Should I invest $250 in the 942?
- Thread starter mcdeeee
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I guess the question depends on what your habits are. It would be cheaper than getting a 921. If you have to record HD then sure. If not, you get much of the same stuff as having an 811 and 510.
Frankly, with as little HD programming as there is I usually recommend the average TV watcher wait.
Frankly, with as little HD programming as there is I usually recommend the average TV watcher wait.
I paid $699. retail for a 942, It's on it's way being shipped to me now. I'm going to get rid of my buggy 921 when it arrives.
For me the 942 will replace my 921 and 508.
For me the 942 will replace my 921 and 508.
What about MPEG4 compression that is coming for HD this fall? Won't that make the shelf life of the 942 limited or does it support the new compression? Personally, with all the changes that are coming, I would wait... get the 921 if you need a DVR. You could also look at the lease options from DISH and save out-of-pocket $$ until everything gets standardized...
$250 now for the right to lease this receiver then how much more will DISH charge you to upgrade THEIR receiver to MPEG4 so you can subscribe to their new channels? For me it would be a bad idea.
Phx_Sat said:
As slow as Dish has been about these upgrades I would be surprised if it happened ontime.
boba said:
This is a concern to me, especially as the $249 "lease" offer also seems to require a contract (or maybe I have that wrong). If I'm required to sign a 12-month contract then why would I want to pay $249 for a box that won't work at the end of that time? Surely this can't be the case?
Perhaps I'm naiive, but wouldn't Dish need to at least support 942 "leasers" through the end of their 12-month contract? What would the cost (to me) be to break a Dish contract?
I'm one of those ex-voomers looking for new home. And Dish with a 942 or maybe even just an 811 is one of my options.
I know a lot of D* supporters claim that D* will be *giving* upgraded boxes to purchases of the HD-Tivo after a shift to MPEG4, but I'm not so sure.
CDH.
BFG said:
same... but isnt the whole point of a lease that we can get basically a free upgrade to the mpeg4 one when/if it comes.
jagouar said:
I would hope that this is the case, but can anyone really say this for sure? I don't think that anyone can guarantee a "basically free upgrade" can they?
CDH.
I just switch out one of my 5 811's for a 921, as far as being buggy, it's been fine except if you are recording an ota and forget to change the station before the recording starts. Otherwise it's fine, and I love being able to record OTA HD and another HD station at same time, and then watching a 3rd station. I paid $500 for my 921. I am guessing they will use the new Bird bought from Voom for MPEG 4, keeping 110 and 119 on MPEG 2 so I don't think the 921 will be obsolete for quite some time.
Why does everyone think that the $249 lease deal is for existing Subs? It isn't, and the odds of the existing sub deal being any less than $400 will suprise me to no end. And at least a 1 year commit will be needed as well, since you will have to have an upgraded switch and stuff installed.
I would break that $250 down into the number of months you think it will take before MPEG-4 fully replaces MPEG-2/OTA recording. It'll be a while, I'll wager, and it stands to reason that the lease option offers more 'purchase protection' than outright buying the thing besides. My guess is it's spring 2006 before there's any box even available to replace the 942, so just do a little mindbend and call it a $25/mo lease until it's a doorstop (and I think that's quite conservative based on what I know of D* and E* history in these matters). Not too bad. I'd actually like to be proven wrong and have a big jump in HD channels/MPEG-4 by Fall, but we'll see...
Please don't get it so maybe they will offer existing subs the same. Of course I'm dreaming but as an existing customer who just bought an HDTV for the first time I would do it in a minute, but since Dish thinks that gaining you is more important than losing me, I won't have the chance.
I very rarely use my 811 any more since I can't record . I would've gotten a 942 if it was available to lease to current customers. Instead I added cable to my set up to get an HD DVR. If it continues to work as well as it has, I'll probably drop Dish as soon as my 811 contract is up... unless there really is some kind of HD explosion in late fall as Charlie promised in the last chat.
I have decided to take the plunge, since I had a new 921 in the box, its only going to cost me a couple of hundred to buy the 942 outright.
As John and Shane said, mpeg conversion will probably be later rather than sooner. We'll see.
As John and Shane said, mpeg conversion will probably be later rather than sooner. We'll see.
Anyone know/can you confirm, I have read elsewhere but can't remember where, that once you are in the 942 'lease' option and pay the one-time $250, you can actually get a 2nd 942 and just pay the $5mo DVR fee. Am I nuts here?
