy!

 

[gkjdc24]

Good deal and thanks again for the input!

So when the installer comes today, what signal levels should I be looking for? Or does that vary geographically?

Just want to make sure that he doesn't just throw the dish up and move on to the next install for the day. Maybe I can slip him a 20 to spend a little extra time...

Thanks again folks!

 

[darrencp22]

Keep in mind we should not be too technical with newbies. People signing up are going to know nothing about satellite orbital locations.

 

[gkjdc24]

I completely understand, but that doesn't mean I can't look over the guy's shoulder to ensure that he's optimizing my levels.
If I don't know what the levels should be, looking over his shoulder would be useless.
Is there a thread somewhere in these forums, that explains that?

I get pretty bad weather at times here in OK and I want the signal to be as strong as possible, so it doesn't constantly affect it when it rains. If that happens, Momma won't be pleased.

Keep in mind that this is the difference between a nice king size bed and sleeping on the couch. I'm a desperate man!

Thanks again.

 

[wolfjc]

I completely understand, but that doesn't mean I can't look over the guy's shoulder to ensure that he's optimizing my levels.
If I don't know what the levels should be, looking over his shoulder would be useless.
Is there a thread somewhere in these forums, that explains that?

I get pretty bad weather at times here in OK and want the siganl to be as good as possible, so it doesn't constantly affect it when it rains.

Keep in mind that this is the difference between a nice king size bed and sleeping on the couch. I'm a desperate man!

Thanks again.

Well I live in Ohio and not where you live but when we get a really strong thunder storm I sometimes will lose signel for a short time never more than 5 mins. I just have to live with it. It is not really such a big deal.

 

[bgsmallwood]

gkj:

I live in Moore OK. Rain seldom affects satellite reception, contrary to what the cable company will tell you.

Ordinary plain jane rain, you won't notice any difference.

The only time you will lose reception is when there is a thunderstorm with a big heavy anvil at the top. During the few minutes that anvil is moving in between your dish and the satellite, you will lose reception.

But it is only for a few minutes, and you usually don't lose all channels at the same time.

Oh, and if you have severe icing like we did in Dec you might lose one of the satellites. I lost 129 until the sun melted the ice from that particular LNB.

During the last ice storm I lost power for a day. I started my generator up and plugged the TV, receiver, and refrigerator in. Presto, I was back in business.
My neighbors with cable had nothing but OTA, if that.

 

[darrencp22]

Cant speak for OK, but here in the Buffalo area, we do get our good share of rain, and of course, snow. I've been outside once to clear a dish of snow, and have lost reception maybe 3-4 times due to rain, for no longer than 5-10 seconds. It's not bad at all. If you cant handle being without 5 seconds of TV, then it's time to stop watching TV.

 

[gkjdc24]

Like I told my wife, "It's not like it's satellite power"

As far as losing 5 seconds of TV... I could care less. Well...as long as it's not during Desperate Housewives.:neener I kid...I kid...

Now that aside, As Dishcomm stated earlier... Much of the signal degradation (during storms) is dependent on the signal levels. So, here's what I will do. When the installer is done today, I will post the signal levels and then you guys can tell me if I got my 20 bucks worth.:up

Thanks again for the help.

 

[HailScroob]

Sorry for tossing out orbital locations...

The sats at 129 and 61.5 are where the bulk of HD comes from (the same national HD channels are broadcast from both). The satellite at 129 has multiple issues and therefore the signal is not as reliable as it is from the healthy, more powerful bird at 61.5, which is why I said I am switching. 129 provides for a one dish solution, but I'd rather have more reliable reception. 61.5 sits lower in the sky, so not everyone has a line of site good enough to point a dish at it, but I'm lucky enough to be pointing my "wing" (extra) dish over a big, almost to-the-horizon cornfield. The Dish 1000.2 conveniently comes with an input for a wing dish, so no extra switches are required.

When my 1000.2 was installed, they took their time and peaked it to a good 129 signal (low 60s), and while I very rarely lose signal altogether, when the clouds get thick or it's really foggy or there's a hard rain/snow the HD channels from 129 get flaky: there are brief dropouts and freezes and pixilation. The HD from 110 (HBO, Showtime) does not have this problem. From (long) past experience, HD from 61.5 doesn't have this problem either. As for Momma; depending on what she watches, the standard definition channels - including Dish locals - aren't nearly as sensitive to brief signal fluctuations. The last time I completely lost the SD channels, we were in the middle of what felt like an inland hurricane.

When they place your dish, take a careful survey of where they have it pointed: are there trees that are going to grow in a few years and block the line of sight? Or is there already a tree that seems fine now, but will become a wall when the leaves come in? Is there any current or known construction that might end up blocking the view from the chosen spot?

At least here in northern Indiana, our installers seem to only be concerned with the here and now. When my SuperDish was first mounted 4 years ago, they pointed it directly over a young oak tree. When that tree grew 3 more feet (i.e. the following spring) the line of site would have been completely obscured, and yet I had to argue (a lot) to get them to move it then and there (because the signal was great where it was, at that time). No way I was going to pay for a dish relocation service call in 6 months time…

 

[bryus]

I had Dish 5-6 years ago and the only problems I had with weather were related to snow build up on a dish mounted 15 feet off the ground on the peak of my roof.

That was one thing I liked better about DirecTV, they mounted the dish 5 feet off the ground on the side of my house, under the eaves. I never had a signal problem.

 

[gkjdc24]

Ahh...More great information. Thanks for the tip!

Momma should be watching mostly SD, she's not as concerned with HD as I am. I plan to have an indoor antenna to pick up OTA as well.

Yeah, the location of my dish should be perfect. It will sit on the back corner of the roof and shoot right accross the peak of the house. No trees even close.

Thanks again Hail and I PM'd you for more clarification.

Peace!

 

[levibluewa]

Byrus...

You forgot to mention that you also have more HD

RE: 129. Wouldn't recommend it if you have a shot at the 61.5. Not an option here because of trees and being at the edge of the "footprint", we'd lose signal 2xanhour for 3-5 minutes, especially tp (transponder) 6 - TBSHD (meter reading was 24), and the tp where they've put MonstersHD and A&EHD. It is a sign of things to come I guess, I'm seeing more and more posts from subscribers who are not located in the "fringe" areas of the country that are beginning to have problems with the 129. By the way, the above signal loss was with a separate 24" dish pointed at the 129. Also tried a 1000+; results were slightly worse than the separate 24" dish.

So, as stated before, the last DISH installer told me point blank that if I wanted HD I'd have to switch to Directv, which I did in November and now kick myself for not doing it "sooner"

Had no problems with DISH SD for 7 years, then came the upgrade to HD and the 129

You "should" be better off, signal-wise in Oklahoma. Now you just have to get DISH to add FXHD, USAHD, SPIKEHD, CNNHD, FOXBUSINESSHD, CNBCHD, SMITHSONIANHD, MGMHD, FUELHD, etc.

Bruce

PS...love those Oklahoma thunderstorms!!!

Also, meter readings for tp27, where they have A&E, was 54, then drop to 0 twice an hour for the 3-5 minutes each time. MONSTERSHD on tp23 was 45 and would drop to 0 2xanhour for the same amount of time.

 

[HailScroob]

I plan to have an indoor antenna to pick up OTA as well.

The 722 has an awesome OTA tuner. We have low power stations here for ABC and CW, both with adjacent channel, full-power digital stations within range. My Dish 942 couldn't sort it out, so they were basically unwatchable. The tuner in my Pioneer PDP-6070HD couldn't do any better. But my 722 locks onto both and displays them perfectly.

 

[soonerman]

Dish and weather in OKC

I live in the Oklahoma City area and had dish for 3 years. I rarely had problems with the dish signal. The only time I lost signal was usually in the spring with one of those massive thunderstorms that move in. Even then, the signal would be out for maybe 5 minutes. I had an OTA tuner so I could pick up the locals for weather information until the storm blew by.

I did notice that the signal was lost usually right before the storm came up on me from the SW. Once it was on us and raining heavily, I usually had signal. Snow, wind, normal rains, fog - none of those EVER caused a problem.

I hope this helps.

By the way, I had the dish 500 with a 625 DVR and also a 311 receiver.

 

[kvnfl]

Do not sweat reception issues. The Installer will have a tool that finds the best reception. My house is in the sub tropics, I know rain. Does not matter what the source, OTA, D* or E*, if you are going to get a REALLY HEAVY downpour, you loose signal right before the rain. While it is raining the signal usual comes back. It does not happen very often and when it does, it is a good time to hit the head, get a refill, pop some popcorn, or shut your windows. Besides, you are getting a DVR. If this is your first DVR, you will find it is so easy to record events you will watch almost everything prerecorded. If you know it rained while recording a show you can delete it and record it at a later date. The only thing that gets infected with occassional black outs are one time only events, such as sporting events. I can not remember the last time I watched a sporting event real time at home. Give hockey, basket ball, and football games at least an hour of prerecord time before viewing. When people ask you about "have you seen _____ commercial?" You say "no."

The rare black outs are easily overcome once you have experienced the difference in picture/sound quality. After a day with satellite, you will never be able to watch cable without cringing.

 

[Jim5506]

Once momma discovers HD you may be in for a fight.