Dish Network in Hawaii with Tivo
Written: Sep 23 '05
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Pros: clear signal, cheaper by a few dollars
Cons: difficult to set up with Tivo, potential extra charge for each TV
The Bottom Line: Dish Network is a good alternative to Oceanic. It’s not perfect, but worth a try considering Oceanic has a super monopoly and average quality.
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| SirMontego's Full Review: Dish Network DishPVR 501 System |
Think of Dish Network as the alternative. The alternative to Oceanic Cable and the alternative to supporting a monopoly that’s so easy to hate. It’s not that Dish Network is necessarily better or even cheaper, but that you’re doing something different from the other 950,000 people in Hawaii.
Dish Network is a cable TV company that provides homes and businesses with clear television reception. Currently, Oceanic Cable controls the vast majority of cable subscriptions in Hawaii with Dish Network a distant second and Direct TV barely scraping by with a handful of customers. (Direct TV in Hawaii requires an upgraded satellite dish due to Hawaii’s distance from the satellite)
Setup and Installation
A handful of retailers in Hawaii offer a storefront for those with questions about jumping from Oceanic to Dish. The Dish Network web-site offers a short list of these independent retailers and I choose to give the THE SATELLITE GUY business. In addition to the list of four or five listed, every Radio Shack will be happy to take your order. Take note though that Radio Shack will simply sell you an installation code, which you must activate by calling a number and scheduling an installation. Personally, I used an independent retailer owned by the man in the store so if I had any problems I could have go back to the store and get the service I needed. The pimple-faced kid a Radio Shack was nice, but I didn’t have any faith he knew the difference between coaxial and component.
The various standard, DVR, and high definition Dish Network receivers offer a myriad of combinations and options for any new customer. Personally, I do not recommend the Dish DVRs and only endorse Tivo (see below). I also cannot attest to the high definition receivers, as I do not have a HDTV. (for the hardware I choose, see below)
The sign-up package included free installation, free hardware, free HBO and Showtime for the first three months, and 12.99 off the first three months. A very nice man from the Satellite Guy so graciously perched himself on a ladder, affixed the dish to my house, and connect all the necessary wires. Someone needed to be home, so I bribed my retired mom with love and hugs (moms are so awesome!). The installed dish pointed east over the very tall and very near mountain. The satellite connected to my existing cable line feeding into my house with the other end connected to the Dish Network receiver. (no independent power source is needed for the satellite)
Quality of the Hardware
I initially choose the Dish 501 DVR, a receiver and DVR in one. What a piece of junk. After actually playing with the system for 10 minutes I realized that the bottom of the line DVR was a no where near that of Tivo in terms of features and just about everything else. It was hard to use, the graphics were terrible, it could only program specific dates and times every week, there was no “season pass” where one can easily record a show every week, there was no suggestions (not that I expected it), the program guide only featured two days of programing, you cannot watch one show and record another and it was far more difficult to use than a VCR. I originally planned to sell my Tivo because the $5 per month DVR cost was significantly less than the $12.99 monthly Tivo cost, but that plan changed as soon as I used the Dish DVR.
Anyway, I promptly took it back and got the Dish 322--a dual tuner receiver which allowed me to hook up my Tivo to one tuner and hook up my tv to the other tuner. This way, I could record one show with the Tivo and watch another. I then signed up for the lifetime Tivo subscription.
The Dish 322 features two tuners for independent viewing on two separate televisions. The Dish 322 has two tuners, two coaxial outputs for the two independent TVs and two remote controls. In addition to the coaxial outputs, there are also composite audio and video outputs along with s-video outputs for both outputs.
It appears Dish Network intended the Dish 322 to operate two televisions in separate locations within the same household. Remote 1 operates on IR (infra red) and Remote 2 operates on UHF (remote control). Naturally, Remote 2 is designed for the television located in a different room as the Dish 322.
The Dish 322 receives its dish network signal from the satellite dish installed on your roof. On the satellite dish are a number of parts. There is the big circle (I don’t know the official name) and the arm sticking out and at the end of the arm is the LNB or the Low Noise Block Converter, which collects the signal from the satellite. (Dish Network provides a variety of LNB depending upon the number of televisions installed and probably other things.) On my Dish Network satellite dish the LNB connects to a coaxial cable that connects to a splitter (some call it a separator) which then connects through two coaxial cables to my Dish 322 (representing the two separate signals for the two TVs).
The Dish 322 updates the programing guide (and probably other things) every day by downloading the information from the satellite. If three days of updates are missed, the Dish 322 will give error messages. After the updating, the Dish 322 will go into hibernation type mode with a screen saver. (more on this later)
Signal Quality
I choose the bottom of the line 60 channels with my locals for $32.99. These are mostly the same channels on Oceanic analog except no FX. Of the 60, I only watch 30 of them because 31 of them are shopping, public interest, and religious channels. (no offense to anyone who really likes those things). Dish Network also offers a $26.99 plan, which excludes the local stations, and their broadcast affiliates (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WB, KHON, KHNL, KGMB, KFVE, KITV).
The channels change slowly. It takes about 3/4 of a second to go from one station to another with a big dark screen in between. To remedy this, there is an interactive guide to see what is on.
The broadcast quality is just perfect with the exception of NBC, which comes in somewhat fuzzy. Rain generally does not affect the signal.
The tech support is dysfunctional at best. Calling takes about 10-15 minutes to reach a live body and the people I reached didn’t know the answer. You’re better of using the internet and the various forums for support.
Some people have noted that the programing guide is actually that of the west coast (ie infomercials on at 9 pm), but from what I can tell some of the channels are the same and some are not.
One problem with Dish Network is that you cannot split the signal like analog cable. Accordingly each TV must be hooked up to a receiver and Dish Network knows how many TVs you have hooked up.
Dish Network Meets Tivo
Making my Tivo TCD540080 Series2 unit compatible with my Dish Network 322 receiver was a headache. Follow these instructions and you shouldn’t miss a week of shows as I did.
Connect the Tivo to TV 1 and set up the IR baster so Tivo can change channels. Connect your TV to TV 2 so you can record one show with Tivo and watch another.
The big problem is that after 4 hours of inactivity and/or after the programing update a screen saver appears which says “press select to continue”. Well, Tivo doesn’t have a “select” button and doesn’t know the screen saver is on, so it ends up recording hours of the Dish Network logo bouncing around.
I called dish network tech support and they said there is no way to turn this off the screen saver and there is no documentation of when the screen saver comes on. The tech guy said that it will come on after 10 minutes of inactivity and I told him that doesn’t make any sense because I watch tv for 30 minutes straight without doing anything else and the screen saver doesn’t come on. I then inferred he was a moron by saying in world’s friendliest voice “thank you so much for your time and effort”.
Anyway, according to the myriad of reports on the internet the screen saver will come on: (1) immediately after the dish 322 updates, (2) about 45 minutes after the dish 322 updates, and/or (3) after about 4 hours of inactivity. The only report I could verify was (1), the screen saver appearing immediately after the update and after 4 hours of inacticity. For clarity, at 3 a.m. (or what ever time you set the dish 322 to update) the Dish 322 will update its programing and other information. If you’re watching TV, a warning pops up and you can cancel the update. If there is no response, the Dish 322 will connect to the satellite then go into screen saver mode immediately after the update. From the one time I Tivo’ed the whole update process, it seems the update lasts a few moments (perhaps a minute). Since Tivo cannot “press select to continue” here is how to get around it.
While some people have programed macros on their universal remotes to press “select” at 3:05 am, I think the better method is with a vcr timer. Set your Dish 322 to update to 3:00 a.m. At about 3:25 a.m., set the Dish 322 to do a VCR timer for 23.5 hours. This awakens the Dish 322 from the screen saver appearing after the update and also prevents the 4 hour inactivity screen saver from coming on.
Make sure you set the VCR timer on the output 1 connected to the Tivo. I initially set the auto tune for output 2 and Tivo still recorded the screen saver (turning on output 2 not connected to the Tivo doesn’t do Tivo any good). I believe that most people who can’t get the VCR timer to work have it set to the wrong output.
Another problem is the Error Code 588 which says you do not have a telephone connected and will be charged $4.99. Again, Tivo cannot remove this screen because it requires pressing the “select” button and ends up recording hours of screen saver.
The solution is to fix your phone line. If you don’t have a phone line and are paying the extra $4.99 a month for the Tivo line, call Dish Network and tell them you’re having this problem. Chances are that you were not being assessed the extra fee and/or Dish Network doesn’t know you have an additional outlet. (you can draw your own conclusions from that, just don’t break the law, ok?) Just pay the extra $4.99 or get a phone line. This can be turned off by calling the dish network tech guys and telling them you’re paying the extra $4.99.
Personally, I’m not too happy with this extra $4.99 and may move back to Oceanic simply due to this. Regardless, I have about a 9 month left to decide and will wait until then to make a decision.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading my somewhat lengthy assessment of Dish Network, and Tivo in Hawaii. I wish you luck in deciding what cable network to use and
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 41.99
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SirMontego
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