Ok, I know almost nothing about DBS (1 Viewer)

[Elijah]

Hey Vince

My only note is more on the pricing and economics side of things.

This may have already been mentioned above and I just missed it, but I only have so much time to read these long posts while at work : )

DirecTv has a TOTALLY different pricing structure for New customers, and Existing customers.

You will wind up paying MUCH more to add a room onto your system once you have made your initial purchase.

DirecTv gives huge discounts on the hardware (depending on what type you get), so that it is just a "couple of bucks" more to add another room when you are a first time customer. But if you wait a month and then go to add on, you could find yourself looking at 100's more to do what $10-$20 could have done when you signed up.

I hope someone is going to try and proove me wrong by posting a link to some incredible special, but I doubt it. DirecTv is always trying to get new customers, and "all" their deals are geared towards that goal, so much so that they do a pretty extensive check as to whether you have had their service before when you signup.

All that being said, plan ahead before your initial signup as to how many rooms you want, and what equipment you will want in each room.

I have DirecTv in my LR, Kitchen, and wanted to add it to my MBR recently (Bedroom, not Bathroom : ) It was going to be close to a hundred for the new equipment and setup fees. If I had done this when I first signed up less than a year a go, It would have been 5-10 dollars to upgrade to the 3 room package and 5 a month for another rooms programming. The programming costs for these past months and extra $5 at setup would STILL have been cheaper than waiting to add on.

And all of this is compounded severely when you add in HD equipment. This all being said I still like DirecTv and look forward to keeping them as they have a great online system as Corey-Reid said.

I will post a little later about the quality issues I have found with SD programming via DirecTv. To sum up that is to say that they have a finite amount of Bandwidth for all their programming, and it shows on larger/nicer displays.

Anyway, its an honor to be able to give some insight to someone who has educated me so much, and helped fuel my desire for HT, much to the dismay of my wife : )

Sorry no time for spell check : )

 

[Corey-Reid]

DirecTv has a TOTALLY different pricing structure for New customers, and Existing customers.


Not for the programming itself though. This is one of the things that pisses me off about direct tv. They give some great deals on 4 room setups to get new customers, but when my old receiver took a dump, I cant get the same deal, and I have been a loyal customer of d* for 5 years.

D* did run a great deal on the dvr and setup, it may still be in effect. We paid 99 dollars for the tivo(40GB hard drive) and the free setup. The guy had to rerun the dual coax cable from my dish down the side of my house..... about a 30 foot run. He then set up the tivo, gave a brief demo.... all in all, he was there for 90 minutes or so, but fo 99 bucks??? heck, I was going to spend that much just replacing the receiver I had that went bad. i could not see replacing the receiver and not getting the dvr.

I agree with Elijah,
If you are going to make the plunge, get as much as you can get right now, and definately get the tivo, if you dont, you will in the near future, and it will likely cost you more.

 

[Geoff L]

Hey Vince:

It's now has been a month or so now since this thread run dry...

====>
Did you finally make with a decsion on "which service, how many rooms, and what equipment you went with".???

If so, how is it working out, and were you able to get in on some promo deal/special/ or work so smoken deal, etc.???

If you did go to Sat, did you fish cable to the main room that you were not looking forward to doing, looking like a deal breaker for the room for the tri cable install.???
====>

I'm a total moron to this Sat/DBS stuff, know nothing of it.! Analog garbage cable has been my life for the past 15 or so years. I'm in the same or near similar place you were, but with slightly different Sat needs.

I'd like to thank all who contributed to this informative thread as it has helped me, ~{the even much less knowledgable}~ than Vince, to understand some of this Sat/HD stuff...

Regards
Geoff ¥

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Geoff,

Thanks for the revival! I actually was about an inch away from posting an update to this thread last night- but I went to bed instead, lol.

Well the short answer is: I have NOTHING as of yet. When last we left our hero, I had pretty much decided that running cabling all around my baseboards and through the apartment was NOT going to work. So i did some investigation and found that there is a crawl space above my apartment, although I couldn't find access to it.

I spoke with the landlady and found out the entry to the crawlspace is in the apt across the hall- and she's 100% fine with me adding media outlets and whatnot and running wires in the walls. So, my quest began to figure out how to run nice cabling through the walls without cutting big holes for electrical junction boxes. I have a thread in HT interiors here on the HTF asking about that concern right now.

So the next step is finding someone to fish the walls and run the lines (or take the initiative to figure out how to do it myself). I'm still a little puzzled if I'll need one or two runs of RG 6 for each box, but I guess I'll figure it out eventually.


Every online source with package deals that I've found are all very "stock." I'd like to get 2 hd tuner boxes and one SD tivo box: but of course, no package of receivers seems to offer this. In addition, I have considered buying each box ala carte-- but I have no idea what boxes are considered the "good" models.

My 42 inch plasma set is scheduled for delivery today- it's a HD model so I'm sure I'll be chomping at the bit again by the end of the month to find a DBS service. I would love to find a reputable installer/store here in LA-- but I have no idea where to look. I'm not interested in BestBuy type places- I'm more interested in those places that can work with more technical customers without playing salesman or blowing smoke in my rear.

So, for now, my search continues. However I have put down some groundwork in figuring out how I was to do the install and related wiring: so I guess that is a decent first step. Now if only someone could show me how to fish the walls.

Maybe someone here can point me to a good Satellite centric forum, a reputable installer in SoCal, or even just a list of the better tuner boxes for HD and TIVO.

-V

 

[Geoff L]

Well I'm just ahead of you in only that the wall is drilled and a groment has been installed for the incoming lead.
Aside from that, I'm stuck as to what DBS service and receiver I want to go with. Much easier situation than you in, in that aspect for sure..

It's like learning Audio Video and everthing else affilated with it, from scratch again, when I first entered that world many many years ago. Well you know what I mean anyway.
I know just enough about this Sat stuff to get myself into something I wished I would not have. You know, whops should have went this way, damn it..:frowning:

Hopefully the other helpers will return to this thread and your other with more meat for you to chew on!

Good to know that you can run wire/outlets to the needed places, already ok'ed by your landlord. Don't envy the cable fishing and or getting someone quailfied to do it.
Like anything with the proper tools and knowledge everything is easy, or at least much easier...

Sat/DBS Crash Course 101:
When dose that class start here?

Best of luck
Geoff ¥

 

[Robert_J]

Go to the Value Electronics web site and find a package that is close. Give them a call and tell them what you want added to the package. Robert, the owner, is a regular poster over at the Tivo Community site and provides very good customer service.

-Robert