Dish NetworkTeam Summit San Antonio

Ok, I know it's been some time since I blogged but man, so much information! I attended Dish Network's Team Summit retailer convention in San Antonio May 11-13th and was blown away with the amount of information! The convention was much larger then Directv's revolution featuring a huge trade show with at least 100 different booths, distributors, displays, giveaways, and food! I scored a really nice backpack for being a Summit Advantage retailer, and learned a good deal from the classes.

San Antonio was great! I ended up staying at the Menger Hotel, which is one of the most haunted spots in town! Didn't have any paranormal experiences, but it was creepy and fun none the less. The hotel was directly across the street from the Alamo, and next to the River Center Mall. I really enjoyed the city, walked the river walk several times, visited the tower of the Americas and spent way too much time at the convention center. Much better location then Dallas!

Ok, so what about the convention. Day one was filled with food, classes, and more classes. That night they had Dana Carvy come to entertain the group, which was less then impressive due to crude humor. After Carvy, ZZ top preformed which was pretty cool. I would have liked to have had the Killers come play if it was up to me, but I guess you get what Charlie likes. Day 2 was a repeat of day one with an evening of motivational speakers, big announcements, red carpet walk, party in the Grotto, riverboat tours, and the best of all Pao de Queijo "Brazilian cheese bread" at Fogo De Chao. Pretty fun night. Day 3 was yet again more classes, then closing ceremonies at Sea World. I didn't get to attend the Sea World part due to my plane leaving at 7pm.

New Announcements from the convention: FREE HD FOR LIFE! Sweet! I'm really pumped about this one. Begging June 3 2010 new AND existing Dish Network customers can get FREE HD FOR LIFE! Here are the requirements: You have to sign up for credit card autopay, with paperless billing, and agree to keep service for another 24 months. That's it! The way they explained it really makes sense. When tv went from being black and white to color the price for broadcasting didn't go up, so the same thing should be with standard definition going to high definition. High five to Dish!

Other things they un-veiled at the convention was all the things you can do with the new model 922 DVR. This thing is amazing! I got one for the store and love it! The new user interface is very cool, and the secondary tuner is used with a built in sling box! That means that the receiver can broadcast the secondary tuner onto the internet so you can watch your DVR anywhere in the world. They even have apps for the Iphone, Android, Blackberry, and working to get it on really any other smart phone with internet connectivity. If you want a security camera hooked up to your home network, you can in the future view the cameras via your dvr, and also check them from anywhere in the world. If you are into Youtube, Hulu, Boxie, or any other web based video source, you can with the 922 integrate those channels on the internet into the DVR and watch them on your big screen tv. Much better then cramming around the computer screen. If you have the 922 connected to your home network you can also view all of your videos and pictures on you tv without having to off load them onto a thumb drive. All Very cool features and available by the years end.

Over the past year and a half I have been installing the series 722 DVR receiver. This is a great box and has some cool add on's coming. A new sling box will hopefully be available later on this year, which only has one wire, and that's it! Old sling boxes were quite a chore to install, didn't have HD, and were not super user friendly. This box is really simple, just plug into the USB port and your done! And it's super light, thin and cool looking. This essentially makes your 722 sling compatible so you sit there at work and really get nothing done.

There were so many other things, but these are the highlights. I was impressed with the direction Dish is going with it's new technology, and am excited to use it here in the future. Now if they could just get the Mountain channel we would really be in for a treat.

Viva La Revolution!

Revolution? Yes Revolution is right. Directv's annual retailers convention called "Revolution" is where I was at last week. The event was held in Dallas Texas, or I should say the Hilton Antole hotel, I really didn't see much of Dallas other then the hotel. It really could have been Preston Idaho and I would have been none the wiser.

So what is a satellite dealers convention like? Day one flew into Dallas Love Field, then got a cab "nice guy from Ethiopia" got to the hotel, and from that time on meetings, classes, meetings, classes, a little entertainment and repeat. The first night after all the classes and such, Directv entertained all the dealers with a nice dinner followed by Bill Cosby. I didn't even know he was still doing gigs. The night was great, Bill was on top of his game, although it sounds like the relationship between he and his wife is a bit strained "she was the topic in most of the jokes". The second day much like the first until the night, where after dinner the next room over was transformed into some weird casino/club party whatever. Since I don't gamble, or drink, there wasn't much else to do other then help myself to the desert bar.

All in all it was good to see what Directv is all about. They showed the new MRV system which stands for Multi Room Viewing DVR. This is what I was talking about in a previous blog. It enables you to access your DVR from any other TV in the house, and you can watch it back in HD. Great step in the right direction for Directv! Now I'm just waiting until I can get my hands on the new HR24 DVR's to kick off Select Satellites own Revolution! Next stop, Team Summit! The Dish Network dealers convention in San Antonio.

Directv turning up the heat!

The Fedex guy just stopped by the office with an interesting package. Lately Directv has been going after Dish Network lock stock and barrel with a new campaign "to tell the truth," in an effort to show they are superior to Dish Network. I like Dishnetwork - and Directv has some cool stuff as well. So, ..... who's right? Let's compare some of the things I personally find good and bad about both companies.

In the new campaign, new Directv customers can receive 2 years of discounts off the regular price of service. This is new as of today. Yesterday it was just 12 months! That's pretty cool! Definitely a step in the right direction. I hate it when the promo period ends and people get sticker shock when their bill goes up to the regular price. Now it looks like they are giving the standard $29 off a month for the first 12 months, and $14 off for the second 12 months. In my opinion, this is much better than before. Remember that the regular price for the choice package is $58.99 without HD and without DVR. Customers are charged an additional $10 for HD and $7.00 for DVR and $5.00 for any other TV they want connected.

Multi room DVR: Dish Network has had multi-room DVRs for years, which has been fantastic! It seems that Directv has finally clued in and is now offering a comparable service. This is another step in the right direction. One thing of note about the multi-room DVR with Directv is, you must have a second set top box for any other tv hooked up for the multi-room DVR function, and this box must be HD!

Pros: now you can share DVR with multiple rooms in HD with Directv. Cool right? I agree cool indeed! But lets remember a few things. With Directv, in order to have an HD receiver in your house, you have to pay the $10.00 HD access fee. That's probably not a big deal if that is what you are getting the system for. Both companies charge the same fee. However, if you haven't upgraded to that shiny new super thin 120 hertz plasma or LCD beauty, then you probably don't really care. That's where, Dishnetwork shines. The dual tuner 722 is HD ready and is included in all DVR installations. And, there is no second tv fee! Other than the $6.00 DVR fee, you pay nothing to watch, record, DVR, and enjoy life on a second tv away from the pains of Days of our Lives playing on the first. You can also access your DVR's recorded list from your second TV and watch anything on the hard drive. With Dishnetwork, no set top box is required for any second TV, and you can split the signal to show up on that old TV you have sitting in the craft room or garage! Chalk one up for Dish!

Cons: So you want Dishnetwork and you want HD on that second TV, well sorry that's not going to work. The TV 2 picture is only in "Standard Definition" which is almost a 4 letter word in the TV industry these days. If you have that sexy new plasma or LCD in your second room the picture won't look so great, but if you still have that bulky but reliable tube tv it will look just fine. One more con, let's say you want another 2 tv's with their own tuner. Well of course you want little Tommy or Cindy to have a TV in their own room, what kind of parent would you be not letting your little angel have their own mind sucking machine. All antics aside, if you do want 2 more rooms with DVR it's not going to be cheap. Try an additional $17 a month for those 2 cherished children. Is it worth it? You make the call. It's a bit steep if you ask me. In a nutshell, if you need just one box to run two TV's, Dish is a great choice. You get a 2 room DVR, HD receiver whether you subscribe for HD service or not, and you can add other occasionally used tv's to the mix.

Ok, my fingers are getting a bit sore now because I'm a satellite geek, not a English major. Let's continue our little Dish vs Direct Discussion another day. I've covered multi-room DVR's, Directv's 2 year discount. I'll post some more about this silly boxing match and who is getting closer to the K.O. Happy TV!

Hello and Welcome!

Welcome to Dish Geek! Select Satellites official Blog! This blog was created to help all you Dish Network and Directv customers, or would be customers decode all the little things you may think are complicated, but in reality are pretty easy! I know, you may be saying to yourself "but I'm convinced I really can't do it myself". I am here to show you all that you can! Satellite liberation for all! Seriously I like to have fun with all this and hope this blog will guide you to take control of your satellite tv for good. Check back often to see the latest tip! It could save you some precious time and frustration, or just give you some good insight on what you can do with your current satellite system. I've been doing this for 9 years now, and have seen a lot. I will update you with all the changes coming to the industry and my honest opinion on what you should be doing.