Leon
06-08-2006, 08:40 PM
You`ve all heard us raving about this deal for the past few
weeks. I`ve had it for almost three weeks now, so here is my personal
experience. I used to have standard analog cable and a TiVo unit. It worked
fine, but on my Sony WEGA XBR, the image quality was so pixelated. Also, I was
paying around $40 for basic channels and a few add-ons. In addition, it seemed
like my bill was always increasing, so I decided to give satellite a try. The
big seller for this deal was that there are NO COMMITMENTS. You are on a
month-to-month basis with Dish Network and can cancel at any time. So there are
basically no real risks involved here. The installation took about 3 hours
because I opted for the 4 TV setup. Once everything is installed, I immediately
noticed the higher quality image compared to regular cable and TiVo. This is in
standard definition too. The HDTV channels are phenomenal. The DiscoveryHD
channel had a documentary on lions and the image quality was jaw-dropping. I
switched over to a NBA game on ESPNHD and it was just unbelieveable. To make a
long story short, it`s just a plain better experience than cable. Here are some
quick answers to questions we have been getting:
<UL>
<LI>What are the installation fees?
<UL>
<LI><I>None. There is usually a $49.99 activation fee, but if you sign up
through AllSat and give Dish Network the certificate number, this is
waived.</I></LI></UL>
<LI>What do you pay for the equipment?
<UL>
<LI><I>Since you don`t actually own the units, you don`t pay for them. However,
you do have to pay a fee to use any additional units. For example, if you have
one unit you have no additional fees, but if you have two units, you will pay a
small $5 access fee that extra unit.</I></LI></UL>
<LI>Any other fees I should be aware of?
<UL>
<LI><I>Yes. If you want HDTV channels, you have an additional $9.99 fee. You get
the four BEST HDTV channels with this:
<UL>
<LI>HDNET
<LI>HDNET Movies
<LI>DiscoveryHD
<LI>ESPN HD</LI></UL>
<LI>If you don`t have a phone line connected to your DVR, then you have another
$5 fee. <B>Update:</B> A reader just emailed me and told me that if you don`t
have a phone line near the receiver, the installer will run one for you from the
junction box for free. Thanks to Eph.
<LI>The DVR fee is $5. (TiVo charges $12.95 for their service). This fee is
waived if you get the full programming package.</I> </LI></UL>
<LI>I`m on a budget. What`s the cheapest package I can get?
<UL>
<LI><I>If you just want satellite with basic programming, this should* be it:
<UL>
<LI>DISH 322 for two TVs - (Costs the same as the Dish 301 for one TV, so why
not?)
<LI>America`s Top 60 Programming - $29.99
<LI>State/Local Tax - (It was $1.17 for me.)</LI></UL>
<LI>I do recommend you go with at least a DVR 522 unit because it`s a really
good deal. A DVR is a Digital Video Recorder. It`s like using a VCR to record
shows, except it records onto a hard drive and it`s always recording. This
allows you to pause live TV and rewind, etc. The DVR 522 allows 100 hours of
recording and allows you to record two shows at once on separate TVs. Trust me,
you want it.
<UL>
<LI>DVR 522 system for two TVs
<LI>America`s Top 60 Programming - $29.99
<LI>Dish VOD Service Fee - $4.98
<LI>You will have an addtional $4.99 fee only if you DO NOT have a phone line
connected to it
<LI>State/Local Tax - (It was $1.17 for me.) </I></LI></UL></LI></UL>
<LI>So you really like it?
<UL>
<LI><I>Yup, sure do. =)</I></LI></UL></LI></UL>I hope that answers your
questions. Please let us know if you have any other concerns. <A
href="http://www.allsat.com/?kbid=2709" target=_blank><B>ALLSAT</B></A>
weeks. I`ve had it for almost three weeks now, so here is my personal
experience. I used to have standard analog cable and a TiVo unit. It worked
fine, but on my Sony WEGA XBR, the image quality was so pixelated. Also, I was
paying around $40 for basic channels and a few add-ons. In addition, it seemed
like my bill was always increasing, so I decided to give satellite a try. The
big seller for this deal was that there are NO COMMITMENTS. You are on a
month-to-month basis with Dish Network and can cancel at any time. So there are
basically no real risks involved here. The installation took about 3 hours
because I opted for the 4 TV setup. Once everything is installed, I immediately
noticed the higher quality image compared to regular cable and TiVo. This is in
standard definition too. The HDTV channels are phenomenal. The DiscoveryHD
channel had a documentary on lions and the image quality was jaw-dropping. I
switched over to a NBA game on ESPNHD and it was just unbelieveable. To make a
long story short, it`s just a plain better experience than cable. Here are some
quick answers to questions we have been getting:
<UL>
<LI>What are the installation fees?
<UL>
<LI><I>None. There is usually a $49.99 activation fee, but if you sign up
through AllSat and give Dish Network the certificate number, this is
waived.</I></LI></UL>
<LI>What do you pay for the equipment?
<UL>
<LI><I>Since you don`t actually own the units, you don`t pay for them. However,
you do have to pay a fee to use any additional units. For example, if you have
one unit you have no additional fees, but if you have two units, you will pay a
small $5 access fee that extra unit.</I></LI></UL>
<LI>Any other fees I should be aware of?
<UL>
<LI><I>Yes. If you want HDTV channels, you have an additional $9.99 fee. You get
the four BEST HDTV channels with this:
<UL>
<LI>HDNET
<LI>HDNET Movies
<LI>DiscoveryHD
<LI>ESPN HD</LI></UL>
<LI>If you don`t have a phone line connected to your DVR, then you have another
$5 fee. <B>Update:</B> A reader just emailed me and told me that if you don`t
have a phone line near the receiver, the installer will run one for you from the
junction box for free. Thanks to Eph.
<LI>The DVR fee is $5. (TiVo charges $12.95 for their service). This fee is
waived if you get the full programming package.</I> </LI></UL>
<LI>I`m on a budget. What`s the cheapest package I can get?
<UL>
<LI><I>If you just want satellite with basic programming, this should* be it:
<UL>
<LI>DISH 322 for two TVs - (Costs the same as the Dish 301 for one TV, so why
not?)
<LI>America`s Top 60 Programming - $29.99
<LI>State/Local Tax - (It was $1.17 for me.)</LI></UL>
<LI>I do recommend you go with at least a DVR 522 unit because it`s a really
good deal. A DVR is a Digital Video Recorder. It`s like using a VCR to record
shows, except it records onto a hard drive and it`s always recording. This
allows you to pause live TV and rewind, etc. The DVR 522 allows 100 hours of
recording and allows you to record two shows at once on separate TVs. Trust me,
you want it.
<UL>
<LI>DVR 522 system for two TVs
<LI>America`s Top 60 Programming - $29.99
<LI>Dish VOD Service Fee - $4.98
<LI>You will have an addtional $4.99 fee only if you DO NOT have a phone line
connected to it
<LI>State/Local Tax - (It was $1.17 for me.) </I></LI></UL></LI></UL>
<LI>So you really like it?
<UL>
<LI><I>Yup, sure do. =)</I></LI></UL></LI></UL>I hope that answers your
questions. Please let us know if you have any other concerns. <A
href="http://www.allsat.com/?kbid=2709" target=_blank><B>ALLSAT</B></A>