811 on Dish'n it Up promo

[dlsnyder]

It was finally time to replace my 12 year old RCA 27" TV so I went out and bought myself a new HDTV monitor. I called Dish to check on what kind of offer they had going to upgrade to an 811 (I am mainly interested in OTA reception). I was told that for $50 up front (a deposit I think) charged to a credit card I could lease an 811 for $4.99/mo, which would be instead of the mirroring fee I am currently paying on a 301 in use on that set. The only catch was that I would have to subscribe to the HDTV pack for a year. The CSR told me that he would give me that for half price for a year if I would sign up. Let's see - an 811 for $50, lease fee instead of mirroring fee, and HDTV pack for $5/mo. for a year. It sounds like an excellent deal to me, especially considering that I am only on the hook for a one year commitment. At the end of that time I can return the reciever (it is theirs after all) and get a new one that is MPEG-4 capable.

Does anyone see a downside to this? It seems like a pretty good deal to me, even given the small number of channels in the HDTV pack, a bit pricey at $9.99/mo but well worth it at $5.00/mo IMO. The net increase on my monthly bill is only $5.00!

 

[Harry]

The downside is:
HD package - it basically sucks ($5/month is better than $10 though)
$5/month - receiver rental
811 - still has a lot of bugs with no relief in sight

If you live near a decent size city, you are better off buying an HD-STB. The picture is better, the receiver is better and you don't spend $5/month for the privledge of receiving HD.

 

[dlsnyder]

Agreed on the receiver rental - but the way it was explained to me the $4.99 lease fee is instead of the $4.99 additional receiver charge, not in addition to it. I am not sure how much I would watch Discovery HD, TNT HD or the HDNets over time, but having them available to me for $5.00/mo seems reasonable. The CSR also told me that WCBS-HD is thrown in at no additional charge since I already subscribe to the LA locals (I will get KCBS-HD OTA). I like the idea of timeshifting CBS programming for free especially since I get to bed really early. I can watch CSI while I am eating dinner!

 

[Harry]

If that is the case, not bad.

Personally, I think the HD package lacks. I watch some ESPNHD and HDNET. TNTSD just upconverts to HD, few or no true HD shows. If you can receive OTA, I still think you are better off with an OTA STB. My experiance is it works better. It simply gets better reception than the 811. Another factor is the signal is not compressed as much so the picture quality is better. The 811 does have a good HD picture but it is washed out compared to my OTA STB.

If you get the HD Pack and the 811 for $10/month that is the way to go if you do not want to invest $200+ for an OTA STB. Voom is another option, one I am looking at right now. Cost is about the same.

 

[dlsnyder]

Hopefully the 811 is good enough with OTA reception for my area. I have an antenna on my roof (currently unused) with which I get excellent ghost-free reception from all of the Mount Wilson UHF transmitters, and I am about 50 miles out. There should be enough signal so that I can see SOMETHING. I wouldn't try it with an indoor antenna in my area though. I am also in hopes that I can pick up some of the San Diego channels if I turn my antenna. Realistically, though, the LA stations are probably the most I should expect.

 

[mdonnelly]

Agreed on the receiver rental - but the way it was explained to me the $4.99 lease fee is instead of the $4.99 additional receiver charge, not in addition to it. I am not sure how much I would watch Discovery HD, TNT HD or the HDNets over time, but having them available to me for $5.00/mo seems reasonable. The CSR also told me that WCBS-HD is thrown in at no additional charge since I already subscribe to the LA locals (I will get KCBS-HD OTA). I like the idea of timeshifting CBS programming for free especially since I get to bed really early. I can watch CSI while I am eating dinner!

That's what I did. I deactivated a 311 for the new 811. Lost the $5.00/mo additional receiver fee for the 311. Replaced that with a $4.99/mo lease fee for the 811.

I had the HD pack already (mostly I watch Discovery-HD and ESPN-HD, and sometimes HBO-HD).

If you want CBS, you'll need another dish pointed at 148 or 85 degrees, because it isn't on 110/119 where the rest of the HD is. You'll probably want the satellite that feeds the East coast, since you get the West coast OTA (not really sure why you qualify for distant CBS, in that case).

 

[Harry]

50 miles is pushing it at this point as most stations are not transmitting full power on their DTV yet. You would probably need a signal amplifier. I believe stations must transmit DTV signal equal to their analog level by July though which will help a bunch.

The 811's ota tuner is not very good and you'll get the 49% sign of death on OTA's!

 

[jbcheshire]

I agree with what Harry has been saying regarding the progamming of the HD pack and the 811 quality.

Here is what your bill will look like if you get that 811:

New Monthly Charge(s) 03/28 to 04/27:
DIGITAL HOME PLAN WITH AT180, 2 RCVRS, LOCALS 62.99
LEASED RECEIVER FEE 5.00
DISH NETWORK HD PACKAGE 9.99
HD PROMOTION - ADJUSTMENT -5.00


Account Charges $ 72.98

 

[dlsnyder]

That's what I did. I deactivated a 311 for the new 811. Lost the $5.00/mo additional receiver fee for the 311. Replaced that with a $4.99/mo lease fee for the 811.

I had the HD pack already (mostly I watch Discovery-HD and ESPN-HD, and sometimes HBO-HD).

If you want CBS, you'll need another dish pointed at 148 or 85 degrees, because it isn't on 110/119 where the rest of the HD is. You'll probably want the satellite that feeds the East coast, since you get the West coast OTA (not really sure why you qualify for distant CBS, in that case).

I already have my "free" second dish for locals on 148. I went out yesterday and repointed it to 61.5 so I can get WCBS and the demo channel when the 811 arrives next week. I was really surprised at the high signal level from that satellite, even with a 20 degree look angle. TP10, the weakest one for me, I get 95. TP16 (I think) was the strongest with a signal level of 121! Are there spotbeams on that thing? I am sure the 20" dish helps a bit, but seriously, the only other TPs I get that kind of signal strength from are the spotbeams on 110 and 119 for my area. :shocked

 

[dlsnyder]

50 miles is pushing it at this point as most stations are not transmitting full power on their DTV yet. You would probably need a signal amplifier. I believe stations must transmit DTV signal equal to their analog level by July though which will help a bunch.

The 811's ota tuner is not very good and you'll get the 49% sign of death on OTA's!

Thanks Harry, I hadn't considered that. I have an old Winegard UHF amp standing by just in case. Last time I used it though I had some trouble with a couple of nearby UHF channels overloading it and creating noise across the band. I found that using an inline attenuator on the input of the amp helped quite a bit but I may have to invest in a notch filter.

 

[dlsnyder]

I agree with what Harry has been saying regarding the progamming of the HD pack and the 811 quality.

Here is what your bill will look like if you get that 811:

New Monthly Charge(s) 03/28 to 04/27:
DIGITAL HOME PLAN WITH AT180, 2 RCVRS, LOCALS 62.99
LEASED RECEIVER FEE 5.00
DISH NETWORK HD PACKAGE 9.99
HD PROMOTION - ADJUSTMENT -5.00


Account Charges $ 72.98

Thanks for the confirmation on the mirroring fee. I was naturally a little suspicious when the CSR said that I wouldn't have to pay it. This deal is sounding better all the time, especially considering that I won't have to worry about an MPEG-2 only boat anchor in a year or two. I can just send it back to Dish and let them worry about it.

 

[jbcheshire]

That "Leased Receiver Fee of $5.00" is for the 811, by the way...