Some installation questions

[94harleyrider]

I am about ready to pull the trigger and order a DTV package (CHOICE XTRA + HD DVR), and have a couple questions. I have a new 50" plasma in the living room, and two old SD TV's in the bedrooms. What model HD-DVR is being sent out to new orders now? Since the new DTV HD-DVR's have dual tuners, can I serve one of the bedrooms with one of the outputs from it, and only have to order two receivers? Should I order a HD receiver for my bedroom, since it is inevitable that I will sooner or later dump the old 25" CRT there, and get a small panel? Is it worth getting the Hardware Protection Plan for $5.99/month? Since the equipment is leased, don't they have to replace it anyway, if it fails? Thanks for any and all help!

BTW, why do a lot of people on these forums use D* for DirecTV and E* for Dish - is it some kind of etiquette, or just shorthand?

Have a great Sunday!

 

[harshness]

What model HD-DVR is being sent out to new orders now?

"Dealer's" choice. You may get any one of seven or eight HR2x models and it may be new or it may be refurbished.

Since the new DTV HD-DVR's have dual tuners, can I serve one of the bedrooms with one of the outputs from it, and only have to order two receivers?

No. Tuners grab programming, they don't produce a TV image. The HR2x series can serve up only one program at a time to a conventionally connected television. Note also that the current DIRECTV HD receivers don't include RF modulators so you would have to seek out your own solution for that.

Should I order a HD receiver for my bedroom, since it is inevitable that I will sooner or later dump the old 25" CRT there, and get a small panel?

You should go for as much as they are willing to give you. You're only a virgin once and you may never see a promotional offer like this again.

Is it worth getting the Hardware Protection Plan for $5.99/month?

The question of the ages. Each must arrive at their own answer.

Since the equipment is leased, don't they have to replace it anyway, if it fails?

They will replace the receivers, but anything else that goes wrong (dish, LNB assembly, cabling, installation errors after a certain number of days) is not covered by the lease. Shipping of a replacement is also not covered by the lease.

BTW, why do a lot of people on these forums use D* for DirecTV and E* for Dish - is it some kind of etiquette, or just shorthand?

Shorthand.

 

[94harleyrider]

"Dealer's" choice. You may get any one of seven or eight HR2x models and it may be new or it may be refurbished.

I wouldn't be too happy if I got an old (and from what I've read, problematic) HR20. I would be ordering it from the D* website, if that makes any difference... Can I get them to make a commitment on one?

No. Tuners grab programming, they don't produce a TV image. The HR2x series can serve up only one program at a time to a conventionally connected television. Note also that the current DIRECTV HD receivers don't include RF modulators so you would have to seek out your own solution for that.

I was hoping to use one of the composite outputs to go to composite input on a VCR in the bedroom. which does have an RF Modulator. Is it possible to output one tuner out the composite, and the other to the HDMI playing different channels?

Quote:Since the equipment is leased, don't they have to replace it anyway, if it fails?

They will replace the receivers, but anything else that goes wrong (dish, LNB assembly, cabling, installation errors after a certain number of days) is not covered by the lease. Shipping of a replacement is also not covered by the lease.

There really is nothing that can go wrong with the dish itself (it's just a metal stamping). And in 22 years of owning a BUD, I've only had one LNB failure. $72/year will buy a lot of RG6 and connectors!

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Jhon69]

I wouldn't be too happy if I got an old (and from what I've read, problematic) HR20. I would be ordering it from the D* website, if that makes any difference... Can I get them to make a commitment on one?



I was hoping to use one of the composite outputs to go to composite input on a VCR in the bedroom. which does have an RF Modulator. Is it possible to output one tuner out the composite, and the other to the HDMI playing different channels?



There really is nothing that can go wrong with the dish itself (it's just a metal stamping). And in 22 years of owning a BUD, I've only had one LNB failure. $72/year will buy a lot of RG6 and connectors!

Thanks for the reply!

DirecTV's Protection Plan covers more than most subscriber's think.The option to purchase the protection plan is up to the subscriber.

DIRECTV - PROTECTION PLAN

 

[BlueEos]

I was hoping to use one of the composite outputs to go to composite input on a VCR in the bedroom. which does have an RF Modulator. Is it possible to output one tuner out the composite, and the other to the HDMI playing different channels?

Forget about the 2 tuners. The only thing they do is allow you to record two different channels, or watch one channel while the other channel is recording.

On the back of the HD DVR, there are several outputs including HDMI, component, s-video and composite along with RCA audio L/R jacks. Also a fiber optic audio channel. ALL of them are "hot" at the same time. Any one of them can feed a TV in your bedroom, but its not possible to have the main TV on one channel and the bedroom unit on another channel.

I'm running 2 monitors off my HR23, a long 35' HDMI feed and a short component feed to the monitor by the HR23. Works fine. I'm using a remote IR-RF-IR to change the channels. Since I did not have to pay $99 for an additional HR23, nor $6 per month for the unit, I figure I'm making money on the setup from the get-go even factoring in my costs for the long HDMI cable and the remote setup ($40 at Radio Shack. Also $10 for another remote (ebay).

For long cable runs (HDMI, component, s-video, etc), monoprice.com had good prices.

 

[94harleyrider]

Can the protection plan be added later, like maybe a year or two after starting service? Thanks for the replies, I think I have a much clearer understanding now.

 

[Jkauf55]

i saw somewhere on another site that the problems of the HR20 were the 100 models (HR20-100) and was a software glitch. Supposely DTV and HR20-700 has fixed the problem. I got a HR20-700 and works flawless, my brother has a HR20-700 from day one (what a few years now?!?!?) and NEVER HAD A PROBLEM with it.

And YES you can add the protection plan any time, but i think you cannot make a claim on something until after 30 days of starting the plan.

Someone correct me on this if im wrong

 

[jdspencer]

...
BTW, why do a lot of people on these forums use D* for DirecTV and E* for Dish - is it some kind of etiquette, or just shorthand?...

Back in the day, there was a company called Echostar, so they got abbreviated as E*, which stuck when the name changed to Dish Network.

Then there was Primestar (P*) which got gobbled up by DirecTV, so the D* was born.

I personally don't use those abbreviations.

 

[94harleyrider]

Then there was Primestar (P*) which got gobbled up by DirecTV, so the D* was born.

I remember Primestar... My neighbor had one, right across the yard from my 12' Unimesh XL. I think he had a serious case of dish envy!

 

[harshness]

Can I get them to make a commitment on one?

They'll tell you pretty much anything you want to hear, but no, they CANNOT tell you what model number you're going to get.

I was hoping to use one of the composite outputs to go to composite input on a VCR in the bedroom. which does have an RF Modulator. Is it possible to output one tuner out the composite, and the other to the HDMI playing different channels?

I'll repeat it:

The HR2x series can serve up only one program at a time to a conventionally connected television.

That means no second or successive programs. The HD DVRs are capable of rendering exactly one program stream that a TV can understand.

There really is nothing that can go wrong with the dish itself (it's just a metal stamping).

Stuff goes wrong with these dishes more than once every quarter century. They don't cost as much as a BUD because they aren't built like a BUD and they aren't mounted like a BUD.

One model was recalled in colder climates this past Winter because it became cranky at under 5F. Others have had trouble with moisture in the LNB assemblies.

 

[Jimbo]

There really is nothing that can go wrong with the dish itself (it's just a metal stamping). And in 22 years of owning a BUD, I've only had one LNB failure. $72/year will buy a lot of RG6 and connectors!

Thanks for the reply!

Actually, do you do your own equipment set up ?
If not, the $ 72 dollars might be well spent if some day you find your signals low and need a re peak of the dish.

 

[94harleyrider]

Actually, do you do your own equipment set up ?
If not, the $ 72 dollars might be well spent if some day you find your signals low and need a re peak of the dish.

I just put in my order, and an installer will be coming Thursday. But yeah, I used to run a BUD business in the late 80's/early 90's. Pizza pans are a breeze to set up, compared to a big BUD, where you have to track the arc from horizon to horizon, with a very narrow beamwidth. Many more factors there... focal length, centering, polarity, and declination adjustments are critical, as is a perfectly plumb pole. I had E* for about a year when I was renting, and set it up myself in two different places, in an hour or two.