HR20 in Miami/Ft Lauderdale

[gregftlaud]

Anyone in the Miami/Ft Laud market order the HR20 yet?

[RunnerFL]

Anyone in the Miami/Ft Laud market order the HR20 yet?

It should be available down there. I ordered mine, West Palm Beach market, and it will be installed on 9/9.

[gregftlaud]

u sure it's not the hr10-250 they told you hr20 specifically....because i've read elsewhere somewhere in this forum people being told they will get the hr20 but then the installer brings out the hr10

[RunnerFL]

u sure it's not the hr10-250 they told you hr20 specifically....because i've read elsewhere somewhere in this forum people being told they will get the hr20 but then the installer brings out the hr10

Yes, it's the HR20.

The CSR told me the way they can tell is if they go to add an OTA antenna to the order and they get an error.

[gregftlaud]

ok thanks. it's no big deal i was just curious if it is avail in our area yet. i'm gonna wait until they activate the ota tuner(s) anyway since there are several sub-channels that i like to watch plus pbs. then maybe also they'll have all the bugs worked out too...but it's nice to know i can just go ahead and order it now when i want to.

thanks for the info

[RunnerFL]

Yeah, not having OTA right off the bat is a bummer. I like being able to get both Miami/Lauderdale and WPB locals as well as some of the sub channels for weather and traffic. I went ahead though and got the HR20 because I'll still have an HR10 as well.

[gregftlaud]

hey runner can you let me know when u get the hr20 how you like it. please email me at gregflorida@bellsouth dot net after u get it and get a chance to play around with it a bit. and let me know how the install goes too i'm curious to know how much experience the installer down here have with the new 5lnb dish.

greg

[gooch986]

Yeah, not having OTA right off the bat is a bummer. I like being able to get both Miami/Lauderdale and WPB locals as well as some of the sub channels for weather and traffic. I went ahead though and got the HR20 because I'll still have an HR10 as well.

Hi RunnerFL -

Can you tell me how you were able to set up your receiver to get the OTA signals for both Miami/Lauderdale and WPB locals?

I would also love to hear about your experience with the HR20.

Thanks.

:lol:

P.S. - I have an HR10-250

[RunnerFL]

Hi RunnerFL -

Can you tell me how you were able to set up your receiver to get the OTA signals for both Miami/Lauderdale and WPB locals?

I would also love to hear about your experience with the HR20.

Thanks.

:lol:

P.S. - I have an HR10-250

The how is pretty easy. I just went into the setup on the HR10-250 and changed it to have 2 network areas, sorry I don't remember the TiVo's term for this and I'm not at home right now, and then had it scan for new channels. It picked up all of the WPB locals and all but channel 7 in Miami in HD.

I also have 2 antennas setup, one is a UHF only facing NW so I can get WPBF since it's not in the same area as the towers for the other WPB locals, and they are joined by using a splitter in reverse [Outputs from Antennas hooked up to outputs on splitter and input goes to the input on my HR10].


I'll definitely post here once I get my HR20 installed and have messed around with it for a day or so. The thing I'm looking forward to the most is the native passthru. I'm hoping the SD channels look better by using that because Sci-Fi looks like crap now.

[salvatore]

Slightly OT, but I received email from DirecTV this morning saying I could order the HR20 from Best Buy now as indicated in the email, or wait until Monday September 11th and order it straight from DirecTV.

I tried calling DirecTV on Friday the 1st to place an order and they said it was still LA only; I'll give them a call Monday and try again.

Im in Tallahassee, Florida.

[gregftlaud]

dtv told me i couldnt get it thru them yet, but at least i have my account noted to get the hr20 and h20 for free and for the installation of the 5lnb dish to be free. so now when i call in when it's available i wont have to argue like alot of people are having to do about the price.

[gooch986]

The how is pretty easy. I just went into the setup on the HR10-250 and changed it to have 2 network areas, sorry I don't remember the TiVo's term for this and I'm not at home right now, and then had it scan for new channels. It picked up all of the WPB locals and all but channel 7 in Miami in HD.

I also have 2 antennas setup, one is a UHF only facing NW so I can get WPBF since it's not in the same area as the towers for the other WPB locals, and they are joined by using a splitter in reverse [Outputs from Antennas hooked up to outputs on splitter and input goes to the input on my HR10].


I'll definitely post here once I get my HR20 installed and have messed around with it for a day or so. The thing I'm looking forward to the most is the native passthru. I'm hoping the SD channels look better by using that because Sci-Fi looks like crap now.

Thanks, RunnerFL

[RunnerFL]

I didn't forget about you guys... My install on 9/9 didn't happen... The installer had a guy out sick and it just happened to be the guy scheduled for my route.

The thing that peeves me is that neither the installer nor D* seemed to care that I took the day off just to be here for the install. argh...


New date is 9/13 between 8am and Noon.

Will keep you posted!

[surfbird]

I didn't forget about you guys... My install on 9/9 didn't happen... The installer had a guy out sick and it just happened to be the guy scheduled for my route.

The thing that peeves me is that neither the installer nor D* seemed to care that I took the day off just to be here for the install. argh...


New date is 9/13 between 8am and Noon.

Will keep you posted!

we do care, it is just most csrs aren' t able to call out (call in only call centers) & contact hsp about eta.. only cis /tr 2/ crg can do that. trust me when I was in lower call type I was frustrated at just saying "sorry, let me connect you to cis so they can reschedule you? now, I just call, hsp & say= excuse me, what is eta? & make sure they call cust.

I can't tell half the time if my headaches are from work or from sinus' :mad: oh well. don't give up.. d8 is sometimes slow on issues but we usually come thru. robin

[RunnerFL]

we do care, it is just most csrs aren' t able to call out (call in only call centers) & contact hsp about eta.. only cis /tr 2/ crg can do that. trust me when I was in lower call type I was frustrated at just saying "sorry, let me connect you to cis so they can reschedule you? now, I just call, hsp & say= excuse me, what is eta? & make sure they call cust.

I can't tell half the time if my headaches are from work or from sinus' :mad: oh well. don't give up.. d8 is sometimes slow on issues but we usually come thru. robin

No, the CSR's don't care... I was on the phone 3 times with D*, and 3 times with the installer, on Saturday explaining to them that I took the day off and was losing money and that they needed to do something about it. All 3 times the CSR's called the installer [So don't tell me you can't] and all 3 times D* came back with "sorry" instead of putting their foot down and telling the installer it had to happen that day [And I know that D* has this power because something similar was done for me when I moved in here over 3 years ago using the "Movers Connection" deal]. So now I have to take yet another day off on Wednesday and hope they show up then. What did I get for it? I was told a million times "Sorry" and I got a migraine, thanks D*! No compesation at all!

What's the point of being an "A-List Customer" if you don't get anything special?? Why do I, an "A-List Customer", get worse treatment than a "B-List Customer"? It's not my fault their installer is a slacker, why should I have to pay for it?? They could have just as easily cancelled a "B-List" customer's appointment.

Where I work we keep our promises to our customers regardless of what it takes, D* should try doing the same sometime. If cable in my area didn't suck so bad I'd have made the switch on Saturday.

[RunnerFL]

only retention folks are the ones that call out some advanced technical can & cust installation support. The rest CANNOT.. really.. it is not a lie to pacify u either. when I was mainbank & level 1 technical I could not do squat except to transfer the call & hope to god the call didn't get dropped.. so I am pleased I call & get angry for all of the above. I flat out tell the hsp that I am in retention & let them know I am NOT having my cust quit services because of something they did.. Do u realize how many hours this week I spent off the clock this week placing complaints about hsps for our customers.. I left 1 1/2 hrs after I logged off phones to personal hand write & enter complaints & escalations. I don't expect to see that on my check either.

I am only 1 in a huge pool of people there. I may only make a trinkle but some day (over the rainbow) sorry.. but I am trying guys.. seriously.. i got my butt chewed out in training class because csrs talking "about cust want eveything" I flat out stated. "w/o cust we don't have a job & if you feel that negative way then maybe u should be flipping burgers somewhere because w/that attitude we won't have customers."

I am sure there r other csrs who post here but aren't so outspoken.. so guys.. go easy on attack mode oK..

I did not attack you and quite frankly it ticks me of that you state I have. I was only stating that NOTHING was done for me when you imply you go out of the way for the customer. No one went out of their way for me! No one even asked if I wanted to file a complaint against the woman on the phone at the installers when I told them she started screaming at me and hung up on me. This is NOT the service, nor treatement, I deserve as an "A-List Customer".

You sit here and say you guys go out of you way for the customer, prove it!

If the treatment I'm getting continues you will have 1 less customer, I guarantee it! And I will make sure that everyone I know that has D* hears about my experience and stays away from D* if this continues.

[Earl Bonovich]

Enough.....

There are how many CSRs out there at DirecTV?
I have called my share in 10 years.... I have some that could get to rats patoots about me and what my problem was.... Others that spent an hour plus helping me resolving a problem.

Sadly the later ones (the ones that help above and beyond) are the minority.
The rest just do their jobs, others should not even be there.

And this is not an "exclusive" issue to DirecTV... it happens in just about EVERY major customer service arena...

[RunnerFL]

They are FINALLY here to install my 5lnb dish and HR20, two of them. Boy do I feel special. lol, not.

Just an FYI, if you have Mastec installing your new 5lnb [Not sure who installs in Miami/FLL area] they will NOT install it on a pole higher than 3 feet off the ground and will not, I knew this, soffet mount it. They refused to put it on my 1.5" pole that is concreted into the ground, filled with concrete, and mounted to the side of the house that has survived 5 hurricanes. Instead they are charging me $75 to install a new pole in the ground in the middle of my yard. [Luckily I have a concrete slab they can put it by so it's not in the way of mowing the lawn...

Will keep you posted on the next adventures in a bit...


Interesting tidbit. Their method of putting the pole in the ground? Beat one end of the pole to a point and hammering it in. Real class act! lol

[RunnerFL]

Ok, install finally done...

The installer hooking up the HR20 inside decided to remove the HR10-250 in my entertainment center [which was the one I was keeping] even though I had already removed the HR10-250 being replaced and showed him the cables I wanted the HR20 hooked up to. He seemed to be very perplexed when I told him I had 2 DVR's on that TV and tried to talk me out of it. oy...

They also did not run a new line for my OTA to my HR10-250, just disconnected everything from the old multiswitch and dish and left it up on the pole so now I have to not only run a new line for OTA but I also have to take down the old dish and multiswitch... argh...

The HR20 is downloading the latest upgrade right now, I'll post again once I've had time to mess around with it.

[dtvmiami]

Anyone in the Miami/Ft Laud market order the HR20 yet?

Yes, just ordered, i'm in Miami and got an appt. for next Thrusday the 21st. I see others from north Fl have reported receiving it. However, just wanted to reply to op asking about Miami/Ft Laud market.

The CSR said today was the 1st day it was allowed to be ordered. Well, at least for me it was and hopefully for others in So. Fl.

Also she mentioned to make sure it's the HR20 they are connecting and if it's not, then cancell install.

[RunnerFL]

After using the HR20 for a few hours I must say I'm impressed. It's MUCH faster than the HR10-250 and all of the quirks we saw in the R15 are not in the HR20.

I'm most impressed with the Native Passthru, SD channels look MUCH better on the HR20 than they do on the HR10. Still being able to watch TV, or a recording, while in the menus is a big plus for me as well.

I'm still not fond of the guide data being stored in memory and going away when the unit is rebooted but I can say that the HR20 gets data back MUCH faster than the R15. Within 20 minutes of initial boot up I already had enough guide data to setup 12 Series Links. Nice!

[gregftlaud]

ew, yah, mastec is horrible. they are just awful. their attitude sux and they act like they are doing you a favor by being there and doing an install instead of just doing their job. oh yah and they always try to ask for more money for something or another. twice i had an install scheduled in the past on a mover's connection and after hurricane wilmas and they didnt show up.

well...with the 6.3 upgrade now coming down the line for the hr10 and the fact mastec gave u such a hard time i think i will wait until they get more practice on doing this kind of install.

and they werent willing to run a line just for your ota?? well..my setup is on the 2nd floor of my apt complex ...they best do a separate run for my ota!

[tekie99]

I ordered my 2 HR20's Wednesday (9/13) night, installer should be out on the 21st also..

[RunnerFL]

ew, yah, mastec is horrible. they are just awful. their attitude sux and they act like they are doing you a favor by being there and doing an install instead of just doing their job. oh yah and they always try to ask for more money for something or another. twice i had an install scheduled in the past on a mover's connection and after hurricane wilmas and they didnt show up.

well...with the 6.3 upgrade now coming down the line for the hr10 and the fact mastec gave u such a hard time i think i will wait until they get more practice on doing this kind of install.

and they werent willing to run a line just for your ota?? well..my setup is on the 2nd floor of my apt complex ...they best do a separate run for my ota!

Yeah, Mastec is bad. As long as they know you are keeping tabs on them though they aren't too bad.

It also wouldn't hurt if they hired people who spoke, or at least understood, English.

Aside from the installation nightmares though I'm pretty happy with the HR20 even though my HR10 has already received 6.3. I still think the HR20 has the advantage in many areas.

[gregftlaud]

so it seems they didnt run a dedicated line from your ota huh? did they tell u why they wouldnt do it? if they wont for me i'm gonna tell them to leave/and/or call dtv while they are here because that is unacceptable if the hr20 will eventually have ota tuners activated. i'm still gonna wait though. maybe a couple of months once these installers get more practice doing this kind of install. plus i'm hoping the slimline dish will be out soon.

[RunnerFL]

so it seems they didnt run a dedicated line from your ota huh? did they tell u why they wouldnt do it? if they wont for me i'm gonna tell them to leave/and/or call dtv while they are here because that is unacceptable if the hr20 will eventually have ota tuners activated. i'm still gonna wait though. maybe a couple of months once these installers get more practice doing this kind of install. plus i'm hoping the slimline dish will be out soon.

Yeah, they said I didn't need it with the HR20 so they wouldn't run it.

I was just so tired of arguing with them over everything that I just told them to leave. I'll run it myself.

[surfbird]

ew, yah, mastec is horrible. they are just awful. their attitude sux and they act like they are doing you a favor by being there and doing an install instead of just doing their job. oh yah and they always try to ask for more money for something or another. twice i had an install scheduled in the past on a mover's connection and after hurricane wilmas and they didnt show up.

well...with the 6.3 upgrade now coming down the line for the hr10 and the fact mastec gave u such a hard time i think i will wait until they get more practice on doing this kind of install.

and they werent willing to run a line just for your ota?? well..my setup is on the 2nd floor of my apt complex ...they best do a separate run for my ota!

I agree on the hsp, they even talk to csr's the same way, w/attitude, thinking they can't be reported & they like to hang up on cust & csr.. one of my neighboring co-workers hadt them do that to her several times & them being ex military-- they were cussing like a sailor afterwards.. LOL I had to speak loader so my cust wouldn't hear.. I am starting to feel that even if I care to try to fix that sometimes it takes more than 1 call to resolve something & that isn't good business.

[gregftlaud]

no need for an ota? geez i guess they dont think some of us like watching nbc weather plus 6-2, my33-1, cw(wb), and pbs.....in addition to getting the wpb stations.

[gregftlaud]

so i'm still waiting for the ota tuners to be activated on the hr20 before i upgrade but no one else has posted in this thread in miami/ft laud about upgrading.

if anyone else has done the upgrade to the 5lnb dish and hr20 in miami/ft laud please share your good/bad stories. i really want to also wait until these installers have more experience doing this kind of install....esp since it will be mastec (spaztec) doing the install lol.

[skakusha]

I am in the South Florida area and have had two HR20's for about three weeks now. The installers did a great job (sub-contractor for Mastac), but I did have to tell them to check the multi-switch. I had a very old switch which was not compatible with the 5 LNB dish.

I am very happy with my boxes, although they still are not perfect. I have my OTA connected directly to my TV for now, but I am pleased with the MPEG-4 HD locals. I also love that you can get 50 hours of HD MPEG-4 recording, vs. 30 hours with OTA or MPEG-2. The only thing I am missing on the OTA are the sub-channels, which I can watch on the TV without the box, and Smallville on the CW. Form what I have read, D* is in negotiations with CW. They were just waiting for teh change of management.

I am new to this forum and have posted some early reviews on the web. I plan on doing an update to reflect my experience on having the latest update for over a week. To give you an idea, I have done over 160 recordings in a week. Filled the HD, and recorded like crazy. On of the HR20's had problems with Numbers' on Friday, but the other was fine.

I have had some issues with the boxes, but overall I really like them and excite about the potential of these boxes, and the direction of D*. The boxes are very fast, great UI, and enable me to do a lot of things I wanted to do on my Tivo's.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

[gregftlaud]

so u didnt have any problems with getting them to run a dedicated line from your ota?

[skakusha]

I had to have the OTA antenna remounted as it blew off during the hurricane. I also needed the diplexer removed as it was the antenna previously provided by Voom (Wingard - great antenna).

As I needed a pole mount and some clean up work done, I paid the installer $50. This included the pole mount, separating the line, replacing the box so that it was professionally done. The old antenna cable was just a line coming out of a hole in the cable box wall plate. I had them replace all the plates for two coax connections (top coax cable, bottom coax OTA). I had them do this in two rooms, and properly wire the cables in the attic.

I tried the free route, but that didn't work since I needed the OTA antenna re-installed. I felt good about the price as they wanted a lot more, and the job was very well done. My attic is way too hot. :D