Realistically, what can I expect?

[speedlever]

I've had E* in the past. We left E* about 2.5 years ago due to a combination of increasing fees and too much rain fade and moved to a fiber optic service called Plex. Honestly, we've been pretty happy with Plex except that their prices have dramatically increased and their DVR seems pretty basic. I liked the E* DVR (vip722k) much better. I'm probably bored with Plex and am sorta itching to change to something different. We do a fair amount of DVR recording, especially sporting events but don't watch any primetime TV... so PTAT is a waste for us.

So I was recently in Costco and got to talking to the DTV rep... and he piqued my interest in D*. I've never really been a fan of DTV before, but am seriously considering a move to D* and the Xtra package. Although I have no HDTVs currently in the house (darn CRTs will NOT break!), I hope to add at least one HDTV soon.

The rep priced out my 2nd (second) year of Xtra service with 3 Genies (2 minis) at ~$100/month plus taxes. Does that sound accurate? Including all fees? Am I overlooking anything?

Our bundled price for Plex is about $82/month, so it may simply not be worth it to switch to DTV. While our first year will be cheaper (due to promos), our 2nd year and on will likely be more expensive.

Can I reasonably expect DTV satellite service to have less rain fade than E* (as the rep insisted)? I am skeptical of that claim. Rain fade was a significant factor in leaving E*. My zip code is 27265, fwiw.

... pondering my options...

 

[raoul5788]

I would say Directv probably has a little bit more rain fade compared to Dish. There are other factors involved in choosing your provider. What one has more of the channels you want to watch? (no one has them all!) Who has the better equipment? What are the costs? Can you post the pricing given to you?

 

[ejb1980]

You're not far from me... That's High Point, right? I think there is more rain fade with Dish. A buddy in Graham has had both within the past year and agrees. A friend in Durham has Dish and loses it all the time. When you get HD, and the HD signal goes away, switch to SD. That hardly ever fades. I did not lose HD signal much during the heavy rain the other day, just a few brief flutters and a few seconds of "searching for signal" a couple times.

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[raoul5788]

Rain fade with dbs is generally dependent on two factors, the types of signals used and the quality of the installation. Directv uses ka for their hd signals and it is more susceptible to rain fade. Those Dish installs could have marginal signal strength due to a poorly done install. Dish size is also a factor, but since the dishes are about the same size, it doesn't really matter.

 

[dfergie]

Having both providers Dish usually goes out first followed by DIRECTV when we have heavy cloud cover / rain ... (which has been very scarce lately)

 

[ejb1980]

I have never lost signal for clouds, even on Dish. I think you should get the alignment checked!

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[speedlever]

Thanks for the replies. I'm out of town at the moment and will have to dig up my notes when I get back to see what (if any) detail the rep gave me on pricing. Free installation on up to 4 TVs of course and a $200 Costco card. Enticing. IIRC, first year was something in the upper $60's and 2nd year was $101 plus taxes for 3 Genies... allegedly everything included with the Xtra package. I need to find out the specifics of exactly what "everything" includes.

Yep, High Point, NC is zip 27265. I don't want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire on this. While rain fade didn't happen every time it rained with E*, it happened enough to be a real irritation.

Channel-wise, the only channel I see that we might miss is ESPN Classic. Otherwise, there are way more channels available than we would ever watch (our normal would be HGTV, Food and cooking channel, some news, and mostly sports channels... especially ACC basketball, maybe an occasional movie on Hallmark, etc.). What movies we watch mainly come from Netflix... so no premium channels. Xtra seems the closest to what would hit the main channels we watch (with a good bit of overkill).

Back to the rain fade issue... it certainly sounds hit and miss as to whether or not I can expect similar results to E*. I guess I'm not surprised by that, but was hoping that the technology had made some advancement in that regard since I last had a dbs system. Recently, I noticed a DTV service guy in the neighborhood and asked him to come over and scope out my house for a potential installation. He pulled out his spyglass and seemed to think we would not have any line of sight issues... for a least several years (when some growing trees might conflict).

So the pondering continues...

 

[harshness]

Whether or not you have HDTVs, DIRECTV is going to set you up with an HD system. That's a good thing since they would ding you to upgrade when you do need HD.

As long as all of your TVs have line level video inputs of some sort, you're golden. If not, using modulators with DIRECTV equipment may represent a serious quality compromise.

I'd carefully compare programming packages between all three and do some research on the various DVRs that each service offers before you make a move. Moving to satellite will necessarily rope you into a 24 month commitment.

 

[harshness]

Channel-wise, the only channel I see that we might miss is ESPN Classic.

ESPN Classic is rumored to be moving away from being a linear channel to a 100% VOD configuration so that may diminish the impact of that apparent omission.

 

[harshness]

Dish size is also a factor, but since the dishes are about the same size, it doesn't really matter.

The DISH EA dish is about 85% the sail area of the Slimline (73.3% for the WA dish). The DISH dish is effectively 5 inches narrower. The important factor is the frequency and its susceptibility to dispersion as you mentioned earlier.

 

[speedlever]

Harshness, I Googled line level video inputs and didn't find anything. How would I know if my current TVs have that? Would component input be an example?

 

[raoul5788]

Unless your crt is an hd model, it probably doesn't have component inputs. Some models do have them. Line level refers to composite inputs. Do you have a model number for your television?

 

[harshness]

Unless your crt is an hd model, it probably doesn't have component inputs. Some models do have them. Line level refers to composite inputs.

I also include S-VHS inputs in the category of line level inputs. This would cover both the RCA video and audio inputs as well as a 4-pin mini DIN input.

I would imagine that installers are going to have to be carrying the GenieMini video adapter cables that are required to feed an SDTV now.

 

[raoul5788]

Since line level refers to audio signals, I don't include s-vhs. I agree about the dongle for the mini Genies.

 

[harshness]

Since line level refers to audio signals, I don't include s-vhs.

Line level also applies to NTSC analog video signals whether composite or S-VHS (chroma a luminance delivered independently). It is a very handy designation to distinguish between the varying analog voltages and their RF modulated counterparts.

 

[raoul5788]

Line level also applies to NTSC analog video signals whether composite or S-VHS (chroma a luminance delivered independently). It is a very handy designation to distinguish between the varying analog voltages and their RF modulated counterparts.

Not that they are the definitive authority, but: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level

 

[speedlever]

Well I haven't looked at the back of the TV in a long time. But it's an old Hitachii 32" crt and I'm sure it has YPbPr connections on the back. I'll have to check the model number later. But I think it is a 32UX series.

 

[speedlever]

Hardware-wise, is there any chance of getting old HW vs newer HW in case there have been recent HW changes?

 

[raoul5788]

Well I haven't looked at the back of the TV in a long time. But it's an old Hitachii 32" crt and I'm sure it has YPbPr connections on the back. I'll have to check the model number later. But I think it is a 32UX series.

Those are component inputs, meaning the component dongle will work fine with that set. They also make a composite dongle.

 

[harshness]

Not that they are the definitive authority, but: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level

Wikipedia often gets just one side of the story but the video side is analogous to the audio side. Here's a page from an industry supplier offering distribution amplifiers for analog line level video (with line level audio in some cases):

http://www.fullcompass.com/category/Distribution-Amplifiers-Video-Analog-Line-Level.html

These were used extensively in analog duplication systems and to send a single analog video to multiple screens (billboards, flight schedules, sports bars, etc).

At the cable access center where I volunteer, we had a truck that was built around several S-VHS distribution amps to route video to the devices used to record video including the instant replay devices. There were also several auxiliary program monitors.