First Look: Dish Network's DTVPal Digital Converter

[Malouff]

However, for a thread meant to REVIEW the DTVpal, this one has gone way off topic, and looks like the meandering crap one sees on AVSforum.
I apologize for adding to the b/s. -

There was the original DTVPal topic that was used.

After Scott's review everyone and everything migrated to this one.

I am still a newbie here but Scott could have locked this thread so everything would have hopefully migrated back to the original after the review.

Is it time for everyone to jump ship back to the original, and move appropriate posts from the 16 pages also?

 

[A guy who read the manual]

Spy Games

i wonder if there is a reason that a person would post different parts of a message to different forums? so they don't get seen in the same place at the same time???

Hmm, yes I wonder. The ancient art of Obfuscation-Fu? Every secret agent should be trained in it.

These would have been posts to quote to show why I think pabeader and others were/are a beta tester of the DTVPal
. . .
<<<Followed by the Outing of Valerie Plame -- er, I mean, pabeader>>>

Malouff, methinks perhaps you quote too much. You'll blow McGoohan's cover!

Sorry, I know, still veering off topic.

By the way, I'd be happy to post my "B.S." at avsforum, but I can't. Story here. Still no suggestions for a remedy have come my way.

 

[Malouff]

Malouff, methinks perhaps you quote too much. You'll blow McGoohan's cover!

I don't quote everything that can't be found another way.

I have however got in trouble for quoting private things before but was never asked and/or misunderstood to keep private but did act quick and remove it.

I also do know how to keep a secret.

Like the fact that I know about x features on x box.
I have also been in contact with x person(s) in regard with this program and they work with x.

If McGoohan didn't want it repeated they should delete the original source and/or asked me to also remove.

 

[partsman_ba]

i wonder???


and the rest is silence...

Hmmm. : Let's say Kimberley-Clark makes toilet paper. They sell it in stores for, I don't know, $59.99 or so per case, because the store has to make its money off the shelf space as well as paying Kimberley-Clark. Then, K-C thinks "Hey, let's "eliminate" (I make double-entendre' for you french speakers) the middleman and sell this stuff over our own internet channel." So, they apply to the National Toiletpaper Information Administration for permission to sell to internet-savvy toilet paper geeks. Once they get approval, they can sell their generic equivalent toilet paper (with all of the features of the retail toilet paper) through their website for, let's say, the wholesale price to stores of $39.99 per case. I wonder if that would work in today's TP-impoverished world?

I guess the proper answer would be, "No $#!+"

 

[mike123abc]

I wonder if the DTVPal was originally going to be 39.99 when it was designed probably 18-24 months ago, but commodity prices have gone up so much that they could not meet the price target.

 

[A guy who read the manual]

Price increase

I wonder if the DTVPal was originally going to be 39.99 when it was designed probably 18-24 months ago, but commodity prices have gone up so much that they could not meet the price target.

Wow, we're dangerously close to getting back on topic, and just when I wanted to ask partsman_ba if there is any "vaporware" in the toilet paper business!

Yes, mike, there could be some truth in that. They had stated that they were prepared to lose money on each unit, but maybe it became more than they were counting on. (However, some people have pointed out inflation and the weak dollar is not as big a factor with Chinese manufacturing as it would be with other countries, such as Japan).

But after they rake in a few months of sales of $60 retail units, they still may (in effect) drop the price back down to $40 by releasing a "TR-40" that may be basically a re-branded DTVPal with only a few changes, maybe only cosmetic, with the same basic interface and features that they want to show off to potential satellite customers. It'll be great advertising for them if word-of-mouth spreads that their EPG, performance and ease of use is superior (not only to other coupon boxes, but also to other brands of cable and satellite boxes). The $40 box may be distributed thru both DISH and Sling Media, or maybe just Sling Media. Call it the cheap "plain wrapper" (*cough*) version of the DTVPal.

. . . Unless production can't keep up with sales at $60. . . Then all bets are off; why cut the price or divert manufacturing resources to a $40 box under those circumstances?

See, I mentioned the EPG, performance and ease of use. So this belongs here in the review thread

 

[Malouff]

They had stated that they were prepared to lose money on each unit, but maybe it became more than they were counting on. (However, some people have pointed out inflation and the weak dollar is not as big a factor with Chinese manufacturing as it would be with other countries, such as Japan).

They did say they were going to be selling them at a loss but there are price matched.

They could still however be taking a loss as we don't know the supplier of the System on Chip (SoC) and Tuner used.

They may not have anything in common with the other boxes and have to pay more for their special order parts as they are not being mass produced in the quantities of other converter parts.

For example either the LG or Zoran Chips found in a lot of the converters.

 

[A guy who read the manual]

Off-Topic note for my friends here at SatelliteGuys.us

I'm glad I've been able to see partsman_ba's frequently changing signatures over at avsforum.com. They have been a hoot, all based on the crazy DTVPal news and speculation. I don't have to be logged in over there to see them. But I just noticed that when you're not logged in here, you don't see our signatures.

So, here's a tip for the "lurkers" reading our posts here but not registered. Sign up and see the signatures! (Ads go away, too, as you're frequently told.)

But what's up with all the logging in that's required here? It seems I can't stay logged in for more than a couple hours at a time, and then I have to type my user name "A guy who read the manual pages that Scott posted on the first page of his DTVPal review thread" every time I log in. It's really a pain to type that user name for every log in, and then it doesn't all get displayed anyway.

. . .

OK, just kidding. My user name is just "A guy who read the manual", but it's still a pain when I have to log in repeatedly. The field doesn't "Auto-fill."

 

[A guy who read the manual]

What we know and don't know about DTVPal availability (simplified)

I've found a way to radically simplify my availability summary:


What we know about DTVPal availability:

• Squat.

What we don't know:

• Everything else.

Now, it could be worse. At least we know squat.
Think how bad it would be if we didn't know squat.

I sure could use a $39.99 case of toilet paper right now, but I'll pay $59.99 if I have to.

Could someone open a window and release the vaporware?

- A guy who read the manual, being funny without smiley faces since 2008.​

 

[TalkingRat]

It is getting interesting with more "sling" versions popping up online. After someone posted a part number, I found UPC number at buy.com. Not suggesting you buy there, just peek at the added info. Apparently not taking coupons. I hope the choice is not $20 with coupon (dtvpal) or $40-50 without coupon (159365).

Digital to Analog Converter wi - 159365
Product Summary
Manufacturer: SLING MEDIA
Mfg Part#: 159365
UPC: 00753960010557
Buy.com Sku: 207886355
Item#: C3RS55
Buy.com Sales Rank: 6738

 

[A guy who read the manual]

I can find the TR-40 at LOTS of stores

Sorry about 3 posts so close together, but this is something BIG (sort of).

A brand new poster over at avsforum thought he was on to something because he found the TR-40 listed at jr.com and twister.com. One problem with that post is that it's not twister.com, it's thetwistergroup.com. And the jr.com listing is old news.

Now, as I was typing this up, TalkingRat found it at Buy.com.

. . . But I can do better. I can find the TR-40 at LOTS of online stores.

Check out this google search, and prepare to be amazed: link

(Of course, it would be more amazing if it were actually available at any of these places.)

 

[Malouff]

I called Dish Network today to check on the DTVPal because EchoSphere said they should be available in my last email.

The number to call is 1-800-333-3474

It gets answered by a Speech Recognition Prompt asking "what can I help you with today?"

I tried saying "DTVPal" and it was transferring me to Technical Support so I hung up and said "Sales" the second time.

Well it is not available today but the guy told me the shipping will be $14.95 per unit.

WOW - $14.95 for shipping per unit

I hope he is wrong with those prices

Does anyone know if Dish Network has any shipping "Promo Codes" or anything?

 

[TalkingRat]

Guy who read, I did see other online listings, most under the Sling label -- so I'm concluding that they just never got the "retailer" word, and with no public announcement, how would they know.

Maybe Dish is used to shipping heavier boxes.

When I change dtvpal.com to tr-40.com I get transferred to Vip722.com

 

[partsman_ba]

It is getting interesting with more "sling" versions popping up online. After someone posted a part number, I found UPC number at buy.com. Not suggesting you buy there, just peek at the added info. Apparently not taking coupons. I hope the choice is not $20 with coupon (dtvpal) or $40-50 without coupon (159365).

I see one of those google results for that UPC# is at Provantage for the DTVPal that got them delisted from NTIA.

 

[A guy who read the manual]

Guy who read, I did see other online listings, most under the Sling label -- so I'm concluding that they just never got the "retailer" word, and with no public announcement, how would they know.

. . . Maybe so, but I think that "DTVPAL" or "ECHOSTARDTVPAL" is the manufacturer's part number for the box to be distributed by DISH/Echosphere, and 159365 is the manufacturer's part number for the box to be distributed by Sling Media.

So these sites MAY have a valid part number, the question is just WHEN is the Sling Media version going to be released?

As little as we knew about the version of the box coming from DISH, we now know far less about the version coming from Sling (could be identical to DTVPal [at least same case style], or could be in old larger case with internal power supply, or could be canceled and never released, or something completely different).

And now, for something completely different: IT'S.

 

[A guy who read the manual]

Can DISH sales reps set their own prices?

This seems way too bizarre, but could the DISH sales reps that answer through their main number (1-800-333-3474), with their commission system and sales quotas, actually be allowed to set their own prices, or at least set their own shipping prices?

That's the only explanation I can think of, other than lack of training, for the ridiculous range of answers that callers are getting when they call to inquire about DTVPal pricing and shipping costs.

There must be people on this forum that have dealt with DISH sales reps reachable through the main number, maybe even know them personally. If not, maybe there are at least independent DISH sellers here who have to compete with these sales reps and know something about how they operate. Can anyone clear this up?

 

[A guy who read the manual]

More obviously wrong info from DISH

For those visitors that are only checking this thread, another thread popped up here at satelliteguys.us about 1hr 15min ago with some more obviously wrong info emailed from DISH:

www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/140336-dtv-pal-free.html

 

[A guy who read the manual]

dishnetworktr40.com

At avsforum.com:

partsman_ba found an intriguing site.

Rick313 commented "This looks to me like a ploy by an unscrupulous Dish Network Distributor to acquire new business."

I think Rick313 is right. If you click the "buy now!" link at the bottom of the page (not the buttons by the products; they don't work), you get a form to order DISH service:

dishnetworktr40.com/order_tr40_tr50_now.php

It's possible the site considers itself "under construction" with no need to be finished (or accurate) until the items are available (the page title for the order form makes no sense, for example: "DTV Converter Box News - DTV Transition Facts"), but one thing is certain, it's not the official site, which is dtvpal.com, a.k.a. dishnetwork.com/dtvpal/ (and there are no official sites yet for an "August $40 box" which may or may not be called the TR-40 if it ever materializes, or for the TR-50).

 

[Anole]

B/S alert

Solid Signal now lists it for $80 and 10 to ship.

. . . and they quote the MSRP as $80, now as well . . .

 

[Hall]

partsman_ba found an intriguing site.

Rick313 commented "This looks to me like a ploy by an unscrupulous Dish Network Distributor to acquire new business."

That domain is registered to a person or company who's hiding behind Network Solution... Dish Network or Echostar provide their full contact information for their real websites.