Some Interesting Dish Info

[RedWings]

Free? Last time I checked, most of us are send Dish between 50-100 bucks PER MONTH....Nothing "free" from them....

x2

Don't forget some of us had to come out of our pockets for $200 to have our HD service turned on (i.e....receiver, install, etc...). Then there are those that paid ~$400 for a 622 with features already built in (Ext storage capability) that didn't work......and now they want to charge to 'turn it on'?

Sounds like they are just milking their customers for whatever they can.:

 

[SpenceJT]

Free? Last time I checked, most of us are send Dish between 50-100 bucks PER MONTH....Nothing "free" from them....

We pay by choice! We all still have a FREE option. Nobody forces you to subscribe to a service! Do you think that satellites build, launch and maintain themselves?

Don't want to pay? Put yourself up an old fashioned antenna and see how many channels you can watch. Want more channels, but don't want to pay so much? Sign up for basic cable or Dish's family pack.

Cheers!

Spence

 

[Hall]

...a 622 with features already built in (Ext storage capability) that didn't work......

The receiver did NOT have this feature already built in. It has a USB connection. Today, that is still NOT for external storage, for a keyboard, etc. It has two supported uses: Thumb drive for photo viewing and PocketDish connection.

 

[Smith P.]

The receiver did NOT have this feature already built in. It has a USB connection. Today, that is still NOT for external storage, for a keyboard, etc. It has two supported uses: Thumb drive for photo viewing and PocketDish connection.

Totally untrue !

ESD support use PocketDish code plus DRM routines.

 

[Foxbat]

Totally untrue !

ESD support use PocketDish code plus DRM routines.

So, you're saying that a PocketDish == USB 2.0 Hard Disk Drive, therefore External Storage Devices are supported today? Well, fine, so they are. I don't happen to have a PocketDish because it doesn't support HD. I can offload SD programming to an external DVD writer, but that's not what the fee is for.

The fee is to enable moving HD (and SD, yes) programs that have been recorded on the internal HDD to an external HDD and play them back on the 622/722 in HD. The PocketDish provides no such feature; once the SD program has been transfered to the PocketDish, you can't move it back to the DVR or even play it back through the DVR. So, this feature does not exist on the current ViP 622 until the firmware has been updated and the receiver is hit with an enabling bit after you pay the fee.

The analogy I see is that just because the ViP-series has USB ports doesn't mean they work. At work, we had several PCs with USB ports that Windows NT did not recognize, but upgrade to Windows 200x (hardly free) and ta-dah! External HDD support!

I see in the flyers today that all the Seagate 500GB FreeAgent external drives that were $129 last week are not as cheap this week (although the WD 500GB drives with one year warranty are $129). The best deal I saw was for a Maxtor OneTouch 750GB external for $189.

 

[wase4711]

We pay by choice! We all still have a FREE option. Nobody forces you to subscribe to a service! Do you think that satellites build, launch and maintain themselves?

Don't want to pay? Put yourself up an old fashioned antenna and see how many channels you can watch. Want more channels, but don't want to pay so much? Sign up for basic cable or Dish's family pack.

Cheers!

Spence

I am aware of the other options, man, and I have no problem paying for the things I want to watch..
And, trust me, the costs involved for launching/maintaining/building satelites have NOTHING to do with asking for 40 bucks to ENABLE something already built into a reciever; they amortized those satalite launching/building costs when they decided what to charge/and what viewing package would be required to get a 622 or any other hardware needed for home viewing..

My ONLY point is that everyone who has a 622 has already paid for it, whether it be those poor souls who had to buy the 622 outright, or those of us who pay for a certain package/committment in order to have one.
It would be a GREAT PR VICTORY for Dish to activate this feature for free, or for 5 bucks or less...Imagine how they could use THAT in their marketing campaign against Direct tv....

 

[Hall]

ESD support use PocketDish code plus DRM routines.

Are you saying the DRM code existed in the 622 software a year ago ??

 

[Jim5506]

Are you saying the DRM code existed in the 622 software a year ago ??

Yes. Since Pocket Dish was initialized.

 

[Hall]

I mean the same code that would allow a regular external HDD to be used for storage (along with the req'd DRM).

 

[Smith P.]

And I'll assure you - that guy who wrote the code will never see in his paycheck any part of the $40 fee.

 

[lakebum431]

And I'll assure you - that guy who wrote the code will never see in his paycheck any part of the $40 fee.

100% not true. If that person wasn't writing code then he wouldn't get a paycheck. IF E* didn't make money off of adding features (either by separate fees or through customer additions and satisfaction) and they choose not to add them then there would be no need to write code for new features and he wouldn't have a job. So he does get "a part of that $40 fee" in his paycheck. Although that person probably won't get any direct % of this fee you have no idea how he is paid. Do you have a full detail of all salaries and bonuses for every person that writes code at E*? No, you don't. So thanks again for "adding value" to this thread...

 

[SpenceJT]

I am aware of the other options, man, and I have no problem paying for the things I want to watch..
And, trust me, the costs involved for launching/maintaining/building satelites have NOTHING to do with asking for 40 bucks to ENABLE something already built into a reciever; they amortized those satalite launching/building costs when they decided what to charge/and what viewing package would be required to get a 622 or any other hardware needed for home viewing..

My ONLY point is that everyone who has a 622 has already paid for it, whether it be those poor souls who had to buy the 622 outright, or those of us who pay for a certain package/committment in order to have one.
It would be a GREAT PR VICTORY for Dish to activate this feature for free, or for 5 bucks or less...Imagine how they could use THAT in their marketing campaign against Direct tv....

I leased one 622, paid cash for the other. Before that, I was an early adopter of the 921 [Spence spits], non-activated LAN port, taped-over "DishWire" ports and all!

It would be a great PR victory if features such as this were given away. I wouldn't put it past Dish to run promos at a later date (as has been done with PocketDish, and the modules for the old 6000) which I also agree is a back-assward way to promote things and a great way to alianate loyal customers.

Well see what this uproar does, and if the bean counters at Dish come up with any creative way to work it ...which will mean that something else will undoubtedly cost more, or it may get rolled into our next price increase.

As has been said so may times and in so many places, "nothing comes for free". If they were to lower the price, or give the feature away, other subsidies or price breaks, or package prices may suffer.

Regards,
Spence

 

[Hall]

Do you have a full detail of all salaries and bonuses for every person that writes code at E*? No, you don't.

And you do ??

 

[lakebum431]

Nope, but I didn't make a comment that said:

And I'll assure you - that guy who wrote the code will never see in his paycheck any part of the $40 fee.

 

[jameskris]

Any chance this will trickle down to the 525 sometime before my 12 year old graduates from high school?

 

[Rlanham]

Going to Circuit City tomorrow.. 320GB WD 7200rpm MyBook USB external HD $89. I can't wait to try it out, especially since I know I can playback off loaded shows without having to reload them back on my 622.. Nice If I remember, doesn't the 622 have a 250gb drive in it? No more lost archived shows, the next time my 622 crashes.

 

[Stargazer]

I think there should be no charge for external HD storage for those that purchased or will be purchasing the HD DVR's without a promotion. The $40 fee for those that lease the receivers is understandable since Dish Network has money invested in that receiver and is looking to get some of that back just like they get some of that back on DVR fees. I also think that those that paid the full price for their DVR's should not be subject to the DVR fee.

 

[SpenceJT]

I think there should be no charge for external HD storage for those that purchased or will be purchasing the HD DVR's without a promotion. The $40 fee for those that lease the receivers is understandable since Dish Network has money invested in that receiver and is looking to get some of that back just like they get some of that back on DVR fees. I also think that those that paid the full price for their DVR's should not be subject to the DVR fee.

...so for those of us who paid full price for one 622, and leased a second would pay half?

 

[blue]

I think there should be no charge for external HD storage for those that purchased or will be purchasing the HD DVR's without a promotion. The $40 fee for those that lease the receivers is understandable since Dish Network has money invested in that receiver and is looking to get some of that back just like they get some of that back on DVR fees. I also think that those that paid the full price for their DVR's should not be subject to the DVR fee.

I think there should be no charge for external HD storage for those that lease or will be leasing the HD DVRs. The $40 fee for those that buy the receivers is understandable since Dish Network has money invested in this new feature AFTER the hardware was purchased.

Hmm. I guess it doesn't matter what I think. It matters what the market will bear.

 

[John Kotches]

Hmm. I guess it doesn't matter what I think. It matters what the market will bear.

I do believe that this is one of the fundamental concepts in a free market; but I'm not a degreed economist speaking on this topic

Cheers,