Re:Satellite Reception (Score 1)

It's just getting more difficult and expensive. I put a Dish Network dish on my first house back then, too. They'd encourage self-installs. Of course, you only had to aim at one orbital slot, or perhaps two. Now you may need to hit as many as five, depending on what you want to receive, and from who. It can be hard to get certain discounts or agreements directly from the DBS companies without a dealer installation. I am told, for instance, that my DirecTV HD programming will go away soon. They are switching to MPEG 4 and abandoning all HD service on the orbital slots I have dishes aimed at. If I want a new MPEG 4 receiver at a discount, they say I have to have a dealer put it in, and the new 5-slot dish (which won't work on my lot) as well. I have asked two CSRs about doing the install myself and have been given a flat "no" from both. I can still pay full price for the receiver on the aftermarket and roll my own dish solution, but it's expensive.

More on-topic, there's a thread on DSL Reports about doing a HughesNet self installation. It's not impossible, but they really don't encourage it.