New Customer: Best Way To Order, and What Do I Need?

[KipBond]

I've been waiting for the HR20 to come out before ditching my cable service and getting DirecTV. Now that it's out, I'm wondering what the best way (most bang for the buck) way to get it will be? Buy it from Best Buy? Or from BeachAudio? Or wait until it is available on DirecTV's website? And, if I buy it from BeachAudio, I should wait until I get it before ordering service? Will DTV install it for me? Will I need to buy anything else like a splitter? Will DTV run all the necessary cables? How many will I need?

I have a HD TV in the living room, and a standard TV in the bedroom. I have a ReplayTV on each one. I want to be able to record 2 HD shows in the living room, as well as record 1 standard def show in both the living room & bedroom ReplayTVs. Also, in the future, I'm sure I'll get an HD TV in the bedroom, so I want to somewhat plan ahead for that. I checked and I have the MPEG-4 HD locals in my area, North Dallas/TX (all except WB). I want to record WB HD shows (Smallville), so I need an OTA antenna, right? So will I also need a HD receiver (besides the HR20) in the living room to do that? Or am I SOL until the other receivers are enabled on the HR20?

Thanks for any help or advice you can give a pre-DTV-newbie!! :D

[OrlandoJoe]

I also have 2 Replay's and love them, as well as a DTV Tivo (SD) and a HR20-700 waiting for me to pick up at BestBuy. When I got my first DTV, it was a round dish pointed at one satellite, so I installed it myself. I moved several times and always got Movers Connection to hook up my new dish, and I am not sure I trust myself to undertake finding all the birds needed now. There are probably five or more local companies in Big D that are licenced to install the dish. Current deals that I have seen for new customers include 4 receivers and free standard installation. If you need Sunday Ticket, that will run about $250, but they will throw in all the movie channels for 4 months. If you don't want them after that, don't forget to cancel. After 4 months, you will have seen everything worthwhile, anyway.

If you wind up with more than 4 lines to your receivers, and the HR20 uses 2, the installer will include a multiswitch, which takes the 4 lines off the dish and doubles it to 8 possible lines. If you are running only 2 tv's, 8 lines should be way more than you need.

You are correct about the OTA for now. DTV is working on a software update that should enable the OTA jack on the HR20, but no delivery date has yet been published. (That means they haven't missed it yet!) But since the Replay's aren't capable of recording HD, I don't see how you can record WB HD until you can do it on the HR20. An H20 receiver with OTA capability should let you WATCH in HD, but not record.

Eventually, I hope my HR20 will network with Replay, and I can see all my recorded shows on one screen. That will probably require News Corp acquiring the carcas of ReplayTV once their new PC DVR busts. To record using your Replays and a DTV receiver, you need the IR Blaster to send the signal to the DTV box. Some of the newer receivers may take a while to find the right code, since the support from Replay is virtually non-existent. I have an older Hughes DTV box which it found the code for right away, but the H20 I have yet to succeed at.

Good Luck.

[OrlandoJoe]

I forgot to add, cables should be provided for any normal installation. I bought a DTV Tivo-HD a few months back and was amazed at the number and variety of cables included. I wound up returning it when I realized it wouldn't record my MPEG4 HD channels, but that was well equipped. The installers should be able to hook you up with S-Video to your Replays and Component or HDMI to your set. The only problem would be you SD in the bedroom. Not sure that the DTV box has 2 S-Video outputs, so you might have to settle for Composite on one and SV on the other.

[KipBond]

Thanks, Joe. So, should I buy the HR20 from BeachAudio, and wait until I get it before having DirecTV do the new install? Will they install it if I bought it online?

So, they will need to run 4 cables from the dish? To a splitter somewhere? In the attic maybe? Do they use the existing coax runs into the living room & bedroom? I've never had satellite before, so I'm clueless on how all the cables are run and such. I'm guessing there are 4 cables from the dish, to a splitter in the attic; then 3 lines will be run to the living room (2 for the HR20, 1 for the H20), and 1 line run to the bedroom (standard def receiver). But, there needs to be another line for the OTA, right? Hmmm... so confusing. Should I have more lines run to the bedroom for future use (HD TV, HR20 perhaps, OTA maybe?).

So, the HR20 can't use the H20 tuner for the OTA HD channels and record them, I guess... So, if I did want to record them, then I'd just record SD on my ReplayTVs. That's fine.. and since they'll be activating the OTA tuners soon on the HR20, that'll be nice.

[JDuke]

I'm giving this topic a bump, as I'm looking for the same info.

Any tips on excellent sources for a new subscriber to pick up the H20 at minimal upfront cost? I'm looking to set up a couple rooms (though I'd love to have the DVR for the second room, I don't want to pay for it :)

D* is giving a $100 instant rebate on the $399 online price, and then $150 off ($15 off the monthly bill for 10 months). I'm planning on using the Sunday Ticket deal, but it really doesn't do much for the cost of the HD DVR.

[DTV TiVo Dealer]

No one should pay more than $299 for the HR20-700 and all of the other rooms are free for basic recievers. The antenna system and installation is free. Plus the normal $100 rebate.

Some dealres give additional savings.

-Robert

[KipBond]

Do you have any resources on where I can read about how the physical system is all connected (how many cables run where, splitter, etc.)?