Receivers with OTA

[ryotgz]

Hello,

I am looking for a receiver as cheap as I can get it that features OTA. We have a TV in our basement and it would be nice to watch TV down there and use the OTA when storms come through. I did some searching and found the list at the bottom of the post. I am looking to purchase one from eBay and wasn't sure if there were any other receivers besides the ones below.

Receviers with OTA modules:
Duo ViP® 211 HD receiver
Duo ViP® 211k HD receiver
Duo ViP® 222 HD receiver
Solo DVR ViP® 612 HD DVR
DuoDVR™ ViP® 622 HD DVR
DuoDVR™ ViP® 722 HD DVR

Thanks!

 

[TheKrell]

Interesting question. Do I presume correctly that you want an HD receiver like the ones you listed? How about an old HD receiver that no longer works for Dish HD? (Should be much cheaper.)

 

[gadgtfreek]

Krell, I understand what you are thinking, but he can get a 211 for cheap (right?). So why not get a new model?

 

[ryotgz]

Interesting question. Do I presume correctly that you want an HD receiver like the ones you listed? How about an old HD receiver that no longer works for Dish HD? (Should be much cheaper.)

Doesn't matter if it is HD or not. We have a huge tube TV that I have no plans replacing with an HD one anytime soon. As long as it is still compatible with Dish and has OTA that is fine with me.

 

[TheKrell]

... he can get a 211 for cheap (right?). So why not get a new model?

Good point. But the OP wants "cheap", and he or she didn't even mention HD. Maybe the basement TV is only an SD model.

I am looking for a receiver as cheap as I can get it that features OTA.

Ha! Near simultaneous posting with the OP's answer. Weren't there some SD receivers with an OTA tuner? (Probably only for NTSC which won't do due to the proximity of June 12.) I think one of those old mpeg-2 HD receivers might fit the bill.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Hehe.

 

[boba]

DISH 811 renamed 381 is a HD receiver that dosen't support MPEG4 so is now considered a SD receiver. It has the ATSC tuner built in and is around $50 on eBay

 

[garys]

Converter boxes such as the DTV Pal will get you OTA when sat signal is out. Also any box with a digital tuner such as dvd recorders and even many tv's themselves would work as well.

 

[Hall]

He said "compatible with Dish", so I presume he wants satellite service normally and wants OTA available as a backup when needed. In this case, and since he said "cheap", I'd rule out any DVR models, and look at the 211 or 811/381 that boba mentioned.

According to my Dish'n It Up options, I can get a single-room HD receiver for $25 shipped or $75 installed.

 

[ryotgz]

Thanks for the responses everyone. It looks like the 811/381 will do what I would like it to do (watch satellite when working in basement and watch locals when the sat is out during storms). It pretty cheap on eBay and I am on the Western Arc so I do not need to have an MPEG4 receiver for now.

Hall-
I checked the Dish'n It Up and I can get the same receiver for $100 Installed or $50 Shipped, but wouldn't want to extend the contract another 2 years yet.

 

[Agonizing Fury]

You may also want to check out dish'n it out like new as well. in this promotion you own the receiver and I think it's just $79 installed. I have also noticed of late that certain areas of customer service (cancellation, loyalty, whatever you want to call it) uses this quite often as a freebie or half price deal to keep customers from switching to DirecTV for 5+ TVs so if you're out of contract you could always try your hand at that game.

 

[ryotgz]

Dish 381 Receiver

I just bought and received a refurbished 381 thanks to everyone's help on a cheap receiver to buy. Now, I just called Dish to activate on my account and didn't have it hooked up to a TV at the time, but she took the ID #'s anyways.

I gave her the R00 # on the back of the receiver and the Smart Card # on the bottom of the (purple) smart card. Now, when I hook the receiver to a TV it shows a completely different S# which I assume is the built-in one. Any idea on how I can get it to recognize the new card?

 

[ryotgz]

I just checked the software version and it has P385 and looks like P428 is the newest. Do I need to let it update to recognize this new card? If so, how long do I need to keep it on to update?

EDIT: Got it to update and now recognizes the card. Just wanted to thank everyone for their help on choosing a receiver on the low price end.

 

[TheKrell]

Congrats. How much for the refurbished 8... Er I mean the 381?

 

[ryotgz]

I got it for $28.50