Dish Network

[krauts]

I came across this on the internet today. Up to 2 free hdtv recievers and plus dvr's as needed for free? Sounds too good to be true. I'm guessing is the 811 hd box? anyone use one as an ota tuner or at all? does it have dolby digial out? thats the only downside when I read the specs, it didnt say yes or no on that. I'm guessing I could run an hd box and dvr on the same set? The only downside is that they don't have cbs as a local. Granted I can get it ota (hopefully) but that would only be on the set with hd tuner. Do they make you activate all the recievers right away or at all? An 811 must get some decent cash on fleabay? But on the other side, where will you ever get a free hd box again? What is anyones thoughts on this? Sounds like a great deal to me. I just have to see how much time i have under contract with direct tv... It looks like its worth jumping ship to get this deal...

http://www.vmcsatellite.com/channels/dish_splash.cfm

THE OFFER:

Sign up for one year's worth of service from Dish Network (as low as $29.99 per month).
Simply provide a credit card number for automatic billing of your monthly service.
A Dish Network Installer will come to your home and install a new system in up to four rooms for FREE!

No equipment to buy.
Includes Digital Video Recorders worth $499 each if you had to buy them!

Want HDTV? We provide up to two HD receivers for FREE! ($399 each if you had to buy them.)

Existing or previous Dish Network Subscribers are not eligible for this promotion. Call us for upgrade programs.
WHAT YOU GET:

Free Installation of a Dish Network System and your choice of equipment for up to four rooms.*
Local channels included FREE on any programming package! (Where available)
Digital Video Recorders included! (see "programming packages")
DVRs record 100 hrs of your favorite shows without tapes! ZAP Commercials! PAUSE/REWIND/REPLAY Live TV!
You can also select up to two FREE HDTV receivers when you sign up for HDTV programming!
All of our equipment comes with a LIFETIME WARRANTY for as long as you remain a subscriber!
Plans available for up to 6 rooms!
Over 256 channels of digital quality available.

[SRW1000]

Krauts,

I'll try and answer a few questions about the 811, but can't comment on this specific deal.

Yes, the 811 has an optical Dolby Digital output, but for many of us it doesn't seem to work.  I can get PCM output from all the stations, but haven't been able to get any DD on any of the stations broadcast in DD.  This has been reported as something that can be fixed with a software upgrade.

You won't be able to get CBS-HD over the air.  Channel 58 has decided that they don't feel like using 58 as their digital channel name, and have decided that they'd rather be channel 1.  You can read all about this ridiculously frustrating problem here:

Why is CBS WDJT broadcasting on 1.1?

Dish tells us that this can be fixed with a software upgrade.

You should be able to get 58's analog signal on the 811, but it's really poorly implemented.  You'll get better quality from your TV's tuner or a VCR.

The 811 has a problem with dark video and uncontrollable aspect ratios on its S-video output.  If you plan on hooking it up to a VCR or DVR to record any programming, this will be a problem for you.  Again, Dish tells us that this can be fixed with a software upgrade.  

To me, those are the biggest problems, but wait . . . there's more.  Here's the main listing from DBSTalk.com:

Official 811 Users Question & Comment Thread

I will say that I've been pretty happy with it's ability to receive HD signals.  This is my third HDTV receiver (I ended up returning the other two), and it was the best of the three as far as signal strength goes.

However, overall it's a big disappointment.  So much so, that I've decided to deactivate it and reactivate my regular, old SD receiver, until the problems I mentioned above are fixed.  

I'm also considering switching to DirecTV.

Scott