need advice on hd tv.

dixiemudder04

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2006
Location
Burlington, nc
I just bought a 52" hd tv. I have a regular direct tv box now. Can i get a used HD reciever and hook it up and use my card i have now? Anyone ever try this?
 
You could call DirecTV and ask them what it would take. sudman seems pretty sure it won't, but I don't see why they couldn't add HD channels to your programming package, just like adding HBO.
 
As was my experience, Directv now leases the sat box. It is their property and may not be sold or bought privately. Your Directv card is "married" to your current receiver, they would have to send you a new card if they will let you use a old receiver. If you call them they will upgrade you to the new box and 5 LNB dish including the install with a two year contract. They were pretty insistent on doing the install, hey let them do it your paying for it. If you don't already have the five LNB dish you will have to have that and a new larger mast installed to support it anyway.
All of that being said, I am on my second HD DVR box from them, They replaced the first one but it did not resolve the issues that the HD/DVR has. My picture while very clear is very dark. I have checked it with two non-HD boxes and they produce a bright vivid pic on my projector. I tried the first and second HD/DVR on two other HD tv's, one plasma and one LCD, with the same result, dark image on everything. So be aware there may be some issues with the HD/DVR's.
 
Oh yeah, and tell them you're gonna go to dish network and watch them shit a free install.. :)
 
andrewlail76 said:
I had heard that there will be no impact if you have Dish Network or DirecTV
Only Cable will the worst impact be felt?
Click to expand...

... what in the world are you talking about?

FWIW, DirecTV charges you $100 "activation" or something on the HD DVR box... which you do not own, and which they charge you $8/mo or whatever to have at your house. And you have to agree to a 2yr commitment with early termination fees, etc.

The DVR at Dish is free, and they have a deal going now with like $120 off a two year deal... but basically what they do is credit your account $40 on month 6, month 12, month 23, etc. Oh, and their DVR has a larger hard drive.

But yeah, everything everybody else said is nuts on. You've got to have the dish and LNBs replaced, they may need to pull more/new cables, etc.
 
I bought a brand new Direct TV HD\DVR at Circuit City, 200 bucks. The installer just called them and had it activated. But no, you can cant just get a used one and use your old card. They have to activate HD in your programming package.
 
Oh, and if you want to use the DVR function, you need a dual recieve dish also. The second receive cable connects to the DVR for carrying the signal you want to record to the DVR
 
dbguync said:
Oh, and if you want to use the DVR function, you need a dual recieve dish also. The second receive cable connects to the DVR for carrying the signal you want to record to the DVR
Click to expand...


correct of you want to watch and record different channels.
You *can* get by with a single if you only want to record the same channel you are watching.
 
saf-t scissors said:
The DVR at Dish is free, and they have a deal going now with like $120 off a two year deal... but basically what they do is credit your account $40 on month 6, month 12, month 23, etc. Oh, and their DVR has a larger hard drive.
Click to expand...

Actually, they just changed their promos, and that's no longer the case, but your point is valid.

But, Dish does charge you for receivers, it's just baked into the monthly cost for the FIRST receiver. I just ordered my system today.

Their equipment is better, costs are less, and they have more HD than DTV.
 
see I'm debating on dtv or dish. My contract is almost up and we have the bundle with bellsouth. Bellsouth said they are switching to dish. I looked at the packages and it seemed to me dtv gives u more music channels than actual channels. I talked with a guy and he said that the old style rca are fine, unless u plan on watching hd dvd's. I'll just need the dvi cable. Mine doesnt have the hdmi hook up in the back. Was he correct?
 
the ONLY advantage to DTV is NFL Sunday ticket.

Im a dealer for both....either will cut you a deal if business is slow (actually, Ive seen 5 room multi HD DVRs including wall fishes done for free, but that was a desperate situation0
 
Rich said:
Actually, they just changed their promos, and that's no longer the case, but your point is valid.
Click to expand...

Oops. But yeah, I was struck by the difference in... attitude or something between the Dish website and the DirecTV website. I went into it looking to see how Dish stacked up, being a former customer of both DirecTV and shit-ass TWC. I came away with the impression that Dish was very upfront about their package offerings, prices, equipment features/capabilities, etc.

On the other hand, you've got to hunt around a little to find out what DirecTV *actually* costs per month, and you'd better read all the fine print, too. How much content does the DirecTV DVR hold? "Hours and hours", or in other words, stop asking so many fawking questions. There's a clear difference in their attitudes toward their customers. It was really surprising.

Oh, and to get back to the OP... I did see last night that BB sells DirecTV HD DVRs for about $200... which is the same price (not counting the rebate) for the "activation" of a leased DVR. It might be worth looking into... or it just might be a little confusion on my part about exactly what it is they're selling.

Should you happen upon a used HD DVR... it might be worth nabbing. You'd still probably want to replace the dish and LNBs, but just as a reference, my parents owned a couple of HD DVRs from DirecTV that got fried recently in a lightning strike. They were unable to replace the owned ones, and had to go with leased DVRs. They liked the old ones more... better/easier software, etc.
 
True, but there were hidden costs with Dish, too. The $7 a month lease fee for the 2nd HD receiver for the theater room, and what really pissed me off, the $5 second TV fee they wanted to charge me for hooking up the 2nd TV RCA outputs off the Vip722 box!

When I told them I had 2 TV's I was going to be running off the single 722 box, they had me at $65 a month. I called back and said I wanted the 722 box so I could do picture-in-picture on one TV, it dropped $5 to $60 a month.

It's not like I'm getting a separate receiver for TV2, I'm using what's built into the box, ya fucksticks..

But the VIP722 is a saweeet HD DVR.. Looking forward to using it! (We're sending the 2nd TV signal upstairs to the bathroom TV with a 5.8ghz wireless setup)

All that said, I'm still signed up with Dish..
 
alright as of last night. I found a SWEET DEAL. I get Free hd receiever with dvr, free standard receiever for the bedroom, 2 free dishes, free installation, cinemax for 1 cent a year, the second year is 2 cents for the year, hbo and stars for 3 months free. and a $100 free gift. All i needed to buy was my hdmi-dv1 cable. I get the 722 receiver. If u are going to go with dish i can give u the promo code. She said it was a valid code!
 
Umm, that's their standard offer right now.. ;)

But you'll be getting one dish with multiple LMB's.

By the way, if you're using a short length of HDMI cabling, just about any of them will work.. don't believe the hype.
 
I got a hdmi-dv1 cable from monoprice.com Thats all ive paid for. Thanks again for all the help.
 
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