What to do now that I don't have cable?

[bradsmainsite]

This is not a price matching game by any means just trying to give him his best if not only options for what he wants to do.  I have NO vested interest in this deal
whatsoever!

Sometimes if you want the best option you have to pay for it, and most people
don't mind if it works the way they want and it is done correctly at least that is
what I have found to be true.

[Mark Strube]

As you can see, I was responding to Chinatown who claimed it was cheaper than cable. Don't confuse things. :wave:

[summerfun]

Who is E*?

I thought D* was DirectTV and DISH Network was just DISH. Am I missing something?

[Steve Mann]

Who is E*?

I thought D* was DirectTV and DISH Network was just DISH. Am I missing something?

E* = Echostar (DISH)

[Drummerboy]

You could build an HTPC that could do everything you want.

[bradsmainsite]

sorry Mark I caught that after the fact I was in a hurry wanted to get to bed
didn't want any confussion or misinfo on anything there is enough of that going around.

[gparris]

I think summerfun should find a good installer and go with E* and spend the bucks for the 942 model ($250 rental downpayment?) for the main room his Sony 60"HDTV is in, then do the standard  HD box for the bedroom smaller HD set and put a SD DVR in the other room with the std def TV, add an antenna for OTA .

May he wants to see if he wants the Voom channels added (with another dish), too.

His house may start to look like the backlot of a cable company instead of dealing with the cable company, but he might be happier, for now.
Just my thoughts...

[AndrewP]

Summerfun, if you decide to go with E*, then I can send you Dish club #, which will give you free install and extra $49.99 credit on your first bill.

Now, HD DVR 942 is a perfect receiver, and I mean perfect, fast, PQ looks great, even SD channels are very good. It has outputs for two TVs, but only TV1 can be HD with component or HDMI/DVI connections. TV2 ouput is SD : composite or coax. It doesn't have S-Video, but composite is very good, better then S-Video I had before.
My upstairs TV is in service now, so I installed HDMI cable from living room to the projector in the basement (30 feet cable for $26) and optical audio (40 feet) to the receiver in the basement. And it all worked well. So I have an option now to get rid of HD 811. I will decide later when TV will be back.

[bradsmainsite]

Like it has been said if you don't mind a dish or two and an off air antenna
on the roof, or tower you can eliminate the middle man maybe save a buck or two
and have better picture quality! :rofl:

[summerfun]

Summerfun, if you decide to go with E*, then I can send you Dish club #, which will give you free install and extra $49.99 credit on your first bill.

I will take you up on that offer when I am moved into the house. We are still making an offer and we are still selling our home here in Pewaukee.

Here is the set up I want. Can both D* and E* do this? Do both use TIVO as their DVR? Is one better than the other? I would really like to see the DVR interface first. I can do this whole setup with cable and have NO upfront cost, but I hate the DVR interface from Insight cable. You cannot choose to record by show, only time and channel.

HDTV#1 Two tuner HD DVR/TIVO with local and premium cable network channels.

HDTV#2 Two tuner HD DVR/TIVO with local and premium cable network channels.

SD#1 Just local and basic cable network channels

SD#2 Just local and basic cable network channels

SD#3 Just local and basic cable network channels

[bradsmainsite]

Just a little insight what ever sat package you pick will appear at ALL your
locations not just wherever you have a cable box on now.  I think you need
to talk to someone on the phone about this because there are way to many
configurations that you can do and this forum will take you forever to get it
figured out.

As far as the club dish thing goes its a good deal for you and the person that
gives it to you, BUT the problem is it screws the retailer/installer and good luck
getting a reputable retailer to take that offer, but you will get plenty of hungry
yahoos out there to take it and upcharge for every little thing.

BEWARE and do your homework on who you choose talk  to people in your area
see who they recomend and by all means take your TIME you have a great
setup don't screw it up by rushing into it with someone who is in a rush to get
more monthly residules and could care less about your needs.

[murdoc]

I will take you up on that offer when I am moved into the house. We are still making an offer and we are still selling our home here in Pewaukee.

Here is the set up I want. Can both D* and E* do this? Do both use TIVO as their DVR? Is one better than the other? I would really like to see the DVR interface first. I can do this whole setup with cable and have NO upfront cost, but I hate the DVR interface from Insight cable. You cannot choose to record by show, only time and channel.

HDTV#1 Two tuner HD DVR/TIVO with local and premium cable network channels.

HDTV#2 Two tuner HD DVR/TIVO with local and premium cable network channels.

SD#1 Just local and basic cable network channels

SD#2 Just local and basic cable network channels

SD#3 Just local and basic cable network channels

D* HD-DVR's use the TIVO interface.  E* does not.  

With that list you would need 2 Hughes HR10-250's (HD-TIVO), and 3 SD boxes.  The D* triple LNB dish has 4 coax hookups on it.  You might max one of these dishes out with just the 2 HDTV feeds.  However, if you use a multiswitch you might be ok.  Here's what I can tell you about a multiswitch.

A multiswitch lets you send the signal from one satellite dish antenna to two or more satellite recievers.  Adding a multiswitch allows you to send a satellite signal to each of your HD DVR's two tuners, as well as to another satellite reciever for your second television.  If you own a two satellite or multi-satellite dish antenna, you must use a multiswitch to send signals to your HD DVR or other satellite reciever(s).     This was taken from my HD TIVO's manual.

Given that information, you should be able to do something similar to this:



Sorry for the crudeness of the drawing, but it should give you a general idea of what you need.  Anyone else feel free to chime in if I provided inaccurate information.

As far as programming, D* will waive the $4.99/month DVR fee (for both boxes I would assume) if you subscribe to there Total Choice Premier package.  This package (last I checked) was around $90/month, but gives you all the premium packages (HBO, STARZ, Showtime, etc).  Given that you would need 5 boxes for your setup, that would increase your monthly bill by $20, and if they add the DVR fee, that's another $10 your spending.  If you haggle with them, you might be able to get some fees waived or packages added free/cheaply.  With a 5 room setup, and 2 being HD TIVO's I'm sure they wouldn't mind losing a bit on programming costs to keep you as a customer.  As always check with your provider for pricing confirmation.

[AndrewP]

I am not sure yhat you will need two HD DVRs and three SD boxes. It will cost you upfront with both E* and D*.
I have 1 HD DVR and 1 HD box. I connected HD DVT to my HDTV upstair using component cables and to the projector downstairs using HDMI cable. So I can use it for recorded shows on both systems. Another HD box I connected to the projector and use it when somebody else watches HD upstairs or when DVR is busy recording stuff.
HD DVR 942 is faster then Tivo HD DVR, but it has only one OTA digital tuner (Tivo has two tuners). Also E* box will be less expensive upfront ($250). DVR fee ($4.99) and lease fee ($5) are waived if box is connected to the tel. line and with Everything Pack programming package ($86.99).
E* will not allow to lease two HD DVRs - one you should buy.
942 unit has two tuners. It can be connected to second TV (SD only) and you can watch two different programs on two TVs. Actually think about it as two receivers in one box. So that means you will have to order only one more receiver SD DVR 625 for extra $20 upfront. It also can work with two TVs.
So three receivers (942, 811, 625) will work with 2 HDTVs and 3 SD TVs, and you can watch 5 programs at the same time on these TVs.
I checked this Club Dish offer and they changed it a little bit since I used year ago. Now you will get $25 credit (instead of $50) on first bill, one month free service, 25 Premium channels free for three months, HD pack free for 6 months.

[summerfun]

Thanks for all the GREAT info guys. Kudos to "murdoc" for the fantastic diagram. Pictures always make it so much easier to understand.

I will have to make sure and hook up with a top notch installer when we get moved in. I guess I have some decisions to make. Thanks again for all the help.

[StarvingForHDTV]

Nice one Murdoc!