New Equipment/Genie Question

[kanderna]

Hey all,

Quick (maybe?) question for everyone. Every time I call D* for something, they always ask about my interest in an equipment upgrade, and I always decline because I just haven't been ready. Now I'm moving (for real), and this is probably a good time to take the Genie leap. So I currently have 4 HDDVRs (HR22, HR23, and two HR20s) that are all about 70-80% full. Is there any way to keep that content or access it after the equipment upgrade?

I'm a little embarrassed to be asking. I used to be more active here, was active in the CE program, and used to be much better at "staying up to speed" on things, but I've completely fallen off the last few years. Admittedly know nothing about the Genie, but have always been nervous about having all the content on one master DVR (I've had a few HDDs fail on my receivers). Is that a valid concern? Will the storage capacity even support the amount of content I have right now? Is there anything that I might be disappointed in with a switch to the Genie?

Lastly... anything else I should be asking for when I upgrade/move?

Thanks!

 

[cinsu]

How many rooms are you planning on having connected at the new house? If still just going with 4 I would recommend keeping 3 of your DVRs and swapping 1 with a genie (one of the HR20s). You can also have 5 rooms hooked up and have the genie added and then you don't lose anything.

 

[Drucifer]

Or keep all four & just get a Genie. As they not taking any of your HR2x back even if you retire them later.

 

[kanderna]

Thanks guys. For now only planning on the four, but will likely expand down the road somewhere. So is it fair to say that I only want/need the minis if I have space constraints or just generally want to get rid of the old equipment?

 

[mdram]

remember, minis use a tuner off the genie
replacing an hr with a mini is not a good idea imho

 

[cinsu]

Thanks guys. For now only planning on the four, but will likely expand down the road somewhere. So is it fair to say that I only want/need the minis if I have space constraints or just generally want to get rid of the old equipment?

In your situation, yes. You already have the existing HD DVRs that are semi current technology.

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[maestro7]

Before making any changes, you'll need to know how many and what types of receivers you want for your household. Along these lines, understand that a Genie mini (wireless or wireline) will require a Genie to be live, so if the Genie goes down, so does that mini.

Further, anyone who goes with a Genie system should always have at least one non-Genie DVR on the account in the case that the Genie goes down (we've had our HR44 for about two months short of two years now without issue).

Next, when it comes to upgrading to a Genie DVR, you will have to have the backend wiring topology changed to a SWiM system (that's not a misplaced camel case word; Google "SWiM" to find out more). Essentially, a SWiM system multiplexes multiple channels across single coaxial cables throughout the system. Further, this new topology also requires a tuner calculation based upon the number of tuners (not receivers) that you'll be setting up. For example, all HR34/44 Genie receivers count as 5 tuners, an HD DVR counts as two, and a non-mini, non-DVR receiver counts as 1. The summation of those tuners will tell you the size of SWiM device to get (it's recommended to get a SWiM-16 at the very least at this point).

On down the road, regarding 4K, DirecTV presently requires (among other things) that you get an HR54 Genie. This device requires 7 tuners (hence a requirement to get at least a SWiM-16 device), broken down to 5 tuners to actually watch, and 2 tuners to handle the extra reverse LNB channels required for 4K.

Regarding your existing DVRs, I would take the time to reconfirm with DirecTV to see which ones are SWiM-compliant; any of those that are should be what you keep as "backup" for your Genie in the new configuration. Also, regarding existing content that remains on your DVRs, any that are SWiM-compliant will be available via Whole-Home DVR service from any other such SWiM-compliant device and so it'll be like you have one large master listing of shows that are available from those devices. It's actually pretty nice.

tl;dr: Know how many places you'll want to watch TV. Then, calculate the tuner requirements based on a new Genie configuration, taking into account which existing DVRs are SWiM-compliant. Then, make your move.

 

[kanderna]

remember, minis use a tuner off the genie
replacing an hr with a mini is not a good idea imho

Fair point. Are minis charged the same monthly as the HRs? Or are there any additional costs associated with the Genie?

 

[mdram]

Fair point. Are minis charged the same monthly as the HRs? Or are there any additional costs associated with the Genie?

a genie, hr, or mini are all the same monthly cost

 

[cinsu]

Fair point. Are minis charged the same monthly as the HRs? Or are there any additional costs associated with the Genie?

Yes. They each count as an additional receiver. You only pay for HD once and the DVR service once. The only potential new cost is the whole home service which is required for the genie whether you get minis or not at $3 a month. Also keep in mind their will likely be a new contract.

Another poster was talking about the SWM technology, all of the receivers you have are SWM capable. Tuner counts and required hardware are something the install tech would figure out.

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[kanderna]

Thanks everybody... this has been really helpful. One more question... What's the story on GenieGo? Again, don't know much about it, and I think it's because I was under the impression that it was only for Genie owners, but it doesn't look like that's the case (ugh). But is it currently unavailable to purchase from D*?

 

[mdram]

directv is redoing the genie go
a new version is supposed to be out sometime this year

you can still buy it from amazon, solid signal, ect

 

[cinsu]

It's not necessarily a new version, it's just built in to the genie now. A customer pilot is beginning at the end of the month in some markets. I just got it setup yesterday on mine.

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[alnielsen]

There are 2 different versions of GenieGo. Some of the latest receivers (HR54 maybe others) have GenieGo built in. Then there is the external GenieGo adapter.
The internal version was having problems with low resolution and video/audio sync issues. With the latest software update the sync issue is gone. Resolution isn't what it could be, but that may be by design to limit piracy.

 

[kanderna]

I assume that it's still the case that there are no receivers that will allow you to select which receiver in your whole-home setup you want to record a program to?

 

[mdram]

nope, but you can do it if you use the guide at directv.com

 

[kanderna]

nope, but you can do it if you use the guide at directv.com

Figured. My kids love to set up random crap to record regardless of where they happen to be watching TV at the time. I'd love to train them to record that stuff to a particular receiver if functionality allowed.

 

[mdram]

that would be a great option to have though