[brainman62]

Hello all,

First post after reading thru many and not finding a similar situation.

Here's my situation. We have 2 RCA DVR80 TiVo units and 1 old RCA DSRD430 in our setup. Single dish, triple LNB, splitting the 4 ouputs via a Terk 4x8 multi-switch (which is a powered model, don't know model #). The DSRD430 gets little usage stays in a guest room until football season when we pull it out and connect to a smaller TV, so we can watch multiple games at one time.

So, this season I hook up the 430 and I am getting Searching for Satellite Signal...sometimes it will work, but lots of pixelation and breaking up video. So, I check all my connections, then check the signal...on the signal meter it's up and down, in the 90's, or zero, in and out. Based on what I have read here, I have bypass the multi-switch, used known good lines, etc and the behavior is the same, so I figure the receiver is about done.

Then I go about confusing myself. I got a very old Sony receiver that is only designed to work with the old single LNB system. When I plug that reciever in, it behaves in a similar manner, signal in and out, either 90 or 0...

So, is the old Sony issue indicative of the incompatibility of the receiver not working on a triple LNB dish?

Are the symptoms of the RCA DSRD430 just that the receiver is dying?

BTW, calls to CS were useless, some guy going thru a script...one thing of note is the old RCA doesn't stay connected to the phone at all and the connection to the RG6 is off and on as well, so in DirecTV's system, the box is "unknown" but the access card matches. The CS guy said all he needed was the access card number.

I was really not wanting to buy/lease new equipment for a seldom used receiver and end up with a fresh 2 year committment if I can avoid it.

If it is the receiver, can I just get another triple LNB receiver, by whatever means, then slap the old access card in it and go ???

Ok, enough questions for the first post, I will hang up now and listen...Thanks !!!!

 

[veryoldschool]

My "first guess" is it's the cable, since you now have two receivers doing the same thing.
Take your 430 and connect it to your other location and see how it works there.
I would look at cables/locations before going the new/other receiver route.

 

[cmoss5]

Hello all,

First post after reading thru many and not finding a similar situation.

Here's my situation. We have 2 RCA DVR80 TiVo units and 1 old RCA DSRD430 in our setup. Single dish, triple LNB, splitting the 4 ouputs via a Terk 4x8 multi-switch (which is a powered model, don't know model #). The DSRD430 gets little usage stays in a guest room until football season when we pull it out and connect to a smaller TV, so we can watch multiple games at one time.

So, this season I hook up the 430 and I am getting Searching for Satellite Signal...sometimes it will work, but lots of pixelation and breaking up video. So, I check all my connections, then check the signal...on the signal meter it's up and down, in the 90's, or zero, in and out. Based on what I have read here, I have bypass the multi-switch, used known good lines, etc and the behavior is the same, so I figure the receiver is about done.

Then I go about confusing myself. I got a very old Sony receiver that is only designed to work with the old single LNB system. When I plug that reciever in, it behaves in a similar manner, signal in and out, either 90 or 0...

So, is the old Sony issue indicative of the incompatibility of the receiver not working on a triple LNB dish?

Are the symptoms of the RCA DSRD430 just that the receiver is dying?

BTW, calls to CS were useless, some guy going thru a script...one thing of note is the old RCA doesn't stay connected to the phone at all and the connection to the RG6 is off and on as well, so in DirecTV's system, the box is "unknown" but the access card matches. The CS guy said all he needed was the access card number.

I was really not wanting to buy/lease new equipment for a seldom used receiver and end up with a fresh 2 year committment if I can avoid it.

If it is the receiver, can I just get another triple LNB receiver, by whatever means, then slap the old access card in it and go ???

Ok, enough questions for the first post, I will hang up now and listen...Thanks !!!!

If I were you, just go ahead and you will get the new 5LNB dish hooked up for no charge and they will swap out your old receiver for no charge for the new
HD DVR or HD RECEIVER....the 2 year contract will go by very, very fast
...just do it and do not worry about that 2 year committment....you will not regret it....if they try to charge you for anything, tell them to escalate call to retention...

 

[BattleZone]

I used to have an old Sony SAT-A2 receiver, which was only designed for 101. When I upgraded to a Triple Sat dish later, the signals would bounce as you describe when viewed on the Sony. The same line feeding a D10 or R10 were fine, and as it turns out, despite the meter bouncing, the Sony worked just fine.

So... the meter bouncing on an ancient receiver may not, itself, be a problem, but clearly either your receiver is dying or the line is bad. As others recommended, try moving the receivers around temporarily to see which combos work and don't work. That will tell you where the problem lies.

 

[brainman62]

First, thanks for the feedback and sorry for the delayed response, we had some power issues the past couple of weeks and I have been pretty busy.

So, let's see, I swapped out some locations and the old 430 misbehaves regardless of location. Right now I moved the other TiVO unit up to the living room and it is working fine on the same line where the 430 misbehaved. Based on that, I am pretty sure the 430 is done.

Now, as for going with the 5LNB and HD...so, you gonna buy my a HD TV ??? Seriously, I am not looking to extend my committment. While I have thoroughly enjoyed DirecTV since 1996, we are looking into AT&T's UVerse. My wife gets a serious discount as the company she works for just became an AT&T subsidiary about a year ago. Between the phone, internet and TV we can save around $100-120 a month !!!! And that gets us more movie channels, so it's something to consider, but they are not going to get it in our neighborhood for about 6 months.

Now, onto the other question. When I called DirecTV, the old receiver is on their system as "other" receiver and none of the reciever model and serial number data for the reciever matches what shows up on their website. The CS rep said all he needed to know was the access card number, which did match their website. So, based on that, should I be able to find another triple LNB compatible reciever, would it just be a matter of connecting it and putting the old access card in the different reciever ???

Thanks !!!!

 

[BattleZone]

we are looking into AT&T's UVerse.

Be sure to do some thorough research before you switch. Uverse has some serious limitations. Saving money is great, but if you can't get what you want, it isn't always worth it.

So, based on that, should I be able to find another triple LNB compatible reciever, would it just be a matter of connecting it and putting the old access card in the different reciever ???

No. Access cards are electronically "married" to the receiver. If you buy a used receiver, you will need to get a new access card for it ($20 from DirecTV, ships 2-day). This is a GOOD thing, as it protects you. A few folks managed to talk inexperienced CSRs into activating used access cards on their account, which resulted in the new account being billed for unpaid charges on the previous account.

Obviously, a NEW receiver will come with a new, never-used access card, but will also come with a commitment. Just be careful about buying used; anything from after March 1, 2006 will be a leased receiver, and cannot be transferred (the previous users were supposed to return the receiver if they canceled). Prior to that, receivers were owned, and can be sold. I would look for a DirecTV D10 or D11 receiver (again, get the RID number and call dish to verify it isn't leased before you buy); it would be perfect for you, and supports the latest features.

 

[Davenlr]

You do not need a HDTV to enjoy the added picture quality and channel lineup of the mpeg4 satellites. Yes, it would extend your commitment, but you would have all new equipment and directv would be reponsible for replacing receivers that went bad, since it would be leased.

Just comething to consider.

 

[brainman62]

Cool, thanks for the updates....So, what are the serious limitations of UVerse ??? The channel lineups are consistent with what we watch and want to watch...The only drawback I see is no NFL ST availability...

 

[BattleZone]

With Uverse, your whole house is limited to max of 4 live feeds (like 4 tuners with DirecTV). Of those, up to 2 can be HD in most areas, with a recent upgrade, which increased compression on the HD channels to make 2 HD feeds fit. Due to demand for more HD channels, there are plans to go to 3 HD/1 SD feeds soon by further increasing compression, dropping HD bandwidth far below satellite HD feeds, which means lower HD quality.

Many DirecTV customers have 8 or more tuners per house, epsecially if they have several DVRs, so going back to a max of 4 would be something of a shock.

Also, many people are unhappy with the Motorola DVR that is provided, which is quite basic compared to a DirecTV DVR. Based on reports, it may also be less stable/reliable than DirecTV's.

But, again, do your own research. Never believe the marketing at face value!

 

[brainman62]

With Uverse, your whole house is limited to max of 4 live feeds (like 4 tuners with DirecTV). Of those, up to 2 can be HD in most areas, with a recent upgrade, which increased compression on the HD channels to make 2 HD feeds fit. Due to demand for more HD channels, there are plans to go to 3 HD/1 SD feeds soon by further increasing compression, dropping HD bandwidth far below satellite HD feeds, which means lower HD quality.

Many DirecTV customers have 8 or more tuners per house, epsecially if they have several DVRs, so going back to a max of 4 would be something of a shock.

Also, many people are unhappy with the Motorola DVR that is provided, which is quite basic compared to a DirecTV DVR. Based on reports, it may also be less stable/reliable than DirecTV's.

But, again, do your own research. Never believe the marketing at face value!

IIP,

That's good stuff to know, thanks for the info...So, you got any links where I can do the digging myself, instead of picking your brain ???

I don't like what you are telling me about increased compression at the cost of quality of signal, but I understand what they are doing...

Not really sure the limitation would affect us that much. Things have changed at our household, as the kids have grown up and moved out. So, we don't really need DVRs in all the rooms and basic receivers would work in the basement and extra bedroom. Looking to the future, only the living room would require HD (when I talk the wife into it) and multiple signal feeds. But even at that, I would be at the limit of what Uverse could provide, which would be 2 HDs and 2 SDs...

But there are many other things around the house that need attention at this time, so unless something breaks, it will likely be a bit before any move is made...Thus the relocation of the other TiVO to the living room to allow for the multiple football game viewing this season.

Again, thanks for the info !!!

 

[BattleZone]

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/09/22/atandt-will-increase-hd-compression-on-u-verse/
The article I referred to previously.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6586004.html?industryid=47194

AT&T having trouble adding HD without increasing costs beyond their competition.

 

[waterdragon]

No. Access cards are electronically "married" to the receiver. If you buy a used receiver, you will need to get a new access card for it ($20 from DirecTV, ships 2-day). This is a GOOD thing, as it protects you. A few folks managed to talk inexperienced CSRs into activating used access cards on their account, which resulted in the new account being billed for unpaid charges on the previous account.

You do not need to get a new card it is just a hassel. I was at a customers house who had an R10 go bad and they bought another one used. I had to call directv and get transferred to card services and they activated the "new" R10 with their old card.

 

[rudeney]

Access cards are electronically "married" to the receiver.

That can actually be "undone" by D*. They aren't always willing to do it, and the CSR you speak to may not have the knowledge or authority, but there is no physical reason they cannot allow access cards to be swapped from one receiver to another.

If you buy a used receiver, you will need to get a new access card for it ($20 from DirecTV, ships 2-day). This is a GOOD thing, as it protects you. A few folks managed to talk inexperienced CSRs into activating used access cards on their account, which resulted in the new account being billed for unpaid charges on the previous account.

That is true. Generally speaking, access cards are not allowed to be moved between accounts

Obviously, a NEW receiver will come with a new, never-used access card, but will also come with a commitment. Just be careful about buying used; anything from after March 1, 2006 will be a leased receiver, and cannot be transferred (the previous users were supposed to return the receiver if they canceled). Prior to that, receivers were owned, and can be sold. I would look for a DirecTV D10 or D11 receiver (again, get the RID number and call dish to verify it isn't leased before you buy); it would be perfect for you, and supports the latest features.

Although the vast majority of newer receivers acquired since March 2006 are leased, not all are. It's rare, but some people actually choose to purchase their receivers. Also, for customers with the PP, an owned receiver that fails is always replaced with an owned receiver. There are some owned receivers out there, but as IIP said, your best bet is to get the RID and verify with D* that it is owned and can be sold and re-activated on your account. In doing that, I'd definitely get the name and "badge number" of the CSR who confirms it, or maybe even send it via e-mail so you have the response in writing. I've heard of a few cases where the CSR's have been "mistaken".

 

[brainman62]

Rodney,

Birmingham, huh...native ??? I was born and raised in and around Birmingham...been up here in Dayton since 1986...Still got family in Birmingham and come down to visit 2-3 times a year.

Always good to hear from someone from Birmingham...

See ya,

Brian

 

[rudeney]

Brian, yes, I was born and raised here. All my family is here, too. Dayton’s a nice town. We have some friends there, although it’s many too many years since we last visited.