About a week ago, I received my analog-to-digital converter box from DISH Network. There was a lot of confusion when DISH first announced plans to offer a $40 converter, and then ended up releasing one for about $60. A while later, DISH promised that they would be coming out with a $40 converter, making it essentially free for those who have the $40 government-issued coupons that are being issued to help ease the transition to digital TV in February.

Although I do have DISH Network satellite service, I do have another TV in the lower level of my house which is simply connected to a roof-top antenna, which means that I would not be able to receive anything on it after the digital switch without the converter, other than some low-power stations that are reported to be remaining on analog, but I am not sure if there are any in my area, and if there were, they are probably not of much interest to me anyway.

I opted for the cheaper unit, which DISH Is calling the TR-40 CRA and is the one that sells for $40. The unit was very easy to set up and seems to work well so far. Other than the 20-minute process I had to endure on the telephone with a customer service rep who I’m guessing was in India, and having her share of computer problems, I’m pretty happy with the deal.

DISH, like so many other online retailers I have done business with, does inflate the cost of “shipping and handling,” however. They are charging $9 to ship a single unit, which is way more than the actual cost they forked over to UPS to bring it to my door.

So far, I’m quite satisfied with the unit, although one slightly annoying “feature” is that it goes through the process of downloading programming data for the on-screen program guide each time you turn it on. This can be stopped if you want to start watching something right away though.

It is rather cool to have a program guide on an over-the-air TV. It looks a lot like the one on my DISH Network ViP622 DVR, but with fewer features, of course.

It also has a nice feature called “Analog Pass-through,” which allows you to press a button and bypass the converter and watch the plain old analog signal if you wish. Due to the nature of the way digital TV seems to operate (at least in my area), this is a handy feature because we’ve seen our share of problems with digital TV signals here.

We’ve actually been watching digital TV here since the beginning of 2007 since our DVR is able to receive over-the-air digital broadcasts using a standard TV antenna and most, if not all of the stations in Boston have been broadcasting in both analog and digital for a while.

From my experience, the digital signal does not seem as reliable, and may be much more susceptible to weather conditions than the old analog signals.

Just this morning I was watching my local Fox channel’s digital broadcast via my new converter box, and suddenly the picture just became totally distorted, and then was lost completely. I had to use the “Analog Pass-through” feature so I could continue watching the program via the analog signal. The weather was clear and dry, so it does not seem as if bad weather had anything to do with it, and I could see from the converter box’s on-screen signal strength indicator that the signal strength was indeed lower than normal.

Although we do enjoy much better picture quality when watching the digital broadcasts here, it does seem like there will be occasional problems with reception due to factors I do not yet fully understand. I’m even more pleased that I recently decided to add our local broadcast channels to my DISH Network programming package so that we can view those channels via the satellite now. I suspect we will have that need from time to time depending on how the over-the-air digital broadcasts are coming in at any given time.

DISH is planning to produce a unit called the DTVPal Plus that is supposed to have a more sensitive receiver, but buyers will pay a premium for that at $70. Perhaps that is what we need here for more reliable digital reception, but I do not see myself ordering any of those new improved converter boxes anytime soon.

As just about anyone who watches TV now knows, all over-the-air television broadcasts will be converting to the digital format in February. Here in the Boston TV market, we have been inundated with commercials reminding us of this fact.

If you receive your television programming the "old fashioned" way with an antenna on your roof, and your TV is not capable of receiving digital broadcasts, you will need a digital converter box if you want to continue watching TV the way you are now.

If you have cable or satellite TV, you have nothing to worry about and you will not notice any changes in February.

Well-known review site cnet has completed a review of the digital converter box that was recently introduced by DISH Network. Although DISH Network’s primary business is providing satellite TV programming, the company has decided to market digital converter boxes as well.

What’s very nice about the TR-40 from DISH Network is that it costs $40, which is the same value of the coupons that the government is giving away to help consumers pay for the cost of the switch to digital. This means that the TR-40 is essentially free, excluding any shipping and handling costs that might be required.

Although I am a DISH Network satellite customer, we do still have two televisions in the house that are connected to a roof-top antenna and will require a digital converter box to continue working after the switch-over in February.

I’ll be ordering a couple of TR-40 units for our home in the near future.

For more on the switch to digital, check out this site.

Recent News from DISH Network brings word that the satellite broadcaster is the first television provider to transmit 100 percent of their standard and high-definition programming using the MPEG-4 video coding standard.

Previous to the upgrade to MPEG-4, DISH Network was using the MPEG-2 standard and DISH Network’s competitor, DirecTV is said to be using a combination of MPEG-2 and MPEG-2 currently.

MPEG-4 offers customers a superior picture according to DISH Network.

DISH Network’s chief marketing officer, Jessica Insalaco had this to say about the new development: "DISH Network once again leads the pack in providing customers with an unparalleled entertainment experience. Our complete MPEG-4 solution – which will offer up to 150 HD channels by the end of the year – uses the most advanced technology in the industry to deliver the best quality picture to any television set in the home, perfect for those who have or are considering upgrading to high definition."

Dish Network is proving that even though they are the number 2 satellite broadcaster for numbers of customers, they are number 1 when it comes to technology.

Today, Dish Network is beginning to roll out upgrades for compatible DVRs and receivers which will provide 1080p HD programming. You can real all about HDTV and 1080p here, if you are unfamiliar with the technology, but if all you want is the quick and simple explanation, 1080p is the highest and best HD picture available today.

DirecTV does not yet offer 1080p and neither does Comcast — at least in my area they don’t. Unfortunately for me, my TV has only 1080i capability which is a step below 1080p. I guess that’s a good excuse to put a new TV in the budget sometime!

Be Sure To Check Out Dish Network’s Latest Deals

In addition, Dish Network is bringing 17 new HD channels online today, which brings the total offering of national HD channels to  114 and plans to offer 150 HD channels by the end of the year.

There has been some pretty fierce competition between the two big satellite broadcasters for bragging rights for the most HD channel. It appears that this latest addition by Dish Network puts them ahead of DirecTV once again.

Dish Network is also offering a new all-HD programming package called TurboHD, which start at $24.99 per month.

The new HD channels that are being added today are: ActionMax HD, CBS College Sports HD, Lifetime HD, Lifetime Movie Network HD, Planet Green HD, Encore HD, HBO 2 HD, HBO Comedy HD, HBO Family HD, HBO Latino HD, HBO Signature HD, HBO West HD, HBO Zone HD, Starz Comedy HD, Starz Edge HD, Starz Kids & Family HD, and Starz West HD.

The analog-to-digital TV converter box currently being sold by Dish network is called the DTVPal, and it has received a nice review from at least one source.

The reviewer seemed most impressed with the DTVPal’s electronic program guide, which offers several days of data. Not having any experience with these analog-to-digital converter boxes myself, I was not even aware the program guide was an option.

My HDTV set receives digital signals as well as my Dish Network VIP-622 DVR, but neither of them seem to have the ability to provide a program guide for over-the-air digital TV signals, like the DTVPal seems able to do.

The DTVPal is one of many brands of converter boxes that will be required by anyone who uses a TV connected to a conventional antenna to receive local over-the-air TV broadcasts. In February, 2000, all TV signals will be switched to digital mode and all the older analog sets will not work without a converter box.

Television viewers that have cable or satellite TV service will not have to purchase a converter box.

Check out the DTVPal review here.

A recent court ruling has come down against Dish Network which may result in a hefty monetary penalty for the company. Tivo had filed a suit claiming patent infringement due to the technology used in Dish Network’s DVR or digital video recorders.

The satellite giant may have to dish out as much as $94 million to Tivo as part of the ruling against them.

Apparently, Tivo filed suit alleging both hardware and software infringement. Although Dish has apparently emerged victorious on the hardware side, Tivo was the winner on the software side of things.

Dish Network says that they will appeal the ruling, as we might all expect. They go on to say that all current and future Dish Network DVR customers do not have to worry about any changes in the way things work because their engineers have made changes to the software to eliminate the portions that violated Tivo’s patent. The new software has already been downloaded to all Dish Network DVR units.

I am glad to see that there are no changes in the way my DVR operates since I was a bit concerned that I might lose some of the most useful features if Tivo won the lawsuit.

What I don’t understand is why Dish Network didn’t make these changes to the software when Tivo first complained about it. I’m sure it cost them a lot less than $94 Million to implement those changes and it seems like it would have spared them a lot of trouble (and money) to have made the changes before it all ended up in court.

A new review from PC Magazine on the new VIP722 DVR From Dish Network just reaffirms my opinion of Dish Network’s DVR’s in general. I have the VIP622 myself and I just love it.

The 722 has some advantages over the 622 but they are not worth the $200 for an existing customer like myself to upgrade. Besides, I really don’t have a need for the new features anyway.

I guess the most notable new feature is the increased hard drive capacity. The 722 will hold 350 hours of standard-definition programming and 55 hours of HD programming while my 622 only holds 200 hours of standard and 35 hours of HD programming. I don’t know about you, but for me the 622 holds more than I will ever need. I don’t watch that much TV!

I’ve been completely satisfied with my Dish Network DVR so far. I’ve had it about a year and so far the only problem I have had with it is that it has failed to feed a signal to my TV a couple of times when I turned it on. Just unplugging it and plugging it back in solves that problem — I kind of DVR “reboot” if you will.

If you want to read PC Magazine’s full review, check it out here.

The short answer is: I don’t know. The longer, and more informative answer, is to have an installer come out to your home and find out.

I had always assumed that there was no way you could receive satellite TV if there were trees in between you and the satellite. In fact, as much as I hated cable TV, when I lived in my old house, I never even bothered looking into the possibility of getting satellite TV because of the tall pine trees behind my house and I was sure it would not work.

Since then, I have seen some satellite dish installations that make me question that assumption. I have seen numerous satellites on various properties that appear to be aimed right through a bunch of trees.

Granted, I did not stop and knock on any doors and ask these people if their satellite TV worked well, but I think I can safely make the assumption that they must be using the service if the dish is still installed.

The best course of action is to get in touch with an expert and find out if satellite TV is an option for you. As always, I highly recommend that you contact DISH Network and talk to them about your situation.

According to this recent article, Dish Network is working on solving the problem that some DVR owners run into from time to time: Running out of hard disk space to record more programs.

DVR’s or digital video recorders use internal hard disk drive like those that reside inside your computer. So far, I have not even come close to running out of space on my DVR at any time, but apparently some people do. When I got too many recorded shows on my DVR, it gets me a little antsy and I force myself to schedule some time in front of the tube.

The new HD-capable ViP722 DVR being developed by Dish Network will have a port where the user can plug in an external hard drive when they run low on space and continue recording programs. With that option, the number of programs you could store would be limited only by the number of external hard drive you have to plug into your ViP722 DVR!

What’s also cool for us ViP622 DVR users is that Dish Network is rumored to be performing a firmware upgrade later this summer that will allow the 622 to make use of external hard drives as well.

The ports to plug the hard drives in are already present on the 622 and were placed there with the idea of implementing new features just like this. Now I know I should be able to solve the problem of running out of space if that ever happens to me.

Don’t have Dish? Order today by clicking here.

Dish Network has introduced a brand-new member to its line-up of DVR Receivers. The ViP222 is the newest member of the family and boasts many features.

The ViP222 is positioned just above the ViP211 in the line-up and offers a two-room solution for HD customers. Although the ViP222 does allow the customer to feed two televisions, only one feed is HD, while the other is standard definition.

As readers of this blog already know, I have the ViP622 HD DVR Receiver and I love it. If you want to see a demo of some of the features of the 622, just click here.