Just installed Orby TV - first impressions

[N6BY]

I bought an Orby DVR from Best Buy (curbside pickup) and installed it yesterday. Then I dumped Youtube TV.

All I had to do was move the motor on my KU dish to 117 and plug it in. It took about 1/2 hour for the channel guide to fully populate.

My first reaction was that the picture quality was much better than I expected. I don't notice any big difference from Youtube TV. Also, my new TV does a really good job upscaling.

Although it has the basic DVR functions, I really miss the 30 second skip. Not sure why they left it out. Instead I have to fast forward through commercials.

I really like the fact that I am no longer relying on an internet connection for TV! No more 2 second video dropouts every 10 minutes or so, like I had with Youtube TV.

So I'm really glad I finally bought an Orby DVR. Next I will order the self-install kit so I can free up my motorized dish for FTA.

 

[EmCommSat]

I bought an Orby DVR from Best Buy (curbside pickup) and installed it yesterday. Then I dumped Youtube TV.

All I had to do was move the motor on my KU dish to 117 and plug it in. It took about 1/2 hour for the channel guide to fully populate.

My first reaction was that the picture quality was much better than I expected. I don't notice any big difference from Youtube TV. Also, my new TV does a really good job upscaling.

Although it has the basic DVR functions, I really miss the 30 second skip. Not sure why they left it out. Instead I have to fast forward through commercials.

I really like the fact that I am no longer relying on an internet connection for TV! No more 2 second video dropouts every 10 minutes or so, like I had with Youtube TV.

So I'm really glad I finally bought an Orby DVR. Next I will order the self-install kit so I can free up my motorized dish for FTA.

[mention]N6BY [/mention]

They have a self-install special, a dish kit and BT meter with either a receiver for $100 or with a DVR for $200.

https://orbytv.com/buyonline/


Sent using Tapatalk

 

[Tvland1]

I'm going to assume that you paid the full price from Best Buy $199..For $1 more I would order the self-install kit with DVR from Orby for $200..When you get the receiver from Orby just take it to Best Buy and return it for a refund.They have curbside return..They don't track the receiver numbers..

 

[N6BY]

I saw the Orby self-install + DVR deal after I bought from Best Buy. Oh well. But I don't want to return the Best Buy receiver -- they are struggling right now.

I don't really need all the stuff in the self install kit. Maybe I'll just get a used dish off of Craigslist and re-purpose it for Orby.

 

[EmCommSat]

I saw the Orby self-install + DVR deal after I bought from Best Buy. Oh well. But I don't want to return the Best Buy receiver -- they are struggling right now.

I don't really need all the stuff in the self install kit. Maybe I'll just get a used dish off of Craigslist and re-purpose it for Orby.

It’s a great deal if you are looking to get their dish. You basically get a standard receiver and meter for $30 extra over the cost of just the dish/antenna kit.


Sent using Tapatalk

 

[N6BY]

After 10 days of Orby I am really wishing they would update and improve the DVR features.

I feel like I am using a DVR made in the 90's. Just basic functions. Clunky interface. Buggy. Sometimes the DVR functions stop working and I have to reset the power.

And why can it only go 16X forward or backward. It takes a LONG time to skip 1/2 hour at that speed. Why not 64X or 128X?

I don't have the $10 add on package. It's frustrating that those channels still show up in the guide. I don't have the list of what I do and don't get memorized, so I see something I want to watch only to see an error message.

That's what I get for $44 a month.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I thought they where running $25 installs including a dish

 

[reedyj]

Hi all, waiting for my Orby TV self install kit to arrive. I was watching an install video on You Tube, and the person in the video said that if you are using an amplified signal from the antenna, it would not work with Orby TV Set top box. I have a roof antenna that gets all the stations in the area and have a Antenna Direct 8 way distribution amplifier. The antenna on the sat mount would be too low for me to get any usable signal (Found out via trail and error). Others have used a diplexer at each tv to combine the sat and tv signal. Will this be an issue installing and combining the sat and tv signal into the Orby set top box? Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[reedyj]

I did send an email to Orby TV on the support web page and got an answer back in less that 10 mins :

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Orby TV. Yes, if you’re happy with your existing TV antenna you can probably use it with the Orby TV satellite dish.

Normally, the coaxial cable from the satellite dish and the coaxial cable from the antenna are combined with a diplexer that is located near the dish. Then a single coaxial cable runs from the install location into the home. If your Orby TV satellite dish will not be near your TV antenna, you could combine the two cables with the diplexer near where the cables enter your home, or even somewhere inside your home.

If the existing antenna has a masthead amp then the combining likely has to be done in the home, so that the masthead amp power supply can be plugged in and added to the antenna cable before it is combined with the satellite signal.

That was fast, so the answer appears to be yes, no problems with amplified antenna signal. Any other insight/tips would be appreciated.

 

[FTA4PA]

Hi all, waiting for my Orby TV self install kit to arrive. I was watching an install video on You Tube, and the person in the video said that if you are using an amplified signal from the antenna, it would not work with Orby TV Set top box. I have a roof antenna that gets all the stations in the area and have a Antenna Direct 8 way distribution amplifier. The antenna on the sat mount would be too low for me to get any usable signal (Found out via trail and error). Others have used a diplexer at each tv to combine the sat and tv signal. Will this be an issue installing and combining the sat and tv signal into the Orby set top box? Thanks in advance for any insight.

I did send an email to Orby TV on the support web page and got an answer back in less that 10 mins :

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Orby TV. Yes, if you’re happy with your existing TV antenna you can probably use it with the Orby TV satellite dish.

Normally, the coaxial cable from the satellite dish and the coaxial cable from the antenna are combined with a diplexer that is located near the dish. Then a single coaxial cable runs from the install location into the home. If your Orby TV satellite dish will not be near your TV antenna, you could combine the two cables with the diplexer near where the cables enter your home, or even somewhere inside your home.

If the existing antenna has a masthead amp then the combining likely has to be done in the home, so that the masthead amp power supply can be plugged in and added to the antenna cable before it is combined with the satellite signal.

That was fast, so the answer appears to be yes, no problems with amplified antenna signal. Any other insight/tips would be appreciated.

That is what I do with mine. The Orby dish is over 100 ft from the house. My antennas, a vhf-hi and a uhf, are just behind the house and are fed into a mast-mounted combiner/amp. Both the Orby and antenna coax cables then go into a Zinwell SAM-3402 (13V input for the Orby vertical polarity, ANT In for antenna, 18V Horizontal unused) to distribute to the four televisions (max for an Orby account) in our home.

Zinwell SAM3402 DIRECTV Approved 3x4 Multiswitch (MS3X4WB)

Split your signal from a standard dual LNB DIRECTV dish into 4 outputs. Learn More!

www.solidsignal.com

 

[N6BY]

Update: One month after purchase....

When I bought the DVR and signed up for Orby, I thought I would be OK with the channel lineup.

But I really miss the Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Sports, and CNBC. I am tired of CNN for my news.

Also, I don't like the DVR. In fact, I'll go so far as to say I absolutely hate it. Its the worst DVR that I have ever owned. No 30 second skip. And it can only go a max of 16X fast forward or backward. Every few days I have to power cycle the DVR to get it working again.

With that in mind I paused auto pay. My service ends June 7th. I plan to sell the DVR.

 

[krynn]

Update: One month after purchase....

When I bought the DVR and signed up for Orby, I thought I would be OK with the channel lineup.

But I really miss the Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Sports, and CNBC. I am tired of CNN for my news.

Also, I don't like the DVR. In fact, I'll go so far as to say I absolutely hate it. Its the worst DVR that I have ever owned. No 30 second skip. And it can only go a max of 16X fast forward or backward. Every few days I have to power cycle the DVR to get it working again.

With that in mind I paused auto pay. My service ends June 7th. I plan to sell the DVR.

orby won't carry channels like ESPN or the fox channels. because they want to much $$$