Dish Pricing Question

[Will94]

I am a long time DirecTV customer who is seriously considering switching to Dish. I feel like I can save money with Dish. I am somewhat confused by their packaging though. The package that I am interested in is America's Top 200. Where I get confused is near the bottom of their page where they advertise packages like Dish America Silver and Dish America Gold. It's almost like these are parallel programming packages... like when I buy software for work and have a choice between the personal or enterprise line of software.
DISH Satellite Packages

What are these "metallic" packages? Are they available for a private residence?

Thank you!

 

[dare2be]

The "metal" packages are HD-only packages, so any channel that doesn't have an HD feed, or Dish doesn't carry the HD feed, will never be in the DA packages.

 

[Tampa8]

I agree they can be confusing. Those metallic packages are HD only channels.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Dish offers an array of choices. America's Top packages, Dish America HD packs, Dish Latino packs, a la carte, premiums, etc. The base pricing structure is as follows:

Welcome Pack $14.99
Dish Latino Basico $22.99
Dish Family $24.99
Dish Latino Clasico $32.99
Dish America $34.99
Dish Latino Plus $37.99
America's Top 120 $44.99
Dish Latino Dos $44.99
America's Top 120 Plus $49.99
Dish America Silver $49.99
Dish Latino Max $57.99
America's Top 200 $59.99
Dish America Gold $59.99
America's Top 250 $69.99
America's "Everything" Pak $104.99

Here is a link to channel lineup cards:
http://www.mydish.com/programmingguides/
[I rather the following link (http://www.dishlatino.com/clientes/centroayuda/listadecanales.aspx) for the Dish Latino packs. Dish Latino packs include both English and Spanish channels.]

I hope this helps!

 

[rocket69]

you also might want to take a look at price per box

1HD & 1 SD is free
2HD & 1 SD is $7
2HD & 2 SD is $14

DVR Fee is only $7 and covers all DVR's on account

1 HDDVR & 1 Slave SDtv/DVR is Free
2 HDDVR & 1 Slave SDtv/DVR $10
2 HDDVR & 2 Slave SDtv/DVR $17

Make sure dish has what you want and will be less then DTV as i have far more boxes on DTV and pay less then dish

 

[Mojo Jojo]

you also might want to take a look at price per box

1HD & 1 SD is free
2HD & 1 SD is $7
2HD & 2 SD is $14

DVR Fee is only $7 and covers all DVR's on account

1 HDDVR & 1 Slave SDtv/DVR is Free
2 HDDVR & 1 Slave SDtv/DVR $10
2 HDDVR & 2 Slave SDtv/DVR $17

Make sure dish has what you want and will be less then DTV as i have far more boxes on DTV and pay less then dish

I also recommend taking a look at the 211(k) as an option. You have the option of turning the 211(k) into a DVR for a one-time fee of $40 along with your own external hard drive(s). There is no DVR fee (currently $6/month last time I checked) associated with it.

So, as a new sub, I believe you can get 3 HD boxes for "free." If you have just 3 HD TVs, then you could get 3 211s which could all turn into DVRs without a monthly DVR fee. The downside with the 211 possibly would be no streaming. The upside, on the other hand, is that you can connect an over the air antenna directly to the receiver and tune to the channels on the receiver along with having the electronic programming guide data. The first 211 would be free while each additional 211 would be $7/month for a total of $14/month for 3 HD TVs with the option of turning each into a DVR. (If you want just two HD TVs with the option of turning them into DVRs, 2 211s would be $7/month. If you want only one HDTV with the option of turning it into a DVR, the monthly equipment fee would be $0.00 or free.)

If you have 4 TVs, I would recommend an HD Duo (without the DVR capabilities) for 2 TVs (one independent HD and one independent SD [with down converted 480i HD channels--nice if you want to watch HD only channels in that room]). This would be the primary receiver for $0.00. Then, I would recommend 2 211(k)s. Each would be $7 month (You would need an external hard drive and a one-time $40 fee to turn them into DVRs). This would cost $14/month in equipment fees for 4 TVs. (If you want a 3-TV setup by dropping one 211, the monthly equipment fees for the 3 TVs would be $7/month.)

If you want 2 TVs (one HD and one SD) with DVR service, the equipment (HD Duo DVR) would be free, but a $6 DVR fee would apply.

If you want 2 TVs (one HD and one SD) without DVR service, the equipment (HD Duo) would be free or $0.00/month.

While nice, the Hopper is a new kind of animal with all kinds of fees.

While I kept equipment costs in mind, ultimately, you want to try to get the equipment you want the first time as a new customer as it most likely will not cost you with an agreement.

If you need a pricing tool, I recommend this one: http://commercial.dishnetwork.com/calculator/default.aspx

 

[Will94]

I called DirecTV last fall to complain about prices, specifically what I felt were excessive fees. I had never called them before, and they gave me a number of monthly credits, good for one year. Those are expiring in October, I think. Once those expire, I have got to lower my bill. I just don't watch enough TV to justify what I pay every month.

I do have one last question. Are the superstations $2 each or $2 for all of them?

 

[lparsons21]

I think the superstations are $2/station.

As to equipment and fees, with the Hopper/Joey combo, the costs are nearly the same between D* and E*. For instance, for 4 locations in your house, it would be $21/month in lease (3x$7)+$10/month DVR+MRV. And that would be for either a 2 Hopper+2 Joey setup, or 1 Hopper+3 Joey setup.

For D* that same thing would be $18/month in lease fees +$10/month DVR+MRV for a new customer. Maybe the same for an existing if you are getting HD free from D*. If you don't get that, then add $10/month in equipment fees.

Then just figure which subscription level you want and you've got the total. You can do a quick 'test buy' at E*'s site to get an exact figure.

As I looked at doing this, and most likely will switch in August, I found that the T200 compared well to the Choice Extra Plus and the full retail difference was about $15/month less with E*. But if some of those lower packages have what you want, then you can save a bit more. And of course there is the 1st year additional savings. In my case, if I did it as described, I would save about $480 in the first year.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

I called DirecTV last fall to complain about prices, specifically what I felt were excessive fees. I had never called them before, and they gave me a number of monthly credits, good for one year. Those are expiring in October, I think. Once those expire, I have got to lower my bill. I just don't watch enough TV to justify what I pay every month.

I do have one last question. Are the superstations $2 each or $2 for all of them?

If your address qualifies for superstations (which it probably will), they are $2/each or $7/all. I believe they are CW or My Network TV affiliates.

 

[garys]

The one from Boston is an independent.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

The one from Boston is an independent.

Thanks, garys. Dish still has them as WB or UPN affiliates on the site last time I checked.

I also forgot to mention that there are 5 superstations.

 

[mdram]

before you decide which is cheaper, how many units will you have
what kind of units
what are your recording needs?

and if you think directv had high fees
try getting 3 or 4 dishduo dvrs
they can be up to $17 a month each depending on model

 

[Mr Tony]

The one from Boston is an independent.

not anymore. They are a My affiliate
WSBK-TV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

After WBIN-TV announced on June 15, 2011 that it would drop MyNetworkTV, speculation arose that WSBK-TV would become the service's new Boston affiliate.[5][6] On June 20, the station formally announced that it would join MyNetworkTV starting that September.[7] The first program from MyNetworkTV aired on WSBK at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on September 19. As a result, WSBK joined WBFS as one of two MyNetworkTV affiliates owned by CBS. The station was also rebranded as "myTV38".

 

[Mr Tony]

I do have one last question. Are the superstations $2 each or $2 for all of them?

$2 for 1 or $7 for all.....in glorious SD

 

[Will94]

before you decide which is cheaper, how many units will you have
what kind of units
what are your recording needs?

I have two HD receivers, one of which has a DVR, and one SD receiver. It would be nice to be able to watch the DVR in another room, even better to be able to watch two DVR items simultaneously as I have lost DVR priority to my three year old son and his Nick Jr. addiction. I watch my SD receiver about once every month or two, so I would go down to two receivers if it saved me money.

 

[Tampa8]

I never really realized MyTV has no original programming. Almost seems like WSBK could have done just as well on their own picking up shows. They don't even have current syndicated shows anymore as far as I see when I look at the guide.

 

[Will94]

I am going to bump my own thread as I am getting serious about this now. If I want America's top 200 + HBO + Multi-Sport, my billing should be (after initial pricing expiration):

$59.99 + $18 (ouch) + $9
Extra receiver fee (two total HD and one SD) = $7
All DVRs for $7

Total = $100.99

Have I missed anything, or is this the real total?

 

[renegade734]

$2 for 1 or $7 for all.....in glorious SD

still trying to change that, Ice ...