# I was told to hold off on the 942..



## mglines (Nov 30, 2005)

I just called my local installer about getting E* hooked up at my new house and he said he would hold off because of what E* is going to do soon.. New Recievers and New Dishes for all subscribers.. Not sure how true that is..


I know from reading this forum the last few weeks that no one knows what E* is going to do. 

Here is what I want .. to record local channels! Get HD OTA and not pay an arm and a leg to do that. But to do this I am going to have to pay $599 to get a 924 off Ebay and $230 to have an OTA installed. Plus am I going to have to pay $100 for the dish 1000?

That is $830 bucks to have all that OR I can go with DTV and pay $399.. Man I like E* but the $400ish in savings is nice!

Any Sage advice out there?


----------



## A10HDTV (Sep 30, 2005)

I wanted to wait until the mpeg4 equipment comes out to but just decided not to wait any longer. Everyone seems to be guessing at this point. 

I have COX digital cable now and they were telling me they would have my area rebuilt by the end of the year for HD. It was so frustraiting because I already had a Motorola HD DVR but no HD that I could record. This last week when I called they said that I still wasn't scheduled for a rebuild so I was at least 1 1/2 months away.

Called E* through a reseller and got Americas 180 free for a month, HD Pak free for 6 months, HBO,CINEMAX, Showtime free for 3 months, Free install and Lifetime service for free. Someone said that service pack was normally 5.99 a month so it sounded good to me. Then I paid $249 for the 942 lease and got the 625 free. I am hopeing by leasing the 942 I might get a break when the new mpeg4 stuff rolls out. Beats paying $400 for a DTV HD DVR and the cost of an additional SD DVR and then have to replace them in a year.

Now I will have DVR's on all 4 of my TV's. On the OTA antenna, I have been using an indoor RCA amplified antenna that cost maybe $25 and it works great for HD. 

Also the dish 1000 comes with the install.

Any way just my 2cents on not holding off on the 942

Cheers!


----------



## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

mglines said:


> I just called my local installer about getting E* hooked up at my new house and he said he would hold off because of what E* is going to do soon.. New Recievers and New Dishes for all subscribers.. Not sure how true that is..
> 
> I know from reading this forum the last few weeks that no one knows what E* is going to do.
> 
> ...


My bad, a please forgive me, but what is the 924? I have 921's and I know E* also had the 942.


----------



## A10HDTV (Sep 30, 2005)

boylehome said:


> My bad, a please forgive me, but what is the 924? I have 921's and I know E* also had the 942.


The 924 is a typo i think. The 942 is the newest of E* HD DVR's. 2 sat tuners, and 1 OTA tuner. 250 Gb HDD I believe - 180 hrs of SD recording and 25 hrs of HD.


----------



## ClaudeR (Dec 7, 2003)

mglines said:


> New Recievers and New Dishes for all subscribers.. Not sure how true that is.. Here is what I want .. to record local channels! Get HD OTA and not pay an arm and a leg to do that. But to do this I am going to have to pay $599 to get a 942 off Ebay and $230 to have an OTA installed. Plus am I going to have to pay $100 for the dish 1000??


My 2 cents. If you are an existing Dish customer, beg for the 942 DHP for the $250. How far are your local stations? Lots of people are having good luck with a pair of rabbit ears. I have a $30 channelmaster 4221, fairly small, and can easily mount near the dish - the installer may even put in a diplexer pair to make it all work, if you already have the antenna mounted. Looks like the 942 is the answer to all your desires as of today. And there is only a $250 outlay. If you got the latest D* unit to do the same thing, it's $700 - $200 rebate. Yes, you own it, but if it craps out in 12 months and 2 days, it's $500 down the drain. With DHP, they own it, and you can just shove it up their ar$$ if it breaks. Good luck, whatever you decide.


----------



## mglines (Nov 30, 2005)

I guess I will keep calling til I get a CSR who can "dish it up" to a 942 !


----------



## UTFAN (Nov 12, 2005)

CES is when the DISH folks roll out their main new toys, I remember the 921 getting product of the year or something a couple of years ago! 

That 'Vegas sure is a nutty town.

I have to imagine that they'll announce definitive HD plans at CES, and apparently there will be a special HD chat shortly thereafter.

I sure with they'd simplify their products with all these numbers and stuff.

Can't they just have an HD Receiver, and HD Receiver with DVR and a couple of standard def receivers?

All this 942, 721, 211 etc makes be want to call 911!

See you at the Rose Bowl!


----------



## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

The concept of the 921 got the Product of the Year. The execution is what was poorly lacking.....

The USB port works fine as an XBox 360 wireless controller charger though..... (The Xbox 360's ports turn off after a few minutes of the power being off)


----------



## Ken Howe (Aug 9, 2005)

The 942 is a Dual Tuner HD recevier... one HD and one SD. The 942 is also a DVR. And if you sign up as a new customer, its a $250 non-refundable upgrade fee.


----------



## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Ken Howe said:


> The 942 is a Dual Tuner HD recevier... one HD and one SD. The 942 is also a DVR. And if you sign up as a new customer, its a $250 non-refundable upgrade fee.


Actually it has 2 HD/SD Sat. Tuners and 1 OTA Tuner. All 3 tuners can be recording at the same time, all 3 can display/record HD content, the OTA Tuner can display Digital/HD or regular Analog. On that tuner only Digital/HD content can be recorded.


----------



## Ken Howe (Aug 9, 2005)

The 942 only works for 1 hd and one standard def... trust me on this one... its how its supposed to work without issues...


----------



## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Ken Howe said:


> The 942 only works for 1 hd and one standard def... trust me on this one... its how its supposed to work without issues...


Sorry, but I've been using one since May and I record multiple HD streams at the same time frequently. You can only record one OTA-HD at a time due to a single OTA-HD/Digital Tuner, however you can record 2 HD Sat channels and one HD-OTA channel all at once. If you can not do that with your 942 then you've got a faulty unit.


----------



## Tom in TX (Jan 22, 2004)

Ken Howe said:


> The 942 only works for 1 hd and one standard def... trust me on this one... its how its supposed to work without issues...


I can definitely record THREE HD shows at once, trust ME! I do it very frequently, without "issues".
Tom in TX


----------



## lakebum431 (Jun 30, 2005)

Ken you are mistaken. I agree with Tom here. I record 3 HD shows all at once too.


----------



## jsanders (Jan 21, 2004)

Ken Howe said:


> The 942 only works for 1 hd and one standard def... trust me on this one... its how its supposed to work without issues...


I think Ken was joking guys. Think about the statement, it is almost sounds like something he quoted Bob Dole as saying. By his own admission, he is "with" someone he considers stupid. That is a dangerous thing, because such things can rub off.


----------



## UTFAN (Nov 12, 2005)

BobMurdoch said:


> The concept of the 921 got the Product of the Year. The execution is what was poorly lacking.....
> 
> The USB port works fine as an XBox 360 wireless controller charger though..... (The Xbox 360's ports turn off after a few minutes of the power being off)


Then they should have called it concept of the year. Do you think these "awards" might just be purchased rather than earned?


----------



## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

UTFAN said:


> Do you think these "awards" might just be purchased rather than earned?


The awards are sometimes based on the specs of a product not on the actual daily operation of the product. That is exactly what happened with the 921. It got the award before there was an operational product.

The concept of the 921 was great; it is just sad that DISH couldn't get the hardware and software to perform like it should. If you talk to some "insiders" at DISH they will lay the blame on Eldon Technology Ltd., the wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar (in the U.K.) that designed and did the initial software for the 921.


----------



## malligood (Sep 21, 2004)

robglasser said:


> Sorry, but I've been using one since May and I record multiple HD streams at the same time frequently. You can only record one OTA-HD at a time due to a single OTA-HD/Digital Tuner, however you can record 2 HD Sat channels and one HD-OTA channel all at once. If you can not do that with your 942 then you've got a faulty unit.


Can you detail how to record on all 3 tuners? I have had my 942 a week but can't seem to figure that out. I am setup in dual mode with record plus.

Thanks,

Mack


----------



## waltinvt (Feb 9, 2004)

Ken Howe said:


> The 942 only works for 1 hd and one standard def... trust me on this one... its how its supposed to work without issues...


"Trust you on this one"? Why ? I have a 942 and know what you're saying is completly wrong but I'll give you the benifit of the doubt that you may just be not exppressing yourself correctly and are confussing tuners with outputs but that is NOT how the 942 works NOR is it how it's supposed to work.

The 942 has 3 tuners. 2 are satellite and one is OTA. They can ALL receive and record in HD - even at the same time.

Now where you may be confused is that the 942, besides HDMI & component (HD) outputs and composite (SD) outputs, also has a "TV 2" RF output that only puts out SD.


----------



## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

malligood said:


> Can you detail how to record on all 3 tuners? I have had my 942 a week but can't seem to figure that out. I am setup in dual mode with record plus.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mack


The software just does it. If you have 2 Sat channels SD/HD and an OTA channel all setup to record during the same timeframe they will just all record. The primary tuner for Sat channels and the OTA tuner will both show as tuner one. It's not advertised in their documentation that way but it works. I do this regularly.


----------



## malligood (Sep 21, 2004)

robglasser said:


> The software just does it. If you have 2 Sat channels SD/HD and an OTA channel all setup to record during the same timeframe they will just all record. The primary tuner for Sat channels and the OTA tuner will both show as tuner one. It's not advertised in their documentation that way but it works. I do this regularly.


Thanks,

That was my confusion, both were showing up as TV1 and I didn't know what I would get. Can you pause the ota tuner and swith to TV1 and then back?


----------



## Ken Howe (Aug 9, 2005)

Herm... i think you may be confusing recording 2 HD with WATCHING 2 HD... it is a DUEL TUNER... THERE IS NOOOOO WAAAAAAY... you can hook up 2 HD tvs and a SD TV.... it hooks up 2 tvs... thats it... and as far as OTA... thats a different thing all together... there is nOOOOOOO way... NOOOOO WAY... that you can have 2 HD tvs hooked up... if you dont beilive me call up Dish themselves...


----------



## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

I don't think you will get any argument about hooking up two HD TVs unless it supports both HDMI and component at the same time. In that case you could if you were willing to watch the same show and they TVs were relatively close. I know you can do this with an 811 unofficially with the officia word being that only one of those DVR outputs are hot at one time.


----------



## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Ron Barry said:


> I don't think you will get any argument about hooking up two HD TVs unless it supports both HDMI and component at the same time. In that case you could if you were willing to watch the same show and they TVs were relatively close. I know you can do this with an 811 unofficially with the officia word being that only one of those DVR outputs are hot at one time.


I can confirm you can have the HDMI and component both outputing HD at the same time, but both are TV1 so you have to watch the same show. So technically you can hook up 2 HD and an SD, but the 2 HD have to watch the same show.


----------



## Ken Howe (Aug 9, 2005)

Ok... than i was correct when i said it can hook up 1 HD and 1 SD... that what it was made to do... what you are talking about is called a mirror line... and thats not apart of the tuner... lol... thats all im saying ^_^


----------



## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

Ken Howe said:


> Ok... than i was correct when i said it can hook up 1 HD and 1 SD... that what it was made to do... what you are talking about is called a mirror line... and thats not apart of the tuner... lol... thats all im saying ^_^


Ken,
It's this statement that is being debated:


> The 942 is a Dual Tuner HD recevier... one HD and one SD.


Both satellite _tuners_ are HD. Depending on the mode you set-up the 942 will _output_ one HD and one SD, however both satellite tuners as well as the OTA tuner are very capable of receiving HD.


----------



## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Ken Howe said:


> Ok... than i was correct when i said it can hook up 1 HD and 1 SD... that what it was made to do... what you are talking about is called a mirror line... and thats not apart of the tuner... lol... thats all im saying ^_^


Ok, I think what got things confusing was the mixing of the term tuner for both the tuners and the outputs. Just to clear everything up the 942 can do the following:

It has a total of 3 TUNERs, 2 tuners that can view/record Sat SD/HD programing, and 1 tuner is for OTA signals only. The OTA tuner can view analog or digital/HD, but can only record digital/HD

The 942 can run in 2 different OUTPUT modes:
In single output mode all outputs show the same information, and the OUTPUTs can display content from ANY of the TUNERs, including multiple tuners at once with Picture-In-Picture (PIP). You could have 4 different TVs (or more with splitters) hooked up via HDMI, Component, RCA, and/or Coax., but they would ALL display the same show. On the non-HD compatible outputs the signal is automatically sent out at 480i. For the HD compatible outputs you set them to be anything from 480i - 1080i (only one setting for both component and HDMI, can not be different as far as I know)

In Dual output mode the receiver splits the TUNERs between the OUTPUTs. The TV1 outputs (HDMI & Component) get one Sat tuner and the OTA tuner, TV2 outputs (Coax. & RCA) get the other Sat tuner. The previously recorded shows can be viewed by either set of outputs in this mode, however since the tuners are now split between different outputs you can no longer do PIP. If you are trying to view an HD show on one of the TV2 outputs then it automatically converted down to 480i.

To sum things up the 942 is a 3 tuner system that has the ability to have up to 2 discrete sets of outputs of those 3 tuners. In that mode only one set of outputs is HD, the other is SD.


----------



## Ken Howe (Aug 9, 2005)

But you are misconstruing what i am saying... the box... out of the box as it was... is ment to only set up 1 HD and 1 SD. Everything else is not apart of the BOX. The STANDARD setup consists of 1 HD and 1 SD... Nothing more. Now... what you do with the cables to make it otherwise is different... and the OTA is spliced into the setup. Im telling you... thats all it was MENT for... im not saying you cant work the wires to do whatever you want... but it was ment for 2 tvs... thus why its called a DUEL tuner, not a TRI or a QUAD. cuz as you know... duel means 2. lol. And you cannot have the 2nd half of the box which is ment for SD somehow magically transfer into HD... if you think so then you may not be getting HD in your second TV. Its just downgrading slightly, still seeming like a better signal. But unless you run a mirror line with the appropriate cable line, which is what i think you are saying(then you can indeed get HD on HD TV #2.) Otherwise you are mistaken about how many tuners are in the box... we have several... and they alllllll only work for 2 tvs INDIPENDENTLY.


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Ken Howe said:


> cuz as you know... duel means 2.


Actually duel means 'fight' but that's another story.

There were enough errors in the statements this thread for them to be corrected.

JL


----------



## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Ken Howe said:


> But you are misconstruing what i am saying... the box... out of the box as it was... is ment to only set up 1 HD and 1 SD. Everything else is not apart of the BOX. The STANDARD setup consists of 1 HD and 1 SD... Nothing more. Now... what you do with the cables to make it otherwise is different... and the OTA is spliced into the setup. Im telling you... thats all it was MENT for... im not saying you cant work the wires to do whatever you want... but it was ment for 2 tvs... thus why its called a DUEL tuner, not a TRI or a QUAD. cuz as you know... duel means 2. lol. And you cannot have the 2nd half of the box which is ment for SD somehow magically transfer into HD... if you think so then you may not be getting HD in your second TV. Its just downgrading slightly, still seeming like a better signal. But unless you run a mirror line with the appropriate cable line, which is what i think you are saying(then you can indeed get HD on HD TV #2.) Otherwise you are mistaken about how many tuners are in the box... we have several... and they alllllll only work for 2 tvs INDIPENDENTLY.


I'm done. There is way too much misinformation and typos in this post to even bother continuing. If that is the way your 942 works so be it. It's not how any other 942 I've used or seen works but oh well.


----------



## Ken Howe (Aug 9, 2005)

lol. thanks... good looking out.


----------



## Tom in TX (Jan 22, 2004)

I think Ken is confusing outputs with tuners (no disrespect)
"The 942 is a Dual Tuner HD recevier... one HD and one SD."

It has three tuners, two sat, and one OTA. It can "output" to two tv's, the main tv (HD) and the second tv (SD).

"The 942 only works for 1 hd and one standard def... trust me 
on this one... its how its supposed to work without issues..."

It can "work" the 1 HD and one standard def "TV". It still has THREE tuners.

"there is nOOOOOOO 
way... NOOOOO WAY... that you can have 2 HD tvs hooked up..."

Yes, you can have 2HD tv's hooked up, BUT you will only be able to see HD programming on TV1. So, YEEESSSSS, there is a way to hook them up, just not view in HD, unless you want to watch the same programming.

"Otherwise you are mistaken about how many tuners are in the box... we have several... and they alllllll only work for 2 tvs INDIPENDENTLY."

There are THREE friggin' tuners buddy!! They are _*inside*_ the 942. Two are for satellite, and one is for OTA. That's THREE. You say it was meant for two tv's. I only use one tv. You CAN output to two (or more) additional tv's. It's an option. Read the manual.
I think I will go jump off a cliff now!
Tom in TX


----------



## airpolgas (Aug 13, 2002)

I just hope mglines is still interested in the unit.

If you want HD "now" then go for it. If you can afford to wait, wait. The only catch is that you can get the best deals as a new customer.


----------



## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

Rob, thank you for post #27.


----------



## KingLoop (Mar 3, 2005)

OK I'll fix this in a hurry guys.

KEN HOWE, you are hereby forbidden from posting any technically related comments without prior consent from me the King! (Until such point that I may verify the veracity of the comment he wishes to post, and consent to its posting.)


----------



## Ken Howe (Aug 9, 2005)

I blame steve... he told me so.


----------



## gsalem (Feb 4, 2004)

I've been with dish for 4.5 years, spent over $2K on equipment and shell
out $130/month on programming. My 921 is a POS and requires that I
unplug it daily to get a picture. I can't even delete timers and the current
timers fire on whatever day the 921 decides.

I can get a Direct TV setup for $350 (HD Tivo) as a new customer. I pleaded
with Dish to take my POS 921 and trade it for a 942 for $350. Got run all
the way to "Doug in the Exec Office" who was adamant about not doing anything
but selling me a 942 for $699.

I basically told all 3 people that I talked to that my I can not just tell my
spouse to unplug the thing once or twice a day any longer and I need this
box to go. They are loosing a customer and I made sure that understood 
why.
:nono2:



ClaudeR said:


> My 2 cents. If you are an existing Dish customer, beg for the 942 DHP for the $250. How far are your local stations? Lots of people are having good luck with a pair of rabbit ears. I have a $30 channelmaster 4221, fairly small, and can easily mount near the dish - the installer may even put in a diplexer pair to make it all work, if you already have the antenna mounted. Looks like the 942 is the answer to all your desires as of today. And there is only a $250 outlay. If you got the latest D* unit to do the same thing, it's $700 - $200 rebate. Yes, you own it, but if it craps out in 12 months and 2 days, it's $500 down the drain. With DHP, they own it, and you can just shove it up their ar$$ if it breaks. Good luck, whatever you decide.


----------

