Should I wait for HD DVR or Upgrade now !!!

[Nolzman]

I have a question for Robert and the one's in the know. I am located in Atlanta and my current equipment is as follows.

- Two HR10-250 HD Tivos attached to two HD TV's.
- One extra inactive line runs to the spare bedroom. Would like to keep the option of activating this line.
- 5 X 8 Multi-switch (Four lines from current dish and one OTA line)
- Off Air antenna system (and I do mean system) professionally installed.

My off air reception is very spotty and greatly effected by seasonal and weather changes, therefore I am anxious to get the HD locals off the satellite.

I definitely will the get HD DVR when available, as I cannot live without that functionality. Since we got Tivo, we rarely watch live TV. So, what financially makes the most sense?

Can I get the DTV deal now and have an extra HD receiver and still switch out my HD Tivos next year?

Do they make a multi-switch for the new dish? I know that the OTA cannot go through it, but that is OK since I can run the antenna directly to main TV. The other TV does not really need access to the OTA.

Can I get the new multi-switch included in the switch over?

So…if you were I, with my current set up and requirements, would you switch now or wait until the HD DVR is available and WHY?

Thanks for the input.

 

[Tonedeaf]

At this point, with no HD DVR for Mpeg4 I would wait. There are so many horror stories out there of installs that simply do not happen.

I am waiting for the dust to settle and for the HD DVR to come out before I get upgraded.

Don't have time for an instal appointment to get rescheduled 5 times before they actually have a dish available to install.

 

[Hogarth]

I'd wait.

The HR10-250 may have it's issues, but it works too well to ditch it for Live TV, especially given your investment in OTA equipment.

D* has not been forthcoming (or does not actually care) when customers want to both upgrade receivers now and DVRs later.

I'd let the dust settle, as Tonedeaf suggested, unless you want to pay to be a guinea pig.

It's not like you'll get any additional content out of the switch.

H

 

[hdtvtechno]

Do they make a multi-switch for the new dish? I know that the OTA cannot go through it, but that is OK since I can run the antenna directly to main TV. The other TV does not really need access to the OTA.
Thanks for the input.

Multi-switch

 

[colofan]

So is it possible to get a Ka band antenna and just "add" to a current phase III setup?

 

[tibber]

So is it possible to get a Ka band antenna and just "add" to a current phase II setup?

Colofan,

Possible? Theoretically, yes--but no one yet makes equipment to make that happen. The new dish has special LNBs to mix the Ka band signals into the coax at different frequencies than used before. And one LNB head is used to receive three sats at once: the two new sat locations 99 and 103 as well as the current 101 location.

So an antenna such as the one you propose really ends up looking like the new one with another antenna to get 110 and 119. Might as well go with the new one.

Cheers,
Tom