# Anyone have Dish Network?



## fredtgreco (Jul 1, 2006)

I'm looking into getting a basic type Dish Network package for when we move. Some channels for the kids, news, etc.

Cable wants $45/mo for anything other than the local 8-10 channels, and wants like $50-75 for "installing" (read: flip a switch). So I have no intention of doing that.

I'm wondering what experiences anyone has had with Dish Network, or if anyone knows of deals/coupons, etc.

Thanks.


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## Devin (Jul 1, 2006)

I have it here at my house. I'm not sure about deals or coupons, but I can say that I am pleased with the service. We've had Hughes Network before, and there really is no comparison to me.


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## ReformedWretch (Jul 2, 2006)

I have direct tv and really enjoy it.


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## beej6 (Jul 2, 2006)

Does Dish network carry the NRB channel? It's on DirecTV, and it's the only channel as far as I know that has RC Sproul's TV program.


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## Scott Bushey (Jul 2, 2006)

I have Dish. Have been a customer for 4 years. Outages are essentially nonexistant. Customer service used to be better, but they have grown so much that the typical has happened. Dish has a hand up on Direct in that when the largest HD satelite company VOOM bailed, dish picked up all their HD satelites. So, if you're looking for more HD channels, Dish is the answer. Price wise, they are very close; I just recently checked.

[Edited on 7-2-2006 by Scott Bushey]


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## fredtgreco (Jul 2, 2006)

Unless I am missing something, the cheapest Direct TV is $45/mo, with Dish it is $29.


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## Richard King (Jul 2, 2006)

The phone company down here used to be SBC and now it is AT&T but if it is the same in Katy...they are supposed to have a really good bundling deal where you can get Direct TV, home phone and Cingular mobile phone all at a cheaper price and all billed through them and supposedly better than you could get it individually. Check their website for bundle deal.


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## Scott Bushey (Jul 2, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Richard King_
> The phone company down here used to be SBC and now it is AT&T but if it is the same in Katy...they are supposed to have a really good bundling deal where you can get Direct TV, home phone and Cingular mobile phone all at a cheaper price and all billed through them and supposedly better than you could get it individually. Check their website for bundle deal.



Richard,
We have the same thing here w/ bellsouth; you save an add'l 10.00 per month if you have the bundle. It just depends upon how you go. The package I have, it came out to be the same. Throw into that the dish exchanges and cost of converters etc/out of pocket, I passed and stayed w/ Dish.

Fred,
This may be true about the min package. How do the out of pocket costs compare?

[Edited on 7-2-2006 by Scott Bushey]


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## fredtgreco (Jul 2, 2006)

Scott,

Out of pocket appears to be the same.

I don't have local phone service; I use Vonage w/ earthlink.


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## Scott Bushey (Jul 2, 2006)

years ago, I was in the CableTV industry as a diagnositcs technician. Let me just say, in 5 years, Cable tv will be gone. It is a dead animal w/ all it's underground plant and coroding trunk lines, not mentioning the default weaknesses in the installations. In other words, the chance for error between the Cable TV head end/Cable TV company and your television, based upon construction, connectors, install errors and weak tech support, the chance for frequency degredation is about 110%. Comparing this with a satelite system, it is like you own your own cable company. The dish and converter are your head end. the connections/tv's in your home are the homes/subscribers. It's essentially brainless in this regard. 

BYE BYE cable TV!

[Edited on 7-2-2006 by Scott Bushey]


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## ReformedWretch (Jul 2, 2006)

Thing is though, cable internet is about the best choice out there for high speed. Satalite and DSL are much slower.

[Edited on 7-2-2006 by houseparent]


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## Scott Bushey (Jul 2, 2006)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> Thing is though, cable internet is about the best choice out there for high speed. Satalite and DSL are much slower.
> 
> [Edited on 7-2-2006 by houseparent]



Adam,
Think about it this way, there is nothing that a cable can accomplish that a satelite can't; or a phone line. The speed is essentially the same; plus a lot of things will determine the final result in cable scenario's, i.e. time, how close you are to the head end, number of people online. 

Whatever the case, Cable is a dead dog w/ fleas. It is just a matter of time before the injection is given to put it out of it's misery.

Speed test by CNET:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6536_7-726601-4.html?tag=st.mig.3762-8-20697067-1.txt.3762-8-20697067-4

[Edited on 7-2-2006 by Scott Bushey]


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## fredtgreco (Jul 2, 2006)

Cable is also hurting because of their price point. I have a choice (in a MAJOR market - Houston) of either paying $15/mo for basically nothing (reception only, it is like 8 channels) or $45. But I also would have to pay $7/mo for the "equipment" which is the box. Not a DVR, not actual equipment, just the cable box. That is like $90/year in fees!!

Also, I would have to pay $30 for "installation" even though the house is fully wired and fully functional right now with the current owners. But that is $30 for ONE ROOM. If I want other rooms, that is $20 more per room. So for the cable company to flip their own switch, I would have to pay $70 for three rooms.

Cable internet is $49 WITH the installation charge if I get it through Time Warner. If I order through Earthlink (which I did), installation is free, and it is $30/mo for 6 months and $40/mo aftre that. Same cable modem, same speed, etc.

The only thing that keeps cable companies in business is the lack of fiber optic cables in the country. In the NE, you can get Verizon FIOS for like 1/2 the price and 10x the speed. Yep.


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## ReformedWretch (Jul 2, 2006)

Our area is getting Fiber Optics very soon!


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## fredtgreco (Jul 2, 2006)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> Our area is getting Fiber Optics very soon!



You ought to get on a waiting list. I have a friend who is on it. It is seriously like 8MB down/ 4MB up with almost no interference or downtime.


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## Scott Bushey (Jul 2, 2006)

A lot of the phone companies are now Fiber Optic. I have my DSL with Bellsouth. No company is 100% F.O. In fact, they all use each others equipment. Fiber Optics is as well, old school. F.O. was around when I was in the cable industry. You still either have to sink it in the ground or hang it on a pole. 

http://www.lanshack.com/fiber-optic-tutorial-basics.aspx

When one compares even fiber optics to satelite; it again boils down to cutting out all the connectors, amplifiers, power supplies, splitters etc. etc. etc. With all of these things, comes predisposition for integity problems. You have no idea what just one loose connector can do to the whole cable system. 

http://www.hip-home.com/satellite/s...tions-satellite-cable-digital-or-antenna.html

What satelite systems like Dish or Direct are doing is minimizing the challenge to system integrity down to one home at a time. 








There is not miles and miles of reamplification, connectors, rusted out connections etc. never mind the chance for outages from electrical storms, homeowners planting things and cutting cables, companies digging; it's a nightmare. You will never escape this fact. 







If it's not sat, it's amplified signal. If it's amplified signal, it is naturally degraded. Would my home DISH system benefit from F.O. cabling to all my converters? Absolutely. But if I string it from my dish down to Miami and throw 3000 connectors, amps, etc. into the picture, what you end up with is fuzzy, distorted pictures. 

I hate cable TV. Dress it any way you want. it's still silly when compared to a sat system.



[Edited on 7-3-2006 by Scott Bushey]


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