A couple of basic OTA questions

[CometGSR]

Hello Guru's! We live in the Detroit area and lost our CBS locals a few weeks ago and ordered our outdoor OTA setup. I have to say, the picture was good and the authorized installer did a great job. I have a few questions though..

1) When does the Dish Network locals go away?

2) If I have a Primetime show set to record (not using Primetime Anytime), do I have to resetup the DVR to go to the OTA antenna instead?

3) Will they drop the locals from my bill automatically so I can get the savings?

Thanks!

 

[Bobby]

1) The locals will stay until you cancel them.
2) You will need to re-establish your timers to the new channels.
3) Once you cancel your satellite delivered locals you get the savings.

 

[Hall]

2) If I have a Primetime show set to record (not using Primetime Anytime), do I have to resetup the DVR to go to the OTA antenna instead?

How many primetime shows do you record routinely ? You may find that PTAT is much more useful than you thought once it's gone ! I cancelled our locals for a few months but had to add them back due to timer conflicts and being asked "why aren't some of my shows being recorded anymore ?".

 

[Bobby]

How many primetime shows do you record routinely ? You may find that PTAT is much more useful than you thought once it's gone ! I cancelled our locals for a few months but had to add them back due to timer conflicts and being asked "why aren't some of my shows being recorded anymore ?".

Of course if you have a Hopper 3, you don't have conflicts....

 

[CometGSR]

We don't watch too much network TV, so having two tuners for the locals should be okay. We survived on the Hopper/1 until last August so we just made adjustments.

 

[Cypresstree]

How many primetime shows do you record routinely ? You may find that PTAT is much more useful than you thought once it's gone ! I cancelled our locals for a few months but had to add them back due to timer conflicts and being asked "why aren't some of my shows being recorded anymore ?".

So it appears that the OTA blocking during recording playback is finally sorted - so I cancelled locals over the weekend and will go it alone with a single OTA tuner on each of my two hoppers with sling.

The wife hasn’t figured it out yet - but we’re also during the fall break with not much recording.

I will need to revise my timers to spread the load between the two hoppers.

Man do I long for the days that the two hoppers offloaded timer conflicts like they did before carbon update. That is still so very upsetting that they removed that feature.

Perhaps I can hope for a 4 tuner OTA adapter...

Even better - It would be great if dish somehow could integrate the silicondust 4 tuner appliance.

 

[Hall]

Perhaps I can hope for a 4 tuner OTA adapter...

It took Dish 3+ years to move from a single-tuner OTA adapter to a dual-tuner. Don't expect anything like a 4-tuner anytime soon, if ever !

 

[boba]

It took Dish 3+ years to move from a single-tuner OTA adapter to a dual-tuner. Don't expect anything like a 4-tuner anytime soon, if ever !

Don't forget DISH is in the Satellite business not OTA. OTA is just a PIA to DISH.

 

[CometGSR]

Just to update everyone, I am very pleased with the OTA setup. The Televes DigiNova Boss seems to do a nice job bringing the channels in. You really can't tell on the TV if you are OTA or using the Dish. I tried recording and the video/audio was perfect. The sub-channels are interesting, one of them was playing Night Court reruns for 2 hours.. I could get used to that!

 

[comfortably_numb]

You really can't tell on the TV if you are OTA or using the Dish!

Depending on which market you're in, your local channels may actually have a higher quality picture than Dish, since you're picking up the signal straight from the station's transmitter.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Don't forget DISH is in the Satellite business not OTA. OTA is just a PIA to DISH.

PIA?

 

[navychop]

Pain In the Ankle......

 

[comfortably_numb]

Pain In the Ankle......

It's become a bit of a bargaining chip now, though, so might be more useful to Dish than we might think..

 

[Cypresstree]

It's become a bit of a bargaining chip now, though, so might be more useful to Dish than we might think..

OTA is clearly a part of their strategy in the near term. Why not further develop and integrate OTA...

 

[Hall]

Don't forget DISH is in the Satellite business not OTA. OTA is just a PIA to DISH.

Yet Dish develops OTA tuner options (since the digital conversion) for receiver models going back to the 622 up to their most current receiver, including software that integrates these channels into their system....

 

[comfortably_numb]

Yet Dish develops OTA tuner options (since the digital conversion) for receiver models going back to the 622 up to their most current receiver, including software that integrates these channels into their system....

And let's also not forget that their closest competitor who shall remain nameless, discontinued OTA support... so that's another plus for Dish

 

[pattykay]

It took Dish 3+ years to move from a single-tuner OTA adapter to a dual-tuner. Don't expect anything like a 4-tuner anytime soon, if ever !

For that matter, some receiver models are still waiting for the dual-tuner support to be added.

 

[MikeD-C05]

If DISH ever decides to end Ota support , we can always go with a Channel Master dvr that is built by Echostar anyway. It would still be dual tuner and you would have to add your own hard drive, but it would work. I don't know why DISH didn't work a deal with their sister company Echostar to let them use the channel master dvr ,since it is so thin, as a ota module for the hopper in the first place. Then you would get the full ota guide -if you use internet and we would could use the common hard drive on the hopper for both receivers.

 

[comfortably_numb]

If DISH ever decides to end Ota support , we can always go with a Channel Master dvr that is built by Echostar anyway. It would still be dual tuner and you would have to add your own hard drive, but it would work. I don't know why DISH didn't work a deal with their sister company Echostar to let them use the channel master dvr ,since it is so thin, as a ota module for the hopper in the first place. Then you would get the full ota guide -if you use internet and we would could use the common hard drive on the hopper for both receivers.

If they end OTA support, I'm done. I've been a customer of Dish off and on since I was 18 years old, experimenting with all their equipment (including the Dishplayer!) all the way up to now. But with all the new streaming tech we have today, and with all the OTA channels available for free, it wouldn't make sense for me to keep Dish anymore. The advantage for me right now is that I have my local OTA stations integrated into my H3 along with my "moved" locals, and have the combined guide data and can record both to the DVR. But having to have a separate DVR for OTA and switch between that and Dish and Fire Stick and PC and on and on, it's just too much for me.