Moving In, Moving On, Moving Up?

[jenolen]

Those of you who like offering set-up and upgrade advice to fellow long-time DirecTivo owners, I could sure use a hand!

And I do mean long time - Dec. 2001! I'm a DirecTivo DSR-6000 user – no problems, really, ever – finally making the move to HD. And that’s not the only move! I’m moving in with my girlfriend – also a DirecTivo subscriber (she has a newer – maybe some form of S2? – model, but I’m not sure which one. She doesn’t get network identification icons on her Now Playing list, but she does have folders…)

Now, I love this girl, but for one little thing - she has a giant-a** console projection HD-capable set, but does NOT have DirecTV HD! (The horror!) When we’re at her (soon to be our!) place, we watch standard definition all stretched and squoshy to fill the letterbox screen. As part of the move, I’ve agreed to be in charge of getting our TiVo/DirecTV ducks in a row. :)

To review:

HER CURRENT SET UP: Projection HD (1080i, I believe), some form of S2, in second bedroom.

FINAL DESIRED SET UP: Projection HD moved to living room; some form of DirecTV HD installed in living room; my regular TV moved to main bedroom; my DirecTivo moved to main bedroom (although we could keep hers; I’ve got 90+ season pass/wish lists… she has about 20. But hers is higher capacity… I would miss the little network icons … and do I really want to redo all those season passes/wish lists?)

HOW TO SWING IT: Ah, that’s the question! I’ll need a dish change-out (I would guess), and four new lines run in to the house, correct? (Two to the living room, and two to the master bedroom – maybe moving the two that are currently going in to the second bedroom?) Can I get an upgrade/installation deal through the vaunted customer retention? Which HD (sob) non-Tivo should we get? Should we buy a DirecTV HD with DVR from Costco? Or is there a better way? Anyone with advice, experience, suggestions, etc. chime in!

Thanks in advance…

Colin

[John T Smith]

Yes, you will need a different dish... call DTV to find out their current offer

If you have DTV do everything, you do NOT get a DTivo, you get DTV's brand,
discussed at http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=82

If you want to stay with DTivo, you need to find an HR10-250, discussed at
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=36

[wolflord11]

Just get in touch with Directv and find out what they can offer you.

Since you are both current Directv customers, you might be able to swing a New Installation and setup for free.

[jenolen]

I know the HD-DirecTivo isn't an option... :( Very sad!

But is there a big difference between the box I could buy at Costco and whatever DirecTV would install (oestensibly, for free?)

[John T Smith]

The Costco stores in my area (Vancouver WA and Portland OR) do not sell DirecTv at all... they sell DISH Network

Are you sure what is available at your Costco is DirecTv?

[DonDon]

Here's what I would do. Keep her Dtivo with your TV in the bedroom. Move your Dtivo to the front room with the big TV. (Or Viv versa, I am not picky.) Unfortunately with Dtv moving to the mpg4 for HD content, I can't really justify the cost of an HR10-250 anymore, so you are kinda stuck going with the DTV excuse for an HD DVR. If you like the DTV DVR, then you can drop one of the old Tivo's down the line. If you don't like it, or find it unreliable, then you can still do backup recordings to the tivos.

With 90 season passes, it sounds like you need to do a drive upgrade to your Tivo. I have 1 unit with 450 hours, and a second unit with 145 hours networked together so I can share recordings on either box. :p Oh yea, I get caller ID on my tv too. The wife really likes that.

I hope you really like this girl, as making this move will prolly tie one of you to a 2 year commitment to DTV. :eek: The other can cancel their account and make a fresh start if it don't work out. ;)

Don

[tbeckner]

The Costco stores in my area (Vancouver WA and Portland OR) do not sell DirecTv at all... they sell DISH Network

Are you sure what is available at your Costco is DirecTv?Just to let you know Costco sells DIRECTV in Bend, Oregon.

[John T Smith]

Interesting that different Costco areas have different products

[wolflord11]

Here's what I would do. Keep her Dtivo with your TV in the bedroom. Move your Dtivo to the front room with the big TV. (Or Viv versa, I am not picky.) Unfortunately with Dtv moving to the mpg4 for HD content, I can't really justify the cost of an HR10-250 anymore, so you are kinda stuck going with the DTV excuse for an HD DVR. If you like the DTV DVR, then you can drop one of the old Tivo's down the line. If you don't like it, or find it unreliable, then you can still do backup recordings to the tivos.

With 90 season passes, it sounds like you need to do a drive upgrade to your Tivo. I have 1 unit with 450 hours, and a second unit with 145 hours networked together so I can share recordings on either box. :p Oh yea, I get caller ID on my tv too. The wife really likes that.

I hope you really like this girl, as making this move will prolly tie one of you to a 2 year commitment to DTV. :eek: The other can cancel their account and make a fresh start if it don't work out. ;)

Don

I would have to agree with Don here :D

[jenolen]

So here's the offer they made when I called "mover's connection"...

First off, after gathering my account info, I'm apparently one of their most valued customers. Whoo!!!! (Dorky recording...)

Secondly, I spoke with a CSR who said:

1) HD-20 for $299 with $100 instant rebate
2) Guy would come and install new dish
3) Guy would come and wire house for new HD-20 in living room, and DSR-6000 in bedroom.
4) Guy would be free. (Side note: do we tip the guy? $20? Lunch?)
5) HD Service would be $9.99 a month. Extra box would be $4.99 a month.

As Howie Mandel would say... DEAL, OR NO DEAL?

They certainly didn't mention any of the free or extended programming offers others have been getting, and as one of their most valued customers (sniff! sniff!) I felt a little miffed. ;)

[John T Smith]

How about...?
6) New/extended committment to 2 years of service

[TonyTheTiger]

Sounds pretty much the average to me. You won't get free programming offered as a matter of course. You could call back and say something along the line of you heard that others are getting the HD package free for four months and see what they say.

As for tipping, it's up to you. Opinion varies on here. Personally, I haven't tipped an installer yet.

Also, some people seem to be paranoid about the 2 year commitment. I, for one, have no problem with it as I have no choice where I'm located. And there are ways out of that contract if you really need it.

[jenolen]

They didn't mention extending the service committment; I'm happy to make it, both to DirecTV and the girl I'm moving in with... ;)

[jenolen]

Okay, I took the deal offered in post #10 above. Called today at 1:00pm. They said a guy would come out TOMORROW at 1:00pm, to the new house, to make the changes, bring a new dish, install the HD-20, run a total of 4 cables, etc. 24-hour turnaround? The CSR herself seemed a bit surprised when I suggested that we could get this whole thing wrapped up in time to see Grey's Anatomy in HD this week. (If the guy makes it by 5pm, he should have the install going by 8pm, I would hope!) Will all go according to plan? Stay tuned, dear readers... ;)

(Oh, and today, they finally did get around to mentioning extending the service committment for 2 years... I said fine to that.)

[jenolen]

Not only was the installer early, he was REALLY early; about an hour and a half before the install, I got a call, saying he was now available, and could he get started now? We bustled right over to get him started, and everything worked great. Got the new lines run in to the bedroom, got the HD-DVR hooked up to the big screen in the living room. No, it's not a TiVo, and yes, I hate it... but it'll have to do, for now. (It took me several hours to realize that I was holding the remote for the new unit the same way I held my TiVo remote, and that I was blocking the IR beam in doing so... So that explains why the stupid thing wouldn't stop fast forwarding when I wanted it to!)

Overall, this was as about a good installation experience as one could hope for. Continuing to dream of the day Rupert/DirecTV work things out with TiVo ...

[wolflord11]

Glad everything is well in the Household again :D

[Bob Coxner]

I know the heresy police will soon be knocking on my door, but...if you follow the HR20 threads on dbstalk you'll find that they've come a long way. I would say that it was 20% of a Tivo when it first came out. Now they seem to be closer to 90% and they're obviously continuing to work hard on correcting bugs and adding features. I dearly love my two SD DTivos but I'm seriously looking to make the switch. I just can't justify the $800 for a standalone HD Tivo.

You should really check out the HR20 support threads on dbstalk. They have a lot of FAQs that will get you up to speed quickly.

[TonyTheTiger]

Bob,

Remember that even if you could justify the $800, it won't work with D* anyway. The S3 is cable & OTA only.

I also think your percentages are a little wrong. It is only now just about 20% (I have two HR20s and an HR10, so I speak from experience). There's hardly a day goes by when I don't have a reason to curse the HR20s, but the HR10 has been in my office without a phone line connected for well over 200 days now, and still has never missed a recording or had a serious lip-sync problem.

[snickerrrrs]

I'm not making the move to HD until all the dust settles. (I mean like a 2 year commitment because of Directv promises 100 channels of HD).

1. Are ANY new Directv HD channels available yet? Or are they still waiting for the new bird (Directv satellite) to fly? In other words, are they broadcasting any (let alone 100) HD channels in mpeg-4?

2. When is the Comcast Tivo coming out?

3. Whats the word on the Dish Tivo lawsuit? (I'm thinking Dish might be the way to go but the jury or should I say lawyers are still out).

4. Tivo has got to have a big drop the price on the Series 3 before I'd consider cable.

5. I'm curious what jenolen thinks of the HR20 after a couple weeks.

6. Oh yeah have you heard about the Red One camera www.red.com with twice the resolution of HD? (although I doubt I'll be able to skip HD all together)


Lots of choices on the horizon! The future looks bright! :D

In other words. I'd stick with SD Directivo's for now. But it looks like you made the jump. Good Luck :)

PS: I hope the forum police don't get me. :D

[John T Smith]

All nice questions... and none of them have anything to do with THIS forum, which is for DirecTivo SD (Standard Definition) receivers

The OLD HD receiver is discussed at the HR10-250 forum
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=36

The NEW HD receiver has a different forum, start at
http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=82

[jenolen]

I will report back aftera couple weeks of HR20 use ... and John, thanks for the links to the DBS talk forum! I'm sure many people here have accounts there; I don't, but with my new set up, it looks like I might have to.


Also, so that we're not COMPLETELY off topic, I have found that my DSR-6000 is a lot noisier now that it's not in my glass-fronted equipment rack thing. It's on a table, next to the TV in the bedroom, and it's a damn loud bugger, even when in "standby" mode! I may have to look in to some kind of "muffler" box, just to keep things a little more quiet in the bedroom. Anyone else solve this problem?

[HiDefGator]

I'm not making the move to HD until all the dust settles. (I mean like a 2 year commitment because of Directv promises 100 channels of HD).

1. Are ANY new Directv HD channels available yet? Or are they still waiting for the new bird (Directv satellite) to fly? In other words, are they broadcasting any (let alone 100) HD channels in mpeg-4?

2. When is the Comcast Tivo coming out?

3. Whats the word on the Dish Tivo lawsuit? (I'm thinking Dish might be the way to go but the jury or should I say lawyers are still out).

4. Tivo has got to have a big drop the price on the Series 3 before I'd consider cable.

5. I'm curious what jenolen thinks of the HR20 after a couple weeks.

6. Oh yeah have you heard about the Red One camera www.red.com with twice the resolution of HD? (although I doubt I'll be able to skip HD all together)


Lots of choices on the horizon! The future looks bright! :D

In other words. I'd stick with SD Directivo's for now. But it looks like you made the jump. Good Luck :)

PS: I hope the forum police don't get me. :D

Your picture bothers me.

[John T Smith]

I will report back aftera couple weeks of HR20 use
From what I've read here (I've never actually read in the HR20 forum, just made note of the link) it works a BIT different than a Tivo (a lot different according to some people) but overall is better than not having a DVR at all... with some problems due to being new, with the problems being addressed over time with software updates

We were on Comcast cable w/DVR for a year (rental house) while we built where we live now... wife HATED the Comcast box and complained CONSTANTLY, I got used to the different software and just used the box while our DTivo boxes were in storage

If you are someone who ADJUSTS to new equipment/software easily, you should do OK, or at least fairly well, with the HR20... but, again, that is just from reading comments here

DSR-6000 <snip> damn loud bugger, even when in "standby" mode!
I never paid much attention (fan noise of my various boxes is just part of the general "background" in the rooms) but there has been overall replacement fan discussion(s) in the past... and I **think** I remember someone talking about a variable speed fan that ran slower when the box was not as hot... but I could be confusing that with a discussion in one of the computer forums I read

[Bob Coxner]

I will report back aftera couple weeks of HR20 use ... and John, thanks for the links to the DBS talk forum! I'm sure many people here have accounts there; I don't, but with my new set up, it looks like I might have to.


Also, so that we're not COMPLETELY off topic, I have found that my DSR-6000 is a lot noisier now that it's not in my glass-fronted equipment rack thing. It's on a table, next to the TV in the bedroom, and it's a damn loud bugger, even when in "standby" mode! I may have to look in to some kind of "muffler" box, just to keep things a little more quiet in the bedroom. Anyone else solve this problem?

I put a heavy dictionary on my Series 2 DTivo. Otherwise it vibrates/buzzes loudly.

[snickerrrrs]

Hard drive or fan, it's usually the hard drive that's so noisy.

In the old days you could tell a computer had a Western Digital hard drive buy how loud it was, hard drives gotten a lot better over the years. The more noise your drive makes the more likely it is getting ready to fail (not always that why I mentioned the WD drives). But you might want to shop for a new drive if you want to keep the Tivo.

Go to: http://tivo.upgrade-instructions.com/index.php if you want to do it yourself otherwise buy a new Tivo drive from weaknees.com or dvrupgrade.com

PS: the picture (avatar) is Chet from Weird Science :D