Uplink Activity 4/23/08 1:30 PM EDT

[gadgtfreek]

You were given the required equipment at the time to get you your contracted programming. Dish has now added some new stuff which requires new equipment, big deal. Two dishes is quite common, in SC I had to have a D* slimline AND a 18", talk about lovely. I understand what you think your complaint is, but TV providers dont work like that period, things change. If you want to get dvr's and other equipment for free, cable is your best bet.

The 61.5 dish is worth it anyways, you just block the 129 lnb on the 1000.2 and use 61.5 for ALL your HD nationals, its a better sat.

 

[jayn_j]

You were given the required equipment at the time to get you your contracted programming. Dish has now added some new stuff which requires new equipment, big deal. Two dishes is quite common, in SC I had to have a D* slimline AND a 18", talk about lovely. I understand what you think your complaint is, but TV providers dont work like that period, things change. If you want to get dvr's and other equipment for free, cable is your best bet.

The 61.5 dish is worth it anyways, you just block the 129 lnb on the 1000.2 and use 61.5 for ALL your HD nationals, its a better sat.

Uh, Comcast charges me $15/month for leasing that HD DVR. Not exactly free.

DISH is simply following the cellphone model. They provide equipment for a service in exhange for a commitment. It takes that long to amortize the cost of the equipment and generally at the end of that period the equipment is obsolete. They will continue to provide that service indefinitely without additional charges or equipment, but if you want more, you need to upgrade, either by paying a fee up front, or by making a commitment so they can amortize that upgrade. Now, a 2 year commitment for a $50 dish seems a bit much. I would either pay it, or look at upgrading equipment at the same time.

I was a DISH customer from Nov 1996 until Nov 2007. Will be again when my rental situation changes. When I first started, I had a single lnb dish pointed at 119 and a 3000 receiver. I have paid for every single upgrade, to the latest Dish 1000, VIP622 and 508. Each one cost $$$, but I was getting better services.

The cell companies will upgrade for free every two years or so, in exchange for a new commitment. This keeps people from jumping. Dish is basically offering you the same choice. If you aren't happy with the Dish deal, go check out DTV for awhile. You can also check out cable with no commitment, but you trade off higher monthly costs for that privlege.