SBC/Dish Network is offering more equipment

[RandallA]

Sorry Gary, no Media Portal yet but a step in the right direction.

I just looked at their equipment options and they've added the 322 and the 942. Swapped the 522 with the 625. We might get Voom after all.

http://www02.sbc.com/SWOT/Residential/Dish/1,,22---1-3-0,00.html

 

[waltinvt]

I just looked at their equipment options and they've added the 322 and the 942. Swapped the 522 with the 625. We might get Voom after all.

http://www02.sbc.com/SWOT/Residential/Dish/1,,22---1-3-0,00.html

What's also very significant is that I didn't see anything there about having to be a new customer to get the $250 942 lease.

 

[RandallA]

Man, I just called Monday to swap a 311 for an 811 receiver and they didn't mention the 942. I'm suppossed to get it this Saturday, wonder if I can get the 942 lease instead. I'll find out about the $250.00 fee for the 942.

Yes, there is a $250.00 fee.

"Lease Upgrade Fee

The lease upgrade fee applies to the DISH Player-DVR 942 receiver. This one-time fee is not a deposit and is non-refundable. $250.00 "

 

[cmags]

That is a good sign. but still no voom option.

 

[Devil24]

Man, I just called Monday to swap a 311 for an 811 receiver and they didn't mention the 942. I'm suppossed to get it this Saturday, wonder if I can get the 942 lease instead. I'll find out about the $250.00 fee for the 942.

Yes, there is a $250.00 fee.

"Lease Upgrade Fee

The lease upgrade fee applies to the DISH Player-DVR 942 receiver. This one-time fee is not a deposit and is non-refundable. $250.00 "

Not bad at all... I can simply cancel my account with Dish, sell my 811 and then start a new account with SBC (and save even more money since they are my ISP/telco too).

 

[Devil24]

I think I got the whole thing wrong... .

After being on hold for almost 40 minutes, I was quickly informed that for me to be able to sign-up with SBC|DishNet, I'd have to first drop my current Dish service, wait 6 months and then request the SBC service... does this sound correct to you guys?

 

[mdonnelly]

I think I got the whole thing wrong... .

After being on hold for almost 40 minutes, I was quickly informed that for me to be able to sign-up with SBC|DishNet, I'd have to first drop my current Dish service, wait 6 months and then request the SBC service... does this sound correct to you guys?

That's right. Been that way since SBC started offering Dish.

 

[RandallA]

That's correct. You'll have to drop your E* service and try again in 6 months.

 

[fenwah]

Well crap. I just went out and bought a HD receiver to get my locals. I spent $70 on it (at Radio Shack). The good news is that I get my locals OTA for free in HD...just no ESPN. But, I don't have to pay an extra $10 a month for HD channels on Dish. We're moving in a few months...so maybe I'll get the 942 then. I have a 19" LCD TV in the bedroom that could use the HD receiver.

 

[Devil24]

Oh well... I'll just keep my current setup and wait for Dish to eventually decide to throw us (current customers) a bone or two in regards to getting an HD-DVR for a decent price.

 

[GaryPen]

That is a good sign. but still no voom option.

Actually, it's a bad sign. Why offer the 942 unless they are not going to release the HomeZone MediaPortal? That would suck.

I'm not interested at all in the 942, especially with Dish's track record. They appear to be at it again. The new sw release took a relatively stable 942, and turned it into another Dish ant farm.

The MediaPortal, otoh, looked like the s***.

 

[Texanmutt]

YES, i wont have any more cancels for an SBC 522/ 2 311's setup in well to do neiborhoods. Most people in expensive 2 story homes dont like the fact that you have to run a 2nd wire (usually a house wrap) to the the 522 when the house is prewired.

 

[webbydude]

Another plus is the the fact that I would much rather have a centrally located 322 (in the basement area...home ran cables near circuit breaker box) than several 311 receivers at every TV. ESPECIALLY if the RG6 is questionable or...WORSE!!...it's RG59 and is prewired in the home.

 

[GaryPen]

Fyi - SBC actually has a VP for the HomeZone products and services!
Lee Culver, Executive Director, Entertainment Services (HomeZone)
http://www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=6143

And, a press release from April, mostly regarding Project Lightspeed, states the following:
Champion also showcased an upcoming service called HomeZone, which integrates satellite TV programming with high-speed Internet access to provide digital video recording, video on demand, and Internet content including photos and music via a new set-top box. The offering will be available later this year to customers who have access to both SBC | DISH Network and SBC Yahoo! DSL services.

I suppose those are good signs. (Although, a lot can happen since April.)

 

[RandallA]

SBC still has the IPTV project going and it's gonna cost them a lot of money and time to deploy it. At first I thought that this Media Portal was only for IPTV but then I saw satellite or IPTV in the description.

So in theory they can release the Media Portal to SBC/Dish customers soon (I hope) and then have it in place when they finally deploy their IPTV service. So in my opinion, SBC just signed this new agreement with Dish to buy time to deploy their IPTV service and we may soon see this Media Portal top box.

From the press release in Jan-2005:

"The home entertainment service is separate from, but complements, the recently announced plans to deliver advanced next-generation television services called IPTV over the SBC fiber network, an initiative dubbed Project Lightspeed."

 

[GaryPen]

The HomeZone MediaPortal is for areas that will never get LightSpeed, and as an interim solution for future LightSpeed areas.

I'm just worried that SBC is now offering the 942. It doesn't bode well for the HZ. I wonder if HomeZone wasn't one of the sticking points in their recent negotiations?

It would be the first non-Dish designed receiver. (You and I know that is a GOOD thing.) But, they may view it as a challenge, especially if they don't see a $5 DVR fee from it. (It will also be embarassing if it works better than their own DVR's, which is a likely scenerio.)

 

[RandallA]

"The HomeZone MediaPortal is for areas that will never get LightSpeed, and as an interim solution for future LightSpeed areas."

But they could also use it in the meantime while they finish LightSpeed, could they not? Who knows for sure but you are right about the MediaPortal being the first non-Dish designed receiver and most likely it's a better and more stable receiver than any receiver Dish has out there.

I saw it as a good sign that they are now offering more equipment for SBC customers but could also be seen the other way like you did. Only they know what that hell is happening, the last release I saw was back from January 2005.

We shall see.

 

[GaryPen]

But they could also use it in the meantime while they finish LightSpeed, could they not?

Right. That is what I meant by interim solution for LightSpeed areas.

Also encouraging is a recent Bizjournal article about their recent agreement, wherein it states:

The Littleton-based EchoStar (NASDAQ: DISH - News) also is collaborating with SBC (NYSE: SBC - News) on a service called Homezone, which will combine the features of satellite and DSL to provide video on demand, music services, photo sharing and other integrated services.

The project will allow SBC to reach customers outside its initial fiber build -- about 50 percent of them -- in three years. But Michael Coe, an SBC spokesman, told the Business Journal in August that EchoStar can play a role in SBC's sparsely populated rural communities, despite the company's growing foray into video.

"There are areas where it may not be economically feasible to do a fiber build, and our relationship with EchoStar still enables us to provide these customers with a quality video service," he said.

The full article is available at http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/050920/1166676.html?.v=1