# New To DISH/HD



## ambiHD (Feb 3, 2006)

Hi! I signed up with Dish Network on Thursday! I ordered the DishHD Silver. I am nervous about the instillation process, because of some horror stories I heard. I am also nervous that the guy won't have the right equipment, since the mpg-4/H264 tuner just came out on Thursday ( I assume I should get the VIP211 for my main TV). So I am hoping someone here can calm my nerves. Also, when I spoke to Dish, they informed me I needed a second dish, which they charged me a $100 fee for. So for instillation, my tuner, and 2 dishes they charged me $200. They also informed me I would not get local channels in HD. My questions are why do I need two Dishes? Why can't I get local channels in HD (I am in the Florida Keys)? What are the name of the Dishes I should receive (Dish-1000? 500?)? What questions should I ask the installer? Any help you guys can provide would be great.


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## Ken Green (Oct 6, 2005)

ambiHD said:


> Hi! I signed up with Dish Network on Thursday! I ordered the DishHD Silver. I am nervous about the instillation process, because of some horror stories I heard. I am also nervous that the guy won't have the right equipment, since the mpg-4/H264 tuner just came out on Thursday ( I assume I should get the VIP211 for my main TV). So I am hoping someone here can calm my nerves. Also, when I spoke to Dish, they informed me I needed a second dish, which they charged me a $100 fee for. So for instillation, my tuner, and 2 dishes they charged me $200. They also informed me I would not get local channels in HD. My questions are why do I need two Dishes? Why can't I get local channels in HD (I am in the Florida Keys)? What are the name of the Dishes I should receive (Dish-1000? 500?)? What questions should I ask the installer? Any help you guys can provide would be great.


Ambi,

The two new MPEG4 receivers are the VIP211 and the VIP622. Not sure what the "H264" you're referring to is. "H264" sounds more like a Directv receiver number, so perhaps you spoke to them also and just have the receiver numbers confused.
If you will only be running one TV, it sounds as though you are getting one standard HD receiver, which would be the VIP211. If you will be running two TV's, you may have ordered a VIP622, which is a HD DVR duel TV receiver. The second TV would be in SD only.

The Dish1000 antenna and installation is included in the cost of the both receivers, the VIP211 and VIP622, which is capable of receiving 3 satellites. Not sure about your particular geographical area, but the 3 satellites are usually 110, 119, and 129. Most of Dish's standard channels are on 110 & 119, and their HD's and new MPEG4 HD's are on 129, which is why you would need these three satellites.

It sounds as though perhaps your SD locals are a fourth satellite, maybe 61.5, 148, etc., which may be the reason for the second dish, a Dish300 pointed at a fourth satellite so you can receive your locals.

The HD locals are not available in most areas of the country. Presently only New York and Los Angeles have been uplinked. This is why you will not be receiving your local HD's right away.

In the meanwhile, if you have an off-air antenna, and are within range of receiving the terrestrial digital transmission of your local DT signals, both the VIP211 and VIP622 receiver you're getting has an ATSC HD off-air tuner. You could connect your off-air antenna to your new Dish reciever, and receive your local DT's now, until Dish uplinks them on to a satellite. Dish is adding the local DT's pretty much based on market population, so the FL Keys should be sometime around 2025. Just kidding, most likely sometime in later this year, or sometime in 2007.


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## BoisePaul (Apr 26, 2005)

*ambiHD* - Unless you ordered a DVR, expect either a ViP211 or model 411 receiver (functionally identical for now). The reason that you need two dishes is that you live outside the footprint of Echostar 5 at 129, so a second dish will be installed for the 61.5 orbital location as it carries all of the HD found at 129. A Dish 1000 would not work for you. I'm not sure why they charged you extra, but then again I'm not familar with the new sub promos. You'll get a Dish 500 as your Miami locals will come from 119. You'll also get a second Dish 500 for a bunch of HD channels on 61.5. This is a good thing as Miami's CBS affiliate is owned and operated by CBS themselves, makeing you eligible for the CBS HD feed from NYC which is found only on 61.5. If it doesn't show up, make sure you call about it.

*kdg454* - H.264 refers to the particular "flavor" of MPEG4 that E* is using. It's not a receiver model number.


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## ambiHD (Feb 3, 2006)

Thank you kdg454,

H264 is the video codec for HD, its part of MPEG-4. I know this much because I edit HD video. I just don't know anything about how satellite television works. I have two TVs but my other TV is a junk 19" so Dish is giving me a a non-HD DVR for that TV. 
They told me I needed the second dish to receive the HD channels period. The CSR had me under the impression that one would be for SD and one for HD. So I assume one should be pointed at 129 degrees (HD)? And one at 110 or 119 degrees? When the locals do come to our area will I have to get the third dish or will they show up on one of the ones I have? Will Dish notify me when new HD channels arrive and will we have to pay for each new one they add? Is it legal for me to just buy a off-air antenna and hook it into the VIP211? How invasive is the instillation that DISH will be doing? Once again I thank you for your help! I hope on Monday when they hook this stuff up, all will be well. 
Also this is a off the wall question but... I have a 32" Philips with Ambilight and Pixel Plus 2 (Pixel Plus is amazing!) some people said I won't notice a huge difference in SD and HD, and especially progressive DVD 480 and HD on a TV that small with Pixel Plus, is this true? And Is there a huge difference in the picture with HDMI vs component cables. I only have a HDMI to DVI and a extra set of components should I put out another $50 for HDMI to HDMI?



kdg454 said:


> Ambi,
> 
> The two new MPEG4 receivers are the VIP211 and the VIP622. Not sure what the "H264" you're referring to is. "H264" sounds more like a Directv receiver number, so perhaps you spoke to them also and just have the receiver numbers confused.
> If you will only be running one TV, it sounds as though you are getting one standard HD receiver, which would be the VIP211. If you will be running two TV's, you may have ordered a VIP622, which is a HD DVR duel TV receiver. The second TV would be in SD only.
> ...


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## ambiHD (Feb 3, 2006)

Also my TV is 1366X768, even though it claims to be HD. When I plug in the Sony FX1 camcorder (1080i) it looks pretty awesome, but how much of a drawback will 1366x768 be for a TRUE HD experience?


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## Ken Green (Oct 6, 2005)

ambiHD said:


> Thank you kdg454,
> 
> H264 is the video codec for HD, its part of MPEG-4. I know this much because I edit HD video. I just don't know anything about how satellite television works. I have two TVs but my other TV is a junk 19" so Dish is giving me a a non-HD DVR for that TV.
> They told me I needed the second dish to receive the HD channels period. The CSR had me under the impression that one would be for SD and one for HD. So I assume one should be pointed at 129 degrees (HD)? And one at 110 or 119 degrees? When the locals do come to our area will I have to get the third dish or will they show up on one of the ones I have? Will Dish notify me when new HD channels arrive and will we have to pay for each new one they add? Is it legal for me to just buy a off-air antenna and hook it into the VIP211? How invasive is the instillation that DISH will be doing? Once again I thank you for your help! I hope on Monday when they hook this stuff up, all will be well.
> Also this is a off the wall question but... I have a 32" Philips with Ambilight and Pixel Plus 2 (Pixel Plus is amazing!) some people said I won't notice a huge difference in SD and HD, and especially progressive DVD 480 and HD on a TV that small with Pixel Plus, is this true? And Is there a huge difference in the picture with HDMI vs component cables. I only have a HDMI to DVI and a extra set of components should I put out another $50 for HDMI to HDMI?


Ambi,
Paul did a much better job of answering your satellite reception questions than I, and I believe he covered them all.

As for connecting an off-air antenna to your 211, yes it is legal, as it is the sole reason Dish provides the connection and additional off-air tuner in the 211.

Dish has said, once the DT locals become available they will just "show up" in your EPG, and if you already sub to SD locals, the DT locals will be provided at no additional charge. The will just become part of the locals package.
Once the DT locals come to your area, I think it would be unlikely you will need an additional dish, though that would depend on which satellite your DT locals end up on, and, of course, which satellites your dish(s) are pointed at.

If they install a Dish1000, it can receive 3 satellites, a Dish500, 2 and a Dish300, 1. You should ask your installer which dish(s) he/she's installing and which satellites you will be receiving.

*HERE* is a link that shows which Dish channels are on which satellite.

With regard to the installation, you're looking at 2 dish around 18" in diameter each. The related cabling should be fairly well hidden, with the exception of the feed(s) coming down for the dish(s). Much depends on your installer, and the configuration of your location.

With regard to your Phillips TV, IMO I categorically disagree you won't see an appreciable difference between SD and HD. Anything I've ever read, and anyone I've ever talked to, no one has ever said they notice much difference between HDMI/DVI and Component. I have HDMI/DVI and Component on my Sony RPTV's, and I use component. I've suggest you check out the component, and then if you feel the PQ should be better, invest in the HDMI cable, though I'd sooner opt for a good ISF calibration for your panel.

The 211 has a 1080i output.

Good luck with your install.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

kdg454 said:


> *HERE* is a link that shows which Dish channels are on which satellite.


*This* would be a better link ... not just the channels on 110 but the whole chart. HD is 9420-9486 with local HD in the 6300 series.


> With regard to your Phillips TV, IMO I categorically disagree you won't see an appreciable difference between SD and HD.


My 32" Philips (one L) Widescreen Tube TV does do an excellent job with SD ... even the stuff that E* calls "SD". It gets a little blotchy but not too bad to watch if I stretch a letterbox SD program to widescreen (but then it should).

Obviously the HD display is much better - but in a world with a lot of SD still in it, it is good to have a set that doesn't just turn SD into garbage.


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## Rogueone (Jan 29, 2004)

Ambi, you need to call Dish back about the extra $99 charge. You likely can't see 129 which is why they said 2 dishes, so you'll get a 500 for 110/119 and a 300 or 500 for 61.5. Those are both included. It's part of the package, here's a summary of the deal

SD to HD Upgrade Offers
Lease ViP211 HD Receiver (from ANY receiver)
Lease Upgrade Fee: $49
Professional Install: $49 (everything needed)
Total Upgrade Price: $98

so $98 is all you should be paying, how many dishes it takes to get you up and running isn't your concern, you do not have to pay for the extra as long as you are taking advantage of the lease deal. these HD deals don't matter if you are an existing or new customer either. If you are buying the 211 outright, then the charge for the extra dish sorta makes sense.


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## bear paws (Jan 11, 2006)

Ambihd; rogueone is correct if I read the ads right.
The invasion isn't too bad just hide your first born 
A good installer or keep a eye on him will try to make the runs pretty clean. 
After the cable guy, Early 80s, drilled two holes in the front my house 3ft off the ground under my picture window and ran black coax while my wife watched helplessly. I stand by ready now with any installer if he picks up a drill. I really don't care if he gets upset, I'm the one paying and living here.

No vp211/622 yet but my 811[211predecessor] had poor PQ on DVI even after 2 swap outs. Went to Component and its good. Not as great as OTA but good. Hold off on HDMI and get one on the web and you don't need a expensive 'Monster' one either.

Luck Bear!


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

bear paws said:


> my 811[211predecessor] had poor PQ on DVI even after 2 swap outs. Went to Component and its good. Not as great as OTA but good. Hold off on HDMI and get one on the web and you don't need a expensive 'Monster' one either.


Sounds like there is something wrong with your DVI input on your display. Have you tested it with other equipment?


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## bear paws (Jan 11, 2006)

harsh said:


> Sounds like there is something wrong with your DVI input on your display. Have you tested it with other equipment?


Yes. calibrator. Good $$$ well spent.  Also hooked up my old VOOM [sigh] MOTO DVI for OTA and worked great. AS good as my built-in tuner with the PIP test. 
Intresting thing about the HDMI input on MITS and most others. It converts to Analog immediatly. No fancy circutry. Just a quick DAC. at input.

Bear!


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## ambiHD (Feb 3, 2006)

Thank you everyone for all your replies. My installer did a awesome job, he even took pics! It looks like a piece of art! I have been reading about component VS HDMI, and some "experts" are saying you can not receive a 1080i single though an analog component cable, others disagree. I do not have a HDMI cable to compare it to. Is there anyway that I can tell what I am seeing? My DVD @ 480p player looks almost as good as the HD I am getting with the 411 using component cables . I was also wondering if the 411 is upscaling my SD channels because they look better then ever. I am having some sync issues with some channels, but I assume that is a E* problem. And no one could answer my question on why I had to pay a extra $100 for the second dish, however my bill says I owe $-150, I have no idea what thats about. So my question is it there anyway I can tell if I am seeing 1080i, besides using my eyes. Are the SD channels being upscaled? And does anyone know what -$150 means on a bill? Thank you again!


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

ambiHD said:


> Are the SD channels being upscaled?


That depends on what mode your receiver is set for. If it is set for 480i or 480p, no scaling is taking place. If it is set for 720p or 1080i, then some simple "upconverting" is being done. I don't think that the hardware is all that sophisticated, but as it is with watching DVD on a HD display, the picture looks better if for no other reason than it is de-interlaced.


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