[mrbo]

I've been leasing the 811 receiver for a while now, and have the old HD package, but I've been thinking about upgrading to the 211 and the new MPEG4 based HD package, so I thought I'd ask a couple of questions of you folks who already have these. First of all, does the 211 output anamorphic 16:9 video on its S-Video NTSC output? I currently have a DVD recorder connected to my 811's S-Video port, but I can only set the 811 to either zoom or a letterbox format, both of which suck for recording HD programming onto DVD, and I'm hoping that the 211 rectifies this, by outputting proper 480i anamorphic video like a standard DVD player would.

The other thing I'm wondering about is whether I will need to upgrade my reception hardware. I have 2 dishes on my roof right now, one pointing at 110&119, and the other pointing at 129. Would I be able to just swing the 129 around at 65 degree orbital location and be done with it, or do I need to upgrade to the SuperDish? Does Dish Network still offer some sort of free upgrade with a commitment?

 

[Mikey]

I can't answer your question about the s-video output on the 211. But, it looks to me like you have all the infrastructure that you need for all E* HD, without changing your dish alignment. Assuming that you're in the Dallas DMA, you'll get the Dallas local digitals from the 129 satellite, and all the national HD is on both 129 and 61.5.

The E* dish'n-it-up program is still there. $49 for the 211 with an 18 month committment, includes any installation and equipment required. Or, $199 for the 622, same deal. Both are lease, not purchase deals.

 

[BobaBird]

Would I be able to just swing the 129 around at 65 degree orbital location and be done with it, or do I need to upgrade to the SuperDish?

SuperDISH is not for HDTV, it is for 110 and 119 with either the 105 or 121 FSS slot. Your current 2 dishes at 110/119 and 129 are the equivalent of a Dish 1000 and, as Mikey said, do not need to be changed unless you want a single dish.