San Francisco, CA - DBS - Page 3

Originally Posted by Digibrat

I got the upgrade to the H20-600/AT9 setup a couple of days ago after rescheduled installs and a late appearance by the install tech. I'm upgrading from a 3LNB dish; they had to find a new location for the 5LNB dish as the tech wasn't comfortable with the 3LNB dish location; wooden base mount on the chimney was too small for the new dish.

After the tech left, I started to watch the local HD shows during prime time and noticed pixelation on all 3 local HD channels (ABC-KGO had a "not currently transmitting" msg screen). I planned to call about the problem the following morning. I had the H20 on so I could call DirecTv support when I lost the entire downlink; as in can't find the satellite signal on both my H20 and H10. The H20 displayed a message to a possible Multi-Switch problem. Prior to the downlink problem, I noticed that I was getting signal on one transponder for Sat 103 (which I believe is the one with the local HD channels).

The question is, has anyone else had this problem and is there something I can do to fix this as IronWood won't be able to come about for at least 2weeks? :-(

Hope y'alls installs goes better than mine.

Originally Posted by Digibrat

I got the upgrade to the H20-600/AT9 setup a couple of days ago after rescheduled installs and a late appearance by the install tech. I'm upgrading from a 3LNB dish; they had to find a new location for the 5LNB dish as the tech wasn't comfortable with the 3LNB dish location; wooden base mount on the chimney was too small for the new dish.

After the tech left, I started to watch the local HD shows during prime time and noticed pixelation on all 3 local HD channels (ABC-KGO had a "not currently transmitting" msg screen). I planned to call about the problem the following morning. I had the H20 on so I could call DirecTv support when I lost the entire downlink; as in can't find the satellite signal on both my H20 and H10. The H20 displayed a message to a possible Multi-Switch problem. Prior to the downlink problem, I noticed that I was getting signal on one transponder for Sat 103 (which I believe is the one with the local HD channels).

The question is, has anyone else had this problem and is there something I can do to fix this as IronWood won't be able to come about for at least 2weeks? :-(

Hope y'alls installs goes better than mine.

Originally Posted by Larry Kenney

The ViP622 DVR will be available in the first quarter of 2006 for a one-time upgrade price of $299. They didn't say when in the first quarter. There will be a $200 rebate after April 1, so those that can wait will get the 622 DVR upgrade for $99!
Larry
SF

Originally Posted by Airblair

Correction: the $200 rebate is only for those subscribers who currently have either the 921 or 942 HD-DVRs. You do have to wait until April 1 to order the 622, if you want the rebate.

Otherwise, I think you can order a 622 starting on February 1, for $299. This is a lease deal, not the sale price. It's thought that you will be able to buy a 622 for $649, but I haven't seen that confirmed.

No word yet on whether those of us who own those older models will have to turn them in. I hope not, since I want to use my 921 as an OTA DVR.

Originally Posted by jabbawabba

Which is the DVR that can handle MPEG4 aka... local HD??

Originally Posted by Airblair

622 can handle MPEG4. The 921 and 942 cannot.

All three models have an OTA tuner, so you could get your local HD that way . . . but I don't think that's what you were asking.

Originally Posted by cdinsmor

After reading through the messages here (and wishing that I had looked for this list prior to installation), I thought that I'd share my experiences with the upgrade.

1. My installation was mysteriously delayed for two days. Originally, it was suppose to be Monday, Jan. 9th. Ironwood claims that they never received anything regarding the installation and (re)scheduled for Wednesday the 11th. The installer showed up within the timeframe (8-12), but did not bring a satellite meter so he had to leave mid-install to go get the equipment. The new dish is quite a bit bigger and required a completely new install - i.e., new holes in the wall. Personally, I'm a little disappointed about this. It would seem that during the engineering, it could have been possible to make the masts interchangeable with regard to their anchorage. Total install time, including the time the installer was gone, was close to two hours. Additionally, do not expect the installer to clean up after themselves. You will need to go out and pick up all cut cable (from disconnecting the existing 3LNB dish) and any other miscellaneous items.

2. The new receiver (H20) seems to work okay. I guess I got in late enough that I did not have the issues with regard to sound-sync, but I do get a noticeably poorer picture than OTA or LA HD feed. The Seahawks-Redskins game via KTVU was atrocious. In an emailed complaint to D*, I said that Qwest Field looked more like the old Boston Garden, as the field was parqueted. None of the edges in the picture were sharp - helmets looked like they were from an old Colecovision game. If that was HD, we've regressed in time. D* contacted me on the issue and, in fact, I spent close to an hour on the phone with them last night. They stated that they have not heard of this issue (though people have reported in in the HDTV-in-SFBay Yahoo group). Their "solution" is that there might be water in one of the lines and therefore would like for me to schedule a tech visit to come look at the problem. It'll be entertaining to see if the tech is willing to come out either in the evening or on the weekend to actually see the issue.

3. My biggest complaint - I've now lost all network SD feeds. I had all four network feeds from the LA and all but CBS from NY. Being a subscriber of D* since about 2000, I'd been grandfathered in with old network waiver requests. When asking about the upgrade to HD LiL, I asked whether I would lose any channels. The CSR said that I wouldn't. Well, I have and, according to D*, there's nothing that they can do about it now. Pretty poor on their behalf to mistakenly cancel my feeds. My complaint on this came back with a "sorry, but there's nothing I can do. The FCC says . . . " My point that I never should have lost the channels was ignored.

4. According to the D* customer retention rep that I spoke with last night, D* has very little intent of providing PBS, WB or UPN in HD, regardless of the amount of HD programming available. He stated that D* had done a survey and found that approximately 95% of respondents wanted the big four networks and, at best, 10% cared about the rest. He said that he thought the number was closer to 5%, but wasn't positive. Based on this, it was the reason that they included the OTA antenna input with the H20.

Additionally, do not expect the installer to clean up after themselves. You will need to go out and pick up all cut cable (from disconnecting the existing 3LNB dish) and any other miscellaneous items.