D* and the H20 are killing me.

[dentonpc]

1st 2 paragraphs are back story / venting – bypass is you wish.

I don't post much, but this is seriously unbelievable. I recently bought a 2nd HD TV and when getting the receiver from D* decided to upgrade from the H10 3LNB to 2 H20’s and the 5LNB. I got a great deal, they were nice, threw in free stuff without me really asking. It couldn't have gone better.

The 2 H20s they sent out were both bad. 1 shut itself down and restarted randomly more than a few times a day. The other had problems with the HDMI port – it just wouldn’t work. So I called and they said sorry, we’ll send out 2 more. The first new one doesn’t even power up. The other keeps giving me (and the tech support guy on was on the phone with for 91 minutes) error messages when setting up – so I only got channel 100.

They sent out an installer who said (in order) 1 is dead, 2 is dead, 3 only works with component cables, 4 works fine. So 75% or 3 of 4 H20’s sent to my house DO NOT WORK RIGHT. Additionally, both only get low 70’s in signal strength – which he says is simply how they are made and that it is a bad product. SO, as I found out last night, if the wind blows harder than someone blowing out a birthday cake or if there is even the slightest of sprinkle of rain, the HD signal goes out and I can’t watch HD. That is great, right.

Finally, I have 5 TVs/receivers. I checked my bill in the middle of all of this - I am being charged for count’em 8 active receivers and $150 of other charges that shouldn’t be there. The billing stuff has officially been resolved. It took 2 calls and 68 minutes of my time, but it is resolved.

Do I have a point? …I am not sure. The signal loss is a problem – obviously. I was told by the installer that the HR20 doesn’t have the same problems that the H20 does. But really at this point, why would I want to spend money with these people.

On a positive note, all of the people I have dealt with so far in the 159 minutes of phone calls have been pleasant. Although when the problems are this bad, don’t they kind of have to be??

...I was really hoping this would make me feel better

 

[charper1]

Sure sounds like you are having some serious problems; but I can say my buddy and his roommate each have H20-100's and they operate flawlessly, or at least they have for over 6 months. They run via component.

 

[Harmony Home Technologies]

The error messages in setup are normal and should be ignored. The different signal strength reading is normal as well - a low 70's reading on a H20 will give a reading of around 90 on a standard IRD, which you probably have already found on your other receivers. The H20's have been pretty rock solid for the most part.

 

[ktk3438]

I hated my H20, and could not wait to get rid of it.

I had the issues with resetting itself, and the other 2 not only reset, but they both had crappy PQ.

Some people have good luck with them, I was not one of them with 3 for 3 bad units.

After 3 POS H20's, they finally agreed to give me a free HR20.

I LOVE my HR20, it has a better HD PQ, and has not reset itself once. Although it has some small bugs they are progressively ironing out, none of which are a problem for me.

 

[Tampa Satman]

H10 and H20 problems

I too experienced many problems with both recievers. I have a brother in law who is also having the same problems with the H20. Picture drop out, resetting, picture freezing.

On my H10, I would go thru the process of putting in my favorites. Only to lose them for some reason. I would be watching tv either HD or not, local (OTH) or D* and the box would cycle thru the whole startup. I would go thru setting up favorites and when I got to the 70's and selecting the channels it would reset.

I called D* and said there was a new update coming in a few months. They gave me some credits $10 for 6 months. Kinda nice, would wait.

Eventually the reciever would reset every couple of minutes. Enough was enough. I called D* again and they routed me several depts. They sent me a new one, I had to pay S&H. Since that I have had no problems with the H10.

My brother in law with his H20. Has picture freezing and had to reset from the front button. I advised him to call D* and see what D* can do.

On a second note about HD, I called D* and asked about the HD DVR. Said my wife was going to cancel if we didnt get on. They transferred me to a resolution CSR and they put me on a list. They said they have no HD DVR in stock and I would have to wait for their stock and the list for name to come up. I went to the website and put my name in the hopper.

I figure I will get one when hell freezes over. I would pay $99 for the HD DVR, I know its not that far away. They would give me a credit of $100 but with the current prices at $399, I still would pay $299. I suppose I can wait.

Thanks all for all the info and advice.

 

[spartan]

The H20-600s are junk, made in Korea by Pace. I went through two of them with constant rebooting problems. Finally D* sent me a H20-100, made in Mexico by RCA and it has been rock solid. Call D* - ask to speak to a supervisor or if push comes to shove ask to speak to customer retention. Be nice but firm and tell them you know that the reboot on the H20-600 is a documented problem and has been for months and you want a H20-100 or you will drop the service.

 

[lou_do]

Sounds like most of the problems I have read about involve the H20-600 models. I know my H20-100 works great and the OTA tuner picks up stations that none of my previous HD OTA tuners have.

The H20-100 made by RCA/Thompson
The H20-600 made by LG