What is DISH TV?
The advent of streaming services catering to customers’ every niche desire makes it difficult for television services to stay profitable. Even so, a few are still going strong, most of which are on the direct-broadcast satellite broadcast paradigm.
How DISH TV Works, and What it Offers
DISH Satellite TV is one of those providers and consistently ranks among the top dirt-broadcast providers in the US. Even in the cord-cutting age, DISH and a few others have remained stalwart staples of American households. In this article, you’ll find a brief overview of the DISH Network service and some of its basic features.
Satellite Television
As the name implies, DISH delivers programming directly from a communications satellite. Modern dish antennas are very compact and efficient. You can install them in a very small space, and DISH offers them free of charge with select programming packages.
Satellite television is delivered in a digital format almost exclusively. In addition to the dish required to receive the signal, TV sets need a decoder set-top box (STB). DISH also provides the decoder box when you purchase a subscription.
Finally, the STB can’t function without a viewing card, which will be installed along with the dish by DISH’s technicians. The dish itself needs to be mounted where it can face the correct direction and with a clear view of the sky. Ideally, this would be a rooftop, but a veranda or terrace may work just as well.
Benefits of DISH Network Satellite Broadcasting
Satellite television has many benefits when compared to traditional cable TV. The most important of those is that it’s much more accessible. Since it gets the signal via satellite, you don’t need additional cables around your home. Satellite TV providers typically offer more channels than cable TV providers as well, and the picture quality tends to be better, especially for customers that are far from service hubs.
In theory, satellite TV subscribers can have access to any station that has a contract with the provider. DISH offers over 700 standard and premium channels. You can also add the service independently to any other service that you’re receiving.
You could have a cable connection as well as a DISH connection in tandem. Customers with such setups can even switch from their cable connection to DISH easily on the same television by using two different input channels.
Why Choose DISH TV?
A Fortune 250 brand, DISH has been serving the American market since the early 1980s and, in that time, has developed a stellar reputation. They focus on versatility and allow subscribers to customize their service more than other satellite TV providers.
They have affordable channel packages for sports, movies, and TV series enthusiasts. They lose out in terms of content to some providers, but they make up for it in value.
Equipment and Add-ons
DISH has always focused on innovation and is often the early adopter of technologies that subsequently become mainstays in the industry. Since 2012, DISH has been offering the Hopper set-top-box (STB) as part of its whole-home system. Now in its third iteration, the Hopper 3 is a DVR that can record up to 16 shows at once, streams in 4K definition, and allows watching the content on up to four screens at the same time.
DISH provides multiple-TV service with smaller STB units for every additional TV. These compact DVRs, called Joeys, connect to the main Hopper and cost and extra 5 dollars per month. See more about DISH Equipment.
To provide uninterrupted service, the DISH Anywhere app allows viewing on any compatible device with an appropriate internet connection. It can also record content for later viewing on mobile devices.
Channels and Content
DISH offers four basic channel packages, and they’re all priced consistently, meaning that the price won’t increase in the second year of service as it does with most other providers. All the channel packages come with local networks, ESPN, Disney Channel, HGTV, Food Network, and a few other cornerstone networks. Here are the details about DISH TV Packages.
The more acclaimed channels come in pricier packages, but all the channel packs are competitively priced. As of the time of this writing, DISH comes out to around 33 cents per channel, while the closest competitor costs 38 cents per channel for a comparable channel package. The main thrust of the DISH strategy is value. Subscribers get what they pay for at a steady fee.
DISH mostly avoids channel stuffing, where providers artificially inflate their channel count with numerous music and lifestyle channels that very few subscribers actually want. This way, they’re able to provide a more focused service with greater value, even if the options seem a bit reduced.
DISH has channels in all categories, but they excel at sports coverage, specifically college sports. They have the most college sports channels of any direct-broadcast service. In addition, their premium channel offering is good as well. It includes Max (formerly HBO), Cinemax, STARZ, MGM+, and more.
Furthermore, DISH offers international TV programming. At the first place, we'll mention DishLATINO service offering four Latino packages for Spanish language TV viewers. The four DishLATINO Spanish packages are: Clasico, Plus, Dos, and Max. We have a separate page that goes into details about DishLATINO Spanish programming packages.
Additionally, DISH has a panel of international add-ons. The list is 22 choices long. It is comprised of 21 languages/dialects and one general international package which is in English. As with the above Spanish packages, we also have a separate page about DISH International Add-ons.
Service
Like with satellite broadcasters, DISH also requires a commitment to their service, which is 2 years of contract. Viewers who don’t want to sign a contract have pay-as-you-go options that are a little more expensive but avoid the long-term commitment. When we looked at it, the Pay as you go TV page was a bit buried within the DISH's website, no navigation provided to it. The only place we found a link for it was on the website's sitemap. In addition, there was no way of ordering it online, but via a DISH's phone number only.
Another big perk that DISH provides is free installations. Their technicians will mount the satellite dish in the most convenient and efficient location, install any STBs, and perform any installation-related tasks.
Recently, DISH and other satellite broadcasters have started to provide on-demand content to keep up with services such as Netflix and Hulu. DISH’s on-demand offering is relatively broad, up to 36,000+ titles with the highest package. The service seems to be working on expanding and focusing on on-demand content in the future.
Finally, the equipment that is available with DISH TV service. With their Hopper 3 receiver, you can record up to 2,000 hours of programming. if it's HD only, it would up to 500 hours. Plus, the DVR can recored up to 16 shows at the same time. Here is more about DISH TV Equipment.
Satellite TV at a Reasonable Price
Satellite TV is still a strong option for in-home entertainment, and while it is certainly more expensive than on-demand streaming services, the content variety is beyond comparison.
DISH is a great option for viewers who want a simple service with a simple pricing structure and no fluff. Their channel packages are concentrated and value-based, and their equipment is some of the best available. They also offer on-demand content that rivals that of most competitors and Netflix compatibility. Check the DISH Packages.
