I am switching from Comcast to Dish Network next week and just have a quick very dumb question to ask about their "Free Installation" policy. Does the free install also cover any labor cost that the installer would charge for coming out and hooking up the equipment?

Also will the installer run new cable or will he just use the Comast coax cable that is already running through the apartment.

Sorry for such the dumb questions. But I heard a story tonight from a friend that when he got his Sat. Cable installed he was told it was a free install when he signed up but when the guy came out to install when he was done my friend got a bill for all the labor.

When Dish installed my new system they put a satelite on the side of the house near my media room, ran the cable through the wall, hooked up the satellite/dvr, then hooked up the TV and made sure everything worked.

I'm not sure about hooking up extra stuff like a DVD player and game system. You should probably already have that stuff hooked up. I had my DVD/game system already set up and cleared a space on the shelf for the DVR. When the guy showed up my wife just told him where I waned the DVR so that's where he put it.

If you're planning on running everything through a surround sound system, I would suggest you have all your extras already hooked up, and maybe even the HDMI (or whatever you choose) cable run to a space on the shelf for the satellite box so all he has to do is plug it in and turn it on.

The "install" means putting up the dish, running the cables from the dish to your receivers, and 1 basic a/v input so he can finish setting up the dish/activate your receivers on your account, and hook up of a previously installed phone jack to the receiver . Anything more and you'll pay. And if you want the whole enchilada setup - you'll pay alot.

Personally - all I want is for him to give me the equipment and I'll install it /integrate it into my A/V system. What I actually got when I upgraded to my 625 from my 510/4900 was he replaced my 2 dual LNBs with a DPP+, he gave me 2 barrel connectors to replace my SW21s, then we met down where the receivers went to disconnect the old ones / hook up the new one. All total - he probably wasn't here an hour and I was watching on the new DVR. A new install would have taken a bit longer, since he would have to run cable and we just used my current dish mount.