DirecTV user REJOICE!!!!

[King Nothing]

For YEARS I have had DirecTV with dual tuner DVR's. And for YEARS I have been highly annoyed that I couldn't swap between tuners to "watch" two different things at once. (My old DirecTV TiVo standard definition receiver could swap between the two tuners so why didn't Direct just include this in their own DVR's after giving TiVo the boot?) Example: Broncos game on one channel and a race on another. Pause one and switch to the other until the commercials show up and then swap to the other.
Comcast, which has the WORST equipment on the planet, has this ability and TiVo pioneered the dual-tuner set top boxes.

Well, TODAY DirecTV updated their receivers and now HR22 (I don't know if this will work on the HR15's but it should work on the HR21's) owners have the ability to swap tuners. Just hit the down button on your remote and you should be in business. If your receiver doesn't have the latest software, you can force an update by doing the following:

Step 1

Reset the receiver by either hitting the red button inside the Smartcard door or unplugging the receiver and plugging it back in.

Step 2

When the first purpleish/blueish screen shows up during the boot sequence hit... 0 2 4 6 8 on your remote. This will force the receiver to look for new software and download it.

If it doesn't say something about downloading the latest software, you might have to try again or you already have the latest.

Good night and good luck.

[~Barn~]

DirectTV sucks. They just dropped Versus from their lineup.
:banghead:

Thanks for the tip though, Doug. If I ever subscribe to DVR service, I'll remember this.

[King Nothing]

DirecTV rules. VS wanted too much money for not enough content.

[swademaster]

I thought it was Comcast that wanted to much money for Versus.

[Captain Obvious]

Yes, Comcast owns VS.

They do have some good programming, and I am going to miss a football game this weekend cause of the tiff, but I don't blame DirectTV for not wanting to overpay a competitor. DirectTV is far batter than Comcast.

[~Barn~]

Well that's one side of the story... DirectTV strike me very much as a nickle-&-dime operation, so it wouldn't surprise me one bit, if Comcast offered something reasonable, and DirectTV went cheapskate on 'em.

[longrider]

Barn, I think you are thinking of Dish Network. Charlie is well known for the 'drop a channel until I get my price' game. DirecTV will pay what a channel is worth.

Regarding DoublePlay, it appears to be in full National Release now for the HR series except for HR21-700, you will get it automatically overnight not necessarily tonight but shortly. You can force the download as described but the preferred restart is by the restart receiver option in the setup menu. A Red Button Reset is acceptable, just pulling theplug does work but is not recommended. Think of it like your PC, would you rather reboot from Windows or just pull the plug?

BTW, there is no HR15, the R15 is a SD DVR and will not have DoublePlay

[King Nothing]

And there you have it, the rest of the story! Thank you! :up:

[TheStig]

Just got comcast again because I missed the on demand...but now I realize that I freaking hate their DVR. Its completely worthless :(. I want me some hi-def speed channel action on Directv!

[Devaclis]

So, if I want to switch from DISH to Direct TV, so I can get more HD stuff, di I have to rent the damned receivers? I only need 3 of them. And I do not need a DVR. I don't need to record shows that I can watch again in 3 hours or DL from the web.

Man, I hate switching providers. Waiting 6 hours on a Saturday for a retarded tech, losing channels, gaining 50 home shopping channels I do not need. I think everything should be pay per view. That would eliminate a shit ton of crappy programming.

[Keyser Soze]

We have TimeWarner out here. :cry: It sucks so bad, I'd even be hapy with comcast right now.

[longrider]

So, if I want to switch from DISH to Direct TV, so I can get more HD stuff, di I have to rent the damned receivers? I only need 3 of them. And I do not need a DVR. I don't need to record shows that I can watch again in 3 hours or DL from the web.

Man, I hate switching providers. Waiting 6 hours on a Saturday for a retarded tech, losing channels, gaining 50 home shopping channels I do not need. I think everything should be pay per view. That would eliminate a shit ton of crappy programming.

You are leasing the receivers but that doesn't affect the cost. The first receiver is included in the monthly charge and additional receivers are $5/month. Even if you are a long time customer as I am with owned receivers you still pay the $5/month. As a new customer I'm sure there is some promotion which would wipe out most if not all of the up front costs.

I unfortunately have to agree on the techs but they are trying to improve that. I have personally done all my own installs to avoid that issue but it has to be on the wall as I dont do roofs.

[longrider]

Just got comcast again because I missed the on demand...but now I realize that I freaking hate their DVR. Its completely worthless :(. I want me some hi-def speed channel action on Directv!

With a DirecTV HD DVR and a broadband connection you can get almost on demand. I say almost as the show is downloaded to your DVR over the internet so depending on your connection you have to let it buffer for a while before you can start watching

[~Barn~]

I unfortunately have to agree on the techs but they are trying to improve that. I have personally done all my own installs to avoid that issue but it has to be on the wall as I dont do roofs.

On that note, I have a scenario for you....

I just got a second receiver from another CSC member, but I have yet to hook it up to the new TV. Our condo has an access panel where all the hook-ups for the DirectTV are done, as we don't actually use a dish of our own.

Since I'm only paying for the 1 receiver now, I'm obviously going to have to call DTV at some point an tell them about this new (2nd) one, and get it activated. However, I'm hoping to avoid having to pay an install fee, and just setup the box at the TV myself, as well as perform the hook-up on the proper coax cables in said "access panel".

My questions then, are:

- What do I need to do, to get a new receiver card from DirectTV, for my new box?

- Is the wiring difficult in the access panel, or is it as simple as getting a splitter from Best Buy?

[Devaclis]

Yeah, we are going to be switching tho. DISH has been horrible for a long time. All I want is HD, Altitude, non analog outputs, and a cheaper bill. Hell, our cost for the DISH basic 150 channel package is more than DTV's awesome package. Jerks.

[longrider]

The new access card is easy, you just call DirecTV and pay $20. However if the receiver was leased they will not activate it for you and instead demand it be sent back. You would have to call them with the RID and find out if it is owned or leased.

The hookup would depend on what distribution method is being used in your complex. Only the latest allows splitters and even then only 8 tuners are allowed on one line. (this line could be shared with your neighbor) Anything older requires a dedicated line to the multiswitch for each tuner. Is this access panel in your condo?

[~Barn~]

Gotcha. So far as I know, this previous box was owned and not leased. I'm pretty confident of that, anyway...

Assuming the RID is on the up-and-up, will they just ship the new card out in the mail?

And yes, the access panel is in our Master closet. There are a ton of lines in there, all labled with the different hookups in the house, and then there are also a couple of "boxes" that are in the panel, that look like beefed-up splitters of their own.

Since I've had only the 1 receiver up till now, I've swapped it back and forth between two different rooms, and every time I do, I have to unhook the "out" cord from that splitter box I was talking about, and then hook up one of the different labled cables, in the panel. It works like a charm, so I was thinking I could just split that out-bound jack, but maybe it's not that simple. :dunno:

[longrider]

Yes they will just send you the new card. I think it is usually FedEx.

From your description of the panel it doesn't sound like SWM so splitting is not going to work. Are there any labels on those large boxes?

[~Barn~]

There probably are labels, but I don't know what they are from memory.

I do know that 1 of them is pretty much just tucked away into the corner of the panel and I never touch it. It may not even have anything routing to it. (?)

The one that I do all the hooking/unhooking from (I believe) is slightly larger. I'll see if I can get a picture or 3 of the whole deal, when I get home. I'll also call DirectTV and get that new card in the mail.

As a complete aside..... When I was calling their Sales team, and asking about adding a second StandardDef receiver, they told me it would be a $69 **UP FRONT* cost for the receiver (which still would have been a lease, not owned), another $50 installation cost, and then of course the $5/monthly lease fee.

Needless to say, I politely declined that offer. :no:

[firefghtr]

i just got direct tv because me and my wife were fed up with comcast. Paying for channels that were always blocky and jacked up not to mention last week they were supposed to come for a service call between 3-5pm. dude never showed so i said fuck it and we went to the store to get dinner. the guy called us at 515 with the nerve to ask us where we were. I told him off, then proceeded to call comcast and tell them off and cancelled my service. no DirectTV gets all my service, im paying alot less and get all the movie channels and the NFL network package. needless to say im very happy with the swap!