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Kent Berry
Joined: 03 Jul 2006
Posts: 94
Location: Central Florida
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 12:25 am Post subject: DirecTV HD DVR Connection Question |
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Do any of you folks know if a D* HD DVR will operate properly without a phone line connection? I don't have one, would like to get one, but I don't have a phone jack near where the unit needs to be installed and am seriously contemplating having our phone service discontinued anyway.
I'm getting conflicting info from friends, and I haven't bothered to call India.  No cable where I live so forget about that.
Thanks,
Kent
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dbaisey
Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 821
Location: Southern Cal LA / Seattle WA
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:05 am Post subject: |
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Kent,
From what I understand it needs it for PPV movie ordering and you will get that message that the call in has failed. You can order PPV on the computer and it will send the command but you dont really need the phone line. I may be wrong but dont think so
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:07 am Post subject: |
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Kent,
I can't tell you for sure with the new equipment, but I can tell you I'm running all my older Tivo-based receivers without the phone line connected. The receivers bitch about it all the time, but they work perfectly. The guide info comes from the satellite, not the phone line. The only thing you can't do without the phone line is order PPV with the remote. If you do order a PPV with the remote, the receiver won't be able to connect to DTV to tell the server you watched the PPV and will eventually force you to connect the phone line and call customer service to use the receiver at all.
Instead, you can just order the PPV by phone or better yet with a computer. Works just fine. Like I said, don't take my experience as gospel, but I bet you'd be good to go. If you don't want to call India, check or post over here - these guys know everything satellite-related:
http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12
SC
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Kent Berry
Joined: 03 Jul 2006
Posts: 94
Location: Central Florida
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:23 am Post subject: |
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| ecrabb wrote: |
The guide info comes from the satellite, not the phone line. The only thing you can't do without the phone line is order PPV with the remote. If you do order a PPV with the remote, the receiver won't be able to connect to DTV to tell the server you watched the PPV and will eventually force you to connect the phone line and call customer service to use the receiver at all.
Instead, you can just order the PPV by phone or better yet with a computer. Works just fine. Like I said, don't take my experience as gospel, but I bet you'd be good to go. If you don't want to call India, check or post over here - these guys know everything satellite-related:
http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12
SC |
Yeah, if that's true then it's exactly how the receivers work. I've had a DirecTV setup since the single LNB dish and receiver cost about $600  and I've NEVER hooked any of my receivers to a phone line and they work fine.
I had already poked around on DBSTalk and didn't see anything relevant. I may go ahead and register and post the question to those guys. Thanks for the info.
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WanMan
Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 10270
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:59 am Post subject: |
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I have a pair of HR21 D* HD DVRs and neither of them have been plugged into a phone line since they were installed in January, and both have had multiple software updates.
_________________
Trust no one. Absolutely no one. Advice of the board.
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Kent Berry
Joined: 03 Jul 2006
Posts: 94
Location: Central Florida
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:37 am Post subject: |
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Thanks WanMan, that's exactly what I needed to know. I've never ordered Pay Per View in my life and I don't care about that, I just want the thing to work the way it should without a phone connection.
Another thing: from what I'm reading it looks like D* is about to upgrade their hardware yet again, but until such time you either have to run 2 coax connections to the DVR or buy a separate single wire multiswitch. I still have a 3 LNB dish (plan to have a 5 LNB installed soon) and I'm trying to sort out all the physical connections. How many coax runs are there from the 5 LNB dish to the house? Is there a separate multiswitch? 2 coax runs from the dish to each receiver would turn into a mess in a hurry. D*'s downloadable PDF for the HD DVR is pretty worthless.
I'm usually pretty savvy on most of this stuff. I didn't realize I'd gotten so far behind. 
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WanMan
Joined: 19 Mar 2006
Posts: 10270
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:00 am Post subject: |
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I have the 5-LNB dish, and like my previous 3-LNB dish I have four RG6 Coax cables running from the dish's integrated multiswitch into the house. From inside the home these four cables feed into a 4x8 multiswitch. Each HR21 is receiving two coax runs, and an H21 is receiving one coax run.
I rarely find myself on DBStalk forums, and as a result have no idea about this single-coax solution you are talking about. BTW, I did just read that one of the Ethernet ports on the back can be used for LAN connectivity and the HR21 (H21 also?) can be used as a DLNA client much like the Xbox 360 and PS3 can. I have not tried this, though.
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rtart
Joined: 16 Jun 2008
Posts: 132
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Kent Berry wrote: | Another thing: from what I'm reading it looks like D* is about to upgrade their hardware yet again, but until such time you either have to run 2 coax connections to the DVR or buy a separate single wire multiswitch. I still have a 3 LNB dish (plan to have a 5 LNB installed soon) and I'm trying to sort out all the physical connections. How many coax runs are there from the 5 LNB dish to the house? Is there a separate multiswitch? 2 coax runs from the dish to each receiver would turn into a mess in a hurry. D*'s downloadable PDF for the HD DVR is pretty worthless.
I'm usually pretty savvy on most of this stuff. I didn't realize I'd gotten so far behind. |
Just had a new 5 LNB dish and three HR20/21's installed to replace my HR10-250's. D* did it all for free, since THEY are changing their system and will soon obsolete my gear. The "new" stuff is all leased, BTW.
The new 5 LNB dish has four RG6's coming off the dish. The switch is built in to the dish, unlike the old oval dishes. Each receiver needs two feeds to allow the recvrs to record two shows at once, while you watch a recorded show, if you like. I needed several extra drops, so they added a couple multiswitchs, both Zinwell WB68s. There are other models, but D*'s installer should install them for free. The HR20 (silver) will allow use of an OTA antenna for local HD channels, while the HR21 (black) will not. Unfortunately, you can't choose the model you want when you place the order. Your installer will show up with one or the other, but mine had both and I was able to choose once he got there. The HR20 has a built in antenna for the IR/RF remote you can buy for $25 (it has a backlight, as well, which is why I bought three. I onl use RF on one.) The HR21 needs a separate antenna for RF,which costs about $5, and you can order it from D*. You can add an AM21 box, which allows use of an OTA antenna with the HR21.
Call them up and they'll fix you up for free.
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Kent Berry
Joined: 03 Jul 2006
Posts: 94
Location: Central Florida
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 3:07 am Post subject: |
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Thanks guys. That fixes me up. 
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