Second Antenna for HD Locals
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Are the HD locals currently available/turned on in your area, and do you already have MPEG4 HD receivers?Antknee said:
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I was in the same position. They are the one who gave me the new SuperDish so I could get everything I subscribed to on one dish. Then they told me that I'd have to pay $99 to get a new one to get channels that I should be getting already. After 2 minute tirade to a poor CSR mentioning their choice of my dish and their satellites, his manager gave me the install for free... Don't take the $99 as their final response.
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IF you don't need to change switches, and if you're handy with tools, you could get another dish and LNB from eBay, then install it yourself.
The thing I find ridiculous is the installers cannot hook up a second wing dish to a Dish 1000.2 until after HD locals service is turned on in the area. IMHO, that's just counterproductive.
I upgraded to the DishHD Absolute package in May. I already knew the HD locals for the Wichita Falls, TX - Lawton, OK market would get beamed from 61.5° sometime this year (I thought they would be active already, but are still only uplinked).
When the installer was swapping my 9-year old Dish 500 dish with a new 1000.2, I asked if he could add the 2nd dish to make my setup ready for those HD locals on day 1 when they're turned on and so he wouldn't have to waste time making a return trip. No dice. It's against company policy.
Whenever those HD locals are brought into service, I'll probably be stuck on a list waiting behind hundreds or even thousands of other customers for an installer to arrive and add the second dish. There's a lot of Dish Network customers in this TV market, especially since the cable companies north of the Red River stink and DirecTV doesn't even carry the local channels in this market at all (not SD or HD). I'm concerned the process of getting that second dish could take a number of weeks or even a month or two.
I upgraded to the DishHD Absolute package in May. I already knew the HD locals for the Wichita Falls, TX - Lawton, OK market would get beamed from 61.5° sometime this year (I thought they would be active already, but are still only uplinked).
When the installer was swapping my 9-year old Dish 500 dish with a new 1000.2, I asked if he could add the 2nd dish to make my setup ready for those HD locals on day 1 when they're turned on and so he wouldn't have to waste time making a return trip. No dice. It's against company policy.
Whenever those HD locals are brought into service, I'll probably be stuck on a list waiting behind hundreds or even thousands of other customers for an installer to arrive and add the second dish. There's a lot of Dish Network customers in this TV market, especially since the cable companies north of the Red River stink and DirecTV doesn't even carry the local channels in this market at all (not SD or HD). I'm concerned the process of getting that second dish could take a number of weeks or even a month or two.
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Depends on what is involved... If all you need is another Dish (no extra switches or anything) then maybe you could do it cheaper yourself... but it would be a close deal since you'd probably have to spend $50 to get the dish itself.
If, like I did, you need a switch like a DPP44 or something then it is WAY cheaper to pay for the upgrade than to try and do it yourself.
You also have to apply some value to the labor and "trip charge" for having someone else coming out... so there is value there to consider.
I had to pay around $65 to add one for my configuration, but made out way good with the "free" switch and all that was required... plus I like the local guy who does the work and I know it will be rock-solid when he is done.
If, like I did, you need a switch like a DPP44 or something then it is WAY cheaper to pay for the upgrade than to try and do it yourself.
You also have to apply some value to the labor and "trip charge" for having someone else coming out... so there is value there to consider.
I had to pay around $65 to add one for my configuration, but made out way good with the "free" switch and all that was required... plus I like the local guy who does the work and I know it will be rock-solid when he is done.
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Here's the problem with that... Way way back Dish was swearing to customers and to installers that Raleigh, NC HD locals would be put on the 129 location. They even repointed me to 129 during an upgrade... BUT I knew they were already uplinked on 118.7 and just hadn't gone live.Bobby H said:
Now a little over a year later Raleigh is also on 61.5... so while I agree with you in principle that they should be able to advance-install dishes to save return visits... more times than not there has been mixed information and the installers would end up having to come out again later anyway because Dish wouldn't pay them to do the work before it was set.
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