Ready to upgrade, some questions?

[MikeMoss]

Hi

I went and bought a new Samsung 46" TV today, partly because I was afraid that it might be the last chance to get one that would fit in in the space that I have to put it in, (it clears by 3/16 of an inch and there are no 2015 models that are similar in size) but mostly because the HDMI circuit on my LG TV died a year or so ago.

I posted here for help on that when it happened and I've been running on composite input for a year.

Now my Dish box has been acting up for months.

If I have paused it will suddenly jump to real time, sometimes it will show that I have a 1:00 hour program recorded, but after 15 minutes is will suddenly go to 0 time and that's it.

When I pause it and then restart it will jump back several minutes etc,. it just doesn't work right.
Anyway it needs to be replaced.

Now I want to upgrade to a Hopper and 2 Joeys one for the basement TV and one for the bedroom TV.
The new TV goes on the main floor.

The thing is I'd like to have some idea how much I'm going to have to pay before I call them, forewarned is forearmed as they say.

I looked at the Dish website and it's pretty vague about costs.

As usually they will give a new customer everything for free, but the don't have any "Upgrade your Dish Receiver" deals that I can find.

We already pay a lot, we have the Top 250 package plus 2 receivers and local channels and sometimes we also have a pay movie channel.

Can anyone give us a idea of how much we should pay for the upgrad?
Personally after being a customer for 15 years I think they should do it for free.

I have another question, if I have a Hopper is there a way to connect it to my DVD recorder so that it will record in HD, I have my present one hooked up as channel 2 but it only outputs standard definition, I'd like to be able to transfer video to disk in HD.

Sorry for being so long winded, (that what happens when you are 77 and learn to type) but I'm going to set up the new TV tomorrow and then I want to contact Dish about upgrading my receiver in the next week or so.

Thanks for the help!

Mike

 

[KAB]

Contact DIRT. You can probably upgrade for free. Monthly cost for one Hopper with 2 Joey's...$26.00 (12.00 DVR fee, 2 Joeys @ 7.00)

You can not record HD on a DVD recorder.

 

[dwarren2]

You are limited by the inputs on your dvdr. The Hopper does not have S=video out.

 

[KAB]

The Hopper does not have S=video out.

Would not matter if it did. A DVD recorder is limited to 480i.

 

[Hall]

Can anyone give us a idea of how much we should pay for the upgrad?
Personally after being a customer for 15 years I think they should do it for free.

As noted by KAB, it likely will be free. There will be on-going monthly fees that cannot be avoided though.

I'd like to be able to transfer video to disk in HD.

Can you clarify what your end goal with this is ? Just asking to get a better idea how to answer.

 

[Hall]

Would not matter if it did. A DVD recorder is limited to 480i.

Yeap, DVDs are not "HD".

 

[dwarren2]

Most dvdr's only have red/white/yellow inputs

 

[ChadT41]

The reason for vagueness on the website for existing customers upgrade costs is because each customer is evaluated and the upgrade fee can easily vary. If you have been a good standing customer for 15 years with a decent package(usually AT120 and above), you likely will qualify for a free upgrade. Only way to know for sure is by contacting DIRT and allowing them to open up your account. Should see someone pop up soon.

 

[charlesrshell]

The reason for vagueness on the website for existing customers upgrade costs is because each customer is evaluated and the upgrade fee can easily vary. If you have been a good standing customer for 15 years with a decent package(usually AT120 and above), you likely will qualify for a free upgrade. Only way to know for sure is by contacting DIRT and allowing them to open up your account. Should see someone pop up soon.

When Dish looks at your account is there a good standing customer evaluation meter with a score to read or does the CSR evaluate your account?

 

[ChadT41]

When Dish looks at your account is there a good standing customer evaluation meter with a score to read or does the CSR evaluate your account?

Unfortunately, I really can't answer that thanks to a NDA. I can say it is fairly accurate, and actually is in the customers favor. Dish typically wants people to upgrade and stick around.

 

[charlesrshell]

Unfortunately, I really can't answer that thanks to a NDA. I can say it is fairly accurate, and actually is in the customers favor. Dish typically wants people to upgrade and stick around.

Thanks ChadT41. What is NDA?

 

[ChadT41]

Non disclosure agreement. Every employee has to sign one in the first day of training. There really isn't anything conspiracy like going on, they just have to keep it from competition really. Besides, it is information that is truly useless to a consumer, as a consumer could only misinterpret it, and get angry, when they do not fully understand about it. A lot of things there are like that, and truly truly is just business operations.

 

[charlesrshell]

Non disclosure agreement. Every employee has to sign one in the first day of training. There really isn't anything conspiracy like going on, they just have to keep it from competition really. Besides, it is information that is truly useless to a consumer, as a consumer could only misinterpret it, and get angry, when they do not fully understand about it. A lot of things there are like that, and truly truly is just business operations.

IC. Are you still an employee with Dish?

 

[Hall]

Most dvdr's only have red/white/yellow inputs

And that makes perfect sense because the DVD format isn't capable of anything higher than 480i. Technically, you could put HDMI connections on a DVD-Recorder but it would be a waste of money based on the capabilities of a DVD.

 

[Hall]

Only way to know for sure is by contacting DIRT and allowing them to open up your account.

It's by no means necessary that DIRT take care of a simple, routine issue like this..

 

[Tony S]

And that makes perfect sense because the DVD format isn't capable of anything higher than 480i. Technically, you could put HDMI connections on a DVD-Recorder but it would be a waste of money based on the capabilities of a DVD.

I think the DVD format is capable of 480p.

 

[ChadT41]

It's by no means necessary that DIRT take care of a simple, routine issue like this..

They can call in as well, but in order to see "how much it will cost", it will require an employee to pull their account up. DIRT is the most logical route to go. They can also chat in, but I would recommend against it.

 

[ChadT41]

IC. Are you still an employee with Dish?

No. I left Feb 2014, sort of. I still help some of the Supervisors out, when they have specific questions.

 

[charlesrshell]

No. I left Feb 2014, sort of. I still help some of the Supervisors out, when they have specific questions.

IC, thanks for the info.

 

[ChadT41]

IC, thanks for the info.

Not a problem.