WARNING! If your man surfs channels, this could KILL him!
Written: Sep 25 '00
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Pros: Lots of channels
Cons: That darn remote is a real bear to operate
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| grneyedcwboy's Full Review: EchoStar 3720 Dish Network System |
Last week, we got our Dish Network satellite installed. This week, I am still trying to figure out how to work the darn remote.
My husband and I were tired of paying for cable that we never got. We paid about 35.00 a month for around 25 channels. Some of those channels worked, others didn't. If the weather was even remotely bad, we lost our cable. Last month, our cable was out for a week, yet the company did not credit our bill for the time we didn't receive the product. Thus, our search for a better company ensued.
We looked into getting DSL but opted to get Dish Network because they were offering a free dish, free installation and 3 months of all the premium channels just for giving them a copy of our cable bill. Not a bad trade if you ask us! They had several packages to choose from as far as programming, but we were told we needed to order either the Top 100 or Top 150 channels plus whatever other channels we choose to make is so we have a bill of 39.95 per month. That was only $5.00 more than what we were paying and we got about 110 more channels. The dish we were to receive was the Echostar 3720 series. (We got the 3822 model which is the same from what I was told.)
We were told the dish would be shipped within a week and that they would install it for us on the following Thursday. We received the dish four days later. Wednesday evening we received a call from the technician asking for directions. He stated he would be there on Thursday afternoon like we requested. On Thursday, the technician came around 4:00 p.m. and was finished installing the dish within about 30 minutes. He activated our service and was gone.
So far, everything that Dish Network has promised, has been received. We couldn't have been happier. That is, until we picked up the remote and tried to surf our new and improved service.
Good-googa-mooga, who in the name of St. Valentine invented this darn thing? I have never seen such a complicated mess of buttons in my whole life. It took us twenty minutes just to figure out how to access the channels. When we finally figured that out, we didn't know any of the channel numbers anymore. So, now began the tedious process of trying to find our favorite channels. That took another hour. After toying with the darn thing for a couple of days, we found a few buttons on it that were actually helpful. There is one button that says 'info' on it and when you press it, you get a brief description of the program you are watching including start and finish times. Another button is the 'guide' button. That is where you can see what is on now and what is coming on. Pretty cool feature if you don't like scanning the local TV guide. This remote is a wife's nightmare. If your husband (wife) likes to surf channels, then you may just find yourself going to bed alone. He (she)could be at this for hours. There is more surfing to be done here than in Hawaii. Hopefully, he (she) is in shape and can handle all that work. It may be just too much for them and they could die of happiness. Thank goodness my husband isn't like that. Heck, he is just content being able to work the darn thing enough to be able to watch TV!
The package of channels we got included a bunch of stuff we won't really utilize. I, personally, don't watch the shopping channels and we seem to have at least 5 of those. There are about 30 music channels too. Most of the music channels are strictly that, music. There is no video to them, just a description of the song, the artist and the record company all on a black screen. I actually think that is pretty cool because I am not a big fan of music videos because they are too explicit for my taste. If you are a sports fan, this is for you. There are over 22 sports channels and you can even customize them by ordering more channels that specifically suit your wants and needs.
The premium movie channels are a bargain in themselves. We are used to getting only one premium channel for $10.00 a month. Now, when we order HBO, we get 7 HBO channels. Showtime, Cinemax and Starz/Encore also have package deals. The price for the premium channels range from $10.95 to $11.95 per month.
The only downfall I could find is this....unless you specifically order them, your local channels are NOT available. My suggestion is to get an antenna for your house and use it instead. Its cheaper that way. We have one and it works just fine. If you live in an apartment, they probably already have one. If not, you could get stuck paying for them.
I couldn't be happier with the reception. I don't have the annoying buzzing we were getting with our other cable service and the dish itself took up very minimal space on our house. If we move, dismantling it should be a piece of cake. We got our first snow of the season this weekend and our service remained crystal clear the whole time. What a switch!
The dish didn't cost us a penny because of their promotion, but it did cost us $25.00 for shipping. Our first bill is going to reflect two months worth of programming and then we will be billed monthly after that. When we ordered, we needed a credit card for our account, so be prepared when you call them. I tried to order their service online, but they requested that I call them as they were out of stock on the model I wanted. Their number is 1-800-333-DISH (3474) and their web address is www.dishnetwork.com.
If you are looking to get into a satellite system, then this is the one I recommend. I am very pleased with the service and the options. Now....if I could only figure out what all these buttons are.
As always, thank you for reading.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
grneyedcwboy
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Member: Teresa Whitaker
Location: LaCygne KS
Reviews written: 107
Trusted by: 101 members
About Me:
I have a tendency to show up here at the strangest times!
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