Setting up DISH Network Equipment
Setting up DISH Network® equipment really isn’t something any everyday Joe should attempt on his own. In fact, it’s impossible to buy the component parts of a satellite TV setup and set up DISH Network service by yourself. To receive DISH Network programming, you see, you need a DISH Network smart card, or you won’t be able to set up your DVR. And not only does DISH Network not hand these out to anyone but paying subscribers, but it also requires those costumers have their satellite TV set up by trained professionals.
Furthermore, setting up DISH Network equipment by yourself can invalidate the warranties on your DVR and dish antenna. And this, in turn, could mean you will have to pay a pretty penny or extend your contract to replace these items if they break down.
The smart thing to do, then, is to always have DISH Network do the installation for new service. Installation is included at no charge for qualifying customers, with a 24 month Agreement. Existing subscribers should also be sure to call DISH Network if you plan to move or wish, for instance, to set up your satellite receiver in a different location. The company will happily send a technician to your home to re-set up your satellite receiver, re-set up your DVR or, in short, unhook and re-set up any piece of DISH Network equipment anywhere you need it.
Still, it does behoove you as a responsible customer to understand how a DISH Network satellite TV setup works. Amongst other reasons, understanding how to set up a DVR and how to set up a satellite receiver dish can help you report an incident if there are any problems plus we’re just big proponents of consumer awareness.
To this end, then, we here at InternetLion.com have put together the following brief tutorial, which provides an overview about a satellite TV set up. Again, we strongly encourage that setting up DISH Network only be done by trained technicians. And, as we are presenting this information in the spirit of helping our readers avoid costly penalties, we hope they will heed our warnings and put hooking up their own satellite TV setups out of their minds.
How to Set Up a Satellite Receiver Dish
That said, the first step in setting up a dish antenna is determining which satellite is transmitting a strong TV signal to your region. The DISH Network technician will be armed with this important information – the technician will have determined which geosynchronous satellites currently in orbit over the U.S. are used for TV transmissions, and will determine their longitudinal positions. They’ll then pick which satellite will give you the strongest signal for setting up DISH Network service.
Having nailed down which satellite to aim your antenna at, the technician will most likely use an antenna aiming calculator or similar device. These tools allow the technician to input your selected satellite and location and which will, in turn, spit out some the precise angles your antenna will need to be adjusted to to pick up signals from your selected satellite. We have included information about these on our “DISH Network Satellite Aiming” page as well.
As we describe in fuller detail on our “DISH Network Satellite Aiming” page, the final step in setting up a dish antenna is to actually install it. This requires fixing its base to your home where it will have the clearest view of the portion of the sky where your selected satellite is; then adjusting your dish antenna’s elevation and azimuth, using tools like a geo compass and degree laser level, so they match those that the antenna-aiming device computed. That completes the set up of DISH Network satellite dish and antennae equipment.
How to Set Up a DVR
Next, setting up a DVR/satellite receiver is far simpler than setting up a dish antenna. The first step to setting up your DVR is for a technician to run coaxial cable from the base of the dish’s feed horn (where there is usually a coaxial port) into your home. This will, of course, require some drilling and some re-insulating and is, therefore, quite a delicate and time-consuming process. But once you have the coaxial cable near where you wish to set up your TV system inside, you simply screw it into the corresponding “input” port on the back of your DVR/receiver, then run another cable from the receiver’s output to your TV. This is simple enough and usually all it takes for a technician to set up a DVR/satellite receiver.
However, newer DVR/receivers might not feature coaxial ports with which to connect the coaxial line running from your antenna. In these cases—as we mention in our “Programming Comcast Cable Boxes” page—you would need a converter box to change your coaxial line into, for instance, an HDMI line. Don’t worry, this doesn’t make set up of your DVR/satellite receiver any more difficult as DISH Network technicians are prepared for these circumstances and can install any additional equipment that might be necessary for your satellite TV set up.
The final step to set up a DVR/satellite receiver is programming your remote. This portion of process is very simple for the technician to do because they are armed with all access codes and other details they need to set up DISH Network service.
And yet, syncing a receiver’s remote is probably the one process you should really know about as after a power outage, for instance, DISH Network subscribers can do it themselves. To learn more about the process in detail, then, as well as to find a complete list of DISH Network remote codes, please visit our “Charter Digital Remote Programming” and “DISH Network Remote Programming” pages.
Set Up DISH Network And Enjoy!
Though satellite TV set up should always be left to the professional technicians that are trained specifically for setting up DISH Network service in people’s homes, we hope that you now have a good idea of what that installation or re-installation will entail.
Then, once you have your DISH Network service in place or optimized – start enjoying! DISH Network simply has the best value and the best TV entertainment with the lowest all-digital price nationwide…every day. Click here to learn more about switching to DISH Network today…
Disclaimer: Please note that this article was written when the satellite TV provider DISH was branded as DISH Network. As of 2/1/2012 DISH Network has changed their branding name to DISH. Article post date: 11/23/2010.
