Pay-as you-go RV TV Equipment

[daveh505@comcast.net]

I am thinking about getting into the new pay-as-you-go TV for my RV. I am not presently a Dish Network subscriber but I have in the past used a 3900 and dish 500 twin in my RV with FlexTv.
The website Dishformytv.com insinuates that a person MUST buy the VIP211K directly from dish to ensure getting a reciever tested by Winnibego. Is this true?
Can a Dish 500 twin be used to pull in HD programing? If it does what programing would I be missing if I could not 'see' 129?
The website Dishformytv.com also states that after the initial $40 external drive setup fee there are no "No monthly DVR fees like those other models". Is this true?
Thanks

 

[MattG@DISH]

I'm not too sure what "tested by Winnibego" refers to, so I can't answer that question. A 500 typically brings in satellites 119 and 110, but you would need a 1000.2/1000.4 WA to get satellite 129. Sat 129 carries a vast majority of the HD programming. If you pay the one time fee of $40 to have EHD services activated on the 211k, there is no monthly fee tied to it. Regular DVR receivers have a $6/month charge. Can you specify what you mean by:

"The website Dishformytv.com insinuates that a person MUST buy the VIP211K directly from dish to ensure getting a reciever tested by Winnibego."

 

[daveh505@comcast.net]

The following is a direct quote from dishformyrv.com:

Can I use one of my existing receivers in my RV?


While it may be possible to use another receiver model, at this time the ViP211k is the ONLY receiver model available and supported for this program.


The ViP-211k offers all of the latest features and benefits:

• Fully vetted on the road and shake tested by Winnebago
• Small chassis designed to easily fit in the space-limited environment of an RV
• Full support for HD programming and DVR (using optional external hard drive)

This is also a direct quote from dishformyrv.com

DVR Ready – Add your own external hard drive to turn this set-top into a DVR for a one-time fee of $40. No monthly DVR fees like those other models.

Does the last statement realy mean what it says: NO MONTHLY DVR FEES?

 

[MattG@DISH]

There is not a monthly DVR fee when you have a 211 with the EHD activated, only the one time $40 fee. You can use other receivers for the RV. I think what they are referring to is the fact that moving a HDD while it has power can damage the hard drive. If a receiver is not getting power when moved, it's much less likely to be damaged.

 

[daveh505@comcast.net]

Ok. We have established that there is absolutely no monthly fee of any kind for activating External Hard Drve on a VIP211k sat reciever.
Now I want to know if the statement: "Fully vetted on the road and shake tested by Winnebago" means that the only source of a VIP211k that meets this criteria is the Dish Network store?

 

[Dah-Henny]

A 211k is a 211k. Buy it anywhere you want to.

 

[MattG@DISH]

I imagine that the 211k receivers provided by us directly are the exact same as those by the dish store. I'm not 100% sure, but 90-ish% sure. We don't have anything on our internal sites that say we "shake test" our receivers.

 

[daveh505@comcast.net]

Thanks for a direct answer. That was what I was hoping for.
It appears Dish has done right by the RV community. On a whole we are a honest bunch looking for a good bang for our buck.

 

[Brisak]

I shake test 211k receivers all the time.If they don't power up I grab them and shake them violently until they power up