Dish & Direct on Same Tv?

[SpringerTigger]

I know that it says that I'm a new member, but I've actually been reading these forums off and on for about 5 years - since I first switched from cable to Dish. And, I know that my question is pretty dumb, but I'm not finding the answer with google.

I'd like to know if it's possible to have both Dish and Direct on the same tv at the same time? The neighbor's tree is keeping me from upgrading to HD, and even worse, it's grown to the point that by spring, it might interfere with my regular reception. Asking the neighbor for permission to trim it isn't really an option. Due to all the other trees in my neighborhood, switching to Direct is my only viable option. (The technician suggested that I do this as there are no trees at all between me and the Direct satellite.) But, I really hate giving my up my superstations. (I know! I'm sorry!) My thought is that I could get the bulk of my programming from Direct - and keep minimal programming and the superstations from Dish. At least until the neighbor's tree makes it impossible.

So, is it possible to have both services on the same tv at the same time? Would it be complicated to set up?

 

[Mr Tony]

welcome

I guess the easy answer is yes you can have both on the same TV. Now that depends on how many inputs you have on your TV. I have 4 different receivers set up on my HDTV and I just flip through the inputs to each receiver

As for a longer answer...you do know that you'll have 2 receivers and 2 dish setups. If you own the equipment with Dish you can get just Supers for 6 bucks + the 6 buck BS fee for no package. But if you lease the equipment, they want a basic package set up. I think the basic is the welcome pack for 10 bucks but they might require the family pack which is 20 bucks.

I assume you have a Western Arc dish that sees 110 & 119. How good of a line of site do you have to the south east? There is Eastern Arc that sees 61.5, 72, 77 and for us in the midwest (I'm in MN) the look is to the SE.

What receiver (s) so you have right now with Dish?

 

[Lt Disher]

I would second Iceberg on this. Central Iowa is one of the lucky places that has locals on both eastern and western arcs. Be sure to check this out before you invest in more equipment. The dishpointer.com website that is listed above is great to check out satellite line of site angles.

 

[SpringerTigger]

It's a Dish 300, receiver is a 301. Right now, I'm getting 110 and 119. Technicians tried both 61.5 and 129. They spent about an hour trying different locations, so I think they made a genuine effort. 129 they ran into a limb on the neighbor's tree. They thought they could get it "good enough" to last until the tree leafed out, but they couldn't even get that. These guys actually had done the install for the neighbors about a year ago. I guess they had some "adventures" with that installation and acknowledged that my odds of getting that limb trimmed are nil. 61.5, they ran into a giant maple tree. Basically, about 2/3 of the tree would have to be cut down to get a line of site. They told me that they were easily getting a clear line of site to Direct. They told me that, based upon what they were seeing on a clear winter day, I probably need to go ahead and switch.

It's been over a week, and I finally called Direct this evening and set it up. They're coming next week. When I asked Dish about dropping my programming, they told me that I have to keep at least the family pack. I didn't even think about asking how much it would cost to just buy the darned receiver. Dish is not perfect. I've seen all the various complaints here off and on about both services, but really I can't say I have any complaints. I keep telling myself that I'm sure that Direct will be fine also. It's actually going to be cheaper for me, but I feel like I'm losing a good friend. So I thought that the money I save from Direct maybe I could apply to Dish and keep my superstations.

TV has 2 HDMI, component and 1 coax inputs. I'm guessing that I would have the Direct set up on HDMI and leave the Dish on the coax?

 

[dennispap]

Put directv on hdmi1 and dish on hdmi2

 

[Ronnie-]

Put directv on hdmi1 and dish on hdmi2

The 301 does not have the HDMI output

 

[Mr Tony]

The 301 only has Svideo/av cables so you need composite on the TV or coax

 

[SpringerTigger]

Thanks everyone! I am going to try it - at least for a couple of months. I did get them to tell me that I *could* do just the welcome pack and superstations. I looked at dishdepot and buying a box isn't nearly as expensive as I feared it would be. And, I'm telling myself it's only a 2 year commitment to Direct. Who knows, maybe by then, the neighbor's tree will have grown enough that the branch will be out of the way. Or, maybe my neighbor will become more neighborly and let me have the branch trimmed off.

 

[SpringerTigger]

I wanted to give you all an update on this. I just finished chatting with Greg in the Dish Loyalty Dept. They are sending a supervisor out next week to do a field survey and see if they can find some kind of work around to hit one of the available HD satellites. I've postponed the installation from Direct until I find out what Dish can do. If Dish can help me, I will cancel the Direct. I haven't signed anything and they haven't done any work yet, so I should be able to do that without any difficulty.

Dish is not perfect; far from it. I gotta tell you, faced with the reality of leaving Dish, I really don't want to - even if it means a pole stuck in the middle of my yard, and various fees that I'm not currently paying on my aging 301 receivers.

Please keep your fingers crossed that they find a work around for me! If they can't, I will follow through with Direct. But, I'm hoping that isn't necessary.

 

[Bob Haller]

pole mounts are actually nice, easy service and easy snow and ice clearance.

plant some flowers around the base in the spring.......

heck most neighborhoods have utility poles.

years ago a pole mount was the only way to get a customer installed, I used to be a dealer / installer he complained of the appearance till i pointed out the 2 utility poles on his property, one with a big transformer on it.

dont get hung up on small stuff

 

[kalin21]

I have both dish en directv too...3 receivers: dish 722,directv hd dvr hr23 and stantard d11 all connected to my hdtvd which have 3 hdmi imputs plus component,RCA and S-video...so no problem.