das Monkey

So, there are a few threads scattered around here for DirecTV but none that seem very up-to-date. I'm preparing to get DirecTV in the next month and would like advice on how to go about doing it. I know I can go buy a dish and receiver at a retail outlet or go to Blockbuster and do their thing, but it seems like there are so many options, it's a bit overwhelming.

My balcony faces almost directly South with a good shot of the Southwest sky, and I live in Atlanta, where I get local channels from 101 WL. Now the way I understand it, any receiver/dish combo should be able to handle this. I would, however, like to keep open the abaility to get HDTV and the TiVo service, which would mean getting one of the more expensive dishes.

So, here are my questions:

1) What's the deal with all the millions of promotions I keep hearing about? I intend to maintain service for 12 months so long as the signal comes in clear. Are the packages that Blockbuster is offering pretty good, or should I buy the equipment myself?

2) How difficult is installation? Do I need to worry about "professional installation"?

3) I'm pretty sure I want two connections for two televisions. How will that affect what I'm trying to buy?

4) How do TiVo and Replay compare, and what's the deal with the TiVo service with DirecTV? Is it better to get them separately or try to combine the two? If I buy TiVo separately, do I need the special DirecTV receiver?

The things I would like, many of which in the future are:

Premium Programming
Local Channels
Connections for Two TVs
HDTV
TiVo

If it raises the price too much, I can give up HDTV and TiVo. It's not that important, and I can always buy a new receiver down the road. I would greatly appreciate any hands-on experience anyone has. There just seems like so much out there that I don't know what options are necessary from the get-go and what I can wait a while to get. Thanks for any help.

das

The Eggman

das

I have DirecTV with a TiVo receiver. I had the dish professionally installed because I am an idiot when it comes to tools, but a friend of mine was able to install his with no problem.

If you are looking at a dual-dish so you can hook it up to two tvs, you may want to consider buying the single system with the TiVo, then a few months later, buy the dual-dish adaptor ($50) and another receiver (as low as $100). DirecTV will charge you about $5 a month for two receivers.

As for Blockbuster - I try to avoid them as much as possible. Check out Best Buy or Circuit City, they have comparable prices. My buddy got his at Sears and got a great deal.

Happy hunting. You won't be disappointed. DirecTV is great for movies and sports and the TiVo will change the way you watch television.

Hope this helps.

das Monkey

Thanks! That helps a lot. So, am I understanding this correctly. You can buy a receiver that has TiVo built in to it, or you can buy a receiver and a TiVo. Does TiVo work with a receiver separately? Also, so I understand this correctly, if I want two TV's I need a dish with double support and two receivers (one for each TV). I can either buy the dish already set up with two outlets or buy an adapter for $50. Either way, I'll need two outputs from the dish *and* two individual receivers? If that's the case, your plan sounds very reasonable. Thanks again.

das

The Eggman

Yes - you can buy a DirecTV receiver that has TiVo built in.

And yes, you can buy a dish that has dual output or you can buy an adaptor. Either way, you will need two receivers in order to watch two separate shows on the two different TVs

das Monkey

Sorry to ask this question again, but can you buy a regular receiver, then buy TiVo and have them work well together? Or is it your opinion that it's best to just get them all-in-one?

das

The Eggman

To be honest - I don't know. I would think you could have two and have them work fine.

For me, it's just one less box I have sitting in my entertainment center. But if I ever did lose DirectTV for wahtever reason, I think that would render the TiVo service useless.

nevermind

Yes, you can buy a stand-alone TiVo and hook it up through the serial port on the DirecTV receiver.
One thing to keep in mind - if you cannot get waivers from the locals for whatever reason, a DirecTiVo will not be able to record those channels. A standalone will let you have an antenna or cable for your locals in addition to having the rest on DirecTV. For more info, go to
http://www.avsforum.com/ubbcgitivo/Ultimate.cgi


Hope this helps!!

David_M

If you want cheap Blockbusters is having a sale for the one receiver system for $9.99 or the two receiver system for $99.99. This is for first time customers only. Now I don't know how much Bestbuy or other places charge, but $10 for the dish, receiver, installation and a two year warranty seems like a good deal to me.

BDB

For more info check out avsforums.com
I have the directv/tivo combo box, and it is great, my dish is a dual one, so there are 2 outputs which go into my receiver.

Rumor is that at the start of August Tivo will turn on the 2nd tuner, so that I can record 2 programs on different channels at different times.

The Microsoft UltimateTv already has this, so Tivo are slow at getting it out. It is only a software download tho'

I love my tivo, and would be lost without it.
For Example the tour de france is on now, and if I had a vcr I would have set it for 6:30-9:00 today, however they started the show early, and as tivo gets the downloads from the schedule it recorded from 4:30 -9:00. this is using the season pass feature.

Whereby you tell it to record every episode of 'Friends' or whatever and it does it.

Awesome Toy. Easy to use.