multi room viewing?

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austen0316

SatelliteGuys Guru
Original poster
Feb 10, 2005
122
1
Robbinsville, NJ
Hey, I got like 4 bedrooms that I wanna put the tivo dvr in but should I wait for the home media center to come out or go with just the regular dvrs?
 
austen0316 said:
Hey, I got like 4 bedrooms that I wanna put the tivo dvr in but should I wait for the home media center to come out or go with just the regular dvrs?

The most optimistic estimates I've heard for the HMC launch are 3-6 months from now. Factoring in limited availability and high initial cost for early adopters, it might be more like 9-12 months before it is readily available for a reasonable cost.

You may as well get the Tivo's now, and upgrade when the HMC is launched. You'll have to agree to a new 2-year agreement at that time anyway.

If you are so inclined, you could search for non-R10, non-R15 Dtivos and hack them for MRV.
 
austen and peter,

im going to play devils advocate here, just say directv is going to offer a home media center SOME DAY. what do you gain with it???
do you think , say with your 4 room system, that directv is going to give up on the extra 15 per mo it now gets off of you??
i doubt it , at the end of the day, it will cost you as much OR MORE than you pay now.
one more thing, now when one box fries , you can at least watch tv on the others, what are you going to do when the hmc fries and your service call is scheduled out 8 or 9 days??

just some thoughts
 
Your client boxes will still have a hard wired coax connection from the multiswitch so if at worst case the server fries the other rooms will still get one live feed per client box. Also when the HMC comes out you can decide if you want to buy it but DirecTV will be renting this box on a rent to own basis with no upfront costs. You will also pay the mirror fees for the extra rooms but expect the rental price to be very close to current HD DVR boxes with your cable company. That means about 10 bucks a month plus the DVR fee of 6 bucks a month. Now add in your mirror fees. I've also been told that they might offer a flat price based on the number of boxes total for the system. For example they are tinkering with renting the HMC with three client boxes for a total rental cost of about 20 bucks a month which would include your mirror fees. Maybe even 25 bucks a month total. They are going over the numbers because if they rent they must be within reason and close to cable rental rates.

It all depends but I expect the HMC to be rolled out to select markets within the next two months with a full rollout pending supply to start around March or April. You should get a lot more information about rollout and pricing around the middle of Jan or from what I'm hearing you will find out at CES.

Again none of this is set because they are getting a feel of the market and trying to avoid confusing the customer with all the different fees. Just think about how hard it would be to tell the customer the following below.

You must rent to own the HMC for 9.95/month. Now if you get three extra client boxes you must pay the mirror fees for them at five bucks a month. Now you must pay the per account fee of 5.99/month for the DVR fee. I don't think that would do. My thinking is that if you have the HMC with three client boxes expect to pay the least. Two room HMC setups won't change the prices much from cable but four total rooms via the HMC at those types of costs would end up costing more than four cable HD DVR boxes and this isn't good. I wouldn't worry about the price because they will be very close to cable company pricing if not cheaper but don't expect it to be much cheaper though. This does still cost money and they are taking a great loss for at least two years.
 
I am waiting for the wireless version of the HMC. I understand that the wireless protocal that will be able to handle HD signals is due November of 2006. Can anyone provide an update or further info? Thanks.
 
theebdk said:
I am waiting for the wireless version of the HMC. I understand that the wireless protocal that will be able to handle HD signals is due November of 2006. Can anyone provide an update or further info? Thanks.


they have been claiming a wireless central ird for AT LEAST 4 years, and it was a HUGHES NETWORK PRODUCT, not directv. again,, why do you want wireless??

if this system is that sofisticated.....you will never be allowed to own it or buy it. and you sure as hell WONT self install.

and as longhorn said , you wont be saving any money.
 
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