Considering Upgrading my Dish Network Package!

[cooldragon22]

i currently have had dish network for 4 years and i havent had too many problems with it. i just bought a new 1080p hdtv and a smaller 720p monitor and i was planning on getting the hd service along with dvr.

i have the top 250 so i know its just 10 dollars more for hd. what i wanted to know is are they offering any deals on getting hd and dvr for current customers. i have called and looked online and have found that authorized dealers are offering free hd and dvr upgrades with hbo and starz for 3 months and cinemax for a penny. that sounds good but is there any other fees that i have to pay to set this up and do you guys know of any specials they are running that i can get?
i really only need hd and dvr for one tv but if i can get it for two tvs it would be great.

I am guessing i will pay 10 dollars for hd and 6 dollars for dvr service and thats it. so before i call and set it up i wanted to double check with you guys because dish tends to take forever on the phone!

thanks in advance

 

[cparker]

I had the top 250 with HBO and Cinemax prior to upgrading to the same package but with HD. I don't know if they're running any promos to upgrade your receivers. That was the only real expense. Other than that it was just the cost per month to add the HD onto my AT250 and away we went.

I have AT250 with HD and HBO and Cinemax and my E* bill is right about $75 a month. I know I'm getting $5 a month off for bundling the billing with my phone company. So.... 80-ish per month? I'd have to go find a bill and see if I'm getting any other discounts.

OH! You want the AT250 DVR Advantage pacakage. That will save you a couple dollars and the DVR fee is included (I'm not going to say there's no DVR fee... you just won't SEE a DVR fee)

 

[KAB]

Since you are already a Dish customer, those dealer offerings do not apply, at least not the DVR. I have not checked recently, but I believe you should be able to "Dish It Up" to a 722 DVR/receiver for $100.00 through Dish. If you have not already, go to the Dish Network site and register your account. Then you see the Dish It Up offerings.

 

[cooldragon22]

i checked online and it is 125 dollars to get a dvr and 50 for another reciever. it seems to be alot especialy because if i cancel and order it new i can get it for free.

i am going to have to call them up to see if they can work something out..

 

[Andrewwski]

Executive Resolutions can generally cut you a bit of a deal in my experience, normal CSR's cannot.

 

[cooldragon22]

well i talked to a customer rep and he was helpful but i am a little confused. he said i can get hd dvr with dual tuner for free. he also said that this would just cost me 10 dollars more a month because of hd and thats all. is there no charge for dvr service? or for the reciver per month?

one other things he said he can offer me 2 hd recivers for 50 bucks but no dvr he said its 50 becuase they have to come install a new dish. he said there would be 7 dollar charge for the second per month

cant i just get 1 dvr with dual tuner and 1 hd reciever for 50 bucks or is that not possible?

 

[garys]

well i talked to a customer rep and he was helpful but i am a little confused. he said i can get hd dvr with dual tuner for free. he also said that this would just cost me 10 dollars more a month because of hd and thats all. is there no charge for dvr service? or for the reciver per month?

one other things he said he can offer me 2 hd recivers for 50 bucks but no dvr he said its 50 becuase they have to come install a new dish. he said there would be 7 dollar charge for the second per month

cant i just get 1 dvr with dual tuner and 1 hd reciever for 50 bucks or is that not possible?

The $50 is to upgrade the physical dish. Depending on your package, the dvr fee may already be covered. Which package do you currently have?

 

[cooldragon22]

would there be any advantages to getting the new dish? i have dish 500 i think.

i have the top 250 at the moment so i am guessing dvr is included then?

 

[tastim]

would there be any advantages to getting the new dish? i have dish 500 i think.

i have the top 250 at the moment so i am guessing dvr is included then?

If you want an HD package, you HAVE to either replace your current Dish, or add a second Dish to see a third satellite. That is how the system works.

With the top 250, you are eligible for the DVR Advantage plan.... which is what they are signing you up under if they are not mentioning a DVR fee.... really no downfall to this plan.... it's really just a way to smooth talk you into keeping your programming package for another 2 years (as you would then lose the DVR discount if you downgraded to say, the Top 100).

If you want HD on two TVs you will want two seperate HD receivers.... so you could get a 612 and a 211k, which would get you a dual tuner HD DVR on 1 TV, and a single tuner HD Non-DVR on another TV...

If you don't care about having HD on the second TV, you could just get a 722(or 622) DVR which will get you HD on 1 TV, SD on 1 TV, and DVR on both TVs, through 1 receiver.

Your other options is getting 2 HD DVRs (all new DVRs are dual tuners, so I'll stop saying it)..... but now you're talking some bucks.

A lot of CSRs(sales) do not explain exactly what will be installed very accurately..... so when they start talking about "HD SD DVR to 2 TVS with 2 DVRs and 1 receiver" and all that nonsense.... first ask them their Operator ID... then ask them the models of the receivers you will be receiving.

 

[cooldragon22]

tastim, thanks for the info!

well they were offering me one dvr reciver for free and the second one for 50 but i think i am just going to get one. i was thinking of getting the second one if it was free but that may not happen and i dont really need hd on the second one that badly. the tv is just a 22" tv monitor..

the only thing i am worried about is that if i decide to get a reciver for a second tv later on that they will charge me an arm and a leg because i will be under contract with them!

i will call them tommorow and get everything set up and i will definitly ask what equipment they will be sending me. is there any difference between 622 or 722 and is there one better than the other for the other ?

one last question...at the moment with my regular sd dish reciver sd looks bad and actually worse than my regular tv and i have it set up through s video. would the picture quality for sd improve with the new dvr reciver?

 

[tastim]

tastim, thanks for the info!

well they were offering me one dvr reciver for free and the second one for 50 but i think i am just going to get one. i was thinking of getting the second one if it was free but that may not happen and i dont really need hd on the second one that badly. the tv is just a 22" tv monitor..

the only thing i am worried about is that if i decide to get a reciver for a second tv later on that they will charge me an arm and a leg because i will be under contract with them!

i will call them tommorow and get everything set up and i will definitly ask what equipment they will be sending me. is there any difference between 622 or 722 and is there one better than the other for the other ?

one last question...at the moment with my regular sd dish reciver sd looks bad and actually worse than my regular tv and i have it set up through s video. would the picture quality for sd improve with the new dvr reciver?

You will eventually be eligible for another "Dish N' It Up" upgrade. Around the 6 month mark you can start getting deals again.... the longer it has been since you upgraded, the better the deal you can usually work out.

The SD picture will improve if you hook the receiver to the TV with an HDMI cable (Dish does not provide it, so go buy one before the installer shows up)... but even with a Component Video connection (which Dish DOES provide) the picture will look way better.

SD is always going to look a little funky on a widescreen TV though.... the picture is being artificially scrunched and stretched to fit your screen (unless you disable that and can live with the bars on the side while watching SD programming)....