Tech Forum Recap

[Tom Bombadil]

The $99 deal for leased 942s is a decent offer, especially if one gets any kind of dish or switch upgrade as part of it. Say someone got a leased 942 for $250 about 6 months ago. Now they get a 622 and a D1000 upgrade for $99. Given that the lease deal for a 622 is $299, they are only paying $50 extra than if they had waited. So they paid $8.33/month extra for 6 months of using a 942. I think that's fine.

Now, if someone paid $250 for the 942 lease and can't wait until April, so they drop another $299 on the 622, and now have no use for the 942 & turn it back in. Now that's a bad deal. Now they paid $250 for 6 months use of a 942 instead of $50. If they are keeping the 942 for use with other TVs in the house, then it could still be a very good deal.

This is why the eligibility of leased 942s for the $200 622 rebate is important. If they are eligible, then we have the $50 scenario, which is a pretty decent deal. If they are not eligible, then it is the $250 scenario, which is a bad deal.

So far it looks like leased 942s will be eligible, but I have yet to see a definitive statement that clarifies this.

 

[SatelliteGAL]

So far it looks like leased 942s will be eligible, but I have yet to see a definitive statement that clarifies this.

I sent an email to the ceo addy to try to clear up my upgrade questions before I made a decision. I got a phone call and he actually encouraged me to wait for April 1 to exchange my leased 942 for the 622 because it was the best deal. He also verified for me at that time that they expected like for like on the exchange and my 811 would not count. He stated that if you exchanged an owned receiver the 622 would still be a leased receiver and only one offer is allowed in a 12 month period.

 

[Drone35]

Just wondering here, but I'm getting a 622 Friday thru my Dish retailer, is there any other charge other than the $299 for the upgrade by going thru a retailer!

 

[BFG]

heheh SatelliteGAL, how long have you had that avatar, that's adorable

 

[dlsnyder]

So....the way I see it is I PAID $600 for a receiver 4 months ago, now I will need to pay another $99 + a lease fee per month, and send my receiver back so they can resell. That calculates out to $150.00 a month in rental for my receiver.....seems fair.......

Are you sure about that? $600 you paid for the 942 + $99 upfront for the lease = $699. Since you pay no lease fee after that but you are in an 18 month commitment, that is about $39 per month over the life of the lease. If you figure depreciation on the 942 during that time it will be a little less. Presumably you will have to pay the $6/month lease fee after the initial 18 months, so you would have to figure that in on the back end if you plan on keeping it.

If you sell the 942 on Ebay now to some poor sucker who doesn't know any better you could probably get about $500 or so for it. Deduct the $299 you would pay Dish for the 622 from that and you are left with $201. $6/mo over 18 months is $108, so you still end up $100 better off at the end of the lease.

I think alot of 942s and 921s will be heading for Ebay before long. They will still hold some of their value as good SD DVRs with HD-OTA capability. People like me who are not interested in VOOM or 99% of the other HD offerings will still value the 942 for a long time to come.

EDIT: OOPS seems I seriously overvalued what a 942 currently sells for on Ebay. Even if you only recoup your $299 you still come out ahead of the deal rather than sending it back to Dish and having them waive your lease fee.

 

[voyagerbob]

HD Distants

Apatl on a ViP 622 is there a monthly fee for the recording feature? Yes dvr fee $5.98 and Do you need 2 dishes for SD and HD? Yes probably. I am Currently receiving the Chicago SD Distants, do I quailify for HD Distants? Not automatically give us a call…Chicago Distants should be up this week so if you are in that DMA you will automatically get them.



[/SIZE]

Anyone with an MPEG 4 receiver try giving a call to see if they can get distants?

 

[BFG]

yes they got them for about a half of a day before dish pulled them.

 

[SatelliteGAL]

heheh SatelliteGAL, how long have you had that avatar, that's adorable

lol since the discussion on avatars when someone jokingly said the one I had with the cat in a hat was animal abuse. Figured nobody would think that with this one... unless of course I gave the kitty gas. Thx

 

[BobaBird]

I wrote a summary for the EKB at http://ekb.dbstalk.com/Tech0602.htm with a link back to this thread and one at another site. Great idea getting those screen shots!

 

[dfergie]

I wrote a summary for the EKB at http://ekb.dbstalk.com/Tech0602.htm with a link back to this thread and one at another site. Great idea getting those screen shots!

Thanks If you need any thing on the chat( Screenshots) holler and I can put it up for you...(Have saved in computer and only takes a few seconds to find) And that was a good recap over at Dbs Talk...

 

[KostaVan]

http://www.theworstsite.com/media/files/videos/wmv/357969346.wmv

 

[David_Levin]

re: lease box failure...

Well, if the HDD goes out in my out of warranty leased box fails, dish has no right to complaing if I fix it myself.

 

[David_Levin]

re: VOD on 50x

Yea, it'll suck if the remove user space for PVR events. Hmmm, the 510 was sold as a 100 hr box, if they remove space the box would no longer perform as advertised (this wouldn't be the first time).

Solutions:
Make the VOD feature a user option.
Only use available space for VOD storage.

PS Even running the same software, the 501 knows it's a 501, and the 508 knows it's a 508 (sysinfo screen - when you swap an 80 gig hdd into a 501 it turns into a 508). It would be no big deal for the software to only activate VOD on the 508/510.

 

[epsilon]

Make the VOD feature a user option.
Only use available space for VOD storage

I wholeheartedly agree. Making VOD storage an option would be the single most important feature to me.

 

[jayn_j]

I wholeheartedly agree. Making VOD storage an option would be the single most important feature to me.

Unfortunately, it would meet our goals, but not Dish's. There goal is to make ppv so attractive that you spend lots of $$. Disk space for the user doesn't make them a dime right now

 

[BobaBird]

DVR fee in peril?

re: VOD on 50x

Yea, it'll suck if the remove user space for PVR events. Hmmm, the 510 was sold as a 100 hr box, if they remove space the box would no longer perform as advertised (this wouldn't be the first time).

Hmm, Dish has claimed that the DVR fee is for a 100 hour box. When it no longer has the user capacity to meet that threshold, how long will it take Dish to change the definition?

 

[Tom Bombadil]

The HD DVR has nowhere near 100 hours of capacity.

I rarely record SD material. So my 942 is essentially a 25 hour box. Which is a bit less than what I had when I picked up a Dishplayer 7100 and then put in a 30GB drive several years ago.

 

[tonyp56]

To all,

I've read more post, especially from Sean Mota, about how unfair it is to have to upgrade to a leased 622 for $99 after paying $700 or whatever for a 942. And I would have to say, again, that you DON'T have to upgrade to a 622 now. You can go another year with your 942, get your money's worth out of it, and then go out and get a new 622 or whatever it will be called then.

Dish isn't making anyone upgrade, it is only an option, 942 owners that just have to have everything NOW are making the deal out to be horrible. Wait for a year, possibly longer, before you go out and upgrade to the newer receiver(s). For one, think of all the bugs that these receivers will be plagued with. Secondly, think of all the issues Dish is going to have to work out with MPEG4. And finally, why not wait for Dish to come out with some better content, more channels, etc...

Or don't wait, and feel cheated because you just got a 942 for $700, when you knew MPEG4 was just around the corner. Saying goes, "early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." In this case, waiting for a little bit for things to settle out--i.e. new technologies get implemented, along with new receivers etc.--these upgrade deals that Dish Network is offering, sound pretty good to those of us that haven't bought a new receiver in about three years.

 

[dfergie]

I am buying a 622 next week, and keeping my 921 and 811... Only thing I ever leased was a 85 Fierro (new)

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I have to disagree with tonyp56 on this one. I'm not an owner of a 942.

What he fails to give due credit to is:
A) Dish has devalued the 942 by making it impossible to be sold to another person and re-activated to receive HD programming.
B) The 942 owner bought Dish's top-of-the-line receiver, and sub'ed to their HD pack, and just months later, is now denied access to several HD channels.
C) Dish is offering absolutely no compensation to these subs.

Even if they stay with their 942s, they cannot "get their money's worth out of them" because Dish is denying them full access to their national HD channels. As a Dish sub with their top-of-the-line receiver, you expect to get new channels when they are offered. That is how you get your money's worth.

This will only get worse as Dish releases HGTV HD, Food Network HD, Starz HD and more. Heck, even their HD locals are denied them if they live in one of the covered markets. They become more and more 2nd class citizens.

Dish's solution: Get a 622 for a $99 lease. Exactly the same deal as if they had gotten their 942 on a $250 lease. Dish knows they are sticking these subs to the tune of $450 and is doing nothing about it.

I don't understand why anyone would come to Dish's defense on this. They are ripping off fellow subscribers and people are supporting it???