Dish SD to HD - need a little help for my dad

[MattWarner]

I normally hang out in the DirecTV forums since that is what I have (don't hold it against me), but my dad has Dish and has asked for my help.

He currently has two 18" dishs; one looking at 119 and one looking at 110 [this is due to tall pine trees. no single dish solution would work on his property]. LNBs feed into a SW21 combiner, then inside via one coax run to his single tuner DVR. He has expressed an interest in HD and from what I gather, he will need to see 110, 119 and 129.

Question #1 - Can we just install another 18" dish to look only at 129?

Question #2 - What switch would work to combine those three separate satellite signals into one coax?

He's looking at the VIP622 DVR and we understand we will need to run a 2nd coax line from the dishs to drive the two tuners. We also have several old dual LNBs, so we can swap those out at the same time if needed.

Thanks in advance,

-Matt

[Bill R]

Matt,

Yes, you can add a third dish for 129 (HD channel are duplicated on the 61.5 satellite and that might be a better bet for your area depending on his pine trees). Since his equipment is legacy you will need a SW-64 switch and all the LNBs must be dual LNBs (they have two connectors so it is easy to tell). The SW-64 has 6 inputs (for 3 dishes, both outputs from each LNB connects to the switch). It has four outputs to support four tuners. Any yes, since you are using legancy LNBs and a legacy switch you will need to run a second cable to the 622.

[MattWarner]

BillR-

Thanks for the info. If he decided to retire the legacy DVR and use only the VIP622, would that change anything?

Thanks again,

-Matt

[CABill]

He's looking at the VIP622 DVR and we understand we will need to run a 2nd coax line from the dishs to drive the two tuners. We also have several old dual LNBs, so we can swap those out at the same time if needed.

"We" don't HAVE to run coax unless you are planning to purchase the 622, switch, and do everything yourself. The existing customer LEASE upgrade to a 622 is presently (have your dad login to "My Account" and click on Equipment, then DISH'n It Up to double check) $150 up front, with a $50 rebate. That includes any dish, switch, coax, ... necessary. It is up to the installer, but if adding a coax to the 622 location is difficult, he might choose to instead change to DP LNBs on the dishes and a DP Plus switch that can use a single coax for both tuners.

You can choose to run a 2nd coax line yourself if you want it in the attic and down through a wall or something, but you should HAVE to concern yourself with which switch etc if you are planning to lease the receiver.

Presently, a new DishHD subscriber gets a $10/month credit for 10 months but on 15-Aug, that offer changes to 6 months of free DishHD. That is worth $20 more but I can't promise the $50 DIU rebate will still be available to offset the $150 upfront lease cost. The rebate form itself lists 14-Aug as the last day, but could be replaced with something similar??

If the old DVR doesn't have a DVR fee, it MIGHT not cost anything more to add the 622 than to replace the old DVR with the 622. It would depend on if there are any other receivers on the account, and if the CSR says you would have a $6/month lease fee if the 622 was the ONLY receiver on the account. If so, it would cost nothing extra to leave the current 508 (or whatever) receiver active.

[MattWarner]

Good enough. We are planning to do everything ourselves (Father / Son time you know). Sounds like converting to DP LNBs and the DP Plus switch might be the best way to go.

Thanks for all the help guys! It is appreciated.

-Matt

[Stewart Vernon]

Does he also live in NC?

I ask because Dish has only launched HD locals in two NC markets thus far (Charlotte and Raleigh, although Raleigh is missing CBS and FOX right now)... and those are on 118.7 which requires a completely different LNB/dish.

Maybe it will not matter for what you are doing... but I thought it worth mentioning.

[Bill R]

BillR-

Thanks for the info. If he decided to retire the legacy DVR and use only the VIP622, would that change anything?

Thanks again,

-Matt

Matt,

No, it wouldn't. All the legacy hardware works fine with the ViP receivers. In your case (doing the upgrades yourself) it is likely the cheapest way to go too. As the other posts say DISH will do the upgrade for you and it is likely that they would upgrade your system to DishPro LNBs and Switch(es).

[MattWarner]

Great info from everyone. Thanks for the help. I love dbstalk because everyone is willing to help!

Cheers

-Matt