[mythtv-users] Dish gotchas?

Jesse Guardiani jesse at wingnet.net
Mon Apr 10 18:53:26 UTC 2006


Michael Tiller wrote:
> I'm seriously considering a move to Dish Network in my attempt to get 
> a better picture than I currently get with analog cable.  I thought 
> about digital cable but it is really just analog cable for the 
> channels I watch.
>
> Are there any "gotchas" for Dish Network?  Is there a preferred 
> receiver?  Obviously, I don't want a DVR unit but are there any 
> important differences in terms of channel changing, firewire 
> potential, etc?
>
> The main "downsides" I'm considering at the moment are:
> 1) Need for receiver on every TV
> 2) The fact that I'll still have to capture in analog mode with my 
> PVR-150 (firewire?)
> 3) Hassles with getting program guide data?
> 4) Need to deal with IR blaster issues (both for MythTV and my mom's 
> TiVo).
>
> If I'm missing something (vs. analog cable), let me know.
>
> Thanks for any assistance.

My take:

My Dish 322 locks up frequently, shuts down at 3am for maintenance,  and 
misses
IR blaster channel change commands frequently enough to be annoying. For 
this
reason and because I can't get HDTV from Dish for MythTV, I've gone the 
other
direction and moved from Dish to cable. Things are much simpler using a real
tuner device rather than an IR blaster.

Program guide data was easy to get, but problematic because channels I 
didn't pay
for would cause the 322 to lock and require a channel up or channel down 
command
from the IR remote. So when my mother in law came over and tried to 
change the channel
to a channel we didn't have it would screw up any future recordings 
until I came home and
fixed it, OR she found the Dish remote and pressed channel up or down.

I could remove those channels I didn't pay for from the datadirect 
lineup, but Dish
adds and changes channels on almost a daily basis, so it's an uphill battle.

Tuners become more expensive because you need a separate IR blaster and RCA
jack/card for each receiver.

No firewire available, AFAIK.

I say stick with cable.

-- 
Jesse Guardiani
Programmer/Sys Admin
jesse at wingnet.net



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