Help! New to Satellite, Dish 322 (and Dish 500 HDTV Compatability) questions...

[dpg]

Hi -

I am brand new to satellite TV. Just ordered Dish, and am having it installed on Saturday. Two quick questions:

1 - Is the Dish 500 HDTV-compatable? If I upgrade to an HD receiver, will the dish need to be changed as well?

2 - The Dish 322 receiver...I keep searching for info on how this dual-tuner receiver works, but can't find anything specific enough to answer this question: How does the receiver send the signal to the other TV? I see RCA's on the back...will the installer run RCA's to my other TV? How does the remote communicate with the receiver (One TV is on the second floor, the other is in the corner of the basement - is the remote Radio Frequency?)


I have an HDTV, but have opted out of the programming for the time being. However, it seems like this dual tuner receiver may cause some problems, so I might just have to go with the HDTV tuner now from Dish. Is the 322 generally well-accepted/well-liked by the users on the forum?

Thanks in advance for anyone's help........

dpg

 

[bhelms]

Welcome! Answers:

1) Yes, in the sense that any dish can receive HD programming. The real question is what satellites you'll be receiving. If you're just getting the 322 for now the installer will probably set you up with one D500 and a twin LNB that will receive programming from sats. in both the 110 and 119 orbital slots. There is a bunch of "national" HD programming on one of the 110 sats, and your dish and LNB set-up could receive that content. However, there is also a bunch more HD programming on the 61.5 sat, mirrored on the 129 sat. and you would need an additional or different dish to receive those orbital slots. So when you do upgrade to HD, more equipment would be required to receive all the content that's available.

2) The 322 has several options for the TV2 connection, either by the A/V connections or the "Home Distribution" coax connection. I believe it is more common to connect via coax, and you could use that option to send the TV2 signals throughout your house over long distances. The 322 can be programmed to put that signal on any "over the air" channel 21-69 so it won't interfere with any other signals on that cable. If the distance is relatively short (< 25 feet?) then you can instead run the TV2 signals via the A/V connections.

3) The TV2 remote is UHF so it can communicate with the receiver via radio signals through the walls, floors, etc. That's why the 322 has a connection for a short UHF antenna that comes with it. I have a UHF remote for my 622 that works well over modest distances.

I don't have one but the 322 seems to be a reliable workhorse with few problems. If you can handle the added cost for the HD programming, I suggest you really give that some serious thought since you already have the TV.

Good luck with your installation! You'll like what you get either way...!

 

[dpg]

Thank you bhelms!!!

I am trying to avoid having an installer come back out to replace/upgrade the dish in the future. I plan on speaking to my wife tonight about changing our order to include HD...now is the time to do it!!

Regards,
dpg

 

[Jordan420]

Even if you decide to wait on HD, I would still recomend getting a 625 DVR instead of the 322.

With a DVR you will never watch live TV again.