Questons about DirecTV from future customer

[tiellv]

I talked to the manager of the condo complex I live at and was told that I could have a dish as long as it's not attached to the building and the cable that is used outside is a neutral color.
Now I need some advice from some of the knowedgeable folks here.

First.... I live in a two story condo, have two TVs and two SA TiVos. A Sony SVR 3000 and a TiVo 60 hr Series 2. My plan is to stick with these two TiVos for the time being.... (I'll wait and check out the new stuff coming out next year :)

Okay....
What brand and model of DirecTV receiver is a good one? I'll need two, of course. The brands and models (packages at American Satellite) I'm checking out are:
Samsung SIR-S75 & SIR-S70?
Hughes GAEBO x2 or GCEBO & GAEBO?
Sony SAT-B65 x2?

With just two TV set-ups will the round satellite with dual LNB be right for me?
And is the 2x4 multi-switch okay? Does the Powered mechanical multiswitches come in 2x4?

From what I've read the dish needs to be facing south. I have two balconies and one happens to be facing east but if the dish is at the outside corner of the balcony it will face SE. So in all of your experiences is SE fine?

Where is the best place to order/buy the DirecTV setup? Should I go local, BB, CC, GG, Blockbuster, Radio Shack, Cingular Wireless...
Or order online from DirecTV.com, American Satellite, etc?

Is there anyting else I need to know and be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

[James_F]

Originally posted by tiellv
What brand and model of DirecTV receiver is a good one? I'll need two, of course. The brands and models (packages at American Satellite) I'm checking out are:
Samsung SIR-S75 & SIR-S70?
Hughes GAEBO x2 or GCEBO & GAEBO?
Sony SAT-B65 x2?
Those all seem to be about the same. Hughes makes Sony Receivers for them so if you want to choose between the Sony and Hughes, just look at the remotes. I prefer Sony remotes, but its a personal thing. I have heard great things about Samsung receivers and am thinking of replacing my older Sony HD receiver with a newer Samsung HD receiver.

From what I've read the dish needs to be facing south. I have two balconies and one happens to be facing east but if the dish is at the outside corner of the balcony it will face SE. So in all of your experiences is SE fine?
SE is fine.


Where is the best place to order/buy the DirecTV setup? Should I go local, BB, CC, GG, Blockbuster, Radio Shack, Cingular Wireless...
Or order online from DirecTV.com, American Satellite, etc?

I've bought most of my equipment from local retailers (Best Buy and Ultimate Electronics). I've heard both good and bad about American Satellite and OrbitSat, but if the price was right, I might buy one from them. Good luck!

[beegfoot]

I've heard nothing but good about all three brands.

The GAEB0A has a 90 day labor 1 year parts. GCEB0 has 1 yr/ 1 yr and both can be extended 2 more years .

GCEB0 has dolby digital optical output.

[papillo-j]

I don't know about best buy and ultimate electronics but I know that several of the online outfits offer extended warranty. You can also look at the DirecTV service plan for $6 a month.

-J

[Punkitup]

It would seem to me that the first question you need to answer for yourself before you proceed any further is the question of the view from your balcony.

I would go to one of the dish pointing aid pages such as this one (http://www.rca.com/directv/zip_code_selection), enter your zip code to find the rough coordinates for your area. Then go out onto your balcony with a compass and find out if your dish will have a clear view through the azimuth [compass heading] that the website listed for your location. Also check the elevation [angle above the level horizon] that you were given to make sure there are no buildings, trees and such in the line of sight.

Peace - James/K1JMD

 

[raj2001]

Originally posted by tiellv

And is the 2x4 multi-switch okay? Does the Powered mechanical multiswitches come in 2x4?

You don't need a multiswitch now if you're just doing two receivers, unless they're DirecTiVo's. You just need a dual LNB. However:

have two TVs and two SA TiVos. A Sony SVR 3000 and a TiVo 60 hr Series 2. My plan is to stick with these two TiVos for the time being....

Unless you want to do HMO, you may want to eBay those TiVo's and get DirecTiVo's. Dual tuners is reason enough, but there are other reasons, like the fact that the bitstream is taken directly from the Satellite so there is no loss in picture quality, and the capability to record Dolby Digital audio.

[MarkL]

I'd recommend going with Dish instead of Directv, their service and PQ is better IMO. I've had both, and I think Dish is better overall unless you want Sunday Ticket.

[Karl Foster]

I've had both Dish and Directv and I prefer Directv much more than Dish. It is a personal preference based on which provider meets his needs/wants. Since he is considering a standard receiver with Dolby Digital, he has no choice but to go with Directv. Dish's selection of receivers does not have this option available unless he upgrades to a PVR, which he does not need to do.

Don't forget that only Directv has MLBEI as well as NFLST.

[Curtis0620]

Don't forget Mega March Madness

[raj2001]

Originally posted by MarkL
I'd recommend going with Dish instead of Directv, their service and PQ is better IMO.

PQ is entirely subjective. But my boss recently moved from DISH to DTV and he said the PQ on DTV was better. As for service, I have never had a problem with my DirecTV service. I've only had to call customer service a few times and never had any major problems with them.

I was considering DISH at one point but the main thing that steered me away from them was the fact that subs were complaining about the equipment. Also DISH charges you $5 to downgrade your programming package.

[HarryD]

Whoa! Hold up on the DISH comments. He said he was interested in DirecTV. Why would he want DISH? Especially a recomendation from someone who thinks DISH has a better PQ... please! Stop it!

Tiellv.. Be careful if/when getting the Hughes/Sony recv. You want to make sure the recv model ends in 'A'. This means it has the Advanced program guide (3 days I think) and the picture will remain in the a window while you search for other future shows.
I haven't seen the Samsung models and don't forget the RCA recvs.
If you're just goining to stick with two recvs, then the regular 18 dish/ dual lnb is fine. No multiswitch is needed unless you want to expand to three or more recvs...

Good luck and welcome to Satellite TV... You're gonna love it!

[pez2002]

Originally posted by HarryD
Whoa! Hold up on the DISH comments. He said he was interested in DirecTV. Why would he want DISH? Especially a recomendation from someone who thinks DISH has a better PQ... please! Stop it!

Tiellv.. Be careful if/when getting the Hughes/Sony recv. You want to make sure the recv model ends in 'A'. This means it has the Advanced program guide (3 days I think) and the picture will remain in the a window while you search for other future shows.
I haven't seen the Samsung models and don't forget the RCA recvs.
If you're just goining to stick with two recvs, then the regular 18 dish/ dual lnb is fine. No multiswitch is needed unless you want to expand to three or more recvs...

Good luck and welcome to Satellite TV... You're gonna love it!


I have the Receiver your talking about & it works great :)

Ps One of my friends just moved from cable to Directv
I will make another post in a few on this

The Big switch is on from cable to Dtv