will direct tv let me install

[bengalsfan]

i want to order direct tv but will they let me install myself? i can do all the wiring and cables myself. i can hook up the 5 lnb and i want a hd/dvr plus a hd rec. do i need to give them an excuse why i want to do it myself.thanks

[wolflord11]

You can do it all yourself no problems. The wiring and cables are easy. The hardest part is phoning Directv to get the Receivers/Cards on your account.

But, why not just get the professional installation for nothing? I have had the installation done several times now, and they do a great job!

[John T Smith]

>do i need to give them an excuse

No

If you have a signal finder to aim the dish, go ahead and do the work... I just wired my new house (just the SD round dish with dual LNB going to a distribution panel with a Spaun 2x12 multiswitch for 2 lines to each of 6 rooms) and not a peep out of DirecTv

You might not, however, receive any support from DirecTv if your wiring or dish aiming has a problem (well... having their installer aim your dish is most likely covered by their "free" install)

But... you have posted in a DirecTv TIVO forum... and you need to know that anything NEW you receive from DirecTv is different technology, with a different forum

http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=82

If you plan to find your own DTivo (DirecTv Tivo) this is the place for future questions... if you use DTV's house brand, the link is just above

Also, Where to I get a DirecTv Tivo?
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=316297

[bengalsfan]

when i mean excuse i want to do it my self because i hear with the new 5 lnb and the hd/dvr they are not alowing self installs.

[litzdog911]

when i mean excuse i want to do it my self because i hear with the new 5 lnb and the hd/dvr they are not alowing self installs.

They just won't provide the equipment directly to you for a self-install. But you can buy the dish and receivers/DVRs from a variety of dealers and install everything yourself. Then just call them to activate the equipment and setup your account. Of course, you'll pay more because they're essentially providing free 5-LNB dishes with new HiDef accounts, and sometimes free receivers. But then you must use their installers.

[goony]

When I went to DirecTV from Dish Network I did all of the wire pulls (I added two DTivos and needed more runs) and I just let the installer terminate the ends - he was very happy with the deal and gave me an equal amount of cable from his spool on the truck.

I already had the pole (absolutely vertical) in the ground and all he had to do was install the (round) dish on it and align it.

[DonDon]

3 years ago, I self installed my SA RCA receiver and my HDVR2. I spent 100 bux on parts because I wanted to know how it was done. I borrowed my dads 10 inch tv so I could aim my dish on top of my garage. Everything worked fine, and they quit annoying me about not scheduling the install after 3 or 4 months.

last year, I got zapped by lightning. 3 months later I started having intermittent sat reception issues. It was able to narrow it down to a faulty LNB assembly which I replaced for 25 bux off of ebay. DTV wanted to charge me a 75 dollar service call, plus the cost of parts and additional labor to come out and troubleshoot my problem.

The other reason I did it myself was that the installer would have had to go in to my crawl space to pull cable. They would not specify what it would have cost me. They would only specify that the installer would determine appropriate charges.

Tomorrow I go into my garage to add another line to where I installed me original SA receiver cause I am adding another HDVR2. It will cost me nothing.

You figure out the better deal.

If they insist on a visit from their flunky, have all the cable pulled and terminated, and let him decide what to do.

Be there looking over his shoulder and ask questions about everything he does.

Have fun.

Don

[Ogredude]

when i mean excuse i want to do it my self because i hear with the new 5 lnb and the hd/dvr they are not alowing self installs.

I used to work for Ironwood, one of the biggest install companies out there. I'd imagine the reason they claim to not allow self-install on the new 5-head units (which came out right after I left the company) is because they're pretty damn complex to set up.

I mean, the 3-head were bad enough, if you didn't get the mast absolutely level you were screwed unless you use a BirDog sat finder... I've seen the 5-heads and they look even trickier to get right.

So, same reason they used to claim no self-installs on the 72.5 sat, because without knowing a few specifics about the system, or using a digital sat finder like the BirDog, you couldn't aim them. The receiver wouldn't find that sat until the dish was pointed properly and you did an autodetect.



As far as self-install goes, here's a tip. Get the pro install. If you're worried about the interior wiring, then go through the site survey with the installer and pay attention to his game plan. Then offer to do the interior work yourself. He'll most likely be overjoyed, but expect him to want to doublecheck your work. (Although if I were your installer, I'd be gung ho about you doing the OUTSIDE work... I loved doing interiors...)

[Ogredude]

The other reason I did it myself was that the installer would have had to go in to my crawl space to pull cable. They would not specify what it would have cost me. They would only specify that the installer would determine appropriate charges.

Man, unless things have drastically changed, crawls are included as part of the installation, no charge. The only thing we ever charged for was wall fishes.


If they insist on a visit from their flunky, have all the cable pulled and terminated, and let him decide what to do.

Yeah, but if you do this, make sure you run 2 wires to each place you want a tivo, and make sure you've got 5 wires to the sat location (and make sure the sat location is a sensible one, i.e. good view and a close grounding point) I'm not sure if the new 5-head dishes need 5 wires or not, they hit the field after I'd stopped installing. We used to have to put a triple-sat and a 72.5 dish with a 6x8 multiswitch on all new installs, and most home builders only ran 4 lines to the sat location, it got to be a pain in the butt after a while :(


Be there looking over his shoulder and ask questions about everything he does.


Absolutely! Some installers just want you to shut the heck up and let them rush through your job so they can make more money, but I always welcomed questions and chatting with the customer.

[captain_video]

For new installations, it's best to let DirecTV pay for an installer to do it for you as they have experience aligning the dish. The AT9 is a complex dish to set up and it is best left to an experienced installer.

OTOH, there's no reason why you can't do your own site survey and choose the location for the dish. Once you have that established, go ahead and figure out where you want to install a multi-switch if you need one installed, and then run all of the coax cables yourself.

When the installer arrives with your free dish and multi-switch the all he'll have to do is set up the dish and hook everything up. That way you won't have to fork out the money for the dish and multi-switch and you'll only have to pay for the cable. You can probably get away without having to terminate the cables and get the installer to use his own compression connectors, resulting in a bit more savings. Running the cable can get to be a pain but if the installer sees it that way he may just walk away and leave you with nothing if it looks like more work than he's willing to do for his paltry commission.

[Da Goon]

For new installations, it's best to let DirecTV pay for an installer to do it for you as they have experience aligning the dish. The AT9 is a complex dish to set up and it is best left to an experienced installer.

OTOH, there's no reason why you can't do your own site survey and choose the location for the dish. Once you have that established, go ahead and figure out where you want to install a multi-switch if you need one installed, and then run all of the coax cables yourself.

When the installer arrives with your free dish and multi-switch the all he'll have to do is set up the dish and hook everything up. That way you won't have to fork out the money for the dish and multi-switch and you'll only have to pay for the cable. You can probably get away without having to terminate the cables and get the installer to use his own compression connectors, resulting in a bit more savings. Running the cable can get to be a pain but if the installer sees it that way he may just walk away and leave you with nothing if it looks like more work than he's willing to do for his paltry commission.

I agree completely. No installer is going to complain about having to do less work. And no homeowner in their right mind would complain about an installation done how/where they want it.

[Bardman]

If I could live through my "professional" installation again, I'd pull my wires myself, but leave the ends for the installer to terminate (and install the dish).

I talked my installer into putting the multiswitch below my stairs (site of the-future "head end") and run to the two Directivos from there. He chose to penetrate the vinyl siding, run cable up the outside of the house, and penetrate the vinyl again.

My problem was I was just moving in to the house, and had a whole list of "honey-do's" that were higher priority than making satellite install look good. I needed TV for the kids and quick.

Chaulk up one more vote for the "do what you want done your way yourself" camp.

[JimSpence]

At the very least, have a good idea of where you want the cables run. When I had the Ph III installed, I installed conduit to the central closet in the basement, That closet is where I had my 4x4 multiswitch located and all room coaxes ran there. I also has scoped out where the dish should go and had mounted the mast. At that time DirecTV had shipped the HR10 and Ph III dish to my house. The installer had to supply the 4x8 switch. I helped with the pull of the two dual RG-6s through my conduit.