# Considering adding MRV



## tsduke (Mar 20, 2007)

My setup:
1-HR22 - Networked
1-HR23 - Networked
2-H23 - NOT networked
5 lnb dish

I considering option for MRV. What will I get if I order the official MRV? Will I get SWM? DECA?

Is there a upfront cost to add it?


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## NR4P (Jan 16, 2007)

Official cost is $149. You will most likely get a SWM-LNB dish, a splitter, and a DECA unit for each receiver.
Most important, request the Internet Connection Kit. That's another DECA unit connected to your home router for VOD and Media Share. 

And if you are good customer and ask nicely, you will do much better than $149. Some get 50% off, others have gotten it all for free. Except for the $3/month charge.


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

NR4P said:


> Official cost is $149. You will most likely get a SWM-LNB dish, a splitter, and a DECA unit for each receiver.
> *Most important, request the Internet Connection Kit.* That's another DECA unit connected to your home router for VOD and Media Share.
> 
> And if you are good customer and ask nicely, you will do much better than $149. Some get 50% off, others have gotten it all for free. Except for the $3/month charge.


I like this reply!

OP, you can also get TV APPS with the Internet Connection Kit.


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## matt (Jan 12, 2010)

Push for the ICK to be free if they try to charge extra. It should be included in the package, but I have seen a couple times here where they tried to charge $50.

Other than that, the other two posts are spot on!


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

armchair said:


> I like this reply!
> 
> OP, you can also get TV APPS with the Internet Connection Kit.


Also Directv2pc.


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## mcbeevee (Sep 18, 2006)

tsduke said:


> What will I get if I order the official MRV? Will I get SWM? DECA?


This thread will answer most Whole Home DVR questions

Whole Home DVR Service Information and FAQ


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## bigwad (Oct 19, 2006)

I just had MRV installed last week. I have 2 HR20-700's and had them add an H24 in my son's room so he could get the HD and access to the DVR's. The first woman I talked to, cost was gonna be 218 bucks. Second one I talked to got it down to 175. Third woman I talked to got it down to 125 bucks. I took that offer. Plus 3 months of Showtime, which I rarely watch anyway. Basically I paid 99 for the installation of the Internet Connection Kit and 19 bucks for delivery.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

armchair said:


> OP, you can also get TV APPS with the Internet Connection Kit.


It would be unfortunate to lose features that they currently have as part of an "upgrade".


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

harsh said:


> It would be unfortunate to lose features that they currently have as part of an "upgrade".


Those features aren't available without a network connection to begin with :shrug:

Besides, I believe that is why armchair mentioned it so that those features won't be lost.

In the end though, not everyone wants to be hooked to their home network. That is why there is an option. The big usage item for folks with DECA is MRV (or whole home DVR Service).


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## gator1234 (Jul 21, 2007)

Where can we find info on media share. I assume media share is being able to view photos and videos that are on your computer, on your TV using this system, correct?

I had an MRV installed but they did not do the internet connection. To do this I believe someone mentioned that you just connect an additional DECA unit to your wireless router, is this correct?

Thanks.


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

gator1234 said:


> Where can we find info on media share. I assume media share is being able to view photos and videos that are on your computer, on your TV using this system, correct?
> 
> I had an MRV installed but they did not do the internet connection. To do this I believe someone mentioned that you just connect an additional DECA unit to your wireless router, is this correct?
> 
> Thanks.


Correct. The DECA would also need to be powered by a DECA Power Supply or SWiM PI. Here's a couple of links: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=177308

or

Broad Band DECA: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=182828

You can also stream mp3 songs from a PC with Media Share. This sticky may answer a lot of your questions: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=149141


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Doug Brott said:


> Those features aren't available without a network connection to begin with :shrug:


The OP has already networked their HD DVRs.

As several have discovered the hard way:

1. WHDS, for reasons difficult to imagine, doesn't include a broadband adapter by default

2. DECA demands any existing network connections be broken


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## rlowell (Aug 28, 2010)

What do you mean by: "2. DECA demands any exisiting network connections be broken"?


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

Although not supported by DirecTV, a home ethernet network connection will work just fine.
You will need to get DirecTV to authorize Whole Home (MRV) on your account ($3).

So why not give MRV a trial run with your home network before going to the expense of adding SWM and DECA?

What harsh meant is that you'd have to remove your receivers from your home network as DECA replaces it.


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## tsduke (Mar 20, 2007)

I'm confused. How would I be connect to the Internet for VOD if I have deca then?


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## gator1234 (Jul 21, 2007)

armchair said:


> Correct. The DECA would also need to be powered by a DECA Power Supply or SWiM PI.
> 
> So it looks like the DECA unit is connected to your internet router and a power supply and is it correct that the DECA unit also has to have a wired connection back to the splitter which is located outside? In my case this will be a problem as I have the router in a room which is not wired for directv. It looks like I have no way to get a physical wire from the DECA unit to the splitter outside.
> 
> Any suggestions.


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

gator1234 said:


> armchair said:
> 
> 
> > Correct. The DECA would also need to be powered by a DECA Power Supply or SWiM PI.
> ...


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

rlowell said:


> What do you mean by: "2. DECA demands any exisiting network connections be broken"?





tsduke said:


> I'm confused. How would I be connect to the Internet for VOD if I have deca then?


Respecting the the opinions posted in this thread, I'll try to explain subjectively.

Thinking about it this way may help... The supported version of MRV is MRV over Coax. If you try to connect ETHERNET directly to a DVR in the DECA cloud, you're bypassing the intended path of MRV (local HDD>>DECA>>SWiM Coax>>Client DECA>>MRV Client) and sending MRV data packets via ETHERNET Network to MRV Client. The path is effectively bypassed and not serving its intended function.

To keep MRV over Coax, the Broad Band DECA was introduced. It escapes me as to why the Internet Connection Kit is time and time again omitted by CSRs taking orders over the phone. Directv has to know that many subs already have existing ETHERNET connections for VOD, TV APPS, Media Share and Directv2PC. Consequentially, many techs are still not aware and simply plug them back in when they're done, not aware they just bypassed their DECA upgrade. Even worse, if not all Directv boxes were networked, the UPL would have missing networked boxes as a result.

I think the primary importance of post #2 was to avoid a lot of the hassle. Anyone considering the DECA upgrade should verify the Internet Connection Kit is placed on their order. This can be verified by signing-in to account @ Directv.com and linking to "Pending Orders" and possibly selecting all pending orders. You may see it listed as "Whole Home DVR with ICK".

I fully understand the concerns of trying the unsupported MRV first. But if you don't have the luxury of having all Directv receivers connected via wired ETHERNET, I'd recommend the WHD with Internet Connection Kit. I had a fully-functional wired ETHERNET setup working in MRV beta and had unsupported MRV for a short period before my upgrade. I prefer the DECA over ETHERNET, simply because IMO, the trickplay skips and replays are faster with DECA and I prefer to not to task my home network with MRV streams. Just an opinion and a preference. Which is better, wired ETHERNET or DECA? Neither appears to impact my network; IMO, those are the only standards to consider for MRV performance. If the OP is using wired ETHERNET, he could consider connecting the one receiver outside the network via wired-ETHERNET as opposed to upgrading to DECA. The best part is, there's options to consider.


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

tsduke said:


> I'm confused. How would I be connect to the Internet for VOD if I have deca then?


Put simply, there's a DECA unit that bridges the DECA connected receivers to your internet network.


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## mikeny (Aug 21, 2006)

gator1234 said:


> So it looks like the DECA unit is connected to your internet router and a power supply and is it correct that the DECA unit also has to have a wired connection back to the splitter which is located outside? In my case this will be a problem as I have the router in a room which is not wired for directv. It looks like I have no way to get a physical wire from the DECA unit to the splitter outside.
> 
> Any suggestions.


Do you currently have 2 lines connected to your DVRs? Do you have a network switch at any of your DVR locations? After the Whole Home DVR install, you'll be converted to SWM which will then utilize only 1 line to the splitter. However you can use one those redundant SAT lines for your 'broadband connection' to a network switch.

This is one option many have taken as opposed to running an extra new line to the actual router spot.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

armchair said:


> You could drill a hole through either the interior wall to run a coax using a Directv green-labeled two-way splitter (or route the wire and through an existing or new wall fish hole or wall-plate next to router) or drill the exterior wall or attic and run to your main splitter outside.


Another option is to use a splitter near one of the HD DVRs and add the broadband adapter there using the existing Ethernet cable. Drilling holes is not necessary, recommended or even desirable.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

gator1234 said:


> Where can we find info on media share. I assume media share is being able to view photos and videos that are on your computer, on your TV using this system, correct?
> 
> I had an MRV installed but they did not do the internet connection. To do this I believe someone mentioned that you just connect an additional DECA unit to your wireless router, is this correct?
> 
> Thanks.


Hate to break it to you, but media share still sucks at this point. 3rd party server apps help a little, but resolution is very low (480 or worse to my eyes). Not many video formats work either. It's not bad for streaming music though. Get a PC or dedicated streaming box and you'll be much happier. My blu-ray player does a fantastic job with pictures and video at full 1080p. I read a lot about people having great success with playon and tversity, so I gave it another shot a few days ago. I have to say response is very fast, but PQ is still awful. Not worth it when dedicated hardware works so much better and is essentially free.


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## texasmoose (May 25, 2007)

mdavej said:


> resolution is very low (480 or worse to my eyes).


Playon Mediashare does run @ 480p - 16x9(regardless of what the original file rez is), and if the originating file is HD it takes a while to load, otherwise It freezes occasionally. As a workaround, when I first load the vid file i hit pause for a minute or 2 & let it get going, then resume playback and it doesn't freeze thereafter(usually). Yes, I agree this could be better.


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