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Background:
I have been on Direct TV now for 3 days.
I had been with Dish for 8 years and was using a ViP622 located in living room. It was connected via HDMI to a 60" Sony LED backlit LCD TV with an Onkyo 7.1 surround sound receiver. TV2 was connected to a 27" Sharp CRT in bedroom via RF. Programming package was Top 250.
New setup is H24-200 in Living Room on the Sony 60" and a second HR24-200 in bedroom on a 32" LG LCD. I also had a standard def receiver installed in a spare bedroom. Free install so I got it to get new cabling into the bedroom. I intend to return it in a month to stop the $6.00/month charge. Programming package is Choice Extra.
Why the move:
First I wanted to increase the number of my recordings since 3 was not enough in a lot of cases, also OTA recording eat up 3x the disk space. Also getting an HD TV for the bedroom was a contributing factor. Using the RF standard def off the ViP622 was not giving me a picture I could live with on the new TV. Not knowing when Dish would be out with their Whole House solution. I decided to make the switch. I did not wait for the HR34 since it was not guaranteed it would be out in October and my 622 was empty. With the new TV season starting I would have it filled in no time and would not have the time to watch it all. So this was the time. Canceling Dish was very easy no hassles and just had to talk to one person and the whole presses took about 7 mins. I always have had good experiences dealing with Dish I hated to leave them. Price was another concern. Stacking the AAA discount along with a referral, bundling, and the current offers I calculated a savings of over $750 over the 2 year agreement compared to staying with what I had with Dish. That included a $90 cancellation fee from Dish for leaving with 9 months left in my 2 year agreement (HD for life upgrade that came along with a $10/ month discount) and all shipping costs, taxes and additional costs for the second DVR. That savings does not include any costs benefits for the 3 months of movie channels or NFL Season Pass, all that is icing on the cake.
Installation:
The install was a little disappointing. Installer was an independent contractor not associated with a local installation company. He had only been installing for about 3 to 4 months. I currently had my Dish mounted on a block wall next to the house protected on 2 sides. He said he could not install it there and had to install it on the roof. I insisted that this would be a better location, easy access, unobstructed view, protected from wind, solid concrete filled block to mount to. I told him I have had no problem with Dish mounted that way for 8 years and he was not going to put it on the roof. He made a call he said was to Direct and then said he could install it there.
The house is wired with RG 59 except for the one run that ran from the dish location to the living room where the Dish DVR was. He had to run new lines from the bedrooms and add a splitter in the attic. No problem after I told him how I wanted it run and where to put the splitter. I am impressed with Direct TV's SWiM technology for Whole House installations. Seem to work well and easy to install.
The installer did not force a fresh download of software and did not program one of the remotes for the TV. His instructions were "this is how you turn it on". When questioning him on some of the basics I knew he knew very little about the system. I made sure I had playback from each DVR on both TVs before I signed the approval paperwork.
First Impressions:
The HR24 seem a bit sluggish compared to the ViP622. Menus will hesitate at times and the Skip 30 had more of a delay than the ViP622, just enough to be a bit annoying. Nice quiet box with very little fan noise and no middle of the night reboots with fans set to high. I don't think I could live with a ViP622 in the bedroom but the HR24 is fine. The menus seem to not be as user friendly to me and harder to read, especially in the listing of recorded show. It may be I just need to get use to the HR24 but for now I find the ViP to come across a bit more refined in its operation.
The Guide:
The HR24 only has 1½ hours in the guide display compared to the 2½ hours (or was it 3) in Dish. It was nice to see all of prime time at once. Dish cuts the guide off at about 9½ days while Direct opens it up to 14 but the data is incomplete as you get further past the 12 day mark. The programming detail such as cast and crew are nice and a big plus for searches but I miss the episode numbers in the program description that Dish has. I also find it annoying that you cannot see the original air date in the synopsis and have to press the info button. Setting the recording with the record button from the guide is covenant. I also like the fact that you can change the channel and have transportation controls available while you are in the guide. Also you have a channel description if you curser over to the channel list on the left side of the guide and if you select it, it will tune to that channel without leaving the guide. Nice touch that Dish does not have.
Programming:
I guess I did not do may research that thoroughly since I was very disappointed that some of the channels I enjoyed in HD on Dish were only available in SD on Direct. Such as DYI, History International, E!, and The Cooking Channel. So much for their advertizing of having the most HD channels than anyone else. I am not a big sports fan but Direct TV has a ton of sports available. If you are a sports fan this is your provider. The free VOD in Direct rocks compared to Dish. I find it even better than Comcast. Of course anything would be better than Dishes VOD. The amount and the way it is organized works well. I could even watch HD VOD in real time (20meg DSL) compared to Dish where you had to wait about 20 minutes. Paid VOD movies always worked well but I find the cost of them to be a bit high on both services. Picture quality is OK on both services and I have not seen a big difference between them. Both have MPEG artifacts but they are not distracting if viewed from a distance. If I had to choose I would say Dish was better on HD and Direct better in SD, OTA is always noticeably better.
The DVR:
I did not anticipate the inconvenience it would be to have to deal with managing two separate DVRs. I had about 60 timers set on the 622 and knowing I had to deal with a limit of 50 in each HR24 and also wanting to record most of the shows in the bedroom so the tuners were free in the living room for last minute recordings and the use of the dual buffering (tuner swap / Dual play). The problem with this is that you cannot see what is scheduled to record on the other DVR. So I have to keep a written log of what is set on each DVR or have to go into the bedroom to see if a particular show is actually set to record. This is a big hassle especially now while I am trying to reset the 60 plus timer I had in the 622. I am beginning to regret not holding off for the HR34.
Another big loss, especially with the large disk space, is not being able to organize the recordings into user created folders. I am very disappointed in that there is no frame advance. On the ViP622 you could advance the paused picture a frame at a time. I was surprised that this was not on the HR24. It seems like a feature that would be basic for all DVRs. I know it is a programming nightmare to reproduce a frame from the MPEG stream on the fly, and I believe that some of the code for that is in the TIVO lawsuits but still I miss that big time. Direct does have bookmarks that can be set and jumped to but you have to be paused on the spot to set it. I can see this being more use full if you could set it on the fly and then get back to it. Of course that means a fast response of the DVR something the HR24 struggles with.
Also Dish finally got rid of the banner on the paused image so you can read something on the lower third of the screen. Now with the HR24 I am back to having any text on the bottom of a paused image covered up.
I know the HR24 does not have Picture in Picture but that is something I won't miss, never been a big fan of it. What I do use is the tuner swap or dual play. I am still getting use to the HR24 implementation of this feature. I do not like that you have to activate it and it only stays active for 2 hours but I like the fact that it seems to buffer both tuners even while watching a recorded show. I also noticed that it seemed to buffer the recording. In other words I had previously recorded a show after the recoding had stopped the tuner was still on that channel and buffering the next shows. When I swapped over to that tuner I was able to rewind back not just through the buffer but all the way to the start of the recorded show. That is something I will have to spend some more time experimenting with. Bottom line though, overall I find the ViP622 a superior DVR and I am going to miss it.
Search:
The active search is something I fine very useful. That it incorporates VOD and YouTube is great! I have not played with the advanced features but I feel I will learn to depend on this a lot in the future.
Remote Controls:
I like the idea of the remotes being programmed by the DVR so it has current codes. All my equipment was available including my Onkyo receiver (usually a problem). The layout is nice but I do not think I will be using it in the living room due to its limitation on not have a macros, specifically not being able to turn on or off the AV tuner without having to select AV2, power, and then returning to DirctTV on the remote. Plus my wife will probably use it while I use the $20 universal learning remote I had programmed for Dish. I would think that Direct would understand that if you have a remote programmed for an AV receiver it most likely needs to be turned on along with the DVR and TV and that that should be included in the all ON and OFF buttons. Just a note, I set the Remote to RF in the bedroom (IR was the default) and the response seems to be better. I do not think I will be able to use RF in the living room due to the use of IR remotes.
Receiver Extras:
So far the Apps and Direct Access seems as useful as Dishes. In other words basically useless. The apps might be something that could work out in the future. I did not activate the community features such as Direct TV community, Facebook or Twitter yet. Having to register with a third party stopped me for now.
I hope this will be a help for anyone considering the move from Dish to Direct. Since I have only been on the Direct for 3 days I am probably missing a bit, If you know of some features that I was complaining about, miss represented or have not included please post so we can all be informed.
I have been on Direct TV now for 3 days.
I had been with Dish for 8 years and was using a ViP622 located in living room. It was connected via HDMI to a 60" Sony LED backlit LCD TV with an Onkyo 7.1 surround sound receiver. TV2 was connected to a 27" Sharp CRT in bedroom via RF. Programming package was Top 250.
New setup is H24-200 in Living Room on the Sony 60" and a second HR24-200 in bedroom on a 32" LG LCD. I also had a standard def receiver installed in a spare bedroom. Free install so I got it to get new cabling into the bedroom. I intend to return it in a month to stop the $6.00/month charge. Programming package is Choice Extra.
Why the move:
First I wanted to increase the number of my recordings since 3 was not enough in a lot of cases, also OTA recording eat up 3x the disk space. Also getting an HD TV for the bedroom was a contributing factor. Using the RF standard def off the ViP622 was not giving me a picture I could live with on the new TV. Not knowing when Dish would be out with their Whole House solution. I decided to make the switch. I did not wait for the HR34 since it was not guaranteed it would be out in October and my 622 was empty. With the new TV season starting I would have it filled in no time and would not have the time to watch it all. So this was the time. Canceling Dish was very easy no hassles and just had to talk to one person and the whole presses took about 7 mins. I always have had good experiences dealing with Dish I hated to leave them. Price was another concern. Stacking the AAA discount along with a referral, bundling, and the current offers I calculated a savings of over $750 over the 2 year agreement compared to staying with what I had with Dish. That included a $90 cancellation fee from Dish for leaving with 9 months left in my 2 year agreement (HD for life upgrade that came along with a $10/ month discount) and all shipping costs, taxes and additional costs for the second DVR. That savings does not include any costs benefits for the 3 months of movie channels or NFL Season Pass, all that is icing on the cake.
Installation:
The install was a little disappointing. Installer was an independent contractor not associated with a local installation company. He had only been installing for about 3 to 4 months. I currently had my Dish mounted on a block wall next to the house protected on 2 sides. He said he could not install it there and had to install it on the roof. I insisted that this would be a better location, easy access, unobstructed view, protected from wind, solid concrete filled block to mount to. I told him I have had no problem with Dish mounted that way for 8 years and he was not going to put it on the roof. He made a call he said was to Direct and then said he could install it there.
The house is wired with RG 59 except for the one run that ran from the dish location to the living room where the Dish DVR was. He had to run new lines from the bedrooms and add a splitter in the attic. No problem after I told him how I wanted it run and where to put the splitter. I am impressed with Direct TV's SWiM technology for Whole House installations. Seem to work well and easy to install.
The installer did not force a fresh download of software and did not program one of the remotes for the TV. His instructions were "this is how you turn it on". When questioning him on some of the basics I knew he knew very little about the system. I made sure I had playback from each DVR on both TVs before I signed the approval paperwork.
First Impressions:
The HR24 seem a bit sluggish compared to the ViP622. Menus will hesitate at times and the Skip 30 had more of a delay than the ViP622, just enough to be a bit annoying. Nice quiet box with very little fan noise and no middle of the night reboots with fans set to high. I don't think I could live with a ViP622 in the bedroom but the HR24 is fine. The menus seem to not be as user friendly to me and harder to read, especially in the listing of recorded show. It may be I just need to get use to the HR24 but for now I find the ViP to come across a bit more refined in its operation.
The Guide:
The HR24 only has 1½ hours in the guide display compared to the 2½ hours (or was it 3) in Dish. It was nice to see all of prime time at once. Dish cuts the guide off at about 9½ days while Direct opens it up to 14 but the data is incomplete as you get further past the 12 day mark. The programming detail such as cast and crew are nice and a big plus for searches but I miss the episode numbers in the program description that Dish has. I also find it annoying that you cannot see the original air date in the synopsis and have to press the info button. Setting the recording with the record button from the guide is covenant. I also like the fact that you can change the channel and have transportation controls available while you are in the guide. Also you have a channel description if you curser over to the channel list on the left side of the guide and if you select it, it will tune to that channel without leaving the guide. Nice touch that Dish does not have.
Programming:
I guess I did not do may research that thoroughly since I was very disappointed that some of the channels I enjoyed in HD on Dish were only available in SD on Direct. Such as DYI, History International, E!, and The Cooking Channel. So much for their advertizing of having the most HD channels than anyone else. I am not a big sports fan but Direct TV has a ton of sports available. If you are a sports fan this is your provider. The free VOD in Direct rocks compared to Dish. I find it even better than Comcast. Of course anything would be better than Dishes VOD. The amount and the way it is organized works well. I could even watch HD VOD in real time (20meg DSL) compared to Dish where you had to wait about 20 minutes. Paid VOD movies always worked well but I find the cost of them to be a bit high on both services. Picture quality is OK on both services and I have not seen a big difference between them. Both have MPEG artifacts but they are not distracting if viewed from a distance. If I had to choose I would say Dish was better on HD and Direct better in SD, OTA is always noticeably better.
The DVR:
I did not anticipate the inconvenience it would be to have to deal with managing two separate DVRs. I had about 60 timers set on the 622 and knowing I had to deal with a limit of 50 in each HR24 and also wanting to record most of the shows in the bedroom so the tuners were free in the living room for last minute recordings and the use of the dual buffering (tuner swap / Dual play). The problem with this is that you cannot see what is scheduled to record on the other DVR. So I have to keep a written log of what is set on each DVR or have to go into the bedroom to see if a particular show is actually set to record. This is a big hassle especially now while I am trying to reset the 60 plus timer I had in the 622. I am beginning to regret not holding off for the HR34.
Another big loss, especially with the large disk space, is not being able to organize the recordings into user created folders. I am very disappointed in that there is no frame advance. On the ViP622 you could advance the paused picture a frame at a time. I was surprised that this was not on the HR24. It seems like a feature that would be basic for all DVRs. I know it is a programming nightmare to reproduce a frame from the MPEG stream on the fly, and I believe that some of the code for that is in the TIVO lawsuits but still I miss that big time. Direct does have bookmarks that can be set and jumped to but you have to be paused on the spot to set it. I can see this being more use full if you could set it on the fly and then get back to it. Of course that means a fast response of the DVR something the HR24 struggles with.
Also Dish finally got rid of the banner on the paused image so you can read something on the lower third of the screen. Now with the HR24 I am back to having any text on the bottom of a paused image covered up.
I know the HR24 does not have Picture in Picture but that is something I won't miss, never been a big fan of it. What I do use is the tuner swap or dual play. I am still getting use to the HR24 implementation of this feature. I do not like that you have to activate it and it only stays active for 2 hours but I like the fact that it seems to buffer both tuners even while watching a recorded show. I also noticed that it seemed to buffer the recording. In other words I had previously recorded a show after the recoding had stopped the tuner was still on that channel and buffering the next shows. When I swapped over to that tuner I was able to rewind back not just through the buffer but all the way to the start of the recorded show. That is something I will have to spend some more time experimenting with. Bottom line though, overall I find the ViP622 a superior DVR and I am going to miss it.
Search:
The active search is something I fine very useful. That it incorporates VOD and YouTube is great! I have not played with the advanced features but I feel I will learn to depend on this a lot in the future.
Remote Controls:
I like the idea of the remotes being programmed by the DVR so it has current codes. All my equipment was available including my Onkyo receiver (usually a problem). The layout is nice but I do not think I will be using it in the living room due to its limitation on not have a macros, specifically not being able to turn on or off the AV tuner without having to select AV2, power, and then returning to DirctTV on the remote. Plus my wife will probably use it while I use the $20 universal learning remote I had programmed for Dish. I would think that Direct would understand that if you have a remote programmed for an AV receiver it most likely needs to be turned on along with the DVR and TV and that that should be included in the all ON and OFF buttons. Just a note, I set the Remote to RF in the bedroom (IR was the default) and the response seems to be better. I do not think I will be able to use RF in the living room due to the use of IR remotes.
Receiver Extras:
So far the Apps and Direct Access seems as useful as Dishes. In other words basically useless. The apps might be something that could work out in the future. I did not activate the community features such as Direct TV community, Facebook or Twitter yet. Having to register with a third party stopped me for now.
I hope this will be a help for anyone considering the move from Dish to Direct. Since I have only been on the Direct for 3 days I am probably missing a bit, If you know of some features that I was complaining about, miss represented or have not included please post so we can all be informed.
12 Replies
·
3237 views
I made the same switch just about a month ago. My son wanted the NFL ST and I wasn't all hung up about one service or the other. Except that if the HR24 hadn't come out, I wouldn't have made the switch at all. I dropped Direct 2 years ago because of the dog=slow HRs. I'm satisfied with the switch and have found that both D* and E* have good HDDVRs now, but that each have certain things that are better than the other one and the approach to things is different.
First thing I had to do was get a 3rd HR so I could have 4 tuners all for my use. No big deal, but it made the savings a bit less because of it. Love the MRV and with the Premier package I'm finding more boxing than I ever knew was out there. Lots of classic fights and some amateurs too. My son is tickled with his NFL ST and he hasn't complained about any channels missing in HD except Headline News. Seems like an odd one to even notice it on...
I'm missing BBCA in HD, but AMC is now in HD so that is something. Other than that, I'm not at all unhappy about the switch. But then, I would have been happy to just stay with Dish too!
First thing I had to do was get a 3rd HR so I could have 4 tuners all for my use. No big deal, but it made the savings a bit less because of it. Love the MRV and with the Premier package I'm finding more boxing than I ever knew was out there. Lots of classic fights and some amateurs too. My son is tickled with his NFL ST and he hasn't complained about any channels missing in HD except Headline News. Seems like an odd one to even notice it on...
I'm missing BBCA in HD, but AMC is now in HD so that is something. Other than that, I'm not at all unhappy about the switch. But then, I would have been happy to just stay with Dish too!
Howdy folks long time no write.
Issue(s): Horizontal transponders (esp. Weigel mux) breakup/mosaic/sputtering audio, JTV less so (but received perfectly up until a month or so ago.
Vertical is fine (Daystar). Up until recently couldn't even get any signal on Weigel Mux but JTV was perfect.
What I did to improve things: A slight westward move improved reception but only slightly (approx 72 on the micro HD, sorry no dB to post). I removed the 3-way C-Band splitter and used a 2-way to get a 1-2 db signal gain ( the power port goes to the Startrak - the micro HD doesn't have enough juice ! (1st clue) even after swapping the switching power supply it came with with a heftier linear 12 V supply (less RFI too !).
I have had issues with the uHD before signal breaking up that a reboot would clear up (clue #2 = dying tuner?) - FYI, I reinforced the IF input and removed all flux from the pcb completely with a Flux Removal Pen (MG Chemicals Cat No. 4140-P) which definitely makes a huge difference.
I went outside and pushed and pulled reflector slightly and no improvement. Pole (actually tower in yard - the neighbours love me..NOT) is plumb, checked with carpenters level. Dish was last peaked in 2017 or so, after overhauling 24" Von Weise, new Acme, fresh grease, etc. Focal length, f/d ratio etc meticulously adjusted. One panel has a tear so planning to repair that this weekend when my cousin comes over ( to help me out (old guy here) forecast calls for sunshine.
What has changed: My utility company has installed new high tension line poles (one smack dab in the middle of 101°W target! But they put it in last year and reception (of JTV (HOR) at least) was fine, BUT when they came out to transfer the wires over this year from the old (sawed in half) pole that's about when the troubles started (coincidence?), but again Daystar (VER) was fine. I always had this pole in the light of sight of 101° before with no issues. (fyi my zenith sat 74° is unobstucted, but can't test)
In the meantime Weigel mux is trying to break in MOSTLY in LATE at night (less cell usage?) (audio not video except for a frame here or there) so don't know what has changed with this mux which suddenly "woke up". I have never had to fuss with dish moves on this satellite ( the slightest move +/- motor clicks loses lock, wheres normally on C-band I can go significantly wider east or west and still have a strong signal ( have these gone "spot beam" or narrower somehow and what is the slight difference in Az listed on Lyngsat to 100.9° affect things ( isn't that the declination i.e. requiring a tweak of declination?).
Long story short (too late, ha), if I had another DVB-S2 box to try and / or a newer more stable PLL lnb ( I have been meaning to upgrade many a time but never got arround to it) I could determine if it's my antiquated receiving equipment, or my dish/feed alignment ( doubtful as it tracks everything from 55 °W to 133 ° W nicely.) or the dreaded 5G! (BUT only on HOR and not VER?).
I read another post where the OP (with his smaller 7.5 footer) played around with the illumination to peak desired transponder and reduce qrm on interfering/ stronger xpndrs (even on 103° W). So will play with that too - and cut away the RG-6 a and pull up a fresh section with new PPC and coax Seal. Open the throat cap see if any cobwebs are there and check servo operation (also changed in last maintence 10 years ago).
Finally, this will probably be the last chance I get to play with the BUD from the looks of it (providers leaving, auctioning off rest of spectrum imminent above 4.0 Ghz, and to keep the peace with neighbours so it would be nice to have that mux back for the long, cold and dark winters to comfort this old man before I call it quits and buy a VHF/UHF/FM Yagi and get MeTV, H&I from my Vermont local stations (checked at a friends today and they come in nicely - except ABC) .
Only one guy in town (Montreal) I may be able to get a receiver or PLL lnb from to try (RPS Sat) so hopefully with elimnate that as a possible culprit. Be nice to pick up a cheap or used PLL lnb to try w/o 5G BPF (money is tight )
Like others I couldn't care less about "tv" (well maybe just a liitle or a lot) it's the challenge that excites me , I can get MeTV other ways OTA (no pirate crap).
So what do you guys (and gals) think ?. p.s. I don't have a spectrum analyzer and there are def/ cell towers nearby (half a Km or so away).
Oh and time permitting will hammer out dings too and wire damaged mesh on one section for an extra dB or two. Hesitate to touch Declination, Elevation and pole mount but will play around with those a little too... Why is this mux for finicky suddenly ?(8psk, 5/6 fec, beamwidthetc.. man wish they went back to VER I think everthing would be fine! For the engineers out here does 5G QRM affect one poliarization (HOR) more than another (VER)? I understand the strong interference swamps out the input mixer/local oscilator in the hapless old C-band lnb (I think it at time affect KU too esp. LPB on 101°W KU - incidentally thos were weak or "gone' but are back almost at the time MeTV improved..hmm Terrestrial interference?
Any thoughts or suggestions ( cheap or free solutions please) greatly appreciated. Cheers.
p.p.s. Micro HD can't display Decades and Toons but records them fine so I can watch on another box/media player (Ali chip set issue). Another reason to upgrade.
Anybody interested in a nice C/KU system free ? (for next Spring/Summer 2027)
[Sami 10' mesh, Corotor II+, Eagle Aspen (very old) C-band lnb, Norsat Ku lnb, Channel Master C/Ku (H/V) switch, Startrak 400 Analog receiver w/ motor control, Geosat uHD DVD-S2, CW600S for Mpeg-2]
Issue(s): Horizontal transponders (esp. Weigel mux) breakup/mosaic/sputtering audio, JTV less so (but received perfectly up until a month or so ago.
Vertical is fine (Daystar). Up until recently couldn't even get any signal on Weigel Mux but JTV was perfect.
What I did to improve things: A slight westward move improved reception but only slightly (approx 72 on the micro HD, sorry no dB to post). I removed the 3-way C-Band splitter and used a 2-way to get a 1-2 db signal gain ( the power port goes to the Startrak - the micro HD doesn't have enough juice ! (1st clue) even after swapping the switching power supply it came with with a heftier linear 12 V supply (less RFI too !).
I have had issues with the uHD before signal breaking up that a reboot would clear up (clue #2 = dying tuner?) - FYI, I reinforced the IF input and removed all flux from the pcb completely with a Flux Removal Pen (MG Chemicals Cat No. 4140-P) which definitely makes a huge difference.
I went outside and pushed and pulled reflector slightly and no improvement. Pole (actually tower in yard - the neighbours love me..NOT) is plumb, checked with carpenters level. Dish was last peaked in 2017 or so, after overhauling 24" Von Weise, new Acme, fresh grease, etc. Focal length, f/d ratio etc meticulously adjusted. One panel has a tear so planning to repair that this weekend when my cousin comes over ( to help me out (old guy here) forecast calls for sunshine.
What has changed: My utility company has installed new high tension line poles (one smack dab in the middle of 101°W target! But they put it in last year and reception (of JTV (HOR) at least) was fine, BUT when they came out to transfer the wires over this year from the old (sawed in half) pole that's about when the troubles started (coincidence?), but again Daystar (VER) was fine. I always had this pole in the light of sight of 101° before with no issues. (fyi my zenith sat 74° is unobstucted, but can't test)
In the meantime Weigel mux is trying to break in MOSTLY in LATE at night (less cell usage?) (audio not video except for a frame here or there) so don't know what has changed with this mux which suddenly "woke up". I have never had to fuss with dish moves on this satellite ( the slightest move +/- motor clicks loses lock, wheres normally on C-band I can go significantly wider east or west and still have a strong signal ( have these gone "spot beam" or narrower somehow and what is the slight difference in Az listed on Lyngsat to 100.9° affect things ( isn't that the declination i.e. requiring a tweak of declination?).
Long story short (too late, ha), if I had another DVB-S2 box to try and / or a newer more stable PLL lnb ( I have been meaning to upgrade many a time but never got arround to it) I could determine if it's my antiquated receiving equipment, or my dish/feed alignment ( doubtful as it tracks everything from 55 °W to 133 ° W nicely.) or the dreaded 5G! (BUT only on HOR and not VER?).
I read another post where the OP (with his smaller 7.5 footer) played around with the illumination to peak desired transponder and reduce qrm on interfering/ stronger xpndrs (even on 103° W). So will play with that too - and cut away the RG-6 a and pull up a fresh section with new PPC and coax Seal. Open the throat cap see if any cobwebs are there and check servo operation (also changed in last maintence 10 years ago).
Finally, this will probably be the last chance I get to play with the BUD from the looks of it (providers leaving, auctioning off rest of spectrum imminent above 4.0 Ghz, and to keep the peace with neighbours so it would be nice to have that mux back for the long, cold and dark winters to comfort this old man before I call it quits and buy a VHF/UHF/FM Yagi and get MeTV, H&I from my Vermont local stations (checked at a friends today and they come in nicely - except ABC) .
Only one guy in town (Montreal) I may be able to get a receiver or PLL lnb from to try (RPS Sat) so hopefully with elimnate that as a possible culprit. Be nice to pick up a cheap or used PLL lnb to try w/o 5G BPF (money is tight )
Like others I couldn't care less about "tv" (well maybe just a liitle or a lot) it's the challenge that excites me , I can get MeTV other ways OTA (no pirate crap).
So what do you guys (and gals) think ?. p.s. I don't have a spectrum analyzer and there are def/ cell towers nearby (half a Km or so away).
Oh and time permitting will hammer out dings too and wire damaged mesh on one section for an extra dB or two. Hesitate to touch Declination, Elevation and pole mount but will play around with those a little too... Why is this mux for finicky suddenly ?(8psk, 5/6 fec, beamwidthetc.. man wish they went back to VER I think everthing would be fine! For the engineers out here does 5G QRM affect one poliarization (HOR) more than another (VER)? I understand the strong interference swamps out the input mixer/local oscilator in the hapless old C-band lnb (I think it at time affect KU too esp. LPB on 101°W KU - incidentally thos were weak or "gone' but are back almost at the time MeTV improved..hmm Terrestrial interference?
Any thoughts or suggestions ( cheap or free solutions please) greatly appreciated. Cheers.
p.p.s. Micro HD can't display Decades and Toons but records them fine so I can watch on another box/media player (Ali chip set issue). Another reason to upgrade.
Anybody interested in a nice C/KU system free ? (for next Spring/Summer 2027)
[Sami 10' mesh, Corotor II+, Eagle Aspen (very old) C-band lnb, Norsat Ku lnb, Channel Master C/Ku (H/V) switch, Startrak 400 Analog receiver w/ motor control, Geosat uHD DVD-S2, CW600S for Mpeg-2]
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369 views
With the microHD connected this afternoon and tuned to the Weigel mux, I can receive the mux well.
My conclusion is that the sensitivity of the receivers in descending order of sensitivity is as follows:
My conclusion is that the sensitivity of the receivers in descending order of sensitivity is as follows:
- V9 Prime (best)
- microHD
- Edision osmio4k+
Staff member
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Cutting Edge
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....
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....
68541 Replies
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2673848 views
Booredatwork.com
Time for another AWESOME video from BoredAtWork!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxeUBPus6bc
Direct YouTube Link - Alexa Tablet 12 Pro Review: This Isn't A Fire Tablet!
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxeUBPus6bc
Direct YouTube Link - Alexa Tablet 12 Pro Review: This Isn't A Fire Tablet!
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook
0 Replies
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3 views
Lifetime Supporter
Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
117 Replies
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1868 views
I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:
www.colts.com
Colts relieve general manager Chris Ballard of his duties
Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon released a statement Monday announcing the news.
www.colts.com
Be nice to see a Cowboy headline like that.I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:
Colts relieve general manager Chris Ballard of his duties
Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon released a statement Monday announcing the news.
M
Can we expect to see a new coach if we say "pretty please?"
I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:
Colts relieve general manager Chris Ballard of his duties
Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon released a statement Monday announcing the news.
Can we expect to see a new coach if we say "pretty please?"
I thought I would come here and find lots of complaints about the update to the dish anywhere mobile app, but am not seeing any. It used to look just like the desktop webpage. Now you can no longer filter by sports channels or movie channels. Plus that they made it look like a big button telephone and you see fewer channels in the screen which requires more scrolling. Yes I realize you can look at sports then select which sport you want to look at, I just liked being able to see all sporting events in the guide with all other channels being filtered out. Am I alone in the wilderness on this?
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283 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Stargate SG-1 cancelled, Atlantis renewed
Monday - August 21, 2006 | by Darren Sumner
The future of Stargate is in question today, as SCI FI Channel has cancelled the long-running Stargate SG-1, Multichannel News reported today and a GateWorld source has confirmed. The news regrettably follows the airing of the show's milestone two-hundredth episode on Friday.
Stargate Atlantis, meanwhile, has been renewed for a fourth season, with the network hoping to see that the spin-off series can stand alone, according to a source.
Source Gateworld
Monday - August 21, 2006 | by Darren Sumner
The future of Stargate is in question today, as SCI FI Channel has cancelled the long-running Stargate SG-1, Multichannel News reported today and a GateWorld source has confirmed. The news regrettably follows the airing of the show's milestone two-hundredth episode on Friday.
Stargate Atlantis, meanwhile, has been renewed for a fourth season, with the network hoping to see that the spin-off series can stand alone, according to a source.
Source Gateworld
2034 Replies
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184184 views
Watch Stargate SG-1 for Free Online | Pluto TV
Stargate SG-1 picks up where the blockbuster film left off as the SG-1 team sets out to explore the mysteries of the Stargate and the worlds beyond it in the pulse-pounding series which became a worldwide phenomenon and a science fiction classic. Stream Stargate SG-1 for free on Pluto TV.
pluto.tv
TFLEV
Time for another AWESOME video from TFL Electric Vehicles!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ca9w7HnuXg
Direct YouTube Link - 2027 BMW iX5 Walkaround & Review // They Have To Get This One Right!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ca9w7HnuXg
Direct YouTube Link - 2027 BMW iX5 Walkaround & Review // They Have To Get This One Right!
0 Replies
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12 views
Picked up a sweet directv dish, mount, twin lnbs and a short cable.
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...
6 Replies
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298 views
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
www.amazon.com/Universal-Single-Bracket-Holder-FTA-US/dp/B074L85WK2
To add: 101W Ku seems to be (one of if not the) strongest for me, and if I only had Ku I definitely want 101W for the music mux, it's robust FEC and strong signal help a lot. I've thought about using a used Dish/DirectTV dish at my Dads to supplement his OTA (mainly for my benefit when I visit )
)
Supporting Founder
Lifetime Supporter
No idea what improvements might be involved.
24 Replies
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1126 views
iJustine
Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P4_TzYKwcNY
Direct YouTube Link - This is iPhone Duo!
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P4_TzYKwcNY
Direct YouTube Link - This is iPhone Duo!
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
0 Replies
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29 views