Discontinued Receiver Swaps and 512 functionality

[CK SatGuy]

Some people might already know this, others might not but I think it might be best if I post this info for everyone to see as Dish just posted this info on the techportal website today. First off as you might already know, Dish is discontinuing (or has already discontinued) their older/legacy receivers. If your old/legacy receiver needs to be replaced, Dish will replace it with a newer model at no additional cost or commitment. Dish says they are doing this to "free up bandwidth and allow for more HD channels to be launched in the future." Two important notes.

1. If you have a 301 or any legacy receiver that needs to be replaced, Dish will give you a 311 at no cost or commitment.
2. If you have a 510 DVR that needs to be replaced, Dish will give you a 512 DVR at no cost or commitment.
More info can be found in the 1st pdf file.

With that said, Dish has also posted that they have added a new functionality for the 512. This is for new customers only. Basically it allows the 512 to be a SD DVR for 1 TV with either 1 Sat tuner or 2 Sat Tuners.
More info can be found in the 2nd pdf file.

 

[CK SatGuy]

pdf files got deleted by mistake.

 

[chainblu]

Hmmm, I have a 301 that I was going to give to a friend. Will he be able to get it activated?

 

[MattG@DISH]

Shouldn't be a problem. In fact, I transferred (from one account to another), and activated a 301 earlier today.

Of course it would have to meet the receiver transfer criteria.

 

[TheKrell]

What should I do with my old obsolete not-currently-activated receivers? (4900, 301, 111) Not much residual value, particularly now.

 

[DishSubLA]

The point of updating the 512 to function as a single tuner DVR is so that a tech visit is not necessary to have the 512 function as a dual tuner DVR. Kind of sad, really. While it saves Dish money, many subs will have a dual tuner DVR and not be able to take advantage of it when swapped. Not all subs are power users like those on this forum.

 

[harshness]

I like my 508 in that is isn't firing up every few minutes to download a PPV.

They're going to commit to disabling push content on the replacement DVRs or pry it from my cold dead hands.

 

[TommyF@DISH Network]

What should I do with my old obsolete not-currently-activated receivers? (4900, 301, 111) Not much residual value, particularly now.

If they're purchased then they're yours. You can still activate 301's so you could give/sell it as long as, as Matt said, it meets the criteria. The 4900 and 111 can't be activated, though you can always do a DIU to replace them, drop them off (Location available) or ship them back. Returning purchased equipment nets a $10 per box on your bill within 8-10 weeks.

 

[Mr Tony]

1. If you have a 301 or any legacy receiver that needs to be replaced, Dish will give you a 311 at no cost or commitment.

considering the only real difference is the 311 is 8PSK compatible and the 301 isn't....sounds like Dish wants to make WA 8PSK just like Eastern Arc is

 

[RandallA]

considering the only real difference is the 311 is 8PSK compatible and the 301 isn't....sounds like Dish wants to make WA 8PSK just like Eastern Arc is

That's what I was thinking. They should've started last year because this upgrade will take some time.

 

[CK SatGuy]

Yeah it seems Dish wants to convert all QPSK channels to 8PSK so they could save some bandwidth to add more HD channels.

 

[harshness]

While it saves Dish money, many subs will have a dual tuner DVR and not be able to take advantage of it when swapped.

I'm thinking that declaring it a single tuner DVR is saving those who use it about $7/month and that's a big deal.

 

[navychop]

When we went thru this 8PSK vs MPEG-4 discussion before, didn't it come out that Dish would gain more from 8PSK conversion than MPEG-4? Or maybe it was a bigger bang for the buck, costs-wise.

8PSK gives roughly 30% more, and MPEG-4 roughly doubles the efficiency of bandwidth use?

 

[Mr Tony]

When Dish launched the last batches of SD locals in a few cases they did launch them in 8PSK. So that at least started the upgrade process.

I'm just thinking about relatives who still have dish and most of them have 301's way back when you bought the system at Sears or Radio Shack

 

[csmith5111]

I'm thinking that declaring it a single tuner DVR is saving those who use it about $7/month and that's a big deal.

Actually declaring it a single tuner does nothing to the price. If it was a 522 or 625 then the amt saved would be 7 dollars. And people can order a seperator to make work as a dual tuner. And have pip.

 

[TheKrell]

The 4900 and 111 can't be activated...

Urp! When did that policy come down? The 111 is even an 8PSK receiver and should be good for years.

Returning purchased equipment nets a $10 per box on your bill within 8-10 weeks.

I think I'll take you up on that offer, unless it costs me $15/receiver to do so.

 

[MattG@DISH]

111 doesn't fall into the obsolete category... 4900 does.

Here's the info on our internal site:

• Effective February 2, 2011 we will no longer require customers to return any of these leased or owned obsolete receivers back to our DISH Network service centers.*
  • 1000 / 2700 / 2800 / 3000 / 3700 / 3800 / 3900 / 4000 / 4700 / 4900 / 301 / 942 / HZ 1022
  • We will advise customers of the obsolete receiver non-return policy via disclosures in DISH Promo.
  • Customers receive e-mails and/or an insert in the RA packout instructing them of this process, including info on proper disposal of electronics equipment.
  • Continue to RA as usual.
• If the unit had an external Smart Card, a return prepaid USPS envelope will be sent for Smart Cards associated with the obsolete equipment.
• Customers will NOT be charged for not returning an obsolete receiver listed above.
• The box retrieval process will remain unchanged for current (non-obsolete) leased receiver models.

* These receivers, with the exception of the 942 and HZ 1022 models, may still be re-activated during restarts; however, like most models above, they do not need to be returned and will be replaced with a 311 in an RA. The 942 and HZ 1022 receivers cannot be re-activated once disconnected.

Returning purchased equipment nets a $10 per box on your bill within 8-10 weeks.

I'm almost positive we no longer offer that. Please feel free to prove me wrong.

 

[MattG@DISH]

I hope that clears things up.

*EDIT* From what I understand, the obsolete receivers are only being replaced when it needs an RA. We are not proactively replacing the receivers (to my knowledge)

 

[DishSubLA]

I'm thinking that declaring it a single tuner DVR is saving those who use it about $7/month and that's a big deal.

I think the motivation for SWAPPED for like only 8PSK boxes to function as a single tuner was just to provide the same service (single tuner at the same cost to the sub) as the sub was getting at the time of the swap--no upgrades, really. But there are some who are willing to pay extra, if that be the case, as a 2nd tuner is an even BIGGER deal to some households, and without the huge upgrade fee, so the $7 doesn't seem so bad.

 

[csmith5111]

With the 512 it is the same per month as a 510. The 512 has an extra tuner for recording an extra show or pip. That is all.