Trying for HD on a tight budget

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carguy4sp

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Original poster
Aug 20, 2010
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Fort Myers, Fl
Currently I have an older duo dish receiver and I am still trying to figure out the best way to receive HD without a 100$ a month dish bill. I have the dish 500 now and I live in SW Florida.

I have been looking on ebay @ the HD dish 1000 series. I guess they are several and I do not know which one to purchase for SW florida.

I guess after the new HD dish I will have to purchase a new receiver and sign up for HD programming which requires a package upgrade for me. Is there an extra charge for the DVR/Receiver?

So which dish antenna do I need ? Thy have some with 3 to 4 LNB's what is the benifit of the extra LNB,s?

I purchased a DP 34 switch today hopeing that it would work OK with the new HD system.

What about the local HD channel antenns with the remote motor that turns the antenna for local stations anyone use such a thing and do they work if so which one ?

I have to try and save pennies my wife has been out of work for a year now.

Any help or ideas would be great.

Rod and Alica
 
The 720p idea is a good one, but I've found they're harder and harder to find and the cost increase to 1080p is not all that great. You already wasted money on the DP34 since you won't need it when you put up the right dish.

FtMyers is an Eastern Arc DMA, which means you want to buy a 1000.4 dish which comes with an integrated DishPro Plus switch capable of feeding 3 dual-tuner receivers. If you want to keep a dual-tuner receiver, you want the 222 or 222k. If you also want a DVR, then you want a 622, 722, 722k. The "k" versions of these receivers cannot tune OTA channels without an additional OTA module. If you can stand a single-output TV, then a 211 or 211k might suffice. Single output DVR is the 612.

The DVRs cost an extra $6/mo, but otherwise if they're the only receiver on the account, then that's it. Note that Dish SD receivers will not work on Eastern Arc, so you may want to sell that after your upgrade.
 
Last edited:
carguy4sp said:
Currently I have an older duo dish receiver and I am still trying to figure out the best way to receive HD without a 100$ a month dish bill. I have the dish 500 now and I live in SW Florida.

I have been looking on ebay @ the HD dish 1000 series. I guess they are several and I do not know which one to purchase for SW florida.

I guess after the new HD dish I will have to purchase a new receiver and sign up for HD programming which requires a package upgrade for me. Is there an extra charge for the DVR/Receiver?

So which dish antenna do I need ? Thy have some with 3 to 4 LNB's what is the benifit of the extra LNB,s?

I purchased a DP 34 switch today hopeing that it would work OK with the new HD system.

What about the local HD channel antenns with the remote motor that turns the antenna for local stations anyone use such a thing and do they work if so which one ?

I have to try and save pennies my wife has been out of work for a year now.

Any help or ideas would be great.

Rod and Alica
Click to expand...

The Ft. Myers market is an eastern arc market but it is also available on the western arc. The 1000.4 antenna is for the eastern arc and the 1000.2 is for the western arc. No external switch is required as either antenna can drive up to three dual tuner receivers. All the SD and HD programming comes from three orbital positions for each arc, requiring three LNBs. If I were you I would look into getting the upgrade and install from E*. You'll likely pay as much for the antenna as E* charges for the install. If you commit to a 24-month agreement you will qualify for HD for Life, saving $10 per month, as long as you also sign up for paperless billing and autopay. Otherwise, the cheapest is to buy a 211k from Dishstore or online from ebay or amazon or another retailer. By paying a one-time $40 fee and adding an external hard drive you can turn it into a DVR avoiding the $6 DVR account fee E* charges. Locals are included in the package prices. Any external antenna above the roof will work fine for OTA if you're in Ft. Myers. I'm in North Port and get all the Ft. Myers OTA just fine using a standard antenna mounted above the roof. I've also used one of those small (6" x 12") amplified GE digital antenna from Home Depot and it worked fine also. E* is likely going to ding you at least $200 for the upgrade and install. Depending on the receiver/DVR, it could be $300 or more. Last year was the time to do this when it was being pushed and they were giving cheap upgrades. You might want to look into D*'s deals for new subs as well. The DirecTV HR24 receiver is pretty good.
 
As far as the TV goes, the OP already has an HDTV, and a 222k, based on previous post.

To the OP, I would think that in FL, you would be able to receive several local networks "over the air" with a rooftop antenna. Check tvfool.com to see what you can receive.
 
You want to do it on a tight budget? CALL DISH and ask what it will cosy? You've already wasted money on wrong equipment(DP34), they will lease and install correct equipment probably for less that you could buy it for. Besides if money is really tight you might think twice, is HD really that important?
 
I just switched to Dish America, which is only $29.99 including HD locals. It has everything my wife and I watch. I agree that you should stop buying equipment and get someone like DishStore.net to quote you a price (with the Sattelliteguys rebate).
 
Dish America actually does not seem horrible with locals, A & E, Cartoon Network, CNBC, CNN, Comedy Central, Discovery, ESPN, ESPN 2, Food Network, HD Theater, HDnet, HGTV, History, Lifetime, Syfy, Spike TV, TBS, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, USA Network, The Weather Channel, and CMT all in HD from what I understand.

You could even add other options if you like movies. There is Encore Movies a la carte for $5.00. From what I understand, it would include Encore West (341), Encore Westerns (342), Encore Action (343), Encore Mystery (344), Encore Drama (345), and Encore Love (346). It does not seem like a bad deal for $5.

EPIX 3 alone is $7; I do not think that is the best deal. I mean $7 seems like a lot for one channel. Maybe it would be better if it had all the EPIX channels.

However, for $10, you can still add HD Platinum and get MAV TV (361), Universal HD (366), CI HD (368), Centric (371), Logo (373), Fashion TV HD (374), Shorts HD (375), HDNet Movies (383), WFN HD (394), IndiePlex (293), RetroPlex (295), EPIX 1 HD (295), EPIX 2 HD (296), and MGM HD (298). Of course, you already get Palladia (369) and HD Theater (364) as mentioned before. Personally, I like HDNet Movies a lot. EPIX 1 and 2 are pretty good. I catch a good movie from time to time on IndiePlex and RetroPlex. MGM HD has a good movie from time to time but may have a short commercial break between movies (not really horrible but a commercial break...).

Some options:
$29.99 Dish America alone (not sure if you have any extra receivers)
$29.99 + $ 5.00 = $34.99 for Dish America and Encore Movies
$29.99 + $10.00 = $39.99 for Dish America and HD Platinum
$29.99 + $10.00 + $5.00= $44.99 for Dish America, Encore Movies, and HD Platinum

I wish you the best of luck; let us know how it goes. :)
 

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