We’re thinking about getting Dish Network, and I have just a few questions for you guys. Does it have ESPN Classic, can you order the Pro. Wrestling NWA:TNA PPV’s on it, and what is your overall impression of the service?
I would like to hear what others say as well…currently I have COX digital cable. It is ok, but I am paying $66 for digital, HBO and Showtime, plus the box and remote (which you HAVE to rent and are not allowed to buy).
Like the OP asked, is the dish better, cheaper, and what is with the story that you get no reception when it rains or is really cloudy (a condition that seldom occurs in Las Vegas, but would be interesting to know.)
Also, do you need multiple boxes for multiple rooms?
I have DishNet and I love it!
We get pretty heavy rain and high winds out on the coast and it vary rarely has problems. The signal is clean, a huge selection of channels and costs about half the price if we were to get the same packages via cable.
the wife and I kicked around the idea of getting a dish for several months. We didn’t know if we’d like it or not. Then our cable company upped the rates so we took the plunge. I wish I had done it sooner.
We have the 150 channel pack plus a couple of pay networks like HBO.
I don’t know about ESPN because I’m not a big sports fan. The website for Dishnet has a complete listing though. www.dishnetwork.com
I love Dishnetwork too. I have had it for several years. We have one of the older dishes (I believe they are offering a newer model now) and sometimes when it rains hard, we’ll have some downtime, where no picture comes through. But usually not for long, it’s never bad enough for me to fret over it.
It’s so much better than the sucky local cable here. I’ll never go back to cable if I can help it! I also love that I can get a package of WB/UPN stations from all around the country. (I usually watch KTLA, because I’m from L.A. and am homesick.) I don’t know if all areas qualify to get the WB/UPN stations, but in my area, we do.
Can’t say anything about the sports stations, because I’m not a sports fan either. But I think there are plenty.
Oh yeah. Thats the other cool thing. We got local network stations from my old home town (Seattle). We ended up changing to local in our area (Portland) but I think if we wanted to spend the money we could keep both.
Dish is the best! You won’t belive the difference in your picture. We live in Seattle and have yet to lose picture from bad weather. One of my favorite features is the on-screen guide- you just push the guide button and you can scroll through what’s playing on every station, how long it’s going to last, and what’s up next. If you have one of the newer dishes, you can still keep watching the show on one corner of the screen while you scan the rest of the channels. There’s also digital music to suit even the most eclectic tastes.
Seven, I don’t know that you’ll be able to get your Seattle stations back. Last year Congress proved it had way too much free time by making a law against broadcasting out-of-area networks. This sucks, since I start work at 4 AM and really appreciated being able to catch prime time at 5 instead of 8. You will, however, get the others, like UPN, FX, BBC America, etc. at Eastern time, and this makes it possible for me to get my Sunday night HBO fix Six Feet Under, the Sopranos, Sex in the City) all the way through and still get to bed early!
I’ll just echo the above with a hearty Dish rules! More channels, better reception and service, not that hard to install on your own, and less cost equals a much better option than cable.
We’re considering getting a dish but I’m worried about all of the trees in our backyard.
Is it true that these thing have to have a clear path to the satelite and in many places that simply is not possible?
Dish is awesome! We’ve had it almost a year and a half now, and I’d never go back to cable again. We’ve got tons of trees in our backyard, but they were able to get a clear path for the dish without having to trim anything down.
We get a lot of high winds here, and it has to be incredibly high before the signal gets lost. Dish network rocks!
Been a subscriber for over 5 years. I’ve yet to be disappointed.
This topic comes up a lot. Bear in mind you can’t record one channel when watching another.
A pretty good system, but as I write this, you still cannot order NWA-TNA PPVs on a Dish Network System
abm
OK I’ll bite.
What the heck does “NWA-TNA PPVs” mean?
I’m guessing PPVs=Pay Per View.
Dish SUCKS!!!
Customer service is shitty, cant watch/record more than one channel at a time, you never know when anything is airing more than a couple hours beforehand (I don’t even think about watching anything that is “Part 1” because I know I wont get to see part 2), MUST NOT LOSE REMOTE!!!, MUST NOT LOSE SMARTCARD!!!, affected by high wind and clouds.
You do get ESPN classic and all the PPV you want, so go for it if you don’t record much or expect to share viewing time with anybody else in the house. Those are the killers for me. I have 6 TVs, 3 VCRs and my wife likes to watch f’ing dog shows. So guess what I get to see when there is better shit on 149 of the 150 channels? Thats right! Dog shows!!
The second cable is available in the middle of nowhere (where I dwell), the dish is getting stuffed up a sheep’s ass!
One thing else about dish: They will suck your sack to get you to sign up, but once you are a customer, you are dropped to the bottom of the service chain, and any problems you do have will be promptly ignored. Do not expect any promotions or incentives to ever apply to you again. I actually had to cancel service, then reconnect under the wife’s name to get an upgrade to the stinkin’ dish 500.
The Owls are not what they seem.
You COULD get a dual receiver set up (granted, it’s and extra $4.99/month and you’ll have to get another receiver)
Are you using the on screen program guide? It goes up to 44 hours in advance
I’ll give you the remote issue, but why would you ever remove the Smart Card? Mine hasn’t been removed since day one
Hard rain is an issue, but high winds have never been.
I have 3 TV’s and 6 VCR’s attached to my dish and I use the deluxe receiver which can be programmed for up to 10 timers. I also have the East/West network package so I never miss a network show.
Can’t help you there 
My wife loves cooking shows and the damned Lifetime Movie Network. Hence, I HAD to get dual receivers.
I’ll send you my cable company (Comcast) and, if you don’t mind, put it in that sheep’s ass while you’re up there.
Never had trouble with customer service other than semi-lengthy waits (longest wait: 15 minutes) for a service tech. When I upgraded to Dish 500, I only had to pay for shipping of the modified dish. ($25). I installed the new hardware in about an hour.
Of course, YMMV.