thinking of going back to directv

[slabo]

I found this site a few years ago and coming back now after remembering all the great info here!

I saw something about a different promo starting after 10/10. Should i sign up now or wait another week? Whats going to be different? Will the nfl sunday ticket, premiums, and 2 year savings still be included? I will have 3 HD tvs, and would like dvr functions in at least 2 of the 3 locations. Should i get the HMC (I've read mixed reviews on this unit) and 2 H25? or multiple 2 HD DVRs and a H25? The previous models I had a couple years ago were very laggy, and I dont want that again.

Sorry if this has been asked/posted many times by others elsewhere already.

Thanks so much in advance

 

[Mr Tony]

info on the new promo
http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/292495-What-is-DIRECTV-s-new-GENIE?p=2979127#post2979127

 

[slabo]

Thanks so much for the quick reply with info.

So after reading the pdf file i saw attached about the Genie, I wouldn't be able to record shows to it from a hd receiver, but only from a c31 client? Am I reading that correctly?

 

[Mr Tony]

no you can record from a HD receiver

the big differences between a C31 and a HD receiver
C31 gives you trick play all the time (FF, rewind, etc)...the HD receiver would if you hit record
HD receiver has a tuner...C31 takes a tuner from the HR34 (which has 5)

 

[slabo]

Still undecided about the hr34. I've read lots of mixed reviews on it, and more seem to be negative than not. Also the c31 would do me no good if the hr34 wasn't working for any reason, correct? I see most recommend another DVR or hd box instead to go along with hr34. Any final thoughts or suggestions for me before I order in the next few days?

Thanks again,

 

[slabo]

One more question...would the D installer take down my E dish or should I do that ahead of time? They would be able to leave the mount as it was a D originally.

Thanks

 

[Jimbo]

Still undecided about the hr34. I've read lots of mixed reviews on it, and more seem to be negative than not. Also the c31 would do me no good if the hr34 wasn't working for any reason, correct? I see most recommend another DVR or hd box instead to go along with hr34. Any final thoughts or suggestions for me before I order in the next few days?

Thanks again,

If your not comfortable with the HR34 (as some are and some not), I would go with HR24's, if you can get HR24's, I would order them and when the installer gets there tell him that you require them, (at this point, most are handing them out anyways), not like before.

This way you have the ability of the HD DVR at all locations and 2 tuners at each location, you only pay for the DVR fee on 1 unit, instead of each like other companies.

 

[Jimbo]

One more question...would the D installer take down my E dish or should I do that ahead of time? They would be able to leave the mount as it was a D originally.

Thanks

You can take it down or ask them, they will probably leave the base as it's sealed to the roof, but take the rest down.

 

[slabo]

called tonight and got the install set for sunday afternoon with a genie setup with 2 clients for free. only had to pay $10 handling fee. also got up to $200 for cancelling dish. they wouldnt let me use a referral # since I was a previous customer. Does that sound right or should that have worked still?

 

[Jimbo]

called tonight and got the install set for sunday afternoon with a genie setup with 2 clients for free. only had to pay $10 handling fee. also got up to $200 for cancelling dish. they wouldnt let me use a referral # since I was a previous customer. Does that sound right or should that have worked still?

You can always call back and tell them you forgot about the referral you had and see if the next CSR adds it.

 

[bb83]

Still undecided about the hr34. I've read lots of mixed reviews on it, and more seem to be negative than not. Also the c31 would do me no good if the hr34 wasn't working for any reason, correct? I see most recommend another DVR or hd box instead to go along with hr34. Any final thoughts or suggestions for me before I order in the next few days?

Thanks again,

I just came back to Direct. I have had the HR34 for about a month. I have not had any major problems with it. It is faster then the HR21s, I had before. I have 3 rooms set up. HR34 living room, HR24 basement, and H25 in a 3rd room. This setup works well. The boys watch on HR24 and H25 and I watch on the HR34. I think the 5 tuners are a great advantage. I was recording 3 shows and double playing on 2 other channels at the same time.

 

[slabo]

Got the install Sunday night with an hr34 plus 2 c31 clients. This was the techs first time with this new equipment. The First hr34 wouldn't see the card so tech's boss had to bring another one out. The 2nd worked right away. Had a little delay adding the clients but a 2nd try got them going. Everything took about 3 hours to complete (which included taking down my E dish). I must say I see a noticeable improvement in hd picture quality over E. The clients are a little sluggish bringing up the guide and changing channels but not a big issue for me as those aren't used that much. One of my client TVs actually displays "no signal" for a second or two when changing channels. Anyone else experience this? Maybe this will get better with time. All in all, I'm pleased so far. The tech was over an hour late past the 4 hour window but called me throughout the day a couple times with updates. He was very polite and apologized a few times for things taking so long and thanked me for being patient.

 

[cparker]

For the first day or 2 they can be sluggish while they are downloading various bits. I'm replacing an HR24 with an HR34 today and I kind of expect it to be a bit sluggish for a couple days. So not unusual. You may want to check the Display setup and see how that's set on the TVs that are super slow. Some folks are ok on native, some seem to see better performance when they set it to a specific resolution. Might just be what works best on certain combinations of TV/receiver. But give it a couple days to see if it straightens out on its own.

 

[slabo]

Still a little sluggish but I can live with it at the client TVs. I have another question...should my Ethernet be plugged in directly to the hr34 or using the broadband deca box? Thought I had read on here it could plug straight in but didn't wanna screw anything up.

Thanks guys

 

[cparker]

I do not have ethernet plugged in directly to any of my receivers. All of the new stuff has built in DECA and communicates through the coax. I have the Cinema Connection Kit or whatever they're calling it plugged into my router down in the basement. It's basically an ethernet-to-coax adapter. There's a coax plugged into that. So..... short answer, no. Don't plug ethernet into your box if you have the connection kit someplace else.