Newbie questions about Dish and offers

[tok]

Hello, I am currently a cable customer (with Cablevision) and now, as an old customer, I am paying full prices for their analog "family cable" package ($47.09 / month). I am looking at alternatives, and Dish seems a very good choice. I never had satellite, so I am still new on how it works. I have 3 standard TVs (but we use at most 2 at a time), directly connected to catv wiring, and one is connected also to a ReplayTV DVR. Here are the questions:
1) What is the best deal for new customers? I know I qualify for the $19.99/month offer as I am in NY. Is this the best I can get? Do new customers always have to commit to 12/24 months to get good offers?
2) What is the best equipment that I should get? Is the DISH 625 the best choice for me, as I would only use 2 tvs at a time at most? Or should I get a single unit for each TV (increasing the monthly cost)?
3) How would the equipment connect to my TVs? Do they use the cable wiring?
4) Are there any hidden fees or costs I should be aware of, other than the advertised monthy fee?

Thanks!!!

 

[DWS44]

Hey...

Welcome to SatGuys!

1. that is probably the best offer right now...plus you can combine it with a Club Dish discount to make to make it a little better. Not sure if the 19.99 deal requires the committment or not, most new subs don't have to agree to any committments.

2. You can get the 625 as a DVR that would work for 2 TVs, and you could get a third receiver for your other TV if you wish. On the lease plans, they probably wouldnt let you get three seperate receivers...one would have to be a dual tuner unit, like the 625 or 322 (non-DVR unit). The key here is to get what you want upfront when you order...once you are a sub, it isnt always easy to upgrade to newer receivers when they come out.

3. The systems will connect via your home cable wiring, assuming it isnt too old. Satellite required newer RG-6 cabling, as RG-59 can cause problems. Your installation will include most any additional wiring needed above and beyond what you have. Since you will have a dual tuner, there will be some modification needed to get the signal from the receiver to TV #2.

4. Just taxes, depending on where you live. They will generally charge an additional $5 for each receiver beyond your first...and another $5 if you dont keep the dual-tuner receiver plugged to a phone line. Lastly, they will charge you a $5 DVR fee if you get the DVR model.

Good Luck!

 

[WakeBdr]

Glad someone posted this recently. I want to piggy-back something on this question. A friend of mine recently ordered Dish for his newly built house. This is odd, but he did not wire his house for telephone. Dish is going to charge him $5 a month for this as we all know. Is there any way he can get out of this charge since there is no possibility of even having a phone line connected?

 

[sprintcarcrazy]

I think it's dependent on what receivers they have. They don't enforce this rule very well. I have 7 receivers, 4 are hooked up to phone lines, the others are not and I have never had extra charge because of it.

 

[redline65]

I've got an 811 and two 301s, none of which are hooked up to phone lines. No extra charges. I thought only the two-tuner receivers (DVR and multi-room) had to be hooked up to the phone line or you get the extra charge?

 

[jergenf]

Hello, I am currently a cable customer (with Cablevision) and now, as an old customer, I am paying full prices for their analog "family cable" package ($47.09 / month). I am looking at alternatives, and Dish seems a very good choice. I never had satellite, so I am still new on how it works. I have 3 standard TVs (but we use at most 2 at a time), directly connected to catv wiring, and one is connected also to a ReplayTV DVR. Here are the questions:
1) What is the best deal for new customers? I know I qualify for the $19.99/month offer as I am in NY. Is this the best I can get? Do new customers always have to commit to 12/24 months to get good offers?
2) What is the best equipment that I should get? Is the DISH 625 the best choice for me, as I would only use 2 tvs at a time at most? Or should I get a single unit for each TV (increasing the monthly cost)?
3) How would the equipment connect to my TVs? Do they use the cable wiring?
4) Are there any hidden fees or costs I should be aware of, other than the advertised monthy fee?

Thanks!!!

1) The $19.95 sounds like a good deal but compare the channels you have now to the channels you'll get.

2) If the 625 suits your needs then go with that. There are even better units if you're planning on going HD but of course that will cost more.

3) No they will not use your existing cables for connecting the dish antenna to the receiver but you might be able to use your inside cables to connect to the other TVs. Also for the third TV you can use a coupler so that TV2 and TV3 are the same source. But if you want each TV to be independant you'll need another receiver and a special switch (example DP34) so that you'll have more outputs. Make sure you specify that which the origianl install to aviod additional cost later.

4) They may state the install is free or $49 but whatever is quoted should be the final price with the possibility of sales tax. If the offer is for a limited time then make sure you know what the normal rates will be. Cable does the same thing to get you hooked. As a general rule satellite has lower rates on a channel to channel basis compared to cable. Also future price increases are lower and less frequent than cable. Always find out if there are any commitments or penalties before subscribing. Ask about the following:

Sometimes there's a $5 penalty if you later reduce your programming.

The 625 has dual user mode with (hard drive) DVR so here are the fees:
You can own the receiver or they may offer you a lease plan at $5 per month.

Also the dual user mode receivers require a phone line to avoid a $5 monthly fee. The reason is it considered two receivers even though it's only one box.

Units with hard drives may have a $5/mo DVR fee but sometimes that's waived if you order certain packages (example the Everything Pak).

Five bucks more per month for each additional receiver you own and want to be activate. You may not need any additional receivers if TV2 and TV3 view the same channel.

All of these possible fees would be explained before you order but always ask just to be safe.

Personally I avoid all these fees because I have the Everything Pak and more.

Just in case this deal doesn't include locals. You can order local TV though dishnetwork at an additional cost but you may be able to get it free with your own TV antenna. Something to consider if you live anywhere near by.

One last thing you can further save money by paying annually rather than monthly. Typically for the price of 11 months you get one month free. Plus a savings of over $4 in postage stamps because you're not billed each month.

 

[jergenf]

Glad someone posted this recently. I want to piggy-back something on this question. A friend of mine recently ordered Dish for his newly built house. This is odd, but he did not wire his house for telephone. Dish is going to charge him $5 a month for this as we all know. Is there any way he can get out of this charge since there is no possibility of even having a phone line connected?

Only the 522, 625 and 942 (maybe also the 322) require the phone line connected (to avoid the additional fee). There are wireless phone connections available but I believe they require at least one active phone outlet. Not sure if there are any ways of doing it with cellular or not.

 

[tok]

Thanks for the answers!! I just spoke to Dish and asked if I could combine the $19.99 deal with the Club Dish discount, and they said the offers cannot be combined. He recommended I would get the $19.99 deal as it is the best deal they offer. The only problem that I have right now is that they said that any deal I would get (including the Club Dish deal) would require me to sign at least a 1 year contract with them and I am not sure if I wanted to do that without actually try them. I would also have to initially pay $69.98 (including $19.99 for the equipment fee for the Dish 625) and I would get a $49.99 credit on my first bill. Then it would cost $24.97 +tax for 2 TVs with the Dish 625.

Also for the third TV you can use a coupler so that TV2 and TV3 are the same source.

This seems to be the perfect option for me. Do I have to request this during the installation, or can I do this easily on my own?

Also, a couple of more questions:
1) Right now I don't have HDTV. What would happen if I wanted hdtv in the future? Or if I wanted to add more tvs?
2) Did anyone here came from Cablevision? What is the quality of Dish compared to analog cable (or Cablevision if you had them)?

 

[KE4EST]

This seems to be the perfect option for me. Do I have to request this during the installation, or can I do this easily on my own?

You can back feed another TV on your own easy, but if you want the tech to do it most, will charge a little extra, some want.

 

[R-U-Q-R-U]

2. You can get the 625 as a DVR that would work for 2 TVs, and you could get a third receiver for your other TV if you wish. On the lease plans, they probably wouldnt let you get three seperate receivers...one would have to be a dual tuner unit, like the 625 or 322 (non-DVR unit). The key here is to get what you want upfront when you order...once you are a sub, it isnt always easy to upgrade to newer receivers when they come out.

I lease 4 boxes: 811 (2) and 301 (2).

 

[DWS44]

I lease 4 boxes: 811 (2) and 301 (2).

Thats cool, then. I tried to get a pair of 301's when I signed up last year instead of the 322, but they wouldnt let me do that.