Best Buy and DirecTV 3 LNB Dishes`

[UPEngineer]

Here's a weird one for ya!

Went to local Best Buy last night with my brother in law to buy an HD receiver and HDTivo for Directv. We also need the triple LNB dish that they sell for $59. Want to do self install cause all of the cabling is run in his new house.

The salesman went to get a dish and came back with another guy who stated that as of May 15th, Directv no longer allows dishes to be sold at retail outlets. They must be ordered from Directv. The dish itself is free but you must pay 19.95 shipping. Beats the 59.95 price tag from BestBuy. BestBuy's other location had 2 of them but would not sell them.

He also said that he is pretty sure but not 100% that self installs are coming to and end. He said you can buy the receivers all day long but not the hardware. He gave us a number to call to try to cancel the "professional" installation and do it ourselves once the dish arrives by UPS.

Has anyone else heard of this anywhere else heard of this happening anywhere else or was the guy bs me?

 

[asousa]

Get your equipment from ValuElectronics...

he ships it to you within a day or two and you can do the install yourself!

give him a call, his link is at the top of the site. Try to talk to Robert if you can.

 

[Hogarth]

Here's a weird one for ya!
[....]
He also said that he is pretty sure but not 100% that self installs are coming to and end. He said you can buy the receivers all day long but not the hardware. He gave us a number to call to try to cancel the "professional" installation and do it ourselves once the dish arrives by UPS.

Has anyone else heard of this anywhere else heard of this happening anywhere else or was the guy bs me?

I have no idea if he was BSing you or not, but It would not surprise me if direcTV ended self-installs.

The number of customers who perform self-installs are a very, very, very small percentage. Of those, the number who get it screwed up and then insist on a free service call probably makes it cost-economical to just say "No" in all cases.

Generally, it's usually less time consuming to do something right in the first place than to fix someone else's mess.

Granted, a lot of people have lousy experiences with some installers.

 

[colofan]

I strongly disagree. If you are an owner of a dish for more than 5 years it was basically all self install. Most of the "professional" installs don't even meet code requirements.

Yes I started with a BUD and changeover to D* within 4 months of them starting business with ussb.

 

[gtwendt]

The real question for me is will get the same triple LNB dish or if you will get the new dish required for MPEG4?

 

[silversurfer]

Gtwendt welcome to Satelliteguys! As far as I know the new dish has not even been released yet so yes you will get the triple LNB silly but that is the current status...

 

[gtwendt]

Thanks for the welcome! I bet you are right. I just talked with D* and the rep knew nothing of new equipment. I told her it seems kind of strange that they are this close but will not say anything. Hopefully they will announce something soon.

 

[fkostyn]

If you see two on the shelf, just get one, and walk up front <G> the cashiers aren't too bright....

 

[Neutron]

Thanks for the welcome! I bet you are right. I just talked with D* and the rep knew nothing of new equipment. I told her it seems kind of strange that they are this close but will not say anything. Hopefully they will announce something soon.

Welcome to Satelliteguys!!

That's typical of CSR's. They are usually the LAST to get new information, as bad as that is. Fortunately LonghornXP, another one of our awesome staff members here, keeps us up to date on what Directv is doing and what is coming up. I'd expect any announcements on this to come from him soon.

 

[Beavis]

Welcome to Satelliteguys!!

That's typical of CSR's. They are usually the LAST to get new information, as bad as that is. Fortunately LonghornXP, another one of our awesome staff members here, keeps us up to date on what Directv is doing and what is coming up. I'd expect any announcements on this to come from him soon.

It's not that CSR's are the last to get information, it's just we're instructed not to say anything. AFAIK, the 5-LNB dishes are still in testing phase, and will be for a while.

 

[leschristy]

Sorry to inform you of this...

That Best Buy employee is just standing up for what his Sales Manager wants him too. Best Buy gets a huge kickback when they sell the directv system with an install which is the same reason you can't purchase a stand alone reciever new customer or not without agreeing to a 12 month commitment with directv and activation within 30 days from best buy. If you choose not to activate the card and the box together or choose to cancel early your credit card is charged a $150 cancellation fee. Reason being Directv wants to install all of their product to ensure their is not pirating taking place.

 

[TYORK]

well i can tell you as of the 15 everything went back to being install be d* you can buy from Best Buy but the equipment is shipped to you then they come and install it no longer done through Installs Inc. or anyone else.

t

 

[charper1]

It's not that CSR's are the last to get information, it's just we're instructed not to say anything. AFAIK, the 5-LNB dishes are still in testing phase, and will be for a while.

WHA?

What would there be to test other than the satellite transmissions?

The LNBs, dishes and receivers are a done deal. Just a codec/compression scheme update with tried and true market available technology. Even if minor testing was needed to ensure item meet or exceed spec wouldn't take more than a few weeks with prototypes.

The additional 2 LNBs and new placement angles and the new dish design were all done in mockup based on a few different scenarios. These can be sent to production and built in a flash once the orbital locations were decided on and ETCHED in stone. There should be nothing new other than the satellites that need MAJOR tests.

Nice guess though.

 

[Jeep4xfun]

charper1 -

There is a lot more to the process than your oversimplified rendition.

1. you need to create a spec which you then send to manufacturers and tell them to spool up.

2. Multiswitch pieces are all built in China and require about 3-6 months to spool up for production.

3. If Directv released a product not ready for immediate shipment to the masses, there would be group turmoil in the boards, etc, and all the issues would be "if it wasn't ready why'd they release it?"

I know for one, i am super anxious to get this new stuff into my distribution chain, but in light of how poorly handled the 72.5 stuff was done, I hold no hope for the MPEG4 switchover.

 

[dalos2004]

bestbuy

As of sometime last month all bestbuy stores nationwide signed an agreement with D* to send all installations thru the HSP network. No more self installs...

 

[ottergoose]

I went to BestBuy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City and Ultimate Electronics - none of them allow self installs now. So, I ordered from ValueElectronics yesterday at 9:15 central, and I'll have the stuff from UPS tomorrow. They'll give you $50 back for doing the install yourself and 10% off if you're a member of this forum.