I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelling..

[Ronnie-]

I have had the oportunity for the last few days to assist in the hook up of a Directv 5LNB dish to a Samsung 52"LCD. The receiver is the "new" HR21-700. One thing that was very clear from the start was that the new receiver does not have a OTA input. At this moment their local's are not re-broadcast in HD but they were promised they would be by the end of the month. I don't know wheather it was the receiver or the tv but the sd picture was very, very poor. I had been thinking about Direct but the whole experience with the HR-21 has made me think again. Just my 2 cents.

Yeah dont think its any secret that the HR-21 doesnt have OTA. The HR-20 does

 

[wayne231]

Yeah dont think its any secret that the HR-21 doesnt have OTA. The HR-20 does

But isn't the HR-20 a MPEG2 receiver?

 

[Ronnie-]

But isn't the HR-20 a MPEG2 receiver?

No, its MPEG 4

the HR-10 250 was mpeg 2, as were all the ones before it.

 

[wayne231]

No, its MPEG 4

the HR-10 250 was mpeg 2, as were all the ones before it.

Thanks, got another one coming up and need to tell them to get the 20 if they can.

 

[Ronnie-]

Thanks, got another one coming up and need to tell them to get the 20 if they can.

Yeah if they want OTA thats the one they need.

 

[mattopia]

Interesting discussion...

I'm switching from cable to E*, installation set for this week. The biggest downer is that my market (Cleveland, OH) has no locals in HD yet. So, I will only be able to record one local in HD at a time.

But, I see a "plus" on the flipside... I can record one HD and two SD locals all at once, for a total of 3! It's unfortunate that I will have to pick and choose which programs I want in HD, but I"m sure in most cases there will be a clear winner.

I also may keep my TiVo series3 for OTA recording, meaning I can record three OTA and two satellite programs at once... Just sounds like a nightmare to manage. I can see my girlfriend asking "Now, do we record Heroes on the TiVo or on the Dish box? Which input is that again? "

 

[Hall]

But, I see a "plus" on the flipside... I can record one HD and two SD locals all at once, for a total of 3! It's unfortunate that I will have to pick and choose which programs I want in HD, but I"m sure in most cases there will be a clear winner.

You're rather optimistic on that ! To be honest, that's a "negative", not a plus. If Dish offered your locals in HD and you kept your OTA antenna, you could record (3) HD shows at once, not just (1) ! No having to pick which you want in HD and which in SD in that scenario. We have that negative a few times each week ourselves.

 

[digiblur]

I'm switching from cable to E*, installation set for this week. The biggest downer is that my market (Cleveland, OH) has no locals in HD yet. So, I will only be able to record one local in HD at a time.

Did you read most of this discussion? Including this thread?

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-hd-discussions/113397-help-moving.html

 

[mattopia]

You're rather optimistic on that ! To be honest, that's a "negative", not a plus. If Dish offered your locals in HD and you kept your OTA antenna, you could record (3) HD shows at once, not just (1) ! No having to pick which you want in HD and which in SD in that scenario. We have that negative a few times each week ourselves.

You're right!!! I should re-phrase. Given my current DVR setup (TiVo Series3 w/ CableCARD), I can record a total of two programs at once -- locals, HD, whatever. So, being able to record 3 at once instead of two is a small plus...

Besides... Don't kill my optimism before I even have my service installed!

Did you read most of this discussion? Including this thread?

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-hd-discussions/113397-help-moving.html

Yes, I've become familiar with the concept of "moving" into an area with HD locals. I have some hesitations on doing that, so I need to do my homework first! It just can't be *that* easy... Also, I've read that Dish's locals are mostly "HD Lite"?

 

[bigblock468]

I get NBC, CBS FOX and ABC in HD on Dish. Aren't those local?

Ditto

BB468

 

[digiblur]

Yes, I've become familiar with the concept of "moving" into an area with HD locals. I have some hesitations on doing that, so I need to do my homework first! It just can't be *that* easy... Also, I've read that Dish's locals are mostly "HD Lite"?

Yes, believe it or not, it is that easy. I've seen a few folks in my area even do it with the DirecTV HD locals.

Some locals are 1440x1080 but I have seen reports of some new spotbeam LiL's being 1920x1080, not sure how much truth to that there is but I can guarantee the 1440x1080 ones look better than the 544x480i ones

 

[JayStil]

Dish offers HD locals in 30+ cities. Maybe you live in one of those....

EKB: Dish HD Locals

Dish offers SD locals in 180+ markets so far and away, the vast majority of their customers do NOT have access to HD locals (well, if you go by population of those cities it might be different).

I get my HD locals via basic ($7 per month) cable. Only downside is I can't DVR them, unless I fork out another $12 a month for the box.

I know it's not an option for everybody, but it's worth looking into if you can't get them via DISH or OTA.

 

[wayne231]

Digi, I guess your right. People are moving alright according to last night's announcement by Charlie. Dish is having a hard time retaining customers. According to my experience it's not national HD or dish's receier's, it's because people want a single sourse provider for their TV entertainment which includes their local stations in HD. Not everyone is comfortable with hanging on the fringe of morality and would just rather go to the one that provides what they want. "moving" is not the solution. Just my 2 cents, I could be wrong

 

[Ronnie-]

Yes, believe it or not, it is that easy. I've seen a few folks in my area even do it with the DirecTV HD locals.

Some locals are 1440x1080 but I have seen reports of some new spotbeam LiL's being 1920x1080, not sure how much truth to that there is but I can guarantee the 1440x1080 ones look better than the 544x480i ones

Thats true, and as has been posted many times, rez is not the be all of PQ.

 

[digiblur]

Digi, I guess your right. People are moving alright according to last night's announcement by Charlie. Dish is having a hard time retaining customers. According to my experience it's not national HD or dish's receier's, it's because people want a single sourse provider for their TV entertainment which includes their local stations in HD. Not everyone is comfortable with hanging on the fringe of morality and would just rather go to the one that provides what they want. "moving" is not the solution. Just my 2 cents, I could be wrong

Sometimes people confuse me, I can care less if people stay as subs or not. I don't have their service nor do I need it right now. I have too much HD to keep up with via OTA already.

I just hate to see people feeding their big HDTV's some SD signals, so I tell them to research the "moving" aspect of things. Of course it isn't for everyone, but many folks have proven time and time again that works great. Even DirecTV folks do it.

It seems to me that it would be easier to make a 10 minute phone call then having to call them anyways to cancel then take two days off from work to get another provider installed.