Unhappy with Dish, switching to Direct TV. What satellites do I need to point to? What kind of set

[JINXR]

I recently moved and Dish came out and installed a new dish. I was happy with the install, except for the bright orange cable they used and rather than running it the correct length, they coiled it up so that I have a huge wad of bright orange cable hanging off the side of my house.

They also dropped Palladia

Anyhow, I found out from the tech that they stopped charging for not having a phone line quite a while ago. But they've been charging me for not having a phone line and extra for locals. So they've been ripping me off for a while. I'm out of contract and since they won't work with me, I'm switching.

I have 2 TVs. One 56" DLP in the living room and a 27" tube TV in the bedroom, both running off the VIP722. The house I'm renting didn't have any cable ran (even though it's brand new ), so I had to drop my own line into the living room. (The tech wouldn't make the drop, even though it was incredibly easy to do. I though 1 drop was free during installs??)

There isn't really any access to make a drop in the bedroom, so I use a VCR and wireless transmitter from Radio Shack to receive output from Tuner 2 in the bedroom. Works ok until somebody goes into the bathroom, which disrupts the signal.

We only have the Top 120 package and HBO, so DTV's 150 channel lineup looks appealing.

Which DVR should I get? We're only in this getaway cabin for 6 months to a year while we build our new place. The new house will be networked with ethernet in every bedroom and living room, as well as cable. Should I go ahead and try for a whole home setup to be ready for that?

Also, does DTV's DVR have a separate output like the VIP722 so that I can keep my existing wireless setup while we're here?

 

[JINXR]

Also, I'm in NW Arkansas. What satellites do I need to point to? I have limited LOS, so this all might be futile.

 

[Mr Tony]

what locals?

Ft Smith?
Little Rock?
Springfield, MO?

The main Directv sats are 99/101/103 (99 & 103 are HD, 101 is SD). 119 is needed if you want spanish or some local markets
Springfield and Ft Smith locals are on 99W in MPEG4
Little Rock HD is on 99W...SD is on 119..only LR local not on 99W is KYMA (the old KYPX 49)

 

[JINXR]

Ft. Smith would be my locals.

If I have to aim for 99/101/103, then it looks like I have LOS.

 

[Jimbo]

Ft. Smith would be my locals.

If I have to aim for 99/101/103, then it looks like I have LOS.

Yup, you won't need to worry about the 110 or119 where your at !

 

[JINXR]

Thanks guys. So what about having 2 TVs on the HD DVR? Does it work like the VIP722 where it has 2 different tuners that can watch and record different things at the same time?

Or do I have to have another receiver to watch something different in the bedroom?

 

[Mr Tony]

Directv DVR's are dual tuner but single output. So you can record two shows at once but all outputs have the same program
So to watch 2 different shows on 2 TV's you would need a separate receiver

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

you can however mirror the 1 directv receiver into your bedroom using your existing setup and purchase an additional rf remote to accomidate, then switch the primary to rf as well. The downfall to this would be that both tvs would have to watch the exact same thing at the same time. also im not sure how running an hd box to an hd tv AND a sd tv at the same time, when i hooked my h24 up to my temp tv (crt) for a week through an rf modulator, the receiver stated it was running the hd guide in sd, and some setting had to be changed. Your best bet is to run 2 receivers, this will charge you an additional 6bucks a month. lastly, running a 2nd receiver WILL require having a direct coax line run to the swm 2way either outside the house or to the primary receiver, there will be no way to my knowledge to run it wirelessly. Your only theoretical option, and i stress this as a maybe, to stay wireless, would be to get the hr34, and a rvu complient tv, and connect to a home network wirelessly (wifi) good luck with all that. I know this was alot of information, and some of it is way out of price range for what all this is probably worth to an average person, i was just trying to think of every possible option you would have, gl with your setup

 

[spaceghost]

Grab the HR34. Once you move into your new house, it will give you more flexibility on what you will need to upgrade later while filling your immediate needs.

 

[Mr Tony]

Grab the HR34. Once you move into your new house, it will give you more flexibility on what you will need to upgrade later while filling your immediate needs.

so true