I vote C61K.

 

I have one of each and the C61K is stable. Never loses the signal unless the HR54 is down. The Gemini is about as stable as a hooker on meth. Loses signal from the HR54 at least once a day requiring a reboot of the Gemini. Also the Gemini has forced HDR that you can't turn off.

 

I agree with this. The Gemini software “App” needs much improvement. The C61K over wired is a great experience and meets the expectations of any other Genie mini as far as performance.

 

I agree with what b4pjoe said about the Gemini.

 

I have 3 of the Gemini box’s with the Genie 2. No drop outs. In fact the system works flawless

 

Thank you all for the feedback. Think I will grab a C61K while they are still around.

 

My Gemini (hardwired) with genie 2 has zero
Issues with satellite features. The apps on the other hand require force quitting or resetting Gemini sometimes to get them to load.

 

One other factor to consider....the Gemini device offers a way to never go down during hard rain/snow by using a streaming feature for uninterrupted video.

 

That happens via the HR54 or HS17 and its clients including the Gemini. (not sure if the HR34 or HR44 does it too)

 

Yes, my HR54 has the "backup streaming" feature when the satellite goes down. In fact, it was activated during a storm that blew in while I was watching a Final Four game a few weeks ago. Worked like a charm and I don't think I missed a bit of the game!

 

any client connected to a genie does that

Also, the Paramount + app is continually losing sound and/or streaming

 

On the Apple TV? I use the Paramount app on the Apple TV and do not have that issue.

 

Given the topic of the thread, I'm guessing not.

I asked to be sure because he typed:

I am not really interested in the streaming capabilities of the Gemini as I use AppleTV for that and am happy with the setup.

 

That joelcgsc carelessly quoted NewMexiCat's entire post where satisfaction in fulfilling streaming needs by the ATV was explicitly noted; and where being saddled with a Gemini is expressly not desired.

compnurd's quote just prior to joelcgsc's contribution mentions "any client connected to a Genie" implying a Gemini.

I did not suspect that joelcgsc was speaking ill of an ATV but there can certainly be other takes based on emotional triggers.

 

I have the C61K and am disappointed with the overall picture quality and anything with red colors. I have tried the Gemini Air and neither of those are an issue. Is the opinion of most the C61K still have a better picture than the Gemini?

 

You can't use the Gemini Air on a satellite install period. It is only available for the DIRECTV streaming service. I have a C61K and a Gemini and the picture quality is much better on the Gemini though to be honest I don't see any C61K problems with red colors so I can't address that issue.

 

The reds aren't a pure red. They're either bleeding too much or have an odd tint to it. I can plug the Gemini Air into the same port as my C61 and they are different.

 

As long as they lock my price for those 2 years, I won't mind it. I'd like to be able to try it before committing to it is the only thing.

 

You won't get a 2 year price lock for getting a receiver replaced. Or any price lock at all. They only give the 2 year price lock to NEW customers.

 

Are the same channels available on the Gemini as the other satellite packages (i.e. channel 107 that isn't on Stream)?

 

Yes.

 

It follows then that if your goal is to have access to channel 107 (as suggested in post #33), your only choices are the C61K and the Gemini (C71KW).

 

That and the fact streaming is a minute or more behind satellite.

 

Channel 107 is not on Gemini air only on satellite

 

Oppps I meant
DIRECTV Genie 2 DVR Genie Server Receiver (HS17)
with a C61K

 

It frustrates me that so many DIRECTV subscribers are unable to accurately distinguish between STB model names.

The Gemini-Genie debacle is only part of the problem as too many refer to the Genie Minis as Genies or Geminis.

The distinctions aren't unimportant.

 

Yeah, having two names that are similar leads to a lot of confusion.

 

That is good news on the stability of the Gemini!

 

A good chunk of DIRECTV's revenue currently comes from commercial establishments (either directly or through sports distributors such as EverPass), and those are served uniquely by the satellite side of the operation.

Source? Or is this just your personal guess as to the financial breakdown of DIRECTV's revenue stream?

There is a chance that once DIRECTV gets the AT&T monkey off its back that we we once again see SEC filings from DIRECTV.

TPG has not been including any details for DIRECTV in their current reports. I don't know why you would expect that to change.

 

Source? Or is this just your personal guess as to the financial breakdown of DIRECTV's revenue stream?

It is a guess. I'm not sure how it could be otherwise. DIRECTV surely isn't doing its commercial offering out of habit or the hope that it will grow significantly in the future.

TPG has not been including any details for DIRECTV in their current reports. I don't know why you would expect that to change.

I would expect that DIRECTV would become a standalone entity. I'm not convinced that DIRECTV has ever been something that TPG wanted to make part of its long-term holdings.

 

IMO DirecTv is not going anywhere in the foreseeable future. Currently The service is just as good if not better then anything else in the market

 

IMO DirecTv is not going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

The hemorrhaging of subscribers (3,000-4,000 per day at last report) suggests that they won't last forever.

Currently The service is just as good if not better then anything else in the market

The problem isn't the quality (which doesn't seem to be what it once was) but the relative value they offer in their marketplace.

Some of this can be blamed on the content providers pulling the rug out from under them, but they've shown no intention of adjusting for that.

 

Nothing last forever. Losing 3000-4000 subscribers a day at last report. Was the last report provided by DirecTv? With the exception of NFL Sunday ticket. No content has been pulled from DirecTV. So the rug is still there

 

DIRECTV has lost content ... and paid to restore their contract to carry after brief outages. Temporarily losing content is not a bad thing.

No reports directly from DIRECTV. The last "reliable" numbers put them around 10 million subscribers 2Q last year and 300k less 3Q of last year.

 

As long as there are viewers that scream bloody murder when their channel is threatened carriage will be renewed. Fortunately Lifetime and Food Network are on the cheap end of the spectrum instead. If the channels tried to charge RSN level pricing for those feeds they would probably be gone.

 

As long as there are viewers that scream bloody murder when their channel is threatened carriage will be renewed.

There's also a noisy few that just want to see more channels added in the hopes that something they think they want to watch becomes available (FOMO).

 

If this new ESPN service is what it's advertised to be, the TV providers may have to rework the packages they offer. Providers charge more for ESPN than all the other channels combined. Since no one is wanting get or willing to say they're charging 20 cents to carry Lifetime, you'll eventually see packages geared to non-ESPN programming. We're already seeing a little bit of this with some of the offerings DirecTV has. If they don't change their model, people will pay $30 for their ESPN channels, whatever for their Fox channels (also coming soon), and buy Peacock, Paramount, and Max (to get the Turner and Discovery offerings) to get what they really want and dump the providers in droves. Pay around $100 for all of these or pay $179+ for these and all the junk that comes with it. It will be a no-brainer.

 

Pay around $100 for all of these or pay $179+ for these and all the junk that comes with it. It will be a no-brainer.

It is dangerous to "wing" numbers where pricing has been upwardly mobile of late. If ESPN doesn't derive the revenue they thought there were going to get from people shifting from linear services, you can bet they won't wait long to adjust their pricing to compensate.