# Will the 922 work for what I want to do?



## Kenny537

I do not know much about this so please bear with me.

I am going to explain my situation to you guys and I hope you can let me know if a 922 will work for me, or if not, what would be an alternative solution.

I have moved out of my parents' house and on to the city for work (Chicago). My parents have DISH services. I now live 50 miles away from my parent's house. My new apartment building is on the 13th floor of a 50 floor building. If I want cable TV.. I have to use RCN (management rule). If I want satellite TV... good luck, because they don't allow any installs on the outside of the building. 
I called a bunch of local Dish retailers to see if they will install the dish inside my room.. my windows face the right direction I believe (living room is south, bedroom southwest) - but they still won't do it. I was considering installing it myself but I have no idea what I'm doing.

So I think the 922 may possibly be an alternative solution. From my understanding - here is what it does. It allows you to access your dish service anywhere you go where there is a high speed connection. So this leads me to conclude that I can access my parent's Dish service 50 miles away, as long as I have high speed internet. Is this true? This will save me from paying RCN's horrible prices. My plan is to just purchase high speed internet via AT&T .. 6 mbps for 20$ a month with no contract. 

If this is possible - I have a bunch of follow up questions:

- How much will all this cost?
- There are two TVs at my parent's house. I believe there is only one receiver though, so it is a dual receiver. So what happens when I introduce a 3rd TV, 50 miles away, via the 922. Do I need another receiver? 

Thanks in advance!


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## Stewart Vernon

Welcome...

What you are proposing might work... but...

When you are Slinging, that takes over the 2nd tuner... so it would limit what viewers at home would be able to do with the receiver.

Also, you would be limited to the upload speed at home.. Their upload speed would be the maximum so even if you pay for high-speed download yourself, it will not be any better than is capable for them to upload from their end... and of course that would be using their internet upload bandwidth and potentially limiting their ability to use their internet connection.

The Sling basically works best IF you are away from home and no one is in the home also trying to do things. IF someone is also at home and watching TV or using their internet connection, it does limit the performance.


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## 356B

Theoretically that's what the 922 is for. Slinging to another location, my wife did it today to get the Giants game. The rub is the 922 has been buggy and hell, just this morning many customers got the latest software upgrade which appears to fix the "remote access" issues....I say this with great reservation though. Depending on what your family has (receiver wise) depends of what happens there with the other TV's. Internet TV is on the come, I predict many options will be available very soon, Google TV, Hulu, who knows. It difficult to know what the landscape will look like in a year. The dish/Sling version is clunky at best......at least for me.


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## Kenny537

Thanks for your explanation.

After reading what you said - it doesn't seem very practical.

Can anyone think of any alternatives? I really don't want to give into RCN!

I don't really even need most channels.. the bare necessities are just the local channels, ESPN, and TNT (in other words, basketball and football games)

Thanks.


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## TulsaOK

Do you have a balcony?


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## Kenny537

Nope. Just windows. 

Internet TV would be awesome if I can find something reliable that will play what I want (the bare necessities are just the local channels, ESPN, and TNT (in other words, basketball and football games). And I want to watch most of the games live too... it's not the same to watch it later on.


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## TulsaOK

Keep calling installers. I don't believe there's a technical reason you can't install a dish behind your windows on a tripod providing you have adequate line of sight.


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## Kenny537

I already called 5 or 6. I can call a few more.. but do you think I should try to do it myself? Or is this something I cannot do myself?

The front desk lady at my building said some residents have tried doing the tripod satellite thing indoors, but not with much success. Which doesn't mean it won't work for me though.


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## Kenny537

I know you said the 922 is not very practical - but what about a slingbox product? Will that make any difference?


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## Stewart Vernon

Kenny537 said:


> I know you said the 922 is not very practical - but what about a slingbox product? Will that make any difference?


The separate Slingbox does function better and offers some more flexibility...

But some of the limitations still apply.

You still are limited by the upload speed at home. I have 18 Mbps download but only 1.5 Mbps upload... so if I'm somewhere else and want to watch my receiver via Sling, then at best I could use the whole 1.5 Mbps upload which still is kind of choppy sometimes on HD channels. Also, if anyone in your home is using their internet, they too will be using bandwidth and that will affect your viewing experience.

And you'll still be fighting someone at home for control of the receiver. They may or may not know you are Slinging... and they might change the channel OR you might be preventing them from doing so.


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## dhickman

Stewart Vernon said:


> The separate Slingbox does function better and offers some more flexibility...
> 
> But some of the limitations still apply.
> 
> You still are limited by the upload speed at home. I have 18 Mbps download but only 1.5 Mbps upload... so if I'm somewhere else and want to watch my receiver via Sling, then at best I could use the whole 1.5 Mbps upload which still is kind of choppy sometimes on HD channels. Also, if anyone in your home is using their internet, they too will be using bandwidth and that will affect your viewing experience.
> 
> And you'll still be fighting someone at home for control of the receiver. They may or may not know you are Slinging... and they might change the channel OR you might be preventing them from doing so.


I would say add a 722k to your parents system and have it installed in a closet.

Have a dedicated internet connection. You mentioned ATT. You will probably find a cable based internet better, but it is much more expensive. I say install ATT dsl and see how well it works. In my experience DSL has issues with sustained uploads while a cablemodem does not.

Buy a sling box HD and hook it and the 722k to the switch. Have TV1 hooked up as HD input 1 on the slingbox. Tell the 722k to run as an IR remote and enjoy.

I do something similar to be able to have tv that I can tolerate when I travel.
I tried to make it work with a 922 but the receiver simply does not work for me. I got tired of the incompatibility with other sling software and the general instability of the receiver.

The key problems with a remote setup is going to be the ability to tune the video feed for the connection. The 922 can not do this. Also you must have the ability to remotely reset the receiver. The 922 can not do this either. I am not sure if a 722k can do this either.

I got tired of the 922 failures ( 7 failed units) and dug my old sling pro that I had hooked to my old TivoHD out and hooked it to 2 HR24 DVRS and have never looked back.

The 922 is very unstable if you program it from the internet. That plus the inferior sling box in it, you will not like it. Go with the 722k.

In your case Dish is the best way to go since parents have it and can reset it for you.

dhh


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## Stewart Vernon

I don't know... it seems like paying for a dedicated internet connection at TWO locations just to be able to view Sling content is overkill.

I like my Dish Network... but not enough to pay for 2 dedicated high-speed internet connections at both ends + the additional receiver fee + buy the Slingbox.


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## dhickman

Stewart Vernon said:


> I don't know... it seems like paying for a dedicated internet connection at TWO locations just to be able to view Sling content is overkill.
> 
> I like my Dish Network... but not enough to pay for 2 dedicated high-speed internet connections at both ends + the additional receiver fee + buy the Slingbox.


Well based on prices in my area and dish prices..

Basic cable modem with 2up/5 down, is 30 a month for remote.
Local base dsl with 768up and 3 down is $20.
second receiver fee is $7.00.

So for around $60 he would be getting whatever his parents have. Even the basic dish package is better than the local digital cable package @65 a month with no DVR.

He will probably be paying for the internet connection at his apartment anyway.

He gets to have the ability to have a great selection of shows no matter where he is, or pay probably the same or higher + internet to have a very limited selection that his apartment management requires him to use. His initial costs might be higher, but who knows what the cable company would charge to just hook the cable to the TV. In my area the charge is $100. You can get the slingHD for around $200.

He can try to set up a system inside of his apt, but I am willing to bet that it will take up alot of space and there is a good chance that the install will not work.

So short of moving to another apartment his choices are quite limited. I used to live in an apartment complex that was the same way in 1998. At that time sling would have been a dream. I ended up doing the dish in a window thing and it kinda worked. But the dish at that time took up too much of the 600 square feet that I was renting. I ended up terminating the lease and moving into a place with a balcony.

My current system works great, I have even hooked my laptop to the tv in the hotel room most of the time and the video was not perfect HD but good, and it was not the crap the hotel is pushing. If the internet connection can not handle HD tune the sling client to where the video works on the laptop screen.


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## Kenny537

dhickman - I wish I had seen that post a day earlier! 

RCN called me yesterday and offered 10$ off monthly, along with a free month. So taking the free month into account, it would be 54$ a month for a 12 month contract, with no other charges. Free installation and the price includes modem/box rental and everything. This is for their signature package with free on demand and showtime/tmc for 3 months, with 1.5 mbps internet. Now that I got a discount from them.. I think that's a better deal. It's not worth it to go through all this hassle to save $5-10 a month. Also I can upgrade to the 10mbps whenever I want to .. so if I think it is too slow I can just call them and upgrade and I'd be paying 64$ a month.

You're right - I would get a better selection if I do what you are saying .. with the 10$ discount.. I could have gotten 10mbps cable for 30 a month, which would be really fast. But I think it will be too much hassle to add another receiver + add a 2nd internet connection just to save 5-10$ a month... and the better selection is for the most part, irrelevant because I really only need TNT, ESPN, and the local channels. Although that is not to say I won't watch the other channels as well now that I have them.

Also, are you sure it is only a +7$ fee monthly for a 2nd receiver? We already have two tvs via a dual receiver.. and this would add another. I thought it was more like +30$ a month. 

The only downside is that I will not have TiVo/DVR. He said that the Tivo requires the 10mbps connection.. but unless I agree to the Tivo now for around 72 a month.. it will be like 90 something later on.. this is because the tivo requires a different box altogether (I think the HD). But all of that is just extra so I will just stick with what I have for 54 a month, possibly upgrading to 10mbps later on if I am not satisified and going with 64 a month. 

It would be nice to record some of the games though for when I am not home... can't I just buy a retail tivo?


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## dhickman

Sounds good for you.

You can buy a series 3 tivo on Ebay for under $100 and have no contract with them. The newer premier series and high end 3 series is under $200 on ebay.

Tivo also has a program where you pay a higher monthly fee and the DVR is free initially.

Your cable company is required by law to provide a cablecard to you to allow your personal owned tivo on their system. The card should not cost more than a couple of bucks a month. The problem is that cablecard use is rare and most cable techs have no clue on what to do with them. 

Worst case scenario is that your settop box may have a cable card in it. Pull it out and put it in the tivo and call the cable company that you STB said to call and have them put these activation numbers in.

IF you decide to go this route send me a PM and I will give you my contact info to help you with the install.

Good luck.

dhh


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## Kenny537

Okay thanks for the advice. I am still kind of confused since I haven't researched this aspect. I will research on what series of tivo to go with. Do I have to go with tivo or is there an alternative company?

So where do I go from here? Do I call RCN and find out if they will provide me a cablecard for my personalized tivo? The RCN guy is coming over in a few hours to install everything .. should I ask him about it? 

Is the STB just the cable box that he gives me?


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## dhickman

Kenny537 said:


> Okay thanks for the advice. I am still kind of confused since I haven't researched this aspect. I will research on what series of tivo to go with. Do I have to go with tivo or is there an alternative company?
> 
> So where do I go from here? Do I call RCN and find out if they will provide me a cablecard for my personalized tivo? The RCN guy is coming over in a few hours to install everything .. should I ask him about it?
> 
> Is the STB just the cable box that he gives me?


Ask the installer about getting a cablecard for a Tivo.

the STB is the box provided by the cable company.


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## Kenny537

I don't want to get a TiVo anymore. I didn't realize I had to pay monthly for it.

I'm looking into USB TV Tuner cards right now so I can record off my laptop. Maybe this? http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr950q.html
Or possibly a DVR that I can just use that does the basic function of recording a show, without all the extra services.
Maybe something like this: RCA scenium drs-7000 ? Any ideas?


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## dhickman

Kenny537 said:


> I don't want to get a TiVo anymore. I didn't realize I had to pay monthly for it.
> 
> I'm looking into USB TV Tuner cards right now so I can record off my laptop. Maybe this? http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr950q.html
> Or possibly a DVR that I can just use that does the basic function of recording a show, without all the extra services.
> Maybe something like this: RCA scenium drs-7000 ? Any ideas?


The problem is digital cable. Does the STB have a firewire port? If it does you can get mythtv to use it as a tuner.

dhh


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