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Last reply · posted in DIRECTV General Forum
I have a DirecTivo series II SD DVR. This DVR has a USB port on the rear that has not been activated. I am planning to purchase an HD display and sign up for DTV HD and get an HD DVR. So, I will have the Series II up in the bedroom and the new rig down in the den. I'd like to be able to move content from one to the other. Actually watching the content in real time is preferable. I can do without moving HD content. Is there already a good discussion on this topic on the forum?
I have 2 RG6 lines running from the distribution amplifier (yeah, I know it's not called that...I can't remember the proper nomenclature) to each display. I also have CAT 5 in both places. I can easily fish other conductor types.

I'd like a discussion of the different paths that I can follow along with pros and cons. I would like for the 2 DVRs to comunnicate, or would consider a Media Server of some sort but would prefer to stay away from MS Media Center.
Thank you for your help.
6 Replies · 2325 views
Brewer4
I am just the man to talk about this. I have a very complex configuration where I have Windows Vista Media Center with the H20 connected to it and 3 Xbox 360's that get video from it. I also have 1 HR10-250 and 2 HR20's all of which are in the basement but feed 4 rooms in my house. Here are the different configurations I tried and currently use.

I love the Media Center as it is a nice menu and speed is great. It does OTA HD but is limited by HD capturing from Directv. It can only get video in via S-Video. Forget 2 Directv tuners too. So while it is a great DVR with tons of configuration options, its not a full HD multiroom DVR. So while I love its ease to setup a room with TV via a networked Xbox, it is HD limited.

So being an HD nut, I have it spread through my house via CAT5 wiring using balun converters, 2 HDMI feeds in the wall, and one component HD feed. I use matrix switchers that are next to the units to switch the video feed to the rooms. Its done via wireless remote extenders in each room.

See my list of stuff here. http://www.satelliteguys.us/living-edge/101519-whats-your-setup.html#post957928

I recommend an all house serving configuration. You cant really get 2 receivers to talk to each other unless you go with the newer non-Directv Tivos. So you can setup a matrix configuration by having the units in one room but also feed the other room. Use either the CAT5 and component baluns or you can use CAT5 with even S-Video if going non-HD.

Just get a scenario where a matrix switcher or splitter to dole out the video to the 2 rooms. Then you can use a remote wireless extender.

Is this too confusing? I can stop and let you ask questions first.
S
I am just the man to talk about this. I have a very complex configuration where I have Windows Vista Media Center with the H20 connected to it and 3 Xbox 360's that get video from it. I also have 1 HR10-250 and 2 HR20's all of which are in the basement but feed 4 rooms in my house. Here are the different configurations I tried and currently use.

I love the Media Center as it is a nice menu and speed is great. It does OTA HD but is limited by HD capturing from Directv. It can only get video in via S-Video. Forget 2 Directv tuners too. So while it is a great DVR with tons of configuration options, its not a full HD multiroom DVR. So while I love its ease to setup a room with TV via a networked Xbox, it is HD limited.

So being an HD nut, I have it spread through my house via CAT5 wiring using balun converters, 2 HDMI feeds in the wall, and one component HD feed. I use matrix switchers that are next to the units to switch the video feed to the rooms. Its done via wireless remote extenders in each room.

See my list of stuff here. http://www.satelliteguys.us/living-edge/101519-whats-your-setup.html#post957928

I recommend an all house serving configuration. You cant really get 2 receivers to talk to each other unless you go with the newer non-Directv Tivos. So you can setup a matrix configuration by having the units in one room but also feed the other room. Use either the CAT5 and component baluns or you can use CAT5 with even S-Video if going non-HD.

Just get a scenario where a matrix switcher or splitter to dole out the video to the 2 rooms. Then you can use a remote wireless extender.

Is this too confusing? I can stop and let you ask questions first.

Wow. Confused....yes but there's hope.I'm going out of town in the morning so I'll pick up when i get back. One thing i can say now though is that i want a simple system and i do not want to use media center. I also don't need to shift HD programming. I believe that the new HD DVR from DirecTV are non-Tivo and was hoping that they would talk to each other. If not, maybe one of the media extenders that are available or maybe even the Slingbox.
Brewer4
You could just simply pipe your Directv Tivo box to be viewed in 2 rooms and use an RF remote or wireless remote extender. Since its non-HD, you can use CAT5 line but need baluns or just slink an RF coax line down to the next room. Slingboxes are great but if you just want TV in 2 rooms from one receiver, its actually not very complex at all.
FlyingJ
I thought to myself that this thread sounds interesting. So I get a cup of coffee and sit down to read about Brewer's "set up". Being that I have an HR10-250, a HD receiver, 3 SD receivers and a SD TivoII, and that I have a HR20 and another new HD receiver to be installed next Thursday replacing the older HD units, I assumed that this could really be a configuration that may help me.

I then realized that I have absolutely no idea what the hell you guys are talking about. So my question is...
With 5 sets connected to D* (3 HD) and a playstation 3, and a desk top PC, and a lap top , is there something that I should be doing that I am not?
Brewer4
The first question I ask is how many concurrent boxes do you want to feed how many rooms? Meaning, you could have 5 sources, but only want 2 of them at the same time. If thats the case, you can get the units in one room, pump them to a matrix switch that feeds 2 rooms. So the switcher has output A and B. Room 1 is A and Room 2 is B. So Room 1 watches HR20 and Room 2 watches Playstation. With remote extenders and centralizing these things, you can have an almost unlimited configuration of rooms and sources. The limits will be cost, how many you want HDMI and your wiring.

With component you can feed 5 rooms. HDMI you can but it will cost you alot. So I would have a hybrid configuration. Primary room and secondary you can make HDMI and other rooms component. You also dont have to do this all at once. Here are the pros.

1. Centralizing units allows control in one location
2. Centralizing units allows you to reduce you number of needed receivers
3. Centralizing gives you multi-room viewing. Meaning you can watch in one room, pause it, go to another room, and start watching it.
4. Centralizing allows you to feed any number of rooms throughout the house

The issues/limitations are

1. Cost. Matrix switchers do cost. I have a good HDMI one that actually is affordable. 3 inputs, 2 rooms. $250 or so. Component ones are cheaper and have more options. They can also be daisy chained.
2. Wiring. If you dont have the right wiring and dont want to, then its not for you.
3. Distant limitations. As long as you are around 100 feet away from the source, no issues with running wires or signal. Beyond 100 feet can cause problems and sometimes requires relays.
4. All this is possible with wireless remote controllers but Harmony remotes tie this all together with a push of a button. By programming it, I can hit a button on the harmony and it flips the switcher, turns TV on, turns receiver on, and knows what to control from central point. Works great but you better know what the heck you are doing.

The key is to think of your objectives, define a budget, do it incrementally, and ask yourself how many rooms and concurrent watchers. Let me know if more interested and I can put together a diagram for your house.
S
Place Shifting

I am just the man to talk about this. I have a very complex configuration where I have Windows Vista Media Center with the H20 connected to it and 3 Xbox 360's that get video from it. I also have 1 HR10-250 and 2 HR20's all of which are in the basement but feed 4 rooms in my house. Here are the different configurations I tried and currently use.

I love the Media Center as it is a nice menu and speed is great. It does OTA HD but is limited by HD capturing from Directv. It can only get video in via S-Video. Forget 2 Directv tuners too. So while it is a great DVR with tons of configuration options, its not a full HD multiroom DVR. So while I love its ease to setup a room with TV via a networked Xbox, it is HD limited.

So being an HD nut, I have it spread through my house via CAT5 wiring using balun converters, 2 HDMI feeds in the wall, and one component HD feed. I use matrix switchers that are next to the units to switch the video feed to the rooms. Its done via wireless remote extenders in each room.


See my list of stuff here. http://www.satelliteguys.us/living-edge/101519-whats-your-setup.html#post957928

I recommend an all house serving configuration. You cant really get 2 receivers to talk to each other unless you go with the newer non-Directv Tivos. So you can setup a matrix configuration by having the units in one room but also feed the other room. Use either the CAT5 and component baluns or you can use CAT5 with even S-Video if going non-HD.

Just get a scenario where a matrix switcher or splitter to dole out the video to the 2 rooms. Then you can use a remote wireless extender.

Is this too confusing? I can stop and let you ask questions first.





Hello Brewer,
I'm back. Life got in the way of this project but I'm ready to get educated. First, let me thank you for your help. This stuff is way too hard to do without guidance.
Here goes....


>>I recommend an all house serving configuration. You cant really get 2 receivers to talk to each other unless you go with the newer non-Directv Tivos. <<

I'd consider both options. I have not purchased a new DVR yet.
I figure that your other option (whole house serving) shold be quite a bit less expensive unless the price of Non-DTV Tivos has come down quiter a bit. I'll check but....will they(non DTV Tivo do a good job of ordering the DTV receivers around?


>>So you can setup a matrix configuration by having the units in one room but also feed the other room. Use either the CAT5 and component baluns or you can use CAT5 with even S-Video if going non-HD.<<

Ooh, this sounds good.
Will I be able to run 2 DVR's and watch different programming on each of 2 displays? Can one DVR be SD?



Also....The smaller HDTV has 2 RG6 lines going to it as well as a Cat5. The (future) larger HDTV has the same but also happens to be in fairly close proximity to the DTV Multi-Switch which is what is splitting the signal to my different displays.
Ham Radio 2.0
· posted in Ham Radio 2.0
0 Replies · 5 views
Peter Parker
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
No idea what improvements might be involved.
18 Replies · 754 views
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bookworm370
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
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N
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
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R
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
My wife mentioned that her remote is acting strange this morning. She hit FF and it went to 15x FF.
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Bobby
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
This has been an ongoing issue. A fix is coming, probably in the next software version.
Foxbat
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"
Here's the one I need:
1792365258110.webp
Ramy
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
148 Replies · 1718 views
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Foxbat
They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
osu1991
They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
Was thinking same thing. It should be a good week for sec shorts and roll call
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R
A lot of upsets yesterday, but my LSU Tigers won.
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Foxbat
Best fan sign I saw during the ND-BYU game: "Bear ate your Lucky Charms!" (Bear being the Cougars' QB). I was going to suggest, "Have you or your team been involved in a Carr crash?"
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meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
A continuation of a thread from the pub, just general discussion of AI.

Brief 60 minute clip about next gem autonomous fighters - not remote controlled, but rather collaborating with controllers and aircraft in the theater.


View: https://youtu.be/DRm0mbp_n1k


We've literally got a movie already about this ;)


View: https://youtu.be/a2PW7a9ViDc
67 Replies · 1130 views
meStevo
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point. Nobody needs an innovative fix for a driver error or a creative way to format a report. Let it handle the solved problems so people can spend their time on the ones that aren't.
harshness
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point.
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.
meStevo
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.

Addressed by what you didn't quote. This cycle is as old as computing: compilers, libraries, frameworks each automated the tedious part, and the human work moved up a level. Innovation didn't end; it shifted. And people still make new compilers, libraries or frameworks.

Nobody's forced to hand anything off. Anyone who wants to keep doing it by hand still can, and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
harshness
... and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
meStevo
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
You're not wrong, but that's part of learning. Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
harshness
Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.
meStevo
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.

This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
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dishstaller
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.
meStevo
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.

Agents need appropriate context to make what would be understood as the correct read in a situation like that, and that Gemini answer was a clear miss on that front.

That said, we've also seen Musk (and/or his team) put his thumb on the scale (or just release a very poor product) with his own deployed AI since:


In the end, it's all a tool. Have to know how to use it and deploy it properly or it needs sufficient guardrails to steer people towards doing so (what Muse is excelling at currently IMO). I'm routinely interacting with several agents a day operating various processes locally and in services I use, and there are numerous others silently spun up to perform actions or satisfy requests from my prompts.

Related to earlier discussion in the thread on leveraging local inference: this kind of analysis happening behind the scenes is something everyone will have built into Windows, IMO. Most people won't see all of this, just the results, unless they want to dig into how the fix was chosen. Stuff like this will be standard as agents get local system access baked in, and more of the inference itself moves on-device.

1792355686329.webp
T
Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.



This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
You invested in datacenters?
meStevo
You invested in datacenters?


Though, I do have stocks in my portfolio that benefit from data centers.
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 11 views
Former member 208119
Last reply · posted in SiriusXM Satellite Radio
My year was almost up and we got the new bill for a year of service for $ 360.00 insane sat radio is becoming like cable!!! i logged into my acct and hopped onto chat and told the rep that i wanted to cancel. she understood my concern and went quiet for a few minutes. i figured that she was canceling my service. she comes back and said that she seen that i have been a sub since 07 and then offers me the same package for a year for 120.00 with taxes and fee's!!! i grabbed it. after almost having a stroke :biggrin
236 Replies · 10941 views
B
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $4.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
Jimbo
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
EarDemon
I tried to do that, when I did delivery driver work (2010- 2013), we had a fleet of Freightliners. The newer trucks had headunits that were satellite compatible (XM only I think), but lacked the antenna and guts. I got a car kt for my old Roady XT and tried to use it, but at the volume levels I needed have it at to hear it over the diesel engine it sounded like crap, so I used my phone with an aux cable. When I was in the middle of nowhere with no cell service it didn't do me any good though.

At my current job, one of our new cars has the free trial of SXM active, I frequently have to go off site to a location 75 miles away in a rural area and it's nice being able to use the service off of the satellites versus using the app. There are many places on this journey where all three providers lack service.
B
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
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TRG
TRG
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
B
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
Jimbo
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
You get an email every month to let you know they are billing you for the next month.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68525 Replies · 2672483 views
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Bobby
Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town - Charley Pride
harshness
Delta Dawn - Tanya Tucker
dishstaller
Can't You See - Marshall Tucker Band
sdfntx
See You in September - The Happenings
long_time_Dish
You Look Like You Love Me - Ella Langley
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
111 Replies · 1714 views
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osu1991
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M
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
Y
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
After having experienced Gus Ferguson trying to call soccer games, I'm uncertain why NFL football analysts get hate. Even the "worst" of them are pretty good.
meStevo
Jalen Hurts out indefinitely as they treat and monitor a superficial blood clot in his leg.


View: https://x.com/RapSheet/status/2111074303185989663?s=20
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meStevo
Browns lead the AFC North 🤣

Seth Meyers What GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
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T
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion
Picked up a sweet directv dish, mount, twin lnbs and a short cable.
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...
5 Replies · 167 views
Titanium
Yes, many have hacked a DirecTV or Dish Network dish before. Quite undersized, but would receive the 97w KU stations with an LNBF swap. Make a template to set the LNBF face angle and distance from the reflector. Remove the current circular polarity LNBFs and make a bracket to hold the replacement linear LNBF in the correct centered position. Remember to set the polarity skew.
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B
would probably also work well for NHK on 101W and possibly for PBS on 99W. I used one for a while on 30W. Just keep in mind that because it's undersized for those satellites, it might work fine in clear weather but won't have much margin to account for signal degradation during rain/snow
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O
If you can find one, the Shaw / Star Choice 75e ellipticals are great for use on 97, 99, and 101W. They are really just rebranded ChannelMaster 75 cm reflectors and use linear LNBFs by default out of the box.

Everyone else's mileage may vary.
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T
I have read that some have converted this type dish but after giving it a good look, it's the lnb conversion that is the bottleneck. Does anyone have a picture of their attempt to configure the lnb? I watched a video on youtube from the save it for parts guy and he used duct tape! Guess it worked but I'm thinking something a bit more permanent!
Thanks to all for your interest and replies...
Titanium
Many of us have used a universal LNBF mount (or get creative with L brackets and plumbers tape - perforated metal strapping). Use a few inches of aluminum tube (or a piece of 1x2" lumber) to extend the support arm (replacing the plastic mount used by DirecTV and Dish) to place the LNBF throat opening at the correct distance from the reflector, the correct height and at the correct angle. Nothing magical... simply place the new linear LNBF in the center at the same distance, height and angle as the current combo.
www.amazon.com/Universal-Single-Bracket-Holder-FTA-US/dp/B074L85WK2
LNBF mount.webp