Switching to the Dish! A few questions...

[boddah4]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I am making the switch from DirecTV to Dishnetwork this weekend. The main reason for doing this is to take advantage of the two room DVR and save some moeny. I was constantly swapping receivers with DirecTV in order to watch a movie in bed. I was really excited about this until reading some on this forum I stumbled across. I am getting the two room receiver and an hd receiver, and the Classic Gold with TurboGold package (if I remeber correctly.) My monthly bill will be $71.00 compared to $88.00 with DirecTV.

My concerns are:
1) Will I get the new Viacom channels in HD with this package? I have been reading around, and to be honest alot of it is very confusing to me.

2) Would I be better off with different package? Any recommendations? I primarily watch family oriented programming, some movies, and some local sports.

Thanks for the time and any advice you can pass along.

 

[satjay]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I am making the switch from DirecTV to Dishnetwork this weekend. The main reason for doing this is to take advantage of the two room DVR and save some moeny. I was constantly swapping receivers with DirecTV in order to watch a movie in bed. I was really excited about this until reading some on this forum I stumbled across. I am getting the two room receiver and an hd receiver, and the Classic Gold with TurboGold package (if I remeber correctly.) My monthly bill will be $71.00 compared to $88.00 with DirecTV.

My concerns are:
1) Will I get the new Viacom channels in HD with this package? I have been reading around, and to be honest alot of it is very confusing to me.

2) Would I be better off with different package? Any recommendations? I primarily watch family oriented programming, some movies, and some local sports.

Thanks for the time and any advice you can pass along.

I am switching as well from Direct to Dish as well on the 24th
.

1) With Classic Gold with Gold HD, looking at the website Yes you should get some good programming accross the board, thats the package I chose. Looks like that piece of the website has been updated

2) As I am new as well, looks like the 250 gives you a little of everything, including some movie channels (encore HD) movie channel.

As far as sports go, from what I have read here (please correct me if I am wrong, fellow Dish posters) but for NBA TV and NHL Network you will have to add the 5.99 sports pack?? If you want to go the route of HD, skip sports pack and go platium pack for 10.00. '

Please correct me if I am wrong with the above info!

I like some of the flexability of the packages as in spring/summer I can scale back and get some decent programming, in my case Direct packages seemed to be all or nothing. Just my two cents.

Also as an FYI, looks like on the Dish website you can get platnum HD for free for three months

 

[boddah4]

Your post was one that I read and I got a lot answers there.

So, I take it that I won't be getting Nick in HD with the TurboGold Package. Would there be a better package to use to get more HD channels for a similar price?

 

[jdmacor]

Your post was one that I read and I got a lot answers there.

So, I take it that I won't be getting Nick in HD with the TurboGold Package. Would there be a better package to use to get more HD channels for a similar price?

If you get the Classic Gold with HD add-on, you will have it. If you get the Turbo Gold (HD only package), you will not have it.

 

[mickown]

Your post was one that I read and I got a lot answers there.

So, I take it that I won't be getting Nick in HD with the TurboGold Package. Would there be a better package to use to get more HD channels for a similar price?

You are signed up for the classic gold. You should receive all the viacoms. It seems to be only the turboHD and Absolute HD subscribers that are not getting those. Nick should be fine with classic gold

 

[j25a]

If you are getting the Classic Gold w/ HD add on you will get Nick HD. If you decide to subscribe the TurboHD Gold (an HD only package) you would not get Nick HD. Nobody knows for sure why this is the case. For some reason, the HD only packages are not getting all the HD channels. As long as you go with one of the Classic packages with the HD add on for $10, you will get all the HD in that package.

 

[boddah4]

Thanks for all the great replies. Would I lose any channels by going with the Classic Gold with the HD add-on over the TurboGold?

 

[cditty]

Thanks for all the great replies. Would I lose any channels by going with the Classic Gold with the HD add-on over the TurboGold?

You gain channels by having classic gold + hd pack. The only way to get more is to add platinum hd for another $10 a month.

They have been screwing the turbo packs lately. You are better off channel wise with classic + hd add on.

 

[Pepper]

No, in theory they should have the same HD channels but Turbo has less.

 

[boddah4]

I just called to verify that I am getting the Classic gold 250 with HD add-ons.

Thanks again.

 

[satjay]

I just called to verify that I am getting the Classic gold 250 with HD add-ons.

Thanks again.

Let us know how the install works, as a soon to be former Direct subscriber it would be nice to hear your inital thoughts on the change!

 

[andyin137]

The only problem I have had with Dish is that my Dish gets knocked out of alignment frequently by the wind,so make sure installer tweaks your signal and tightens as much as possible for Dish wont move around in the slightest breeze.
As far as this fiasco with all the HD being included in the HD packs,it really comes down to ,you get what you pay for the 250 and HD add on is best,also make sure if you get Locals from Dish to have the DVR advantage,you can save a little that way.For me paying 5.99 for the Dish protection plan is worth it as I have had 3 separate incidents this year that would have cost me some Bucks had I not had this plan.You can also add DHPP on as you need it but Dish will be catching on soon with people who add on DHPP at last minute to have something fixed,just a matter of time then (in my opinion)they will require you to have had DHPP for a set time before being able to use it.
You will like Dish but as with most everything its not perfect and will at times need servicing.Also the Platinum HD add on is Not worth it unless you like wasting 10.00 a month for repetitive programming.

 

[DodgerKing]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I am making the switch from DirecTV to Dishnetwork this weekend. The main reason for doing this is to take advantage of the two room DVR and save some moeny. I was constantly swapping receivers with DirecTV in order to watch a movie in bed. I was really excited about this until reading some on this forum I stumbled across. I am getting the two room receiver and an hd receiver, and the Classic Gold with TurboGold package (if I remeber correctly.) My monthly bill will be $71.00 compared to $88.00 with DirecTV.

My concerns are:
1) Will I get the new Viacom channels in HD with this package? I have been reading around, and to be honest alot of it is very confusing to me.

2) Would I be better off with different package? Any recommendations? I primarily watch family oriented programming, some movies, and some local sports.

Thanks for the time and any advice you can pass along.

Did you realize that Direct now has MRV (still in CE) that is probably the best on the market???

 

[boddah4]

Did you realize that Direct now has MRV (still in CE) that is probably the best on the market???

I have no idea what this means.

MRV= Multi Room Viewing
CE= ?

So are you saying that my DirecTV DVR would work in two rooms? When did this start and how do I get it to work?

 

[boddah4]

I got everything installed on Saturday! The installer was great and even hooked up and extra television so I can watch in the basement.

The cons so far: I had to get two dishes installed in order to get local channels in HD, which I was not aware of; some channels don't seem to be in the right area (Travel Channel with news channels.)

The positives: I love having the two room DVR, just will take some getting used trying to decided which room to record the movie to. The picture on the HD television looks better than my DirecTV did, in my opinion. I had to call customer service to figure out how to change the aspect ratio and they were very friendly and helpful.

In conclusion, I am very pleased and just need some time to get acquainted with the channel locations and the remote!

 

[garys]

The cons so far: I had to get two dishes installed in order to get local channels in HD, which I was not aware of; some channels don't seem to be in the right area (Travel Channel with news channels.)

A little research would have served you as far as the two dish setup. Not sure what you mean by some channels not being in the right area.

 

[boddah4]

A little research would have served you as far as the two dish setup. Not sure what you mean by some channels not being in the right area.

Yeah, I realize that. It wasn't a big deal.

By "not in the right are" I mean category wise, like how kids' channels (Disney, Nickledeon, etc. are lumped together, while some are not together. Again, not a big deal.

 

[bebop]

IF you have technical questions or general concerns - search the dish forum and you'll find a ton of answers. If you can't find it - make a new thread or append this one and we'll try to answer it.

One tip I wish I knew right off the bat would be locking channels out and hiding the locked channels. I mention this because you can get rid of the extra copies of channels and not have them show up in the guide in 2 or 3 places. Just don't go crazy with it.

And if you have the internet connected you can make use of the DVR on dish.sling.com you just can't view recordings over the internet unless you get more hardware. I'm assuming you have a ViP receiver and can get your ethernet cable to the receiver. I think it's about 10 times better to use that web-site over the satellite interface - especially for searching for shows on later.

 

[mraif]

As a DISH newbie, I would get used to this phrase: B-O-H-I-C-A...