Moving from TWC to Dish, need help!

[msgph]

Hello all,

I am thinking of moving from Time Warner to Dish Network. I would like some suggestions from the team here on what kind of setup I should look at.

Here is my current setup with Time Warner:


TV1 - HD, HD DVR box
TV2 - HD, HD box (Doesn't have to be HD, its a small bedroom tv)
TV3 - SD, Analog cable only, no box
TV4 - SD, Analog cable only, no box
TV5 - SD, Analog cable only, no box
TV6 - HD, HD box
TV7 - SD, Analog cable only, no box

My first though is that I need an HD DVR to feed TV1 and TV2, a HD/SD box to feed TV6 and TV3, and then a SD box to feed TV4, TV5 and TV7.

Anyone have some better suggestions? I would like to minimize costs and take advantage of any promotions or deals that are out there.

I also would like to be able to plug my OTA Antenna into the HD DVR.

Thanks in advance!

Michael

 

[KAB]

Dish has limitation on leased equipment to a total of four "tuners". So, two dual tuner DVRs (or one dual and two singles) would be your lease limit. Over that, you would need to purchase. SD receivers can be had fairly cheap. Yes you can run OTA through the HD DVR. Keep in mind, you will need to subscribe to your locals if you want them to appear in the program guide.

 

[Neutral Fan]

You might go with a Slingbox with a Dish receiver to reduce the number of tuners you need.

Aaron

 

[nsafreak]

Depends upon how much you're willing to invest on this setup. Be aware that some of the setups I'm going to suggest are NOT officially supported by Dish and you will be paying for the extra equipment. There are a couple different routes you can go, depending upon how much you're willing to spend:

Option 1

Dish Equipment

1 ViP 722k receiver
1 ViP 222k receiver
Purchase
1 ViP 211k receiver

Other equipment
Two 2 leg splitters
3 extra 21.0 remote controls (optional, but needed if you don't want to carry around the TV2 remotes)


Setup

Hook ViP 722k to the HDTV that you want a DVR on directly and the 222k to the HDTV that you want HDTV but no DVR on same for the 211k. Then run the output from TV2 to the splitters for each one to the other TVs.

Advantages

Minimal upfront costs. Minimal additional monthly cost.

Disadvantages

Limited on what you can watch on the other TV2s. What's on one TV2 output for one receiver is shown on all other TVs on that receiver's TV2 hooked up splitter.

Option 2

Dish Equipment

1 ViP 722k receiver
1 ViP 222k receiver
Purchase
1 ViP 211k receiver

Other equipment

1 multiple source RF modulator (something like this: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/CHANNEL-PLUS-5445-Channel-Modulator/dp/B00026C4GA/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246828080&sr=8-23"]Amazon.com: CHANNEL PLUS 5445 Quad Channel Rf Modulator: Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41N01TMKM8L.@@AMEPARAM@@41N01TMKM8L[/ame] )
3 extra 21.0 remote controls
1 four leg splitter

Setup

Hook ViP 722k to the HDTV that you want a DVR on directly and the 222k to the HDTV that you want HDTV but no DVR on same for the 211k. Then run both the TV1 and TV2 outputs (composite) to the multi source RF modulator. From the modulator run a short cable to the four way splitter and from there to each of the TVs that does not have a satellite box.

Advantages

Allows you to have more choices when watching programming on the other sets without boxes as you'll have all four satellite tuners available on any TV set. Minimal additional monthly cost.

Disadvantages

Much higher cost to setup and there is no way that Dish is going to have this equipment with a regular installer. If you think about going with this setup I highly recommend finding a well established and well spoken for retailer in your area. Normally I would recommend Dishstore however I'm not sure that if this is a setup that they would be able to do or not. Feel free to contact Scott and see if this is something he can set you up with though if you decide to go this route.

Option 3

Dish Equipment

1 ViP 722k receiver
1 ViP 222k receiver
Purchase
1 ViP211k receiver
1 DP322 receiver
1 DP34 switch

Setup

Hook ViP 722k to the HDTV that you want a DVR on directly and the 222k to the HDTV that you want HDTV but no DVR on same for the 211k. Then hookup the DP322 and DP311 to the other TVs.

Advantages

Independent programming on all TV sets

Disadvantages

Much higher initial cost going in and additional monthly costs for the additional receivers.

This is another setup that I'd recommend contacting the Dish Store on, they may be able to give you better prices on the additional equipment if you decide to go this route.

 

[KAB]

Call Dishstore, period, the end. Let none of the above sway you until you've talked to Claude. (SatGuys Sponsor and best deals for Dish).

 

[msgph]

Call Dishstore, period, the end. Let none of the above sway you until you've talked to Claude. (SatGuys Sponsor and best deals for Dish).

Thanks!

Thanks for the advice. With the size of family that I have, it would not be uncommon to have 5 of the tv's to be going at the same time. Three dual tuner receivers would be ideal, but then were probably talking about $200+ in additional receiver costs, plus now Dish charges $30 for a module to hook up the OTA antenna.

I will talk to Claude and see what is out there.

Thank you to all who offered their views and advice!

 

[KAB]

Thanks!

plus now Dish charges $30 for a module to hook up the OTA antenna.

!

True, but for 722/222K only, not the rest of the VIP series

 

[chuckster_dude]

Here is my current setup with Time Warner:

TV1 - HD, HD DVR box
TV2 - HD, HD box (Doesn't have to be HD, its a small bedroom tv)
TV3 - SD, Analog cable only, no box
TV4 - SD, Analog cable only, no box
TV5 - SD, Analog cable only, no box
TV6 - HD, HD box
TV7 - SD, Analog cable only, no box

7 TVs???? WOW! Does anyone need that many TVs in one house???

I'd hate to see your electric bill.

 

[Islandguy43]

7 TVs???? WOW! Does anyone need that many TVs in one house???

I'd hate to see your electric bill.

I have 7 tvs, but the most any are working at one time is 3, and then that is during hockey season, and it would be two on dish with centerice and another one on cable with Hockey Night in Canada on it.

 

[msgph]

7 TVs???? WOW! Does anyone need that many TVs in one house???

Yes.