[statsman]

Hello all,

I know it has been a long time since I registered... Truth is, between all the acronyms and tech talk, I felt out of my depth here... got discouraged and went away. Long story, short: Because I am ready to make the jump to HD, I came back for a second try.

I've been with D* since about 2004. No one will mistake me for a power user. Most of my equipment is quite dated. Currently, I have a Phase III dish feeding a single R22-100 which has served me faithfully for the last 3-4 years. I have been very happy with it but am feeling limited by having just two tuners, single-room viewing and no HD. So I have been lurking here for about two weeks with an eye to learning about the options out there.

Based on my information gathering, I am leaning towards retiring my R22, getting an HR-34 for the main TV in the living room and getting an HD receiver for the bedroom. I know about the C31s but am primarily interested in using the bedroom system to watch recorded content from the HR-34. Trick-play of live TV is a secondary concern for me and if the C31s end up priced at $99, I don't see the point of waiting for one. Sound reasonable?

 

[statsman]

Forgive me for being longwinded. I wanted to check with the people here to answer my newbie questions/clear up my misconceptions/offer suggestions in order to ensure that I have a better understanding of what an install would entail/cost before I get back on the phone with D* to place an order:

1. First up, I've spoken to a CSR and was told that I was entitled to $250 credit toward an HR-34 and $20 credit towards installation. By my count that leaves: a cost of $149 for the HR-34 and $39 for installation plus a cost of $99 for the HD receiver and $59 for its installation.

2. Should I fret over which HD receiver I get for the bedroom? Are there performance differences across models when used to watch recorded content from an HR-34?

3. My current dish has to go and one of the slimline dishes put in its place. I also need a SWiM. It has to be bigger than a SWiM5 to accommodate the 6 tuners. This should happen as part of standard installation and not involve any additional fees.

4. The living room and bedroom are not near one another. There are two holes in my living room through which the wires from the current dish enter the house: only one will be used to connect the HR-34 to the new dish. The tech will make another hole in the outside wall of the bedroom for the wire to the HD receiver. This is part of a standard install and should not incur an additional cost.

5. Do I have to get the Wireless Cinema Connection Kit and have it installed at a cost of $99 as part of the setup for Whole-Home DVR service? This is an older house and the only network I have exists via a Netgear wireless router situated in a different room (not the living room or bedroom where the receivers will be installed). I'd probably like to skip this if possible as internet apps don't thrill me and I could live without On-Demand content if need-be.

6. I will have to surrender my old R22-100 and access card to the tech at the time of the installation but I should have him/her note the Receiver ID and Access Card # on the work order.

7. My monthly bill will jump up. As I intend to retire my R22, I will no longer be paying an $8/month DVR fee; however I will incur two new monthly charges- a $20 Advance Receiver Service fee and a $6 fee for a second receiver/TV.

8. D* offers a $10 credit when you sign up for credit card autopay but some folks here have been able to get the $10 credit without going to autopay simply by asking the CSR for it. As I would much prefer to avoid a recurring charge on my credit card, it wouldn’t hurt for me to ask too.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jimmie57]

Forgive me for being longwinded. I wanted to check with the people here to answer my newbie questions/clear up my misconceptions/offer suggestions in order to ensure that I have a better understanding of what an install would entail/cost before I get back on the phone with D* to place an order:

1. First up, I've spoken to a CSR and was told that I was entitled to $250 credit toward an HR-34 and $20 credit towards installation. By my count that leaves: a cost of $149 for the HR-34 and $39 for installation plus a cost of $99 for the HD receiver and $59 for its installation.

2. Should I fret over which HD receiver I get for the bedroom? Are there performance differences across models when used to watch recorded content from an HR-34?

3. My current dish has to go and one of the slimline dishes put in its place. I also need a SWiM. It has to be bigger than a SWiM5 to accommodate the 6 tuners. This should happen as part of standard installation and not involve any additional fees.

4. The living room and bedroom are not near one another. There are two holes in my living room through which the wires from the current dish enter the house: only one will be used to connect the HR-34 to the new dish. The tech will make another hole in the outside wall of the bedroom for the wire to the HD receiver. This is part of a standard install and should not incur an additional cost.

5. Do I have to get the Wireless Cinema Connection Kit and have it installed at a cost of $99 as part of the setup for Whole-Home DVR service? This is an older house and the only network I have exists via a Netgear wireless router situated in a different room (not the living room or bedroom where the receivers will be installed). I'd probably like to skip this if possible as internet apps don't thrill me and I could live without On-Demand content if need-be.

6. I will have to surrender my old R22-100 and access card to the tech at the time of the installation but I should have him/her note the Receiver ID and Access Card # on the work order.

7. My monthly bill will jump up. As I intend to retire my R22, I will no longer be paying an $8/month DVR fee; however I will incur two new monthly charges- a $20 Advance Receiver Service fee and a $6 fee for a second receiver/TV.

8. D* offers a $10 credit when you sign up for credit card autopay but some folks here have been able to get the $10 credit without going to autopay simply by asking the CSR for it. As I would much prefer to avoid a recurring charge on my credit card, it wouldn't hurt for me to ask too.

Thanks in advance.

I will give you a few answers based on my recent experience and from reading others posts.

1. No answer.

2. I think you will get either the H24 or H25 as your second receiver. There is a brand new C-31 but I have not heard of it being installed yet. I would not think you would see any difference in the performance of the 3 of them.

3. The Slimline 3 and 5 SWM technology dishes both handle 8 Tuners with no additional hardware required.

4. That is correct.

5. You do not have to hook up to the internet. I did not when I got my upgrade a little over 3 months ago.

6. You can do that if you feel it is necessary but I have never done that.

7.The $8 DVR cost is built into the $20 fee for the advanced receiver.

8. I suspect that the people that are calling and asking for the discount are like me and already were on auto bill pay. I have been on it ever since it was in existance and have not had any problems.

Good luck with your install and welcome back to DirecTV.

 

[statsman]

Thanks for reading my long post and the reply.

More than anything being less than technically inclined and not altogether up on SOP re an upgrade, I am a little nervous about having the installation go smoothly.

8. It's good to know that the folks asking for the discount are already using credit card autopay - I suppose I'll have to sign up after all.

Much obliged for the information, the encouragement, and the welcome back.

 

[carl6]

One other option to consider (and control cost). The R22 will become an HD DVR once you activate the HR34 on your account. You do not need to replace it. The HR34 plus the R22 will use 7 tuners, within the limit of 8 for an SWM LNB. So go for an HR34, keep the R22, do not get an HD receiver or RVU client. Oh, and the advanced receiver fee will cover the DVR portion for the R22, you won't have that in addition to the DVR fee.

 

[statsman]

Carl,

I did not know that the R22 would function with SWiM much less as an HD DVR. Mine is still in perfect working condition. This definitely helps a great deal- more tuners and less cost.

You have just made my day :hurah:

Thanks!

How would this shake out in terms of installation? Would I still be paying two professional installation fees: one for each receiver? I suppose if the R22 can throughput HD, I could just leave it where it is and install the HR34 in the bedroom. Any thoughts?

 

[Drucifer]

How close will the HR34 be to your router or any Ethernet jack in your home? I ask because the HR34 will act as a bridge for the rest of the DirecTV network.

 

[statsman]

The HR34 will be in a different room from my wireless router-14 feet and a wall away. This small single-level ranch house was built back in the 70s. Wiring is archaic (no Ethernet jacks). I use wireless at all times to connect to my network.

 

[jimmie57]

How would this shake out in terms of installation? Would I still be paying two professional installation fees: one for each receiver? I suppose if the R22 can throughput HD, I could just leave it where it is and install the HR34 in the bedroom. Any thoughts?

You should not incurr any cahrges for the R22 if you keep it and not replace it. The only thing they will do is remove one of the cables that is run to it.

 

[statsman]

jimmie,

Thanks for the reply.... I want to make the upgrades while containing cost where I can. Do I understand correctly then that the R22 has to stay put with the main TV in the living room (while the HR34 goes into the bedroom) to avoid any additional installation fee?

 

[Drucifer]

I never been charge extra for having equipment move around as I put the newer stuff in the most use spot in my DirecTV network.

Did have one tech who stated he could only make one move, but one move was all I wanted at the time.

 

[statsman]

Drew,
Thank you very much for sharing your experiences... what a relief! Every dollar saved is a blessing. I am inching closer to making that phone call to D* to place my order!

 

[statsman]

So I placed my order today:

For about $ 270 including tax I'll get the HR34 and all the ancillary equipment (slimline dish and W-CCK) installed.

Plus, the CSR was very nice- I got 6 months with $18 off my monthly bill plus an additional $5 month for 24 months (had to enroll in credit card autopay and paperless billing).

Overall, it was a pretty good experience. Thanks to all of you for your help: I felt confident going in and I was definitely much better informed due to your input. You folks rock! :icon_bb:

Tech comes this Thursday afternoon and man am I psyched!!! :icon_da:

 

[jimmie57]

Thanks for the update. Hopefully your install will go that well.
Let us know how it goes.

 

[statsman]

Well I should have known that my luck was not going to hold out:
The install was only semi-successful. The tech was very nice and very professionally mannered but I have my doubts about his competence/familiarity with the equipment.

First off, let me say sorry for not posting sooner but it was unavoidable- the install tech accidentally cut the line for my internet service and I didn't get it back 'til late yesterday.

Secondly, the tech did not set me up for with the Wireless-CCK though he insisted he had everything installed. Like a fool, I acquiesced and let him go without making a bigger fuss.

Next, I think he installed a bunch of stuff that I didn't need: he kept talking about jumpers, a power inserter, and an external decca.

Last and perhaps most importantly, D* won't activate Whole Home Service with only a single HD receiver on the account. The R22 receives HD programming fine but according to the computer system it is still considered a standard-def receiver and hence renders my setup (one HR34, one R22) ineligible for Whole Home authorization.

On the whole not a good experience but I wanted to post in the hopes it helps someone else.

 

[statsman]

Just butchered an edit of my last post - my forum foo is on the wane....

On to business:
After speaking with a very courteous and professional tech support staffer earlier today, I think I may be back on track.

It seems that the install tech, gave me the wired version of the CCK in line with the way the work order was written. Why it was written that way I do not know, but the main thing is D* is going to ship me out the Wireless CCK without charge. Unfortunately, I will be giving up my R22 after all. On the plus side, I will be getting an HD receiver at a reduced cost (base package credits) for the inconvenience I've suffered.

All in all, things are definitely looking up
-getting good reception from my new dish
-enjoying my new HD picture quality
-love the fact I can watch TV in multiple rooms
-will soon enjoy internet/whole-home DVR

Plus my interactions with D* staff have gone a long way to ameliorate my qualms. Just wanted you all to know that things are moving towards a satisfactory resolution and I am again looking forward to the next two years with D*.

Thanks again! Special thanks to the folks who took the time to post in this thread.:righton:

 

[trh]

Why are you giving up the R22?

 

[carl6]

You could also keep the R22 (which would participate in whole-home if it were activated) in addition to the other HR2x unit being sent to you. Of course, that would be another $6 a month (which may be reason enough to give it up).

 

[statsman]

The R22 was only leased. I'm giving it up because I want Whole Home DVR service across my two televisions. As I stated, D* will only authorize WH when there are at least 2 true HD receivers on the account. As, I don't want to incur an additional monthly fee, I will be deactivating the R22. My understanding is that when the receiver is deactivated, D* will send a shipping box to reclaim it. Sucks to lose 2 tuners but I've only managed to engage 4 of the 5 tuners on the new HR34 at any one time. So it's a loss I can live with.

Cheers.

 

[statsman]

Just saw your post Carl,

Thanks for the suggestion... but at this point my bill has risen to a point where I am disinclined to add to it... without good reason, of course:grin: