Anyone Smart About Dish Network?

[awe4one]

Got it installed today. Is there a way to get, or program in, the local channel digital sub-channels?

 

Jim

[thirdgreenham]

Is that FTA or are you paying for the service?

[DrWatson]

Got it installed today. Is there a way to get, or program in, the local channel digital sub-channels?

 

Jim

I deal with them quite often with our rental cabins. What do you mean by local channel digital sub-channels?

[awe4one]

Before I dropped the cable, a local station, WFRG TV-5, Pensacola, had two additional sub-channels in addition to the main CBS one. The two channels are 5.2 Weather and 5.3 Retro Television Network. I can live without the weather but I'm going to miss RTN unless I can get it working on the Dish. They have a show called Off-Beat Cinema on Sunday nights that shows now obscure movies I used to watch on Creature Features as a kid...

 

Both are available off the air if you have a digital antenna as well.

 

Jim

[awe4one]

Is that FTA or are you paying for the service?

 

I'm paying for Dish but the channels I'm searching for are free over the air digital broadcasts...

 

Jim

[DrWatson]

Before I dropped the cable, a local station, WFRG TV-5, Pensacola, had two additional sub-channels in addition to the main CBS one. The two channels are 5.2 Weather and 5.3 Retro Television Network. I can live without the weather but I'm going to miss RTN unless I can get it working on the Dish. They have a show called Off-Beat Cinema on Sunday nights that shows now obscure movies I used to watch on Creature Features as a kid...

 

Both are available off the air if you have a digital antenna as well.

 

Jim

Ooh, you might be out of luck on those channels. The local networks enter into contracts with Dish to supply their programming through the satellite provider. I'm betting Dish would not contract for those channels.

[JazzMan]

Here's what you do:

 

Menu

6 system setup

9 local chanels

Scan locals

 

You should see all available channels and you choose what you want. Just make sure your antenna is connected to the antenna port on the receiver.

[BlowUpTheMoon]

They have a show called Off-Beat Cinema on Sunday nights that shows now obscure movies I used to watch on Creature Features as a kid...

 

 

That's a local show produced here in Buffalo, NY. I know two of those cats.

[BeachBum]

Got it installed today. Is there a way to get, or program in, the local channel digital sub-channels?

 

Jim

 

I deal mainly with DirecTV but to get your local digital sub-channels you need to use an OTA (Over The Air Antenna). Dish and DirecTV do not provide the sub channels to areas they provide the normal Digital HD channels.

 

I know the earlier HD DirecTV H & HR series boxes had Off Air tuners built in, then they offered an outboard module (AM21).

 

I do not know if any of the DISH boxes have OTA inputs since again I am not familiar with them... BTW the way, why did you choose DISH over DirecTV?

[Arcade]

Yes Dish Network has over the air tuners.

If you have a new 622 or 722 DVR then you have an antenna input on the back.

Other receivers have them as well but I don't know the model numbers.

 

Just scan for your locals. It will add all the local channels and their sub channels as well.

 

You can also record from the antenna.

This allows you to record three shows at once on the 622.

Two from the satellite tuners and one from the antenna input.

 

On the 722 you can record 4 channels at once.

Two from the satellite and two from the antenna.

 

The great thing about Dish as compared to Direct is that you can receive channels outside of your zip code. Direct makes you enter your zip code and will only allow those channels.

With Dish if you can pick them up it will add them to your guide, no matter how far away they are.

[BeachBum]

The great thing about Dish as compared to Direct is that you can receive channels outside of your zip code. Direct makes you enter your zip code and will only allow those channels.

With Dish if you can pick them up it will add them to your guide, no matter how far away they are.

 

The Old DirecTV HD TiVo's used to allow for this also. It's still one of the sore points of the current HR series boxes, the lack of OTA scans.

 

It will be interesting to see if the next Generation HD DVRs with TiVo built in being released by DirecTV in 2010 will have that feature back.

 

On a side note I can't stand the over-compression of the HD signal on Dish. They currently lack bandwidth and over compress on their Satellite transponders in an effort to match DirecTV's HD channel count. The PQ between DirecTV HD and DISH HD is night and day.

[Arcade]

The great thing about Dish as compared to Direct is that you can receive channels outside of your zip code. Direct makes you enter your zip code and will only allow those channels.

With Dish if you can pick them up it will add them to your guide, no matter how far away they are.

 

The Old DirecTV HD TiVo's used to allow for this also. It's still one of the sore points of the current HR series boxes, the lack of OTA scans.

 

It will be interesting to see if the next Generation HD DVRs with TiVo built in being released by DirecTV in 2010 will have that feature back.

 

On a side note I can't stand the over-compression of the HD signal on Dish. They currently lack bandwidth and over compress on their Satellite transponders in an effort to match DirecTV's HD channel count. The PQ between DirecTV HD and DISH HD is night and day.

 

Guess I would have to have them side by side.

My neighbor has Direct TV and I can't tell any difference.

Most of my TV watching is Over the Air anyway.

Both Direct and Dish are so much better than Time Warner Cable that it defies description.

 

Where I live I am able to pick up three markets. Houston TX., Beaumont, TX., and Lake Charles LA.

I have 3 FOX networks, 3 NBC networks, 2 CBS networks, 2 ABC networks and 2 CW networks.

Life is good.

[awe4one]

BTW the way, why did you choose DISH over DirecTV?

 

Convienence and money. I dropped my Cable and Cable Internet due to getting gorged on fees. Two TVs (one HD) hooked up to cable and Internet was costing me $180 a month and had gone up almost $20 in the last year. No one at the cable comppany was able to really explain the increase either when I asked...

 

I was originally going to go with DirectTV but called Embarq to hook me up with high speed internet first, I've had a hard line with them for a couple years, and they let me know about bundling the whole thing w/Dish Network. After all the special rates are done I'll end up saving around $80 a month on phone, cable, and internet bills. And that's w/ all the normal channels (250?), the Platinium HD, two movie channels (I didn't have any with the cable), and Sports Packages

 

My initial impression is DSL is faster than cable and I'm pretty happy w/Dish despite the fact I lost RTN. I gained multiple channels...especially HD channels. My only complaint right now is channel surfing is a tad more tedious than before...

 

Let me also say my cable company was not happy when I canceled. Started out offering the moon...three, then six free months of cable and internet, and ended snarly with the comment "you'll be back". What a person_without_enough_empathy she was...

 

Jim

[awe4one]

They have a show called Off-Beat Cinema on Sunday nights that shows now obscure movies I used to watch on Creature Features as a kid...

 

 

That's a local show produced here in Buffalo, NY. I know two of those cats.

 

Well if you see them tell them they're doing a good job. The host segments can be boring at times but I get what they're trying to do. Maybe it's because I still remember horror hosts when I was a young kid. Regardless, I haven't seen some of their movies in 30+ years and likely wouldn't if not for their show... (thumbs u

 

Jim

[CatskillMike]

Is that FTA or are you paying for the service?

 

FTA hehe

[Ares]

Is that FTA or are you paying for the service?

 

FTA hehe

 

Did you the FTA comment as a bad thing?

[CatskillMike]

Is that FTA or are you paying for the service?

 

FTA hehe

 

Did you the FTA comment as a bad thing?

 

No, it's just that I know a bit about FTA and what many testers actually use it for. True FTA is perfectly fine.