OTA HD without subscription to satellite HD ?

kwcash

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Apr 19, 2004
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I received my 811 free of charge as a new subscriber and a commitment to 12 months of satellite HD. If, at the end of the contract period I decide to drop the satellite HD, will I still be able to recieve OTA HD ?
 

slacker

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May 20, 2004
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Well from what i can gather around from this forum; the answer is no :mad: . So in the end if you buy it; it's just junk for OTA. Unless someone knows a way around it. :confused:
 

rad

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slacker said:
Well from what i can gather around from this forum; the answer is no :mad: . So in the end if you buy it; it's just junk for OTA. Unless someone knows a way around it. :confused:

Unless something has changed, all it needs to do is be able to see a E* satellite signal. It doesn't need to have a subscription for the OTA to function.
 

MikeF

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Dec 2, 2003
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If, at the end of the contract period I decide to drop the satellite HD, will I still be able to recieve OTA HD ?
I do not subscribe to the Dish HD pak and I do use my 811 for OTA HD. That is, when the 49% bug is letting me. I don't see why you would be any different.
 

Shichonni

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Oct 24, 2003
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If you have a TV that has an integrated tuner then you can watch OTA HD channels irregardless of having satellite or cable for that matter.
 

Cyclone

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GaryPen said:
I thought I saw a workaround listed in another thread or forum that said you can access OTA channels, without satellite signal, by going through the menu, then guide, then choosing the channel. Perhaps I misunderstood?
I think that was my work around. That only works if you have the program guide already populated, and only lose your signal temporarily (ie storms). The 6000 & supposedly the 811 will continue to work for OTA even if you cancel your Dish service, but they do have to remain connected to the Dish and Dish will still need to see the satellites.
 

keith

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Dec 11, 2003
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Shichonni said:
If you have a TV that has an integrated tuner then you can watch OTA HD channels irregardless of having satellite or cable for that matter.


"Irregardless" is my favorite nonsensical word!

Anyway, my 811 does not have the HD Pak subscription (pay extra to watch a crappy dark HD image instead of a crappy dark SD image? LOL) and still receives OTA HD. HBO HD is there too, that comes included with the HBO subscription.

Keith.
 

snathanb

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I think there is some confusion... the original poster asked if they had to be subscribed to the HD pack.... people are giving him answers that match the question "Do I have to stay subscribed to Dish network to continue watching OTA HD".

No, you don't have to be subscribed to HD Pak to receive OTA HD.
 

rad

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snathanb said:
I think there is some confusion... the original poster asked if they had to be subscribed to the HD pack.... people are giving him answers that match the question "Do I have to stay subscribed to Dish network to continue watching OTA HD".

No, you don't have to be subscribed to HD Pak to receive OTA HD.

Please point out to me in the original question anywhere where the words HD PACK occur? He wasn't very clear in his question so he'll get unclear answers. The answer that you don't need to stay with Dish to use the OTA tuners would supersede your interpretation anyway.
 

snathanb

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rad said:
Please point out to me in the original question anywhere where the words HD PACK occur? He wasn't very clear in his question so he'll get unclear answers. The answer that you don't need to stay with Dish to use the OTA tuners would supersede your interpretation anyway.

Of course, you are correct. He didn't. He said satellite HD, which I interpreted as HD Pak. Foolish me.

The answer "you don't need to stay with DISH to use the OTA tuners" is reported to be true today (though I don't recall anyone actually confirming that they have unsubsribed an 811 and are continuing to use it to view OTA). Even if true, it could easily be disabled in the future, so I wouldn't bank on it.

But, thank you, anyway for adding nothing of value to the thread.
 

jsanders

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Dec 4, 2003
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I've got a 6000, which is de-activated. Yes, I can still watch OTA channels on it without any problems. The caveat is that you need to have it connected to a dish, it needs to receive channel 101 in order to view OTA channels. It is a hassle to run an extra cable to the roof to do that. My solution is to sell the 6000 on EBay, and buy an OTA tuner. They average between $300 - $400 now, and it shouldn't be that hard to get that much out of a 6000 w/8psk/8vsb.
 

rad

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snathanb said:
Of course, you are correct. He didn't. He said satellite HD, which I interpreted as HD Pak. Foolish me.

The answer "you don't need to stay with DISH to use the OTA tuners" is reported to be true today (though I don't recall anyone actually confirming that they have unsubsribed an 811 and are continuing to use it to view OTA). Even if true, it could easily be disabled in the future, so I wouldn't bank on it.

But, thank you, anyway for adding nothing of value to the thread.

I have had an 811 that I discontinued with E* and did continue to receive OTA channels so that did work. As for working in the future, yep they could change that, they could also change that you need the HD pack to get OTA in the future also, making your answer useless also. No go away.
 

mikew

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jsanders said:
My solution is to sell the 6000 on EBay, and buy an OTA tuner. They average between $300 - $400 now, and it shouldn't be that hard to get that much out of a 6000 w/8psk/8vsb.

I put my 6000 up on E-Bay yesterday morning at 9:00 with a starting price of $450 and "buy it now" at $500 w/$20.00 shipping. I had $520 in my Paypal account in 30 minutes.

I don't know why they fetch so much, but I parted with mine in a heartbeat. I have to non-hd big screens and I thought I'd watch alot of HD stuff downconverted to the SD sets. I found that I rarely used the unit because most of what I watch is on the PVR.
 

sirlurkalot

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Feb 24, 2004
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mikew said:
I put my 6000 up on E-Bay yesterday morning at 9:00 with a starting price of $450 and "buy it now" at $500 w/$20.00 shipping. I had $520 in my Paypal account in 30 minutes.

I don't know why they fetch so much, but I parted with mine in a heartbeat. I have to non-hd big screens and I thought I'd watch alot of HD stuff downconverted to the SD sets. I found that I rarely used the unit because most of what I watch is on the PVR.


I believe that the 6000's can be "hacked".

Note that i said "believe". I have no knowledge of how to do it (nor would I!).

I "believe" that googling with the words "6000" and "JTAG" might point your enquiry in the right direction.

I am not a hacker, nor do I think "theft of service" is right.
 

John Kotches

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This is a very bad decision.

Last night, I had extremely severe weather, with rain thick enough to cause loss of signal.

This rendered me unable to watch even locals, and get timely weather updates.

Bad, bad, bad.

Cheers,
 

Soon-to-be E* cust. trying to decide

811 strech modes ant OTA

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