International programming?

[jake14mw]

My neighbor just dumped the cable company because his bill for analog cable went up to $60. He needs a two room install. He needs to choose between D* and E*. His main decision criteria are:

1) Cost. He would prefer a low cost package with not a million channels
2) Portugese programming. He is Portugese and it would be a bonus to have Portugese channels.
3) Satellite location. He has many tall trees in his Southwest view. I know for D* he would need to see 101 and 119. It looks like for E* it would be 110 and 119?
3a) Connecticut locals. With D* these are at 119, is it the same with E*?


I'm a D* customer, but it seems for his needs that E* might be a better choice, considering that they have a lower introductory package and what looks like 3 Portugese channels. I know that D* has a low cost Para Todos package, but I don't think that any of the Spanish channels are actually Portugese are they? I could not really figure out the international choices well. On E*, it looked like 3 Portugese channels would be an extra $19 per month?

What's the best place to get a low or no cost install package for E*? Thanks for the help.

 

[mwgiii]

Here are the Portuguese channels Dish Network has.

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/programming/international/packages/indexalacarte.asp?languageType=Portuguese
DishStore.net is a great place to order from.
http://www.dishstore.net/

 

[jake14mw]

So, if I'm reading that correctly, the first Portuguese channel is $20 per month, the second $10 per month, and the third $4 per month? If so, I link that makes the whole thing moot. I don't think he wants them at those prices! One other question, with Dishnetwork, is there a $5/month charge for the second receiver like there is with D*?

 

[jake14mw]

What's the difference between E*'s Home Advantage and regular plan? It looks like the Home Advantage is a rental plan with no commitment and the regular, you buy the equipment and have a one year commitment? So isn't there a rental fee for the equipement with the Home Advantage plan? I didn't see that. It looked to me like there was no advantage to use the ownership plan, but I must have missed something.

 

[Chris Freeland]

What's the difference between E*'s Home Advantage and regular plan? It looks like the Home Advantage is a rental plan with no commitment and the regular, you buy the equipment and have a one year commitment? So isn't there a rental fee for the equipement with the Home Advantage plan? I didn't see that. It looked to me like there was no advantage to use the ownership plan, but I must have missed something.

Yes Dish Advantage (DHA) is a rental plan, the first receiver, your locals and AT60 are included at $29.99/mo, larger programing packages are more, with no commitment. With the Free Dish plan you buy the equipment and comitment to one year of AT60 or above at $24.99 or more for larger packages, it you want locals it is an extra $5/mo and you receive a $10/mo credit for 10 months, if you buy 1 receiver or 15 months if you buy 2 receivers, which makes it Free over the long haul. With the DHA rental plan extra receivers are $5/mo each extra, however you pay no mirror fee and E* offers 2 tuner 2 output receivers (322 and DVR522) that are exclusive to the DHA plan and if you keep them connected to a phone line the $4.99 mirror fee for the 2nd tuner is waived so you can connect 4 TV's for the price of 2. The Free Dish plan only offers single tuner receivers (301,311, DVR510, 811) and you pay the $4.99/mo mirror fee for each additional receiver beyond the first just like D*. If you want a DVR, it is an extra $4.98/mo per unit unless you subscribe to "Americas Every thing Pack" (AEP) with either DHA or "Free Dish", however the equipment upgrade is Free on DHA or an extra $200 on the Free Dish promo. All of this info in more detail is available on the E* website.

 

[jake14mw]

Yes Dish Advantage (DHA) is a rental plan, the first receiver, your locals and AT60 are included at $29.99/mo, larger programing packages are more, with no commitment. With the Free Dish plan you buy the equipment and comitment to one year of AT60 or above at $24.99 or more for larger packages, it you want locals it is an extra $5/mo and you receive a $10/mo credit for 10 months, if you buy 1 receiver or 15 months if you buy 2 receivers, which makes it Free over the long haul. With the DHA rental plan extra receivers are $5/mo each extra, however you pay no mirror fee and E* offers 2 tuner 2 output receivers (322 and DVR522) that are exclusive to the DHA plan and if you keep them connected to a phone line the $4.99 mirror fee for the 2nd tuner is waived so you can connect 4 TV's for the price of 2. The Free Dish plan only offers single tuner receivers (301,311, DVR510, 811) and you pay the $4.99/mo mirror fee for each additional receiver beyond the first just like D*. If you want a DVR, it is an extra $4.98/mo per unit unless you subscribe to "Americas Every thing Pack" (AEP) with either DHA or "Free Dish", however the equipment upgrade is Free on DHA or an extra $200 on the Free Dish promo. All of this info in more detail is available on the E* website.

I'm confused, sorry. Is there any advantage to having two separate receivers vs. the "shared" dual tuner receiver? How does the signal get from the receiver in one room to the TV in another? Coax? Are features the same?

So with the purchase plan for two receivers you pay $150 up front and get that reimbursed on your bill over 10 months?

 

[jake14mw]

So with the rental plan with one dual receiver, the whole bill for two TVs is $0 up front and $29.99 plus tax, fees, etc/month?

 

[TuxCoder]

I'm confused, sorry. Is there any advantage to having two separate receivers vs. the "shared" dual tuner receiver? How does the signal get from the receiver in one room to the TV in another? Coax? Are features the same?

So with the purchase plan for two receivers you pay $150 up front and get that reimbursed on your bill over 10 months?

I agree, it's all confusing, especially the 3 dimensions of $5 fees Dish wants to charge you. (ok, actually, there's a $4.98 fee, a $4.99, and a $5, all for different circumstances)

When going between different rooms, which is the main use I think of the 522, typically you'll backfeed its "TV 2" coax output into your house's normal cable jacks. This works but is not at all recommended if your house's cable jacks are still connected in any way to the neighborhood cable lines (even if just for cable internet).

A strong benefit over two separate DVR's is that recordings are shared. Another I use a lot is its Single Mode, giving you PIP (which I don't use) and "tuner swapping" which I do use. Both tuners can be on different channels, and both are buffering, so at any time you can swap to the other channel and time shift, etc.

 

[TuxCoder]

So with the rental plan with one dual receiver, the whole bill for two TVs is $0 up front and $29.99 plus tax, fees, etc/month?

Right, and what's beautiful with satellite TV is there are no third party (FCC, etc.) fees or franchise fees. They do have their own different $5 fees though as mentioned in my previous post.

Taxes are another story. There's not supposed to be tax on satellite TV, and in the vast majority of the US, there is not. But in my state (Ohio) and many others, the cable companies and/or greedy state governments have instituted a state tax. So check for your own state to see for sure, or Dish Network should be able to tell you if you win the CSR roulette.

 

[don_riggins]

The dual tuners recievers are really good for 2 tvs only when connected to the phone line, you can have 4 tvs for the 1 charge of the second reciever.

 

[mkm4]

So, if I'm reading that correctly, the first Portuguese channel is $20 per month, the second $10 per month, and the third $4 per month? ! QUOTE]

You can get RTPi for $4 by itself. You don't need the other two channels.
RTPi comes out of Portugal, the other two channels are from Brazil. He might not want the Brazillian channels if he isn't Brazillian. If he is Brazilian he probably won't want RTPi. Of the two Brazilian channels Globo is the better one.

 

[TNGTony]

You can get RTPi for $4 by itself.

Well....not exactly true.

To get RTPi, it must be with AT60 and higher or in combination with one or both the other portuguese channels.

RTPi is not available a la carte ($4 + $5 access fee).

See ya
Tony