New HD Subsrciption, HD DVR & Installation - What to Expect

[gatcat2]

Hi all.
I just subscribed to HD Dish Network through a bundle phone/internet/hd package with ATT in St. Louis.

My new HD Subscription will be the Dish America Everything with ViP 722 DVR & Installation for one HD TV and 3 analog TV's.

I searched the forum a bit but didn't find quite what I was looking for.

I am new to HD and satellite as well as DVR and have been on cable for years.
So all of this is new to me.

Could someone explain all what the Dish install tech will do and what do I have to watch for.

Is there anything I need to coordinate with Dish or ATT before the install?

Do I need to have anything special on hand such as a surge supressor, special cabling/wires, phone jack or other connection for the DVR?

What about connecting a DVD player, do I ask the installer to help or is it easy enough to do later?

Thanks everyone.
Clueless in St Louis

 

[daboogas94e]

well if you want "true" HD, you have to supply your own HDMI cable. and its always good to plug everything into a surge suppressor and be sure the TV is near a phone jack so you can plug the receiver into the outlet and save yourself the 5 buck phone line fee

 

[thunderstruck]

Do you avoid the fee if you are connected via broadband? I only have an internet phone, which requires a PC to run the adapter. Fortunately, it runs on my old DVR/PC which is next to the 722.

 

[Dgenx321]

Yes' you don't have to pay the fee if you hook your 622 or 722 up over your home network.

 

[mattopia]

My recommendation would be to be present during the entire install and check in frequently. Make sure you understand exactly what the installer is doing at every point.

I had to ask a lot of questions to get what I wanted - such as "Where will you be putting the dish" and "How will you be routing the cables".

Unfortunately I stepped away for about 20 minutes when he secured the wiring from the dish into the house, and he secured it to the roof instead of under the eaves. Looks terrible, and it's because I wasn't around.

 

[sprintcarcrazy]

I have my projection TV as well as all my DVR's hooked up to battery backups. This can be a real saver on equipment.

If the power goes out, we shut the TV off and it still has time to run the cool down on the bulb. Those bulbs are expensive and a power off without a proper cool down can really shorten bulb life from what I have read. I would think this would be important on a Plasma or LCD TV too.

 

[thunderstruck]

A good quality UPS with automatic voltage regulation is a must. We were having some power issues this summer, and I came up one day and TV wouldn't come on. Checked all power cords, all was well. Looked at the UPS and the light was not on. Hit the switch, no power. The voltage spikes had killed the UPS! The UPS served it's purpose of being the sacrificial lamb-something had to take the hit, better the UPS than my Sony TV. Most power spikes occur when power is restored, not when it is going down.