I just signed up for Dish Network yesterday because this deal seemed too good to pass up. Of course, it's only good if you get the channels you watch most often since the TurboHD packages offer limited channels. For me, it's an upgrade of the basic cable (local channels, PBS, HSN, QVC) I've been getting.

Right now, if you sign up for Dish Network (New Subscribers) you can receive:

- Starz/Encore, HBO and PlatinumHD (Several HD movie channels) free for 3 Months
- Free Installation
- Free HD DVR Upgrade
- $50 credit on first bill
- First year of Cinemax for 1 cent for signing up for paperless billing / autopay

The lowest cost TurboHD package is the TurboHD Bronze for $24.99 which includes (all in HD):
105 / 9431 USA Network
108 / 9470 Lifetime
110 / 9462 Food Network HD
112 / 9461 HGTV HD
118 / 9419 A&E
120 / 9491 The History Channel
122 / 9432 The Sci-Fi Channel
138 / 9420 TNT
139 / 9499 TBS
140 / 9424 ESPN
142 / 9494 ESPNews
144 / 9425 ESPN2
172 / 9433 Disney EAST
176 / 9463 Cartoon Network
180 / 9434 ABC Family
182 / 9487 The Discovery Channel
183 / 9488 The Learning Channel
200 / 9436 CNN
208 / 9439 CNBC
214 / 9438 The Weather Channel
215 / 9437 The Travel Channel
362 / 9422 HDNet
364 / 9421 HD Theater
369 / 9469 Paladia (was MHD)

PlatinumHD Includes
366 / 9427 Universal HD
374 Smithsonian HD
383 / 9423 HDNet Movies
385 MGM HD
396 World Fishing Network
402 / 9508 NBA TV
403 NHL Network HD

Premium Channels as part of this deal
300 / 9456 HBO (East)
301 / 9455 HBO 2
302 / 9454 HBO Signature
303 / 9478 HBO West
305 / 9453 HBO Family
307 / 9451 HBO Comedy
308 / 9452 HBO Zone
309 / 9459 HBO Latino
310 / 9458 Cinemax
311 / 9440 Cinemax HD West
313 / 9479 Actionmax HD
314 / 9441 Cinemax 5 Star
340 / 9505 Encore (East)
350 / 9435 Starz!
351 / 9498 Starz! West
352 / 9496 Starz! Edge
354 / 9486 Starz! Comedy
356 / 9497 Starz! Kids and Family

With all this, you get the HD DVR which can record up to 3 shows at once (2 from Dish and 1 OTA) and provides 2 rooms of service.

The summary is:

TurboHD Bronze - $24.99
Cinemax for a year
Starz/Encore, HBO, PlatinumHD for 3 Months
HD DVR (~$5 monthly service fee applies)
Local Channels ($5)
$50 credit
Free Install
24 month agreement required

All for $34.99 / Month

For me, this was a no brainer since the channels I would watch most of the time anyway are in the package. When I called Time Warner to cancel my basic service ($17 / month), they offered to lower the cost of my Road Runner internet service to $29.95 (from $44.95) if I signed a 2 year contract. Since I don't plan to move or change my service anyway, this was fine. I'm now getting all the same channels I did before, plus all the new ones for only $3-4 more than I have been paying anyway.

1. Go to www.dishnetwork.com
2. Navigate to 'Shop' -> 'TurboHD'
3. Click 'Order Now'
4. Click 'Enter'
5. Enter your info and click next
6. Select Platinum HD, TurboHD Bronze (Or one of the other TurboHD packages if you prefer), Locals if wanted (save $5 if you don't need them) and then click next
7. Check both Special Offers Boxes (Cinemax / HBO) and Click next
8. Ensure that your TV setup is correct. For me, I needed HD and DVR. Click next.

At this point, you can easily continue. You may see that the PlatinumHD is not discounted. If that happens, just call and they will fix it.

What about SD channels? Do you get them also?

And if you do get SD channels, do you get both SD and HD for channels that have both? Some stuff you might want to keep for the kids isn't worth the space in the DVR in HD.

So I just spoke to someone from Dish. They said that if you dont have a home phone line, there is a $5 surcharge because of the nightly updates that would have to be sent via SAT instead of the phoneline.

This was a rep that called once I filled out the order form.

Buyers beware, but kudos to you if you do indeed have a home phone.

Moviewatcher78 said:

I ended up not signing up that night. Then yesterday, I researched and found that you can also attach this DVR (ViP 722) to your internet to get the updates. This elminated the problem for me as I already have network access near my TV for my video game systems. I confirmed this with the DN rep yesterday and then signed up.

For other people thinking about this issue, I just want to say that this is true and its how I have my ViP 722 connected.

Why the red?

For those of you with Dish, are you generally happy with your service?

Can i get local FSN to watch local NBA games in HD in any of HD Turbo packages?

If you have a receiver unit with a single tuner (for one room connection), you don't get charge for not connecting to the phone line. However, if you have a dual tuner unit like DISH 322 or DVR 522, you will get charge $5 equipment fee for no phone line connection. I just got my DISH installed.

I'm very happy with my 2 ViP722 DVR's. I have 4 HDTV's connected and the setup works great for me. I also have a 1 TB USB external drive connected to each DVR for extra storage. They do charge a one-time $40 activation fee per unit, but I was able to talk them into refunding me on one of the fees. A co-worker told me that he can't watch content from the external drive, but I have no problem doing it.

Am I right that local channels on Dish are NOT in HD?

Never Mind - looks like they have HD only in a few markets: Link

the platinum is a 10 dollar upgrade to any hd package, you can go to their site and test drive it for 3 months for for free if you have dish hd already, after the hbo starz 3 months ends, do that platinum 3 months free

new customers looking for sd and hd, you can order the sd channels with the TOP packages and add the HD for 10 bucks more. for instance top 100 is 32.99, locals is 5 and bronze hd is 10, top 200 would get silver hd for 10 more and 250 would get gold for the same, etc...

for locals, hd in addition to sd channels depend on the local market, for phoenix, we get all the major networks in HD

for local Regional Sports Networks, you get them with the Top 100 Plus and above. the HD depends on that particular local network as well