[alligator]

I just found out that the TV I purchased a year or so ago is only HDTV ready, it doesn't include an HD tuner. Since I'm already using Dish Network for satellite TV, can someone recommend an HD tuner to pick up over-the-air HD? Or should I look at something else entirely? My Tivo can't record HD anyway, so maybe it would only be useful for live programs over-the-air.

How are you guys getting HD programming?

[Agasthya]

Originally posted by alligator:
I just found out that the TV I purchased a year or so ago is only HDTV ready, it doesn't include an HD tuner. Since I'm already using Dish Network for satellite TV, can someone recommend an HD tuner to pick up over-the-air HD? Or should I look at something else entirely? My Tivo can't record HD anyway, so maybe it would only be useful for live programs over-the-air.

How are you guys getting HD programming?

Dish wouldn't let us renegotiate our contract so we bought a Samsung SIR-T451 off-air HD receiver for about 200 bucks and we will drop Dish Network in favor of DirecTV in about 7 months.

[Scifience]

Doesn't Dish Network offer HD service and an HD receiver?

[Agasthya]

Originally posted by Scifience:
Doesn't Dish Network offer HD service and an HD receiver?

Yeah, the 811 receiver. They wanted us to pay for the receiver up front because we just signed up for satellite recently and only long-term customers are apparently eligible for the free upgrade or some ****. They also said that we would have to pay 5 dollars a month for the receiver and then 10 dollars a month for the HD package and that on top of our regular satellite costs would mean that we would paying about 90 dollars a month or something so there was no way in hell we were going to sign up for that for like 6 channels that Dish gives you in HD.

[starman]

Drop Dish. Get DirecTV.

Mike

[i_rooster]

get voom?

[MaxPower2k3]

Originally posted by i_rooster:
get voom?

Voom's gone. Cablevision sold the Voom satellite to the company that owns DirecTV for less than it cost to launch it in the first place.

[nerd]

Originally posted by MaxPower2k3:
Voom's gone. Cablevision sold the Voom satellite to the company that owns DirecTV for less than it cost to launch it in the first place.

So that explains the new DirecTV adds talking about HD.

[d0ubled0wn]

Originally posted by MaxPower2k3:
Voom's gone. Cablevision sold the Voom satellite to the company that owns DirecTV for less than it cost to launch it in the first place.

EchoStar bought the Voom satellite, not DirecTV. EchoStar owns Dish Network. I'm happy with Dish so far, though I haven't gone HD yet. I'm hoping this is the year that Dish busts out with a ton more HD programming, then I'll go out and get a nice 55" Sony LCD RPTV.

edit: nm, I forgot that DirecTV and EchoStar merged. It'll be interesting to see what they do with the Voom satellite.

[tooki]

The cheapest ATSC (= U.S. digital TV standard, which includes HD) tuner I'm aware of is the Samsung SIR-T451, for about $250.

tooki

[sideus]

Originally posted by d0ubled0wn:
EchoStar bought the Voom satellite, not DirecTV. EchoStar owns Dish Network. I'm happy with Dish so far, though I haven't gone HD yet. I'm hoping this is the year that Dish busts out with a ton more HD programming, then I'll go out and get a nice 55" Sony LCD RPTV.

edit: nm, I forgot that DirecTV and EchoStar merged. It'll be interesting to see what they do with the Voom satellite.

I'm pretty sure EchoStar and DirecTV didn't merge. The FCC killed the deal.

Press Release

[nerd]

You can try for one of these Mitsubishi DirecTV receivers that do HD. I have one and it's fine. I don't use HD from DirecTV any more because I'm to cheap but I do use it for over the air stuff and it works fine.

eBay search for SD-HR5