[gsusser]

I'm not trying to be facetious. I'm moving and I need to make some decisions. I don't really keep up to date with what's going on with new Dish developments, mostly because I've known that I was gonna be moving. So please excuse my retarded questions.

I pay $128 a month for dish. I have 2 receivers - 721 and 500 something, the one that records one show. Plus I have the premium package plus a porno channel. Plus insurance I think. If I stayed with Dish and got 1HD DVR (the one that records 2 stations) and kept everything else pretty much the same, it would cost $148 a month. Subtract $20 a month for 10 months which is all I could chisel them down to. Add $200 for installation of the receiver [!!]

Compare that to HD digital cable with a similar package and it's about the same amount. EXCEPT, that also includes internet and VoIP. I don't care about the VoIP, but the internet is worth about $40 a month at least. No installation charge.

And let's face it. Satellite installation is messy and a hassle.

I'm a 10 year Dish customer and am generally a loyal person, but staying with dish makes no sense to me. They didn't do much to try to persuade me to stay except offer a $10 a month discount for 10 months in addition to the $10 a month discount they're offering to everyone.

Am I overlooking something? [Btw, FIOS won't be available for probably a year in my area.]

[Is there a market for my receivers?]

 

[Richard King]

Forget the installation cost at the new place by using the "DishMover" program. You leave your dish at your old house, bring all the boxes and arrange with Dish to do a new installation (free, I think). I assume this program is still around. It may require a new contract of 12 months or so if it hasn't changed since I last looked at it.
http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/customerCare/moving/index.shtml

 

[mplsjeffm]

You can sell the boxes on ebay.

what is this about a $10.00 discount?

 

[boba]

If you really like DISH stay with them and do a "movers". It sounds like you really aren't crazy about DISH and you have a good offer from cable. I would say go with cable after 6 months away from DISH you can become a "returning customer "and pretty much be treated like a new customer.

 

[gsusser]

As far as the $200 installation, they told me that's because I wanted to upgrade receivers to HD. Otherwise there would be no charge.

I'm perfectly happy with Dish. But the deal from the cable company is so much better for similar service. And since they're digital, I have to think the quality is similar. A little bit better or worse makes no difference to me. So I guess I'll part ways with Dish. The one thing I'll miss is their customer service. I know people diss it here and sometimes it's not as good as it should be, but cable is like dealing with the phone company.

 

[gsusser]

You can sell the boxes on ebay.

what is this about a $10.00 discount?

It seems they're having a promotion. I don't know how you qualify, but they offered it to me without my asking. When I asked them to waive the installation, they said no, but offered another $10 discount. Both discounts would have been good for 10 months or a total of $100 each discount.

 

[lakebum431]

How many HD channels does your cable company have?

 

[gsusser]

Something like 30.

On a related note, it used to be that you needed a local antenna for the local HD stations. The cable company said they carried all the local channels on HD. It's something I'll need to clarify, perhaps I misunderstood. What is the situation with Dish and local HD stations?

 

[lakebum431]

I seriously doubt your cable co has 30 HD channels. You might want to claify that. Dish only has certain local markets in HD at this time. Where are you located?

 

[harsh]

Something like 30.

This is pretty extraordinary for cable or fiber (unless they are counting locals).

On a related note, it used to be that you needed a local antenna for the local HD stations.

This depends on where you're moving to. Dish carries ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in HD in some areas. You may be able to get more channels with better quality using a conventional TV antenna.

The cable company said they carried all the local channels on HD.

If they aren't fibbing, it sounds like your cable company is keeping up.

I recommend what I did when I chose a provider: compare the pricing on the lineup that you want for the number of TVs that you want covered. There were some compromises and a couple of channels that one or the other didn't offer. You need to keep in mind that there isn't much left on cable that you don't need a digital box to get. Most premium channels, Pay Per View/Video On Demand and all adult programming requires a digital box.

Cable companies rent their boxes, so the monthly prices can be surprisingly high. CableCard may or may not be an option for you through the cable provider.

Finally, make sure the price that you've been quoted from cable is not a promotional price if you're planning to stay for the long haul.

 

[kikkenit2]

The $200 fee on an HD receiver/dvr (VIP622) is a lease fee not an installation fee. Everybody pays that @E* or D*. It was $300 not too long ago. And a 2 year contract. Just a HD receiver may be free. All the dvr's now record 2 channels at once, even ota.

A dvr box with cable is free but slightly more per month. I doubt your old boxes sold on ebay are worth much. Cable/internet/phone packages are getting hard to beat. But you will probably be on hold forever. What cable company? Directv is competitive for new customers if you don't miss voom. Who does? Their HD dvr is unreliable for who knows how long.

 

[harsh]

The $200 fee on an HD receiver/dvr (VIP622) is a lease fee not an installation fee. Everybody pays that @E* or D*. It was $300 not too long ago. And a 2 year contract.

The D* lease entry fee is still $300 and their commitment is 2 years. The advantage to D* is that the OP would qualify as a new subscriber with all of the attendant benefits. The disadvantages are limited HD offerings and the disappointing HR20 receiver.

Dish Network's commitment is 18 months.

 

[bderouen]

It seems they're having a promotion. I don't know how you qualify, but they offered it to me without my asking. When I asked them to waive the installation, they said no, but offered another $10 discount. Both discounts would have been good for 10 months or a total of $100 each discount.

Actually, if you're upgrading to HD, you would get an additional $10, for a total of $20 a month for 10 months, making the $200 free. So it seems they offered you a new customer's discount.

If you're not that concerned iwth difference in picture quality, then I'd say go with Cable. But after switching FROM cable about 2 years ago, and digital/HD too, and saw the difference satellite makes, all I can say is God deliver me from ever going back to cable!! Most people agree, there's just no comparison!

 

[kikkenit2]

The D* lease entry fee is still $300 and their commitment is 2 years. The advantage to D* is that the OP would qualify as a new subscriber with all of the attendant benefits. The disadvantages are limited HD offerings and the disappointing HR20 receiver.

Dish Network's commitment is 18 months.

Thanks for the correction. D* currently has a $100 rebate on the HR20 for new clients. It also is in stock at Costco for $270 for a net investment of $170. Tech support promised me 2 days ago $100 instant credit if I get another one. E* has lowered their price etc. My stated costs were from last year when I acquired mine.

Some cable systems have decent video quality except on their analog stations. TW here in LA isn't bad. I went with E* for Voom (so so) and D* for NFLST/SF (expensive but kick ass content for sports fans). Again I think access to locals in HD is critical for most.

 

[gsusser]

I was wrong about the 30 HD channels... it's 19. The amount of other channels offered is less but they have all the ones I care about. I'm staying in Jersey City.

I assume once FIOS becomes available I'll go with that, which probably won't be for a year. The promo is good for 1 or 2 years depending on the option I choose.

Another important factor in my decision has nothing to do with TV. I've had endless problems with a broadband connection. I presently pay $63 a month for DSL with speakeasy. It's a ridiculous amount but at least I get a reliable connection and good customer service. I had nothing but problems with Verizon so I dropped them - twice. And when I moved in here 10 years ago, the cable company claimed they couldn't offer me service unless I fixed the wiring in my condo and in the building. Their service was even worse then. The previous occupant had cable so go figure. That's how I ended up going with satellite.

But I digress. If I stayed with Dish, I'd have to pay another $40 or $50 or $60 to get DSL or cable internet. And Dish's lease fee for the DVR is $6/mo. I'd rather pay that than $200 upfront.

And lastly, I'm moving into a new rental with all the cable wiring in place. Satellite would be more of a hassle to install and I'd have to deal with the bldg. owner. The installers really butchered my condo when they originally installed satellite.

 

[cornflakes]

"Digital cable" usually (from what I've seen in my friends' and relatives' cable systems) has a lot of channels (channels 2 through 80 or so) that are sent over in analog. The digital channels start at 100+. And the analog channels are usually terrible... sometimes you see ghosting, a little bit of noise/static, and not a very crisp picture. Analog channels include the local SD stations, plus basic cable channels (Food Network, MTV, Spike, etc).

Watching cable's analog channels drive me nuts. My mother-in-law keeps saying how beautiful her picture is, but :nono:

I don't think I would get cable until they're pure digitial. But from what I understand cable companies don't want to do that because they want to be able to offer (limited analog) programming to secondary TVs in the house without converter boxes, which gives them an advantage over satellite.

 

[killzone]

Which cable co covers JC? If it's cablevision, you can get your internet connection from them for $45 a month if you get tv service from them, $49 without and it's 15MBps downstream 2MBps upstream. They also give you all the HD channels for FREE as long as you subscribe to digital cable. They also have ALL the locals in HD. I'm pretty sure you can get all the channels in digital. The only drawback is their DVR sucks big time - but you could get a Tivo Series 3 and avoid that problem.

As a new customer, I believe you can get Internet and TV (Base package) each for $29.95 a month for a year. If you want their phone service, thats also $29.95 a month for the first year.

 

[Paul Secic]

As far as the $200 installation, they told me that's because I wanted to upgrade receivers to HD. Otherwise there would be no charge.

I'm perfectly happy with Dish. But the deal from the cable company is so much better for similar service. And since they're digital, I have to think the quality is similar. A little bit better or worse makes no difference to me. So I guess I'll part ways with Dish. The one thing I'll miss is their customer service. I know people diss it here and sometimes it's not as good as it should be, but cable is like dealing with the phone company.

If Comcast is your new co. you rent digital boxes for $10 each.

 

[harsh]

I assume once FIOS becomes available I'll go with that, which probably won't be for a year. The promo is good for 1 or 2 years depending on the option I choose.

If you're looking for HD to tide you over for a year, cable is probably the better option. The Dish Network receivers would work fine with the existing wiring assuming that it is centrally homed.

I had nothing but problems with Verizon so I dropped them - twice.

Yet you can't wait to go back and try their fledgling FIOS service?

 

[gsusser]

Comcast services JC. The fees are $11.95 to rent the DVR and $7.95 for the box. My calculation for the monthly fee is correct.

I never said I can't wait to go to FIOS. I think it has great possibilities but I'm well aware of the problems inherent in a startup system. Verizon is a weird company. They have (arguably) the best wireless service around, at least in these parts, and have incredibly poor service for DSL. FIOS is a whole new division and it remains to be seen how their service will be. My gut sez that they're making a huge investment in this and they have a lot on the line and that they're not going to ignore the service aspect.

I should also emphasize that cost is not the sole reason for my decision though it is the main reason. Installation is the second reason.

I'm probably not as concerned as most of you with quality of reception. After all, I've held out on getting HD this long and the only reason I'm getting it now is because I'm moving and it makes sense.

Having said all this, my mind is not definitely made up, though I'm 95% certain. That's why I posted here... to see if I was overlooking something. Some good points were brought up that I hadn't considered and I thank everyone for that.