Standard Newbie Question Time!

[savagexp]

Hi everybody.

As my post count and membership date would indicate, I'm brand-spanking new to these forums. It looks like I'll be signing up for Dish Network service later today and I just had a couple quick questions on what to expect from the "professional installation" and the service, itself:

For point of reference; I'll be getting the Top 120 and HD packs with the 811 and a 322 receivers.

Questions:

(1) When doing the installation, will the technician just basically "piggy-back" onto the existing coax that has been run by the cable company and my house's previous owners, or will he/she run all new cable?

(2) Does anybody here have a Harmony brand remote? I'm currently using the 659 and am hoping that it will work fine with the 811. Anybody else have experience with this remote or a similar model?

(3) I know that the current HD package consists of: Discovery HD Theater, ESPN HD, TNT in HD, HDNet and HDNet Movies. Have there been any announcements about HD channels that are on the way?

(4) O/T since this isn't the 322 forum, (I don't think there even is one, is there?) but does it actually do a decent job of receiving commands from the two remotes from long distances? I know these are UHF remotes, so they have a decent range. I'm just curious because One set is on the main floor and the second set is in the basement on the opposite side of the house.

My thanks in advance for the responses.

 

[NightRyder]

Hi everybody.

(2) Does anybody here have a Harmony brand remote? I'm currently using the 659 and am hoping that it will work fine with the 811. Anybody else have experience with this remote or a similar model?

Welcome savagexp:

I have a 659 that my wife uses and it works fine. For more info check out the Harmony forum at....

http://www.remotecentral.com

NightRyder

 

[AcuraCL]

...(1) When doing the installation, will the technician just basically "piggy-back" onto the existing coax that has been run by the cable company and my house's previous owners, or will he/she run all new cable?
....

Different installers have different levels of service .... I think if you have RG6 already run to all the necessary places, they'll just use it. My installer did. Please don't be afraid to insist on a certain level of quality/service though ... I have read reports here of some truly cheezy installers.

...(2) Does anybody here have a Harmony brand remote? I'm currently using the 659 and am hoping that it will work fine with the 811. Anybody else have experience with this remote or a similar model?...

I use a HTM MX-700, which works (frankly) even better than the Dish remote. The Dish UHF remote reception can be a tad touchy, but the IR reception is fantastic. One thing to note: The Dish UHF pro remote cannot output IR codes for the 811 receiver, only UHF. If you need to "teach" your Harmony any IR codes, you have to do it from the Diagnostics screen (from the receiver itself) (explained here:http://www.satelliteguys.us/archive/index.php/t-10551.html).

...(3) I know that the current HD package consists of: Discovery HD Theater, ESPN HD, TNT in HD, HDNet and HDNet Movies. Have there been any announcements about HD channels that are on the way?....

That's the $64k question. Charlie says "when there is compelling content." Charlie gets to define "compelling."

Good luck. Nice to see you joined the forums here !! There are some guys who are wonderfully helpful and knowledgable, esp. the dealers/installers who grace these forums.

 

[NightRyder]

I use a HTM MX-700, which works (frankly) even better than the Dish remote. The Dish UHF remote reception can be a tad touchy, but the IR reception is fantastic. One thing to note: The Dish UHF pro remote cannot output IR codes for the 811 receiver, only UHF. If you need to "teach" your Harmony any IR codes, you have to do it from the Diagnostics screen (from the receiver itself) (explained here:http://www.satelliteguys.us/archive/index.php/t-10551.html).

The HTMs are great remotes. I highly recommend them. The learning procedure for the Harmony is awful, IMHO. You have to have the remote connected your computer and be online to teach it a command. Luckily the IR library for the 811 is comprehensive enough that he shouldn't have to resort to teaching it.

NightRyder

 

[savagexp]

NightRyder: Thanks for the vote of confidence on the remote. Ultimately, I'm sure everything will be fine -- my wife will really just want to be able to turn things on and change channels without using two or three different remotes. For us, the 659 has been a great remote -- our first of this caliber.

AcuraCL: Thanks again for telling me about this board!

Supposedly, the local guys I called are really good. My main concern about the cabling is that the previous owners of my house created a very nice bird's nest of coax and I haven't had time to simplify the routing. I'm sure everything will work just fine, I'm just gonna be a bit anal about it.

Hopefully my remote will work fine. In case, I've bookmarked that link. Thanks!

After dealing with my cable company, waiting for Dish to get more HD will be a walk in the park. I was just curious if anybody new of anything in that's in the works.

Thanks again!

 

[nebguy94]

With the 322 and 811 odds are they will need to run some additional cable as you'll need two runs of coax from the dish to the 322 and you'll need a run of coax from the dish to the 811 and a run from an OTA antenna to the dish. Then there's the run from the 322 to the second TV using that receiver.

My installer was going to run all new runs but I suggested and OK'd him re-using the existing runs where it made sense and I knew the copper was good. I also suggested a different configuration for my 322 and 811 than what he had come up with and he was more than happy to do things the way I wanted. Of course, not all installers are as professional, cooperative, or knowledgable as my installer was...

 

[mwgiii]

Just make sure your existing cable is RG-6 (it will be written on the cable) not RG-59.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Not just RG-6 - but RG-6 rated to at least 2150MHz!