Receivers I Need?

[RickFox]

I am getting close to ordering up Dish service, but am wanting to decide on the receivers I need before pulling the triger. By the way, since I am in Dallas, I have been told that the service will be provided via. the eastern arc satellites.

I have 2 HD TV's in the home and would like to also record. Does that mean I need at least 1 HD receiver and 1 HD DVR receiver, or is there a dual-type HD DVR available that will handle this job?

I also have a 3rd HD receiver and 1 SD but do not need any recording for this pair. Is the Duo VIP222 good for this?

In the pricing, is the first receiver typically included in the cost? And is each additional receiver an additional $5 each?

Also, I have heard that some of the receivers need a phone line connection. Is this true? We use cell phones and do not currently have a land line?

A lot of questions, but I would rather ask them to those that know rather than speaking to someone on the telephone whose accent is so bad I can't understand what they say.

Thanks

 

[garys]

Dual tuner receivers would require phone line or in the case of HD receivers, a dsl connection to avoid the additional tuner fee. There is also additional/leased receiver fees of $7 for receivers besides the primary one on the account. There is no dual HD output receiver although if the two HD tv's don't need to be different programs at the same time, one receiver can be hooked up to both tv's. New customers can only get four tv's hooked up without having to buy additional receivers so chances are if Dish were to hook up two HD tv's and two sd tv's with one of each having dvr you would get a 722 (HD dvr with second tv being sd) and a 222 (HD with second tv being sd).

 

[Jim5506]

There is no receiver that outputs two different HD streams to the display. If you need independent viewing on two seperate HDTV's you will need two receivers.

Here are the receivers Dish has:

ViP722K - Two HD sat tuners; TV1 output HD; TV2 output SD; optional OTA module with two OTA HD tuners and SD output via ch 3/4 modulator; 500GB HDD. New receiver - OTA seems to be weak due to internal splitting of signal.

ViP722 - Same as 722K but has one built in OTA tuner and agile modulator output NTSC on adjustable channels.

ViP 612 - Same as 722 but designed for one HDTV, no TV2 output. Work in progress.

ViP 222 - Similar to 722 but no recording capability (rumored external HDD in future). Work in progress.

ViP 211 - Single tuner HD receiver with external HDD support ($39 one time fee) can record one OTA and one SAT channel at the same time.

Dish ordinarily only leases two receivers to new subscribers. So, I'd start with a 722 or 722k with OTA module and a 222.

In any case you would be leasing 4 tuners and the secondary receiver would need a phone or broadband connection - better if both have it.

The receiver for the 3rd HDTV might have to be purchased. ViP211's are the least expensive to buy and can be "converted" to a DVR as noted above.

 

[RickFox]

I mentioned that the home requirement was 2 HD TV's with 1 recorder. It sounds like I could use the 612 for one HD TV with recording - no phone line required? I could then use a 211 for the second HD - also no phone line required.

I also mentioned a second pair of TV's that were 1 HD and 1 SD. These are actually located in my RV which has no land line. I suppose I could take the 211 with me when I traveled and forget the SD as far as satellite is concerned.

Does the above make the most sense?

By the way, how would I connect 2 HD TV's to the same HD receiver?

 

[garys]

Most would use component cable to one tv and the HDMI to the second. There are also HDMI and component splitters you can get in order to connect the two HD TV's, but longer lengths tend to cost more money. Also note that both tv's would be viewing the same tuner (program).

 

[RickFox]

How do I find out which receivers require phone lines? We currently have a phone line in our home but probably will be going to cell phones only in the near future. Nobody calls us on the land line anymore and the monthly cost is almost $50. Would those receivers that need a phone line cease to function if the phone line is no longer connected?

For example, both our current DirecTV receivers indicate that a phone line is required, but we have never had a line connected to either of them. The only shortcoming we have detected is that we can not order PPV which does not matter to us.

 

[garys]

Phone line is needed to waive the additional tuner fee and is on most dual tuner dual output receivers (ie: 722, 622, 222, ect. but not on dual tuner single output receivers like the 612). The fee can also be waived if receiver is hooked up to a dsl, but only the Vip HD receivers have this capability.

 

[RickFox]

This all seems very strange to me. Some say the $5 fee for not being connected to a phone line is waived if you have a DVR advantage package. I'm assuming this means most if not all features will continue to work. Is that true? What might not work?

Some say connecting it to the "network" is acceptable. Garys mentioned DSL. I could connect the HD DVR receiver to my network but I don't have DSL.

The second receiver (222 or 211) would most of the time not be connected to anything other than the TV or the dish. If I had the 222, would it work OK without a phone connection? but incur an extra $5 fee?

 

[horseshoe]

Why not two 612's, one for each of the HDTV's you want to be able to record from and a 222 (myself I would make this one a 722)for the other HDTV and use the SD output for the SD TV. That's only four tuners so it should meet the 4 tuner limit.
I thought that all the receivers needed phone connection or broadband connection but could be wrong about that, I keep both my receivers connected. Also it does not need to be DSL but any broadband connection.
For the RV I would just take the VIP222 (or 722) with me.

 

[horseshoe]

The receivers will work without a phone line.