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View Full Version : Replicating my E* setup?


FlyingDiver
12-19-03, 03:17 PM
I just sold my house, and the buyers wanted all my DishNetwork equipment, so I'm going to be in the market for all new equipment after we move. I'm considering switching to DirecTV at that time, so I'm looking on suggestions for equipment and suppliers.

Currently, we have a DishPVR 721, and a DishPVR 508. That gives us three tuners and two simultanous playbacks. We use the 721 for the "common" programming, as well as my shows. It holds close to 90 hours of progamming. My wife uses the 508 for her shows. It holds about 50 hours.

We definitely need at least two tuners, and three (or four) would be better. And we definitely need two playbacks at the same time. The capacity we have with the Dish stuff is fine. More is always better, but we can't go too much less. Maybe 35-40 hours for the secondary machine, but 80-100 hours for the primary is a must.

It would also be good if one remote can control both systems. We have to do a little bit of a programming dance to switch the Dish remotes between address 1 and address 2, but we're OK with that. RF remotes are a plus.

Bonus - figure in future (not too far in the future) HD recording capability as well. Also figure in what's the best way to get as much of this on "new customer" terms. We currently pay for the Dish Top 100 package, plus locals, plus HBO. That totals about $60/month. I'd like to keep it to that range if possible, but it's not an absolute requirement.

Thanks!

joe

TerryC
12-20-03, 04:19 AM
If you got two DirecTV DVR's (Tivo), you'd have four tuners available to you. They have 40 gig drives ("up to" 35 hours of recording time), but you can always replace or add a 120 gig drive in one of the Tivos. 120 gig drives have about 105 hours of available recording space. If you're not technically savvy enough to put the drive in yourself you can order a Tivo from www.weaknees.com with a 120 gig drive pre-installed for $299.00 (shipping included). I didn't go the weaknees route but I've known of many who were extremely happy with their service.

The remote is IR and will control both systems.

The HD Tivo will be released in the first quarter of 2004 and will cost between $699.00 and $899.00 from what I've seen.

I don't know about new customer deals because it's been so long since I've been new to DirecTV. Maybe someone else can chime in here.

As for programming service costs...

Total Choice Plus with locals = $39.99
HBO = $11.99
Tivo service fee = $4.99
Mirroring fee = $4.99
Total = $61.96

Total Choice Plus has 135 channels (not including locals). You could go with Total Choice (115 channels) but you only save one dollar. So, $60.96 if you went that way, but 20 fewer channels.

If you haven't already, you can go to www.tivocommunity.com and get all kind of info on DirecTV and Tivo. Just remember to read the FAQ's and do searches on your questions before asking the board. Some people there get pretty ornery when they see the same basic questions asked repeatedly. So be warned.

And, of course, there's www.directv.com.

Hope I've helped some.

Lee L
12-20-03, 07:36 AM
Also, there are higher capacity DirecTiVo's out right now at retail as well.