Questions re: switching to Dish 622; also - "moving" question.

[JJ J]

I currently own my own non high def Dish satellite and Dish Receiver.

I'm considering getting high def. If I understand the info from their cs correctly, I need to have them install a different satellite, and they will charge me monthly for a different receiver - the 622.

They will charge me 70/month for the hi-def Gold - Top 180 plus 27 hi def channels, and 5/month for my locals.

Also 6/month DVR rental, 6/month tuner (I guess this means receiver) rental, 5/month charge if I don't hook in a phone line.

18 month commitment, with a pro-rated 13.33/month penalty if I cancel.

Also a $100 rebate - $10 credit/month for the 1st 10 months.

A few questions:

1) Do I have the above correct?

2) If I end up deciding to cancel the high-def package but keep the receiver so I can have the dual receiver and the tivo/dvr, are there any other penalties?
(I forgot to ask them this).

3) I currently have 1 tv in the living room.
With the new package, I'd like to have:

a) a TV with high-def in the living rm;

b) a tv with high def in bedroom 1 which would use the same receiver but be "independent" - i.e., it's my understanding that that receiver is "dual" and is basically 2 tuners in one;

c) and a tv - probably non high-def - in the 2nd bedroom, which I'd like to "ghost" the tv in bedroom 1 - i.e., use the same tuner as the tv in bedroom 1 but have its own remote
(is there an extra charge for this?) -
and if either TV in one of the bedrooms is on, the TV in the other bedroom would show the same program.

Is this possible and realistic, and am I correct that it will work using the equipment I describe above?

Are there extra install charges for what I've described above?

4) I'm reading on these pages about a new version of the 622.
Is this available now? If not, should I wait for it?

5) Finally, and most important to me - I would not own the hi-def satellite and receiver.

What I'd like to do is notify them of a "move" awhile after they do the install.

Will they give me a problem about taking their equipment to a different city on my "move"?

Or will I be ok, if I tell them I've moved to another state and I've taken all of their equipment with me and installed it myself there?

Thanks for your responses.


PS - Does the 622 have 2 DVR's (i.e., the 622 is 2 receivers in one box, so each receiver has it's own DVR), so that both TV's can use that process simultaneously, or is there one DVR which the twin receivers share?
(It's my understanding that the "DVR" is Dish's version of the Tivo - correct?).

 

[bhelms]

Welcome. I'll answer part and leave the rest for others...

1) You will indeed need a different dish for HD. Most of the SD programming comes from the 110 and 119 sats. You probably have a Dish500 now for those 2 sat. locations. Some of the HD content is at 110 but most is at either 61.5 or mirrored for the most part at 129. A Dish1000 will pick-up 110, 119, 129. For the 61.5 slot you could keep your D500 but you will need a second dish to receive 61.5. Which is the right answer for you depends on your location. The 129 sat. cannot be received in the NE and parts of Florida. It is also too low for many customers on the east coast.

Your math seems correct. There is the (I believe) $199 upgrade fee for existing customers, minus that rebate. There would be no additional charges for just the 622. The correct names for the fees would be "Leased Receiver Fee" ($6 because it's HD) and "DVR Service Fee" ($5.98). The other I believe is an "Additional Receiver Fee" - $5, waived with the connected phone line. Everything you need will be included in the upgrade installation fee (except anything related to an OTA antenna, etc., which you should consider!).

The 622 is set up for SD/HD from TV1 and SD or down-converted HD from TV2. The only way to have HD in two locations is to feed the TV1 outputs to both, which some folks have done, example, use the HDMI outputs for the "nearby" HDTV and extended component cables (plus audio cables) to the second HDTV location. Of course both would be watching the same program. The 622 does indeed have "dual tuners" (actually 3 counting the OTA tuner), but it's the TV2 output that limits what you can do. That one would work independently for your second bedroom, SD and DC-HD only. TV1 uses an infared remote so you need to use that one in the same room as the 622. TV2 uses a UHF remote that will work from some distance away. The unit can be set in a "dual" mode where TV1 and TV2 outputs work independently.

Someone else will answer the rest I'm sure...

 

[JJ J]

bhelms - Thanks for your welcome and your response.

Your post brings up what I suppose is a newbie question -

What is down converted HDTV?

And if this is inferior (sounds like it) to "real" or "regular" HDTV, is there a better option, such as using a single HDTV receiver with DVR in the living room and bedroom 1 (mirroring this receiver in bedroom 2)?

 

[ccg3]

the 622 has one DVR share by all the tunners so, you could record 3 things at once, one on tv1, one on tv2 and one from off air. All tuners can play back any recording. As far as moving I don't think it's any big deal if you move in the comment time (18 months). I would just ask when you call and order service. If you want to get other Local channels you will not get them for the new address. E* used spotbeams and if your not in the correct location you will not get the channels. Last Prices are going up soon and you would be billed the new prices . Before I forget there going to be new offers for the 622 look on this web site for Dish news from CES.

 

[JJ J]

ccg3 - "If you want to get other Local channels you will not get them for the new address. E* used spotbeams and if your not in the correct location you will not get the channels. "

I thought that some cities are still CONUS?


DISH tells customers that if they move they should take the receiver with them and leave the dish, and that they'll be given a new dish at the new location.

I own my equipment currently (not a 622), so I didn't have a problem on a previous move.

But I'm wondering if DISH will give me problems if I'm leasing equipment from them, and then I "move" to another state and tell them that I have brought their 622 receiver and dish on my move and have set it up myself in the new city I've moved to.??

 

[JJ J]

Would be grateful for any further help, especially on the "moving" issue.

 

[psnarula]

"moving" with leased equipment is not an issue. they don't care.

hd locals are conus in he following markets:

129 degrees:
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Chicago
Denver
Kansas City
Los Angeles
Minneapolis
Nashville
Salt Lake City

61.5 degrees:
New York City
Boston
Philadelphia
Washington, D.C.

118.75 degrees:
Detroit
Pittsburgh
Raleigh
Saint Louis

 

[bhelms]

bhelms - Thanks for your welcome and your response.

Your post brings up what I suppose is a newbie question -

What is down converted HDTV?

And if this is inferior (sounds like it) to "real" or "regular" HDTV, is there a better option, such as using a single HDTV receiver with DVR in the living room and bedroom 1 (mirroring this receiver in bedroom 2)?

I don't know the technical answer to DC HD, but essentially it's what happens when HD content is converted for rendering via composite or S-video outputs or the "agile modulated" coax output for use by SD TVs. The 16x9 format is squeezed to 4x3 and the resolution is reduced substantially. With the remote you can adjust the picture with the "zoom" function to unsqueeze it, but of course you lose a bunch of picture off-screen that way on a 4x3 display.

I'm not sure what you're asking in the second question. The only HD DVR at present is the dual-output ViP622. There is apparently a 611 version coming that will presumably have a single sat. tuner and only 1 output. If your second TV is also HD, the only option you have with the 622 to have HD on both TVs is to run the HDMI connection to one (presumably the "nearby" TV) and the component connections to the second (remote?) TV. Both outputs are live at the same time, but of course both have the same TV1 program showing. If you only watch one at a time that would be a very viable option for you. Or make that connection in addition to the TV2 connection to your second set. That way you can have the dual capability if both TVs are in use at the same time but the viewers want to watch different programs (TV2 in SD and DC HD of course). Your other option is to have a second HD receiver like another 622/611, or the 211 if you don't want a second DVR capability...