# Physically moving a genie unit from one TV to another



## rbpeirce

Right now, with the proper wiring, I can physically move a DVR from one TV to another merely by disconnecting the two inputs and one output at one TV and connecting it at another TV. Can you do this with genie and how difficult is it?

DTV claims to use networking of some sort but I could not find if it is a simple co-ax cable or if it is CAT-5 or something more complicated.

I am buying a home that is co-ax wired for eight TVs and already has seven connected using DTV cabling. We will never be watching more than two at a time. However, we might want to watch any of the seven. Hence the need to move hardware around.

If it is a simple co-ax connection I should be ready to go, assuming the system readily finds anything on the network. If it is something more complicated I may be faced with extensive re-wiring.


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## gov

Just suggestion, but maybe leave the 34 parked where it is, and have one client to move around. If you are doing this frequently, you might drop the 34 or wear out the HDMI jack and also, every time it is moved you'll need to wait for a reboot (and I know a 34 does that faster than the 2Xs do) but a client is even faster than that. If you drop a client it won't loose all your recordings. 

An SD modulator on the client (if your house has enough cabling for this) would be handy if company came by and you needed to watch a game or something on more than a couple TVs.

(HD modulators are still >$800, so you probably don't want to go there)


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## rbpeirce

Actually, I have an SD DVR that I usually move around (I also have two HD DVRs and an SD Tivo), but I am trying to get away from that when I move. Moving the genie box makes more sense if I can find out what is involved to do that.


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## Beerstalker

Why does moving the Genie box around make more sense? You do realize that a Genie client like he is talking about uses one of the tuners from the Genie, and allows you to watch all the recordings on the Genie, don't you?

Moving the client around instead accomplishes the same thing (live TV and access to the recordings wherever you put it), and it is lighter, smaller, and less likely to get damaged by being moved. It's also quicker to start back up in a new location.


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## lugnutathome

Since you are moving and if a customer in good standing should be able to make a great deal.

My advice (since you've paid non for it it may be worth non) is to anchor the Genie, Activate Whole Home (Uses the coax to transport the streams between the clients/servers), keep one of the HD DVRs in a place you would find sensible to keep it. And get one of the RVU clients (C31) to move around as you need to.

These RVU clients are tiny and have a small external power supply. They move easily and when connected provide the full functionality of the Genie. Just like you moved it but you didn't.

Perhaps the new home provides a new approach to your entertainment deployment?

Don "free advice to ponder and ignore as seems sensible" Bolton



rbpeirce said:


> Actually, I have an SD DVR that I usually move around (I also have two HD DVRs and an SD Tivo), but I am trying to get away from that when I move. Moving the genie box makes more sense if I can find out what is involved to do that.


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## rbpeirce

lugnutathome said:


> My advice (since you've paid non for it it may be worth non) is to anchor the Genie, Activate Whole Home (Uses the coax to transport the streams between the clients/servers), keep one of the HD DVRs in a place you would find sensible to keep it. And get one of the RVU clients (C31) to move around as you need to.
> 
> These RVU clients are tiny and have a small external power supply. They move easily and when connected provide the full functionality of the Genie. Just like you moved it but you didn't.


Clearly, I don't know what I am talking about. I thought Genie was a 5-tuner DVR plus three boxes (C31 RVU clients?) and was the same as whole home. I also didn't think there was a place for my existing DVRs.

It appears you are saying I can (or may be able to) use my existing HD DVRs in place of one or more of the RVU units in a whole home system, but frankly, I have no idea how that would work. Perhaps you can point me to other postings that will provide some background.

At minimum I need to be able simultaneously to watch at two, maybe three, locations away from the main viewing area and I need to be able to move at least one RVU to multiple locations using existing cabling. The main viewing area could hold either a new 5-tuner box or my existing dual DVR setup, but ideally, I would like everything to be tied together in some way. Right now it isn't and that leads both to duplications and to missed shows.


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## lugnutathome

Yes what you wish is all good.

A "Genie" is a five tuner DVR that will output up to 3 simultaneous client streams. These streams can be either content recorded on said Genie or from one of the tuners provided to a paired RVU device by the Genie (RVU Client sold separately)

RVU based clients when on and using live TV (a tuner), subtract from the available tuners for recording on the Genie. When viewing content recorded prior on the Genie that tuner is then available to the Genie.

A Genie integrates seamlessly within an existing HD Whole Home landscape just like any other DVR except its thee output super power.:grin:. So you could maintain your existing HD DVRs and add a Genie and have just three DVRs that can share programming with each other and have 9 tuners available for recording at any moment in time.

By adding in a single client (again sold separately) you could have a unit that you could move to the guest room, or wherever that would have the full functionality of a DVR, view the programs from the other DVRs, and pause and resume live TV.

What you want is entirely doable and retaining your current equipment (and available recordings) is part of the incentive to do just that.

Aside from the Genie Clients there are single tuner receivers like the H25 that allow you to schedule programs on any of your DVRs in the Whole Home landscape. These have their own tuner and cannot pause live TV but will play recordings off any of the DVRs.

I am currently running a Genie with a single C31, 2 H25s and 7 other DVRs and its all transparent where it was recorded.

Don "the Whole Home landscape is built to suit every need, it's magical" Bolton


rbpeirce said:


> Clearly, I don't know what I am talking about. I thought Genie was a 5-tuner DVR plus three boxes (C31 RVU clients?) and was the same as whole home. I also didn't think there was a place for my existing DVRs.
> 
> It appears you are saying I can (or may be able to) use my existing HD DVRs in place of one or more of the RVU units in a whole home system, but frankly, I have no idea how that would work. Perhaps you can point me to other postings that will provide some background.
> 
> At minimum I need to be able simultaneously to watch at two, maybe three, locations away from the main viewing area and I need to be able to move at least one RVU to multiple locations using existing cabling. The main viewing area could hold either a new 5-tuner box or my existing dual DVR setup, but ideally, I would like everything to be tied together in some way. Right now it isn't and that leads both to duplications and to missed shows.


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## Diana C

"Genie" = HR34 = 5 tuner DVR
"Client" = C31 or C41 = tunerless RVU receiver
"Whole Home" = Multi-room viewing = all HD receivers networked together (usually via coax)

Think of a Genie as a DirecTV video server. It has 5 tunders that can be used to record 5 programs simultaneously, or supply 4 live TV viewing locations (3 Cx1 RVU clients plus the HR34 itself) and still have a tuner available for recording, or any combination thereof.

With Whole Home, any HD receiver or DVR (except for the H20 receivers) can share the recordings on the Genie. If we're talking about a HD DVR (like a HR24 for example) it can also add *its* recordings to the networked pool.

The connection between all these devices is done using a network over coax technology that makes use of adapters called "DECAs" (Directv Ethernet over Coax Adapter). Later models have the DECAs builtin, older units use small modules that attach in-line with the coax cable between the dish and receiver.

All of this requires that the latest switching technology also be used, called SWiM (Single WIre Multiswitch) which, as its name implies, can feed multiple tuners via a single wire.

So, if your house isn't already setup for SWiM, you'll need a SWiM switch. Most older SD equipment is not SWiM compatible, though newer units are (e.g. D12 receivers and R16 and R22 DVRs). All the HD equipment is SWiM compatible. To use the Genie and its clients or H25 receivers you MUST have SWiM.

To enable whole home you may need a few DECA modules for older receivers. Only HD receivers support Whole Home, and all HD receivers, except the H20, support it.

EDIT: Don basically said the same thing, but beat me to posting it.


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## rbpeirce

Thanks, both of you. It looks like I can do pretty much whatever I want and more. I won't need the old SD DVRs because all the supplied TVs are HD. The only problem was getting the right sources for them.

Actually, I didn't really try to decipher the DTV wiring in the house but it may already be set up correctly. If it isn't, it should be easy to convert. My main concern was whether it used co-ax, which is already there, or something else, like CAT-5, which isn't.

Once I get in the house I am going to have to figure out the wiring. Then I can decide what I want to do.


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## lugnutathome

If all the wires into the rooms originate at a single point then that is perfect! The SWiM's and or splitter(s) can go right there! and your imagination (and of course budget) can take you from there.

Whole Home is waaaay cool! Even if I have a program stored on the DVR I am using, if I have that same program on another I watch the remote one for no more reason but that I can Picture/audio exactly the same!

I mentioned my receiver count earlier. Primarily its just my wife and I though kids and grandkids do dot the landscape from time to time. And of course 3 dogs. One that likes barking at action movies, one that likes animal planet, and one that plants himself in my lap and goads me into napping instead of watching TV (good thing I've DVRs).:grin:

Anything worth doing, is worth doing to excess!

Don "enjoy" Bolton



rbpeirce said:


> Thanks, both of you. It looks like I can do pretty much whatever I want and more. I won't need the old SD DVRs because all the supplied TVs are HD. The only problem was getting the right sources for them.
> 
> Actually, I didn't really try to decipher the DTV wiring in the house but it may already be set up correctly. If it isn't, it should be easy to convert. My main concern was whether it used co-ax, which is already there, or something else, like CAT-5, which isn't.
> 
> Once I get in the house I am going to have to figure out the wiring. Then I can decide what I want to do.


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## rbpeirce

lugnutathome said:


> The SWiM's and or splitter(s) can go right there!


Speaking of splitters, I never tried it but it seem more than one TV could be fed from a single outlet. It would be the same show on both (all) TVs, but it would be ideal for TVs in close proximity or where not much control was required. Has anybody done this? How?


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## lugnutathome

Splitters in this context are not the same. The SWiM outlet ports have an 8 tuner limit and the single line gets split out by a 2or4or8 way splitter to distribute their signals to receivers. The receivers then use HDMI or Component, OR Svideo Or composite to distribute their video to the display. (in order pf quality) And audio is via digital coax or optical (both same quality) or composite (lacking greatly)

You could however use component and analog audio to put a second TV on the same programming as a primary TV. This does limit however if you want 1080p on the primary. And this means running other lines back through the maze.

The days of watching your devices on channel 3 or 4 are gone! Makes things a lot more confusing but the quality now? OMG!

Don "gotta go beat traffic with a big stick" Bolton



rbpeirce said:


> Speaking of splitters, I never tried it but it seem more than one TV could be fed from a single outlet. It would be the same show on both (all) TVs, but it would be ideal for TVs in close proximity or where not much control was required. Has anybody done this? How?


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