# Genie



## bridges (Dec 23, 2012)

I'm currently with cox cable and have decide to go the sat route due to increase in bill. I'm leaning towards directv. I can get every channel we watch on cable with their entertainment package.

My question is with Genie, being a better box then their others how much more will the box be after the two agreement? Can I change the box at the end of two years? 

We have three tv's, One in the living room, one in child's room and one in the basement/entertainment room which doesn't get watched much. I'm not sure if we would even get the full use of genie.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

The monthly fee for the Genie is no different than another HD DVR. There is a monthly DVR fee (per account, so it doesn't change whether you have 1 or 10 DVRs). There is a monthly fee per box, which is the same for all of them. That is credited back for the primary box.

So basically, there is no reason to drop back to an older DVR, price would be the same per month. You would save money if you got rid of the DVR altogether or got rid of whole home. The DVR fee is $10 a month, Whole Home is an extra $3. Both are per account.

For me the benefit isn't in the remote viewing as much as the 5 tuners. A genie isn't needed for whole home, just the only one that is compatible with the C31. The Genie is the only one with 5 tuners, Picture in Picture etc.


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## bridges (Dec 23, 2012)

Five tuners in one box? Does that mean all/5 cable wires have to run to this box first then out to the other tvs?

I never had dvr so that will be new. I like the picture in picture, that would be nice to have. 

So then the dvr box would be more then a non dvr box?

Thanks!


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"bridges" said:


> Five tuners in one box? Does that mean all/5 cable wires have to run to this box first then out to the other tvs?
> 
> I never had dvr so that will be new. I like the picture in picture, that would be nice to have.
> 
> ...


Nope, one cable goes from the dish to a splitter, then one cable to each box. The Genie has 5 tuners but one coax connection.

It is more to have a DVR as you have to pay the DVR fee, but the genie isn't more than another DVR. Having three DVRs is the same monthly cost as one DVR and two clients.

Usually, once you get a DVR, you never go back at least willingly. It's very freeing to be able to watch something on your schedule, not the networks and not having to resort to a VCR.


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## FlyingDiver (Dec 4, 2002)

There's only one cable from the dish to the Genie. There's also one cable to each other receiver, but from the dish to the receiver, not from the Genie to the other receivers.

The installer will put a splitter on the wire coming from the dish, then run from there to each receiver.

Up front equipment packages for a new customer can include multiple receivers for the same price (maybe free). Your least expensive would probably be a Genie and 2 C31 clients. And if you did that, I don't even think there's the whole home fee ($3). I think it would be your base package price, $10/mo for the DVR, and $6/mo each for the two C31s.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

And the benefit of the C31 is that you can pause/rewind live TV like a DVR. Downside is that when watching live TV or in the buffer, it uses a tuner from the Genie. Probably not a big issue in your case.


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## bridges (Dec 23, 2012)

Oh that sounds good! Does all new cable lines need to be run or can they tie into the cable lines I have?

So why would I need 5 tuners with one box then? There is the pic and pic. I could wathc one show while record another. So that would be a use of three tuners.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"bridges" said:


> Oh that sounds good! Does all new cable lines need to be run or can they tie into the cable lines I have?
> 
> So why would I need 5 tuners with one box then? There is the pic and pic. I could wathc one show while record another. So that would be a use of three tuners.


It depends on the cable, it may not be compatible.

You're thinking too small 

You can record shows on all the networks at once, and then some. You can record 5 shows at once. Or it helps with the really irritating ones that end at 10:01. A two tuner DVR will see that tuner as busy and won't record a 10pm show on that tuner, unless you manually change the recording to end a minute earlier.

Also, a regular DVR can handle 50 series links, which is its list of series to record. The Genie can do 100. With this, I don't have to remove shows on hiatus to make room for something that is on in the summer for example.

If you can get a Genie free or cheap, there really is no reason to get a lower DVR instead, even if the Genie is more than you need since the monthly price is the same.

One other thing, not all DirecTV DVRs are created equal. They pretty much are features wise, but not in speed. The HR24 is fastest, but if you get a 24, and it goes bad down the line, you may not get a 24, you might get a slower 22.

Your best discounts are when you first sign up, so go for the best you can now.

The Genie is guaranteed to be replaced with a Genie. There may end up being more models down the road, but you would know that you could never get anything under an HR34 model (which is another name for the Genie.)


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## bridges (Dec 23, 2012)

I have to say the wording from directv is a bit misleading.



> Genie lets you enjoy a full HD DVR experience on every TV in your home, without seeing a box in every room.


But yet I need genie mini on the other tv's.

One more question for you. Does the tv have to be hd to work with genie mini? I have one tv that is not hd ready where i would place the genie mini.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Technically speaking, there is a way to do it without the C31 mini client. There is a technology called RVU that can be put into the TV itself. The Genie is compatible with that.

Unfortunately, only Samsung has done it, and only on their high end large sets, not one you'd put in a bedroom. But what DirecTV says is technically true, it is just limited right now. It also doesn't get around the monthly fee for those rooms.

The C31 will work on an sd TV, but you'll need a special composite cable. It only has HDMI built in.


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## Dahammer (Aug 15, 2011)

You can also "hide" the C31s so that they aren't visible if you like, as they are tiny. So if you have a wall mounted TV, you could put the C31 behind it and use an RF remote to control it.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Good point.

Here is the First look of the C31, with an iPhone on top for scale.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=208146


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## bridges (Dec 23, 2012)

I still think it's a little misleading. But the c31 is so small its like it's not even there. 

The one thing I never care for is the fee for each box needed per tv. That is why I have all ways stayed with cable. I have everything bundle which made cable cheaper. Now I just want something different and to let cable now I'm upset because the call I made to them last week didn't make much of a difference.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

My cable company charged for each box, plus each remote. Plus some of them charge up to $17 for each DVR. Of course in some situations there is no need for a cable box, but I think more and more there is a need for one.


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## n3vino (Oct 2, 2011)

To the OP, you can go to the Direct TV website and do a cost analysis. Select the package you want, and the equipment you want. Before you actually order, you will have an analysis of what startup costs will be, how much for each piece of equipment, what channels you will get HD and digital, which freebies you will get, how much it will cost after the freebies expire and what your bill will be the first year, after three months, and the 2nd year. Do not submit order until you know exactly what you want and what your costs will be. You can also call D* and ask questions while looking at the setup you want.


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## Dahammer (Aug 15, 2011)

bridges said:


> I still think it's a little misleading. But the c31 is so small its like it's not even there.
> 
> The one thing I never care for is the fee for each box needed per tv. That is why I have all ways stayed with cable. I have everything bundle which made cable cheaper. Now I just want something different and to let cable now I'm upset because the call I made to them last week didn't make much of a difference.


Yeah, that use to be the upside to cable. Where I am, Comcast has just eliminated that advantage by going to an all digital cable and you can't get any channels without cable box any more.


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## Rickt1962 (Jul 17, 2012)

Dahammer said:


> Yeah, that use to be the upside to cable. Where I am, Comcast has just eliminated that advantage by going to an all digital cable and you can't get any channels without cable box any more.


I am with comcast only get the Internet, But all my digital TV's get basic Local HD channels and music channels about 20 channels total, Just hook up the cable to your TV and Scan for digital channels. Old TV's dont have the Digital tuners but your new flat screens do. It was one of things Cable providers had to do with the FCC if they wanted to extort you for cable boxs only when it wasnt necessary to get basic cable.  My local provider tried to tell me the FCC made them do it ! LOL Its a closed system FCC doesnt dictate that unless its over the airways


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## Dahammer (Aug 15, 2011)

Rickt1962 said:


> I am with comcast only get the Internet, But all my digital TV's get basic Local HD channels and music channels about 20 channels total, Just hook up the cable to your TV and Scan for digital channels. Old TV's dont have the Digital tuners but your new flat screens do. It was one of things Cable providers had to do with the FCC if they wanted to extort you for cable boxs only when it wasnt necessary to get basic cable.  My local provider tried to tell me the FCC made them do it ! LOL Its a closed system FCC doesnt dictate that unless its over the airways


All 5 of my TVs have digital tuners. None of them will tune anything in with Comcast's cable connected to them directly. Comcast scrambled everything in my market shortly after they went all digital. Comcast provided 2 free miniature boxes that get a few of the channels (like 2 - 99) when they made the switch. Trouble is I have 5 TVs and was subscribing to a lot more than the freebie boxes could provide, so I needed a standard cable box on each TV at $10 per month extra.

At first they only scrambled some of them and the digital tuners would still tune in some, but they eventually scrambled them all.


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## sbl (Jul 21, 2007)

Rickt1962, what you are doing is technically stealing service. You are correct that, initially, cable providers were required to keep a basic tier of channels as "Clear QAM" that TVs could decode, but that is no longer required. The cable companies can now provide you (sometimes free for a limited time) with a "digital adapter" if you have basic service and encrypt all channels, and many (but not all) are doing just that.

Since you do not subscribe to the TV service, you should not be accessing the TV channels, even though they are unencrypted - for now. Nevertheless, fewer and fewer folk will be able to do what you are doing.


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## Rickt1962 (Jul 17, 2012)

sbl said:


> Rickt1962, what you are doing is technically stealing service. You are correct that, initially, cable providers were required to keep a basic tier of channels as "Clear QAM" that TVs could decode, but that is no longer required. The cable companies can now provide you (sometimes free for a limited time) with a "digital adapter" if you have basic service and encrypt all channels, and many (but not all) are doing just that.
> 
> Since you do not subscribe to the TV service, you should not be accessing the TV channels, even though they are unencrypted - for now. Nevertheless, fewer and fewer folk will be able to do what you are doing.


I agree to disagree, Its only my local market which is broadcasted for free in HD over the airways. I have no guilt in seeing these channels on my TV's which I already pay for on Directv. But im always looking for a good fight hope Comcast tries to take me to court over channels that are free over the airways


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