I am looking at buying either an HR24 or HR34 from an online retailer and want to move my existing HR20 to another room. This will require a technician visit. Is it possible to order my receiver and then call DirecTV to set up the installation? What is the correct procedure?
Question about buying a receiver from a retailer
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If the OP goes with a HR34 then he would need to convert his whole system over to SWM because the HR34 only supports SWM not legacy, if he doesn't already have a SWM setup. The price of the SWM by itself is a lot more than the $49 tech visit. Plus if he has any SD receivers that are not D12's they also need to be replaced. I just upgraded my friends house to Whole home and got the HDDVR+HD receiver deal for $149 plus they replaced 6 SD receivers for free because of the SWM upgrade required for whole home. They put in a SWM16, 6 SD(D12's) receivers,HDDVR(HR24),HDH25),BBDECA, installed everything for $149.
This looks like a good thread to share my recent experience.
I had an HR22 that I was very unhappy with due to very slow response time. So I called DTV and spoke with someone who said they would place my order "requesting" HR24's (3 of them). I explained how I was very unhappy with the HR22 and would send the tech walking if they didn't show up with 24's.
Day of install comes and the tech calls me. I ask him what units he has on the truck. Tells me 21's. Says my order requested 24's and the warehouse didn't have any. We chat for a bit. He tells me the other work order he has also "requested" 24's. In the end, I cancel the order, and order 3 HR24's from Amazon.
The ironic thing is that DTV waived the charge on one unit as they were going to upgrade my HR22. How is going from an HR22 to an HR21 an upgrade?
The 24's arrive and I call back the tech who comes to do the install. He puts up a new dish (mine was about 10 years old), takes out the old multi-switch, installs SWM, activates the 3 HR24s & Whole Home.
Tech leaves with some cash in hand and a smile.
I had an HR22 that I was very unhappy with due to very slow response time. So I called DTV and spoke with someone who said they would place my order "requesting" HR24's (3 of them). I explained how I was very unhappy with the HR22 and would send the tech walking if they didn't show up with 24's.
Day of install comes and the tech calls me. I ask him what units he has on the truck. Tells me 21's. Says my order requested 24's and the warehouse didn't have any. We chat for a bit. He tells me the other work order he has also "requested" 24's. In the end, I cancel the order, and order 3 HR24's from Amazon.
The ironic thing is that DTV waived the charge on one unit as they were going to upgrade my HR22. How is going from an HR22 to an HR21 an upgrade?
The 24's arrive and I call back the tech who comes to do the install. He puts up a new dish (mine was about 10 years old), takes out the old multi-switch, installs SWM, activates the 3 HR24s & Whole Home.
Tech leaves with some cash in hand and a smile.
This is the case. I already have a SWM setup with an HR20 and HR21. I want to move my HR20 to a new room without an existing connection and put an HR24 or HR34 in my main viewing area.dpeters11 said:
If I only wanted to buy and activate the HR34 and hold off on a tech visit would I have a problem doing that?
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The only problem with only adding the HR34 is if you deactivate the HR20 you will most likely have to return it (assumption is that it is leased). Then later if you want to add to the other room you would be facing a new up-front lease fee.kosh56 said:
If you keep all your units active, then you could move one of them to another room whenever you want.
Have you considered running coax to the new location yourself?
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It seems to me (and I'm not saying this would get done for free), that when you call to activate the HR 34 you tell the CSR that you want to re-locate one of your HR 20's to a different room without coax. They should set you up with a home service call. Before you call, unless you already have a SWM 16 you will have too many tuners (i.e., 2 HR2X's= 4 plus HR 34= 5 for a total of 9), you should tell them you're getting an error message of not enough tuners, and they should add a SWM 16 to the order.kosh56 said:
In short, this should be do-able. Again, I am not saying it's going to be free, but overall what you're needing to do, has been done by others who have posted on this forum.
Home Depot sells RG6 by the five hundred foot roll. Get a compression fitting tool, a tool to strip the cable. Buy some extra compression connectors and practice on a couple short cable ends.
Run the cable without ends. When you get the cable where you want it, terminate the ends with the compression connectors. You can also get wall outlets and make up your own wall to box connections. etc etc.
Except for a potential savings on some equipment, and maybe a new contract period, there really is no reason to ever have to pay or wait for an installer.
The real benefit to doing it yourself is the system knowledge you gain and the ease with which you can move or reinstall any part of your system.
Since you are already on this forum there is nothing that cannot be answered in a few minutes.
If youi are going to pop for a new unit I would highly recommend the HR34 over the HR24. Yesterday I had three occasions to see all five tuners humming away with the Red R in the play list.
Of course that would put you over the 8 tuner first level limit. Two HR24s would put you right at the limit but would cost more as you would have four rather than three boxes.
Run the cable without ends. When you get the cable where you want it, terminate the ends with the compression connectors. You can also get wall outlets and make up your own wall to box connections. etc etc.
Except for a potential savings on some equipment, and maybe a new contract period, there really is no reason to ever have to pay or wait for an installer.
The real benefit to doing it yourself is the system knowledge you gain and the ease with which you can move or reinstall any part of your system.
Since you are already on this forum there is nothing that cannot be answered in a few minutes.
If youi are going to pop for a new unit I would highly recommend the HR34 over the HR24. Yesterday I had three occasions to see all five tuners humming away with the Red R in the play list.
Of course that would put you over the 8 tuner first level limit. Two HR24s would put you right at the limit but would cost more as you would have four rather than three boxes.
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I never found anything but copper clad steel RG6 at Home Depot (doesn't mean they don't have it, I just couldn't find it). The best source I found for a solid copper center conductor is at http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=SSCBLS&d=Solid-Signal-Custom-Cable-Lengths-RG6-with-High-Quality-Solid-Signal-Connectors. You can pick your length, but if you need a long piece, the 500' chunk is clearly the most reasonable.
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You will be Leasing an HR DVR Not buying it unless you make sure that it is an Owned DVR by the person or retailer you are getting it from.kosh56 said:
If you get the RID # of the DVR you can call Directv to Verify if it is Owned or a Lease DVR.
I have a Slimline-3s-SWM installed so I assume I am limited to 8 tuners.boxster99t said:
Let me ask you guys this. I was thinking of getting Whole-Home. I used it during the beta phase a couple years ago and didn't like the delay I had over Ethernet. Is it responsive over coax? I use FF instead of 30-second skip. A new HR24 would give me 6 tuners total which is plenty combined with Whole-Home.
You are limited to 8 tuners without additional equipment. Responsive is a relative term with the DTV boxes. And I find that sometimes it is great other times it is SLOWWWWWWWWWW to respond. May have to do with how many channels are recording, too. Multi DVRs in separate rooms are useless without some means of TiVo MRV (transfer from machine to machine) or MRS (multi room streaming) which is what DTV has.
There are a plethora of owned HR24s on eBay some of them new or open box from dealers.
I wanted brand spanking new so I found a dealer who had that for me in both an HR34 and an HR24. PM me for info on the dealer if you are interested. He just sent me an email and said "bring 'em on". He will even activate it for you on your account.
There are a plethora of owned HR24s on eBay some of them new or open box from dealers.
I wanted brand spanking new so I found a dealer who had that for me in both an HR34 and an HR24. PM me for info on the dealer if you are interested. He just sent me an email and said "bring 'em on". He will even activate it for you on your account.
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Sorry to hijack the thread but I have a very similar question that relates to the OP's. I had a brand new install in early Dec. 2011 with (2) HR24's, (3) H25's with a slimline dish and (1) 8 way splitter. I have (1) coaxial going from the Dish to my panel in the basement where I have coaxial going to every room in my house & each of my (5) receivers is taking up (1) of the ports on the 8 way splitter now. If I want to swap out (1) of my H25's with (1) HR34 what do I need to get to replace the 8 way splitter becasue I'd go from (7) tuners to (11) tuners? Also do I need anything changed out at the Dish on the roof as well to go to (11) tuners from my current (7)?
The SWM LNB that you have will only support 8 tuners. If you get an HR34 you'll need to get a Legacy LNB and then a SWM 16. A second line would be run to your junction box and then you would use appropriate splitters to change the lines appropriately as you can only have 8 tuners on each leg of the SWM 16 such as a 1x2 and a 1x4. The 1x8 would be removed entirely.Midwestuser1 said:
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Thanks and that is what I supspected but wasn't sure. So it sounds like I'm better off replacing (1) of my H25's with an HR24 instead. That way I'd have a total of (8) tuners and could keep my existing setup without any changes needed at this time. I'd then just send back my H25 as I wouldn't need it.Shades228 said:
I am fully aware of the SLOWWWWW problems. That is one of the main impetuses for wanting the HR24 or HR34. I'm hoping they are faster. Am I mis-guided there?Jerry_K said:
I was looking more into the MRS features. I didn't realize you could set a show to record on a receiver other than the one you are watching. The Whole-Home is sounding better and better.
BTW, according to the DirecTV website I can't activate Whole-Home without calling? I assume this requires additional hardware?
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