Finally upgrading to a HDTV but have questions?

[reddice]

I been wanted to get a HDTV for a while. I could always afford despite my gripes here it it is just that my Grandmother which is the owner of the house would not let me get one. My old crappy analog TV 27" monstrosity which I still don't know how I am going to take out of my small room with its only RF connector is starting to go so now I can get one. Can't wait to watch all of the primetime network shows in HD. I never viewed HD except for demos at the electronics store.

I am getting a 32" 1080P Toshiba HDTV and I am upgrade my Dish 510 to a HD receiver. Right now I have a Dish 500 and a second dish pointing at 61.5. I have Dish Network currently hooked up to 4 510 receivers. I want to upgrade my receiver to a 612VIP for one TV. I currently have one line coming into my room. I can't have any more holes drilled since recently we had all new windows put in. I am wondering can they make that one line into two tuners. I head that they can do that with the DP44 switch.

What are the HD channels NYC locals and regular HD channels on. I heard that they are on 129 and 61.5. When I called them up they said that they would upgrade me to a Dish 1000 and a VIP receiver for $75 with 2 year agreement. That sounds good but what hardware is needed. Does the 44 switch need power because it can be plugged into the back windows that were not replaced yet.

The problem I have is that I have 3 other single tuner 510 receivers. We did this in 2005 because we all wanted DVR's and since we have the everything pack we pay no extra DVR fees. I only need one for two tuners. Never understood why the switches only have 4 outputs and now it is even worse with the new ones only having 3 outputs. What if you want to hook up 4 TV's. It's a big mess. Will the 612VIP work with one satellite tuner connected? This is only temporary if they don't come with the right switches needed.

On these forums I am reading that 129 Satellite is old, weak and stinks. I can get all of my HD locals and main HD stations on 61.5. Just wondering what is needed in switches. I hope I explained everything.

 

[jwgreen68]

Bear with me while I try to follow you. If you need service for 4 tvs, just ask to upgrade to 2 Vip622/722. Ask for a professional install, which will cost you, but the installer should do everything right. And there's no need for the average sub to worry about what kind of shape a satellite is in. You have no control over it, so why worry about it? If a sat failed, and Dish was unable to remedy, they would make you whole again!

 

[osu1991]

Your in NY so they won't touch your dishes other than to update your lnb's and switch. NY hd locals are on 61.5 as is most of the national hd.

 

[Jim5506]

You should have a Dish 500 with DP Plus lnb's and a wing dish with a DP Plus lnb on it feeding a DPP44 switch. Each output of the switch can support one dual tuner receiver via a seperator near the reciever that unstacks the two bands on the cable from the switch and directs them to the tuners.

A DPP44 switch can support 8 tuners on 4 dual tuner receivers that way. If you need more they can cascade a second DPP44 so you can support 8 dual tuner receivers, but we are getting way out there. The DPP44 has a power inserter because it draws more amps than the receiver puts out and may damage the reciver's power supply in extreme cases.

New York City is not in the acceptable area for reception off the 129 satellite.

The 625 SD DVR is a dual tuner receiver like the HD ViP722 or HD ViP612. The 722/625 combo could replace all 4 of your 510's if needed.

 

[Skibum]

On a TV note, you'd BETTER be getting their Regza line. Anything less just won't do.

 

[bruin95]

I am getting a 32" 1080P Toshiba HDTV

If you're going to go with a screen size this small you should save some money and get a 720p set. You're really not going to notice the resolution difference from 1080p to 720p in anything under 42".

 

[reddice]

On a TV note, you'd BETTER be getting their Regza line. Anything less just won't do.

Well I got a call saying that they are coming tomorrow afternoon however I had some horrible news today. After which my new TV came. It is a Regza 32" 1080P TV. I hooked it up and it was damaged. The screen was cracked internally and half the screen was a rainbow and cracks. I am furious. When I got the TV everything was in the back but the book and remote were in the front. That is how it probably got damaged. After talking to the vendor Crutchfield they and sending a replacement today. It has shipped and I will be getting it tomorrow the same day I am getting the VIP receiver. I am not a happy camper right now. If it comes damaged again I will demand my money back and never buy a TV from them again.

When Dish called me they said that they would be installing a second dish and 2 DP34 switches. I already have the second dish and a DP34 switch. Will you please answer this question. How reliable is 2 DP34 switches cascaded. 1 has 4 outputs connected and the second one has 1. I hope it would not cause any problems with my other receivers.

 

[jwgreen68]

Well I got a call saying that they are coming tomorrow afternoon however I had some horrible news today. After which my new TV came. It is a Regza 32" 1080P TV. I hooked it up and it was damaged. The screen was cracked internally and half the screen was a rainbow and cracks. I am furious. When I got the TV everything was in the back but the book and remote were in the front. That is how it probably got damaged. After talking to the vendor Crutchfield they and sending a replacement today. It has shipped and I will be getting it tomorrow the same day I am getting the VIP receiver. I am not a happy camper right now. If it comes damaged again I will demand my money back and never buy a TV from them again.

When Dish called me they said that they would be installing a second dish and 2 DP34 switches. I already have the second dish and a DP34 switch. Will you please answer this question. How reliable is 2 DP34 switches cascaded. 1 has 4 outputs connected and the second one has 1. I hope it would not cause any problems with my other receivers.

Why would it? The installer will make sure everything works fine. Do you live in a cave, by any chance?

 

[Skibum]

When Dish called me they said that they would be installing a second dish and 2 DP34 switches. I already have the second dish and a DP34 switch. Will you please answer this question. How reliable is 2 DP34 switches cascaded. 1 has 4 outputs connected and the second one has 1. I hope it would not cause any problems with my other receivers.

DP34 switches are designed to be cascaded like that, so issues should not arise (I've cascaded three switches with no problems before). DP34 switches are NOT designed to be separated, though. You will have to run two satellite lines to your 612 if you still plan to use those DP34's. With a DPP44 switch, however, you can run your 612 with one line to a separator and still keep the three other 510's all on one switch instead of two. That setup will ultimately depend on your technician.

Don't let jwgreen fool ya; there are PLENTY of techs out there who don't really know what they're doing.

Good luck with your TV! I've been quite impressed with my roommate's Regza, though his is intact. ;D

 

[KostaVan]

At 32" , 1080p is a waste of money

Save your money and stick with 720p --- You won't see any difference.

 

[bruin95]

At 32" , 1080p is a waste of money

Save your money and stick with 720p --- You won't see any difference.

Kinda said that a few posts up, but the OP probably doesn't care.

 

[reddice]

Update. Yesterday the tech guy came and installed my VIP622. He did a great job. He cascaded two DP34 switches. I already had the second dish so all of my HD will come off the more reliable 61.5 satellite. I told him that I could not run a line through the window so he was able to drill a hole in the bottom near my bed and run the cable right to the roof through the open stairway to get to the roof. He knew what he was doing. I am very pleased by his work.

The TV did not come that day because the replacement was delayed because of lighting storms. It however came this morning and the screen is fine. The last one was damaged because whoever packaged it put the remote and batteries in the front of the screen. There is suppose to be nothing in the front. SD looks great but HD looks really good. What about calibrating colors. I hear you have to do that with a HD set.

However I am not pleased with trying to pull in over the air reception with a good antenna that I bought. I was only able to get channels 4 and 7 and if I moved the antenna slightly I lost a signal. Don't see how in Feb 17 it is going to work. People are going to have trouble pulling in digital signals. I live in Brooklyn near the downtown area so I should be able to pull in the stations from Manhattan but I was only able to get two local channels. I get most of my HD locals on Dish except channel 9 and 13.

 

[Sammy033]

Im not an expert but isnt there some kind of problem because some still broadcast on VHF? So if you have a UHF only antenna you wont get them or vice versa? I am unsure because I seem to get both with a simple pair of rabbit ears. Some stations around here are VHF and others are UHF but the towers are relatively close and I am on a hill.

 

[reddice]

I got a Terk antenna which has a big peace to connect to the front. It is a VHF and UHF antenna yet I can bairly pick up any digital stations. I know it is not defective because with a cheaper antenna is was worse.

 

[allargon]

I got a Terk antenna which has a big peace to connect to the front. It is a VHF and UHF antenna yet I can bairly pick up any digital stations. I know it is not defective because with a cheaper antenna is was worse.

The best non-discontinued indoor antenna is the Radio Shack RS 15-1892.

RadioShack.com - Home Entertainment: Accessories: Antennas: Indoor: Indoor VHF/UHF/HDTV Antenna with RF Remote Control

Crutchfield has a very good reputation. I would give them a chance before writing them off. If you said you bought your display from buy.com, I would understand your frustration.

 

[reddice]

Crutchfield is great. They have customer and tech support is excellent and since they are in the US it is also great. I am very pleased that they took care of the broken TV and send me a replacement. I always buy from them.

 

[Andrewwski]

Terk antenna...that might be part of the problem. Those things are terrible.

As for indoor antennas, I've found this one is the most effective. Nothing fancy looking, just a good old amplified antenna that does the job. Works better than any Terk or "stylish" one.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...tenna&lp=2&type=product&cp=2&id=1122653825071

Radio Shack also sells one that looks almost the exact same, but only has 22 db of amplification. That one works pretty well too, depending on how much amplification you need.

Being in an area like NYC could cause multipath issues and stuff depending on if you've got large buildings near you. Although they're generally worse for digital than analog. Are all the NYC ATSC stations at full power? And yes...are they VHF or UHF...because that will make a difference.

In my area (Buffalo NY), when using the proper antenna, the digital stations are just as easy, if not easier, to pick up compared to the analogs. The reason I mention "proper antenna" is the amount of people I hear complaining that it doesn't come in well, it'll never work, blah blah blah. Then I find out they're still using rabbit ears, when all of our digital stations are UHF. And the rabbit ears never gave them a good signal in the first place.

 

[allargon]

Terk antenna...that might be part of the problem. Those things are terrible.

As for indoor antennas, I've found this one is the most effective. Nothing fancy looking, just a good old amplified antenna that does the job. Works better than any Terk or "stylish" one.

RCA - Amplified HDTV Antenna - ANT525

Radio Shack also sells one that looks almost the exact same, but only has 22 db of amplification. That one works pretty well too, depending on how much amplification you need.

Being in an area like NYC could cause multipath issues and stuff depending on if you've got large buildings near you. Although they're generally worse for digital than analog. Are all the NYC ATSC stations at full power? And yes...are they VHF or UHF...because that will make a difference.

In my area (Buffalo NY), when using the proper antenna, the digital stations are just as easy, if not easier, to pick up compared to the analogs. The reason I mention "proper antenna" is the amount of people I hear complaining that it doesn't come in well, it'll never work, blah blah blah. Then I find out they're still using rabbit ears, when all of our digital stations are UHF. And the rabbit ears never gave them a good signal in the first place.

I also have a Philips MANT 910 with +50db gain of amplification. That Radio Shack UFO is better. Quite a few people on AVS in NYC rave about the UFO. IMHO, you should give it a try. $50 is pricey, but you can always take it back to the Shack if you don't like it. (I have no stock in Radio Shack. I just think that the UFO is hands down the best non-discontinued indoor antenna you can buy.)

 

[reddice]

Well I went to Radio Shack and they did not have the UFO antenna. I instead bought an couple of things to extend the cord on the antenna I have now. I am very cramped for space so I was able to move it into the closet. I might have to order the UFO online because no stores here have it. I get most of my locals in HD already except channel 9, 13 and 21. I would love to be able to watch PBS in HD. Does Dish have any plans on carrying those locals.

Otherwise I am enjoying HD a lot. I am watching programs in HD like sports which I would normally not watch on my old crappy setup because they look so good.

 

[reddice]

I ordered the UFO antenna from Radio Shack online since no stores around here carry it. It should be coming soon. I hope it is better than that Terk junk.