DirecTV Installation / Questions

[buckeye3d]

I've been considering switching to DirecTV b/c of all the new HD channels coming later this year. I have what I'm sure is a really dumb question about the installation. Lets say I wanted to have 2 HD DVRs and a HD box. Would they install 5 coax lines from the dish to inside? If so doesn't this look a bit ridiculous having 5 (or 6 or 7) coax lines coming into the house? Seems like a major eyesore and a potential issue with properly sealing the resulting hole in the wall. If not how is it accomplished?

Also...I noticed the website says you can only have 1 HD DVR. Some of the other forums mention you can get a second. Is this true? What's the best way to do it.

Lastly...are the prices / deals on the website about as good as you can expect or will they offer even better deals if you call up and ask? The upfront costs of switching is a big turn off for me.

[snodgrass23]

I think you can generally get pretty good deals when switching, and probably even better if you call them up and haggle a bit. I believe with the new dishes that have 5? coax lines coming from the dish, all of them will get run into the house, generally the basement. From there it goes into a special splitter (the name of which is escaping me at the moment), and all of the lines for your receivers will come from there.

The exact routing varies though per installation. For example, I have 2 lines from the dish going to the second floor in the rear of the house to my upstairs theater room receiver. The other three go into the basement splitter and then out to the other two receivers that are on the bottom floor.

If I've messed up an details, I'm sure someone will correct me, but that gives you the general idea.

[Scott]

You will have five lines from the new 5 LNB dishes. As Jim describes, they will be fed to a satellite diplex multi-switch. The multi-switch can split and amplify the 5 satellite signals into many connections (I currently have a 16 port multi-switch) that will run more than 2 HD-DVRs (two lines recommended per for dual tuner recording, not required). The standard installation will probably be a 6-8 port multi-switch, but that can be easily replaced to accommodate your needs.

As for pricing, DirecTV has switched to a leased-based system similar to cable, so at least you're not paying for the gear up front (of course you can't upgrade on your own). As a new sub, you should get some good deals--but shop around at DirecTV boutiques like Best Buy and Circuit City. They may have some free installation deals going on. But be prepared to sign a lengthy contract.

For the HD lineup that DirecTV is currently boasting about, don't be shocked to find that their marketing that advertises 100's of HD channels over the next year includes all of the locals across the country they are adding. 100's may turn out to be about 2-3 :)

[snodgrass23]

Speaking of additional HD channels, do we know any of the actual channels coming soon other than the national locals?

[FlyingJ]

You will have five lines from the new 5 LNB dishes. As Jim describes, they will be fed to a satellite diplex multi-switch. The multi-switch can split and amplify the 5 satellite signals into many connections (I currently have a 16 port multi-switch) that will run more than 2 HD-DVRs (two lines recommended per for dual tuner recording, not required). The standard installation will probably be a 6-8 port multi-switch, but that can be easily replaced to accommodate your needs.

As for pricing, DirecTV has switched to a leased-based system similar to cable, so at least you're not paying for the gear up front (of course you can't upgrade on your own). As a new sub, you should get some good deals--but shop around at DirecTV boutiques like Best Buy and Circuit City. They may have some free installation deals going on. But be prepared to sign a lengthy contract.

For the HD lineup that DirecTV is currently boasting about, don't be shocked to find that their marketing that advertises 100's of HD channels over the next year includes all of the locals across the country they are adding. 100's may turn out to be about 2-3 :)

Oh Scott, Scott Scott......no the HD locals do not count in the list. Yes they may not get to 100 Nationals but who is counting. At last count they will have about 70, yes 70 NATIONAL HD Channels lit up in mid September. They do not include locals!!!!!

[FlyingJ]

Speaking of additional HD channels, do we know any of the actual channels coming soon other than the national locals?

This should help.........

Available Now:

70 HBO East
71 SHO East
72 ESPN2
73 ESPN
74 UHD
75 TNT
76 Discovery HD Theater
78 HD Net Movies
79 HD Net

98 National Geographic Channel Sneak Peek (Times vary)
332 MHD Sneek Peek (Times vary)

99 HD Pay-Per-View

Depending on service area and equipment:

ABC
CBS
NBC
FOX
CW
MY Network TV

Local Regional Sports Network


Coming in September:

A&E
Animal Planet
Big Ten Network
CineMax East
CineMax West
CNN
Discovery Channel (simulcast)
Food Network
HBO West
HGTV
History Channel
MHD (MTV)
NFL Network (Full-Time)
Science Channel
Showtime West
Starz! East
Starz! West
Starz! Edge
Starz! Comedy
Starz Kids & Family
The Movie Channel
The National Geographic Channel
TBS
TLC
The Weather Channel
Versus/Golf

November:

RFD TV

Fall 2007:

Bravo
Cartoon
Chiller
CNBC
FX
HBO2 East
HBO2 West
HBO Family East
HBO Family West
HBO Latino East
HBO Signature East
MoreMax East
Sci-Fi
Sleuth
Speed
USA

21 Regional Sports Networks:

Blackout Rules still apply!

Altitude
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
FSN Arizona
FSN Bay Area
FSN Detroit
FSN Florida
FSN New England
FSN North
FSN Northwest
FSN Ohio
FSN Prime Ticket
FSN Rocky Mountain
FSN South
FSN Southwest
FSN West
New England Sports Network
SportsNet New York
SportsSouth
Sun Sports
YES

December 2007:

The Tennis Channel

Spring 2008

Disney Channel
Toon Disney
ABC Family
ESPN News
Hallmark Channel
MGM


Announced HD for Fall 2007 but not announced for DirecTV yet:

Trinity Broadcasting Network

Announced HD channel rollouts by Spring 2008 but no carriage announcements for DirecTV yet:

MAV TV, HBO Comedy East/West, HBO Latino West, HBO Signature West, HBO Zone East/West, @Max East, 5 Star Max East, ActionMax East/West, MoreMax West, OuterMax East, ThrillerMax East/West, WMax East

[snodgrass23]

Wow. That's alot more than I expected. Hopefully that happens as planned.

[Scott]

:eek: I had no idea it was that many channels. I need to switch to 5LNB soon!

[FlyingJ]

Yup you do! Also there are suppose to be some surprise ones also that have not been announced yet by D* or even the stations themselves...but anyway, a heck of a lot more than we have now. Oh, and I switched mine the other day, damn, okay, I know its a bit different and all and I have to get use to it, but I did love my Tivo HR10-250. Good news is I don't have to mess with the antenna any more except for 53

[jchiso]

Oh, and I switched mine the other day...

What did DirecTV charge you for the switch? When I recently called for info on the prospect of switching they told me it would cost $99 per receiver! The account rep said that was the "best current offer they had".

[Scott]

What did DirecTV charge you for the switch? When I recently called for info on the prospect of switching they told me it would cost $99 per receiver! The account rep said that was the "best current offer they had".

I second that question. After forking out $1,000 for my HR10-250 (early adopter :o ), they wanted to charge me like $199 for the upgrade to the new installation.

[Robbiee19]

Ask to speak with retention department. When I upgraded from the 3lnb to the 5lnd it was $49 total. I already had the HD packages so they just swaped out the Sammy 360 for the H20. The price was for install of the 5 lnb. On the HD20 I paid $100 for the upgrade but got Showtime free for 6 months and $10 off for the HD package for 2 months. You need to get past the first line of CSR and get to retention department.

[jpdublin]

I got an upgrade for Free. My Tivo HD box went bad. They let me keep the box and upgraded me to the new HD DVR. They also changed out my dish and all in all it was done free with an additional 2 year commitment.

[jchiso]

Has anyone upgraded more than one receiver at a time? I'm sure I could probably get them to replace a single receiver (and a dish), but I have seven HD receivers and one SD receiver in use now. I'm not willing to pay $500 - $900 for such an upgrade.

[dbuster]

I don't mean to highjack the thread, but this seemed like the appropriate place to post.
I am currently a WOW! subscriber and looking hard to switch to DirecTV. I have a couple of concerns about mounting the dish on the roof. I don't want it placed on a pole in my yard, but am wondering what kind of damage that will do to my roof. Is the anything I should be concerned with?
Also, my house was built 3 years ago with RG6 running from each wall outlet straight to the basement to a box (no splitters). I plan to get an HDDVR and from what I understand I will need another RG6 run to the location I place the DVR. Is that something the installer will do or should I handle that myself?
Lastly, do you guys have any idea what the time frame would be for an install. I would love to get everything set up so I can watch the Buckeyes play on the 1st. Thanks

[Robbiee19]

dbuster, If you call today by Monday you should get everything installed before the first Buck's game. On running the cable the installer will run free of charge up to 125 ft, after that its extra or tip the installer. If you get a good installer the roof will be fine.

[dbuster]

Thanks for the great info guys. I took the plunge on Saturday and order DirecTV. They should be here on the 29th noon-4pm to set everything up. I am crossing my fingers they have everything on my order and it is all up and running when they leave that night.
I think my only option is to go with a roof mount and am still somewhat concerned with puttin holes in a new roof. I imagine they seal everything up to keep out the water. I tried to do some searching online for pictures of roof installs but came up blank. I understand the new Slimline dishes are a larger dish and need extra support. Does anybody have some pictures of their installs they would be willing to share with me? Thanks

[Robbiee19]

dbuster, go to this site and look/search you may find some pix. If you get Bluegrass for install they are pretty good. I have had them on 3 installs and never had a problem with them. They pretty much cover the Columbus area.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/index.php?

[jpdublin]

dbuster: I had the same concern, they mounted on my foundation about 5 ft from ground. Lucky for me that I have nothing in the way of the clear view. The dish is large but hidden by shrubs and not seen unless you walk up to it.

[Robaticus]

In the house, I have three HD and one (kitchen) SD displays. WHen I called DirecTV and asked them about getting three HD DVR boxes for the HD displays, the rep told me I would have to get one HD DVR, and two other receivers, which I could then trade in for HD DVRs. This sounds crazy to me.

This is pretty much the only thing keeping me from making the switch. Is there any way to get around this restriction?

thanks,
Rob

[Dbailey]

In the house, I have three HD and one (kitchen) SD displays. WHen I called DirecTV and asked them about getting three HD DVR boxes for the HD displays, the rep told me I would have to get one HD DVR, and two other receivers, which I could then trade in for HD DVRs. This sounds crazy to me.

This is pretty much the only thing keeping me from making the switch. Is there any way to get around this restriction?

thanks,
Rob

i had 1 old sd receiver, 2 old hd receivers(can still use for ota) and one faulty h20 receiver, i got them all replaced,new dish, and installed for 139.00. they replaced all the hd receivers free and charged me 199 for the hd dvr (hr20) receiver, then i got a 60 dollar programming credit for 6 months. I did not ask for more than 1 dvr but from what i have read at www.dbstalk.com (http://www.dbstalk.com), that is what they usually say. You might be able to do better if you ask to talk to retension dept, but that sounds correct...

[FlyingJ]

Probably not, right now anyway. There are a slew of the new HR20s going out now and many more will be ordered after people realise that htey aren't getting the new HD channels, so I am certain for right now they want to limit it. By the way, looks like Sept 12th we may see some of those new channels!!

[Robaticus]

Argh. I had a relatively fruitless conversation with a rep at D* today regarding multiple HD DVRs. She checked with a supervisor and told me that I could buy a package with 1 HD DVR, and then, once I was a customer, I could purcha-lease two more at list price $299 each.

Ok, I want to make the switch, but forking out $700 bucks for a $10/month savings would take over five years to recoup.

I'll try again and show them the numbers to see if they can make me a deal.

Rob

[Gimpy McFarlan]

You need to get past the first line of CSR and get to retention department.

The D* website quotes me $299 to upgrade to the H20 & 5-LND dish. :( What is the secret handshake to get to the "retention department" over the phone?

[Robbiee19]

The D* website quotes me $299 to upgrade to the H20 & 5-LND dish. :( What is the secret handshake to get to the "retention department" over the phone?Tell them you want to speak with retention. Thats all I did.

[chachster]

The secret to get to retention over the phone is to say "Cancel" then at the next prompt "Cancel Service".

As for the number of coax runs coming into the house, it will be four unless you have an OTA then five. The 5LNB dish has a built in multi-swich.

My current setup is a Slimline 5LNB, four runs to the Zinwell 6x8 multi-switch, two runs from the switch to my HR20, two runs from the switch to a SDDVR40, one run to my HR10-250 and one to my R15-300. Retiring the SDDVR40 and have it replaced with another HR20.

As for the single runs, the newer DTV equipment H20, HR20, D11 an D12 will be compatible with a SWM which is not out yet, slated for Q1 2008 which will allow a single run to the SWM receivers to be able to have dual tuner.

More info on the SWM trials and pictures can be found over at www.dbstalk.com

[Harvey S]

You will have five lines from the new 5 LNB dishes. As Jim describes, they will be fed to a satellite diplex multi-switch. The multi-switch can split and amplify the 5 satellite signals into many connections (I currently have a 16 port multi-switch) that will run more than 2 HD-DVRs (two lines recommended per for dual tuner recording, not required).


I am a long time TW cable customer thinking that I will finally have to give up on TW and switch to DTV (the new HD channels and total lack of response from TW did it). When we built our house a few years back we had coax run from the basement to outlets all over the house and of course I would like to continue using that wiring harness with DTV. I presently have two TW HD DVRs and each just requires one input to feed its two tuners. Your message above suggests that this is also possible with the latest DTV HD-DVR (the HR20?) but not desireable. Can you explain this a bit ? I really would not like to need to run a second piece of coax from my basement to various rooms to feed the DVR's second tuner.

[Harvey S]

Argh. I had a relatively fruitless conversation with a rep at D* today regarding multiple HD DVRs. She checked with a supervisor and told me that I could buy a package with 1 HD DVR, and then, once I was a customer, I could purcha-lease two more at list price $299 each.

Ok, I want to make the switch, but forking out $700 bucks for a $10/month savings would take over five years to recoup.

I'll try again and show them the numbers to see if they can make me a deal.

Rob

I am also going to be in this situation and for me the prospect of having only 1 HD DVR is a real barrier to making the switch to DTV. I notice that weaKnees.com (link at bottom of page) offers to 'sell' the HR20 for $299. When I called them they said they are a DTV dealer and that was actually the DTV 'lease' fee and once I received it from them I would simply have DTV activate it and pay their monthly fees. Is it as simple as that to get around the DTV limitation of 1 HR20 per new customer and the wait for a second one from them? (I guess spending over $600 for two DVR's that I now get for no upfront fee from TW is simple, but not friendly)

[Robaticus]

I am also going to be in this situation and for me the prospect of having only 1 HD DVR is a real barrier to making the switch to DTV. I notice that weaKnees.com (link at bottom of page) offers to 'sell' the HR20 for $299. When I called them they said they are a DTV dealer and that was actually the DTV 'lease' fee and once I received it from them I would simply have DTV activate it and pay their monthly fees. Is it as simple as that to get around the DTV limitation of 1 HR20 per new customer and the wait for a second one from them? (I guess spending over $600 for two DVR's that I now get for no upfront fee from TW is simple, but not friendly)

The good news is D* now allows you to order as many as 6 HD DVRs. The bad news is, even though I'm on call #3, I've gotten nowhere with their supervisors regarding a reduction in the upfront fee. No matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to convince my wife that it makes sense to spend $800 bucks to move to D*. Heck, even $199 is a tough sell for her.

-R

[Harvey S]

The good news is D* now allows you to order as many as 6 HD DVRs. The bad news is, even though I'm on call #3, I've gotten nowhere with their supervisors regarding a reduction in the upfront fee. No matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to convince my wife that it makes sense to spend $800 bucks to move to D*. Heck, even $199 is a tough sell for her.

-R

At some time in the future D* will offer a DVR with multiroom capability so that we would be able to use 1 dvr instead of 2. They are also promising a new version of their multiswitch that will feed the two tuners in a DVR from one cable run, which is what the Time Warner system does (with no multiswitch at all). That will solve my other problem (my house is already wired but with just one run per room). Unfortunately neither of these things will happen very soon and I would really like to switch now in order to get the additional HD channels and the Big Ten Network Basketball broadcasts that will start in November.

[jpdublin]

I think that new Multiswitch should be available real soon if not already. That will help as to not having to run so many lines into the house.

[Gimpy McFarlan]

I think that new Multiswitch should be available real soon if not already. That will help as to not having to run so many lines into the house.

I hope the SWM become generally available soon too. I'm in a similar boat as Harvey S. I want to replace my HR10 / D10 combo with 2 HR20's however I only have 1 run per room (except the living room where the HR10 is). :(

[Harvey S]

I think that new Multiswitch should be available real soon if not already. That will help as to not having to run so many lines into the house.

I talked to DTV installation department yesterday. The person I talked to went off to check about the new switch and eventually said 'that item isn't available yet and I don't know when it will be'. I believe that in tech services talk that is the same as 'real soon now' :rolleyes: