newby install questions

[cjf001]

Hi guys - new to the satellite thing, but I have an electronics background, so I'm trying to understand a few things -

1 - I'd like to install the dish and cabling and stuff myself. If I purchase the hardware from somewhere and set it all up, is DishTV ok with this ? Do I just call and say I want a new account, but don't need the install, since I have all the hardware already ?

2 - From my location, I can't "see" the usual 2 sats that Dish uses - the 110 and 119 sats. However, I *can* see the 77 and 61.5 Dish sats. How can I tell if these sats carry the programming that I would like ? And, are there other Dish sats that I should be aware of (I can see anything from about 85W to 45W).

3 - Let's assume the answers to my first questions are "sure, you can do that" and there's some sat that I can see that carries all the programming I'm interested in. Do I need to tell Dish which sat I'm looking at ? I guess my real question here is - how does Dish control what channels I can see/decode ? Is it by channel, and the channels are the same on different sats, or what ? For instance, let's say the package I get from Dish gives me HGTV. Does that mean I can view HGTV on any DishTV sat I happen to point at ?

Thanks for any info you can give me !

John

 

[boba]

Call DISH and arrange for a professional install, they can decide if you have a line of sight (LOS) to receive their service. Or look on the DISH website for a local dealer who can spend the time educating you on satellites.

 

[iwannarock1]

1.Dish isn't going to just send you out a receiver to hook up yourself. They will require an installer do your installation. It's free with a 2 year contract, or $99 without the contract.

2. If you realy don't have line of sight to the western satellites(which an installer can confirm for you), you will probably get an Eastern Arc install.. 61.5, 72 ,77, depending on where you live in the US.

3. Different channels come on different satellites. Also, a standard definition channel can come on one satellite, but the HD version may come on a different one.(example.. ESPN standard definition comes on the 119 sat, the ESPN HD channel comes on the 110 sat) If you only have certain satellites, you can only get the channels that come on them. Dish controls what channels you get, by what channel package you subscribe to.