Former Dish Net / New Customers Read This
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I was a long time Dish customer but finally got fed up with billing, equipment return issues, and poor picture quality. The NFL package deal was just too good to pass up. Great install experience with installer staying until all operations were confirmed and explaining the system upgrades.
But one thing I haven't figured out is how to do slow motion without pressing the button for each movement repeatedly. Is there a slow motion feature?
I also have 2 technical problems and they sent a tech out to fix the problems but could not be fixed. He said everything checks out fine.
1. Pixelation problems: The tech said it was from the local Colorado Springs station feeds especially channel 11 and they were working with my locals to fix the problem. Channel 11 seems to have this problem all the time. Has anyone heard of this issue?
2. Recording errors: Some recordings show up on the playlist and show recorded in the history but will not playback. Other recordings that are scheduled do not record and are not found in the history. The tech thinks it was probably due to weather related signal problems at my dish (snow here in Colorado). Has anyone had this problem and found a SOLUTION?
The problems happen on both HD DVRs.
But one thing I haven't figured out is how to do slow motion without pressing the button for each movement repeatedly. Is there a slow motion feature?
I also have 2 technical problems and they sent a tech out to fix the problems but could not be fixed. He said everything checks out fine.
1. Pixelation problems: The tech said it was from the local Colorado Springs station feeds especially channel 11 and they were working with my locals to fix the problem. Channel 11 seems to have this problem all the time. Has anyone heard of this issue?
2. Recording errors: Some recordings show up on the playlist and show recorded in the history but will not playback. Other recordings that are scheduled do not record and are not found in the history. The tech thinks it was probably due to weather related signal problems at my dish (snow here in Colorado). Has anyone had this problem and found a SOLUTION?
The problems happen on both HD DVRs.
I'm an ex-HD Absolute customer who just signed up for D* through the Costco program with install scheduled March 5 and have a few questions:
- I saw no opportunity to order the AM21 or the theater kit... is this best handled via a call to the 800 # or email? or is there a better way to get things done right? As an E* customer, I long ago learned the value of going straight to the executive office -- I don't know if D*' s CSR quality is as crazily variable as E*'s?
- Can I request a specific installer?
- What is the monthly charge if I bring my own additional HR23.
Thanks for any advice you can offer.
- I saw no opportunity to order the AM21 or the theater kit... is this best handled via a call to the 800 # or email? or is there a better way to get things done right? As an E* customer, I long ago learned the value of going straight to the executive office -- I don't know if D*' s CSR quality is as crazily variable as E*'s?
- Can I request a specific installer?
- What is the monthly charge if I bring my own additional HR23.
Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Been with Dish Network for about 7 years of relative happy service. I just added two TVs to the house and the idea of Whole Home DVR may be enough to push me over the top (along with the lack of ESPNU in HD, although I'll miss AMC HD). I have been running Dish's 722 receiver and have been using the OTA tuner with my roof mounted antenna, giving me three tuners (2 sat, 1 OTA). During college football season, this is the minimum number of tuners that I can live with and still keep the Mrs. happy; I need to be able to simultaneously record two games and still allow her to watch tv of her choosing (from the satellite). I understand that the HR24 has two tuners that can be connected to any number of HD Receivers (H24) and allow playback capability. Adding an additional HR24 would give me two additional tuners and the two DVR playlists that would integrate into one. However, each individual HR24 is limited to two simultaneous, locally stored playbacks. The real time viewing and DVR viewing are independent of each other, like Dish's 722. Is this correct?
I want a four room set up. This is how I picture it:
2 HR24 (Living Room & Master Bedroom) for HD & DVR access
1 H24 (Baby's room) SD & DVR access
1 SD receiver (Five-year old's bedroom) SD access, DVR not necessary
I could then record two games off the HR24 in the Master Bedroom and one on the Living Room HR24. The family could still watch satellite on any room but the Master Bedroom, and they could watch a DVR recording on any TV, up to four total DVR playbacks (except the 5-year old's bedroom), limited to two locally stored programs per HR24. I could also dump my OTA antenna, since I now have four sat tuners.
or
Does the AM21 + HR24 = Dish's 722 where I would have three tuners at my disposal or does the AM21 use one of the HR24's tuners, still limiting me to 2? If it adds a third DVR capable tuner, then I could just replace the HR24 with an H24 for the Master Bedroom. I don't believe this is the case, though.
Someone please correct my thinking. Thanks.
I want a four room set up. This is how I picture it:
2 HR24 (Living Room & Master Bedroom) for HD & DVR access
1 H24 (Baby's room) SD & DVR access
1 SD receiver (Five-year old's bedroom) SD access, DVR not necessary
I could then record two games off the HR24 in the Master Bedroom and one on the Living Room HR24. The family could still watch satellite on any room but the Master Bedroom, and they could watch a DVR recording on any TV, up to four total DVR playbacks (except the 5-year old's bedroom), limited to two locally stored programs per HR24. I could also dump my OTA antenna, since I now have four sat tuners.
or
Does the AM21 + HR24 = Dish's 722 where I would have three tuners at my disposal or does the AM21 use one of the HR24's tuners, still limiting me to 2? If it adds a third DVR capable tuner, then I could just replace the HR24 with an H24 for the Master Bedroom. I don't believe this is the case, though.
Someone please correct my thinking. Thanks.
I've had the same, due to wind, no solution I found other than tweak my dish for better signal...
Here's something that people coming from DishNetwork need to know and someone who's more familiar with it should make a sticky about on the forum just for this. It's the Boolean Logic search features and Scope filters that the DirecTV DVRs can do. With them, the keyword search/autorecord functions much more similar to DishNetwork's DishPass... just that it's much less intuitive to set up. I'm guessing not many on the forum knows about it because I complained in several threads about the lack of a similar function as DishNetwork's DishPass and no one ever pointed me in the right direction or even mentioned there was a direction to go to solve my issue. Anyway, I ran across a post that mentioned CCHAN and TTILE and that sent me to google where I found the post from goober22 here:
I need "Search Help" [Archive] - SatelliteGuys.US
Using that and the guidance from a few other posts I ran across both here and on the other site, I was able to do the following:
For shows I wanted to set up a recording on for just one channel for that show but the show wasn't in the two week guide on the appropriate channel:
Boardwalk Empire CCHAN 501 then High Def, All, First Run
True Blood CCHAN 501 then High Def, All, First Run
Hung CCHAN 501 then High Def, All, First Run
I like to record College Gameday during football season but am not much of a basketball fan so:
AALL College Gameday NNOT Basketball, then High Def, All, First Run
Survivor is a unique challenge since they change the damned name every season in the guide. Even though it IS in the two week guide, setting up a series record on it would not record next season and using keyword/autorecord without any Boolean/Scope parameters would result in all kinds of results so:
Survivor CCHAN 32 then High Def, All, and First Run
My wife likes James Stewart movies and before I learned this trick, I was getting a lot of SD James Stewart movies which neither of us would ever watch. Now, it should only record HD James Stewart movies with this:
AALL Movie James Stewart NNOT PPV, then High-Def, All, and Both
These commands really solved some of the issues I had with the HR24.
I need "Search Help" [Archive] - SatelliteGuys.US
Using that and the guidance from a few other posts I ran across both here and on the other site, I was able to do the following:
For shows I wanted to set up a recording on for just one channel for that show but the show wasn't in the two week guide on the appropriate channel:
Boardwalk Empire CCHAN 501 then High Def, All, First Run
True Blood CCHAN 501 then High Def, All, First Run
Hung CCHAN 501 then High Def, All, First Run
I like to record College Gameday during football season but am not much of a basketball fan so:
AALL College Gameday NNOT Basketball, then High Def, All, First Run
Survivor is a unique challenge since they change the damned name every season in the guide. Even though it IS in the two week guide, setting up a series record on it would not record next season and using keyword/autorecord without any Boolean/Scope parameters would result in all kinds of results so:
Survivor CCHAN 32 then High Def, All, and First Run
My wife likes James Stewart movies and before I learned this trick, I was getting a lot of SD James Stewart movies which neither of us would ever watch. Now, it should only record HD James Stewart movies with this:
AALL Movie James Stewart NNOT PPV, then High-Def, All, and Both
These commands really solved some of the issues I had with the HR24.
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I'm new to this forum and have never had DirecTV. I bought a used HR21-700 on eBay after checking the ID with DirecTV; it was clean, nothing owed on it. I have my own Slimline dish. I wanted to do my own install since I'm experienced. However, DirecTV will not activate my pre-owned equipment without me FIRST buying or leasing NEW equipment with the 2-year commitment, professional install, etc. as the only way to establish an account. ONLY THEN would they let me activate my pre-owned receiver as a second receiver. I've spent hours calling many DirecTV reps to no avail. Any suggestions? Please don't bother to call me a fool as I already feel like one.
I have switched to directv from dish after 13 years because of the loss of the absolute package and thought it was time for a change. I got 2 HR24`s and they seem to be good dvr`s. I miss not being able to sort recordings into folders and a few other things but overall I like the HR24 dvr. I have a ? that i could not find an answer by searching. Is there any shortcut to get to manage recordings, without having to push menu ect. I have also lost the ability to use apps, everything else works and I`m not sure I would use them much anyway. I get error 301. I tried reset and that did not help. Thanks.
New service started yesterday:
Choice Xtra
HD Locals
MRV
HD + DVR's (2)
Directv2PC playback
Blackberry scheduling! +.
I like it so far. The remote control setup was a snap and works much better than the Dish remote controls. Though I am getting used to the guide differences. The on-demand content is pretty good, easy to use and downloads quickly for me. The product I received is excellent, though the method to get here has been a pain.
The toughed it out with the installer, educated him on many-a-item and was happy he left. Thanks to everyone for the education prior to install to know what to look for, expect, etc. He wanted me to sign the paper that said "I'm happy with the install" before he would go to work. No deal there. He brought 3 receivers when I ordered 2 and wouldn't do the install unless I could produce a third TV to connect to. I borrowed a TV from a friend and immediately disconnected the receiver and called for a package to ship it back when he pulled out of the driveway! I thought it quite ridiculous, but ended up with what I wanted. He wouldn't even put the 3rd receiver as an alternate input on one of my TV's. I asked point blank: So you won't do the install unless I get a 3rd TV? I was told no, hence the silly-ness. Oh well, I'm good to go now. He did ground it to my air conditioner, so that's better than I got with E*'s install years ago.
Thankfully the remote control programming is easy on the HR-24 (TV, AV, DVD, etc), because he didn't know how to do it (3rd year installing, I was told). I wouldn't have even asked if I knew what a snap it is to program your equipment.
Billing: So far I've spent 2 hours on the phone with billing to just simply get the details from my original order to post to my account. It seems all the credits/rebates weren't showing up and my first bill is over $100 more than I can figure. It's almost as if my original order was erased from their system and sloppily transferred to a new order. The base package went up even though I locked in prior to the raise, the referral was not showing, the rebate that I was told was going to show on my first bill was not there, the HD credit was not showing, the movie channels were showing at full price without a credit. Argh! I'll wait 7-10 days and see what pans out. And while I was just about to have all the details confirmed, I was hung up on and took 15 minutes to call back and start from scratch explaining what was happening. No one was rude, it was just a mess to sort out. Actually everyone I've called in to talk to has been most helpful.
Equipment/programming satisfaction: 9.5/10
Install: 4/10
Billing 2/10 (for now)
Remote scheduling: 10/10
Choice Xtra
HD Locals
MRV
HD + DVR's (2)
Directv2PC playback
Blackberry scheduling! +.
I like it so far. The remote control setup was a snap and works much better than the Dish remote controls. Though I am getting used to the guide differences. The on-demand content is pretty good, easy to use and downloads quickly for me. The product I received is excellent, though the method to get here has been a pain.
The toughed it out with the installer, educated him on many-a-item and was happy he left. Thanks to everyone for the education prior to install to know what to look for, expect, etc. He wanted me to sign the paper that said "I'm happy with the install" before he would go to work. No deal there. He brought 3 receivers when I ordered 2 and wouldn't do the install unless I could produce a third TV to connect to. I borrowed a TV from a friend and immediately disconnected the receiver and called for a package to ship it back when he pulled out of the driveway! I thought it quite ridiculous, but ended up with what I wanted. He wouldn't even put the 3rd receiver as an alternate input on one of my TV's. I asked point blank: So you won't do the install unless I get a 3rd TV? I was told no, hence the silly-ness. Oh well, I'm good to go now. He did ground it to my air conditioner, so that's better than I got with E*'s install years ago.
Thankfully the remote control programming is easy on the HR-24 (TV, AV, DVD, etc), because he didn't know how to do it (3rd year installing, I was told). I wouldn't have even asked if I knew what a snap it is to program your equipment.
Billing: So far I've spent 2 hours on the phone with billing to just simply get the details from my original order to post to my account. It seems all the credits/rebates weren't showing up and my first bill is over $100 more than I can figure. It's almost as if my original order was erased from their system and sloppily transferred to a new order. The base package went up even though I locked in prior to the raise, the referral was not showing, the rebate that I was told was going to show on my first bill was not there, the HD credit was not showing, the movie channels were showing at full price without a credit. Argh! I'll wait 7-10 days and see what pans out. And while I was just about to have all the details confirmed, I was hung up on and took 15 minutes to call back and start from scratch explaining what was happening. No one was rude, it was just a mess to sort out. Actually everyone I've called in to talk to has been most helpful.
Equipment/programming satisfaction: 9.5/10
Install: 4/10
Billing 2/10 (for now)
Remote scheduling: 10/10
New install last week
I just switched to DTV from DN with six months in TW Cable purgatory in between. These are my comments:
Package:
HR24
H24
Choice Xtra
Whole Home DVR and Broadband connection
Installation: Grade B-
The installer missed my 4 hour window by 30 minutes but I did receive two phone calls letting me know they were late. I had tentatively picked out two locations on my back deck but they said neither would work. They checked reception with a temporary antenna but it seemed less than accurate to me. Rather than have them mount it on the roof I decided on a pole mount at grade. I was told it would be $75 to set a pole and bury about 10 feet of cable. This irked me a bit since I had reinstalled the old DN cable so they wouldn't have to fish a new cable into the utility room. I plan to check with DTV to make sure that charge is legit.
The rest of the installation went OK. They left cigarette butts all over outside and a trash in the utility room. I had to call customer support later because I had no locals on the H24. The CSR quickly sent a reset and fixed that.
Equipment and Service: Grade A
I was pleasantly surprised with the receivers. I had heard DN equipment was superior but these boxes will stand on their own. They are small and run cool. The remotes are easy to program. I already bought a third remote on EBAY for one of my receivers. The response to commands seems a bit sluggish but it may be comparable to what I had with my DN 722/322. I really like the whole home DVR. I am still figuring out the network stuff and connecting up Windows Media Center. It is nice to have on screen caller ID back. I could never figure out why when my phone was over cable why I could not have caller ID on the TW box. The automatic hiding of the SD channels if HD is available is great. I had to do this manually on every Dish receiver.
Programming and HD: Grade A-
The Choice Xtra package is very good for my tastes. I switched to DTV for sports and I am very happy to pick up the Big Ten Network, MLB, and Vs all in HD. I would like to see BBC America and AMC in HD.
All in all I am a happy camper. My total bill for phone/broadband/TV is about $15 less per month with TW and DTV and will be comparable when the discounts run out.
I just switched to DTV from DN with six months in TW Cable purgatory in between. These are my comments:
Package:
HR24
H24
Choice Xtra
Whole Home DVR and Broadband connection
Installation: Grade B-
The installer missed my 4 hour window by 30 minutes but I did receive two phone calls letting me know they were late. I had tentatively picked out two locations on my back deck but they said neither would work. They checked reception with a temporary antenna but it seemed less than accurate to me. Rather than have them mount it on the roof I decided on a pole mount at grade. I was told it would be $75 to set a pole and bury about 10 feet of cable. This irked me a bit since I had reinstalled the old DN cable so they wouldn't have to fish a new cable into the utility room. I plan to check with DTV to make sure that charge is legit.
The rest of the installation went OK. They left cigarette butts all over outside and a trash in the utility room. I had to call customer support later because I had no locals on the H24. The CSR quickly sent a reset and fixed that.
Equipment and Service: Grade A
I was pleasantly surprised with the receivers. I had heard DN equipment was superior but these boxes will stand on their own. They are small and run cool. The remotes are easy to program. I already bought a third remote on EBAY for one of my receivers. The response to commands seems a bit sluggish but it may be comparable to what I had with my DN 722/322. I really like the whole home DVR. I am still figuring out the network stuff and connecting up Windows Media Center. It is nice to have on screen caller ID back. I could never figure out why when my phone was over cable why I could not have caller ID on the TW box. The automatic hiding of the SD channels if HD is available is great. I had to do this manually on every Dish receiver.
Programming and HD: Grade A-
The Choice Xtra package is very good for my tastes. I switched to DTV for sports and I am very happy to pick up the Big Ten Network, MLB, and Vs all in HD. I would like to see BBC America and AMC in HD.
All in all I am a happy camper. My total bill for phone/broadband/TV is about $15 less per month with TW and DTV and will be comparable when the discounts run out.
Sounds great, good for you. I hope your first bill works out correctly for you, especially if you had any deals that you were offered. If you haven't tried it, the remote scheduling is a snap, and the Directv to pc works out great if you need it on your home networked PC's. If you've seen your first bill online yet, and applied for any rebates, are they showing up yet?
That's the main complaint I hear at home, specially from my daughter. The remote is slow and sometimes it doesn't even turn off the TV when we want to turn it off. We didn't have this problem with E* remotes.
Good to know I'm not the only one seeing the remote issue with not turning off equipment. It was working just fine for the first few days, now a lot of times it won't turn off the TV or my receiver on the first few tries. Usually it ends up working by moving the input slider at the top to the proper position and pressing the power button a few times. Wonder if there is a fix for this?
You can go back and fast forward in 15 minute intervals. Press the back bottom once to 1x then press the skip back button once to move the 15 minutes back. Same for moving forward a program ahead 15 minutes. Fast forward once then the skip forward once. Works for recorded and buffer.
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