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DIRECTV First Look: C31-700 Home Media Center RVU Client

122K views 502 replies 121 participants last post by  inkahauts 
#1 ·
This is the future of DIRECTV: It's all RVU, and it's smaller than you imagined. Yes, that's an iPhone on top.


C31 First Look


This is an incredibly small box. It only works with the HR34 but it provides full DVR functionality with zero fan noise. Even pause live TV!

I'd like to thank the hard working C31 test team, who really came through on this little box.

The C31 is only available in limited areas at this time.

Please note that some DBSTalk.com testers and staff members may have received free equipment from DIRECTV or its partners for the purpose of evaluation and testing.
 
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#27 ·
dpeters11 said:
Looks great, though I'm still wondering if its owned/leased.
I'm not certain. There is a Home Media Center charge of $6.00/month for each C31. I have three, so that is $18.00/month. I suspect that they are leased once they are ready to ship them, but perhaps not since I see them as being like an AM21x, or NOMAD. We should know in the coming days.
 
#28 ·
smiddy said:
I'm not certain. There is a Home Media Center charge of $6.00/month for each C31. I have three, so that is $18.00/month. I suspect that they are leased once they are ready to ship them, but perhaps not since I see them as being like an AM21x, or NOMAD. We should know in the coming days.
There's no access card slot right? I thought the monthly fee was to mirror programming on the access card. So if you could buy one outright and put it on your network, wouldn't it find your HR34 and you could pair it up without DirecTV's intervention?
 
#31 ·
cypherx said:
There's no access card slot right? I thought the monthly fee was to mirror programming on the access card. So if you could buy one outright and put it on your network, wouldn't it find your HR34 and you could pair it up without DirecTV's intervention?
There is no access card slot; the charge is based on how many active clients you can have simultaneously. For instance, if you are signed up for 2 RVU clients and try to turn on a 3rd on the same network, you'll see on an on-screen message that says something like "You are not authorized for this location. Please turn off {name of 1st location} or {name of 2nd location} and try again." Or words to that effect.

*****
Great job on the First Look, Stuart. These are nice little boxes and very convenient. :)
 
#33 ·
smiddy said:
I'm not certain. There is a Home Media Center charge of $6.00/month for each C31. I have three, so that is $18.00/month. I suspect that they are leased once they are ready to ship them, but perhaps not since I see them as being like an AM21x, or NOMAD. We should know in the coming days.
So I'm guessing people who have lifetime DVR on their account (I have three HRxx in my house) moving to an HMC with RVU client set up would starting incurring an additional $18.00/month charge since these are not DVRs?
 
#36 ·
Currently I have an HR24, H24 and my H21(owned) is inactive (Home renovations).

I currently pay:
$8 - Advanced Receiver-DVR Monthly
$3 - Whole Home DVR Service Monthly
$6 - Additional TV

That's $17 for 2 rooms.

Are you saying if I got rid of everything I have right now and did an HR34 with 2 C31's, it would only be $1 more a month, but I get 3 rooms instead of 2?

If so, that's not a bad deal.
 
#37 ·
And to answer a few other obvious questions people might have, without digging into Stuart's great document, it CAN do DoublePlay, but not PIP. It DOES support Pandora streaming (you have to activate through the Pandora website for each client) but not YouTube videos.
 
#39 ·
smiddy said:
I'm not certain. There is a Home Media Center charge of $6.00/month for each C31. I have three, so that is $18.00/month. I suspect that they are leased once they are ready to ship them, but perhaps not since I see them as being like an AM21x, or NOMAD. We should know in the coming days.
Well, if they are owned (which would be great) or if they are only considered an accessory than DirecTV would lose a lot of 2 year commitments as people add rooms with new boxes months or years later. I can't imagine them giving up that cash cow. It would virtually eliminate individual "contracts" after the initial 2 years for new customers with HMC & only clients setups.
 
#40 ·
cypherx said:
Currently I have an HR24, H24 and my H21(owned) is inactive (Home renovations).

I currently pay:
$8 - Advanced Receiver-DVR Monthly
$3 - Whole Home DVR Service Monthly
$6 - Additional TV

That's $17 for 2 rooms.

Are you saying if I got rid of everything I have right now and did an HR34 with 2 C31's, it would only be $1 more a month, but I get 3 rooms instead of 2?

If so, that's not a bad deal.
Sorry but no from my understanding. The C31 carries the same $6/month charge as an additional receiver does, so it would be $12 for two additional rooms.
 
#46 ·
cypherx said:
Great first look guys!

I see it can get poster art, unlike a regular H2x since it is really using the HR34 to do all the heavy lifting.

Does this mean that you can also go through VOD channels and initiate downloads from a C31?
Yes

cypherx said:
Sounds like you can go through the To Do list and History from a C31?
Yup!

cypherx said:
So what is "individual" between the C31's and HR34? The remote control setup and Favorites list?
Yes, remote setup is unique and so are guide favorites. Other preferences like resolution settings, audio settings, parental controls, ect. are set individually on the C31.

cypherx said:
This is really the way to go if you get FULL functionality in every room (access to the series manager, double play, VOD, etc).
Yeah, you get full DVR functionality in a tiny little box.

cypherx said:
Does the iPad app detect a C31 as a separate receiver for remote control?
Not yet. I hope it's in the works but I don't know.

cypherx said:
Are each C31's able to be named ie) "Bedroom", "Office", "Kitchen", etc...
Yes.

cypherx said:
Any word on the pricing?
My guess is $49.95 :)

Oh, and great job on the First Look guys. Outstanding! :up:
 
#49 ·
dettxw said:
A really cool feature is the ability to connect the C31 wirelessly via a WCCK.
Works great for those places where you don't have a cable drop.
Guess I could expand on this a little bit.
Normally the C31 is on the subnet that is set up on the cable through the SWM, and the C31 provides the HR34 a display interface using the RVU protocol.
The WCCK can instead provide a wireless ethernet link for the C31 to the HR34 through your wireless router and home network, and the direct connection between the C31 and WCCK is a short section of RG6.
Simply set up the WCCK as one normally would (been so long I forget how, but must not have been too hard) and connect the cable between the WCCK and C31 and that's it other than the C31 setup itself (setup procedure is in the First Look).
 
#50 ·
Is there any noticable difference in the speed of changing channels as compared to a H24/25 or HR? (faster or slower since there is no local tuner?)

How quick is the trick play and accessing recordings from the HR34? Is is comparable to the current speeds of whole home DVR?

Thanks.
 
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