I currently have a Dish 512 receiver that is located outside my room so I have a UHF remote to control it. I purchased a new TV and it does not have the Svideo connection only HDMI and the AV input, when I connect to the AV input it looks terrible, everyone is telling me that I need to connect with HDMI, but there is no HDMI on the 512, called DISH and they want to send a tech out and replace everything and make me sign up for a 2year contract and some other fees. Can't I just get a 612 receiver and connect it to my existing dish and cables? I only care about the basic channels, not looking for HD just looking for a decent picture. Thanks
need HDMI connection
- Thread starter JayfromSD
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Do I understand that the svideo output of the 512 looks good on your previous TV, but the A/V output does not? S-video and A/V signals should be very close in PQ, with svideo being a little better. If the old TV shows a lousy picture as well on the A/V output, there is something wrong with the 512 that you didn't notice before. If you never tried that configuration, but only plugged in the A/V output to your new HDTV, then we don't know whether the 512 is at fault or the analog inputs and scaler on your new TV.
By the way, I have a $98 32" HDTV in my daughter's bedroom hooked up to a 612. The scaler in that TV is really crappy. But by setting the 612 to the panel's native resolution and letting the 612 do the scaling, the result is pretty darn good.
By the way, I have a $98 32" HDTV in my daughter's bedroom hooked up to a 612. The scaler in that TV is really crappy. But by setting the 612 to the panel's native resolution and letting the 612 do the scaling, the result is pretty darn good.
My parents still had an old SDTV in their house hooked to the second output of 722k a couple years ago. They replaced the old tv with an HDTV but were still getting a SD picture from the 722k in that room. The SD picture in that room looked noticeably worse on their new HDTV than it did on the old SDTV. A lot of the flat screen HDTV's just don't do a very good job with a SD source. If your old TV was SD this might be part of what you are experiencing.
I don't think switching to HDMI will make a drastic difference if you are still watching SD content.
I don't think switching to HDMI will make a drastic difference if you are still watching SD content.
What if I just switch out the 512 with the 612 will I be able to get HD content or do I need to switch out the dish to receive HD? My old TV was a 1st gen Plasma so it was not capable of HD, and the problem with my new TV is that the picture was a smaller square on the screen then when I told it to stretch it looks awful. Thanks Jay
Yes, you would need a new Dish for the HD sat. I've lost track of the dish model numbers any more...I think it would require a 1000.4 for Western Arc.
You would need to subscribe to HD service to use the ViP612 at all. You can buy a ViP612 and a new dish outright and install them yourself if you want to avoid the commitment but you'll get roped back in if you have DISH install anything.
An alternative is to locate someone locally to install everything for you. It is up to you to decide whether the installation cost is worth avoiding the commitment.
You can purchase a 612 and avoid the commitment, but choosing to upgrade to match your TV Would be on you... You should still have the availability to use the RCA cables as I have yet to come across an actual TV set that doesn't support that.
Are you sure about that? I seem to remember many HD receivers being used for accounts w/o HD service, and they get SD channels and HD freeviews and HD locals, but that's it.
I can confirm that HD receivers work fine without HD on the account, just like you said.
Rest assured, TVs that have only an HDMI connection are out there. Since few use tape-based camcorders anymore, the composite inputs are all but wasted unless you're a classic console gamer.
It should be noted that most solutions that convert from one cabling format to another will NOT survive HDCP.
At one time, there was an exemption for those who were required to have MPEG4 equipment to get their local channels. Perhaps the exceptions have expanded to those that simply don't want HD programming (but I wouldn't bet the farm on it).
HD service has never been required for an HD receiver. When you first upgrade it is, but it is nothing more than an add on programming package.
I remember when there was an HD access fee of $6 per month just for having an HD receiver on your account if you didn't subscribe to an HD package. This was on top of the regular $5 per month access fee for not subscribing to a base package. It ticked me off at the time because I only got the HD receiver to get the national feed of CBS HD, and then, right after I got the HD receiver, Dish took away CBS HD because of the distant networks lawsuit, and I still had to pay the $6 per month for zero HD channels. (Well, they might have still had the fish tank channel.) Later, around the time that Dish launched HD locals in my market, Dish eliminated the HD access fee and introduced the Locals Only package, which bundled the locals and the access fee into a single line item and actually lowered my bill. Now, I have Welcome Pack with Columbus, OH locals, which is a Western Arc market with SD feeds available on the same satellite as the HD feeds, so I can confirm that HD receivers are allowed without a subscription to HD programming, even in markets that do not require all HD equipment.
Having said all of the above, I still wish there was an HD add-on for Welcome Pack.
