Mojo_Ryzen
06-11-07, 02:42 PM
Executive Summary
Background:
I've been a D* subscriber for about ten years.
My wife wished for a flat panel TV. I bought her a Sharp LCD (AQUOS® LC-60C52U ).
I live about five miles from Manhattan.
Ordering:
Ordered D*'s HD "lease upgrade" package online.
Wanted UHF antenna for additional $49, which was part of lease upgrade package. Couldn't order on website - not a menu option. Called D* CSR to ask how to order UHF ant. CSR transferred call to installation who told me OTA was built into the 5 LNB antenna. Does that mean they have a super (multi-octave) antenna? Hmmm ...
Installation:
Installer1: Installed 5 LNB Slimline with HR20 DVR. Cut cables from old dish inside house, leaving inputs to multiswitch dangling. Results: No service to the other two receivers. Two of four LNBs routed into living room.
Installer2: Needed 40 foot ladder to get to roof. Not available. Argued that the existing multiswitch would suffice and that a WB68 costs him $80.
Installer3 w/ supervisor: Understood HD requirements. Provided WB68 multiswitch. Added and installed UHF antenna (EA's DTV2BUHF) for $50. Tested and demonstrated full HD & Channel functionality.
Education:
After Installer1 botched the installation, went to SolidSignal.com and DBSTalk.com to learn about installation requirements. GREAT sites. Thanks for the help!! Also complained to D* about loss of service to two of three receivers.
Remaining Issue: Networking, access to Music & Photos.
Installation Story:
I have a Tivo lifetime subscription with two Tivo receivers. Just over a year ago, I added a D* DVR for $99 and the monthly leasing fee. I was thinking about dumping the leased DVR and buying a third Tivo w/ HD. Then, I read about D*'s MPEG4 plans. I purchased a lease upgrade, which got me a HR20-100S, a 5 LNB antenna and free installation. My old installation had two coax lines coming through a window sill frame and connected to a multiswitch, which provided inputs to three dual-tuner receiver. Here's what happened this past week:
Monday, 04-Jun-07: I leave my wife instructions to expect a new antenna, a new multiswitch and a new DVR. Installers, scheduled to arrive between 8AM and 12PM, arrive at 4PM. My wife stated she could have been shopping that whole time. Lucky me ;-) She asks them to please install the cables closer to the floor, not through the window sill frame. They say that will cost money. My wife calls me at work and asks me for a spending limit for this service. I'm surprised, but I tell her fifty bucks. At that exact moment, Installer1 is on the phone with his boss and he says "fifty bucks." We say ok. After the install, my wife calls and tells me she asked about the multiswitch and Installer1 said he knows nothing about a multiswitch. Huh? I ask my wife if the two TVs in the other room are working. Answer: NO. I call D*. I talk w/ a CSR and he trys to contact installation. We're on hold for thirty minutes, before he suggests we schedule a new install. We reschedule for Wednesday at 4PM. I'll leave early from work that day. I tell the CSR that I'm going to hook up the inputs to my multiswitch to restore service. He warns me not to plug or unplug anything. Of course, I do anyway and notice that I lost some HD channels, but the other two receivers work fine. I google for D* installation and multiswitches and find SolidSignal.com and this site and start learning about hd and satellite signalling.
Wednesday, 06-Jun-07: Installer2, short-ladder-guy(SLG), arrives. SLG tells me that Installer1 should have ran all four coax wires from the 5 LNB dish into my living room. But *he* can't. Why? Because he's SLG ;-) He comes with a WB68 multiswitch and tells me most installers don't want to use them because they cost eighty bucks. I say, "D* doesn't compensate for that?" He says no because he's a contractor. I tell him I thought I saw it online for $50. He asked for the website, then tells me my existing Eagle Aspen DTV4X8 multiswitch will work fine. I tell him I read that I need a WB68, or equivalent, because the frequency range expanded with HD. He says I'm wrong, but I don't argue. I later checked out the DTV4X8 data sheet, which says the frequency range is 950-1450MHz - not the required 250-2150MHz for D*'s HD signalling.
Sunday, 10-Jun-07: Installer3 w/supervisor (I3WS) arrive with two trucks. I3WS listens as I describe my problem. He agrees that I should get a WB68 multiswitch - in case I add a second HD receiver. I3WS has a sense of humor. He starts quizzing me and telling me incorrect things to see if I catch him. He's good. He runs two additional RG6 lines and hooks up a WB68 multiswitch. I'm almost happy. I ask him to confirm that the 5-LNB Slimline contains OTA capability, as D*'s installation person told me on the phone. He says yes. I said, "Does that mean if I lose the SAT signal because of rain, I will still get OTA HD signals? He says no. I didn't think so. I tell him about D*'s $49 OTA antenna offer. I3WS says he saw a UHF antenna in his supervisor's truck. The supe just left. He calls him and asks if he'll sell me the antenna for $50. Supe says ok. They install it and test it stand-alone (no SAT). Works beautifully!
HD seems to be working fine -- except when it blacked out at the end of the Sopranos! Probably another software glicth, eh ;-)
Onto networking …
Sunday, 10-Jun-07, before installation correction:
Hooked up a WGA54G, via ethernet, to my router and set up SSID and WEP security parameters.
Hooked up WGA54G to HR20.
Power cycled HR20, WGA54G, Router and DSL modem.
Set up HR20 networking and ran HR20 test which confirms networking and internet are working ok.
Opened WMP11 and configured sharing for the "unknown device."
Returned to HR20: Pressed MENU -> Music & Photos. Results: I see my computer, but it just sits there.
HR20 still reports networking and internet ok, but the "Music & Photos" menu option appears intermittently and when I *do* access it, it just sits there. My theory is the system has a problem with my shared picture folder. It's not under the default "My Pictures" with the special icon. I'm sharing a folder named "My Pictures" on a "G:" drive (not C) with a larger partition than c:. It's where I store all my digital photos organized in folders named after the dates they were take. Could this be the problem? There are *many* folders and files in this directory. Any help will be appreciated. TIA.
Background:
I've been a D* subscriber for about ten years.
My wife wished for a flat panel TV. I bought her a Sharp LCD (AQUOS® LC-60C52U ).
I live about five miles from Manhattan.
Ordering:
Ordered D*'s HD "lease upgrade" package online.
Wanted UHF antenna for additional $49, which was part of lease upgrade package. Couldn't order on website - not a menu option. Called D* CSR to ask how to order UHF ant. CSR transferred call to installation who told me OTA was built into the 5 LNB antenna. Does that mean they have a super (multi-octave) antenna? Hmmm ...
Installation:
Installer1: Installed 5 LNB Slimline with HR20 DVR. Cut cables from old dish inside house, leaving inputs to multiswitch dangling. Results: No service to the other two receivers. Two of four LNBs routed into living room.
Installer2: Needed 40 foot ladder to get to roof. Not available. Argued that the existing multiswitch would suffice and that a WB68 costs him $80.
Installer3 w/ supervisor: Understood HD requirements. Provided WB68 multiswitch. Added and installed UHF antenna (EA's DTV2BUHF) for $50. Tested and demonstrated full HD & Channel functionality.
Education:
After Installer1 botched the installation, went to SolidSignal.com and DBSTalk.com to learn about installation requirements. GREAT sites. Thanks for the help!! Also complained to D* about loss of service to two of three receivers.
Remaining Issue: Networking, access to Music & Photos.
Installation Story:
I have a Tivo lifetime subscription with two Tivo receivers. Just over a year ago, I added a D* DVR for $99 and the monthly leasing fee. I was thinking about dumping the leased DVR and buying a third Tivo w/ HD. Then, I read about D*'s MPEG4 plans. I purchased a lease upgrade, which got me a HR20-100S, a 5 LNB antenna and free installation. My old installation had two coax lines coming through a window sill frame and connected to a multiswitch, which provided inputs to three dual-tuner receiver. Here's what happened this past week:
Monday, 04-Jun-07: I leave my wife instructions to expect a new antenna, a new multiswitch and a new DVR. Installers, scheduled to arrive between 8AM and 12PM, arrive at 4PM. My wife stated she could have been shopping that whole time. Lucky me ;-) She asks them to please install the cables closer to the floor, not through the window sill frame. They say that will cost money. My wife calls me at work and asks me for a spending limit for this service. I'm surprised, but I tell her fifty bucks. At that exact moment, Installer1 is on the phone with his boss and he says "fifty bucks." We say ok. After the install, my wife calls and tells me she asked about the multiswitch and Installer1 said he knows nothing about a multiswitch. Huh? I ask my wife if the two TVs in the other room are working. Answer: NO. I call D*. I talk w/ a CSR and he trys to contact installation. We're on hold for thirty minutes, before he suggests we schedule a new install. We reschedule for Wednesday at 4PM. I'll leave early from work that day. I tell the CSR that I'm going to hook up the inputs to my multiswitch to restore service. He warns me not to plug or unplug anything. Of course, I do anyway and notice that I lost some HD channels, but the other two receivers work fine. I google for D* installation and multiswitches and find SolidSignal.com and this site and start learning about hd and satellite signalling.
Wednesday, 06-Jun-07: Installer2, short-ladder-guy(SLG), arrives. SLG tells me that Installer1 should have ran all four coax wires from the 5 LNB dish into my living room. But *he* can't. Why? Because he's SLG ;-) He comes with a WB68 multiswitch and tells me most installers don't want to use them because they cost eighty bucks. I say, "D* doesn't compensate for that?" He says no because he's a contractor. I tell him I thought I saw it online for $50. He asked for the website, then tells me my existing Eagle Aspen DTV4X8 multiswitch will work fine. I tell him I read that I need a WB68, or equivalent, because the frequency range expanded with HD. He says I'm wrong, but I don't argue. I later checked out the DTV4X8 data sheet, which says the frequency range is 950-1450MHz - not the required 250-2150MHz for D*'s HD signalling.
Sunday, 10-Jun-07: Installer3 w/supervisor (I3WS) arrive with two trucks. I3WS listens as I describe my problem. He agrees that I should get a WB68 multiswitch - in case I add a second HD receiver. I3WS has a sense of humor. He starts quizzing me and telling me incorrect things to see if I catch him. He's good. He runs two additional RG6 lines and hooks up a WB68 multiswitch. I'm almost happy. I ask him to confirm that the 5-LNB Slimline contains OTA capability, as D*'s installation person told me on the phone. He says yes. I said, "Does that mean if I lose the SAT signal because of rain, I will still get OTA HD signals? He says no. I didn't think so. I tell him about D*'s $49 OTA antenna offer. I3WS says he saw a UHF antenna in his supervisor's truck. The supe just left. He calls him and asks if he'll sell me the antenna for $50. Supe says ok. They install it and test it stand-alone (no SAT). Works beautifully!
HD seems to be working fine -- except when it blacked out at the end of the Sopranos! Probably another software glicth, eh ;-)
Onto networking …
Sunday, 10-Jun-07, before installation correction:
Hooked up a WGA54G, via ethernet, to my router and set up SSID and WEP security parameters.
Hooked up WGA54G to HR20.
Power cycled HR20, WGA54G, Router and DSL modem.
Set up HR20 networking and ran HR20 test which confirms networking and internet are working ok.
Opened WMP11 and configured sharing for the "unknown device."
Returned to HR20: Pressed MENU -> Music & Photos. Results: I see my computer, but it just sits there.
HR20 still reports networking and internet ok, but the "Music & Photos" menu option appears intermittently and when I *do* access it, it just sits there. My theory is the system has a problem with my shared picture folder. It's not under the default "My Pictures" with the special icon. I'm sharing a folder named "My Pictures" on a "G:" drive (not C) with a larger partition than c:. It's where I store all my digital photos organized in folders named after the dates they were take. Could this be the problem? There are *many* folders and files in this directory. Any help will be appreciated. TIA.