Question on Setup - New to Dish

[Janel7710]

I have not yet made the switch to Dish, but am very close to doing so. I have a few questions and am hoping you can help. I am not extremely tech savvy, but I am not a total newbie either. My husband is quite handy and tech savvy, so I think if we need to do anything setup wise, my husband can set it up before the installer comes. Here goes.

We have 1 HDTV in the family room on the 1st floor
We have 1 SDTV in the Master Bedroom on the 2nd floor
We have 1 SDTV in the 3rd Bedroom on the 2nd floor

I cant decide if I should get 1 vip622 and use a splitter for the 3, or if I should get a vip622 and a 322. If I get the 622 and the 322 I have a question about what tvs can view the DVR'd content. If I record something on the 322 from the 3rd bedroom, can I view it in the family room on the 1st floor even though it is setup to use the 622? I just want to make sure if the 3rd bedroom is recording content, even if its in SD, that we can watch it in any room. If so, what equipment do I need to purchase that the installer won't already have?

Also, with all the lawsuit issues in the news, is making the move to DishNetwork from Cable TV an issue? Is it a "safe" move? I hope my question is clear and that some of you can offer me some assistance. Basically the bottom line is we want to be able to watch all the DVRd content on any of our TVs (I realize it would only be in HD if it was recorded on the 622 on a HD Signal). Thanks in advance for reading and offering help!

 

[datwell]

Janel7710: We have Dish and love it - the 622 is just super!

As far as I know, the only provider that has the ability to watch DVRed content on another set top box is Verizon's FIOS and that feature costs extra (the set top boxes are fed from the router they install in your home and they send data packets over the RG-6). You don't state where you live or if the distant networks thing is applicable to you (it isn't for our area). Hope this helps.

--Doug

 

[mlyles]

The 322 is not a dvr, just a dual-tuner receiver. The 625 dvr is probably what you want for the two bedrooms.

 

[Janel7710]

Update

I am in the Chicagoland area (about 35 mi west of the city center).

I guess I thought with splitters and remote sharing and the UHF antennas, it was possible to share the content on several tvs. I think I'm still not clear on what would be the best setup for us.

We may just get the 622, and use a splitter for the 3rd tv as we don't use that one often (there's only myself and my husband in the house)

Also, as for the Verizon FIOS, I'm not entirely sure what that is, but we do receive Fiber Optic Internet service from SBC if that helps my cause at all . . .

 

[datwell]

Janel7710: I would advise you to read up on the 622 (if you use it in single mode, both tuners are available - you can watch one program while recording another at the same time - dual mode would feed a second TV; however, since one tuner becomes dedicated to the second set, you lose the "two at a time" option). In addition, the 2nd TV must be SD.

We could have easily done this at our home but we opted for a second box and we are glad we did.

Again, much of this is fairly technical, so do some reading up!

--Doug

 

[Janel7710]

Thanks again... I actually have been doing quite a bit of reading on the 622. I haven't seen it stated that if I set it up in single mode that it must stay that way or if we could go back and forth with single/dual modes. The most important aspect is watching the same content in the family room and the bedroom. The 3rd bedroom would just be a bonus and we wont include it if it complicates matters. All the forums and documents on the 622 seem pretty confusing. We're very happy with our TiVos as they can share content, but I hear good things about the 622.

 

[lakebum431]

You can switch back and forth between single and dual user mode at any time by pushing the button on the front of the 622.

 

[boba]

You can switch back and forth between single and dual user mode at any time by pushing the button on the front of the 622.

BUT you must push the button on the FRONT of the receiver it does not work from the remote control. Think about crawling out of that nice warm bed this winter so you can change from single to dual mode.

 

[Pepper]

Janel, is it just the two of you?

We have a similar setup, the ViP622 is attached to the main HDTV with component cables for TV1, and the TV2 composite and rca audio pass-thru the dvd recorder to the TV's other set of component. We also have the RF coax sent to every room and the modulator lets you set TV1 and TV2 to two different channels. This way we can watch TV1 or TV2 from any of the TVs.

Most of the time we use it in single mode and watch the same thing, but sometimes we use dual mode, for instance if I'm recording something to DVD and don't necessarily want to watch it at the time, or if battlestar and a chick-flick are on at the same time . Regardless of mode, you can watch TV1 or TV2 in any of the rooms, including anything that's recorded. (I got an additional 6.2 remote that lives in each room for TV2 and programmed for the specific TV device, and one more I can carry around that's programmed for TV1 UHF pro, to actually be able to control TV1 from the other rooms).

The other benefit of only having one receiver in the house is no additional receiver fees, and no chance of the audit team calling. At this point I wouldn't waste my time with another receiver because (a) if it's a dvr I'm paying even more fees and (b) if it's not a dvr I can't stand watching it. Another benefit I just thought of, no need to run satellite cable to those other rooms, the existing cable in the wall will usually do just fine for distributing the modulated output.

one benefit of dual mode is that when you view HD content on TV2, it is letterboxed properly for old 4x3 TVs. With TV1 you end up with stretch-o-vision. You can switch back and forth at any time.

 

[whatchel1]

Single & Dual mode

Another thing about the difference in the 2 modes. When in Single mode it is possible to use the PIP on the HD output. I switch between the 2. When I want to transfer something to DVD I use dual. Also when my daughter is here I use dual so that the 2 different rooms can watch 2 different things. Other wise I use single mode. In most cases you really don't need the 2nd DVR and to get the 2nd DVR's output to the main room it will mean running another cable distribution system from it to the main room.

 

[tigerfan33]

Thanks

 

[lakebum431]

Wow, that was a delayed thanks.

 

[Scott6760]

If it's just the two of you in the house I would do the same setup I did for my parents. One 622 in the main room and split the modulated output to both bedrooms. All three tv's can watch DVR content, and no need for additional receiver fees every month.