I'm thinking about pulling the trigger, some Questions

[sublime118]

Wow I am so glad I stumbled on this site. I just read the thread on the HR34 that was 47 pages long. Very good information in there! I am a potential new customer and have some basic install questions. Here is my proposed set up-

1 HR34- Living room main TV
1 HD Box- Master Bedroom
1 HD Box- Bedroom 2
1 HD Box- Bedroom 3
1 SD Box- Bedroom 4
1 SD Box- Screened in Porch

With the free installation of 4 receivers, how much will this cost to install? All outlets are already wired. The house is only a year old so I'm assuming it is RG6. I have 1 wired router in the living room by the TV.

I will be switching from Comcast. How many wires from the dish to the house should the Direct service require on this set up? I was curious as to how everything will be wired.

With the screened in porch already wired, I am thinking of just splitting the signal off of one of the other receivers and saving $6 a month, as TV isnt watched very frequently out there, and wouldn't mind having to go in the house to change the channel. Can this be done easily?

Bedroom 4 is upstairs and I will need to keep the existing outlet up there for my cable modem. How much will it cost to get the outlet ran? I have a huge walk in open attic that has easy access to anything up there so it won't be difficult at all.

Do any of the HD boxes have Digital Optical Output? I have a surround sound reciever in the living room and would love to run the optical cable instead of the coax. What would be some things about moving the HR34 to the bedroom that would be bad that I haven't thought of yet?? The only thing I can think of is one of my routers is right next to the TV in the living room and would make connecting to the internet super easy.

Anything else I'm not thinking of? I was a former Dish customer in 2005 and had horrible reception due to a bad install / through the trees / paid 2 years for something I could only watch a whole show during the winter so I am a little gun shy on the satellite deal. Dish will never get another penny of my money no matter what they do, so I am excited to get Direct. I have 0 trees around my house so LOS will not be an issue. Thanks so much for your time and input!

BD

 

[labrat321]

Don't mean to threadjack, but I have a couple of questions on this also. My situation is similar to the one above. Currently have dish and thinking of switching to Direct. I have 4 rooms that currently have RG6 connections. I am looking at the 5 tuner whole home dvr with direct, is the coax that is already in place all that will be needed?

The one hang up about switching, is not being able to pause and rewind from any tv like I can now. If I am in a secondary room away from the dvr and need to pause a show, can I just hit record and then be able to pause, rewind, etc then?

What is the lead time for install? If I call Tuesday, would I be able to get it by the weekend?

Thanks!

 

[SA Holly Springs GA]

Wow I am so glad I stumbled on this site. I just read the thread on the HR34 that was 47 pages long. Very good information in there! I am a potential new customer and have some basic install questions. Here is my proposed set up-

1 HR34- Living room main TV
1 HD Box- Master Bedroom
1 HD Box- Bedroom 2
1 HD Box- Bedroom 3
1 SD Box- Bedroom 4
1 SD Box- Screened in Porch

With the free installation of 4 receivers, how much will this cost to install? All outlets are already wired. The house is only a year old so I'm assuming it is RG6. I have 1 wired router in the living room by the TV.

I will be switching from Comcast. How many wires from the dish to the house should the Direct service require on this set up? I was curious as to how everything will be wired.

With the screened in porch already wired, I am thinking of just splitting the signal off of one of the other receivers and saving $6 a month, as TV isnt watched very frequently out there, and wouldn't mind having to go in the house to change the channel. Can this be done easily?

Bedroom 4 is upstairs and I will need to keep the existing outlet up there for my cable modem. How much will it cost to get the outlet ran? I have a huge walk in open attic that has easy access to anything up there so it won't be difficult at all.

Do any of the HD boxes have Digital Optical Output? I have a surround sound reciever in the living room and would love to run the optical cable instead of the coax. What would be some things about moving the HR34 to the bedroom that would be bad that I haven't thought of yet?? The only thing I can think of is one of my routers is right next to the TV in the living room and would make connecting to the internet super easy.

Anything else I'm not thinking of? I was a former Dish customer in 2005 and had horrible reception due to a bad install / through the trees / paid 2 years for something I could only watch a whole show during the winter so I am a little gun shy on the satellite deal. Dish will never get another penny of my money no matter what they do, so I am excited to get Direct. I have 0 trees around my house so LOS will not be an issue. Thanks so much for your time and input!

BD

$140 max. Possibly lower if you can go through a local dealer that can wheel and deal.

4 wires off dish for the setup you are wanting into a SWM16. (16 tuner setup)

Screened in porch being mirrored- you would eliminate the whole home dvr feature from the rcvr you were mirroring.

Bedroom4- depends on the installer. If it's easily done then I normally don't charge depending on mood of custy. Could be $45.

All the hd rcvrs have digital output but only the hd dvr have dig optical.

Let me know if I forgot something.

 

[jcrandall]

Don't mean to threadjack, but I have a couple of questions on this also. My situation is similar to the one above. Currently have dish and thinking of switching to Direct. I have 4 rooms that currently have RG6 connections. I am looking at the 5 tuner whole home dvr with direct, is the coax that is already in place all that will be needed?

The one hang up about switching, is not being able to pause and rewind from any tv like I can now. If I am in a secondary room away from the dvr and need to pause a show, can I just hit record and then be able to pause, rewind, etc then?

What is the lead time for install? If I call Tuesday, would I be able to get it by the weekend?

Thanks!

Sounds like your wiring would be suficent.
As for pausing live TV, not if you get the free HD receivers, only can pause on the HR34. If you upgrade to additional HD-DVRs you could do that. The thought it that the C30 client for the HR34 may be able to do this, but it is probably 6+ months from market, very little info on it. Now, if you tell the show to record, then start playing it (you can do this immediately), then you can pause, skip, rewind, etc. You can schedule a recording for the HR34 from a HD receiver.

Lead time varies by market, some can be as soon as next day, other areas may be a week out.

Don't forget to use a referral to save money, or the AAA member offer. You can also call Claude at Dishstore, a sponsor here, he can make some pretty good Directv new customer offers too.

 

[jcrandall]

All the hd rcvrs have digital output but only the hd dvr have dig optical.

Let me know if I forgot something.

HR34 the new media center HD DVR does not have optical, only coax. All the other HD DVRs have both.

 

[labrat321]

Sounds like your wiring would be suficent.
As for pausing live TV, not if you get the free HD receivers, only can pause on the HR34. If you upgrade to additional HD-DVRs you could do that. The thought it that the C30 client for the HR34 may be able to do this, but it is probably 6+ months from market, very little info on it. Now, if you tell the show to record, then start playing it (you can do this immediately), then you can pause, skip, rewind, etc. You can schedule a recording for the HR34 from a HD receiver.

Lead time varies by market, some can be as soon as next day, other areas may be a week out.

Don't forget to use a referral to save money, or the AAA member offer. You can also call Claude at Dishstore, a sponsor here, he can make some pretty good Directv new customer offers too.

Yes, I was planning on doing the AAA and referral discounts.

After doing some more reading, I may have another issue. I was planning on getting the HR34 and 3 HD receivers, but I have one tv in a bedroom that is an older sd tv. Will this be a problem to connect in the whole home system?

Also, for the directv to pc feature, does this just need the main receiver to be connected the my router, without any additional equipment?

Is it worth the 6 dollars a month for the protection plan?
.

 

[jcrandall]

Yes, I was planning on doing the AAA and referral discounts.

After doing some more reading, I may have another issue. I was planning on getting the HR34 and 3 HD receivers, but I have one tv in a bedroom that is an older sd tv. Will this be a problem to connect in the whole home system?

Also, for the directv to pc feature, does this just need the main receiver to be connected the my router, without any additional equipment?

Is it worth the 6 dollars a month for the protection plan?
.

You can use the HDnreceiver on your old tv, must do to get whole home on it, am SD box wont do whole home.

D2PC isnt working on the HR 34 yet. A cinema coonect kit is free to hookup to internet, or ethernet to the Hr34 would work too.

$6 to me for protection is not worth it, a service call is generally $49 after the first 3 months (free in first 3)

 

[needshelp]

I am so glad someone told me about this site. I had no idea getting Direct, etc. was so complicated. Too many decisions to make for someone who knows zero. My head is already hurting.

I have cable now and a tech told me that the wiring in my house is old and needs to be upgraded. I don't know if there are options on the kind of cable and don't know how much it will cost for 3 stories (basement, 1st, and 2nd) and which rooms to rewire. Should I have them do everything at once? How many rooms can be wired and jacks installed? Should I have it professionally done or would my husband, who is pretty handy, be able to do it?

I will likely need the dish to be attached to the chimney on the roof because I have a huge pine tree covering the entire south side of the house. (There had been one mounted there before the house was re-sided.) Is that an option for installers?

How do I decide what kind of box to choose in each room from all of these different ones? Do they all need a box?
The family room and master bed are the most used and I need to have a DVD player connected to the boxes.

 

[ballstothewallinstall]

I am so glad someone told me about this site. I had no idea getting Direct, etc. was so complicated. Too many decisions to make for someone who knows zero. My head is already hurting.

I have cable now and a tech told me that the wiring in my house is old and needs to be upgraded. I don't know if there are options on the kind of cable and don't know how much it will cost for 3 stories (basement, 1st, and 2nd) and which rooms to rewire. Should I have them do everything at once? How many rooms can be wired and jacks installed? Should I have it professionally done or would my husband, who is pretty handy, be able to do it?

I will likely need the dish to be attached to the chimney on the roof because I have a huge pine tree covering the entire south side of the house. (There had been one mounted there before the house was re-sided.) Is that an option for installers?

How do I decide what kind of box to choose in each room from all of these different ones? Do they all need a box?
The family room and master bed are the most used and I need to have a DVD player connected to the boxes.

I suppose the tech didn't give you an estimate. I usually charge 50 a wall. Depends on how many floors i'm fishing and if they are interior or exterior walls. It seems like rewiring your house would be all day thing. If your husband can do it let him. If not hire a electrician or make sure you get a senior tech. As far as chimney mounting it can't be done. That's something US techs can't do anymore so your dish may have to be on a pole depending on LOS. Finally, the receiver to choose, if i were you i would get the hr34 which is the newest receiver Dtv has out. It all depends on your preference, but hd receivers imo are the way to go.