December 14th, 2012
Did your receiver need to be replaced or did you upgrade to a newer one? Most likely you’ve received a new receiver in the mail, along with instructions on how to switch out your receiver and return the old one. DISH offers 24/7 tech support to assist you if you need it, but here are a few pointers that can help you to do it yourself!
If possible, place the replacement receiver on top of the old receiver and move the cords one at a time, from the spot on the told receiver to the exact same spot on the new receiver. If this isn’t possible, take a picture of the back of your receiver to use as reference when replacing the cords.
A jumble of cords behind your entertainment center can be quite daunting. Use this opportunity to get a handle on that tangle of cords. You can buy Velcro strips at most electronics store that come color coded and are specifically designed for organizing cords. Or you can use supplies you have at home, such as zip ties for holding cords and masking tap and Sharpie markers for color coding.
This will protect your receiver and other electronic devices.
There shouldn’t be any devices (such as DVD or Blu-ray players) on top of it. Refer to the packaging inserts for space requirements above and behind the receiver before installing in an entertainment center.
Categories: Equipment & Remotes
March 23rd, 2012
An easy step-by-step video that shows you how to set up Dish Remote Access.
Categories: DISH & TV news
October 14th, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRaYxtdVvDM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYE9eI2Csxw
DISH Network has an excellent videos on how to set up your Sling Adapter and then watch TV everywhere! More information about setting up your Sling can be found here and help with using your Sling can be found here!
Categories: DISH & TV news
September 16th, 2011
It’s football season and there’s no shortage of exciting games to watch every Sunday! Why limit yourself to just one game or to flipping around to different game and hoping you don’t miss something exciting?
With Picture-in-Picture it’s easy to watch two games at the same time! Switching between the two windows is as easy as pressing the SWAP button on your remote, you’ll never miss another game changing play!
To activate Picture-in-Picture your DISH Network duo receiver needs to be in Single Mode. You can active Single Mode by pressing the Mode button on the front of your receiver, usually located behind the door.
Once your duo receiver is in Single Mode you can easily activate Picture-in-Picture by pressing the PIP in button.
Swap: This swaps the active and inactive channels, the channel that is active is the one that plays sound.
PIP: This activates and deactivates Picture-in-Picture as well as toggles through the different window sizes.
Position: This changes the position of the inactive window.
Categories: Equipment & Remotes
September 9th, 2011
Do you worry about your children stumbling on something on TV they shouldn’t see? DISH Network makes keeping adult content away easy with parental controls!
You can access the Locks menu from your DISH Network main menu.
Shows and movies can be blocked according to Motion Picture Association of America and TV Guideline Monitoring board ratings or based on expanded ratings such as language, nudity, sexual content, and violence.
Channel locks can be used to prevent access to particular channels.
This option disables the buttons on the front of your receiver. Helpful if you have small hands that like to play with buttons and lights. You would have to rely fully on your remote if you select this option, so make sure to keep it in a safe place.
If you have already set up a password you can use this option to change it.
Pay Per View and Video on Demand content can be blocked to prevent unwanted or accidental ordering. Note in this image above that this option currently states “Unlock PPV”, that means that PPV is currently locked. All of the locks will display this way if they are currently locked. So if you have already set up the Front Panel Lock, it will show as “Unlock Front Panel”.
This will remove all adult channels from your program guide.
You can use this option to either hide or show channels you’ve locked. If you hide them, the channels you’ve locked or that fall outside of the parental guidelines you’ve set will not show up in your program guide. If you show them they will be visible, but will still prompt for your password when you access them.
Option number three is the most important on this menu, as you must lock your system when you are done setting up your locks for them to take effect. If you make changes on the Locks menu but do not lock your system the changes will not be saved.
Remember, parental locks must be set up on every TV, even if you have a dual receiver for two TVs. The two different tuners in a dual receiver can have separate parental locks set up on each. This allows for you to customize the viewing experiences in your home. For instance, you can place a parental lock on the living room TV to prevent young eyes from accessing HBO, but you won’t have to worry about entering a password every time you want to watch True Blood on the television in your bedroom.
Categories: DISH & TV news
August 26th, 2011
We’ve discussed How To Buy an HDTV previously, going over the differences between LED, LCD and Plasma, today we’ll talk about the many different features available with HDTVs today and which ones you should pay attention to.
HDTVs are the hub of your home entertainment center, bringing together receivers, DVD/Blu-Ray players, gaming consoles, stereos and even computers. When buying a new TV you want to make sure you can actually bring all of those things together. Make you sure know how many HDMI, Component, Composite, Cable, USB or VGA ports you will need, and if you’re looking to add more in the future be sure to take that into account.
As mentioned above, your home entertainment system is probably home to many electronic components. Buying an energy efficient HDTV can ehlp lower your electric bill and ease the burden on the circuits in your living room. In May, 2010, Energy Star released Energy Star 4.0, which cracked down on Energy Star ratings for HDTVs. The Energy Star logo can help you to narrow down your choices, but be sure to keep in mind that larger screens are obviously going to require larger amounts of energy, plasma requires more energy than LCDs but LCDs require more energy than LEDs, and brighter pictures require more energy.
Menus and remotes can be frustratingly complicated, but also infuriatingly oversimplified. Make sure to browse through the menus on the TV and ask to look at the remote. Do you see the kind of options you like to have? Some people like to be able to just plug and go, the only options needed being volume changing and input switching. Others love to have more options to tweak, perfecting colors and adjusting picture. Make sure to find a TV that is closest to your preferences, one that doesn’t have so many option as to overwhelm you, but also doesn’t limit your choices.
The finish on your TV screen may not be something you pay much attention to, until you realize you can’t watch TV in the morning because of the early sun streaming through or that the dining room light has to be off to avoid a glare. Make sure to look closely at the TV screen on the showroom floor and take note of the glares and reflections, especially during scenes with a lot of darks. Also think about the lighting placement in your living room, as most higher end TVs come with a glossy screen it may be easier to rearrange lighting fixtures to avoid glares.
Internet ready TVs are very popular for obvious reasons, but a new internet ready television could cost you hundreds, even thousands of dollars more. You can save money by adding internet to your existing TV with the Logitech Review with Google TV from DISH Network for only $99! DISH Network customers with a Logitech Revueâ„¢ have the most advanced Google TV experience available. The integration includes robust search capabilities spanning Web and DVR content as well as DISH Network Video On Demand programming, something no other provider can offer!
With Google TV you can:
Enjoy Youtube™ and other web videos – all on your TV.
Search for a movie and find it, whether it’s on TV, the Web, your DVR or On Demand.
Watch a cooking show and look up recipes on your big screen.
Categories: DISH & TV news
August 5th, 2011
DISH World is an exciting new IPTV service available from DISH Network! By simply connecting the DISH World receiver to your television and high speed modem or router you’ll be able to enjoy the best in international programming.
When you order DISH World you receive the following equipment:
Categories: Equipment & Remotes
July 15th, 2011
LCD TVs are known for having poor black levels but recent developments have helped to fix some of the issues. LCD TVs are back-lit by cold-cathode fluorescent lights (CCFLs), so there will always be some light leaking through and you won’t get that deep black you see on a Plasma TV.
LCD also falls short of plasma when it comes to viewing angles as well, there is some color changes and wash out when watching an LCD from an angle. LCD TVs are best placed in rooms where there is plenty of seating directly in front of it. LCD image and color quality may also suffer when in a darkened room.
LCDs are available in a variety of sizes from 19″ to 65″, and in the popular 40 to 55″ size range, LCD and plasma are priced similarly.
LED TVs are not necessarily new technology. They’re just an LCD TV that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for back lighting instead of the standard cold-cathode fluorescent lights (CCFLs). There are two kinds of LED TVs: full array and edge-lit.
Full array means LEDs are placed across the back panel, just like in LCD TVs with a CCFL backlight.
Edge-lit came about as a way to make TVs even thinner. The lights are placed on all four sides and is projected to the center. Edge-lit LED TVs are the most common.
LED TVs are available in 32″ or larger, are often thinner and use a little bit less energy. Some models may offer slightly better picture quality, but are expensive.
Plasma is the original flat-screen TV technology, and though newer LCD technology has begun to edge it out you still tend to get a better picture quality from plasma. Plasma has wider viewing angles, allowing for more people to watch from a wider space.
Plasmas main issues are that they’re larger, heavier and less energy efficient than their LCD counterparts. They also have issues with reflecting light off their glass screens, which can make viewing in a bright room difficult. Plasma screen do have superior color richness, but are best viewed in darker rooms.
Plasma TVs are available in 42″ or larger and often beat out the LCD competition in price, especially 50″ and above. 50″ is considered by most to be the perfect size for a plasma TV.
| LCD | LED | Plasma | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 19 to 65″ | 32″+ thinner |
42″+ bulkier |
| Viewing Area | Best directly in front of TV | Wider angles and better color uniformity when not in front | |
| Colors | Bright and vibrant, poor black levels | Rich with excellent deep blacks | |
| Best Viewed In | Lighter rooms where flaws are less visible | Dark rooms where there is not a lot of potential glare | |
| Energy Efficiency | Much better than plasma | Some models may be slightly better than LCD | Worst |
Categories: DISH & TV news
May 24th, 2011
Looking for that big game? Not sure what channel your favorite team is on? DISH Network has an amazing tool called Where’s My Game? that allows you to look up all of the games playing in your area.
At the Where’s My Game? tool you can put in your account number or zip code and choose a sport to find all of the games playing in your area.
The tool will display games available to you in light gray, and games that have been blacked out in dark grey.
The results tell you the day and date of the game; which game it is; whether it’s available in HD or not; what stations and channel it’s showing on; whether it is blacked out in your area; and what level of programming is required to see it.
Categories: Channels & Shows