Eastern Arc "campaign" for metro Atlanta yet?

[tkrandall]

My parents have Dish with a 110/119 + 61.5 setup. I am curious if there has been any campaign launched by Dish yet for the Atlanta area to get people off of mixed arc setups and switched over to the EA (or WA)? I don't beleive they have received any notices yet. I told them to be on the lookout for such from Dish.

[BattleZone]

Have them call Dish and make sure their account information is correct, especially the primary phone number on the account. Make sure that is correct and is a phone number where someone will actually answer. If they have email, give them that too (you can always open a new, free email account just for the purpose.)

So many customers never get notified because either Dish has outdated info or the customer doesn't respond to the letters, phone calls, and emails Dish tries to send.

[James Long]

Atlanta is a good market ... either arc will work there. If they have line of sight spin the 61.5 dish over to 129.

I'm assuming they are missing the newest HD because of the split arc ... the best thing they can do is contact DISH and remind DISH of the problem.

[tkrandall]

They have no LOS to 129. A large portion of their customer base in these parts do not. Hence I am surprised I have not heard of much a conversion campaign here yet. You see 110/119 and 61.5 setups on probably at least half of the HD setups around here.

I had not had them call yet b/c I thought I had seen posted that if Dish had not issued you a letter with a claim number, it was difficult to get the free/low price EA conversion.

[TBoneit]

All I know is that I called them up and complained about the missing HD channels due to having 110, 119, & 61.5. The Tech agreed and said $15 to switch to the EA dish.

So far so good and lots of things I'm watching on the new HD channels I now get.

The hardest part was trying to do it from work. I had to jump through hoops to convince them I was really me. I needed The Receiver ID and smart-card Numbers to convince them.

[tkrandall]

Is there anyone in the Atlanta market here that has been contacted by Dish yet for a EA conversion?

[VPIflyer]

Also, is it possible to switch from the 129 (I have recently lost reception because of trees) to the 61.5 by re-aiming the dish or do I need new equipment? Also, will I lose any programming by doing this? I live in Peachtree City.

[scooper]

Also, is it possible to switch from the 129 (I have recently lost reception because of trees) to the 61.5 by re-aiming the dish or do I need new equipment?
If you have only VIP receivers - Eastern ARC (61.5, 72.7 and 77) will work for you. If you have any MPEG2 only receivers - you will either need to upgrade them to VIPs also, or keep a 110/119 dish for them. This also assumes that all your Atlanta stations are available on eastern arc.


Also, will I lose any programming by doing this? I live in Peachtree City.
61.5 by itself will not (at this time) get you all the HD programming you can get on 110/119/129. You really need to do the full eastern arc if you're going to do it at all.

[ggraham]

So if I have VIP722s but no 129 LOS I'm just SOL for all the new HD channels they are adding but still pay the same as those who can receive them???

[scooper]

So if I have VIP722s but no 129 LOS I'm just SOL for all the new HD channels they are adding but still pay the same as those who can receive them???

No - as explained above -
convert your HD receivers (ViP models) to Eastern Arc (61.5, 72.7 and 77). Convert any MPEG2 only recievers to ViP models OR keep a 110 / 119 dish (2 dish setup - 2 seperate systems).

[ggraham]

So what if anything would I lose by giving up 110/119 and going to Eastern Arc (61.5, 72.7 and 77)? Why isn't Dish offering to move me to EA

Thanks for your help. :)

[scooper]

Will not lose anything except satellite SD local versions of NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX stations. Since the receivers can downconvert if necessary - not a problem.

As for why - money - you will need to pay the fee.

[ggraham]

Thx scooper.

One more question.
What is the fee and why do I have to pay anything when I just upgraded to HD and two 722s in Dec? I'm paying Dish every month for HD channels I can't receive and now I have to pay to have Dish do what they should have done in DEC so I can receive all the HD channels to which I am entitled??? :nono:

Thx again.

[scooper]

Thx scooper.

One more question.
What is the fee and why do I have to pay anything when I just upgraded to HD and two 722s in Dec? I'm paying Dish every month for HD channels I can't receive and now I have to pay to have Dish do what they should have done in DEC so I can receive all the HD channels to which I am entitled??? :nono:

Thx again.

I'm just a sub like you, so I don't know why they changed.

As for cost - if you have the service plan ($5 /month) - it will be $15. If you don't - it will be $95. Cost to drop plan is $25. That might get waived after a certain period - and maybe it doesn't. It would still be cheaper to add the plan, get the EA dish upgrade done, then wait a month or 2 to cancel the service plan, than to pay the $95.

Part of it is just being smart enough / well informed enough to know what to ask for.

[tkrandall]

Well, it's November and I asked my brother who has a mixed arc setup if Dish has ever contacted them to convert over, and he has not heard from them.

[scooper]

Well, it's November and I asked my brother who has a mixed arc setup if Dish has ever contacted them to convert over, and he has not heard from them.

Maybe your brother needs to be a bit more "proactive" ?

BTW , I've been amply corrected by battlezone and some of the other Installers - there is no "both arcs" - it's either full on Eastern Arc or full on western arc. If you want Eastern Arc - ALL receivers need to be converted to VIP models, even those on SD TVs. western arc will still let you use the SD receivers.

[tkrandall]

maybe so. But I had gotten the impression if you called them, they might charge you a service call or end up extending your contract due to new equipment being possibly required. But if they called you, it would be free and no contract extension, as it was their initiation of the call. I thought they were to be call campaigning all customers with mixed arc setups.

[BattleZone]

Don't rely on Dish to have correct records of what satellites you are set up with. We get a lot of work orders that have incorrect information on them, both for new connects as well as existing installs, and while I make it a point to try to get them corrected, I'm definitely in the minority. Dish may already show you as being on one full arc even if you aren't, in which case they would never call to switch you.