HD TV

[Greg Ballantyne]

I got a new HD TV this year. I called Hughes after hooking it up to upgrade me to an HD dish and receiver. Unfortunately it turns out that the other satellites are lower in the sky and blocked by trees on my property. I may look into cutting trees, but would pursue options that would limit the cutting requirements. In the meantime I am wondering if I can make better use of the signal I'm getting from my mid 1990's era DirecTV dish by using an HR 20 or 21. I'm sure the extra connections on the rear of the receiver would provide more options, but don't have a clue about how that receiver would operate using the signal provided by my old dish. Any one else know about this?

Thanks

 

[Bob Nielsen]

There is now a Slimline dish with only 3 LNBs instead of 5, so it doesn't need to see the satellites at 110 and 119 degrees. That will probably work for you. Call Directv (not Hughes) and they should be able to upgrade you to a new dish and DVR.

 

[Greg Ballantyne]

When the upgrade installers came in July that might have been the system they were considering. They told me that my current system receives from one satellite, and the new one would need to receive from three. The additional two were slightly to the west of the direction my current dish points, and a little lower in the sky. I've been trying ti find out what the numbers mean, and believe that the higher the number of degrees the further west from due south the dish needs to point. My current dish on the house roof appears to point right into the trees when observed from the ground. However I have a barn north of and uphill from the house that might be a better spot for the dish. I did not think of that when the installers were here.
I think I'll just get them back out here and look at the whole thing again.

However in the event it doesn't work out I'm still curious about the original question .....

 

[Zynergi]

... In the meantime I am wondering if I can make better use of the signal I'm getting from my mid 1990's era DirecTV dish by using an HR 20 or 21. I'm sure the extra connections on the rear of the receiver would provide more options, but don't have a clue about how that receiver would operate using the signal provided by my old dish. Any one else know about this?

Thanks

It would be the same as you have now as there is no HD programming on the 101 sat, you might get a slightly better image quality if it is even noticable, but still no HD programming.

The 3 LNB Slimline (4 line Multiswitch and a Single Wire Multiswitch) version is out now and points to the 99, 101 and 103 which are all fairly close to each other (2 degrees to the left and right) so 90% of the time if you can get 90's on the 101 you should be fine with the 99/103 which are HD sats. If your area does not offer the 3 LNB Slimline then you can disable the 110/119 (lower sats) by choosing a 3 LNB Slimline in the Setup menu. But you would have to convince a tech that it will work and possibly talk with his supervisor to get a kaku installed with no line of sight to the 119. You could also purchase the LNB +-$40 from this sites sponsors.

 

[Greg Ballantyne]

Thanks for the informative responses. I believe I'll get the installation techs back out to give it another look. At the very least I can use an HR20 to maximize my use of the signal the current dish brings in.

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks for the informative responses. I believe I'll get the installation techs back out to give it another look. At the very least I can use an HR20 to maximize my use of the signal the current dish brings in.

I would seriously consider moving it to the barn you mentioned and you can be upgraded to the new stuff, dish and rec. wise, so you can take advantage of all the new HD channels.

Back in June/July the 3 lnb slimline was not yet available, may still not be , depends on what they are installing in your area.

Jimbo