DirecTV Whole Home DVR

[Gunslinger08]

Anybody have an opinion on this? Do I just need to get a DVR (probably the one that says it can record 5 shows at once) and some HD receivers for the other rooms?

I'm considering switching from Dish to save some money (on monthly discounts for 2 years and one time whole home DVR upgrade fees) and retain AMC. It would also be awesome to get Sunday Ticket this year.

 

[Doppel]

I have it and it works fine. The remote units do have some delay for fast forwarding, so it's not as easy to nail down exactly when to hit play again but it's pretty tolerable. I have whatever gear they gave me when I set it up a year and a half back. It uses a three-signal dish so I can pull in three signals at once, but only record two at once given my apparently old equipment.

 

[weadjust]

Get a HR34 Home Media Center with 5 tuners and 1TB hard drive. Have them hook up whole home with cinema connection kit so you have access to downloading on demand shows/movies via your network. Ask for 1 year of Sunday Ticket Free.

 

[hclarkjr]

sunday ticket is only $199 this year also

 

[ScottFern]

My biggest gripe with DirecTV Whole Home DVR is that you cannot see what shows are upcoming to be recorded from any box except the DVR itself. For all your DirecTV fans out there I am referring to "To Do List".

 

[Llwellyn]

My biggest gripe with DirecTV Whole Home DVR is that you cannot see what shows are upcoming to be recorded from any box except the DVR itself. For all your DirecTV fans out there I am referring to "To Do List".

Right now, no one's multi-room DVRs do that, but everyone is promising they will soon. I know for sure that Comcast, Verizon and DirectTV cannot control recordings or show recording information from remote STBs. I'm not even sure if the new Dish Hopper can even do that on the remote STBs, and it was just released a month ago.

 

[ScottFern]

Right now, no one's multi-room DVRs do that, but everyone is promising they will soon. I know for sure that Comcast, Verizon and DirectTV cannot control recordings or show recording information from remote STBs. I'm not even sure if the new Dish Hopper can even do that on the remote STBs, and it was just released a month ago.

I could do that with Uverse when I had it a few years ago.

 

[nsafreak]

Right now, no one's multi-room DVRs do that, but everyone is promising they will soon. I know for sure that Comcast, Verizon and DirectTV cannot control recordings or show recording information from remote STBs. I'm not even sure if the new Dish Hopper can even do that on the remote STBs, and it was just released a month ago.

All of the Hopper's functionality can indeed be accessed from the remote (Joey) units. There is some functionality yet to be enabled on the Hoppers, I think the main one is the ability to have multiple Hoppers on a network communicate with each other and essentially pool all of the recordings & tuners available. You can have multiple Hoppers now they just can't talk to each other yet.

 

[nickbits]

Right now, no one's multi-room DVRs do that, but everyone is promising they will soon. I know for sure that Comcast, Verizon and DirectTV cannot control recordings or show recording information from remote STBs. I'm not even sure if the new Dish Hopper can even do that on the remote STBs, and it was just released a month ago.

Mine can. HTPC ftw.

 

[Shawn]

Get the hoppa instead

 

[blurredvision]

My DirecTV whole-home DVR works fine, does what it's supposed to. If you do sign up for DirecTV, be sure to find a referrer. Both you and the referrer get $10 off your bill for 10 months, so there's no reason not to do it. If you need a referrer, please let me know via PM and I'll give you my account number to give to them when you sign up.

 

[chimaxi83]

Right now, no one's multi-room DVRs do that, but everyone is promising they will soon. I know for sure that Comcast, Verizon and DirectTV cannot control recordings or show recording information from remote STBs. I'm not even sure if the new Dish Hopper can even do that on the remote STBs, and it was just released a month ago.

You can do this with Uverse on any of the remote STB's, wired or wireless.

 

[Llwellyn]

You can do this with Uverse on any of the remote STB's, wired or wireless.

Good, I'm glad someone's does, because it shows the others that it's possible so maybe they'll get off their behinds and get the functionality working! The only other thing that's lacking in a lot of DVRs is either storage space or tuners, and sometimes both.

2 tuners seems to still be the majority option in a lot of cases, and even now, with over 100 channels of full-time HD, DVRs still only have 250GB or 320GB of built-in storage, so you get 15-20 hours of HD recordings before you have to delete stuff.

I'm glad to see the Hopper has so many, and an ample hard drive. I just got Verizon's newest DVR, and it's still only 2 tuners and 500GB. The old ones were 2 tuners and 250GB. I'm looking forward to when they have the next version released, which is supposed to have 3 or 4 tuners.

 

[Fritzo]

Get the hoppa instead

:thumbsup:

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

DBStalk.com is a good forum for Dish Network/DirecTV if you want to go look through there for what people think about both DirecTV's offerings and Dish Network's offerings.

 

[spacejamz]

sunday ticket is only $199 this year also

No Redzone with this offer if that matters...there is a higher level of Sunday ticket you need to buy if you want it...

 

[Gunslinger08]

Okay, I think I'm going to do it.

So if I get an HR34 receiver, I just need an HD Receiver (not DVR) on each TV to get whole home DVR working? I don't need RF remotes or anything, right? I'm wondering how big of a pain it will be to add the DVR controls to my Logitech remotes, since I'll be adding non-DVR receivers in the config.

It seems like DirecTV has slightly better picture quality as well. It looks like I won't lose any channels I care about by moving to the Choice XTRA package. Choice Ultimate seems pointless to me - it only adds a few sport-specific channels (ex. NHL and Tennis) and Encore.

Is it possible to get Red Zone without paying the extra $100 for Sunday Ticket Max? Can I just add it on for $5/month or something, like other providers?

 

[SunnyD]

Okay, I think I'm going to do it.

So if I get an HR34 receiver, I just need an HD Receiver (not DVR) on each TV to get whole home DVR working? I don't need RF remotes or anything, right? I'm wondering how big of a pain it will be to add the DVR controls to my Logitech remotes, since I'll be adding non-DVR receivers in the config.

It seems like DirecTV has slightly better picture quality as well. It looks like I won't lose any channels I care about by moving to the Choice XTRA package. Choice Ultimate seems pointless to me - it only adds a few sport-specific channels (ex. NHL and Tennis) and Encore.

Is it possible to get Red Zone without paying the extra $100 for Sunday Ticket Max? Can I just add it on for $5/month or something, like other providers?

That is correct.

I have the whole home DVR (the HR24 though) and the HD receiver. You can probably swing a deal to get Red Zone for free. You don't need RF receivers - each receiver "talks" to the main unit over coax, and that includes scheduling recording and whatnot.

You can also use the website as well as android/iOS apps to schedule DVR stuff too.

edit: YGPM too

 

[Gunslinger08]

Here's a good question. Will I be able to rewind/pause live TV on the non-DVR boxes? I'm guessing not. That might be an issue.

 

[SunnyD]

Here's a good question. Will I be able to rewind/pause live TV on the non-DVR boxes? I'm guessing not. That might be an issue.

Yes. I believe so.

edit: nevermind, just asked my wife to try it and she said no.

I know this doesn't help, but I do know that multiple DVR boxes CAN coexist on the same system.

On a side note, if you WANT to pause it on a non-DVR box, there is a sort of workaround - start recording the show you're watching (which will start recording it on the DVR box). Then you can pause it on the non-DVR while it's recording on the DVR. It's a pain in the ass though.

 

[jaha2000]

No you cannot.
Only way to do that is hit record on the non dvr boxes (this will record the show to the dvr). You can then pause rewind as much as you want

 

[Gunslinger08]

I think I can live without pausing/rewinding live TV on my other screens.

One last question for anyone that's cancelled Dish: What exactly do I need to return to them? I'm not going to get on the roof to remove the dish or anything attached to/near the dish.

 

[SunnyD]

I think I can live without pausing/rewinding live TV on my other screens.

One last question for anyone that's cancelled Dish: What exactly do I need to return to them? I'm not going to get on the roof to remove the dish or anything attached to/near the dish.

I can't answer that for certain, but my guess is likely the receivers, remotes, any broadband connectivity you may have (for ppv/on demand ordering) and POSSIBLY the LNB.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Went ahead and ordered my setup and scheduled installation for Thursday. The savings for new customers is ridiculous. Something like $54 a month off for the first 10 months (with smaller amounts stepping down over 2 years), all premiums free for 3 months, $120 Costco card, free Sunday Ticket, and an HR34/Cinema Kit/3 HD receivers for $99.

So now I just need to wait for Thursday. I'll cancel Dish after the install is done, just in case I have bad site lines to DirecTV's satellites and they can't do the install. I'm hopeful that the installer can take down Dish Network's dish (and LNB/switch) so I can return them. Wonder if I can get a wireless Cinema Kit? Their shopping cart didn't specify which one I'm getting. I have a bridged wireless router in my living room, but I'd rather just have a direct wireless connection if possible.

 

[SunnyD]

Awesome, you DID get the Costco thing. That means you got RedZone for free (along with Sunday Ticket for free too)

Do you have a cable jack near your primary router? I have the wired cinema kit, but I also have a coax jack in my wiring closet (specifically had one put there), which then feeds all of the receivers off coax. If you need the wireless one, you may need to call back and ask, or just ask the installer. But be careful, as the installer may not have one on hand when he comes out if he's not prepared.

Also, something interesting I found out about the cinema kit... it's actually a MoCA box. My desktops in my house are all on wifi, and my neighborhood as its getting built out is getting pretty full on wifi, so wifi is sucking hardcore. So I found one of these. I hopped on eBay for an AC adapter for it (they're designed to get power directly from older receivers - HR21's in particular). Plugged it in, and now my desktops are running 100Mbit "ethernet over coax".