DirecTV HD Self Install/Upgrade Checklist?

[MagnumSPI]

Currently I have a standard round dish, dual LNB, with an outside splitter. I have two coaxi cables coming into the house for the old Phillips TiVo/DVR in my living room, and one coax each for the downstairs receiver and bedroom receiver. I own the Phillips receiver and it is starting to tile anytime something bright comes on the screen. I am only replacing that receiver, and I do not want to sign a two-year contract.

If I upgrade to an HD DVR, what do I need to get in order to do it myself? I am only upgrading the DVR in the living room. Which dish should I purchase, is it positioned the same way as the existing dish, do I need additional equipment to receive HD etc? Thanks so much for your time and advice.

 

[Jimbo]

Currently I have a standard round dish, dual LNB, with an outside splitter. I have two coaxi cables coming into the house for the old Phillips TiVo/DVR in my living room, and one coax each for the downstairs receiver and bedroom receiver. I own the Phillips receiver and it is starting to tile anytime something bright comes on the screen. I am only replacing that receiver, and I do not want to sign a two-year contract.

If I upgrade to an HD DVR, what do I need to get in order to do it myself? I am only upgrading the DVR in the living room. Which dish should I purchase, is it positioned the same way as the existing dish, do I need additional equipment to receive HD etc? Thanks so much for your time and advice.

Unfortunaely, you can only accomplish half of what your wanting to do.
If you want to move up to HD (recommended), you'll need to update your Dish to a Slimline3 most likely that will cover all you need, a Slimline 5 otherwise, if you need programming from the 110 and 119 sats, most don't.

Thats the first step, without it you won't get the HD channels your wanting.

The half you CAN'T do is, the commitment thing.
I know of no way to add a HD recvr without a commitment ....
It's pretty much a given these days.
Buy yourself, or lease from D* , the commitment comes when you activate it.

Seeing you OWN your recvr and want to upgrade, I would call D* and inquire, I think if it's defective (sounds like yours is going that direction) they may be able to do something, but I am unsure of how all these different rules apply.

How long have you been with D* ?
Is a commitment really a problem ?
If your happy with the service and don't plan on leaving any time soon ....

Also, if you get a recvr from D*, a free install/Upgrade is included so you would not have to find the Dish or any Multi Switches, they would supply them.

 

[MagnumSPI]

Yes, commitment is a big deal at this point. I've worked for a broadband provider for the past 10 years, and they are finally moving into my area. I will (finally) receive comp service from them, but it will be 3rd or 4th qtr of 2011. Unfortunately, like you said, my DVR is doing the death dance.

One thing I left off was that I intend to purchase my own HD DVR and DISH. Purchasing these items would be less than paying an early termination fee.

I actually called DirecTV a couple of weeks ago to add HD, lease an HD DVR, and schedule an install, all of which is free because I have been a faithful DTV customer since 1997. The install took a week to schedule. Knowing that *I* need to be there for the appointment (12pm - 4pm), I took half a day off from work. The [contract] installer never showed. I called DTV and they put me in touch with the dispatcher for the installation group. The installer said that he would be at my address now between 7pm and 9pm, however the DTV rep had scheduled him to go to my BILLING address which is my work address in the next state. Since this guy was dispatched from a different state, my service address is out of his service area, and it would be another week before it could be dispatched correctly. I called DTV and canceled the install and the upgrade.

If I understand correctly, as long as I am not leasing new equipment or having them perform a free installation, I don't have to agree to a new contract. Is that correct?

 

[peano]

Any upgrade will lock you in for another 2 years.

 

[raoul5788]

Because of the upgrade in equipment, I am pretty sure there is a commitment regardless of how you get the equipment. If you were replacing defective equipment with the same type there would be no additional commitment. I would send a private message to Stonecold, a member of the board, and ask him to be certain. He is a Directv employee and will give you the correct answer.

 

[MagnumSPI]

Wow, that is good info to know because it is totally not what I was told by DTV customer service. I'm so very glad I found this forum...

Edit: For clarification of what I was told...

A friend who had upgraded to HD gave me his old DVR. He didn't realize it was leased, so DTV would not let me activate it. I asked the rep some questions, including "if I bought my own HD DVR and added HD service do I have to sign a contract" and she told me "no".

 

[MagnumSPI]

In the meantime, if I replace my dual LNB with a new, oval five LNB, all I need to do is replace the dish, correct? I'm not doing multi room viewing.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

Yes. The Slimline dish (non-SWM) will have 4 outputs which can feed 4 tuners. When you get a HD receiver you will need a B-Band Converter (Directv will supply these free if you ask).

You may be able to find someone with an owned HD receiver which you can purchase (try eBay). Get the receiver ID number and call Directv's activation department to verify that it is owned. In that case you can activate it as an owned receiver with no commitment (you will probably need to purchase a new access card for $20).

 

[raoul5788]

MagnumSPI
I have a used H20 you can have for the shipping if you want it. Directv told me to keep it when I replaced it with an HR24. PM me for the serial number so you can contact Directv to make sure they will let you use it. It was a leased unit, so even though they didn't want it back, they may not let you activate it.

 

[bayoubrut]

There is a way to get out of signing the two year lease. I had this happen to me today, but it may be different in different areas. The customer was told that by upgrading their standard receivers (2 d12's) that they did not have to sign any lease or contract. The DTV I spoke with said that DTV would wave the agreement if the customer is upgrading for local channels. It may have helped that they have been customers of DTV for 14 years.(like u) Our market may be different than yours. Can u get locals? Locals here require an upgrade because they are all in HD.
Also, if you was to try to do it yourself, you'd have to get rid of the multiswitch 2x4 or 3x4 and run extra cable from the dish instead
.

 

[raoul5788]

There is a way to get out of signing the two year lease. I had this happen to me today, but it may be different in different areas. The customer was told that by upgrading their standard receivers (2 d12's) that they did not have to sign any lease or contract. The DTV I spoke with said that DTV would wave the agreement if the customer is upgrading for local channels. It may have helped that they have been customers of DTV for 14 years.(like u) Our market may be different than yours. Can u get locals? Locals here require an upgrade because they are all in HD.
Also, if you was to try to do it yourself, you'd have to get rid of the multiswitch 2x4 or 3x4 and run extra cable from the dish instead
.

If your locals are moving from the 72.5 sat to either 99 or 103, then you will need an hd receiver/dvr to get them, since they are the only mpeg4 boxes available. In that situation, there is no commitment IIRC.

 

[bayoubrut]

We are an MPEG4 market here.

 

[raoul5788]

We are an MPEG4 market here.

That explains it!