DVR Upgrade Question

[Jason423]

Hi all. Ive been a Dish subscriber for about 3 years now and we will be getting a second HD TV for our home and I was looking to upgrade my SD receiver.

I currently subscribe to the DHA with Americas top 200 with Locals, DishHD, and HBO.

I currently have a VIP211 hooked up to my HDTV, which they charge a 6.00/mo lease fee on, and a 311 hooked up to my SDTV which is included in the package. I would like to swap out the 311 for a HD DVR to use on the new TV we plan on getting.

My wife called to find out the price for the change and was told that it was $5.98 a month for the DVR, $49.00 for installation(which is a waste of money), plus $6.00/mo in a lease fee. So if I want to watch HD programming on two TVs this should be the only option, I believe, and they dont include any receivers in the price of the programming package? We would really like to get the DVR and be able to watch the HD programming on 2 TVs, but an extra 12.00 a month for it Im not sure is worth it. I just want to make sure that all the information they gave me about the pricing was correct before we make the final decision. My sister gets Direct and they have 1 HD Receiver and 1 HD-DVR receiver and they are only charged the extra lease fee for their second receiver not on both. Id rather not make the switch, but between that cost plus the new offerings in HD I may think of making the change.

Thanks for any help...

 

[WiCkeDuDe]

The new HD DVR will be a 622 or 722 under dishin it up. If you make that the primary receiver then there shouldnt be a $6 lease fee, but would be a $6 additional receiver fee on the 211. Since you are taking the 311 out that saves $5 a month. There would be 2 $5.98 dvr fees, you could sign up for DVR advantage to get rid of one of them or get AEP would wiave both. The HD DVR would need to be connected to a phone to waive the $5 phone charge.

 

[okiekevn]

you can also hook up the hd dvr to your broadband connection in your home as well to save on the 5 bucks. and there is a way to have two hd tvs hooked up to a 622 or 722, but they will be mirrored imaging. my 622 runs in single mode, and i the living room running on the comp hook ups and the bedroom on hdmi.(my living room wall and bedroom wall are back to back, and it was easier to feed the hdmi through the wall into the bedroom). one of my buddies, has a 722 feeding 4 hd tv's(all mirrored off of tv1). he bought a componant video distribution system with a built in amplifier. they are commonly used for bars and resteraunts and other commercial uses. you can find them on ebay for under a hundred. if you run the dvr in single mode, then you can use the uhf remote in whatever room you are in to change channels. these ideas will allow you to return the 211 and save 6 bux a month, plus have dvr on both hd tvs. the way i ran though allows both tvs to work indepently, but the wiring may be tricky. if your second hd tv is too far away, you might need an amplifier. there are also hdmi amp and distribution systems, but they are quite costly.