Looking to get Dish with all the HD bells and whistles. Should I deal directly with an installer instead of Dish, and does anyone have a recommendation on the best one in my area?
thanks
thanks
Who is the best installer in the Sacramento area?
- Thread starter redman042
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They sub out much of the install work in Sacramento. As I understand it, when you make an appointment through a CSR directly, their computer system automatically routes the request to either the local center or the sub. They have no control over who gets the job.
My personal experience is that you get a very experienced technician 30% of the time. Things they get wrong are, setting up your television to actually enable HD (might have to configure the television to enable HD and set up screen streatching features for SD programs), getting the best signal from sat 129, a lack of understanding how the OTA and HD priority settings work for the local stations, no knowledge of what satellites the HD locals are broadcast from. So long story short, if you can go into a dealer and talk (interview) their installer you will be much better off than relying on the 1-800 number. Best of luck.
My personal experience is that you get a very experienced technician 30% of the time. Things they get wrong are, setting up your television to actually enable HD (might have to configure the television to enable HD and set up screen streatching features for SD programs), getting the best signal from sat 129, a lack of understanding how the OTA and HD priority settings work for the local stations, no knowledge of what satellites the HD locals are broadcast from. So long story short, if you can go into a dealer and talk (interview) their installer you will be much better off than relying on the 1-800 number. Best of luck.
Go to your local retailer and see if they know what they are talking about. Meet your installer first and find out how long he has been installing Satellite TV. Make sur the retailer does all of there own installs and they have a working HD set up in there showroom. This is a big commitment and you should know who your dealing with. Remember Dish service and price is the same from anyone but the INSTALL MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
I live up the hill near Cameron Park and just had a 211 and D1000 installed July 7.
Dish arranged with LinkUS for the install. They sent out Leon, who was polite, knowledgeable, and proficient. LinkUs is 888-827-1600.
esteps
Dish arranged with LinkUS for the install. They sent out Leon, who was polite, knowledgeable, and proficient. LinkUs is 888-827-1600.
esteps
redman042 said:
I had terrible luck with the Dish installer in my particular area. I use Channel Choice now. They are absolutely awesome. 1-800-540-9337.
Thanks for the leads. Another question: is there any advantage in going through AT&T to get Dish bundled with our phone service? Or is that just a gimmick to get everything on one bill (which I don't care about - I just want the best deal)?
AT&T is just a gimmick I think alot of times you can do better on your own but it varies from city to city. Note AT&T has there own installers and do not offer all dish promotion and hardware configurations. If you have a problem you have to go through AT&T not Dish or a Retailer.
Personally I still think the best way to get Dish is through a Retailer in your area.
If your Retailer doesn't do a good job of taking care of you then you can have Dish take over once your with AT&T your stuck with AT&T.
Personally I still think the best way to get Dish is through a Retailer in your area.
If your Retailer doesn't do a good job of taking care of you then you can have Dish take over once your with AT&T your stuck with AT&T.
I used a local retailer (Elk Grove) when I got my 622 back when it just came out. The guys has an HD setup in his store. I talked to him on the phone and then went to his store before buying from him. To his advantage he was the only one with a 622 in stock back then. Most rouble for installers is finding and peaking to 129. I knew more about him about the 622 but since it was just coming out I gave him a break 
His store is on Laguna in a shopping center next to the Chevron station across from the big shopping are where Best Buy is at. It is also a cell phone shop. Sorry don't have the name of the place but if you want it let me know
Dang if you get HD programming and a 622 you 'll be getting a sweet deal
His store is on Laguna in a shopping center next to the Chevron station across from the big shopping are where Best Buy is at. It is also a cell phone shop. Sorry don't have the name of the place but if you want it let me know
Dang if you get HD programming and a 622 you 'll be getting a sweet deal
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So my last question is... Is it a good time to go for HD in this area? I'm still reading about stuttering bugs on the 622, lip sync and pixelization on HD locals, and problems pulling in the Sats with the 1000. I've read that another software update to fix stuttering is "coming", but no telling when or how successful it will be. And I've read that a 1000+ dish is coming which will help with reception (but again, not telling when).
I'd personally lean towards taking the plunge now and trusting that it will all work out in a reasonable time. But my wife, on the other hand, may end up saying "why did we dump D* for E* if D* worked fine, but E* has all these problems?"
My priorities are HD, then reliability. Her's are the other way around. Thinking I should wait a couple months but wonder what your opinions are.
I'd personally lean towards taking the plunge now and trusting that it will all work out in a reasonable time. But my wife, on the other hand, may end up saying "why did we dump D* for E* if D* worked fine, but E* has all these problems?"
My priorities are HD, then reliability. Her's are the other way around. Thinking I should wait a couple months but wonder what your opinions are.
As someone who is an early adopter, i would say go, I have not seen the stuttering enough for it to affect my viewing, using component so hdmi issue is a non-issue , not having any of reboots like others. (since i fixed the PIP issue with shared view enabled)
Cant get ota so cant say there, have d1000, may get issues in winter as 129 is low strength and you still cant get fox 40 in HD.
Get platinum with locals if you want max hd and 622 (save on dvr fee's)
my 02 cents
Cant get ota so cant say there, have d1000, may get issues in winter as 129 is low strength and you still cant get fox 40 in HD.
Get platinum with locals if you want max hd and 622 (save on dvr fee's)
my 02 cents
redman042 said:
If your priorities are HD and reliability you can get HD and a 622. The promo they offer right now is
$200 credit in programming for ten months (as an early adopter I got and get nothing)
$199 with a $100 rebate (as an early adopter I paid $299 and no rebate). Ouch
As far as the 622 and its reliability I have only seen about 2 reboots. No Video stuttering. Lyp synch It was more of an issue in February than it is now. I don't know if it is a box thing or something else. I only get some annoying audio dropous on some channels only but they are not very often. Good luck
By the way in what area do you live. I live in Elk Grove and I have no problems with OTA at all. Are you planning on an OTA setup too or just HD LIL
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The promotions seem pretty good. If there are problems with recption on the 1000 make them adjust or replace with two antenna option (500, 300). I live in El Dorado hills and get good recption with OTA. I love the 622.
redman042 said:
Hola Redman,
The main problem with the HDMI is it really isn't. Dish uses its own specs. If you look at the back of the box it says something like HDTV connector or something like that abd not HDMI.
The biggest issue with me is that it does not support 5.1. If you want 5.1 you need to use the optical out.
I don't know about the "HDMI" loss. Some are reporting it, some aren't. I don't use it on my 622, but my 411 (had since Dec.) has never gone out.
Scott
