# So many smart people here but still cant seem to wrap my head around this mess and tomorrow is the S



## rckseattle (Jan 30, 2014)

*For the love of God PLEASE help. *

With all of the helpful information here I think
I have gotten myself into "paralysis by analysis" mode - I really am one who likes to figure things out for myself but I think I am just making myself more confused and would really appreciate someone talking me down from the ledge!!

I will try to make this as brief as possible.

My girlfriend has had Direct TV for years, I have never experienced it. She is not very tech savvy,
I like to think I am.

She has internet through ClearWire which she receives through a Motorola modem which she constantly moves around the house in order to always be able to get internet on her laptop...she plugs it in...to her laptop......(need I say more?)

Recently I moved in with her and am trying to maximaize the tech gadgets and gizmos and media possibilites that exist.

I immediately installed a router and connected it to her modem so we have a wireless network whcih she is still getting used to.

Now, she recently had an upgrade to her Direct TV account to a HD dish and a Genie HR-34 receiver. She has not connected it to the network as of yet - which brings us to today and this post.

I am kind of getting lost in all the jargon, with the SWM's and the DECA's amd the MVR'ing
and then I am also probably trying to make things more complicated then they need to be, it seems to be my "thing"!

Here is how the system is installed currently.

The cable that comes in from the dish terminates at a PI21R-03 Power Inserter via the "PWR To SWM" port. A separate coax exits the power inserter via the "Signal To IRD" port -

- that cable (coming from the power inserter) runs into a MSPLIT2R1-03 (1x2) splitter. Two cables exit the splitter with one going to a DECA Broadband Adapter and the other running directly to the Genie HR-34 receiver.

The DECA Broadband adapter has an ethernet pigtail connected to it but not anything else. It is plugged in and has 3 green lights.

This is what I have to contribute to this equation.

I have a linksys E1200 router which I have flashed with dd-wrt firmware. I also have a Netgear Wnr2000 router also flashed with dd-wrt. They both seem to have made the firmware updates fine but it might be way more settings and options that I should really be exposed to at this time. One minute I am certain how I should connect them and the settings required and the next I am more confused then I was to start with.

My thought was I could set one of them up near the TV/ HR-34 router and run all of the VOD and stuff exclusively off that router which I could wirelessly connect back to the main router ...;..I am sure they make some sort of magic potion to make that happen....

A friend of ours lives in the basement of our house and he coincidentally has an older (Im guessing) DirectTV+ SR-200 receiver. Can we throw this into the mix to allow him to get access to our DirectTV joy? How is this accomplished?

How can I get all of our music rocking through this setup? I wish the Genie....really WAS a Genie and would magically make all of this stuff just happen but from the hours I have spent scouring these forums I know some of you are the real deal and I beg for your assistance.WE have a lot of computers, both Windows and Apple flavored, an Apple TV, our TV upstairs is a 37" Vizio 1080i HDTV. The downstairs is an older big screen but doubtful it is HD.

Have a few external drives laying around.....and right now I have some time to get this done, TODAY.

Because tomorrow I will be busy watching my Seahawks finally have their revenge on John Elway for all the misery he caused us Seattlites back in the day!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA!! I would really like to at least be able to record this sweet victory....so please......

Any help would be greatly appreciated, even if you just tell me where to look. Not asking you to give me fish but teach me how to fish...please.

Rob
Seattle WA


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

do you have an unlimited data plan through ClearWire? otherwise this will be a moot point


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## rckseattle (Jan 30, 2014)

peds48 said:


> do you have an unlimited data plan through ClearWire? otherwise this will be a moot point


Thanks for the reply - Good question....I'm going to say....yes we do. Technically it is now "Clear" and even more technically Sprint. Clear is our "ISP" so we get our internet service through them and it is the same price every month.....so I am about 90% positive we have unlimited data......which leaves roughly 10% hanging out there in the wind......


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

I will double check because if you connect the Genie to a cell data plan without unlimited data, the Genie will eat up your plan real quick


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

First off, and fortunately, you don't need any of that to watch the Superbowl tomorrow. So my biggest short term piece of advice is to proceed with caution and don't do anything to mess up what is working now.

As to the receiver in the basement, that is obsolete and won't work with the dish you currently have (or for that matter with any dish these days).

The easiest thing to do with the HR34 is run an ethernet cable from it to your router, go through the network setup menu, and you should be online with it. However, I'm not real sure I would do that with Clear. I've also got a Clear modem and it is relatively slow and the DirecTV system will hog the bandwidth on it if you start getting VOD (video on demand) downloads and stuff like that. I've also got Comcrap, uh, er, Comcast, which is the internet service I primarily use.

I'm in N.W. Seattle by the way.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Carl, so that box in the basement is MPG?

I do agree with Carl on this one, if the Genie isn't having a problem with a connection to the dish, the Super Bowl isn't an issue. It can be recorded etc. I'd handle the rest after the game is over.


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## rckseattle (Jan 30, 2014)

carl6 said:


> First off, and fortunately, you don't need any of that to watch the Superbowl tomorrow. So my biggest short term piece of advice is to proceed with caution and don't do anything to mess up what is working now.
> 
> As to the receiver in the basement, that is obsolete and won't work with the dish you currently have (or for that matter with any dish these days).
> 
> ...


Thank you for your reply.....GO HAWKS!! So here is the thing, I guess I am a little late coming to the party and didn't quite have all the information I should have and made a few stupid assumptions. My gf isn't here right now but I did a little more research and it appears as though the Clear service is what is called "4G Internet Basic" and boasts....Unlimited......wait for it * ASTERISK * and then comes the fine print "Unlimited data for a month with download speeds of 1.5Mbps 500 kbps upload) the fine print goes on to state the typical blah blah speeds may vary based on network settings and during periods of high traffic.Thank you for these very important things to think about. I wasn't aware of what the details of her account are....such basic stuff....wow...more to think about. We just moved into this house and are kind of merging our worlds for the first time so I guess these things are bound to pop up but it raises some serious questions. Are we not getting all that we are paying for with DirectTV because of the limited service we are paying for with Clear......vice versa.....

Ha and I was just trying to get to the fun stuff....we are in the middle of starting a business....I guess these things are probably better suited for another forum.

So OK.... whats the best plan of attack with making the most of what I have right now.....sounds like carl6 had some simple and solid advice, just tie it into the router at the receiver and move on....??? For now??

Thanks for the great input so far I really appreciate it.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

with 1.5 (at best) of download speeds, is not enough to do much on DirecTV.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## rckseattle (Jan 30, 2014)

dpeters11 said:


> Carl, so that box in the basement is MPG?
> 
> I do agree with Carl on this one, if the Genie isn't having a problem with a connection to the dish, the Super Bowl isn't an issue. It can be recorded etc. I'd handle the rest after the game is over.


Actually......not exactly certain on this one either. My initial research actually gave me some hope that this might not be hopeless. Here is a sample of the details but you guys would know more about whether or not it is realistic with my current configuration :

Starting September 2009, R22's will be converted (via Software) to support HD
functionality with 0x34c code.
The R22 is manufactured as a standard definition (MPEG4 capable) box, that can be
upgraded via software to display High Definition content (as long as it is setup
correctly in the system menu).

"1. Account must have "HD access"
2. R22 must have "0x34c" code or newer
3. Set the Display menu to "SHOW ALL CHANNELS" or "HIDE SD
DUPLICATES"
4. ODU must be capable of receiving 99/103 and IRD settings to match
the dish type
5. Must have acceptable signal levels on 99/103
6. BBC's on both "SAT-IN" ports (unless it is a SWiM install)
7. HD television with Component or HDMI cables connected
8. Resolution enabled for 720p, 1080i or 1080p
9. TV format set to 16:9

I always like to keep things as uncertain as possible!!

Oh and as far as the Super Bowl goes.....a totally foreign technology will not keep me from seeing this!! I will be watching the game....I knew I could record it.....what I was mainly concerned about is the idea that we are not utilizing all that we are paying for.,,,,


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

you can indeed connect the R22 to your existing DirecTV system (dish). if you connect your Genie to the internet and you get a DECA for the R22, your friend can get on demand and enjoy the many "connected" features available to DirecTV customers . but with your internet download speeds, that is not going to happen, at least the video on demand 


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## rckseattle (Jan 30, 2014)

peds48 said:


> you can indeed connect the R22 to your existing DirecTV system (dish). if you connect your Genie to the internet and you get a DECA for the R22, your friend can get on demand and enjoy the many "connected" features available to DirecTV customers . but with your internet download speeds, that is not going to happen, at least the video on demand
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Yeah that is becoming pretty crystal clear. I am looking into how to remedy that situation as we speak.


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## rckseattle (Jan 30, 2014)

carl6 said:


> First off, and fortunately, you don't need any of that to watch the Superbowl tomorrow. So my biggest short term piece of advice is to proceed with caution and don't do anything to mess up what is working now.
> 
> As to the receiver in the basement, that is obsolete and won't work with the dish you currently have (or for that matter with any dish these days).
> 
> ...


So just to clarify and get through all of the radiation wafting through my brain right now.....would this connection go from the router directly into the receiver or from the router to the DECA Broadband Adapter or does it matter?

I am severely daft when it comes to network issues so please hold your laughter,, but I just want to make sure I get this right. Since the modem and the router have now been totally reset do I need to further configure them? For some reason I seem to have come across a lot of posts about configuration issues after installing dd-wrt .....basically about dns settings and DHCP configuration.....or would I just let the modem be a modem and the router be a router connected to the WAN port of the modem and then connect the DirectTV equipment to one of the LAN ports on the router.....???

Everyone cool with that?


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

Since it looks you have a properly connected broadband DECA, you can connect that blue jumper to the router. or you can remove the DECA broadband and connect an ethernet cable directly to the Genie. just keep in mind that you can use either method to connect but NEVER both.

As far as the router firmware, if you are not sure of what you are doing, better to run the stock firmware


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

To the other receiver. If it is an R22, then yes it will work with your current dish and system. Your original post wasn't clear on the model number.

As to connecting your Genie to the internet, from a port on the router directly to the ethernet port on the Genie, if all you have is the Genie that will work just fine.

As to Clear, it's okay for low volume, light use internet. It is not real 4G. If you plan to do any serious internet use, I don't think Clear is going to serve your purposes. As peds48 noted, the download speed you get with Clear (and that's "up to" 1.5, not a guaranteed 1.5) isn't going to do you very much good with DirecTV. I probably wouldn't even both hooking it up myself. You really won't be missing much. You don't have very many viable options for internet in Seattle (proper). There are isolated neighborhoods where you have a choice, but in most of the city your pretty much limited to Comcast cable or DSL from Century Link (and either will cost a lot more than the Clear service you have). I've tried all the options, and regrettably keep coming back to Comcast for internet.

Edited: I just received an email notification from Clear that they were raising the guaranteed for life fixed monthly rate by $5 next month. Waiting on hold now to cancel.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Much of the 17 or so paragraphs is "life story" and speaks to the motivation rather than the issue.

In summary:

Installed and working Genie setup. Cinema Connection Kit is present but not connected to a router.

Another receiver that you gave an unusual model number (SR-200) for but subsequently posted a snippet suggesting that it may be an R22.

Low-bandwidth Internet connection with uncertain limitations (other than sub-T1 throughput).

To proceed:

We need an accurate model number for the friend's DIRECTV receiver. The only SR-200 I found with a quick search was a DISH branded Sirius satellite radio receiver. Sony offered a SAT HD200 DIRECTV receiver late in 2002. Accuracy and completeness in the pertinent details is key to getting a quick and authoritative answer.

The current Clear Internet plan isn't suitable for Internet delivered VOD (nor anything much more bandwidth intensive than audio streaming). You need something on the order of 7Mbps or better for realtime Internet delivered HD. If you plan a day ahead, slower speeds may work.


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