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Cutting Edge
Hi folks, for the next few days I will be posting here to this thread in a diary like fashion on my move to DirecTV.
This thread will be closed so only I can post to it, however I will open another thread where you can discuss my diary issues. This way folks can read my enteries in the order they happened instead of searching through pages of comments and questions from everyone to find my next entry.
(No I am not leaving Dish Network, I am adding DirecTV to my setup so I can talk about DirecTV in our DirecTV areas and actually know what I am talking about)
I am going to give DirecTV and honest shot and plan on compairing it with Dish Network. I want to give you an honest view of what is going on between companies.
I am installing all my own equipment from scratch. I will be installing a total of 3 receivers as well as the new DirecTV Slimline HU9 Dish. For receivers I will be installing a DirecTV R15 DVR, a DirecTV H20 MPEG4 HD Receiver and to finish it off, the top of the line DirecTV HR-20 MPEG4 HD DVR.
For installation I will be using all my own tools and wire, I have two spools of RG6 cable, one a single RG6 cable, and the other a dual RG6 cable. I also have a pro cable stripper and also a pro compression crimper which crimp on DirecTV approved Compression fittings on the ends.
For a meter I will be using a LACUNA MARK 3 SAT IDENTIFICATION METER which I got from SatelliteAV.COM. While I got this meter a few months ago, this will be my first time using it. This morning I updated the firmware to the latest version and I also updated the satellite maps with the latest satellite information. This looks like it will be a cool meter. (And its also designed to work with the DirecTV AT9 and AU9 Dishes)
I went to my local DirecTV retailer tonight and picked up all my equipment except for the HR-20, it was supposed to be here today but for some reason it did not come with their shipment. They are working on finding me one, but worse case I will have to wait until Tuesday to activate everything.
My main goal tommorow is to install the Slimline Dish and run all the cables for the 3 receivers. The H20 receiver will be going in my living room and will be hooked to my 60 Inch Sony SXRD TV. The R 15 will be getting installed in my 4 year old sons room where he can DVR his favorite Toon Disney Shows, and the HR 20 will be going into my bedroom (which looks more like a NASA Control room then a bedroom, with 3 TV's a computer with 2 LCD Monitors, 3 laptops, 6 Satellite Receivers, 3 Slingbox Units and two sets of Senheiser Wireless Headphones.
First thing I did when I got home tonight was opened up the Slimline Dish box. The first thing I took out was the LNB assembly, which I thought was odd looking, as it only has 3 LNB Eyes on it and they are all on one side of the bracket. If you look at it from the front it looks like there are a lot of LNB's going across the entire bracket. I guess they made it that long so that the front of the Dish looked nicer instead of like a G.
I dug out the installation manual and took it in the house with me.
I then went up to my bedroom and opened up the H20 MPEG4 HD Receiver and hooked it up to my TV.
As I unpacked it I found the way everything was packed and laid out and the quality of what was included to be much better then any Dish Network equipment I have ever opened. When you open the box, it is so well packed you immediately think that you got something that is quality. The fact that the DirecTV receiver came with all the cables you could need including a HDMI cable.
The manual was well done and nicely thought out, the smart card was packed it its own sealed package, and by you opening the package you agreed to the terms and conditions of DirecTV.
I turned on the receiver and got a welcome to DirecTV message and a few seconds later I got to the guided setup of my system. This to was much friendlier then installing a new Dish Network receiver.
I then got to the screen where I entered my Zip Code so I could get the Azimuth, Elevation and Tilt for my dish. I wrote all of these numbers in the Slimline Dish installation manual in the spaces provided.
After I did that I turned the H20 off.
Tommorow I plan to get up take the wife and kids out for breakfast and then come home and jump into the install at full force.
I have all my equipment lined up and ready and all thing that require charing such as my cordless drill and Satelilte Meter are plugged in getting ready for tommorow.
Stay tuned as tommorow I will update my DirecTV diary with how it all goes.
So far I got to admit, I am impressed.
This thread will be closed so only I can post to it, however I will open another thread where you can discuss my diary issues. This way folks can read my enteries in the order they happened instead of searching through pages of comments and questions from everyone to find my next entry.
(No I am not leaving Dish Network, I am adding DirecTV to my setup so I can talk about DirecTV in our DirecTV areas and actually know what I am talking about)
I am going to give DirecTV and honest shot and plan on compairing it with Dish Network. I want to give you an honest view of what is going on between companies.
I am installing all my own equipment from scratch. I will be installing a total of 3 receivers as well as the new DirecTV Slimline HU9 Dish. For receivers I will be installing a DirecTV R15 DVR, a DirecTV H20 MPEG4 HD Receiver and to finish it off, the top of the line DirecTV HR-20 MPEG4 HD DVR.
For installation I will be using all my own tools and wire, I have two spools of RG6 cable, one a single RG6 cable, and the other a dual RG6 cable. I also have a pro cable stripper and also a pro compression crimper which crimp on DirecTV approved Compression fittings on the ends.
For a meter I will be using a LACUNA MARK 3 SAT IDENTIFICATION METER which I got from SatelliteAV.COM. While I got this meter a few months ago, this will be my first time using it. This morning I updated the firmware to the latest version and I also updated the satellite maps with the latest satellite information. This looks like it will be a cool meter. (And its also designed to work with the DirecTV AT9 and AU9 Dishes)
I went to my local DirecTV retailer tonight and picked up all my equipment except for the HR-20, it was supposed to be here today but for some reason it did not come with their shipment. They are working on finding me one, but worse case I will have to wait until Tuesday to activate everything.
My main goal tommorow is to install the Slimline Dish and run all the cables for the 3 receivers. The H20 receiver will be going in my living room and will be hooked to my 60 Inch Sony SXRD TV. The R 15 will be getting installed in my 4 year old sons room where he can DVR his favorite Toon Disney Shows, and the HR 20 will be going into my bedroom (which looks more like a NASA Control room then a bedroom, with 3 TV's a computer with 2 LCD Monitors, 3 laptops, 6 Satellite Receivers, 3 Slingbox Units and two sets of Senheiser Wireless Headphones.
First thing I did when I got home tonight was opened up the Slimline Dish box. The first thing I took out was the LNB assembly, which I thought was odd looking, as it only has 3 LNB Eyes on it and they are all on one side of the bracket. If you look at it from the front it looks like there are a lot of LNB's going across the entire bracket. I guess they made it that long so that the front of the Dish looked nicer instead of like a G.
I dug out the installation manual and took it in the house with me.
I then went up to my bedroom and opened up the H20 MPEG4 HD Receiver and hooked it up to my TV.
As I unpacked it I found the way everything was packed and laid out and the quality of what was included to be much better then any Dish Network equipment I have ever opened. When you open the box, it is so well packed you immediately think that you got something that is quality. The fact that the DirecTV receiver came with all the cables you could need including a HDMI cable.
The manual was well done and nicely thought out, the smart card was packed it its own sealed package, and by you opening the package you agreed to the terms and conditions of DirecTV.
I turned on the receiver and got a welcome to DirecTV message and a few seconds later I got to the guided setup of my system. This to was much friendlier then installing a new Dish Network receiver.
I then got to the screen where I entered my Zip Code so I could get the Azimuth, Elevation and Tilt for my dish. I wrote all of these numbers in the Slimline Dish installation manual in the spaces provided.
After I did that I turned the H20 off.
Tommorow I plan to get up take the wife and kids out for breakfast and then come home and jump into the install at full force.
I have all my equipment lined up and ready and all thing that require charing such as my cordless drill and Satelilte Meter are plugged in getting ready for tommorow.
Stay tuned as tommorow I will update my DirecTV diary with how it all goes.
So far I got to admit, I am impressed.
13 Replies
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10021 views
Ok I am not having much luck. 
I spent over45 min on hold with DirecTV support, only to find out that while I have the Plus HD DVR package, the HD Authorization was never added to my account.
After they did that my HD locals popped in. (Yeah!)
After I hung up I found many of my other channels were MISSING from the guide (no Channel 101, 102 etc...)
I did a reset of the box (Via the menu, not by the reset button)
After resetting the box my channels came back.
I still dont have the HD versions of HBO or Showtime. (Service Not Purchased (721))
I am not sure if I should be getting the NBC HD feeds as I live in a O&O area. I would like them if I should be getting them.
However channels like The Mix Channels, the Active Button are working. Some channels like the Mix Information Channel give me a 721 error. Even a channel about DirecTV Access Magazine give me a not authorized message.
I was able to get into the Game Mix channel by going into the Interactive Weather Application and by setting all 5 cities to Dean, Alaska. I hope they work on the speed of these applications and games, as they are PAINFULLY slow. I was playing UNO and quit because it took forever everytime someone got a draw 4 card.
It is going to take some getting use to, the speed of everything is slower then my Dish 622. And speaking of HD, I am disapointed that I don't get NESN HD. I do get YES HD and The Mets in HD (although tonights game is in SD). I know a lot of you are waiting for me to report on the HD quality. And I will says that at first glance the picture is worse then Dish Network, however its not as bad as AT&T UVERSE. I do hope the future offers us better quality. I do hope to do a compare of the PQ between Dish and DirecTV in the future, this should not be hard to do since I can DVR the same shows from both Dish and DirecTV.
At the moment I must says that I am not impressed with DirecTV, however in saying this, I am new to DirecTV, I dont know how to do things yet and dont know where to easily find my favorite channels.
I do like having XM, I could possibly cancel one of my XM Subscriptions since everything I listen to on XM is on DirecTV (plus goodies not on XM such as my old time favorite, SPECIAL X!) I also like the 101 Channel which is like a music Jukebox. So far a cool selection of music.
If I dont have HBO and Showtime in HD tommorow I will call DirecTV, although it is my birthday tommorow, so who knows if I will even play with it, if I am lucky my wife will take me to Chuck E Cheese. (I actually like taking the kids there)
One more thing I am disapointed in is that the Kids Mix Channel is no longer available. I think my kids would have really used that channel a lot. I do hope they bring it back in the future, especially since its listed in the Channel Guide and is still listed as a channel on DirecTV.COM.
I have not hooked the HR20 up to my network yet, but I do plan to.
I spent over45 min on hold with DirecTV support, only to find out that while I have the Plus HD DVR package, the HD Authorization was never added to my account.
After they did that my HD locals popped in. (Yeah!)
After I hung up I found many of my other channels were MISSING from the guide (no Channel 101, 102 etc...)
I did a reset of the box (Via the menu, not by the reset button)
After resetting the box my channels came back.
I still dont have the HD versions of HBO or Showtime. (Service Not Purchased (721))
I am not sure if I should be getting the NBC HD feeds as I live in a O&O area. I would like them if I should be getting them.
However channels like The Mix Channels, the Active Button are working. Some channels like the Mix Information Channel give me a 721 error. Even a channel about DirecTV Access Magazine give me a not authorized message.
I was able to get into the Game Mix channel by going into the Interactive Weather Application and by setting all 5 cities to Dean, Alaska. I hope they work on the speed of these applications and games, as they are PAINFULLY slow. I was playing UNO and quit because it took forever everytime someone got a draw 4 card.
It is going to take some getting use to, the speed of everything is slower then my Dish 622. And speaking of HD, I am disapointed that I don't get NESN HD. I do get YES HD and The Mets in HD (although tonights game is in SD). I know a lot of you are waiting for me to report on the HD quality. And I will says that at first glance the picture is worse then Dish Network, however its not as bad as AT&T UVERSE. I do hope the future offers us better quality. I do hope to do a compare of the PQ between Dish and DirecTV in the future, this should not be hard to do since I can DVR the same shows from both Dish and DirecTV.
At the moment I must says that I am not impressed with DirecTV, however in saying this, I am new to DirecTV, I dont know how to do things yet and dont know where to easily find my favorite channels.
I do like having XM, I could possibly cancel one of my XM Subscriptions since everything I listen to on XM is on DirecTV (plus goodies not on XM such as my old time favorite, SPECIAL X!) I also like the 101 Channel which is like a music Jukebox. So far a cool selection of music.
If I dont have HBO and Showtime in HD tommorow I will call DirecTV, although it is my birthday tommorow, so who knows if I will even play with it, if I am lucky my wife will take me to Chuck E Cheese.
(I actually like taking the kids there) One more thing I am disapointed in is that the Kids Mix Channel is no longer available. I think my kids would have really used that channel a lot. I do hope they bring it back in the future, especially since its listed in the Channel Guide and is still listed as a channel on DirecTV.COM.
I have not hooked the HR20 up to my network yet, but I do plan to.
I fell asleep last night with the wacky music of XM's Special X in my ears. (I was wearing my wireless headphones) its not the same Special X as it was when it actually aired on the XM Satellite Radio Service. I miss the old Special X, but this will do.
Enough of that.
Anyways my wife woke me up last night and had me shut the HR20 off as the Blue LED Lights on the HR 20 were lighting up our entire bedroom. I know you can dim and turn off the LED Light Ring, I will need to find out how to do that and make the change. I was actually surprised how much it lit up the room.
There is some stuff I still need to do, like hook up the HR20 to my network and also to my Slingbox so I can watch it and control it from work.
A few folks have PMed me about my comments about my first thought on DirecTV's HD picture quality. One even said that I was such a Dish fanboy that of course I would say that Dish Networks is better. Folks that could be nothing further then the truth. I am here to give DirecTV and honest and fair shot, after all I am locked in to a two year commitment with them. (ala I am putting my money where my mouth is) My opinions I give you are just that my opinion.
I am not out to impress anyone with my opinions, just trying to give our members my honest views. I have nothing to gain by being a fan boy to eaither company. Both companies (and CEO at the companies) know who I am and what I do and they accept it for what its worth.
I should point out that after I posted my last post last night, I did watch David Letterman in HD via DirecTV, and the PQ was VERY GOOD (almost close to OTA good!) as I had the OTA feed on one HDTV in my room, and the DirecTV feed on the other HDTV in my room. I think that if the NATIONAL HD channels looked as nice as the MPEG4 LIL's there would be a lot less complaints.
Don't know how much I am going to get to play tonight, my wife has plans for my birthday dinner, and it's not Chuck E Cheese.
Enough of that.
Anyways my wife woke me up last night and had me shut the HR20 off as the Blue LED Lights on the HR 20 were lighting up our entire bedroom. I know you can dim and turn off the LED Light Ring, I will need to find out how to do that and make the change. I was actually surprised how much it lit up the room.
There is some stuff I still need to do, like hook up the HR20 to my network and also to my Slingbox so I can watch it and control it from work.
A few folks have PMed me about my comments about my first thought on DirecTV's HD picture quality. One even said that I was such a Dish fanboy that of course I would say that Dish Networks is better. Folks that could be nothing further then the truth. I am here to give DirecTV and honest and fair shot, after all I am locked in to a two year commitment with them. (ala I am putting my money where my mouth is) My opinions I give you are just that my opinion.
I am not out to impress anyone with my opinions, just trying to give our members my honest views. I have nothing to gain by being a fan boy to eaither company. Both companies (and CEO at the companies) know who I am and what I do and they accept it for what its worth.
I should point out that after I posted my last post last night, I did watch David Letterman in HD via DirecTV, and the PQ was VERY GOOD (almost close to OTA good!) as I had the OTA feed on one HDTV in my room, and the DirecTV feed on the other HDTV in my room. I think that if the NATIONAL HD channels looked as nice as the MPEG4 LIL's there would be a lot less complaints.
Don't know how much I am going to get to play tonight, my wife has plans for my birthday dinner, and it's not Chuck E Cheese.
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
I'm surprised Walmart hasn't banned this guy from all of their stores. He has been on their CASE the past few months.
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f3zr37ekgKM?feature=share
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f3zr37ekgKM?feature=share
8 Replies
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61 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDlKhq4TMbc
Direct YouTube Link - Windows Weekly 1006
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDlKhq4TMbc
Direct YouTube Link - Windows Weekly 1006
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
0 Replies
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1 views
For some reason, the satelliteguys.us site is loading a lot slower than usual on both Chrome on my Asus laptop and Safari on my iPhone.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
544 Replies
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18830 views
I saw that, wasn't sure if PHP was employed by XenForo or not.
arstechnica.com
PHP warns it plans to release 2 emergency patches imminently
Unconfirmed report claims PHP2Shell exploit remotely executes code on PHP sites.
arstechnica.com
Yup thats what xenforo is written in, php.
But all patched now.
But all patched now.
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
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....
68562 Replies
·
2675175 views
Every time my Dish contract comes up I weigh the options of keeping Dish or switch to streaming. Right now I can watch/record the OTA channels vis my HDHomerun. I also can stream CBS and NBC via the Paramount+ and Peacock apps. What I would need to find is how to watch the Food Network, HGTV, Syfy, USA, Hallmark channels, Great American Family, Lifetime channels plus a few more with an app or two. My current Dish bill is $118, so I should be able to get a few apps for a lot less.
Any suggestions? I would want the best picture quality and audio quality I could get.
Any suggestions? I would want the best picture quality and audio quality I could get.
1 Replies
·
47 views
USA and SyFy content is on Peacock, you can the rest of those channels via Philo, only $25 a month.
Philo - Stream Live and On-Demand TV
Why pay more for TV? Start your Philo free trial and enjoy live TV plus on-demand content starting at just $25/month. Stream hit shows, movies, and more.
www.philo.com
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Stumbled across this ... http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearch.asp
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy
Ethanol Free Stations
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy
Ethanol Free Stations
5561 Replies
·
461018 views
Booredatwork.com
Time for another AWESOME video from BoredAtWork!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RTpsyCQSAgA
Direct YouTube Link - iPhone Duo Folio Kickstand Case!
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RTpsyCQSAgA
Direct YouTube Link - iPhone Duo Folio Kickstand Case!
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook
0 Replies
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9 views
Staff member
Pub Member / Supporter
Cutting Edge
The TPN Map Excel Presents all DIRECTV Channels:
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
National (50-States or wide/NAT+PR beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Additional tabs provide:
OTA the (Over-The-Air) Database
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
Domestic Satellites
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
2147 Replies
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934873 views
Marques Brownlee
Time for another AWESOME video from Marques Brownlee!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_4ELeWAgMwo
Direct YouTube Link - ASMR iPhone Duo Unboxing
The official MKBHD Website!
The MKBHD Store
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_4ELeWAgMwo
Direct YouTube Link - ASMR iPhone Duo Unboxing
The official MKBHD Website!
The MKBHD Store
0 Replies
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14 views