Does purchase/lease of 622 require HD programming?

[bnewt]

If I were to purchase or lease the 622 instead of the 625, would I have to subscribe to the hd package? I want to upgrade my 508 for a dual tuner unit, & was wondering if I could skip to the 622 instead of going to the 625.

[BFG]

if you leased it yes you'd have to take HD

if you purchase no, but you'll be charged $6 for having an HD receiver but subbing to their HD packs

[jsanders]

If you purchase the unit, you do not have to subscribe to any HD if you don't want to. It will cost you an extra $6/mo for the HD Enabling fee if you don't though.

[CABill]

People have leased the 622 without subscribing to the new DishHD packages. You would pay a lot more up front for a 622 than a 625. If all you want is a SD only DVR with a larger hard drive and both outputs available on the same coax, you can even get the $6/month HD Enable fee removed by disabling all HD functionality on the 622. That MIGHT also include the ATSC OTA tuner - there haven't been lots of people taking that route and posting their results.:)
Is it worth the up front cost and $6/month lease or additional receiver, $5.98 DVR (waived with AEP), $6/month HD Enable (waived if crippled)?

[BFG]

Wrong.

[Jeff McClellan]

BFG is right, is you lease or purchase and subscribe to the HD package, you will be charged. I, for the life of me, cant figure out why you would get this unit and not subscribe to the HD programming.

[jsanders]

you can even get the $6/month HD Enable fee removed by disabling all HD functionality on the 622. That MIGHT also include the ATSC OTA tuner - there haven't been lots of people taking that route and posting their results.:)
Is it worth the up front cost and $6/month lease or additional receiver, $5.98 DVR (waived with AEP), $6/month HD Enable (waived if crippled)?


That was initially true, but not anymore. Dish decided they would rather charge people this fee, and, as of 3/18/06, they don't let people disable the HD capability anymore.

[CABill]

Sorry, didn't know you can't do the silly "Disable my HD" any longer. It looked like they setup a special phone number for it and everything. If someone just wants a 250GB SD DVR, a "$201 942" from someone that was going to turn theirs in would fit the bill. Maybe bnewt just wanted HD locals??

Is it also the case that those that have leased their 622 without a DishHD package are the only ones that will be able to do that too?

Edit afterthought: The DIU lease agreement specifically states you can get the $6 HD Enable fee waived. How do you get around the existing written agreement?

[bnewt]

BFG is right, is you lease or purchase and subscribe to the HD package, you will be charged. I, for the life of me, cant figure out why you would get this unit and not subscribe to the HD programming.

At present, I don't have any type of hd set, but I want to upgrade to a dual tuner dvr. Just thought it might be feasible to skip over the 625 & jump to the 622

[kruzie]

I'm in a similar boat...don't have an HD tv right now. My PVR501 seems to have gone out (keep getting a multi-switch error message) so I was looking at upgrading to the SD 522 for $49. But it looks like you sign up for an 18 month extension when you do that, and I'm wondering if I should pay the $299 upgrade for the 622. I would only use it for SD for now, but would be ready for HD whenever I wanted. I guess with option A I would just have to wait a year until I could upgrade from the 522 to the 622. Any suggestions (besides biting the bullet and going out and getting the SXDR :) ) I know some people who have HD cable boxes on SD tvs and it allows them to watch their locals in SD (obviously) but with 5.1 audio. Would the 622 hooked up to an SD tv allow me to do this?

[rdopso]

I signed up for the "trade in your 921 for a 622 deal" yesterday and was told that I had to have the HD Pac, which I wanted anyway and had for my 921, but also that if one drops the HD pack after signing up for it, you are charged $6/mo for the remainder of the 18-mo lease period. You also need a phone connection to the 622 or you are charged another $5 or $6 per month.

[tegage]

I, for the life of me, cant figure out why you would get this unit and not subscribe to the HD programming.

Perhaps for the same reason I own a 942 and don't subscribe to any dish HD channels: I have the 942 so that I can watch and record OTA shows in HD.

[BFG]

Then buy an OTA DVR. Hell, the Dish DVR only has 1 OTA tuner, which sucks.

[harsh]

Then buy an OTA DVR. Hell, the Dish DVR only has 1 OTA tuner, which sucks.Can you recommend a OTA DVR that can record OTA?

Of course you can't because there are only a handful of them and they're harder to find than hen's teeth. The fact that they are only useful for OTA broadcasts really cuts into their appeal. The HP units ($1,500 & $2,200), based on Windows Media Center, only features one ATSC tuner.

[BFG]

Sony has an HD-DVR for $250 I've heard, 2 tuners, epg, etc...

[tegage]

Then buy an OTA DVR. Hell, the Dish DVR only has 1 OTA tuner, which sucks.

There are still many programs I watch that I can't get OTA: Fox News, The Daily Show, etc., so I have a satellite system. All I am saying, and I don't think I am alone here, is that the HD content on DISH, with the exception of HBO, which I get with my HBO subscription, isn't very compelling to me. In other words, I don't watch HD programming soley to see a HD picture - I have to enjoy the program as well.

[bnewt]

There are still many programs I watch that I can't get OTA: Fox News, The Daily Show, etc., so I have a satellite system. All I am saying, and I don't think I am alone here, is that the HD content on DISH, with the exception of HBO, which I get with my HBO subscription, isn't very compelling to me. In other words, I don't watch HD programming soley to see a HD picture - I have to enjoy the program as well.

I agree whole heartedly.........most of the Voom channels are a waste. From what I have seen TNT HD is pretty bad. IMO, there really isn't much to watch on Dish - HD wise that makes the investment worth it. My wife & I enjoy the local programs, which I get via OTA. Most of the stallite programming we watch is not HD - which means that the picture would not be as good as I have now if I upgrade to most any HD set. Why pay more to have less?????

[tegage]

To me, one of the HD packs will be worth it when 1) I can get my locals in HD - right now I have to use a Monster antenna - two with a jointenna if I want PBS in widescreen and 2) some of the more mainstream satellite/cable channels go HD (the various News channels, Comedy Central, etc.).

Food Network going HD is a plus (I like Iron Chief), but not enough and unfortunately, living in West Michigan, it will be a long time before we see satellite locals in HD (we just got the SD locals a few years back).

[bairdjc]

I had the same question; called dish and they said that there is no fee for having a 622 and NOT having HD with it; that was about 2 weeks ago.

I am in the same boat and that's why I asked the question!