Contemplating the switch, does anyone have a deal like this?

[chicagofilms]

I'm considering making the switch from Dish to DirecTV. HD is the main reason. It seems DirecTV is headed in the right direction.

I'm looking for a package that has 1-HD Tivo, 2-SD tivos, and one basic reciever. I'm assuming for the HD I need the tripple LNB dish as well. I'd also like to have it installed with an OTA antenna for the HD locals.

Oddly enough , it seems valueelectronics.com is the best deal I can find. While they don't have a package that contains everything I need exactly, they do have a 2 sd-tivo, 1 basic reciever package for $300. Then I can just toss in a HD Tivo I suppose.

If anyone knows of a better deal, please let me know.

 

[Alvarez]

I'm considering making the switch from Dish to DirecTV. HD is the main reason. It seems DirecTV is headed in the right direction.

I'm looking for a package that has 1-HD Tivo, 2-SD tivos, and one basic reciever. I'm assuming for the HD I need the tripple LNB dish as well. I'd also like to have it installed with an OTA antenna for the HD locals.

Oddly enough , it seems valueelectronics.com is the best deal I can find. While they don't have a package that contains everything I need exactly, they do have a 2 sd-tivo, 1 basic reciever package for $300. Then I can just toss in a HD Tivo I suppose.

If anyone knows of a better deal, please let me know.

2 sd tivo's with 1 basic for 300$ doesn't sound like a good deal...

you could get a free 3 room installation for free(from directv) then after they hook them up and after you call in and activate them. Go to best buy and buy 2 new tivo's for 79$ and replace 2 of the receivers.

This would cost less than 200$

The only issue I could see is you need 2 runs of coax to the tivo's so I think you would need a couple splitters.

 

[rad]

Have you called VE and talked to them? Robert and company often can work out deals that aren't published on their web site.

 

[fredfa]

This is what DirecTV is offering (on its website):
Get a FREE standard DIRECTV System for up to 3 rooms, including a satellite dish, up to 3 standard receivers and NO-COST standard professional installation when you subscribe to one year of any TOTAL CHOICE® programming package.

You should easily be able to find SD TiVos for $100 or less each. And for a "tip" I am pretty confident the installer will be happy to connect an antenna for you.

But you might need a bigger multi-switch than D* will include.

Then you just need to find your HD Tivo.

 

[chicagofilms]

It seems DirecTV is a bit different from Dish as far as hookups, ect. Is there a FAQ somewhere that can give me a crash course on all things DirecTV?

The thing I'm wondering about the most is the switches & cable runs needed. Do I need two cables from the switch to a dual tuner receiver, or do the have a splitter that splits one cable into the two inputs like Dish does?

Also, how many cables total go from the switch to a triple LNB dish?

 

[chicagofilms]

OK, after 20 minutes of digging through DirecTV's site, I found out the triple LND dish has a built in switch & there are 4 cables that go straight from the dish to the receivers.

I guess the question I have now is how would I hook up 3 dual-tuner recievers?

 

[CRendall]

You would need a 4x8 splitter that would give you enough connections for all the Tivo's you want to hook up.

Chris

 

[vurbano]

well since some of the channels are 1280x1080i now technically D* doesnt do HD anymore. HD is 1920x1080. So I wouldnt go there since they are downrezzing and sending it out at 8mbps afterwards

AS I understand it the current resolutions are:

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]
ESPN-HD is 1280x720p - 59.94fps HD

Bravo & DiscHD is 1920x1088i - 29.97fps. HD

HDnetmovies is 1280x1088i - 29.97fps. NOT HD, downrezzed

[/font][font=verdana, arial, helvetica] HDNet is 1280x1088i - 29.97fps. NOT HD, downrezzed[/font]
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]
D* HD for CBS (80 & 81) 1280x1088i - 29.97fps NOT HD, downrezzed

NBC (82 & 83) NBCE 1920x1088i - 29.97fps HD

NBCW 1280x1088i - 29.97fps. NOT HD, downrezzed[/font]

 

[js33]

That's disappointing hearing that the coming HDTV revolution is being down sized before it even takes off. I hope this is just a temporary measure while they are waiting on new satellites to launch. 1280 x 1080i is not even HDV resolution (which is 1440 x 1080).

I hear that DISH is actually better for HDTV at the moment but DTV is launching 4? new satellites soon for HDTV.

Also HD is not determined by the bitrate but the resolution. Which as you stated is either 1920x1080i or 1280x720p. Now you could have uncompressed which is something like 35gigs for an hour of HDTV or really terribly compressed HDTV which is still HDTV but just looks like crap.

Cheers,
JS