# dvr newbie & r15 offer



## neastguy (Aug 14, 2006)

hello, I'm new to the DVR world and not all that techno savy..... I have 3 old sty RCA DTV recievers and would like to replace two of them.... I know of the R15 offer and off the risks (heard that they are junky). Also, not to thrilled with the 2 year committment. I just want to make sure I understand this.. I can use that code and call them and replace two of my recievers and get tivo service for an extra $5.99 a month? that $5.99 a month will cover both of my R15's? also, I have no land line... I use broadband phone...Issues w/that? also, I have a reciever in the kitchen where the remote is failing, will they replace the remotes or old reiceivers with new ones? not sure how that works... ok.. and finally, do you feel these R15's are worth the deal? sorry for all the questions, but 2 years is a long committment......thanks..


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## jfalkingham (Dec 6, 2005)

Hey there!

IMO - Go for it. Once you go to a DVR world, you'll wonder how you lived without it.

The R15's are pretty good. Yes, there are a few small issues that may crop up, but you have never used a Tivo and the UI is like that of a DTV receiver, so you will probably have a much better experience than someone coming from the Tivo world. Once you get used to one platform, it can be difficult to switch.

One $5.99 DVR fee covers all, but you will have a leasing fee beyond the first receiver (DVR or not).

2 years, well, if you are happy with DTV and don't see yourself leaving, then its not that long of a gig. 

Try it out, if you hate them, return them in 30 days, and you are free and clear. 

BTW - DTV remotes will be provided with each unit (or should be)

Have fun!


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## jfalkingham (Dec 6, 2005)

oh yeah, do a search on VOIP and DTV - some headache, but it will work. 

I was never successful with Vonage, but with ATT call vantage, worked right out of the box for me!


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## neastguy (Aug 14, 2006)

jfalkingham said:


> oh yeah, do a search on VOIP and DTV - some headache, but it will work.
> 
> I was never successful with Vonage, but with ATT call vantage, worked right out of the box for me!


what do I need the phone line for anyhow, when I order movies with my reciever now I do it online... so does that mean then I cant order the stuff via the remote unless I get that worked out? also, wont the installer know how to hook that up so it works?


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

neastguy said:


> what do I need the phone line for anyhow, when I order movies with my reciever now I do it online... so does that mean then I cant order the stuff via the remote unless I get that worked out? also, wont the installer know how to hook that up so it works?


The only reason I know of for needing a phone line is to order PPV. They update your R15 via satellite feed, so you don't need it for that. The ONLY thing I can think of is that, during setup, D* sends a signal to your DVR to activate the service. I'm not sure if that happens via phone line or not.

As for the deal, personally I would go for it. Yeah, the R15 is a little buggy, but I really like the unit. And I'm one of those folks that came from having a tivo DVR. I've never had any major problems with it. As for the pricing, the $5.99/month does cover all the DVRs in your house - I have 2 DVRs, and they're both covered under that price. The leasing fee will replace the mirroring fee you now pay (they just basically changed the name). So, the $4.99/month you pay per additional receiver will be the same with the R15 - you won't pay any more per month on that front. That 2-year committment can be a show-stopper for some, but if you've been a D* customer for some time, and you like their service, then that shouldn't be a problem. Also, you have 30 days to send the R15s back if you don't like them.


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## trnsfrguy (Nov 11, 2004)

jpl said:


> The only reason I know of for needing a phone line is to order PPV. They update your R15 via satellite feed, so you don't need it for that. The ONLY thing I can think of is that, during setup, D* sends a signal to your DVR to activate the service. I'm not sure if that happens via phone line or not.
> 
> As for the deal, personally I would go for it. Yeah, the R15 is a little buggy, but I really like the unit. And I'm one of those folks that came from having a tivo DVR. I've never had any major problems with it. As for the pricing, the $5.99/month does cover all the DVRs in your house - I have 2 DVRs, and they're both covered under that price. The leasing fee will replace the mirroring fee you now pay (they just basically changed the name). So, the $4.99/month you pay per additional receiver will be the same with the R15 - you won't pay any more per month on that front. That 2-year committment can be a show-stopper for some, but if you've been a D* customer for some time, and you like their service, then that shouldn't be a problem. Also, you have 30 days to send the R15s back if you don't like them.


You don't need a phone line to activate the dvr, it's done by the installer who calls Directv.
As for ppv, it's better to order online as all of your receivers will get the ppv. If you order by remote, only that particular receiver will get the ppv.


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

trnsfrguy said:


> You don't need a phone line to activate the dvr, it's done by the installer who calls Directv.
> As for ppv, it's better to order online as all of your receivers will get the ppv. If you order by remote, only that particular receiver will get the ppv.


Should have been clearer with this. You call D* they set up the service for you. But according to the last installer I had, the CSR sends a signal to your R15 to turn on the DVR service for that unit (you can't do things like pause live TV until they turn on that service for you). I got that same impression when I set up my first R15. When I called to activate it, the CSR had me try pausing live tv. It wouldn't work (although my programming was activated correctly), so the CSR put me on hold, talked to a co-worker, and when she came back on the phone and had me try it (hitting pause on live tv) again, it worked. She made the comment "I just resent the signal to your DVR to activate the service - that's what did it."

I got the impression that they sent that activation signal via the phone line, but I could be wrong about that. That's the reason for my question.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

jpl said:


> I got the impression that they sent that activation signal via the phone line, but I could be wrong about that. That's the reason for my question.


How would they send that signal on the phone if you were on the phone? Did you use another line to call them?

Neastguy, one other reason for the phone line is the R15 has caller ID (that works for most people :sure: ). As you can see above, there's some question on weather it's required for setup. After that, you definitely don't need it. If you order from the webpage, there's a box you must check saying you have a land base phone line. My installer insisted it was required, so I ran the 20' cable accross the room, then removed it as soon as he left. Also, I had to initial the paper work acknowledging that a phone line is required. Bottom line is, you might get some push back. I'd schedule the install. If they insist on the phone line, use your broadband for each, and assure them you'll get a splitter to permanently hook it up to both


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

qwerty said:


> How would they send that signal on the phone if you were on the phone? Did you use another line to call them?
> 
> Neastguy, one other reason for the phone line is the R15 has caller ID (that works for most people :sure: ). As you can see above, there's some question on weather it's required for setup. After that, you definitely don't need it. If you order from the webpage, there's a box you must check saying you have a land base phone line. My installer insisted it was required, so I ran the 20' cable accross the room, then removed it as soon as he left. Also, I had to initial the paper work acknowledging that a phone line is required. Bottom line is, you might get some push back. I'd schedule the install. If they insist on the phone line, use your broadband for each, and assure them you'll get a splitter to permanently hook it up to both


Big duh, on my part  You're right. How would they send the signal if I was on the phone with them? Doesn't make sense, does it? From what I gathered, though, they do send a signal to your R15 to activate its DVR services. I was also going to mention the caller ID... but since it's not working correctly on either of my R15s I put it aside... I never really had much of a hassle with any of my installers about a phone line being near any receiver.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

My installer told my wife D* would hold back $70 of his install fee if he did not connect the receivers to a phone line. He ran three new phone lines to my bedrooms and living room. Honest!


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

They get paid by the install. If they come to your house, they're going to do (pretty much) what it takes. I'm suprised at running phone lines, though. I would think someone is assuming some liability if something were to go wrong.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

Something did go wrong. He stripped too much wire back inside the phone box and the line shorted out the next day--no phone till I got home to fix it.

However, his install was a lot neater-looking that mine would have been, and I was happy to get phone jacks in those locations with no work on my part.

Don't mean to hijack the thread--I guess this is not off-topic. Tomorrow I'm supposed to have an additional R15 installed in a room with no phone line. If a different installer comes, he'll probably not put a phone jack in, right? That is an unusual thing?


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

I don't want to get off-topic either, but one quick tale. When we got our tivo installed 3 years ago, the installer did some work with our phone lines as well... at least I THINK it was him. Either that, or some stranger broke into our house and did the work  Before we signed up for D* (4 years ago) I heard that we needed phones near each receiver, so I tapped into our phone line and installed them myself. The splicing I did was less than professional - I, uh, used electrical tape to make the connection. It's all in my crawl space so I didn't worry about it.

Fast forward to 3 years ago, and the installer who put in my tivo had to put in a new line to my living room, meaning that he spent more time in my crawl space than he wanted to (he even diagnosed a leak we were having coming from the kitchen, but that really IS off-topic). Some time later, I had to go into my crawl space. Gone was the electrical tape and the phone lines were professionally spliced. The only person who could have done that would have been the installer. He never mentioned it I guess technically he didn't install phone lines for me, but it was clear that he was prepared to do phone-line work if needed.


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## White_Horse (Jun 26, 2006)

No phone line is needed with the R15 setup. We have two R15's running (and an H20 for that matter) that have never had a phone line connected to them. The installers asked if we had a phone line to connect, told them no, and they said "ok" and went on with the install/activiation. Both R15's have full functionality (and relatively few problems for that matter...)

The only thing you miss not having a phone line is caller ID displayed on your tv and ordering PPV movies through your tv.


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

White_Horse said:


> The installers asked if we had a phone line to connect, told them no, and they said "ok" and went on with the install/activiation.


I think this varies greatly. My one installer insisted on a phone line being connected and added a splitter for me. When he called DirecTV to activate it, they also asked if a phone line was connected.


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## ajwillys (Jun 14, 2006)

I just got an R15 and an H20 installed and my installer insisted to the CSR that I DIDN'T need the phone line. I told them I didn't have it hooked up yet and after a while the CSR made it work (said something about resetting it). It's been about two weeks and I haven't bothered to hook it up at all. Still works fine.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

I don't think there is any technical reason for the phone line to be connected for the receiver to work. But the D* installer told my wife that if he didn't connect the phone lines, it would cost him $70.

I don't see why the satellite providers did not make the phone line a technical requirement all along--make it so the receiver will not work unless it can periodically call headquarters. Sure would make rule-breaking and pirating more difficult.

Anyway, several years ago I had D* and up until last month I had E* with no phone line connected.


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## walters (Nov 18, 2005)

paulman182 said:


> I don't see why the satellite providers did not make the phone line a technical requirement all along--make it so the receiver will not work unless it can periodically call headquarters. Sure would make rule-breaking and pirating more difficult.


Would also make getting new customers more difficult. Personally I've had every receiver I've ever had (since 1996) connected to a phone line, but a lot of people seem unwilling or unable to do it, and these people would likely go to cable if they weren't flexible on it.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Bobman said:


> I think this varies greatly. My one installer insisted on a phone line being connected and added a splitter for me. When he called DirecTV to activate it, they also asked if a phone line was connected.


The long and short of it is you don't need it but it's just easier to let them do what the installer wants. If they say it does and won't take no for an answer just run the long cord they give you to any outlet (even if it doesn't work) and let them tell the CSR it is hooked up the phone. Heck if you do the install your self just tell the CSR that you have on hooked up (it just makes the call go faster). I hate having to lie but when you know more than they do some times you have to.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

Since the installer put the jacks in for me, mine are all connected. See no reason not to.


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