Dish Network Hardware Question (1 Viewer)

[Bill Austin]

I am considering Dish Network and I have a HDTV ready set coming in two weeks Toshiba 55hx70.
I have read thru the site for dishnetwork and saw the model 6000 unit has the HDTV decoder built into it, however I noticed another section of the webpage that talked about needing a second dish for HDTV reception?
I want to try and take advantage (as much as possible) the freebies they are offering currently - free install and some free basic equipment that I am hoping I could just pay the difference for stepping up to the 6000 on, and I plan on picking up a pretty full lineup of channels, but it's the hardware I am not sure about.
I know I'd want the 6000 for the HDTV decoder built in, I know I need at least one dish for the regular bulk of the channels, but it mentions another dish being necessary for the HDTV broadcast channels...
So I will have 2 separate dishes on my balcony? Or is the other antenna that is mentioned something that gets attached on the same main dish as a branch off it or something?
Just thinking in terms of mounting, I have never seen 2 dishes side by side on a house or apartment, so I was hoping it was just my misunderstanding that 2 separate dishes would need to be installed.
As you can see I am still somewhat unclear, and have spent some time reading the webpage but had not gotten a full grasp of what I would need exactly to get the HDTV and the regular channels they offer.
Lastly, this is for those who had cable & went to dish Network, even better if you live near Chicago.
Do you notice a difference in just the basic service quality of picture (not HDTV stuff), my current cable provider at&t quality wise the picture is terrible on the lower channels, fuzzy, grainy, ghosts etc, & I have repeatedly tried to get them to fix the problem with no resolution (that's why I am looking into Dish Network) does Dish Network provide a somewhat stable clearer picture than standard cable? I understand rain and snow can interfere at times but on the whole just curious of input on difference in quality for basics.
Bill
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[kevin oswald]

Okie I will try to explain this the best I can. This is the setup I have. Dishnetwork has 2 HD movie channels HBO and Cinemax.. on there 3rd sattelite located at 61.5 which is east. Then most of the programing is on their other two sattelites which are at 110 and 119, you use the DISH 500 dish to get both of those sattelites and a 2nd dish to get the 3rd sattelite. In some areas it is next to impossible to get the 3rd sattelite though because of the angle if you are on the east coast it is easy, on the west coast it is harder. The add on module for the 6000 iss th 8SV module which lets you pick up OTA HD tv signlas like channnels 2-13.. or whatever.. i live in LA and most of the local feeds are also in HD. Most of the HD feeds OTA are in the UHF band so you will need a UHF antenna also to pick these up. I hope this makes sense.. if it does not let me know.. and I'll try to explain it better. If you dont' mind trying to install the dishes yourself you can find the best deals mail order over the net.. I got my COD within 3 days of ordering.

 

[Robert_J]

The first thing you need to do is make sure you have a clear line of site. Go to www.dbsforums.com under the Technology section, there is a link for dish pointing. Get the coordinates for both "110 Orbital Slot for Echostar" and "Echostar 1 & 2". Both of these positions will be "seen" by the Dish500 (a 20 inch dish). Then check "Echostar III" and "Echostar @ 148". Both of these satellites carry HD programming for PPV, HBO and Showtime. The "Echostar III" satellite also carries the HD Demo channel. Pick the satellite that you have the best view of and point a Dish300 (an 18 inch dish) at it. The signals from both dishes will be combined with switches (included in your system) and fed to your 6000 receiver.
The picture is much better than the cable around here. With your new TV, you will notice some compression artifacts on some channels but I think it will still be better than cable. The pictures on the HD channels will be the best.
-Robert