Thread: DirecTV

Oh so it has nothing to do w/ resolution and sharpness? If I have a picture it's the best available?

Tony - you are the man and have been great answering all of our questions (many times the same one asked more than once or twice) which can be found elsewhere but we know LGK is the one stop spot for all our needs, THANK YOU!!!

Originally Posted by SirJW

Oh so it has nothing to do w/ resolution and sharpness? If I have a picture it's the best available?

yep.. the joys of digital feeds - it's either on, or off. There's no in-between. If you are seeing a picture, it's the best possible picture you can see.

I don't mind answering the same question more than once - just so long as it isn't regarding whether or not the Kings games will be televised.

- T

I switched just before the hockey season and have the following thoughts/observations:

- The ONLY advantage of Directv over the other providers is the programming. For me, that includes the hockey programming, the HD programming and the Russian/Ukrainian programming, much of which I simply can't get from cable, and I guess it's arguable whether Dish Network is as good in that regard.

- The receiver is CRAP in comparison to the Scientific Atlanta receiver I had from Cox Cable. It's so inferior as far functionality, I won't even go into detail as far as listing them out. The only good feature that is found in the Directv receiver that is not found on the Cox receiver is the ability to search the guide by keyword, title, etc. The remote control is also not nearly as user friendly.

- The channel line-up is inconveniently set up for channel surfing.

- When I signed up, I got one HDDVR and 3 SD DVRs. From the website, I was under the impression that each SD DVR is free after rebate (in addition to the HD DVR being 100 cheaper after rebate). As it turns out, there's a limit of 1 $100 rebate per household, but there's nothing on the website that says that (and if there is, it's so burried, no normal person would ever find it. All it says is "free after rebate"). When I bitched about basically being shorted $300 dollars through false advertising, they gave me the premier pack for free for 3 months (which is basically the same $300).

- The installation tech completely screwed up the installation, and they had to come out to redo a bunch of stuff.

- My HD receiver basically crapped out 4 days ago (about 1 months into its life - great quality!!!). They sent me a replacement one, but there was tons of programs on the old one that I wanted to watch or transfer to DVD, which I basically lost and can't recover.

To summarize, the most important thing is the programming, and I'm somewhat satisfied in that regard (my biggest beef being not having access to Canadian (HNIC, TSN, Sportsnet) HD hockey broadcasts on Center Ice), however the other aspects of the "experience" are in need of quite a bit of improvement.

Originally Posted by Goallum

- My HD receiver basically crapped out 4 days ago (about 1 months into its life - great quality!!!). They sent me a replacement one, but there was tons of programs on the old one that I wanted to watch or transfer to DVD, which I basically lost and can't recover.

Exactly the reason why getting an external SATA drive is a must. If my HD20 were to crap out today, I could hook this drive right up the "new" HD20 when I received it, ready to go with all of the recordings from the previous unit.

Oh, and if you're curious, 1TB.

Originally Posted by Unfiltered

Exactly the reason why getting an external SATA drive is a must. If my HD20 were to crap out today, I could hook this drive right up the "new" HD20 when I received it, ready to go with all of the recordings from the previous unit.

Oh, and if you're curious, 1TB.

Yeah, seems like a good idea. I do store all of my computer stuff on an external drive - I guess no reason why this should be any different for a DVR, other than that I don't care as much about tv shows as i do about my pictures, documents and itunes library!

So I finally signed up for DirecTv. I filled out the homeowners architectual form to let them know that I'll be having a dish installed. I told them on the form that I would be installing it on my patio cover and/or fascia off my patio. They ok'd my request and I scheduled the appointment.

When the guy came out, he decided that the best place to install it would be on the fascia of the car port that is directly adjacent to my patio. He said that he scouted the complex and other owners had installed at the same location. Sounds good to me so he installed it. In doing so, he also used some exhisting wiring "belonging" to Time Warner.

Here's the issue. I got a letter from my home owners that states they had received notification that I had installed a dish in a common area which is off limits. I must move the dish within 1 week. The funny part... I received a notification in January which was a letter just informing owners that Christmas lights must be down by Jan 31 and all Satellite Dishes must be installed on a common building. I checked my CC&R's and it states nothing of location of the dish and where it must be installed! WTF? They are talking out of both sides of their mouth! What do I do?

In addition, they also informed me that the installer had tapped into TWC wiring/box which is illegal and they let me know that this has been reported to TWC. Is using the exhisting cable illegal? Just because TWC installed the wiring, does it belong to them? Is what the DirecTv installer did, Illegal?

I have ATT U-Verse & love it.

https://uverse1.att.com/un/launchAMSS.do

Originally Posted by Unfiltered

Exactly the reason why getting an external SATA drive is a must. If my HD20 were to crap out today, I could hook this drive right up the "new" HD20 when I received it, ready to go with all of the recordings from the previous unit.

Oh, and if you're curious, 1TB.

This is exactly what i'm looking to do. We basically have our DVR full with my sons Disney shows and my wifes Travel Channel BS that there is no room for the stuff i want to record.

My question is how easy/hard is it to hook up? Do you just get an external HD with a USB and plug it in and go?

I was thinking of this WD 500gig HD but reading the info it says "Easy to set up, easy to use -- Installation is a snap because you don't really "install" this drive, you just plug it in and it's ready to use. There is no CD to install; the included software loads from the drive the first time you plug it in.
WD Backup software – We’ve provided software that makes backing up your data as easy as possible. With a few simples steps you can back up all your data files or just save your picture and music files. You can also set scheduled backups, so you don't have to think about it again.
Capacity gauge — See at a glance how much space is left on your drive.
Intelligent drive management features — The My Book drive turns itself on and off with your computer and Safe Shutdown prevents the drive from being powered down until all your data has been written.
Smart design — The elegant case, iconic of a book, takes up less space on your desk, stacks horizontally, and allows two or more drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.
High quality hard drive — Inside the case is an exceptionally fast-ultra quiet, cool-running hard drive from Western Digital.
Free Google software — Search your drive, manage your photos, and simplify Web searches with included Google software. Note: Google software is compatible with Windows 2000 and XP only."

Where does this included software install on a DVR?

Is NHL Network included in Choice or Choice extra, or would we have to purchase it separately or in another package?

edit: Just saw, it comes in the Choice Xtra.