Dish Network Review

Just thought I'd drop an unofficial review of Dish Network, since I just got it this weekend and am bored right now.

First off, it seemed like whenever I talked to people (outside this blog) about getting a dish, their eyes automatically rolled back into their skulls, like they were getting a 'treatment' from Eva Longoria. I think there's a certain stereotype, that has been heavily pushed by Comcast (aka the next AOL Time Warner) that when you have a dish ,and it isn't a sunny day out, you have no reception and you suddenly can't watch TV. Well, it wasn't the worst weather this weekend, but it was pretty crappy, and I had no problems whatsoever. I think the bad rap comes from consumers that have no clue how a satellite needs to be calibrated. They let their three year old practice t-ball on it and then call up Indian tech support to complain about how it rains and they 'ain't got no TV no more'.

So, picture is good, the selection of channels is good. They also have some funny features (that unfortunately cost extra) like karaoke, bar trivia games, etc. etc.

I purchased the dual tuner DVR. It allows me to have to tv's connected in two different areas. Both TVs work independantly, with the second TV using a UHF radio remote instead of the IR - which allows it to operate the box downstairs. It's a pretty sweet setup.

The menu is also pretty fast compared to DirectTV units I've seen, and it runs laps around the old ReplayTV service I had - that was slow as hell though.

All in all, I've been pretty pleased so far - and it is nice to have my idiot box back. Perhaps when we get a new house, I'll cough up $4 for the month and we'll have a karaoke party like nobody's business!