921, 6000 and 622 active simultaneously?

[ronf]

After reading various details about the 622, I decided finally to call Dish last night and order the $299 upgrade. I currently have two other HD receivers (model 6000 and 921) and a couple of older SD receivers active. While talking to the CSR, though, they told me something very disturbing -- while they said that I could qualify to upgrade one of my older SD receivers to a 622 for $299, my existing 921 & 6000 receivers would lose access to the existing MPEG-2 HD channels they had when I switched my programming package over to one of the new MPEG-4 DishHD packages, and that there was no way to simultaneously receive HD programming on MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 receivers. I questioned them in various different ways about why this was or whether there was any way around it, but in the end I got no useful answers. Finally, I decided to simply hold off on my order until I can figure this out. I've written e-mail to DISH about this but I haven't received a response yet. In the meantime, I was hoping perhaps someone here on this forum already has a 622 and one or more older HD receivers installed and can definitively tell me whether this claim is correct or not...

I understand that the new MPEG-4 channels would only be available on the 622, of course. I'm just hoping to be able to upgrade to DishHD Gold or Platinum and continue to receive the HD channels I get now on my 921/6000, while getting all of those plus the new MPEG-4 channels on the 622.

On another note, I expect I'll need a DPP44 switch in order to be able to hook up the 6000 to the new DISH 1000 (since that doesn't directly support DishPro). Does anyone know if DISH will provide that as part of the $299 upgrade? Also, is there any reason to keep a dish pointed at 61.5 or 148 once that is installed? If I understand things correctly, the DPP44 can support up to 4 orbital locations at once and I have the ability to hit all of 61.5/110/119/129/148 from where I am, but is there anything I'd be missing with only 110/119/129?

Any info would be appreciated! I'd really like to order this upgrade...

 

[RobertsD]

After upgrading to one of the new DishHD matalic packs, your old MPEG2 recievers will continue to recieve all the HD channels they were recieving before, just none of the new "MPEG4" channels

 

[jhue]

Do you know that for a fact? This isn't a technical question. Of course the older HD receivers are capable of continuing to receive the MPEG-2 HD channels. But if Dish really wants to get rid of 6000s, 811s, etc., one way to do it is to not allow those receivers to receive HD content once you subscribe one new receiver on a metallic package.

I had the same question- I don't want my 6000 to lose anything if I add a new HD receiver, and given that Dish wants people to turn in their older HD receivers, it is a legitimate concern.

 

[garys]

Don't know about now, but eventually all the mpeg2 HD receivers will lose the E* subscribed HD channels as the plan is to make the all mpeg4 at some point.

 

[gdarwin]

Do you know that for a fact? <snip>

I had the same question- I don't want my 6000 to lose anything if I add a new HD receiver, and given that Dish wants people to turn in their older HD receivers, it is a legitimate concern.

It is a fact... Look at my receivers... They all receive the HD channels. I'm on Platinum.

 

[DucTape]

Dunno if they will include a 1000 with you already having the 61.5 dish.
They will include any switches you may need though.

 

[ronf]

Excellent - thanks very much. Which orbital locations are you pointing at, though? One of the reasons I thought it might be possible is if the 129 location was only broadcasting the HD channels in MPEG-4 and not MPEG-2. From what I can see on Lyngsat, this is not the case -- the channels listed there so far are MPEG-2/HD, but that doesn't seem to have been updated to show any MPEG-4 channels yet. Since I'm considering a switch to a DISH 1000, I want to rule this out as a problem.

 

[ronf]

About including a DISH 1000:

I was figuring that it would be required to have enough outputs. With a 622, 921, and 6000, I'd be up to 5 outputs with the older switches. So, unless they wanted to daisy chain two SW64s, they'd have to upgrade me to DishPro. Since one of my receivers is legacy, though, they'd either need to give me a DP34 and legacy adapter or install a DPP44.