Installing HD DVR on a SD TV - any problems

[Muttster]

I currently have Dish and I hate the multi-room DVR. As a result, i signed up for D* and order a HD DVR and a SD DVR. I told the rep. that i was going to be getting HDTV later this summer and wanted to take advantage of the free HD DVR receiver seeing that it might be a problem to get a free HD DVR or an install later when I am already an established customer.

I have heard though that some installers will not install a HD DVR on a SD TV. If this is the case, I would cancel the installation and just stay with Dish until I get the HDTV. Does anyone know if this is true and if so, will there be a problem canceling with D*?

 

[Joe Diamond]

First, you need a Ka/Ku dish to receive the HD programming.........you are getting the HD receiver.......and you are planning an HDTV for future use.

The installer will be expected to install the dish & receiver. There may be a connection problem between the receiver and your current TV. When you get your HDTV you may need adjustments to the Ka/Ku dish.

If you are happy with all that go for it............but if you need service they may try to back charge the tech for not connecting the HDTV that was absent from the original installation.

No it doesn't make sense.

Joe

 

[Muttster]

First, you need a Ka/Ku dish to receive the HD programming.........you are getting the HD receiver.......and you are planning an HDTV for future use.

The installer will be expected to install the dish & receiver. There may be a connection problem between the receiver and your current TV. When you get your HDTV you may need adjustments to the Ka/Ku dish.

If you are happy with all that go for it............but if you need service they may try to back charge the tech for not connecting the HDTV that was absent from the original installation.

No it doesn't make sense.

Joe

They will be giving me the new dish and the receiver which might be difficult to beat for the price that I am getting it for now

I would also assume that they would come out if I was having a problem with reception and make any adjustments needed - why would this be a bad deal for me?

 

[Aurora]

Why wouldn't the installer use a composite connection to hook up the HDDVR to his current TV? What difference does it make to DirecTV if he has it hooked up to a 70" PLasma or a 25" CRT? He'll still be paying for HD access and can watch HD channels right? Of course they will be shown on a standard def tv, but the HR22 has a composite output so I assume you could do that. I don't see why it would be a problem.

 

[paulman182]

I have also heard that some installers won't install an HD receiver on an SD TV, but it works great once connected thru Svideo or composite.

I don't understand Joe's comment about needing dish adjustments. You will get all the HD channels from the start with an HD receiver on the SD TV, and they will look a lot better than the SD channels. You would be able to read the HD sat signal strengths as soon as the dish is installed.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

there is no reason a hd box would not work on a sd tv as long as it had a minimal of composite connections, and if it didnt, an rf modulator would fix that. there are some modifications that need to be made to the box settings, (change to 4:3) otherwise the picture would look horrible, but the catch is if the box cant be physically connected it cant be set up, and technically as long as its activated the work order will close fine, but no decent tech is gonna leave a box not set up because the cust would need to hook it up, and resend auths, and this could cause a chargeback if there were problems. so in short as long as the tech can get a picture up, all is well.

 

[Muttster]

Thanks for all your replies - just wanted to let you know that I did call D* and they confirmed that installation should not be a problem and that when I do eventually get a HDTV, all I would have to do is to change the cable - hopefully with a HDMI cable.

Also, the deal that I struck with D* included that I would not pay the HD access fee for 6 months which is one reason why I'm doing this now. The other reason is that I hate the Dish DVR - try recording a program when your daughters are already recording ICarly and the latest Disney fare. Now they will have their own DVR and they can leave my receiver alone.