Is there an OTA only option with DVR?

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samalex

samalex

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jan 28, 2009
245
5
Waco, Texas
Hi,

I know this has been asked many times, but I can't find any threads (probably not searching right) plus I'm sure the answer changes over time. But we'd like to look at dropping our cable back to just OTA with the DVR, so firstly is this an option? Seems like Dish used to have a $10/month or $15/month plan taht did this. And if so would the locals be in HD? Or what about OTA HD channels i get via antenna, could these be viewed or recorded as HD? And finally we have HD 4 Life, so if we ever decided to bump our plan backup, would this be affected? Seems like I remember reading it wouldn't be, but just thought I'd ask.

Thanks for any feedback.

Sam
 
pm one of the DIRT members. I am pretty sure you can drop to the Welcome Pack and then go back later to a regular package and keep your HD Free 4 Life. Welcome pack only has locals and any free previews in HD.
 
Hey Guys --

There are lots of reasons I'd like to stay with Dish:
- We've had our VIP722 for years and love it, plus we have TONS of movies saved on it
- Just incase we decide to move back to a larger package it'd be nice to already have the setup in place, besides we've already had our two year contract (which just expired) to get HD 4 Life, and I'd rather not loose that.
- We don't have a local PBS station any more, so Dish offering a neighboring market's PBS station (two in fact) is reason alone to keep it.
- The stand alone OTA DVR's are just way too expensive, and I don't mind spending the $6/month as insurance to guarantee what we have will continue to work.

So I have a few reasons why I don't mind staying with Dish... we've just found that for now anyway not only do we really don't have much time to watch TV but we really need to look at dropping the monthly cable bill back if at all possible.

I'll PM one of the DIRT folks and see what they can suggest, if they don't reply sooner :) Thanks for the advise.

Sam
 
you are on the right track. you might even want to look into one of the Dish America packages. there are a lot of options. we just wish the 722 had QAM functionality along with ATSC.
 
@Garys - Urm, I'm not going back to VCR ;-D I actually still have one connected for some of the old kids movies our toddlers like to watch, but I'm not about to mess with programming it to record programs from Dish. Heck I even still have my VCR+ remote, which if Dish supported that I might try it to be honest.

@empiretc - I actually am already on the Dish American package and we're at about $50/month, but given we really only watch the locals I'm just trying to shave more off the bill. If not for PBS and the DVR I'd just run strait OTA, but with two toddlers we have to queue the few programs we watch whenever the house is quiet. Plus I enjoy the local evening news and the coverage of elections which I can't get online easily or through something like the Roku, which I might just get anyway.

I've messaged Matt with Dish, and if he replies via PM i'll post what he says here for anyone else interested.
 
samalex said:
Hey Guys --

There are lots of reasons I'd like to stay with Dish:
- We've had our VIP722 for years and love it, plus we have TONS of movies saved on it
- Just incase we decide to move back to a larger package it'd be nice to already have the setup in place, besides we've already had our two year contract (which just expired) to get HD 4 Life, and I'd rather not loose that.
- We don't have a local PBS station any more, so Dish offering a neighboring market's PBS station (two in fact) is reason alone to keep it.
- The stand alone OTA DVR's are just way too expensive, and I don't mind spending the $6/month as insurance to guarantee what we have will continue to work.

So I have a few reasons why I don't mind staying with Dish... we've just found that for now anyway not only do we really don't have much time to watch TV but we really need to look at dropping the monthly cable bill back if at all possible.

I'll PM one of the DIRT folks and see what they can suggest, if they don't reply sooner :) Thanks for the advise.

Sam
Click to expand...

I received your PM :D
 
Welcome Pack will get you your locals in HD (if available) but other than freeview channels the rest will be in SD only
 
samalex said:
@empiretc - I actually am already on the Dish American package and we're at about $50/month, but given we really only watch the locals I'm just trying to shave more off the bill. If not for PBS and the DVR I'd just run strait OTA, but with two toddlers we have to queue the few programs we watch whenever the house is quiet. Plus I enjoy the local evening news and the coverage of elections which I can't get online easily or through something like the Roku, which I might just get anyway.
Click to expand...

Cool. Sounds like the welcome or family pack will be your best bet. Both will give your locals and any freeviews in HD, and you should maintain the hdffl. Let us know what you end up going with.
 
Dishman-n-nc said:
yes, it's called a V-C-R!
Click to expand...
You've been paying for tv too long then if you think a VCR is the answer. For hd ota recording, Tivo has two models and Channel Master has the CM7400. If sd is fine for you, Magnavox has two different dvd recorders with hard drives (one has a 320gb and the other has a 500gb) and atsc tuners that can double as a dvr. All five models also have clear QAM tuners if you want cable without a cabelco stb (Tivos can of course use a cable card). Not a lot of choices, but there are viable alternatives if you don't want to pay monthly fees to watch tv.
 
The last time I used a vcr was in 2000. I don't even have any vcr tapes any longer. I cleaned house a few years back and chunked all the old vcr tapes and movies. In fact I only have one dvd/vcr combo device left in my house and it is on my son's tv. He doesn't use it much either since he doesn't watch many dvds any more. He's into streaming over Netflix on his X-box.
 
agarrett22 said:
Check out TiVo, I've used them for years for OTA recording in HD
Click to expand...

Mochuf said:
For hd ota recording, Tivo has two models and Channel Master has the CM7400. ...Not a lot of choices, but there are viable alternatives if you don't want to pay monthly fees to watch tv.
Click to expand...


The problem with Tivo (been there done that) is unless you shell out big $$$$ upfront, there is a monthly fee for each box. If you are only using OTA, then the 722 under the welcome pack is still the better option since you can have your OTA, locals from dish, and a few other channels for about the same as a tivo would cost monthly. Don't forget, the 722 will feed a second tv (albeit sd).
 
I have a VIP612 with the Welcome Pak and a OTA TV antenna connected. It works out to about $15/mo. my local channels delivered by DISH are HD for the major networks. The OTA channels are mostly SD but I get about 60 channels free with the ATSC tuner built into the 612 all can be recorded on the hard drive. I can also subscribe to alacarte packages and get any of those that are broadcast in HD.
 
Public thanks to Matt who got me all setup. My bill will be down to around $30/month with the Welcome Package ($15), DVR fee ($6), and the protection plan ($6), and this saves me about $20/month. Also we're getting a few channels we didn't have on the Top 120 package, namely Hub and AMC so that'll be nice.

As for using a VCR, we still have it setup on the kid's TV for some old VHS tapes, but honestly it isn't used much and I can't imagine using it day-to-day given how spoiled I am with the DVR... this is why i don't want to loose our VIP722 :) I looked at some of the other OTA DVR's and they're just not economical. If I wanted to invest that kinda money into an OTA DVR I'd invest in a FTA system instead.
 
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