DirectTV HD DVR Equipment
 

What should I look for, DTV is giving me a free upgrade of my Satelite Dish (to a 5 LNB) and in addition to the new DTV HD DVR they will move my old DTV DVR that is antiquated downstairs to my other big screen. Any things I should watch out for or pay particular attention to when they do this?

Nah.

I had my dish upgraded to the 5 LNB over 2 years ago, along with the DVR's. IMO, there's a HUGE difference in quality regarding the picture (along with over 80 HD channels) and the DVR is much, much easier to use than TIVO.

Good to hear, looking forward to the 7th of March.

Nein. My only question is how to get them to do it (ugrade you for minimum cost.) In one room we still have the old hughes Reciever (POS) they told me would work.

You might just call them, they called me out of the blue.

You might try 1-888-763-7772 and see if they can help you.

My only advice would be to have them pole-mount it. Its a lot bigger/heavier than the normal dish and strong enough winds could rip a chunk out of your roof...even with their support brace. Personally, I wouldnt let them drill holes in my roof for any dish though.

Yeah, that was my question also. Everytime I have called them, they have always said it would be around 300 to upgrade to the HD DVR. What a crock.

I am not sure what the secret is, I just called the number listed below and they said it would by $199 for the HD DVR and 19.95 handling fee. What in the heck did I do wrong. :banghead:

Wait until your contract is up and threaten to leave them for Dish Network. If the CSR is in a bad mood and refuses, hang up and call agin until you get a new CSR. Works like a charm. :)

They will have to run a 2nd cable to your downstairs TV if it doesn't already have two. I would put it on a pole if possible. (2"O.D.) The 5 LNB is big and heavy.

It looks like they finally got their issues worked out. My DVR was garbage and virtually unusable for the first 8-9 months but their software upgrades finally fixed most the issues, I believe.

Damn folks! Last time I called it was $300. I just called the number. $199 for the HD DVR and installation, etc. Then a $10 credit per month for one year for the DVR and one year free HD service that is supposed to be valued at $120.

Thanks for the info Mike.

I don't really understand it, I have always had tons of good luck with DTV in Cali, free upgrades, free service for multiple months to try things out. Never any problem in canceling service after the free trial period either. Wish you all better luck in the future.

I keep calling every once in a while.

Out of curiousity, how recently have you called. They called me last night with the free offer and said it was a new offer. I do have the Premium package (perhaps that was the reason for the offer)?

I tried to get it as well, it didnt work. Skip just said its basically roulette, keep calling until you get what you want. I havent done it yet, but i really need to.

Glad to help. Sometimes running that second wire is a real bitch. You might want to think about how you want it done before they arrive. The standard install pays for running the cable around the outside of the house and through a wall. If you would rather do it some other way you can negotiate with them to go through an attic or however you prefer.

I would agree with this and also the comments on the second line run to you downstairs TV. You really have to bargain with them almost like it's a used car. If you have been a customer for a while they are really good about giving you free stuff - you just have to haggle with them. I know they have upgraded some friends of mine that have the HD Tivo for free to get them on their DVR. (They say the HD Tivo won't get all of the HD channels which doesn't quite make sense to me.)

Also, it sounds like you already have everything pretty much taken care of, but a friend of mine had to call and make sure the installation guy had the correct LNB - the CSR didn't have that in the order and would have had to come out a second time. They were only going to bring out the new HD DVRs/Receivers not a LNB that would support them all.

Congrats though, the DTV HD is the best. I'm sure you will be happy with it.

There shouldn't be any problem getting the correct LNB since there are three dish types and no LNB will fit anything except it's own dish type.

Woo hoo!
 

Just got off the phone with DTV retention and got a free HR-21 HD DVR + 19.95 S&H, 6 months free HD access, 6 months free HD DRV service. We did have to make a 2 year commitment however.

We have been DTV customers for 11+ years, so that may have had something to do with it.

Combine that with the Panasonic 58in plasma that arrived this week, and life is sweet.

The HD DVR has improved a lot since it was first put in service. I finally found the 30 skip code last week. I also hooked it up to the web for on demand. The problem with on demand is that there is very little HD programming available. Also, it takes a while to download a show (30 min show non-hd took 45 minutes w/ 1.5 meg DSL.)

Well done, you beat my deal (only got 3 free months). I also have been a Premium customer since 1993

Mojo, Hey, PM me the 30 sec skip code please.

For you folks who are getting hit and miss help with what you want to do. It's all hit and miss with the CSR reps and what kind of deals you can get. You can always hang up and call back and talk to somebody else, or wait for a different shift.

If you are really fed up, ask them to talk to retention, those folks are good and are able to make moves for you. I used to have the number but it's not around. Ask to be transferred or you can use Google.



To the OP. Ask them which box it is. the HR20 is a good unit with a built in dual tuner. the newer HR21 model has a larger HD, but does not have the RF tuner. I am not sure if you pull in locals via antenna or not. But the deal sounds good, and I have read good things about the HD channels on the new sats that use the MPEG4 Compression. (Which is what the 5 LNB is for)

Good Luck. DirecTV is really ramping up with the HD channels, which is what its all about for me.

I posted this last week in the media forum:

go to search for a show and search for a keyword. then type in "30skip" and search all. the search will come up w/ nothing found and your done.

Thanks