csrmel Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 im thinking about switching from cable tv to the dish network. they include up to 4 recievers for free but i need 6. the extra 2 cost $160 each! im wondering if i can just buy a reciever from ebay for $50 and use that instead of buying the additional recievers from dish? Quote
gregbowler Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 I don't know if that will work. I think they bind the S/N of the box to the sim card Quote
bansheeseat$$ Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 I have dish also and they rent me the boxes for 5.00 bucks a month and if something gos wrong with them they send me another one.I know there are alot of different options on boxes out there.some of them run 2 tv's so in that case you would only need 3. Quote
Mullet Man Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 SIM cards can be changed AFAIK. you should be able too, since you own the Satellite boxes (usually), unlike Cable where they are rented. Satellite, any bad weather, skews broadcast. (excessive wind, clouds, rain, thunder/lightning, snow) its great when you are watching a movie and then all of a sudden, you lose signal right in the middle of it :: Quote
fox_forma Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 I cant say much about DISH, but I would go with Directv. Not sure how much they charge for the extra 2 rooms but you get up to 4 rooms free plus they normally will include a DVR or something along those lines. Plus Directv is about to have the largest selection of HD channels and the ON DEMAND feature will be released really soon. DO you have any pre exiting wires already ran in your place? If so get the 4 room install and ask for a 4x8 or 6x8 switch and run the other 2 lines yourself or pay the techs a few bucks and they will likely do it. Only reason I know this is because I am an installer for Directv :biggrin: . The only bitch with Directv is each line to a receiver has to be a straight shot from the dish itself or a multiswitch. As for Dish I believe they can split it but I'm not to sure how that works really. Quote
fox_forma Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 SIM cards can be changed AFAIK. you should be able too, since you own the Satellite boxes (usually), unlike Cable where they are rented. Satellite, any bad weather, skews broadcast. (excessive wind, clouds, rain, thunder/lightning, snow) its great when you are watching a movie and then all of a sudden, you lose signal right in the middle of it :: Thats mainly if the dish isnt tightened down properly. If its installed correctly only time you should loose any type of signal is if its raining so hard you can see a foot in front of you. then neither can the signal. You'd be surprised as some of the jobs I have been to where techs only tightened half the bolts down, didnt put grommets on the fittings, etc and any type of rain or wind signal is lost. Its all about the install, if its shit, then you will get shit for a signal during crappy weather. Quote
nomad Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 (edited) I assume the Dish is basically the same as DirecTV. I didn't like the receivers that DTV supplied, so I took their cheapo and put it on a rarely used TV and bought an upgrade. The better ones do make a difference with the picture quality and surfing options. Edited February 8, 2007 by nomad Quote
Mullet Man Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 true that. (i installed CATV for 2 yrs) every house i ever went to, to hook up CATV after satellite had been there, it looked like a 4yr old did it. RG6 and or 59 just run a muck all over the house, inside and out. junk fittings on connectors, junk splitters (Radio Shack brand, not Digimax or Regal), no rubbers or grease on the outside connections, no ground anywhere. most Satellite installers i have talked to were payed by the job (piece work sorta). in and out as fast as you can without any quality control. only thing good that i have seen from Satellite is pricing over CATV. which when the install is shitty causing shit reception doesnt amount too much savings. but other then that, its great :thumbsup: cloudy days affect signal also. Quote
bansheeseat$$ Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 Thats mainly if the dish isnt tightened down properly. If its installed correctly only time you should loose any type of signal is if its raining so hard you can see a foot in front of you. then neither can the signal. You'd be surprised as some of the jobs I have been to where techs only tightened half the bolts down, didnt put grommets on the fittings, etc and any type of rain or wind signal is lost. Its all about the install, if its shit, then you will get shit for a signal during crappy weather. Yeah.The only time I lose signal is when its got snow on it.I never have lost it with rain,wind or clouds. Quote
als660r Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 I have a tree I have to trim all the time because the installer put the dish in the wrong place Quote
fox_forma Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 I have a tree I have to trim all the time because the installer put the dish in the wrong place make them come relocate it. If its an installer error then thats a free service call. RG6 wire is perfectly fine, the 59 isnt to trusting as it easily breaks. It all about the install whether or not your shit is going to work right. Doesnt matter if its CATV, DISH, or Directv, i have had to redo full houses do to F'd up wiring from each side. I even hate to say that some people who work for my company have no damn clue what is going on, but thats how it is with that business cause nowadays anyone can get hired. And correct most techs get paid by the job, although when its a bad install and someone else has to come fix it, like me, I put it in as a re-install and that tech who originally did it gets docked the pay that was received when it was first done. WHoever you do decide to go with, make sure they layout the whole plan of the install first so you know what will be getting done. Quote
csrmel Posted February 8, 2007 Author Report Posted February 8, 2007 i wish they would let me install it myself. but my house is already wired for cable tv. what needs to be done to make it satellite ready? Quote
fox_forma Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 i wish they would let me install it myself. but my house is already wired for cable tv. what needs to be done to make it satellite ready? depending how your house is wired for cable it could be an easy task or a PITA. Is each room ran seperate to say outside, maybe to a box, splitter or something like that. Not in one room, split to another, then split to another? The main thing is majority of satellite hook ups need to have a direct feed from the dish or from a multi switch to each receiver. I believe DISH uses a special splitter but theirs is a little more complicated. The dish is also where you would most likely have an issue, you can set the signal on the basic dishes by the toner within the received. You turn the volume up loud on your TV with the test screen on and when you get a signal you can hear it. Myself and other techs use what is called a birdog, basically a satellite finder. In any case it would save you money to buy a package which includes the install, the dishes, switches, cables, fitting, receivers and everything else prob add up to a lot more than what it would cost to just have it installed through DISH or Directv. Then if you hooked something up wrong, you wouldn't know what to look at. I have seen techs take an hour to solve a problem when I knew what it was as soon as I read the work oder. Quote
Mullet Man Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 i wish they would let me install it myself. but my house is already wired for cable tv. what needs to be done to make it satellite ready? you need to get some extra cable and have it dangle off your roof, over your gutter. randomly looping it around a few times so it gets hung up on roof vents and your siding, this looks the best. then trim down all trees in yours and the neighbors yards and hope for Sahara like weather conditions :yelrotflmao: J/K. you dont need to do anything. CATV/Satellite can run off the same cables. but i wouldnt let the installer leave until you have looked over the job he/she did and made sure everything is working properly. Quote
STLBILL Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 (edited) I'll recommend Dish. I've been with them almost 6 years. :thumbsup: Ask any questions you have. Edited February 8, 2007 by STLBILL Quote
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