[jurrie]

Due to new TV acquisition (2nd HD set) and issues with my current 942 I'm at the point of wanting/needing to upgrade my equipment and programming. I'd appreciate any comments. thanks -- jurrie

Current setup:
- Dish 1000
- 942: 53" Pioneer HD RPTV (1080i) + master bedroom
- 322: living room + kids rooms

Current programming:
AT180+locals($55) + 3moviePkg($31) + HD package($10) + DVR($6) = $102

Reasons for change:
- 942 NBC OTA reboot issues
- 622 offers more HD signals (MPEG4),
including Dallas/Fort Worth locals (record multiple concurrent local HD programs!)
- would like DishHD service for new living room TV (42" Samsung DLP (720p))

New programming
HD Gold($70) + locals($5) + 3moviePkg($31) + DVR($6) = $112 (equiv to cur)
HD Platinum($100) + locals($5) = $105 (more and cheaper)

New programming only makes sense with the new MPEG4 receivers. I hear rumors of a 942->622 upgrade offer ($199, $100 rebate, 10-month $10 discount for HD metal package). Is this still available?

Upgrading the 322 to provide HD in the living room and also drive another set appears to be an issue. Getting a 211 for the living room and keeping the 322 may be the only option. Any other ideas? What does a 211 go for? Would I need a new Dish switch hardware to add another receiver? The current receivers claim 119-twin, 110-twin & 129-dual switches. I still have an old 6-4 switch around, but I'm sure that's useless with the "new" DPP equipment.

I do have an old 6000 available which could allow me to hold off getting a 211 for now, assuming it could be made to work with the current dish & switches.

 

[CABill]

You can save money ($2) now while you think about it if you convert to AEP + locals for $90 + $10 for HD Pak. HD Platinum is only $5 more than that. Since you ignored a $5 added receiver fee, I will too. If you do go to HD Platinum, I'd probably keep the 622 and 942 (instead of the 322). The 942 wouldn't get HD locals via sat or the MPEG4 additions, but it would get all the other HD channels and your (problematic) OTA channels. The monthly cost would be the same as the 622 and 322 but add DVR to rooms now served by the 322. You would be giving up the $100 trade in on the 942->622 offer which is still in effect. When it isn't (or you want more $), it would be worth more than $100 to people here / eBay. Very few people managed to lease their 942 but if you are one of those few, that rules some things out.

The $10/month for 10 months is a valid rebate for anybody new to DishHD - having the old HD Pak doesn't count against you.

Any dish, lnb, switch, labor, ... needed to install the 622 is included with the $199 but since you already have two dual tuners, nothing should be needed to swap one out (DFW HD locals are on 110).

If you must have the MPEG4 DFW locals on both receivers, you might want to try to do both at the same time (and not via regular CSR calls). If you do a DIU upgrade, you may be prevented from doing a 2nd one for 12 months. Owners of 942s did get special permission to bend some of the rules (no more than one 622, no more than 4 leased tuners, ...) and you should check when that 942->622 upgrade offer expires. I peeked - http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=59333 says both the $100 for a 942 and $10 * 10 are good through January.

If all the receivers on your account come from DIU Upgrades, you'll pay an extra $6/month for the lease of the 1st DIU receiver on the account. If it isn't the 1st, you'd be paying it anyway as an extra receiver.

 

[jurrie]

Thanks for the info.

My receiver(s) are leased. It was a new account when the 942 and 322 were installed. The bill shows Digital Home Advantage as well as the DISH Home Protection plan.

Does this preclude me from qualifying for the upgrade to the 622?

I would agree that a combined 942 & 622 installation would be best & easiest. My OTA works fine except for the NBC signal which the 942 has an issue with. The 942 is subject to STB reboots only on this channel. There's a separate thread for this issue.

 

[CABill]

Does this preclude me from qualifying for the upgrade to the 622?

Leasing the 942 wouldn't preclude a 622 upgrade, but it COULD keep you from getting $100 for returning a 942. I THOUGHT that $100 was for purchased 921/942s, but I'm not sure. If you do want to keep the 942 and send in the 322, I wouldn't expect problems at all. What I'd expect doesn't match real world quite a bit of the time though! They certainly have a 4 leased tuner limit so they'd want at least the 322 to be replaced. The sample size of leased 942s isn't very big since they didn't lease them to existing customers without special efforts. When you login to My Account, you can select Equipment Info and as far as I know, everybody qualifies to upgrade to one 622 @ $199 and get the $10/month for 10 months if you've never subscribed to a DishHD package previously. It would be worthwhile calling and asking about the 622 Upgrade. I'd be curious to know if the "one HD DVR lease per account" (which is a rule but not strictly enforced) considers a 942 to be an HD DVR. DISH often equates HD with ViP such as $6/month to lease an HD receiver, but a 942 is only $5.

Once you do a DISH'n It Up upgrade, you usually have to wait 12 months to do another one. Just be sure you won't want a ViP 211 as your 2nd receiver before the year is up before you do the 622 upgrade.

EDIT: changed one 622 @ $100 to read one 622 @ $199

 

[Tom-Tx]

I just did the same thing I think you are considering. My programming was the same as your current, but I had +$5 for Voom. I don't think there was a DVR fee since I was under the impression that is waived if you have the "everything pack". I also paid annually to get a 1 month credit, so that confuses the pricing issue a bit. I had a second DHTV in the bedroom that only got OTA HD plus all the SD from my existing 942 (I own this) placed in the den.

Just 2 days ago, I added a leased 622 placed in the den, moved the 942 to the bedroom, and upgraded to the HD Platinum pack. I qualify for the $100 credit since I'm considered a new HD (metals) subscriber. Also since I own the 942, I could have "sold" it back to E* for another $100 credit, but since I wasn't born yesterday and I wanted a second HD receiver I just kept it.

Remember that leasing the 622 and getting the upgrade credit means you are committing to an 18 month contract. Also note that E* does not offer an annual payment option on any of the new HD (metals) packages, thus in my case I end up paying for an extra month of service.

Don't know if this helps or not, but your situation sounded just like what I went through.

 

[Bob Ketcham]

If you can keep the 942 and get a VIP 622, I doubt you'll regret any extra $ paid in lost rebates, etc. You should be able to keep searching or escalating until you find a CSR that can do it. For the first CSR I reached, it wasn't any big deal.

Last summer, I arranged to keep my leased 942 DVR. To add a VIP 622, I upgraded the SD 311 and HD 811 receivers that had been installed as part of my initial 2 HD, 2 SD installation six months earlier.

After a little rewiring, either second set can show either DVR (one on CH 63, one on CH 65). Each second set has two remotes (a little difficult to swing), one for the 942 and the other for the 622.

The two DVRs make for a great, flexible setup that more than makes up for the few channels the 942 can't receive.

With HD platinum, both DVR fees were waived. And, in my case, I reduced the number of receivers, so one extra receiver fee went away.

 

[CABill]

After a little rewiring, either second set can show either DVR (one on CH 63, one on CH 65). Each second set has two remotes (a little difficult to swing), one for the 942 and the other for the 622.

Multiple remotes is a lot more convenient (heck, I've got one on my side of the bed and a 2nd on the wife's side), but I'd think a single UHF Pro could alternate between the 942 and 622 if you push and hold Sat, then a 2 or 4 (whatever remote address they use), and a # to switch between the receiver's TV2 outputs. At least for remote rooms that don't switch back and forth a lot.