Whole-Home DVR Service

[cashmonee]

I'm curious if the Directv multi room viewing feature allows you to watch something Different in each room or if you watch the SAME thing in each room. Kind of like ATT does with the uverse tv: stop in one room , pick it up in the next.

Because I was curious I just tested this. You can watch whatever you want. The TVs are completely independent. What I did was watch a recording Dexter and a recording of Biography in each room, but the recording were both on the same DVR. It worked fine. Then I watched a recording of The Glades in one room and a few minutes later started the same recording in the other room. Both played from the beginning with no issues as far as I could tell.

 

[mike123abc]

So the 922 isn't going to be the one to do mrv? My God how many receiver does DISH need to do this ? Can't they adopt the strategy that Directv has and use the coax already run in almost all houses out there? I will be really upset if the sling 922 isn't going to be that box. I will be even more upset if I have to pay out the ass to get a hd media extender for my bedroom tv. If it is too much , I will stay with the 211k instead.

I suspect that they were a year late on the 922. I think they meant the 922 for last year (2009) and the whole house one for this year. They got so bogged down by the 922 mess (all new software that took a year to debug by scrapping a lot of buggy new features). I bet CES of 2011 will have the whole house DVR.

 

[ScottChez]

You can watch different recordings from each room and watch something else on the DVR its self.

As an added bonus all HD contect plays in HD on all boxes, compared to the DIsh TV2 out which down converts to SD. I bet the 922 can do this also someday.

I'm curious if the Directv multi room viewing feature allows you to watch something Different in each room or if you watch the SAME thing in each room. Kind of like ATT does with the uverse tv: stop in one room , pick it up in the next.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

You can watch different recordings from each room and watch something else on the DVR its self.

As an added bonus all HD contect plays in HD on all boxes, compared to the DIsh TV2 out which down converts to SD. I bet the 922 can do this also someday.

Someday is right...someday SOON that is....

 

[MikeD-C05]

You can watch different recordings from each room and watch something else on the DVR its self.

As an added bonus all HD contect plays in HD on all boxes, compared to the DIsh TV2 out which down converts to SD. I bet the 922 can do this also someday.

That definitely sounds like a great idea. I only wish DISH had thought of it, since they started this whole idea of tv 1 tv2, watch two different things at the same time, using one receiver. Seems they are very much behind on mrv now.

 

[Mike0616]

That definitely sounds like a great idea. I only wish DISH had thought of it, since they started this whole idea of tv 1 tv2, watch two different things at the same time, using one receiver. Seems they are very much behind on mrv now.

That is the thing that really surprises me as well. I had the old 5xx DVR that had the TV2 setup and it was really something useful, as far as we were concerned.

Switched to D* for the HD back in 2007 and when I saw FIOS and U-verse, thought I would hang around there for MRV from D*. Slow, buggier than hell DVRs killed that one, when coupled with MRV software that only kinda-sorta works, so moved to U-verse. Finally, we have all HD sets connected and true MRV all over the house.

TiVo had MRV on their SD STB's long ago. AFAIK, they have never done that on their HD boxes, though. It surprises me that E*, TiVo, et. al. are letting themselves get buried by the IP and Cable companies on this front.

 

[chargerrich]

I'd say it's a pretty safe bet Dish has something similar in the works. Perhaps they are trying to spring a well timed surprise. But it might reduce the number of high end boxes they lease, so there may be some internal arguments going.

Dish may indeed be working on a similar solution. The real question is:

A) Will Dish continue to charge up to $17 a month per unit for leased hardware?

B) Will Dish change their 3 unit lease maximum?

C) Will they charge more than the $3 per month that DTV charges for MRV?

 

[Jhon69]

Dish may indeed be working on a similar solution. The real question is:

A) Will Dish continue to charge up to $17 a month per unit for leased hardware?

B) Will Dish change their 3 unit lease maximum?

C) Will they charge more than the $3 per month that DTV charges for MRV?

The $17.00 charge is for the 2nd Duo DVR.The 1st Duo DVR's fee is included with your programming package.

 

[cashmonee]

Dish may indeed be working on a similar solution. The real question is:

A) Will Dish continue to charge up to $17 a month per unit for leased hardware?

B) Will Dish change their 3 unit lease maximum?

C) Will they charge more than the $3 per month that DTV charges for MRV?

Good point. Right now, DirecTV has two advantages on the equipment front, they are cheaper and they offer a good MRV solution that works. If Dish simply offers MRV, they still have the issue of being more expensive for homes with several TVs. And that is assuming they dump the whole TV1, TV2 idea that I think is a poor option.

In my opinion, Dish needs to drop the idea of premium receivers at premium prices and one receiver for multiple TVs. Normal people (not us) do not care about the receiver they get from a company. Their only requirement is that the receiver works the way they want it to. They certainly will not pay $199 for one when they can get a lesser one for free. Also, they do not understand they concept of one receiver, 2 TVs, and even if they did, most homes are not wired for that (if I understand the way a 622/722 series works). Sling is cool, but it is not the feature people are really after until it can put their recordings on another TV in their house.

 

[Laddyboy]

The lack of a true multiroom viewing solution and the gouging high receiver fees are a double whammy for E*. They have really blown this, I think. It's easy to see why anyone with multiple room receiver needs would head over to D*. The third strike is E*'s painfully slow development process with hardware and software. The 922 isn't really finished. There are no extenders. The added hardware costs alone to sling all over the house are going to keep most away as things stand now. While E* was beating their gums about the 922 and its features, D* was actually putting together a real solution and implementing it. E* thinks the path to making money is through hardware fees. I don't think that's a very promising path when the competition offers the same service at the same quality without the added hardware costs. Throw in some uncertainty over the Tivo suit and the dustup with Disney and you have a real mess in Englewood.

 

[Jim5506]

I don't know if the hardware can support it but it would be nice if Dish could daisy-chain your VIP receivers (211/222/612/622/722/722k/922) either through ethernet or homeplug so that you could select to use/watch any tuner or recording on any receiver from any receiver on your account.

That would be a minor coup - using existing hardware for a new, more flexible purpose.

While the 211/622 series are not EHD compatible, they might be compatible over ethernet or such.

 

[Liquidforce88]

Ok wait a sec MRV is not all that.. Sure you have access to what is recorded on the DVR, and it can goto several other receivers. BUT..... You can only have 1 other receiver access a DVR at a time. You can't do DVR from the other receivers, so you can't pause live tv unless it is the DVR. The "WHOLE HOME" is only if you want to pay for all the extra HD receivers that you have to have, even when you only have STD tv's.

Certainly there are some people that the MRV will be what they want. I still find Dishes use of the dual tuner far more versitile in many applications.

The biggest thing I have seen with the MRV is on the sales side. People are sold on MRV but when I get there all they have is the one DVR and one HD then how ever many std's. Then the customer finds out how much that MRV really costs.

 

[cashmonee]

Ok wait a sec MRV is not all that.. Sure you have access to what is recorded on the DVR, and it can goto several other receivers. BUT..... You can only have 1 other receiver access a DVR at a time. You can't do DVR from the other receivers, so you can't pause live tv unless it is the DVR. The "WHOLE HOME" is only if you want to pay for all the extra HD receivers that you have to have, even when you only have STD tv's.

Certainly there are some people that the MRV will be what they want. I still find Dishes use of the dual tuner far more versitile in many applications.

The biggest thing I have seen with the MRV is on the sales side. People are sold on MRV but when I get there all they have is the one DVR and one HD then how ever many std's. Then the customer finds out how much that MRV really costs.

I'm not sure what you are talking about with the cost. I believe (I could be wrong) that D* charges $5 for every box after the first, no matter whether the box is SD, HD, or DVR. As I understand, the only extra cost is the $3 charge. Now, I am not sure what other providers do, though I am fairly certain it is similar to what D* charges.

MRV is a feature that people want and are now coming to expect from a provider. I disagree with your assessment that it costs significantly more. With most providers it is not much of a cost add. I also disagree with your belief that the current Dish solution of dual-tuners is better than the MRV solutions out there. In my opinion, it is far too limited to make any sense in most people's homes. However, the MRV solutions from other providers offer HD to all TVs and no extra wiring to be provided by the homeowner. I think that Dish does need to move quickly on this, especially considering what they are charging for additional receivers. For me, with two HDTVs in my home, Dish no longer wins the value proposition against other providers, and MRV is a large part of that equation.

 

[Ghpr13]

You can watch different recordings from each room and watch something else on the DVR its self.

As an added bonus all HD contect plays in HD on all boxes, compared to the DIsh TV2 out which down converts to SD. I bet the 922 can do this also someday.

This is very appealing, specially when one has a wife.
So if you would, answer me this. In my situation right now I have my HD TV in the TV room w/722k. In our son's room he has a SD TV using tuner 2. Now here's where my problem comes in...When I'm recording one of my programs on tuner 1, my wife will bi, uh I mean complain that she can't watch her program 'cause of my recording. If I set the 722k to record using both tuners, our (24yo) son complains that he can't watch his program, which gets my wife to bit, uh complaining again about "this recording thing I'm always doing!"
Could D* MRV bring peace to my household?
Thanks,
Ghpr13

 

[harshness]

How does Direct do it? How do they get "up to 15" tv's on one DVR? I've not seen technically how they do it? Is it wireless and does it require multiple boxes?

Here's how the current incarnation works:

1. Each TV must have an HD receiver or HD DVR.
2. Each DVR can be viewed by exactly one remote receiver at a time (if several want to watch any content recorded on one DVR, they either need to watch the same TV together or wait until someone else is done with remote viewing on that DVR.
3. Each receiver must be networked with any receivers it will share with. DIRECTV is pushing their implementation of MoCA over their Single Wire Multiswitch technology to accomplish this.

Issues for DISH network customers:

1. You will go broke outfitting all of your TVs with HD receivers/DVRs.
2. MoCA doesn't work with DISH Network's star distribution scheme. Wired, switched Ethernet should work just fine though.

DISH seems to have chosen the Sling route and the potential is for it to be much cheaper and more flexible.

1. Sling technology is well established on a number of platforms.
2. Slingcatchers don't demand a monthly viggerish to DISH Network.
3. Sling streaming can adapt to changing network loading and be used over the Internet and wireless connections without major headache.

 

[Laddyboy]

This is very appealing, specially when one has a wife.
So if you would, answer me this. In my situation right now I have my HD TV in the TV room w/722k. In our son's room he has a SD TV using tuner 2. Now here's where my problem comes in...When I'm recording one of my programs on tuner 1, my wife will bi, uh I mean complain that she can't watch her program 'cause of my recording. If I set the 722k to record using both tuners, our (24yo) son complains that he can't watch his program, which gets my wife to bit, uh complaining again about "this recording thing I'm always doing!"
Could D* MRV bring peace to my household?
Thanks,
Ghpr13

As would adding a 211k for $7 per month plus $40 to turn it into a DVR. It'd be worth it to not have to listen to the complaining imo. Even with D*s MRV and one DVR, you are still going to have only two satellite tuners available plus have at least another receiver.

 

[harshness]

Could D* MRV bring peace to my household?

In that DIRECTV's Whole Home DVR Service demands that every served TV have its own HD satellite receiver or DVR, yes.

 

[stonecold]

Leave it to the Dish forum to get all crazy over a simple DTV feature.

Here are the numbers
DVR Service Fee : $7 ( per account not per box)
Whole Home Fee : $3 ( per account not per box)
HD Fee : 0 Free just like DN
Whole home upgrade fee (for existing customers ) : 99
New customers : 25 dollars ( less to upgrade)
Box fees no mater what type of box: $5

Limitations
Cant diplex OTA on same cabling DECA modules are installed on ... But not many people have ota so it has not come up yet.

 

[navychop]

Isn't it a 6 satellite tuner lease maximum, not a 3 box maximum?

 

[Liquidforce88]

Ok costs. You can only get 1 HDDVR and 1 HD free as a new customer. If you have 3 or more tv's that you want MRV gotta pay 99 each for them. Plus 3 dollor more for the MRV.

Limitations as stated above only one remote IRD can access the DVR at a time. The remote IRD's have no DVR capabil. Plus is that they are HD. With Dish you can DVR at either location.