DishNow as an addition to FTA and OTA setup

[teched]

I'm quite happy that I added a DishNow option to my FTA and OTA setup.

After the initial activation I've used Green Dot to selectively pickup days of programming to watch and pay for "Pay TV" only when I want, with modest preplanning. I don't watch much TV during the week so why pay $1-$2 a day for something I don't use?

Despite the upfront costs (below) soon I will add a second DishNow receiver for International programming. The international programming is on 61.5 while the Basic and Movie programming is on 110/119.

A few hurdles:

Around $140 upfront. $100 for the receiver and dish. $40 for the activation card and in my case additional remotes.

No regional sports, suffering all blackouts and no BigTen Network. Minor issue for me as I can live without sports. (Significant other's appear to consider this a bonus.)

My DishNow receiver (301) & EZ Remote and my DTVPal & remote weren't co-existing happily. I picked up a 3.1 IR remote for use with the DishNow and am using a RadioShack 3-in-One for the DTVPal because of limitations in the EZ Remote and DTVPal & remote.

Because I don't watch "so much TV" the ~$5 (for the first 90 days of the card, higher thereafter) Green Dot tax isn't a dealbreaker for me. If I was maintaining a constant & consistent programming level it would make DishNow less attractive.

[Sadoun]

Nice feedback. DishNow is an excellent option for people who don't want to spend too much money on PayTV.

[teched]

Around $140 upfront. $100 for the receiver and dish. $40 for the activation card and in my case additional remotes.

The $40 activation card may not be required to activate a new DishNow receiver. With a new DishNow (DP301) receiver I was able to just "add more days" via a GreenDot money pack. The prompts were then more like first time activation than typical "add more days" but the end result was programming.

This reduces the upfront commitment for DishNow $100 for the receiver and dish PLUS the GreenDot money pack (4.95 plus whatever you expect to use over <90 days).

Also, RadioShack has changed their stock number for the $40 activation card from 16-317 (160-0317) to 16-693 (160-0693).