Wireless for DirecTV

[sndr8kr]

Confusing information on DirecTV regarding wireless connection for VOD. What's better:
1. Getting their wireless router/receiver
2. Getting Wired through house electrical
3. Use another product

Don't understand why they sell a wireless connect but at the same time tell you to get the wired through the house as a better strategy. What results have anyone out there gotten.

Thanks!

 

[Bob Nielsen]

Many people are getting good results with any of these, but my experience has been:

Wired (CAT5)--best
Powerline adapter--good for On Demand, fine for Media Share or SD MRV, inadequate for HD MRV
Wireless--OK for On Demand, not so good for Media Share, lousy for MRV

I have also used MoCA (on the OTA cables--it is incompatible with the satellite frequencies) and it is very good for any of these. When DECA becomes available it will be very good also (same technology but at compatible frequencies).

 

[rad]

As Bob said, a wired connection is best. If all you're planning to do is DirecTV on Demand the speed of your internet connection might be the limiting factor, doesn't mapper if you have a solid 85Mbps powerline connection if all you have is a 1.5Mbps DSL connection.

If you have any desire to use the upcoming Multi Room Viewing feature (where you can view recorded content from a HD DVR to another HD DVR or HD receiver) I strongly recommend a wired connection. If you can't run cat 5 or better cabling you might want to wait for DirecTV to come out with the DECA adapters which allows the receivers to use the existing coax cabling for the network connection.

 

[fleetfarmer]

In order to used DECA you have to have SWM.

 

[Jimbo]

In order to used DECA you have to have SWM.

really ?

I was hoping I would not have to make the change as I really have no other need for it (SWM) only have 3 tuners at the house at the time.

 

[fleetfarmer]

really ?

I was hoping I would not have to make the change as I really have no other need for it (SWM) only have 3 tuners at the house at the time.

Yep.
I didn't make it up.

Go the DIRECTV technical discussions forum.
Click on the thread - DIRECTV New Technology:Ethernet coaxial adapter.

DECA will be a great thing, if you have SWM, which most people don't have right now.

 

[Jimbo]

Yep.
I didn't make it up.

Go the DIRECTV technical discussions forum.
Click on the thread - DIRECTV New Technology:Ethernet coaxial adapter.

DECA will be a great thing, if you have SWM, which most people don't have right now.

I have one, just haven't set it up yet.

Didn't mean that you made it up, just was hoping it wasn't true.

Doesn't matter yet as DECA is not available yet anyways.

Remember DECA is NOT Directv, it is a new technology, nothing to do with D*, even though it the write up on the website may make it look that way.

 

[fleetfarmer]

I have one, just haven't set it up yet.

Didn't mean that you made it up, just was hoping it wasn't true.

Doesn't matter yet as DECA is not available yet anyways.

Remember DECA is NOT Directv, it is a new technology, nothing to do with D*, even though it the write up on the website may make it look that way.

I was joking about you thinking I made it up.

It's kinda hard to remember DECA is NOT DIRECTV since it only works with SWM and nobody else has SWM, except that DISHNETWORK uses something like SWM but I don't think they call it SWM.

It's also hard to believe that DECA is NOT DIRECTV and that it has nothing to do with DIRECTV because DECA actually stands for DIRECTV ETHERNET COXIAL ADAPTER.
The thread I mentioned earlier even says - The DirecTV Ethernet Coaxial Adapter (DECA) is a upcoming technology DirecTV is developing to aid in networking receivers.

 

[rad]

Remember DECA is NOT Directv, it is a new technology, nothing to do with D*, even though it the write up on the website may make it look that way.

Jimbo, you're sort of correect. DECA is not the same as MoCA, it's the same principle but DirecTV's modified it to work on their SWiM technology.

 

[Jimbo]

I was joking about you thinking I made it up.

It's kinda hard to remember DECA is NOT DIRECTV since it only works with SWM and nobody else has SWM, except that DISHNETWORK uses something like SWM but I don't think they call it SWM.

It's also hard to believe that DECA is NOT DIRECTV and that it has nothing to do with DIRECTV because DECA actually stands for DIRECTV ETHERNET COXIAL ADAPTER.
The thread I mentioned earlier even says - The DirecTV Ethernet Coaxial Adapter (DECA) is a upcoming technology DirecTV is developing to aid in networking receivers.

Jimbo, you're sort of correect. DECA is not the same as MoCA, it's the same principle but DirecTV's modified it to work on their SWiM technology.

DECA = Digital Entertainment
I thought I saw talk of DECA from an article on Engadget, but can't find it now ...... I was under the impression that it was an upcoming technology much like the MoCA Rad mentioned .....

When I get more time I'll look into it.

 

[rad]

D=DirecTV
E=Ethernet
C=Coax
A=Adapter

I guess you can think of it as a modified MOCA, the standard MOCA adapter won't work on DirecTV SWiM systems due to frequency conflicts.

 

[TigerpounceTN]

I'd like to do multiroom viewing with my DVRs that are going to be installed. I take it that wireless n won't make much difference and I should wire both receivers to my router?

 

[Jimbo]

I'd like to do multiroom viewing with my DVRs that are going to be installed. I take it that wireless n won't make much difference and I should wire both receivers to my router?

Wired is your best way ... provided your able to do it .... as far as getting the wires ran to the correct places, my house would be difficult, but eventually I'll do it.

 

[rad]

I'd like to do multiroom viewing with my DVRs that are going to be installed. I take it that wireless n won't make much difference and I should wire both receivers to my router?

If it's not too hard to pull some cat 5/6 cable then that would be your best bet. If however that would be a real PITA, and if you can wait, you might want to see what DirecTV finally says about have MRV enables on accounts that don't use DECA for networking. There has been some rumors/leaks that DirecTV MAY require that DECA be installed for MRV and if not your account wouldn't be enable for it, so I'd hate to see you spend a lot of effort to pull cat 5/6 cable that you couldn't use for MRV.

 

[Jimbo]

If it's not too hard to pull some cat 5/6 cable then that would be your best bet. If however that would be a real PITA, and if you can wait, you might want to see what DirecTV finally says about have MRV enables on accounts that don't use DECA for networking. There has been some rumors/leaks that DirecTV MAY require that DECA be installed for MRV and if not your account wouldn't be enable for it, so I'd hate to see you spend a lot of effort to pull cat 5/6 cable that you couldn't use for MRV.

Then again, if D* ultimately decides to charge for thier version of MRV, I will be skipping the idea and using another alternative which a friend of mine has worked on.

 

[rad]

Then again, if D* ultimately decides to charge for thier version of MRV, I will be skipping the idea and using another alternative which a friend of mine has worked on.

Your choice, they won't be automatically adding on the fee if they do it, you'd have to ask for it.

 

[fleetfarmer]

There has been some rumors/leaks that DirecTV MAY require that DECA be installed for MRV and if not your account wouldn't be enable for it, so I'd hate to see you spend a lot of effort to pull cat 5/6 cable that you couldn't use for MRV.

That would be kinda stupid for DIRECTV to require DECA for MRV. You'd have tons of customers saying - Why isn't being hard-wired from my router to the DIRECTV boxes good enough ?
Next they'd say -
What the hell is DECA ?
Then they say -
What do you mean I have to have SWM in order to use DECA ?
What's SWM ?
What's it going to cost for me to get SWM & DECA installed just so I can pay a monthly fee for MRV?

 

[rad]

That would be kinda stupid for DIRECTV to require DECA for MRV. You'd have tons of customers saying - Why isn't being hard-wired from my router to the DIRECTV boxes good enough ?
Next they'd say -
What the hell is DECA ?
Then they say -
What do you mean I have to have SWM in order to use DECA ?
What's SWM ?
What's it going to cost for me to get SWM & DECA installed just so I can pay a monthly fee for MRV?

For folks that know what they're doing will be ticked that they can't use their perfectly good network for MRV.

But look at it from DirecTV's point, you get J6P that goes out and buys a pair of powerline adapters that sync at only 10Mbps calls up DirecTV and says MRV doesn't work. Same for the one that goes out and puts a 802.11n wireless adapter on the HD DVR and it doesn't work since it's going from the basement to the 2nd floor on the other side of the house and taking 10% packet loss due to poor signal. The DirecTV CSR's can't be expected to provide support for all these folks so DirecTV may just say unless you've got a DECA setup no MRV for you.

Now except for the very small number of folks that visit web sites like this and DBSTalk they have no idea that DirecTV is testing MRV now. So when DirecTV does get ready to roll this out it's expected that they will have an upgrade package, for a reasonable cost, to add whatever hardware is necessary to get a DECA network installed at the customers home.

Again, this is all rumor at this time since nothing official has come out from DirecTV, from if/what the monthly MRV fee would be and if DECA is required or not. We'll just have to wait and see what finally gets published.

 

[TigerpounceTN]

If it's not too hard to pull some cat 5/6 cable then that would be your best bet. If however that would be a real PITA, and if you can wait, you might want to see what DirecTV finally says about have MRV enables on accounts that don't use DECA for networking. There has been some rumors/leaks that DirecTV MAY require that DECA be installed for MRV and if not your account wouldn't be enable for it, so I'd hate to see you spend a lot of effort to pull cat 5/6 cable that you couldn't use for MRV.

It wouldn't take me too much time or effort. I was just curious about the bandwidth required. It looks like wired is the way to go then.

 

[TigerpounceTN]

It wouldn't take me too much time or effort. I was just curious about the bandwidth required. It looks like wired is the way to go then.

I thought this was worth posting twice....

OK. Once again they have lost me. I got a call today saying that my installation has been cancelled. I called them back to ask why and it was because my FATHER had an account with them and still owes them money. That was over 5 years ago and I don't live within 200 miles of him. They also will not refund the $118 I paid up front for a second HD DVR and taxes on it. They told me I would have to dispute in with my bank. Thank you DirecTV for reaffirming my belief that you undeniably suck donkey balls coated in fecal matter. I can't even come up with a word for how much I hate DirecTV at this point.


So ends my stay in the DirecTV forum. May you be treated better than I have been.