Can't get cable? Get this...
Written: May 20 '00
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Pros: easy to learn, lots of options
Cons: reception bad during storms
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| shanna's Full Review: EchoStar 3720 Dish Network System |
With our satellite service from Dish Network arrived the Echostar receiver.... We've had this receiver for 2 years now and are very satisfied with the receiver itself, our satisfaction with Dish Networks as a provider is a different epinion!
So what does Echostar give you in this box? Well lots of things...
You will receive:
Digital video, this means you will get a much clearer pictures than lets say with regular cable television. You can also receive CD quality audio through this reciever for your music entertainment. The music of course is only going to sound as good as your television will allow it to however. So if your TV has small speakers don't expect to feel like you are sitting in a theater!
Software Upgrades Via Satellite - if your programing provider decides your software needs updating all you need to do is turn it on and it's automatically updated!
There is an electronic program guide which is supplied by Dish Network, which is basically an on screen TV Guide, but with an added bonus, you get a description of the program, the starts, a rating, and the time length of the program.
If you watch certain programs which you feel you don't want your children to have access to you can use the Parental Control Lockout that will lockout certain channels, programs with certain rating or type of content. You set this up and then establish a password so that the kids can't figure out how to turn it back on as soon as you step out!
I like the set up of having a transparent browser which allows me to still view the program I'm watching, but can still pop up an info screen to see what's coming on next or pull up the info on the program I'm watching to dispel an argument about which Balwin Brother is in that particular movie!
The set-up allows you to choose between languages, I don't know all that are available, if you're interested in a language other than english, spanish or french, I would recommend calling 1-800- 333-Dish to see if your language is supported.
The remote offers single touch channel return, very handy during football season for keeping up with 2 games!
Dish Antenna Peaking (Signal Strength) Via Audio Tone and 2-Color Bar Graph - this feature allows you to check the strength of the signal you are currently receiving. This will let you know if an adjustment needs to be made after a bad storm or something along those lines.
There is an "Internal Modem/Phone Jack" for connecting a phone line so that you can order via your remote any pay-per-view event being offered by your provider. This saves us $1 for each movie we order.
There is also an external antenna/Cable Input (F-Connectors) for added reception.
If you want to have cable also this receiver has a channel 3/4 modulator which will allow you to set up your satellite receiver for TV channel 4 and cable for channel 3 or vice versa.
There is closed caption support for folks who need it as well as on-line user selectable diagnostic testing.
Now there are more spec's on this that I've found but have no idea what they really do so I'll just list them in a group:
You can also configure this system to categorize your favorite shows. I have 4 lists: Good TV (Discovery, TLC, History, etc), Movies (All my movie channels), News (All the news programs) and Music (all the music channels). I can choose a list and see the guide for those channel's I've selected for those lists. You can have up to 25 channels per list. This saves you lots of time scrolling thru channels you never watch.
When you purchase this system it will probably be from a satellite service provider like Dish Network, they will usually offer you a good (if not free) dish with a minimal installation charge in return of a 1 year subscription to their service. I recommend doing this, you may have to wait a week or two for service people to come out, but it is worth it. When we did do the install ourselves it took several hours, when they did it was done in around 1 hr! It was worth it to us!
I really like this Echostar system. I'd say the only real complain that I have is that during moderate or severe inclement weather you tend to lose your satellite quite easily and may have some real downtime. All in all however I recommend this system to anyone considering adding a satellite to thier home!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): free w/ contract
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Epinions.com ID:
shanna
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Member: Shanna
Location: Pensacola Beach
Reviews written: 231
Trusted by: 197 members
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