Cable-versus Directv

[Mark0525]

Just wanted to get some of your thoughts on this question....I just switched about 3 weeks ago now and I love it but people are always asking me why did I switch. I'm not really sure why I did other than I was pissed at my cable company. It's definitely costing me more than cable because I have 8 receivers. I do have more channels and HD channels. It's not as flexible as cable because I can see me needing 2 more receivers real soon. I'm not that technical like most of you guys but I do try to get the most out of my system. I've really enjoyed coming on here everyday and learning more about all this.

So maybe I already answered my question but I was wondering if there was more reasons I should tell people because when I say well it's costing me more but I'm getting more out of it they say "like what" Just curious. Thanks for any comments you have.

 

[charper1]

I would love to know the need for 8 - 10 receivers.

 

[Mark0525]

I would love to know the need for 8 - 10 receivers.

5 bedrooms
1 basement
1 kitchen
1 family room
1 pool house (only need for 4 months)
1 exercise room (adding on soon)

Total possible 10 receivers

 

[jdspencer]

I would think about sharing a few receivers with other rooms. Pick a couple of rooms that won't need simultaneous operation and share a receiver. For those 4 months you need one in the pool room, move a unused receiver there. With a little bit of imagination you could cut the number to about 5.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

What is your set up system,do you have SWiM & HD? Why can't you just use a slingbox & a slingcatcher for the extra rooms? It would be a waste to have receivers in rooms that you won't always be in. Also isn't there an issue about how many receivers you can hook up to D*? I mean,I can hook up a maximum of 8 tuners to my system(I have SWM3 LNB),dvrs count for 2 tuners. I have 2 HD DVRs so that's 4 tuners. If I add 2 more dvrs,then I'm maxed out. Of course I'm sure there are creative ways to increase many more receivers beyond the 8 tuner limit,but I'm happy with what i got now. What kind of receivers do you have & do you have any dvrs?

 

[Jimbo]

5 bedrooms
1 basement
1 kitchen
1 family room
1 pool house (only need for 4 months)
1 exercise room (adding on soon)

Total possible 10 receivers

I would think about sharing a few receivers with other rooms. Pick a couple of rooms that won't need simultaneous operation and share a receiver. For those 4 months you need one in the pool room, move a unused receiver there. With a little bit of imagination you could cut the number to about 5.

And that would save you 5 recvrs x $ 5 p/m .... = $ 25 p/m.
Is it still more than cable ?

 

[charper1]

I would think about sharing a few receivers with other rooms. Pick a couple of rooms that won't need simultaneous operation and share a receiver. For those 4 months you need one in the pool room, move a unused receiver there. With a little bit of imagination you could cut the number to about 5.

Exactly what I was thinking

 

[Mark0525]

It makes more sense now. I wish I would of thought of doing that before. I do have a couple rooms that wont be on very much. In fact one bedroom just became empty. Will Direct allow me to cancel or suspend one receiver for now? I've only been with them less than 1 month.

Why wouldn't they have asked me about sharing receivers? I know it's a money thing but it would of been helpful and made a customer happy.

I don't know too much about what equipment I have, but I know it's SWIM and they made it so it could handle up to 16. Not sure what that really means and I don't know what sling is or anything like that...sorry I have all HD with 2 HD DVR's. I am learning a lot in a short time. Thanks a lot for all the help

 

[Jimbo]

You can turn off recvrs as you see fit and turn them back on when needed as long as you keep your sub with them.
When you get into trouble is when you decide you don't like the service and turn it ALL off, thats when the contract thing is a problem.

 

[Mark0525]

Thanks Jim, I will do that. How hard is it to put 2 tv's in the basement on 1 receiver. Anything I can do myself?

 

[ranmic]

Mark, I switched because my cable provider totally sucked. Customer service and reliability wise. I figured D* couldn't be any worse. So far I love it.

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks Jim, I will do that. How hard is it to put 2 tv's in the basement on 1 receiver. Anything I can do myself?

It all depends on what type of connections you have available on the two TV's in question.
The newer D* recvrs don't have a coax out, but you can use Component or Composite.

 

[BlueEos]

Thanks Jim, I will do that. How hard is it to put 2 tv's in the basement on 1 receiver. Anything I can do myself?

I'll jump in here. A HD DVR has several outputs. HDMI, S-Video, component, and composite. All outputs are "hot". If one of the TV's can't use HDMI, you'll need a splitter for the audio signals. I have my 2 HD sets in the basement sharing one receiver. One TV is fed from an HDMI cable and the other one is fed from the component output.

If you need "long" cables, got to monoprice.com. I bought an 35'er for about $35 delivered. As stated above, both TV's get the same program.

 

[Mark0525]

The problem I would have is the 2 tv's would be 50 ft away from each other.

 

[Jimbo]

The problem I would have is the 2 tv's would be 50 ft away from each other.

As Blue said, run a cable.
You can possibly get them locally, it may cost more that way, but you'll get it thew same day.
Or try here:
HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!

 

[BlueEos]

The problem I would have is the 2 tv's would be 50 ft away from each other.

So, mine are 35 feet apart. You can buy cables up to 100' at monoprice.com. And if you want to be able to control the box from a distance, buy another remote on eBay. I paid around $10 for what appeared to be a brand new remote.

My cables cost $35. Then the IR extender that I bought from Radio Shack was another $40. So, my total was $85 with the remote. An HD box (non DVR) would have cost me $99 so right from the get-go I was ahead by $14 and every month afterwords means another $5 savings. My advise is to spend the money for the longer cables. However, IF you're talking about a standard box (non-HD), the story is a little different. Since the standard boxes are free, it would take 17 months to break even at $5 per month (assuming you spent $85 like I did.)

 

[Jimbo]

So, mine are 35 feet apart. You can buy cables up to 100' at monoprice.com. And if you want to be able to control the box from a distance, buy another remote on eBay. I paid around $10 for what appeared to be a brand new remote.

You can also get remotes (D*) at BB if you want one locally vs ebay.

 

[Mark0525]

Thanks for the replies. THe receiver I would be using to run off is a H23 not a DVR and I think there isn't coax out on it which means I would have to use another type. What type would be the least expensive to run 50ft? I have 1 HDMI cable going into the one tv already

 

[talos4]

I run two TV's off of my H23 in the Basement. One in the Rec room and one in my Workshop.

I made my own component cables from Coax. 45' feet in length. Running them across the basement was a little unwieldy but in the end well worth it.

I'm running the TV in the Rec room via HDMI and the workshop via Component.

I just went to the website and removed the STB that was listed as being in the Workshop and I was done.

No return of that box because if I remember right that box was at least 10 years old definitely owned and still worked just fine even after being covered in sawdust for the better part of 6-7 years.

 

[Mark0525]

I run two TV's off of my H23 in the Basement. One in the Rec room and one in my Workshop.

I made my own component cables from Coax. 45' feet in length. Running them across the basement was a little unwieldy but in the end well worth it.

I'm running the TV in the Rec room via HDMI and the workshop via Component.

I just went to the website and removed the STB that was listed as being in the Workshop and I was done.

No return of that box because if I remember right that box was at least 10 years old definitely owned and still worked just fine even after being covered in sawdust for the better part of 6-7 years.

Thanks, sorry if I seem stupid here but if I run the 50' coax what type of fitting to I attach to the end of the coax to runinto the receiver...if that makes sense.