Wanted to get a SWM and was told no.

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Madtown HD Junkie

Madtown HD Junkie

Occasional Supreme Being
Original poster
Supporting Founder
Jun 3, 2004
9,031
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Madison, WI
Just curious if I am expecting too much.

I moved to a new house a little over 2 years ago....they built it with one line going to each outlet. I wanted a second in the living room and also the bedroom for DVR's. I had to run a line through my basement, through the garage wall, up to the ceiling, through the ceiling and floor above it to the master bedroom to get the second line in. I heard about SWM needing only one line to work. Called D* to ask to get this to replace just the one wiring scheme in master bedroom. Thery told me no, they could not ship one to me to install.....I also had to pay for a service call to have it installed.
I offered to re-up my contract but also was denied.

Is it just me or has D* lost their customer service niche over the last few years.
I have used them since the 90's and they seem very rigid and much less concerned about service.....
or am I nuts?:eek:
 
Madtown HD Junkie said:
Just curious if I am expecting too much.

I moved to a new house a little over 2 years ago....they built it with one line going to each outlet. I wanted a second in the living room and also the bedroom for DVR's. I had to run a line through my basement, through the garage wall, up to the ceiling, through the ceiling and floor above it to the master bedroom to get the second line in. I heard about SWM needing only one line to work. Called D* to ask to get this to replace just the one wiring scheme in master bedroom. Thery told me no, they could not ship one to me to install.....I also had to pay for a service call to have it installed.
I offered to re-up my contract but also was denied.

Is it just me or has D* lost their customer service niche over the last few years.
I have used them since the 90's and they seem very rigid and much less concerned about service.....
or am I nuts?:eek:
Click to expand...
No offense to Direct but I think that is the way company's are anymore. The good old days of good CSR's are gone. Most the time they forget who is actually the customer. I haven't had a lot of reasons to call Direct so far so I can not say if they fit this group or not. BUt my guess would be yes they do. Most of the time you can't understand them and they are rude...for what it's worth.
 
Madtown HD Junkie said:
Just curious if I am expecting too much.

I moved to a new house a little over 2 years ago....they built it with one line going to each outlet. I wanted a second in the living room and also the bedroom for DVR's. I had to run a line through my basement, through the garage wall, up to the ceiling, through the ceiling and floor above it to the master bedroom to get the second line in. I heard about SWM needing only one line to work. Called D* to ask to get this to replace just the one wiring scheme in master bedroom. Thery told me no, they could not ship one to me to install.....I also had to pay for a service call to have it installed.
I offered to re-up my contract but also was denied.

Is it just me or has D* lost their customer service niche over the last few years.
I have used them since the 90's and they seem very rigid and much less concerned about service.....
or am I nuts?:eek:
Click to expand...

I bought my own SWM LNB(SWM 5 LNB) from Solid Signal & a second HD DVR from a third party to hook up. I called D* to hook up my new HD DVR & oh by the way,could he install my SWM LNB? Well,the tech came out & did both. In fact because I couldn't pick up 119,he gave me(yes gave me) a SWM3 LNB & hooked that up for an agreed upon $10.00 price between us. Also,as far as wiring goes,the tech needs to make sure it will work with D*. You need 3Hz RG6 cable for D* to work in HD(at least that was what I was told by the tech).Either way you look at it,you're going to have to pay extra. I have & had no problem with that.
 
Wait to MRV is actually released and then call, there is supposed to be some kind of pgrade package coming, which includes the SWM switch. :)
 
Know that the single wire multiswitch (SWM) was developed at great expense for MDUs (Multiple Dwelling Units) ..read apartments, motels and bars. Single wire additions were foisted off on installers for years..."you are paid by the box...one line is already run..now you run another...(or two). As installers balked at the specification creep the SWM thing arrived.

Now it is your turn. Try convincing DTV...the installers didn't do so well. The HSPs just got other installers. What do you think your chances are?

Joe
 
Last edited:
Madtown HD Junkie said:
Just curious if I am expecting too much.

I moved to a new house a little over 2 years ago....they built it with one line going to each outlet. I wanted a second in the living room and also the bedroom for DVR's. I had to run a line through my basement, through the garage wall, up to the ceiling, through the ceiling and floor above it to the master bedroom to get the second line in. I heard about SWM needing only one line to work. Called D* to ask to get this to replace just the one wiring scheme in master bedroom. Thery told me no, they could not ship one to me to install.....I also had to pay for a service call to have it installed.
I offered to re-up my contract but also was denied.

Is it just me or has D* lost their customer service niche over the last few years.
I have used them since the 90's and they seem very rigid and much less concerned about service.....
or am I nuts?:eek:
Click to expand...
'

Only certain receivers are SWM compatible. It would be a huge expense for DirecTV to replace receivers that won't work with SWM.

In your case, what receivers do you have? If they all will work with SWM, buy the SWM LNB off ebay and install it yourself. You will also need SWM splitters, It's simpler than it sounds....we can walk you through it if you want to do it yourself....
 
Very easy option that's not too expensive unless you go the SWM-8 multi-switch way.

wildbill129 said:
If they all will work with SWM, buy the SWM LNB off ebay and install it yourself. You will also need SWM splitters, It's simpler than it sounds....we can walk you through it if you want to do it yourself....
Click to expand...
 
Madtown HD Junkie said:
Just curious if I am expecting too much.

I moved to a new house a little over 2 years ago....they built it with one line going to each outlet. I wanted a second in the living room and also the bedroom for DVR's. I had to run a line through my basement, through the garage wall, up to the ceiling, through the ceiling and floor above it to the master bedroom to get the second line in. I heard about SWM needing only one line to work. Called D* to ask to get this to replace just the one wiring scheme in master bedroom. Thery told me no, they could not ship one to me to install.....I also had to pay for a service call to have it installed.
I offered to re-up my contract but also was denied.

Is it just me or has D* lost their customer service niche over the last few years.
I have used them since the 90's and they seem very rigid and much less concerned about service.....
or am I nuts?:eek:
Click to expand...

According to our own policy ....

SWM IS NOT TO BE ORDERD.

Nor do we have a order code to specify swim.

The Order Managment System determines if you get swm or not.

All request for SWM are to be denied.
 
I don't think DIRECTV was out of line.

I thought I heard that right now SWM is only installed for new customers that need 6 or more tuners for the installation.

You can't just call up DIRECTV one day and say - Sent me the SWM equipment, or Sent out a tech. to switch me over to SWM.

I know this isn't the same situation, but it's kinda similar...
If you drive a Honda car you can't just call up the Honda dealership one day and say - Sent me a new set of floor mats for free, I don't like the ones I have now.
 
DirecTV has basically said that on their web site at DIRECTV: Multi-Room HD DVR Service

"Please do not purchase any additional receivers to participate in this beta trial. If your existing receivers are not currently networked please do not network them to participate in the beta testing phase. Once the service launches nationally there will be a special offer available to take advantage of the service. "
 
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