[bigpuma]

ok cool, for some reason i thought you needed the new switch to see the new birds

The new dish has a built in M/S but if you need more than the 4 outputs then you would need a new M/S as well to see the new birds.

 

[bigpuma]

I sure hope that's true. I would love just to have my new dvr hooked up to the new dish and have it be the only thing hooked up to the dish at this point, directly with 2 wires. No OTA is needed for me on the new unit since I have OTA on 2 HDtivos and if i ever need more than 4 tuners OTA, i will be in big trouble. I want to keep my existing 2HDtivo setup totally independent of the new setup. Though they will all be stacked (one heck of a stack)

You definately don't need an M/S if you have less than 4 tuners. You will of course need the new 5 LNB dish which has a built in M/S and 4 outputs. I have had my HR20 since October and have had it set up both with and without the M/S.

 

[bigpuma]

i reread this thread and didnt see an answer:

has anyone 'replaced' Hdtivo with a hr20 and then gotten a free new 5lnb dish when you call and say, i cant see the new channels? (i dont care about a 2 yr commitment).

Also, when they do 'verify' that your unit is bad and will send you a new one, do they turn off the 'broken' unit right away?

Assuming you order the HR20 from DirecTV it should include the dish and multiswitch if necessary. It doesn't matter if you get it for free or what it should all be included.