Can leased 522 be upgraded to 622?

[its4]

I looked through this forum a bit and didn't see anything that addresses this specific scenario...

I am a long-time HD sub. I have a 942 and subscribe to America's Everything Value Pkg and the old HD pkg. I also have a leased 522. Does anyone know if Dish will allow me to turn-in the leased 522 in exchange for a leased 622? (I've had the 522 for a year now).
My desire is to get the new Denver HD locals on the 622. I don't care about any of the new 'metal' HD pkgs.

What will Dish charge to upgrade the 522?

Will I be able to keep my current programming with the addition of HD locals?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jdr01930]

Yes, you can upgrade from a 522 to a 622 for $299 with the current promotion.

I have two 522's, one is being replaced with a 622 this weekend - can't wait!!

 

[bhelms]

Can't get old HD packages with leased 622

As jdr01930 stated, the $299 upgrade price would apply and that should include the D1000 and associated equipment if needed. From what I understand there is no option to keep the old HD packages with a leased 622, meaning that you will have to take one of the "metallic" packages as well if you lease it. (You may keep the old programming that you currently have only if you purchase a 622. I'm not sure what you will need to do dish-wise in that case - site specific.) You'll have to also pay another $5.98/mo. DVR fee (waived with the Platinum pkg), and if you want the HD locals from the sat, you'll need to add an extra $5.99 per month for all the LiLs. I believe there is also the usual $6/mo. lease fee and no phone line connected will cost another $5/mo. Add-in the costs of having "your" second DVR connected as well.

You might be able to get your local HDs OTA with the 622 with the right antenna, but I also believe you won't get the local program guide info (allowing the advanced DVR programming features) unless you subscribe to the LiLs, so you'll have to do all local recording by manually setting timers. Wasn't this also the case with the 942?

I'm also rather new to all this - anyone please correct me if I have any of this commentary/pricing wrong.

I'm also very anxious for the mpeg-4 capabilities and extra channels that the 622 will add, but since my HD LiLs won't be available for probably another year, I'm in no particular hurry at this point. (I'm still improving my HD OTA capability.) When will the $299 promo end? I think I read somewhere in here it's the end of April.

Also - Can someone tell me how E* delivers the LiLs as subs? I.e., I now get 23, 23.1 (HD), 23.2, 23.3, etc. OTA. Would I still get the HD channel and all the subs with LiL and would they appear in the EPG as the same virtuals as now?

TIA...

 

[jdr01930]

"When will the $299 promo end? I think I read somewhere in here it's the end of April."

I bet when that promotion ends, there will be a new promotion and the price actually go down. Just my opinion - not based on any rumors or "real" info.

 

[bhelms]

I bet when that promotion ends, there will be a new promotion and the price actually go down. Just my opinion - not based on any rumors or "real" info.

You're probably right! I might place it on order near the end of the current promo, whenever that is, and if the next offer is better, I'll cancel/re-order. I've been a solid E* customer for almost 8 years, never late, etc. That should carry some clout...

 

[its4]

OK... Called dish and ended up doing the following:

Exchanged currently leased 522 for a leased 622 -> $299
(includes installation/dish100/any new HW/etc. Will arrive by UPS before March 17th)

Agreeded to upgrade to HD platinum w/locals -> $99.99 +$5 = $104.99/mo (was paying >$95/mo for AEP + locals + HD Pak anyway)

Still have the additional Receiver Access fees and leased receiver fees as I did before the upgrade. At least I didn't have to return my owned 942 to get a 622. I hope the $10/month is worth the extra HD programming...

 

[Claude Greiner]

Depends on the inventory, but I would suspect in several months if you where to simply say your 522 was broken they would replace it with a 625.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Depends on the inventory, but I would suspect in several months if you where to simply say your 522 was broken they would replace it with a 625.

BIG difference between a 625 and a 622, Claude.

 

[waltinvt]

"When will the $299 promo end? I think I read somewhere in here it's the end of April."

I bet when that promotion ends, there will be a new promotion and the price actually go down. Just my opinion - not based on any rumors or "real" info.

My guess is it will stay the same or even go down a little but ONLY for new subs. I think they'll try to extract more from existing subs. Why? Because they can. They might even make it more inticing by adding a few more national MPEG4 HD channels but the real attraction is going to be the HD LiLs rolling out.