OK, I’ve had Dish for 10 happy years, but due to their dispute with Turner they’ve been dropping some channels I like. I know it’s all about the money, but if they drop TNT I’m planning to switch.
The Genie looks pretty good, but has anyone had any issues with it? It appears that the main receiver rebroadcasts to the mini units, is that correct? Any issues with interference? I’m a ham operator and that’s always a consideration.
I have two hi-def tvs and one standard. I’m guessing that’s not a problem.
Every TV provider I’ve ever been with has had carriage dispute at some point during my subscription. Instead of switching, maybe you can use this opportunity to score yourself some free stuff with Dish. Since you’d have to put up with the hassle of calling them, anyway, you might as well see if you can get a few months of free HBO, some free PPV coupons, or an upgrade to a Hopper (if you don’t have one already) out of them.
Having said that, Direct and Dish were similar enough to me that I couldn’t argue in favor of using one over the other. Just keep in mind that if you switch to DirecTV you’ll be under contract for a year or two and will be stuck with them the next time they have a carriage dispute.
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Any issues with interference? I’m a ham operator and that’s always a consideration.
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AFAIK, the multi-room DVR systems such as DirecTV’s Genie, Dish’s Hopper or AT&T’s Uverse use auto-configured 802.11 AC (5 GHz) wi-fi. I’m not a ham, but I haven’t heard of any widespread issues. You may have trouble if you put a set-top box next to your radio - my guess is your transmitter would swamp the TV device.
And as the spicy one says, there’s always some channel or media company having a contract dispute with some cable or satellite provider.
That’s true about the disputes, but it’s very annoying when it’s a channel I really like. I’m no TV critic, but I really like Major Crimes, Rizzoli & Isles and some of the others. I guess I’ll wait and see what happens.
Been a DTV subscriber for years. Just upgraded to the genie a few weeks ago.
if you want the wireless genie, specify wireless when you order. I assumed all genies were wireless by default - they aren’t. Guy had to come back for install because he didn’t have the wireless units and I didn’t specify when I called.
the signal is about perfect as far as I can tell. They tell you not to have a unit within a certain # of feet of a wifi router. It’s like 5 or 10 feet. I have a tv in a location without a wired hookup and have tried all sorts of different 3rd party wireless solutions in the past. The genie units far exceed anything I’ve tried previously. No interference of any kind to date. I’m connecting a unit about 25 feet away, through 2 or 3 rooms. Very happy with it.
RG-59 has been obsolete for many years as it’s rather leaky, so I’d be very surprised to see it used in a satellite TV installation. RG-6 QS (quad shield) has been the standard for 20+ years around here.
The new provider will most likely replace everything that isn’t a piece of in-wall cable - I’ve seen installers pull wall plates off and put new ends on cable, for example. No idea if it’s some neurosis of theirs, or if it’s a company policy to put known-good ends on the lines to cut reduce call-backs.
My cable is RG-6 and I had Starband Internet at the beginning so I know there are at least 3 runs of cable from roof to utility room. But now that an agreement has been reached I guess I don’t need to do anything.