As I said in a previous post, our HR34-700 Genie finally died (hard drive) a couple days ago. I was told by DTV that if I seek a warranty replacement (we do have the equipment protection plan after my wife just said “let’s get it” a couple days ago) they would send me either an HR44 or HR54 but no longer would I have to worry about getting another HR34. First, do folks believe that to be true as I don’t want another HR34??
I am considering 1) if I want an HR54 which, if I decide YES, the only way to guarantee that I get one is to buy one from some other vendor, like say SolidSignal. That would cost $299. Otherwise, I can get an HR44 or 54 replacement (no guarantee as to which they would send) for $0 from DTV. Can someone tell me what is better, if anything, about the 54??? Other than obviously it is newer??? I think it can also support 4k TV but I’m not too interested in that.
2) Why do I want another Genie anyway??? We had one Genie and one Mini (plus an older HR22 on a third TV that is still running fine). For us, losing the Genie meant losing two of our three TV’s and for folks who are ALL Genie and Mini’s, it would mean NO TV until they could get a replacement.
What is the most current, stand alone HD-DVR, and HR24??? Should I perhaps want three of those instead of a Genie??? Whole Home is NOT dependent on being on a Genie, right??? So what is the upside to a Genie as compared to say an HR24??? (Or is there an HR25??? I see H25’s but not HR’s???)
3) Does anyone know if I were to buy a DVR from SolidSignal (I understand it’s actually a “lease”, got that part, been that way for years now) would a DVR from Solid be NEW and be all ready to call up DTV to have them activate??? Would it come with a DTV Access Card sealed in a plastic package inside the DVR packaging???? We found a place this weekend where we could have bought what they “said” was a new HR54 but it wasn’t even in a box and already had an access card stuck in the card slot. I chose NOT to buy it and was later told by DTV that if the RID for that box had showed up in their system they would NOT have been able to activate it as it would mean it was already leased to someone else and who knows where it might have come from.
In times gone by when DTV used to work with BestBuy, you could go there and buy a fully approved and ready to go, access card and all, Receiver directly from BestBuy, bring it home, call DTV and get it activated. But those days appear to be long gone. I spoke with several DTV “dealers” in the past few days and they all have interesting stories to tell about how only THEY could help me. But I felt scammed by pretty much all of them so still no replacement for my Genie.
So to summarize.
1. If I request a replacement from DTV, will I ONLY get an HR44 or HR54 or might I get another HR34 which would be a very bad deal.
2. What does a Genie HR54 have over an HR44???
3. Why should I want another Genie, period, as compared to say an HR24 (or is there and HR25?) on each TV. I can have Whole-Home with just stand alone DVR's so what is the real advantage to a Genie???
4. Can I buy an authorized HR54 from SolidSignal if I choose to pay $299 to get an HR54??? Would it already come with a DTV Access Card or would I have to get one of those separately from DTV???
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
I am considering 1) if I want an HR54 which, if I decide YES, the only way to guarantee that I get one is to buy one from some other vendor, like say SolidSignal. That would cost $299. Otherwise, I can get an HR44 or 54 replacement (no guarantee as to which they would send) for $0 from DTV. Can someone tell me what is better, if anything, about the 54??? Other than obviously it is newer??? I think it can also support 4k TV but I’m not too interested in that.
2) Why do I want another Genie anyway??? We had one Genie and one Mini (plus an older HR22 on a third TV that is still running fine). For us, losing the Genie meant losing two of our three TV’s and for folks who are ALL Genie and Mini’s, it would mean NO TV until they could get a replacement.
What is the most current, stand alone HD-DVR, and HR24??? Should I perhaps want three of those instead of a Genie??? Whole Home is NOT dependent on being on a Genie, right??? So what is the upside to a Genie as compared to say an HR24??? (Or is there an HR25??? I see H25’s but not HR’s???)
3) Does anyone know if I were to buy a DVR from SolidSignal (I understand it’s actually a “lease”, got that part, been that way for years now) would a DVR from Solid be NEW and be all ready to call up DTV to have them activate??? Would it come with a DTV Access Card sealed in a plastic package inside the DVR packaging???? We found a place this weekend where we could have bought what they “said” was a new HR54 but it wasn’t even in a box and already had an access card stuck in the card slot. I chose NOT to buy it and was later told by DTV that if the RID for that box had showed up in their system they would NOT have been able to activate it as it would mean it was already leased to someone else and who knows where it might have come from.
In times gone by when DTV used to work with BestBuy, you could go there and buy a fully approved and ready to go, access card and all, Receiver directly from BestBuy, bring it home, call DTV and get it activated. But those days appear to be long gone. I spoke with several DTV “dealers” in the past few days and they all have interesting stories to tell about how only THEY could help me. But I felt scammed by pretty much all of them so still no replacement for my Genie.
So to summarize.
1. If I request a replacement from DTV, will I ONLY get an HR44 or HR54 or might I get another HR34 which would be a very bad deal.
2. What does a Genie HR54 have over an HR44???
3. Why should I want another Genie, period, as compared to say an HR24 (or is there and HR25?) on each TV. I can have Whole-Home with just stand alone DVR's so what is the real advantage to a Genie???
4. Can I buy an authorized HR54 from SolidSignal if I choose to pay $299 to get an HR54??? Would it already come with a DTV Access Card or would I have to get one of those separately from DTV???
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
