Thinking about getting D*, have some questions

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I said they are fine for me. I never said they were great but said that they are OK.

Sorry but your view on Directv is very jaded and it is very hard to believe anything that you have to say about them.
No , your absolutely right, R16's respond to remote commands just fine and their speed I just can't get enough of. 30 second slip, I mean skip is the best in the business.

D* is known for their equipment quality.:tux:
 
I guess I'm use to Dish where I had no contract since I owned my equipment (both times I subbed to them) so I dont want to get a 2 year agreement and end up with a crappy receiver. :)

Now that I think about it, I've never had a contract with a sat provider and I've had DIsh, Bell & Starchoice (Shaw Direct) ;)
Call them up and see what they will give you. They are dealing right now. They may let you sign up without a contract if you use your own equipment.

They just gave me another HD DVR, with a contract of course. My contract was up and I called and said my TiVO stinks and I want another DVR and I want it to be HD, and I should not have to pay for it. They said, OK, as long as I agree to another 2 years.
 
Call them up and see what they will give you. They are dealing right now. They may let you sign up without a contract if you use your own equipment.

but I would need a new access card. The 2 receivers I have here I got at thrift stores/goodwill so who knows if there is a balance on them ;)
 
If I remember correctly Directv now has you go into contract for any new account. This includes if you have old equipment that you will be using. Just something to watch out for if you do try to activate old receivers on a new account.
 
oh one other question

I know NHL Network US shows hockey night in Canada. But IIRC they only show the 1st game live...the late game (10:00 EST) is tape delayed. Correct?
(the Olympic break so I cant check the guide)

edit: found the answer.,..yes it is.
Maybe I'll keep the Shaw account until after the hockey season ;)
 
It looks like through my telco (qwest) I would get some money off if I bundle my internet & Directv through them

I assume the bill is through Qwest then. Do I lose anything by going through Qwest instead of D* directly? (or am I having visions of Pegasus again) ;)
 
It looks like through my telco (qwest) I would get some money off if I bundle my internet & Directv through them

I assume the bill is through Qwest then. Do I lose anything by going through Qwest instead of D* directly? (or am I having visions of Pegasus again) ;)
Usually bundles are through the telcom company so you pay them for your DirecTV service. They usually offer the same new sub deals so you probably will not be missing out on anything.

The only problem is if you have specific requests during the setup sometimes a third party can make communication between you and Direct a little more difficult.

After you are signed up you still call Direct for any issues. The only difference is billing will be done through qwest.
 
I can deal with a couple seconds. My Shaw Direct receiver takes a second or two to bring up the guide :)

I'd prefer to get a DVR and not clog up my other recording devices ;)

if a couple of seconds isnt a problem, and thats worst case, you should be good with any D* boxes i have personally ever used. Just my honest opinion.
 
if a couple of seconds isnt a problem, and thats worst case, you should be good with any D* boxes i have personally ever used. Just my honest opinion.

heck with my FTA system I sometimes wait 15-20 seconds while the dish moves to the other satellite...so I can be patient :)
 
I would stay away from the SD DVR.
The D12 works Much better.
The current model is back to the R16. Was R22 for about a year, Not sure why they dropped it.


DirecTV claimed the R22 was too expensive to make.

But even if you have an R22 then you want to go HD DirecTV requires you to have

an HR2x or they won't authorize the R22 for HD reception.:rant:
 
no they wont mind. Unlike other parts of the site, the FTA folks wont attack or lynch you if you go to "another provider". A fair amount of them already have a subscription service

Right now I have a sub to Shaw Direct (Canadian DTH Provider) but starting thinking about getting D for a few reasons

1. my local RSN (FSN North). With the MN Twins looking to have a good year and that new stadium I want to see more than a handful of games (25 are on OTA TV + the 8 versus the Blue Jays I get via Shaw)
2. The MLB channel. I saw this channel at my mom's (when MLB season was going on) and sisters (recently) and loved the channel...about as much as I love the NHL Network :)
3. The NASCAR package...since they are the only one who carries it (and its free) that works

The 4th has to do with new shows on cable networks. Most of the Canadian channels do not show the new episodes at the same time as the US channel does. So when someone calls me and says "hey you watching the new episode of _______________" or did you see it I have to say no. They may show them a month or two later.

so there are my reasons to come with D* if I do :)
 
1. Are there any SD English channels on 119 (sans locals...mine are on 101) or is it all Spanish?

Very few if any, a few of the music channels. Doubt you would miss any.

2. If everything is on 101 would they allow a "non normal" dish setup? See pic below. I have a Primestar dish at 105W (for free to air) and a DBS LNB next to it. All signals in high 80's low 90's. In fact, my neighbor right now is using one of the ports (we have to run a new cable for one receiver and its 125 feet and we have 2 feet of snow...so we're waiting til spring to replace the bad cable) and the other one right now is for my bedroom HD receiver that I am using for OTA only (Sony D* receiver) or do I let them install the dish then remove it after they leave or can they use that?

That setup will work fine, even if they required an installer to putin a dish, have them do a pole and take it down when they go. Better yet setup everything yourself and just call to activate, I belive that's the kind of guy you are, then no installer on your property to deal with.

3. If I dont get the sports pack (just want my local RSN) on Dish there are Alternate channels that have some college games that are usually not blacked out (I relaize pro sports are....but some college games on there are not). Also some college hockey (like on FSN Wisconsin). Do I get those on D* too? I assume I have to actually find the channel (like FSN WI) as I noticed the alt channels are not grouped together

I don't know if you'd get FSN-WI games or not, hard to say. May be best to ask another MN person with D*, perhaps use the AVS local forum for that one. Choice does include CBS-CH and ESPNU and BTN which has lots of hockey. Sports pack only gives you the extra RSNs and FCS (a few games, like ND and Niagara on occassion). Sports pack would get you more games too, FSNDet, NESN, Altitude, but you probably get them FTA? Of couse you can just carry Sports pack a few months a year too.

4. On the subject of the alt channels, D* has 2 feeds of Fox College Sports (617 & 623). Are those sports pack only or are they considered ALT channels?

Sports pack only, when Michigan hockey was on 617 I couldn't watch it w/o sports pack (although it was a Niagara feed, I don't know if NW NY customers could have watched.

5. The SD DVR...I've heard its great and I've heard its a POS. So how is it? I know its only a single tuner but does it lockup all the time or does it work pretty smooth? If its junk, I'll get the SD receiver and use my DVD recorder/hard drive.

The R22 is good, 500gb hard drive too, so plenty of storage. Comes with a $7 DVR fee too though. Don't recomend the R15/R16. R22's are hard to get, ebay or internet seller only pretty much.

6. How long do I have to be a sub before I could "move"? I can get my locals in HD OTA but the neighboring DMA has a CBS that I want to get. The DMA actually is only a 1 channel DMA (Mankato, MN)....the other big 4 nets are from Minneapolis.

If you do the install yourself and just call to activate, you don't need to wait at all. If not, there is no set answer, it's just changing an address. Just like telling the CSR you already have a dish and signal at the new place, you can tell them that for the new activation too.

Sadly, I think they require the 2 years either way now.
 
1. my local RSN (FSN North). With the MN Twins looking to have a good year and that new stadium I want to see more than a handful of games (25 are on OTA TV + the 8 versus the Blue Jays I get via Shaw)

If you don't get D*, can you get EI via Shaw, or of course MLB.TV. That said, D* is good.

2. The MLB channel. I saw this channel at my mom's (when MLB season was going on) and sisters (recently) and loved the channel...about as much as I love the NHL Network

It is very nice. Remember the US feed of NHLNet is different games and that from the CDN version.

3. The NASCAR package...since they are the only one who carries it (and its free) that works

Never been into it, but checked out a bit and it was cool, I'm sure many race fans love it.
 
Here's Hot Pass shots (from the HD feeds)
 

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That setup will work fine, even if they required an installer to putin a dish, have them do a pole and take it down when they go. Better yet setup everything yourself and just call to activate, I belive that's the kind of guy you are, then no installer on your property to deal with.
Cant do a pole since its a townhouse. Thats what I was thinking Jason but if I order will they ship the equipment to me or does the installer bring it? I know we had this issue of the whole "no self install" issues a few months ago. My sister had her equipment shipped to her because she bundled it with internet/phone through Qwest.

I don't know if you'd get FSN-WI games or not, hard to say. May be best to ask another MN person with D*, perhaps use the AVS local forum for that one. Choice does include CBS-CH and ESPNU and BTN which has lots of hockey. Sports pack only gives you the extra RSNs and FCS (a few games, like ND and Niagara on occassion). Sports pack would get you more games too, FSNDet, NESN, Altitude, but you probably get them FTA? Of couse you can just carry Sports pack a few months a year too.
I know we get the pre/post games on FSN WI for pro games. Seen that at my moms (she lives like 8 blocks from me) even though we are in MN. Games are blacked out. But I know on Dish the college games arent (Wisco hockey games).

I dont get the RSN's FTA but the college hockey games I usually do :)

Sports pack only, when Michigan hockey was on 617 I couldn't watch it w/o sports pack (although it was a Niagara feed, I don't know if NW NY customers could have watched.
bummer. I figured that. I know North Dakota games are on 617 but I can see those FTA via the feed ;)

The R22 is good, 500gb hard drive too, so plenty of storage. Comes with a $7 DVR fee too though. Don't recomend the R15/R16. R22's are hard to get, ebay or internet seller only pretty much.
So they would send me either the R15 or R16 assuming?

If you do the install yourself and just call to activate, you don't need to wait at all. If not, there is no set answer, it's just changing an address. Just like telling the CSR you already have a dish and signal at the new place, you can tell them that for the new activation too.

I know how to "move" ;) Done that numerous times. Just didnt want to start and then 3 days later "move". Maybe I'd wait a month or so :)

But I guess the big question is would they let me do a self install? If they send me the equipment like they did my sister, I could hook it up and then when the guy calls for the install just say "dont worry its done" :)
They told her not to touch the equipment until the tech came because if it was damaged and she had opened the box she'd have to pay for it
 
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My Direct TV Saga! Which Department do I need to speak with?

Direct TV and OTA

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