OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Welcome to the Digital Sportspage forum.

Moderators: Bill_Abner, ScoopBrady

Post Reply
User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by dbdynsty25 »

PM sent... :) would be awesome if it works.

User avatar
Brando70
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 7597
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: In Transition, IL

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by Brando70 »

Don't know if any of you heard, but Fox and DTV are in a spat that could result in a few Fox networks like FX and some of the Fox Sports channels getting blacked out by Nov. 1.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2 ... over-fees/

Really bummed to hear this and hope it gets resolved so I don't lose American Horror Story.

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by wco81 »

Not to mention The League.

They have separate deals for Fox owned and operated stations, so Fox in many markets such as LA and also a deal for Fox News.

If the first deal doesn't get made, then these other deals could be jeopardized as well.

User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by dbdynsty25 »

Luckily Fox is big into Hulu...so we've got that. I need my League fix...that show is the underrated comedy of the last two/three years. Just hilarious.

User avatar
Brando70
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 7597
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: In Transition, IL

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by Brando70 »

dbdynsty25 wrote:Luckily Fox is big into Hulu...so we've got that. I need my League fix...that show is the underrated comedy of the last two/three years. Just hilarious.
Agreed. I bought season 2 and am recording season 3 while I get caught up. I have laughed harder at that show than any other recent comedy.

User avatar
RobVarak
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 8681
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:00 am
Location: Naperville, IL
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by RobVarak »

Ack! Just discovered that DTV is holding the Red Zone channel ransom and not including it in the new discounted Sunday Ticket package. :(

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/s ... pos=header

This displeases me greatly.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak

"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin

User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by dbdynsty25 »

Umm...everyone else paid 299 for the past 10+ years for it, so it's not like it's that different. Just gets the new people to spend a bit more. Nothing wrong with that, tho of course I'd have like to see it for 199 but that's not how companies make money. The 30 min short cuts and streaming to tablets/phones makes the MAX package worth the price of admission anyway, so no harm to me. :)

BTW, the new HMC Receiver I got installed is BADASS. 5 tuners, whole home setup...it's a thing of beauty.

User avatar
Brando70
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 7597
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: In Transition, IL

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by Brando70 »

Any other DTV people upgrade to the Genie yet? I had mine installed today, one main box and one client receiver. Haven't had much time to play around with it but having whole-home DVR with 1TB of recording room is going to be fantastic. Upgrading was really easy, but even though Genie is wireless compatible, the installer strongly advised using a wired connection. Said they had some issues with wireless connections. Not sure what, but I went with wired since the router and Genie box were near each other.

I got the main box and one client box (which is really small) for just a $50 install charge and the standard two-year commitment. Probably could have haggled on the install fee if I really wanted to.

User avatar
fatheadX
Utility Infielder
Utility Infielder
Posts: 395
Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Colorado

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by fatheadX »

Keep us updated on what you find, I'm about to make the change from cable to DTV and I'm very interested in what you experience.

User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by dbdynsty25 »

I've had it for about eight months...since before it was the "genie" and it is actually overrated as far as the "whole home" thing goes. There's quite a bit of latency when watching things recorded in another room on another TV. Really difficult to FF and RW accurately like that.

Other than that it's nice being able to record 5 things at once on your main "genie" tv, so at least from that point of view it's great. But I got so sick of the latency all the time, I just kept my old DVR in my office so I could record games or whatever so I didn't have to deal with it.

User avatar
Brando70
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 7597
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: In Transition, IL

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by Brando70 »

After spending the weekend using the Genie, the client module does have a little lag, but to me it's very minor. I usually fast forward on the 3 speed, but I'll probably drop down to 2 because it does seem to lag a little when you resume play. I think if you record a lot of sports and tend to do things like fast forward from play to play/pitch to pitch, I could see it being more difficult. I also did have it freeze up while I was adding a bunch of VOD episodes to me queue.

Those are the only issues so far. I think the response time is fine, and the guide, scrolling, button response, etc, do seem on par with what I had on my H20 unit.

Overall, it's a solid upgrade for me. My situation before was having two 250-MB DVRs, but I rarely recorded on the downstairs TV because all of the kid's shows, movies, and shows we recorded and watched were on our upstairs TV where the surround system is. That filled up quickly as a 15-20 kids movies in HD will eat up a lot of space, not to mention things my wife and I recorded. Now I have twice the total recording space I had, with the option to watch on either TV, and it only cost $50 for installation and $3 a month for the whole home DVR. As long as the client receiver doesn't have any stability issues, it was a no-brainer for me.

User avatar
sportdan30
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9014
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: St. Louis

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by sportdan30 »

Thinking of switching over to AT&T U-Verse as we're moving and now would be a better time than any time to change. Directv's recent price increase has me paying $105 per month for really nothing substantial. I don't have any movie channels or add-ons. If I dropped to a lower tier, then I lose out on Fox Sports Midwest (Cardinals, Blues, etc). I've been with Directv for almost 15 years, so I'm aprehensive about switching. My main concern is twofold. I'm worried about AT&T's picture quality, along with their internet speed. I'd be going with AT&T for phone, internet, and tv. As it stands, I'm paying $105 for Directv and $70 plus for Charter (internet and phone).

Any of you with AT&T had any problems or issues?

User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by dbdynsty25 »

No info on At&t, but I'm seriously considering just switching to Verizon FIOS, even though I know it's sh*t. LOL. DirecTV is just soooo expensive and I can save around 100 DOLLARS A MONTH by switching. In fact, my telephone and internet right now is more expensive than it would be if I ADDED TV too! They are all about bundles at Verizon it seems. I just hate the DVR so much it's hard to switch without significant pain. Just not sure if it's worth it.

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by wco81 »

I'm out of contract and contemplating a switch too.

Last I heard, U-Verse picture quality isn't as good as Direct TV.

I can get good promo pricing on Comcast which would give me more channels and much faster Internet for less than I'm paying now.

However, I'd have to buy Tivos (their top end DVR with lifetime service is $900 list but it's widely expected they will release new DVRs some time this year). Or maybe try to make a HTPC with Windows Media Center and something like HD Home Run Prime to record all the cable channels. So around $1000 in hardware investment.

Sticking with DirecTV, they have the Genie DVRs with 5 tuners and a lot of storage, whole home DVR service. They want $400 for a lease but if you play the threaten to cancel/retention dance, people said they are getting it for free pretty much.

They are also rolling out the latest Genie model HR44, mostly in test markets now. Suppose to be much faster than their previous top of the line.

User avatar
Brando70
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 7597
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: In Transition, IL

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by Brando70 »

sportdan30 wrote:Thinking of switching over to AT&T U-Verse as we're moving and now would be a better time than any time to change. Directv's recent price increase has me paying $105 per month for really nothing substantial. I don't have any movie channels or add-ons. If I dropped to a lower tier, then I lose out on Fox Sports Midwest (Cardinals, Blues, etc). I've been with Directv for almost 15 years, so I'm aprehensive about switching. My main concern is twofold. I'm worried about AT&T's picture quality, along with their internet speed. I'd be going with AT&T for phone, internet, and tv. As it stands, I'm paying $105 for Directv and $70 plus for Charter (internet and phone).

Any of you with AT&T had any problems or issues?
I use UVerse for Internet, 18 meg connection for $50/month, but it was only $25/month for a year, which is a pretty good intro rate and length. No issues with the connection, speed is good, etc. Cable definitely has faster options, but for what I use, I don't think I'd notice as much.

I contemplated the UVerse TV switch, but my wife hated the idea of having the HD channels at different spots in the guide than the standard channels.

User avatar
Danimal
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 12099
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 3:00 am
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by Danimal »

I heard the Uverse DVR's are s***. Considering I'm not a fan of the DTV DVR's amd people say Uverse is worse I have not switched. Plus I have a weird issues with my Uverse internet that is making me contemplate a change. Randomly every month or two my wireless stops working and I am forced to change the wireless password and then update all my devices which is a pain in the ass and AT&T's customer support is worthless as they have never even heard of this issue. Yet a Google search shows countless users with the same problem and no solution.

Rant over.
Follow Me on:
YouTube - www.youtube.com/maxpixelation/
Twitch - twitch.tv/maximumpixelation
Twitter - twitter.com/maxpixelation

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by wco81 »

Wow, I'm paying almost $50 with the various taxes for Uverse 6 Mbps.

Time for a change.

User avatar
Brando70
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 7597
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: In Transition, IL

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by Brando70 »

Danimal wrote:I heard the Uverse DVR's are s***. Considering I'm not a fan of the DTV DVR's amd people say Uverse is worse I have not switched. Plus I have a weird issues with my Uverse internet that is making me contemplate a change. Randomly every month or two my wireless stops working and I am forced to change the wireless password and then update all my devices which is a pain in the ass and AT&T's customer support is worthless as they have never even heard of this issue. Yet a Google search shows countless users with the same problem and no solution.

Rant over.
I've had it for a year and only had a minor issue with XBox connectivity, but that appeared to be resolved. Also speedtest stats for me have always been good when I've checked.

I do like the storage for the Genie for DTV (2 TB is really enormous), but the client unit definitely has issues. A lot of times it boots up a solid purple screen, which requires a reboot. Luckily the client reboot only takes about 30 seconds, so not a big problem, but it's definitely got some bugs.

User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by dbdynsty25 »

Brando70 wrote:I do like the storage for the Genie for DTV (2 TB is really enormous), but the client unit definitely has issues. A lot of times it boots up a solid purple screen, which requires a reboot. Luckily the client reboot only takes about 30 seconds, so not a big problem, but it's definitely got some bugs.
Ironically the only DVRs in my house that I DON'T have issues with are the clients. I never have to reboot those. My office HD DVR maybe once a month, but my Genie, about once or twice a week. Nothing worse than recording a game and starting to watch the recording and it skips ahead to the current location, thus ruining the game for you. Ugh...I'm almost ready to dump the whole system for that reason alone. F it.

User avatar
Brando70
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 7597
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: In Transition, IL

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by Brando70 »

Hey, DB, do you have your main unit on wireless or wired? When my installer came, he highly recommended connecting it with an ethernet cable because the wifi connection had a lot of problems.

I spend about 80% of my TV watching time with the client box, so it's possible I'd see more issues with the Genie box if I watched TV on that one more.

User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by dbdynsty25 »

I'm running wired. It was wireless for a while and I had them come out to change it as the latency between boxes was horrible. I'm just not all that impressed with directv and their technology. Their picture and programming is the only thing keeping me with them really.

User avatar
sportdan30
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9014
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: St. Louis

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by sportdan30 »

dbdynsty25 wrote:I'm running wired. It was wireless for a while and I had them come out to change it as the latency between boxes was horrible. I'm just not all that impressed with directv and their technology. Their picture and programming is the only thing keeping me with them really.
Agree. Actually, it's just the picture quality that's doing it for me at this point. I don't have any movie channels or sports subscriptions. The remote responsiveness is a joke for the most part, except on very few ocassions. Plus, I'm tired of losing service when a storm passes through the area.

I think I'm going to end up going with our local cable company, Charter and suspend Directv service for a few months. That way, if Charter is unbearable, I'll simply switch back to Directv. Might as well save 50 dollars a month in the mean time with their triple play. Not the greatest scenario but beats the escalating prices of Directv.

User avatar
Brando70
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 7597
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:00 am
Location: In Transition, IL

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by Brando70 »

Picture quality and sound quality are what make it hard for me to leave DTV, too, plus my wife really hates the idea of having to learn a new channel layout (especially if HD and standard channels are separated). In terms of price, do AT&T and cable catch up to DTV after the promo periods?

I will be curious if the XBox One can double as a DTV receiver. That might prompt a purchase more than the game lineup.

fsquid
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 6148
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2003 4:00 am
Location: Jacksonville, FL

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by fsquid »

as long as DirectV shows as much rugby as they do, I can't leave.

User avatar
RobVarak
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 8681
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:00 am
Location: Naperville, IL
Contact:

Re: OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

Post by RobVarak »

Brando70 wrote: I will be curious if the XBox One can double as a DTV receiver. That might prompt a purchase more than the game lineup.
I don't think it can. I think it just operates as a pass-through for a real receive. Moreover (and I do hope this is just a negotiating point right now)DTV has explicitly said that it will not be supporting it.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak

"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin

Post Reply