Any way to upgrade to newer recievers for FREE?

[Jack White]

My family has one 2800, and one 3900. I was just wondering if there was any way to upgrade to newer recievers for free? The thing I REALLY desperately need is a reciever with a digital audio output since I just got this incredible 7.1 channel Surround Sound System. The cable company upgraded my brother's cable to Video On Demand Digital Cable with S-video and Digital Audio output for free.
Why doesn't Dish give you free upgrades?

[primey]

My family has one 2800, and one 3900. I was just wondering if there was any way to upgrade to newer recievers for free? The thing I REALLY desperately need is a reciever with a digital audio output since I just got this incredible 7.1 channel Surround Sound System. The cable company upgraded my brother's cable to Video On Demand Digital Cable with S-video and Digital Audio output for free.
Why doesn't Dish give you free upgrades?

I got one of the old 2800 deals as well, it doesn't even update the programming guide very well..:( I wonder if they would take that back since I pay the 5.99 coverage deal each month? LOL


Primey

[psnarula]

Why doesn't Dish give you free upgrades?

the business model seems to be focused much more on adding new customers and assuming that most of the existing customer's won't leave.

[Steve Mehs]

Why should you get a new receiver for free, if you purchase. Cable subscribers don’t buy hardware, we lease it, at any point I can take my HD DVR back to the office and get another cable box, but the box isn’t mine, it’s theirs, I pay $7.95 a month to lease it. If you buy the receivers, it’s yours, you can do whatever you want with and you’re responsible for it. I pay a small reoccurring monthly fee inorder to keep my box, I stop paying I lose the box, you paid a one time lager fee to keep it forever.

Dish Network is not in the business to give things away for free.

I can’t plop down $60K on a 2006 Lincoln Navigator then next year this time go back to the dealer and demand a 2007 for free.

I know a lot of other things can come into play with the new lease programs and all that and I have no problem with existing subscriber and long time subscriber discounts, it’s people who think they deserve things for free that get me.

[boba]

Check on Ebay to see what your receivers are selling for, see what it will cost you to upgrade from DISH. You maybe able to upgrade from DISH then sell on Ebay and get your free upgrade. Seeing you want to upgrade for the optical digital output you might want to look at what DISH is offering with Dolby Digital output. Unless you opt for HDTV you might be a little disappointed in what you will be able to get in DD.

[harsh]

Cable subscribers don’t buy hardware, we lease it, at any point I can take my HD DVR back to the office and get another cable box, but the box isn’t mine, it’s theirs, I pay $7.95 a month to lease it.Comcast customers in my area usually end up "buying" before Comcast is willing to upgrade to "advanced receivers" (HDMI, TOSlink). The monthly fee is $9.95 for an HD DVR that will record 15 hours of Comcast's version of HD (8GB/hour).

[BobaBird]

Jack, you might consider replacing both boxes with a 625, I believe the upgrade fee is $49 (check with Dish). That will get you digital audio for TV1 and DVR features along with a near-instantaneous 9-day EPG for TV1 and TV2. The DVR fee (waived if you subscribe to AEP) is about a buck more than the extra box fee you're paying now (also waived if you keep a phone line connected).you might want to look at what DISH is offering with Dolby Digital outputCheck the EKB Dolby Digital (http://ekb.dbstalk.com/236) page.

[harsh]

My family has one 2800, and one 3900. I was just wondering if there was any way to upgrade to newer recievers for free?No, but you may be able to enter into a lease for cheap. Call Dish Network and ask about the "Dish'n it Up" program. You'll need to step up to a DVR model like the 625 (will replace both receivers) to get an optical digital output.The cable company upgraded my brother's cable to Video On Demand Digital Cable with S-video and Digital Audio output for free.
Why doesn't Dish give you free upgrades?Because they cost money that cable is subsidizing higher lease fees and higher programming prices. Ask your brother how much he pays monthly for all of his equipment and programming and compare that to what you're paying. The answer should be clear why the cable company is willing to lease a better featured receiver (usually for a higher monthly fee).

To get the capability of the Dish 625 receiver from my local cable company would set me back $19.90/month in DVR lease fees versus the $10.98 that Dish Network charges.