What would you do?

[Zeptune]

Here's the deal...

I've been a dish customer for 10+ years, I am no longer on contract and could stay with dish or go elsewhere; however I'm not a fan of commitments, so I would need a great deal to commit for 24 months to anyone. (If Dish carried MLB, I might commit.)

Anyway... I currently have a Dish 522 (Top 120; Sacramento DMA)... TV 1 to the family room and TV 2 to the master. I recently purchased a HDTV for both rooms, so I would like HD to at least the family room TV. I also have a second home, but only have internet service at this home. So, any TV is watched through a laptop onto the TV.

I'm happy with this set-up, however HDTV would be nice and the sling thing has peaked my interest, so I have been thinking about going to the Dish America package (maybe getting another receiver; however I'm not interested in paying for any receivers) or even going to Direct TV (because of MLB network).

I have been lurking on this forum for several months now and can't seem to come up with a perfect solution for myself (mostly because I'm not interested in paying any more than I pay now (top 120+DVR fee).

In a perfect world I would like to have HD in both my family and master. Be able to watch shows recorded in the family room, in the bedroom. (Just as I do now, but I currently do it in SD.) I would also like to be able to watch recorded shows on the go, but not have it interfere with anyone watching TV in the Family Room or the Master. All this at a minimal cost; if any.

It seems to me that there are some very knowledgeable people on this forum that could give me some reasonable advice.

Would do you think are my best options to get me as close as I can to my goal?

Thanks for your time.

Zep

 

[Jhon69]

Here's the deal...

I've been a dish customer for 10+ years, I am no longer on contract and could stay with dish or go elsewhere; however I'm not a fan of commitments, so I would need a great deal to commit for 24 months to anyone. (If Dish carried MLB, I might commit.)

Anyway... I currently have a Dish 522 (Top 120; Sacramento DMA)... TV 1 to the family room and TV 2 to the master. I recently purchased a HDTV for both rooms, so I would like HD to at least the family room TV. I also have a second home, but only have internet service at this home. So, any TV is watched through a laptop onto the TV.

I'm happy with this set-up, however HDTV would be nice and the sling thing has peaked my interest, so I have been thinking about going to the Dish America package (maybe getting another receiver; however I'm not interested in paying for any receivers) or even going to Direct TV (because of MLB network).

I have been lurking on this forum for several months now and can't seem to come up with a perfect solution for myself (mostly because I'm not interested in paying any more than I pay now (top 120+DVR fee).

In a perfect world I would like to have HD in both my family and master. Be able to watch shows recorded in the family room, in the bedroom. (Just as I do now, but I currently do it in SD.) I would also like to be able to watch recorded shows on the go, but not have it interfere with anyone watching TV in the Family Room or the Master. All this at a minimal cost; if any.

It seems to me that there are some very knowledgeable people on this forum that could give me some reasonable advice.

Would do you think are my best options to get me as close as I can to my goal?

Thanks for your time.

Zep

Then if you can't wait you would need to purchase Dish Network's VIP922(Slingbox is built in the 922),or there has been a rumor of maybe a newer receiver coming out at the end of this year?(Yea we know how that goes).

 

[TheKrell]

A 922 will cost you $200 to lease, so I think you're best option is a 722k with Sling Adapter. I believe any equipment upgrade (and that will probably include a new dish antenna) is going to come with a 2 yr commitment. (You can always avoid the commitment if you buy your equipment yourself.)

The Sling Adapter is $99 and would work to stream HD to your laptop (if it's fast enough) either in your bedroom or your 2nd home (if the internet there is fast enough). Other than the Sling Adapter, there is no way to get HD out of the TV2 outputs. You can reach quite a ways using the TV1 outputs. I have 20 ft of 5-conductor cable that seems to work well, and my main HDMI output is going about 35 ft, and that too works well. Some folks wire up a pair of Ethernet cables and use adapters to go from HDMI to Ethernet cables and back again.

 

[Zeptune]

TheKrell, Thanks for your advice.

I think your are correct about the the 722 being my best option. I wouldn't mind paying the $99 for the Sling Adapter, however I have been reading that it only uses TV2 on the 722. Does the sling adapter work on the 612? The reason I ask is that both TV 1 and TV 2 could be in use while I am away; therefore I would need an additional receiver for my use while I'm traveling. I know some might ask, what don't you use TV 2 and have one of the TV's use the 612...well the issue with that is that the people at home won't be able to start watching something that's recorded on TV 1 then finish watching it on the 612. (That's the appeal of DirecTV's whole-home DVR.)

I'm thinking that the best option might be to continue watching HULU, etc at the second home. Then go to a 722 with Dish, but if that's the case... I would just stay with my current 522 and no HD. I would rather not have a commitment and spend less monthly.

Is it possible to get the dish America package and not have a HD receiver (use the 522 receiver)?

 

[TommyF@DISH Network]

Does the sling adapter work on the 612?

It does not. Right now the Sling Adapter only works with our 722/722k receivers.

Is it possible to get the dish America package and not have a HD receiver (use the 522 receiver)?

It would not be possible as the DISH America package is an HD only package.

 

[Zeptune]

Thanks for your response Thomas. Question for you. What offers does dish have to help keep Dishes current loyal customers? The only deals I ever see are for non-subscribers. How about doing something like Hilton does with there Hilton Honors membership. The more loyal you are the more benefits you receive. There is now doubt that any benefits Dish would pay out would be rewarded with customer share.

It's like the satellite companies just milk the current long term subscribers and hope they don't leave. How about at least sending out satisfaction survey's? I'm sure that you have heard this all before and are probably sick of hearing about it since you're not the CEO, but thanks for being the on the end of my frustration.

 

[TommyF@DISH Network]

Anytime lol. We do have promotions occasionally for existing customers, though they usually involve free/discounted upgrades of sorts. If you wanted to send me the account # or phone # in a PM I could look into it some more.

 

[TheKrell]

Nope. No Sling Adapter (at this time) for a 612, which is TOO BAD because I have a Sling Adapter for my 722 and 2 612's. It would be really convenient to move it around as needed.

I started out life with a 625 (similar to your 522 but with bigger disk), a 501, and a 301. When I bought my first HDTV, I got onto the slippery slope. We weren't exactly overjoyed with the picture at 42", so first I upgraded to the 722. Thereafter, when we had eye-popping HD in one room, SD was no longer good enough for anybody anywhere. That's how I wound up with the two 612's.

A final note: it is possible via EHD to move recordings from a 722 to a 612, or record stuff on both. It's not very convenient, but it can be done.