Possible switch from Dish to Direct, help please

[bnewt]

I have been with Dish for around 15 years, but am getting tired of all of the continual programing battles. Plus, it doesn't appear that Dish is interested in any type of 4K programing. These and several other factors have me considering a switch, but I would like to know how Direct's hardware would compare to my present setup.

I presently have 2 Hopperw/sling & 1 wireless joey. I have 1 hopper connected to the main tv via hdmi. It is also connected to the internet via wifi. This hopper also has the wireless access point for the wireless joey that is located in the kitchen. The 2nd hopper is connected to the bedroom 4K tv via hdmi. The component output of this hopper is used to feed another tv via cat 5 cable. Both hoppers can access the recordings from the other & the wireless joey can also access both hopper recordings. The bedroom hopper is also able to access the internet via be connected to the main hopper.

Is this setup possible with DirectTv? If so, what do I need?

 

[maestro7]

DirecTV's latest wiring topology uses the SWiM concept. Aside from googling the term, a SWiM is essentially a channel multiplexer, where only one physical coaxial cable is ran from the device to each room/area in the house, and the SWiM then puts multiple "channels" on each cable. In this case, think of "channels" as "tuners," though I believe "channels" is likely the more technical term. Therefore, if getting a Genie DVR (which has 5 tuners), that one coaxial cable is all the Genie needs for each of its five tuners (pretty slick, huh?).

This vastly simplifies physical setups at the customer premises (as opposed to having a separate coaxial cable ran for every tuner available).

Then, when it comes to wireless Genie minis (which I very much recommend, if under consideration by someone), DirecTV uses a Wireless Video Bridge (WVB) over its own MoCA coaxial network connection (there is zero wifi usage in this configuration).

At the end of the day, it appears that DirecTV would circumvent what you currently have and likely simplify much of your existing purchases (such as your wireless access point, not even a consideration for direct usage with DirecTV).

Additional recommendation: If you go with a Genie DVR and you need at least two TVs set up at your house, consider the Genie DVR and a non-Genie DVR. If you only go Genie DVR and Genie minis, if the Genie DVR goes down, so do your minis.

 

[lparsons21]

4K requires the HR54 Genie and a c61 mini. The 4K plays on the C61 not on the Genie itself. Unless I've misread something you can only play one 4K video to one tv at a time.


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[mdram]

I have 1 hopper connected to the main tv via hdmi. It is also connected to the internet via wifi. This hopper also has the wireless access point for the wireless joey that is located in the kitchen.
The 2nd hopper is connected to the bedroom 4K tv via hdmi. The component output of this hopper is used to feed another tv via cat 5 cable. Both hoppers can access the recordings from the other & the wireless joey can also access both hopper recordings. The bedroom hopper is also able to access the internet via be connected to the main hopper.

Is this setup possible with DirectTv? If so, what do I need?

so you have 4 tvs? 1 of which is 4k?

i would recomend
hr54
c61k for 4k tv
hr24/h24/h25 for other tvs

 

[csloan1981]

The only problem I see is that the bedroom tv is 4K and you also have that split via cat5 cable. The c61 from Directv doesn't have component out so you would have to use a 2.0 4K splitter and 2.0 4K video bauln over cat5 but yes Hr54, C61, hr24/h24/h25 would work just great and you would also have better picture quality to!


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[bnewt]

picture quality is a major concern. I have heard that Direct has better hd, but worse sd

 

[csloan1981]

I can't comment on that because I don't watch sd except for the old Andy Griffith's black and white and there great


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[mdram]

i avoid sd, so i cannot compare the 2

 

[lparsons21]

picture quality is a major concern. I have heard that Direct has better hd, but worse sd

Most would agree with that. But for many of us the HD PQ differences are slight enough to not matter. I'm one of those even after doing a comparison when I had both services for awhile.

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[csloan1981]

Also if u decide to go with Directv 4K then buy u a 2.0 hdmi cable off of Amazon for like 5 bucks. I think the c61 comes with version 1.4 are at least mine did.


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[Zashel]

Also if u decide to go with Directv 4K then buy u a 2.0 hdmi cable off of Amazon for like 5 bucks. I think the c61 comes with version 1.4 are at least mine did.


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im not sure what you're trying to say here, but an hdmi cable is either rated for high speed or not. if the C61k doesnt like the 4k TV with the existing hdmi cable, the tech will have one he can install that will work.

1.4 is the HDMI port spec on the receiver/tv's, and for the C61k's location tv it needs to be 2.0, as well as HDCP 2.2 compliant.


back on topic:

OP if you decide to go with any type of genie setup + an HD or HDDVR, be prepared to pay for it ($100/200 respectively, one time). also, directv does charge for the wireless video bridge, one time $100 as well. just letting you know since everyone here seems to neglect mentioning that. that being said you keep the wireless video bridge if you ever cancel, and if more than one needs to be installed you dont have to pay for that.

 

[tubetwister]

picture quality is a major concern. I have heard that Direct has better hd, but worse sd

D*TV vs Dish TV HD picture setting aside Hopper vs Genie devices:

If HD picture quality is a concern you will Want DIRECTV ( D*TV) ,D*TV HD makes Dish TV HD look like ass .
OTOH Dish SD makes D*TV SD look like ass so pick you're poisons ?

And additionally Amazon ,VUDU HDX and Netflix 720p/ 1080p and above often makes D*TV HD and Dish HD look like ass but much less severe on D*TV HD .

A 1080p 5 star Blue Ray makes them all look like ass at 1080i or 1080p I would expect 4K SDR and HDR would be in the same pecking order

I do not have a 4K RVU configuration or Dish 4K bridge client and coaxial modem on my 4K HDR Ready Sony X850C but even the HD chroma (color ) is much better above the obviously lower noise floor on that wide color gamut 10 bit Sony with D* TV than DISH on HD ,less artifacts and panel dithering and all that comes with that same for all 4 TV's on D*TV here .

D*TV HD up-scaled nativity to 4K on this Sony 4K XBR in here is miles ahead better on D*TV than Dish TV and even 720p on D*TV can often look better than 1080i on Dish

Keep in mind Dish 1080i is not 1080i but it is more like:
" 1440x1080i or 1280x1080i, with a corresponding reduction in transmission bandwidth. In contrast, over-the-air (ATSC) broadcasts of 1080i are fixed at 1920x1080. Temporal (frame-rate) reduction has not been attempted yet, as it unacceptably changes the character of motion video sequences. " -wikipedia-

" Any form of rate-shaping or down-sampling is inherently intrusive, in that the source bit-stream is altered significantly, often due to a full re-compression process. The re-compression process is the point of contention raised by critics: "HD-Lite" programming is perceptibly worse than the original HDTV broadcast, to the point where the degradation is discernible absent a direct (A/B) comparison against the original source.[citation needed] Distortion (caused by the operator) is characterized by reduced sharpness, reduced detail, excessive compression artifacts (mosquito noise and blocking), and in some cases, alteration of the color-palette. The reduced video quality is assumed to be introduced by the sat/cable operator's handling of the source video (recompression.)" -Wikipedia -

"It is important to note that digital video compression is a complex field of study. Down-sampling and bit rate-reduction are often deployed together, to " - Wikipedia -

Some of this may apply at D*TV also all the way up from 720p to 2160p none of them give us a raw OTA 720/p 1080i feed or likely a raw digital re transmission feed but all that being said D*TV HD still makes Dish HD look like ass especially on my 4K HDR WCG X850C Sony and 1080p Samsung 64f8500 ( the best tv in 2014 at the VE shootout ) HD is much clearer and sharper om D*TV and again the color ( Chroma ) above the obviously lower noise floor is usually better with less obvious panel dithering on D*TV HD than Dish HD and you can pass native resolution to a decent TV which would likely upscale better than the DBS DVR or room clients .

FWIW I jumped ship to D*TV (new Genie devices ) with an ancient VIP 722K and 211K Dish TV installed HD configuration after some years in good standing at DishTV as recently a 02 July 016 so that's my take on all this . ?

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[camo]

I have both services and the upscaler on some of the Sony TV's like the X930D makes HD on Direct spectacular on some channels, even 4K like while watching some 1080i channels. It also helps Dish but still not as good IMO. Direct SD is almost unviewable even on this TV unless really desperate as I sometimes watch NewsMax WWII programming.

 

[Jimbo]

Granted D* SD stuff looks bad ..... I'm ok with that, I watch 99.9 % HD, I do watch Star Trek NG and it looks to be 440 or there abouts, that said I KNOW this ahead of time so I don't worry about it.
I'd like to see that series in HD or 4k, but I don't expect it and am not going to slam a company for not making it HD or better.

 

[gadgtfreek]

picture quality is a major concern. I have heard that Direct has better hd, but worse sd

HD was an obvious improvement IMO, don't watch SD. I actually let my tivo go and started recording the Directv locals since they pass the muster, Dish's did not so I used to Tivo.

 

[KAB]

If all goes well, I will be moving to a new house in 2-3 mos. The house currently has a Directv. I have been a loyal Dish sub for 14 years. And, I will more than likely stay. BUT, I thought to myself, "Ok, new home, new life, so maybe a new Sat provider? Change is good, they say". So I decided to give them a call, and try to get accurate info so I could make an apples to apples (or as close to as possible) comparison. Now, I have the Hopper W/Sling and two Joeys and AT120. My main objective was to get an idea of ALL my costs AFTER the 1st 12 month promo is over. The following is copied from a post I made last night in a thread that really has nothing to do with D*, but strayed a bit into making cost comparisons. To avoid typing it all out again, here is a paste of my post:

I know this is getting off topic, but I call Directv for grins to try to get as close to an apples to apples comparison to the programming and equipment I have after the first 12 months. I had already done the groundwork on their website. It took me nearly 15 minutes to get NO answer. All they wanted to do is sign me up on the spot, telling me a million times how much better their equipment is and repeating the SAME cost info for the first 12. Then they told me what it would cost if I bundled with my present Uverse internet account. They said they could lock me into two years with the promo + $5 internet...which would be a significant savings. BUT they would NEVER give me the post contract rate. And when I repeated for the 20th time I was just researching and not going to sign up tonight, he just said goodnight, have a good evening. I didn't know I was going used car shopping!

Ok, so I'm still uncertain. If someone can answer my questions, I would truly appreciate it. BTW, I was inquiring about a Genie and two minis, and the Entertainment package. I really don't want to try again and get same or similar. Thanks

EDIT: Went up the street to an AT&T store and got what I was looking for.