Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Looking for a new satellite receiver

I need to buy another receiver for the HT room and am wondering which one to buy. There are only 10 HD channels in my location and if I go HD, I’d have to buy a second dish which is not an option for me. I can’t stand the look of one on my house, and two would be hideous. Plus, I’d have to subscribe to the max channel package to get those ten HD channels.

Considering all that, I’m looking at buying the 625 which is a SD receiver, or, buying the 622 which is a HD receiver. I would ‘think’ that the 622 should have a better picture because it has both component and HDMI outputs while the 625 just has coax and S-cable. That's the only real reason why I'm even considering the 622. Dishnet will not upgraid my system, so I have to buy the receiver (if your wondering).

Has anyone here compared these two receivers with SD??

Hey Mike!

How about DirecTV instead?

I don't think you should EVER need a second dish; maybe an upgraded dish and multiplexer or some such, though. We have 5 feeds coming from our one DTV dish (2 SDTivo x 2, plus one for the kids).

They are willing to give me a HD-DVR for $299 including a new dish and installation. The deals for NEW customers should be even better.

Of course, I'd need a HDTV and another ten bucks a month first.

I have to agree with Tom, I originally had Dish, and when they did not want to upgrade me for free, I cancelled them and went to DirecTv HD. Of course Dish called me the day after I cancelled and wanted to upgrade me for free.
But I'm much more happy with my service from DirecTv.

Well I originally went satellite over cable because the cable company pissed me off. When I started looking at the two satellite companies, I went with Dishnet over Direct TV because I liked the programming choices better. Out of curiosity, I looked at Direct TV again today and I still like the Dishnet programming choices better. If I were an avid sports watcher, I’d go with Direct TV, but I can’t stand watching sports. Love to play, but hate to watch unless there’s friends and beer involved. I also called the local rep for Direct TV and he told me that I’d still need two, 1.2 mtr dishes to get HD. If I could get away with one dish, I’d jump on it.

So I’ve got two choices, by a new receiver for use with Dishnet, or go with Direct TV. It would cost me less money up front with Direct TV, but it would be a lot more hassle because I would have to install ‘their’ dish, dial it in and then re-learn how to use ‘their’ equipment. I just can’t be bothered with all that hassle.

I think I’ll just stick with Dishnet for now and buy a new receiver.

It would depend on what you watch, because content is king, right?

Question/things to consider:
1) Can you get OTA HD in your area? If so, thad would cover you for most of the networks. In my area, with an outdoor antenna, I can get about 20+ HD OTA channels pretty clearly. Last year I bought 2 old VOOM receivers on ebay for $100. They have OTA tuners so all it needs is an antenna. (If anyone's interested, PM me. It's sitting in my garage.)

2) How much paid/premium HD do you watch? If you can live with OTA, you can still keep your existing receivers for SD.

3) Remember if you go DirecTV, they'll pull you into a 2 yr commitment, which drives me batty.

4) In my area, Comcast has an HD DVR and they don't requiret a contract. So cable is a viable month to month.

5) HTPC is a decent route. Just saw a company just come out with an HDMI card, input and output. I have a USB thumbstick tuner for my Mac Mini and the DVR function is very easy. The mini is part of my HT.

Just some food for thought.

I was able to get the new HR20 HDDVR for free! I have been a customer with Directv since 1996,back in nov I was able to get the HD tivo for 50 bucks. They will give it to you if you are a top tier cust. or a new one.

OK, all this praise of Direct TV inspired me to make a few more calls. The first call was very good. They told me that they’d sell me a complete HD package for roughly $200 because I wanted three receivers and one that records. Not bad at all. The second call to the tech department gave me really good news. I only need one dish, their super duper 29” X 24” dish that would be much smaller than my big ol’ ugly 39” dish hanging on my gable end wall like a huge zit ready to pop.

Call #3 to the sales line again I worked out my package I wanted and it costs the same monthly fee that I’m paying now, plus I’d get a third receiver and HD!! I wiped out the CC in glee and when the salesman started taking my information, I got a “that’s weird” response from him. When he pulled up my zip code, the system locked him out. I’m in a part of Alaska where they can not broadcast! Dammit!!

I’m stuck with Dishnet……..bummer…. and I was soooo happy for a minute there. I feel like a teased teenaged boy again. Oh the horrible disappointment after a cruel moment of false hope.