Considering buying an HR54 to replace a dead HR34

[diitto]

Hi, Our HR34 Genie's hard drive had been trying to die for a long time and finally did 4 days ago. Our setup as installed by Directv when we moved to a different home in 2014, was the HR34 in one room, a C31 Genie Mini in a second room and an older HR22 (one of three HD-DVR's we brought with us from our old home) in a third room.


Near our network router in one room is a what I believe to be a DECA with Ethernet from our router as one input, a SAT cable that is connected to a DC to RF converter into a second input and then the output being a SAT cable that goes to one splitter connector (the "power pass" connector) of a 1 to 4 splitter. So that, I assume, puts power and internet into this 1 to 4 splitter. Right?? Then the three other outputs of that splitter go through the house and to the three DVR's, one straight into the now dead HR34, one straight in to the now disconnected Genie Mini (C31) and then the last one through a DECA (used in the other direction from the one above) to split out Internet onto an Ethernet cable and SAT onto a SAT cable, with the Internet cable and the SAT cable then connected to the HR22 DVR.


First, does that sound right???


Second, here are my few questions.


1. The HR34 must be capable of pulling Ethernet right off the SAT+Internet cable that is the only thing we plug into the HR34. In fact, there is an Ethernet connection on the back of the HR34 and it has a little cover over it. Does the HR54 do the same??? Or does it connect wirelessly?? But if I don't want wireless, can it pull Internet off the SAT+Internet cable just like the HR34 does???


2. Will my older C31 Genie Mini work with an HR54 or do I need to buy a newer version??? Solid Signal shows two Genie Mini's.

DIRECTV Genie Mini Client Receiver for Genie HD DVR (GENIEMINI) or,

DIRECTV 4K Genie Mini Client for All Genie DVRs and Receivers (C61K)


So C61K or a GENIEMINI, both $100??? Or will my existing C31 work with an HR54 if I don't care about 4k TV???


3. Am I correct to assume one must have an internet connection in order for the Whole Home capability to work??? Our two HR20's are not on the network as I would need two more DECA's to get them connected. As it stands today, Whole Home says "Authorized" but "No networked DVRs found". So I have to get whatever I have on the network, right???


4. Is the 44 the same as the 54??? I'd like the newer hardware but it will cost me $299 to buy one from Solid vs. $20 for S&H from Directv and I would get either a 44 or 54 from Directv. I'm still likely going to buy a 54 but I could be talked out of it.


Any help on the above questions would be much appreciated...


thanks

 

[Joe891]

Hi, Our HR34 Genie's hard drive had been trying to die for a long time and finally did 4 days ago. Our setup as installed by Directv when we moved to a different home in 2014, was the HR34 in one room, a C31 Genie Mini in a second room and an older HR22 (one of three HD-DVR's we brought with us from our old home) in a third room.


Near our network router in one room is a what I believe to be a DECA with Ethernet from our router as one input, a SAT cable that is connected to a DC to RF converter into a second input and then the output being a SAT cable that goes to one splitter connector (the "power pass" connector) of a 1 to 4 splitter. So that, I assume, puts power and internet into this 1 to 4 splitter. Right?? Then the three other outputs of that splitter go through the house and to the three DVR's, one straight into the now dead HR34, one straight in to the now disconnected Genie Mini (C31) and then the last one through a DECA (used in the other direction from the one above) to split out Internet onto an Ethernet cable and SAT onto a SAT cable, with the Internet cable and the SAT cable then connected to the HR22 DVR.


First, does that sound right???


Second, here are my few questions.


1. The HR34 must be capable of pulling Ethernet right off the SAT+Internet cable that is the only thing we plug into the HR34. In fact, there is an Ethernet connection on the back of the HR34 and it has a little cover over it. Does the HR54 do the same??? Or does it connect wirelessly?? But if I don't want wireless, can it pull Internet off the SAT+Internet cable just like the HR34 does???


2. Will my older C31 Genie Mini work with an HR54 or do I need to buy a newer version??? Solid Signal shows two Genie Mini's.

DIRECTV Genie Mini Client Receiver for Genie HD DVR (GENIEMINI) or,

DIRECTV 4K Genie Mini Client for All Genie DVRs and Receivers (C61K)


So C61K or a GENIEMINI, both $100??? Or will my existing C31 work with an HR54 if I don't care about 4k TV???


3. Am I correct to assume one must have an internet connection in order for the Whole Home capability to work??? Our two HR20's are not on the network as I would need two more DECA's to get them connected. As it stands today, Whole Home says "Authorized" but "No networked DVRs found". So I have to get whatever I have on the network, right???


4. Is the 44 the same as the 54??? I'd like the newer hardware but it will cost me $299 to buy one from Solid vs. $20 for S&H from Directv and I would get either a 44 or 54 from Directv. I'm still likely going to buy a 54 but I could be talked out of it.


Any help on the above questions would be much appreciated...


thanks

1. Yes you can still use a deca, the hr44 and 54 both can connect Ethernet WiFi or deca.
2. Yes your c31 will still work
3. No whole home just requires they be on the same home coax network known as a moca network.
4. The difference between the 44 and 54 is internal hardware so for speed purposes the 54 is going to be faster. Also if you decided to get 4K as the 44 will not support the 4K streams for the c61

 

[diitto]

1. Yes you can still use a deca, the hr44 and 54 both can connect Ethernet WiFi or deca.
2. Yes your c31 will still work
3. No whole home just requires they be on the same home coax network known as a moca network.
4. The difference between the 44 and 54 is internal hardware so for speed purposes the 54 is going to be faster. Also if you decided to get 4K as the 44 will not support the 4K streams for the c61

Hi Joe891, hmmm, one question. About #3. My former three boxes were the HR22, the HR34 and its C31 Mini (3 rooms, 3 TV's). Whole Home worked. Now I've removed the HR34 and the Mini and simply hooked precisely the same cables (same splitter, etc) into two older HR20's we had in storage?? But I see the message as I said above "No Networked DVR's Found" under the Whole Home setting??? Although it says "Authorized" as if the service is available if knew how to hook it up??? What am I missing on that one???

thanks

 

[Jackonearth]

Hi, Our HR34 Genie's hard drive had been trying to die for a long time and finally did 4 days ago. Our setup as installed by Directv when we moved to a different home in 2014, was the HR34 in one room, a C31 Genie Mini in a second room and an older HR22 (one of three HD-DVR's we brought with us from our old home) in a third room.


Near our network router in one room is a what I believe to be a DECA with Ethernet from our router as one input, a SAT cable that is connected to a DC to RF converter into a second input and then the output being a SAT cable that goes to one splitter connector (the "power pass" connector) of a 1 to 4 splitter. So that, I assume, puts power and internet into this 1 to 4 splitter. Right?? Then the three other outputs of that splitter go through the house and to the three DVR's, one straight into the now dead HR34, one straight in to the now disconnected Genie Mini (C31) and then the last one through a DECA (used in the other direction from the one above) to split out Internet onto an Ethernet cable and SAT onto a SAT cable, with the Internet cable and the SAT cable then connected to the HR22 DVR.


First, does that sound right???


Second, here are my few questions.


1. The HR34 must be capable of pulling Ethernet right off the SAT+Internet cable that is the only thing we plug into the HR34. In fact, there is an Ethernet connection on the back of the HR34 and it has a little cover over it. Does the HR54 do the same??? Or does it connect wirelessly?? But if I don't want wireless, can it pull Internet off the SAT+Internet cable just like the HR34 does???


2. Will my older C31 Genie Mini work with an HR54 or do I need to buy a newer version??? Solid Signal shows two Genie Mini's.

DIRECTV Genie Mini Client Receiver for Genie HD DVR (GENIEMINI) or,

DIRECTV 4K Genie Mini Client for All Genie DVRs and Receivers (C61K)


So C61K or a GENIEMINI, both $100??? Or will my existing C31 work with an HR54 if I don't care about 4k TV???


3. Am I correct to assume one must have an internet connection in order for the Whole Home capability to work??? Our two HR20's are not on the network as I would need two more DECA's to get them connected. As it stands today, Whole Home says "Authorized" but "No networked DVRs found". So I have to get whatever I have on the network, right???


4. Is the 44 the same as the 54??? I'd like the newer hardware but it will cost me $299 to buy one from Solid vs. $20 for S&H from Directv and I would get either a 44 or 54 from Directv. I'm still likely going to buy a 54 but I could be talked out of it.


Any help on the above questions would be much appreciated...


thanks

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this already but if you buy a Directv receiver from Solid Signal, you aren't actually buying it, you won't own it. It'll still be a lease. You'll be spending $300 for nothing.
If you want the HR54 from Directv, just ask for 4K and make sure you don't get the HS17 because Directv doesn't allow any other DVR on your account with it. So the HR54 is the only 4K capable receiver that will allow you to keep your other DVRs. If you get the HR54, you better ask for a newer, faster Genie mini client. Maybe ask for a 4K Genie mini.
Also, if the only thing that's wrong with your HR34 is the hard drive, you can just plug an external hard drive into the eSATA port on the back of the DVR and it will start working again. This is a popular trick to increase recording capacity. The external hard drive replaces the internal drive whether it's working or not.

 

[jacobryanc]

Hi Joe891, hmmm, one question. About #3. My former three boxes were the HR22, the HR34 and its C31 Mini (3 rooms, 3 TV's). Whole Home worked. Now I've removed the HR34 and the Mini and simply hooked precisely the same cables (same splitter, etc) into two older HR20's we had in storage?? But I see the message as I said above "No Networked DVR's Found" under the Whole Home setting??? Although it says "Authorized" as if the service is available if knew how to hook it up??? What am I missing on that one???

thanks

The HR34 was the first version of the "Genie." The C31 relies on a genie server and cannot operate on it's own. It's considered a client and needs a server to function.

 

[diitto]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this already but if you buy a Directv receiver from Solid Signal, you aren't actually buying it, you won't own it. It'll still be a lease. You'll be spending $300 for nothing.
If you want the HR54 from Directv, just ask for 4K and make sure you don't get the HS17 because Directv doesn't allow any other DVR on your account with it. So the HR54 is the only 4K capable receiver that will allow you to keep your other DVRs. If you get the HR54, you better ask for a newer, faster Genie mini client. Maybe ask for a 4K Genie mini.
Also, if the only thing that's wrong with your HR34 is the hard drive, you can just plug an external hard drive into the eSATA port on the back of the DVR and it will start working again. This is a popular trick to increase recording capacity. The external hard drive replaces the internal drive whether it's working or not.

Hi, Yes, I know about the lease deal. Directv's been doing that for a number of years. My only motive was to get newer and perhaps better supported hardware. I wanted an HR44 when we got the HR34 3 1/2 years ago when we moved to our current home, so the 44 has been around for a few years now. Granted, paying $300 just to get somewhat newer hardware might not make the most sense. But that's all I was trying to accomplish.

Also, interesting to know the eSATA trick on the HR34.

 

[Jimbo]

Hi, Yes, I know about the lease deal. Directv's been doing that for a number of years. My only motive was to get newer and perhaps better supported hardware. I wanted an HR44 when we got the HR34 3 1/2 years ago when we moved to our current home, so the 44 has been around for a few years now. Granted, paying $300 just to get somewhat newer hardware might not make the most sense. But that's all I was trying to accomplish.

Also, interesting to know the eSATA trick on the HR34.

Just get ahold of D* and tell them your picking up a 4k TV and they will give you a HR54 or HS17, tell them you don't want a HS17 IF you have other recvrs in the system.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Call Directv and see if they have any upgrades to a genie 2 or an HR54 with 4K minis.