I am currently a cable customer for both broadcast and broadband who just switched to DSL. The previous owner of our home had DISH installed and the dish is still on the roof and mounted to the chimney.
Last winter I completed running Cat5e to all of our rooms and dismantled the wireless network. The RG6 was re-ran for both satellite and cable tv, and the satellite portion was verifed as working with a loaner receiver (picture was awesome). Subsequently I added in a server rack in the basement that holds two servers, one for development and the other works as our PVR. The PVR distributes programming across the LAN with Hauppage MVP devices at the playback locations (either recorded or live). Works very well and I have about 200 gig of storage on that machine which is easily expandable.
I'm looking to get a new HDTV over the next few months. Presently there's an old Sony 27 in our main viewing room that I've had for 6 years and I'm waiting a bit longer for the 1080p units to come down in price before I jump.
I would like to maximize the number of HD channels I can receive along with the Great Wall package. One of the primary reasons we are considering Dish over others is the Chinese channels that are available.
I realize there's the MPEG-4 change looming, so I don't want to get caught in a bind with outdated equipment. I'm wondering if the dish itself will remain unchanged after the switch.
What I'd like is a receiver in two rooms, one in our primary living area and the other at the server rack. I realize the PVR won't record HD, and I'm fine with that. There's a potential problem with the dish, it points through the east side of a huge maple tree and I am wondering if I'll end up moving that dish. If I could move it 50 yards away and avoid signal loss I might end up placing it out by my garden.
Couple of questions. Would it make sense to get the latest and greatest dish and two cheapy receivers (either retail or off of eBay)? That way when the MPEG-4 change occurs I could just get new gear.
Or do I just get a package direct from DISH and hope for the best as far as equipment upgrade?
How far can I realistically move the dish away from the receiver and still get a decent picture?
How much does having a tree in the middle of the line-of-sight on the dish play into signal loss? Its not pointing through the trunk, but that tree is growing and I'm not looking forward to moving all of this next year after I get it hooked up.
Last - is it smarter to hire an installer first and walk them through my setup before buying my gear? Its just that in dealing with the doofus at BestBuy/CircuitCity/Sears it didn't take long to realize they were clueless.
Thanks!
Last winter I completed running Cat5e to all of our rooms and dismantled the wireless network. The RG6 was re-ran for both satellite and cable tv, and the satellite portion was verifed as working with a loaner receiver (picture was awesome). Subsequently I added in a server rack in the basement that holds two servers, one for development and the other works as our PVR. The PVR distributes programming across the LAN with Hauppage MVP devices at the playback locations (either recorded or live). Works very well and I have about 200 gig of storage on that machine which is easily expandable.
I'm looking to get a new HDTV over the next few months. Presently there's an old Sony 27 in our main viewing room that I've had for 6 years and I'm waiting a bit longer for the 1080p units to come down in price before I jump.
I would like to maximize the number of HD channels I can receive along with the Great Wall package. One of the primary reasons we are considering Dish over others is the Chinese channels that are available.
I realize there's the MPEG-4 change looming, so I don't want to get caught in a bind with outdated equipment. I'm wondering if the dish itself will remain unchanged after the switch.
What I'd like is a receiver in two rooms, one in our primary living area and the other at the server rack. I realize the PVR won't record HD, and I'm fine with that. There's a potential problem with the dish, it points through the east side of a huge maple tree and I am wondering if I'll end up moving that dish. If I could move it 50 yards away and avoid signal loss I might end up placing it out by my garden.
Couple of questions. Would it make sense to get the latest and greatest dish and two cheapy receivers (either retail or off of eBay)? That way when the MPEG-4 change occurs I could just get new gear.
Or do I just get a package direct from DISH and hope for the best as far as equipment upgrade?
How far can I realistically move the dish away from the receiver and still get a decent picture?
How much does having a tree in the middle of the line-of-sight on the dish play into signal loss? Its not pointing through the trunk, but that tree is growing and I'm not looking forward to moving all of this next year after I get it hooked up.
Last - is it smarter to hire an installer first and walk them through my setup before buying my gear? Its just that in dealing with the doofus at BestBuy/CircuitCity/Sears it didn't take long to realize they were clueless.
Thanks!