Dishnetwork - HDTV - cost

[jainmohit]

Hello,

I am new to Dishnetwork and am trying to upgrade from Comcast SDTV to DishNetwork HDTV programming.

I am looking at the following options:

1. Get all equip (including one 811 and one 301 receivers) from DishNetwork for free with a contract. The offer I had been given last weekend over phone had a clause that I would not own the equipment even after 1 year or 2 year.. I would have to return the receiver back to Dish if I cancel my programming. This sounds crazy to me because my friends used to get equipment to own after 1 year of contract.. has something changed for 811 alone. I would also have to pay 9.99$ per month as rental for HDTV... and there is a $5 for the second receiver.

2. I could buy the 811 receiver at eBay for about 175-225$ and my friend could lend me an extra 301 receiver. Do I gain anything by doing this. Would I still have to pay for the rental on my 811. The deals on ebay says that I would have to activate the receiver with DishNetwork.. is there a charge for that... I would be taking a new set of programming..

Would appreciate if somebody could give me advice..

Thanks
-MJ

 

[NightRyder]

Welcome to Satellite Guys MJ!

Dish is planning on converting it's compression scheme to MPEG4 sometime in 2005 for their HD transmissions. The Dish 811 is not a MPEG4 capable receiver. Because of this I would recomend going with the lease program for now. The great thing about lease is no commitment. If you decide Dish isn't right for you, just return the equipment and move on. Good luck.



NightRyder

 

[satvad]

HDTV - cost

There are currently two promotions available. Disgital home advantage gives you equipment on lease with out any contracts. However you will not own the equipment.
There is a second promotion which is called Free-for-all, where you can buy the equipment, agree for a contract period. Look in to this promotion, see how much it costs to upgrade to 811. Hope this helps.

 

[jainmohit]

Thanks for the advice. I have read a bit on this forum about the problems with 811 and also the upcoming swich to MPEG4...

Just for my understanding, would I have to keep paying the 9.99$ rental fee to DishNetwork even if I own the receivers?... (whether I buy it from eBay or from Dish doesn't matter.)

- MJ

 

[ShadowEKU]

With The lease plan the rental of the first receiver is included in the price. you would be paying 5.00 (rounded) for the second receiver (301) per month.

With the purchase plan that 5.00 is still there but instead is called a mirror fee. either way you pay the 5.00

now where you get 9.99 I will assume you mean the HD pack.. this is programming... think of it like adding a premium channel like hbo.

 

[jainmohit]

Hmmm, so if all monthly charges remain the same, why would someone buy a receiver and not lease from DishNetwork?

I see this happenning only if you an existing customer and don't get the promotion through Dish - right?

 

[NightRyder]

Thanks for the advice. I have read a bit on this forum about the problems with 811 and also the upcoming swich to MPEG4...

Just for my understanding, would I have to keep paying the 9.99$ rental fee to DishNetwork even if I own the receivers?... (whether I buy it from eBay or from Dish doesn't matter.)

- MJ

The $9.99 is for the HD-PAK which currently includes the following channels.

ESPN-HD
Discovery HD Theater
HDNET
HDNET Movies
TNT-HD

If you purchase an 811 from Ebay or through a dealer you might not have the HD-Pak requirement, depends on the contract, if any.


NightRyder

 

[ShadowEKU]

Hmmm, so if all monthly charges remain the same, why would someone buy a receiver and not lease from DishNetwork?

I see this happenning only if you an existing customer and don't get the promotion through Dish - right?

i believe so. The reason people prefer to own i think is that they have total control over the equipment. seeing as how i subbed to digital cable forever it jsut seems logical to lease the STB.

 

[svarney]

I thought CBS HD was in the package?

 

[NightRyder]

I thought CBS HD was in the package?

No CBS-HD is not part of the HD-PAK. You have to qualify to receive it and have a dish pointing at either 61.5 (East) or 148 (West).



NightRyder

 

[svarney]

how do you qualify to recieve it?

 

[NightRyder]

You have to meet one of the following conditions.

1. Live in a unserved "white" area.

2. Live in a CBS O&O DMA (the local station is owned and operated by CBS).

The 17 markets served by CBS O&O stations are: Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Marquette, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Green Bay.

3. If you don't meet 1 the first 2 criteria you will have to obtain a waiver from your local CBS affiliate.


NightRyder

 

[satvad]

cost

Hmmm, so if all monthly charges remain the same, why would someone buy a receiver and not lease from DishNetwork?

I see this happenning only if you an existing customer and don't get the promotion through Dish - right?

Well, with leasing you are bound to the minimum programming requirements. By owning the equipment, you can subscribe to which ever channel you want.

 

[tnsprin]

You have to meet one of the following conditions.

1. Live in a unserved "white" area.

2. Live in a CBS O&O DMA (the local station is owned and operated by CBS).

The 17 markets served by CBS O&O stations are: Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Marquette, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Green Bay.

3. If you don't meet 1 the first 2 criteria you will have to obtain a waiver from your local CBS affiliate.


NightRyder

And you must either subscribe to your locals in locals, or pay an additional fee.

 

[lblampman]

Hello,

I am new to Dishnetwork and am trying to upgrade from Comcast SDTV to DishNetwork HDTV programming.

I am looking at the following options:

1. Get all equip (including one 811 and one 301 receivers) from DishNetwork for free with a contract. The offer I had been given last weekend over phone had a clause that I would not own the equipment even after 1 year or 2 year.. I would have to return the receiver back to Dish if I cancel my programming. This sounds crazy to me because my friends used to get equipment to own after 1 year of contract.. has something changed for 811 alone. I would also have to pay 9.99$ per month as rental for HDTV... and there is a $5 for the second receiver.

2. I could buy the 811 receiver at eBay for about 175-225$ and my friend could lend me an extra 301 receiver. Do I gain anything by doing this. Would I still have to pay for the rental on my 811. The deals on ebay says that I would have to activate the receiver with DishNetwork.. is there a charge for that... I would be taking a new set of programming..

Would appreciate if somebody could give me advice..

Thanks
-MJ

It's really the same as Comcast; when you pay the $49/mo (or whatever) for something like Digital Basic you don't own the Set Top Box (STB) that Comcast provides. If you get Comcast's HD package you get to pay the extra $5 (if you're a digital customer) and if you can get the HD PVR you get to pay $9.95/mo. Again, you never own the HD converter or DVR. [These prices are from my area YMMV].

You'll pay for your basic package with DISH (AT60, AT120, AT180, etc) and that gives you the right to power up one receiver (yours or theirs); each additional receiver is $5/mo (yours or theirs). If you want HD you add $9.95/mo to recieve the HD programming but you'll have to have an HD capable receiver (again, yours or theirs). There are promotions all the time (I believe there's one on right now for the HD programming) but in general your basic programming and additional receiver fees won't change (except for a company-wide price increase); the promotions are usually on equipment, HD programming and such.

If you buy a receiver from eBay (or used anywhere for that matter) make sure and get the "R" number on it and call DISH to make sure it can be activated. There are instances where folks have leased the equipment, cancelled DISH and then tried to sell the equipment. You'd not be in trouble for having a "stolen" receiver but you would be out of luck (and money) because DISH would not activate it...check first!