Dish vs. Direct?

[u92r03]

I did a few searches, but didn't find what I was looking for.

I'm in North Tampa and only have Brighthouse as an option for a cable provider. I'm currently at $125+ a month with HD and HBO. They've been to my house 8 times in the last year, and I still have multiple problems. I'm not interested in DVR, but HD is a must. I have no problem spending 125-150 a month, but feel I could do a lot better that what I have.

I've read the forums here for a few weeks, and am a bit confused over how many dishes I'll need on the roof and what receiver models to get, etc. I'm leaning toward E* due to some co-workers, but am willing to go with either.

Can I run all my TV's with 1 dish?
How many LNB's per dish?
What's the difference with eth "elongated" dishes I see in the neighborhood?
Will I need an OTA for locals?
Can I "split" the signal so I don't have to have 6 receivers? (2 of these rooms are rarely used)
How is the audio quality, is the surround sound good?

Thanks in advance for any "simplified" guidance-

Mike

[zipbags]

I have Directv. I only needed one dish (w/hd) until I got a dvr...then I needed a 2nd dish. Which I got and installed for free. I get my local ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in HD through the dish..No of the air antenna needed. But, that varies depending on where you live.

[Cholly]

Being in Tampa, you can get locals from Dish Network, however they will not be in high definition. Dish does have receivers that have two tuners, so you can cut down on the total number of receivers you'd need. I'd guess you might need a Superdish (big oval dish) to receive the locals. If you want your locals in HD, you'd have to get them OTA. The surround sound from Dish's HD receivers is excellent. As to LNB configurations, I'm not certain. I had a quad lnb on my Dish antenna, with a 311 receiver, 811 HD receiver and 721 DVR.

[jdoe100]

Being in Tampa, you can get locals from Dish Network, however they will not be in high definition. Dish does have receivers that have two tuners, so you can cut down on the total number of receivers you'd need. I'd guess you might need a Superdish (big oval dish) to receive the locals. If you want your locals in HD, you'd have to get them OTA. The surround sound from Dish's HD receivers is excellent. As to LNB configurations, I'm not certain. I had a quad lnb on my Dish antenna, with a 311 receiver, 811 HD receiver and 721 DVR.


Which brings up an important question. With the changeover from analog to digital for over-the-air channels, are Dave and Charlie gonna drop all the local channels that they send to us in analog and then start sending the HDTV signals for every local channel they are sending down from the birds? I only ask this because if you notice on Lyngsat.com the listing of HDTV channels on any one bird, usually they have up to 3 or 4 channels per transponder. It requires more bandwidth to transmit the Hidef channels from the birds than the regular analog broadcasts. You will notice 10-12 channels per transponder right now in analog but 3 channels in Hidef. What's gonna happen when all the locals go Hidef in a couple years? Just a thought. Thanks. :)

[Stewart Vernon]

Which brings up an important question. With the changeover from analog to digital for over-the-air channels, are Dave and Charlie gonna drop all the local channels that they send to us in analog and then start sending the HDTV signals for every local channel they are sending down from the birds? I only ask this because if you notice on Lyngsat.com the listing of HDTV channels on any one bird, usually they have up to 3 or 4 channels per transponder. It requires more bandwidth to transmit the Hidef channels from the birds than the regular analog broadcasts. You will notice 10-12 channels per transponder right now in analog but 3 channels in Hidef. What's gonna happen when all the locals go Hidef in a couple years? Just a thought. Thanks. :)

All the locals aren't going HD in a couple of years. The proposed 2009 all-digital date just means the local stations must broadcast digital. It says nothing about HD. There is no HD requirement for local stations, and I suspect that will translate to locals via satellite as well where there are any bandwidth issues.

[JM Anthony]

All the locals aren't going HD in a couple of years. The proposed 2009 all-digital date just means the local stations must broadcast digital. It says nothing about HD. There is no HD requirement for local stations, and I suspect that will translate to locals via satellite as well where there are any bandwidth issues.
We'll it may not be a requirement from an FCC, but I strongly suspect it will from a business survival perspective. With prices dropping on good quality big HDTV's and with more and more HD programming on the leader of the pack (CBS), I think HD will be common place sooner rather than later.

Home entertainment/theater is hot. I'd much rather watch a good movie at home than head for a theater.

John

[Stewart Vernon]

We'll it may not be a requirement from an FCC, but I strongly suspect it will from a business survival perspective. With prices dropping on good quality big HDTV's and with more and more HD programming on the leader of the pack (CBS), I think HD will be common place sooner rather than later.

Home entertainment/theater is hot. I'd much rather watch a good movie at home than head for a theater.

John

Problem is... local stations are competing with other local stations... so in smaller markets it is likely that little or none will be able to afford HD equipment upgrades for their stations. In markets like where I live, all locals are digital and all but one is broadcasting in HD already, but I'm in the market where the very first local channel (WRAL) went HD back in the late 1990s.

And with the laws and regulations and network contracts in place as they currently exist... Dish and DirecTV and local cable wouldn't be able to give customers HD network feeds if their local stations didn't grant waivers... so in the small markets where HD will be harder to afford, it could be a little longer before HD comes to those markets :(

[G Dubble]

HDme,
Unfortunately, I live in one of those small markets you speak of where the local stations will not grant waivers for out-of-market HD programming. These locals are idiots when it comes to TV here. Anyway, I skirt around that crap and use my friend's address in a big city for D* to give me some real quality HD. The local cable company doesn't offer HD and they don't plan to anytime soon.:nono2: What a load of cr-p! There is money from the FCC in the form of grants to upgrade the televisions stations. The stations that claim they can't upgrade because of money is either lying to you or refuse to do so.:mad:

[Stewart Vernon]

HDme,
Unfortunately, I live in one of those small markets you speak of where the local stations will not grant waivers for out-of-market HD programming. These locals are idiots when it comes to TV here.

That's one of the reasons I usually post that I wish the satellite companies would go for the smaller markets first, since they actually need the locals more than the bigger markets do. I understand why they go for the bigger markets first, money, but I do wish they would at least mix in some smaller markets as they go along.

[JM Anthony]

That's one of the reasons I usually post that I wish the satellite companies would go for the smaller markets first, since they actually need the locals more than the bigger markets do. I understand why they go for the bigger markets first, money, but I do wish they would at least mix in some smaller markets as they go along.
While I live in one of those major markets, I agree with you that the sat. companies, from a long-term perspective, would do better by addressing small market and rural needs. I don't think it's going to be that long before satellite just isn't that good a deal in the major markets as more/better broadband solutions come into play. Satellite is essentially a one trick pony and that's often a losing proposition as customer retention becomes more problematic. Package deals (phone, Internet, and TV) in high density urban areas is where it's at.

John

[G Dubble]

JM Anthony,
I don't live in a high density urban area. I live in the sticks! So, u're logic doesn't apply to my situation. Is it wrong for me to use a friend's address to pick up the local networks so I can watch Survivor and L & O: SVU?

[FTA Michael]

Is it wrong for me to use a friend's address to pick up the local networks so I can watch Survivor and L & O: SVU?You are lying just so you can watch your favorite shows in HD. Is that wrong? Looks to me like you've already decided that it isn't.