Tivo, Dish Network and AT&T Home Entertainment - Tons of Questions!

capitaljigga · 07-15-2007, 07:35 PM

I recently moved into an apartment complex who has an agreement with AT&T Home Entertainment/Dish Network and its making my TV viewing miserable. I've never had such bad service in my life.

Most of my problems stem from AT&T and their lack of choice. For some reason, they do not offer an HD/DVR box. They offer the basic DISH HD programing, but you have to choose between either owning a DISH DVR or an HD box, can't have both. Its unbelievable! I'm also on the north side of the building, so I cannot install a dish. Since the building has a contract with AT&T, I can't get cable either, so I'm stuck with AT&T HE

Once you've had a DVR its impossible to go back. So I looking into a couple of options and was looking for some feedback from the community.

1. I am thinking about picking up a series 2 TiVo, I'm just unsure how it will work with satellite. While I really want to be able to record HD programming, I'll be fine if I can just record anything. I've been told by the installer that I can get "basic cable" just by plugging a TV into the cable outlet in the wall. This gives me some hope that the dual tuner in the series two will work, but will I have to have two cable lines running to the TiVo? and will I need to use to inputs on the back of my TV? Also, whats the lag? I've only had experience with the basic DVRs offered by cable companies (Time Warner, Comcast)

2. I've been told by the AT&T Home Entertainment people that I can purchase my own receiver and install it myself, and it should work. I've been thinking about picking up the DISH Vip 622 box, I just don't want to spend the $400 for it not to work. Has anyone had any experience going this route?

Any help/feedback is appreciated. Thanks guys!

JimSpence · 07-15-2007, 07:45 PM

Is it mandatory that you have to use AT&T and Dish? I believe that if you have a view to the sats you could put up your own dish.

capitaljigga · 07-15-2007, 07:48 PM

Mandatory, in that it is the only choice I have. While its allowed by management to install a dish on the patio, we cannot receive a signal on our side of the building and must use the main dishes on the roof. We cannot install our own dish on the roof.

ttugrad95 · 10-10-2007, 03:50 PM

I feel your pain man, I'm in the same situation. I just sold my house and moved into an apartment while I build a new home. I just paid Dish Network $300 in cancellation fees and yet I am still a customer through AT&T HE at the aparment. Can you sense the anger?
I can tell you that the VIP622 WILL work but you have to play with it a little. The 622 has the same software as the DVR box AT&T uses. You need 2 updated Q boxes which AT&T will install if you get a DVR through them because they are needed with the DVR box. First go into the DVR setup screen and get all the QAM search frequencies. Hook the VIP up to the Q boxes and you will get some sort of message about it detecting Q boxes, blah blah blah click ok or cancel. Click ok and it will act like its locked up, if your turn it on, the lights will briefly flash and it will not turn on, thats ok, its actually applying the update that enables it to work with the Q boxes, just wait for a while and it will come up on its own. It will actually go through this a couple of times as it applies updates. When it is done you will see a new option on the menu for QAM. Go into it and put in the search frequencies that you got from the DVR. If your lucky, it will find a bunch of transponders, you click done and your ready to go. In my case we weren't successful the first time. The installer was actually helping me try to figure it out I THINK it didn't work because the Q boxes weren't updated or the 622 hadn't got all the updates it needed. I hooked the VIP back up a day or so later and it found all the transponders and worked perfectly, at that point it had been plugged in for a while, just not hooked up to the dish (I was watching all the programs I had recorded at the house). It would help if the VIP is already activated which in my case it was because I hadn't cancelled my account with Dish from the house.
I was told by the installer who spoke to one of the senior techs that the VIP622 will be available through them by the end of the year. The senior tech was on site at another complex trying to get the 622 working and was walking us through the process at the same time. I had to send my 622 back to DN and am trying to decide whether to buy one off fleabay or suck it up and wait until AT&T HE comes out with it.

burbanknate · 01-01-2008, 12:17 PM

I'm also stuck with AT&T Home Entertainment, in a condo complex, and I'm glad to know I can use a DISH HD DVR (I had to google "VIP622" to figure out that's what you were talking about) but I still have no idea what a Q box is, so I still don't know what it was that you did.

AT&T tells me they have no HD DVR and no plans to offer one.
I have a TiVo series 2 and I use the Dish network 811 HD receiver.

I'm still trying to get the TiVo to tune to decimal channels (7.1, 11.1 etc)
with no luck.

I have 11.1, 11.2, and 11.3 , with different programming on each one, but I can only get the TiVo to tune to "11" which directs the Dish receiver to tune to "11-01".

Of course my TiVo guide information has the programming info for 11.2, so nothing recorded is actually what it says it is.

This sucks, people.

Anyone found some working solutions for AT&T Home Entertainment Dish Network receivers and TiVo Series 2?

burbanknate · 10-28-2008, 12:01 PM

Called TiVo yesterday to cancel my service on one of my boxes - replaced it with the Dish DVR. They told me they are indeed working on a satellite-compatible TiVo. You know, for the future.

jcaudle · 10-28-2008, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burbanknate

Called TiVo yesterday to cancel my service on one of my boxes - replaced it with the Dish DVR. They told me they are indeed working on a satellite-compatible TiVo. You know, for the future.

They are working on a satellite DVR, but as far as I know it isn't for their Arch nemisis, Charlie Ergen's Dish Network. its part of their new deal with DirecTV.
The box is supposed to be out late 2009.

You would think AT&T would resell the dish equipment similar to Verizon's deal with DirecTV. With verizon its regular equipment from directv. If I wanted internet/Tv service from verizon I would have to use Direct, because FiOS isn't in my neighborhood yet. Cox sucks.