# MRV self install for newbie



## bosoxfan (Dec 15, 2011)

Ok, I'm curious. What equipment do I need, where do I get it, and how difficult is it to install? I'm pretty tech savvy, so I am certain I could do it. Is there a "step by step" procedure somewhere?


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## F1 Fan (Aug 28, 2007)

bosoxfan said:


> Ok, I'm curious. What equipment do I need, where do I get it, and how difficult is it to install? I'm pretty tech savvy, so I am certain I could do it. Is there a "step by step" procedure somewhere?


What do you have currently? What receivers?

How new a customer are you?


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## kkollins (Dec 16, 2011)

I did the beta test for MRV, after it was over I just kept using my powerlines which work hit or miss. I didn't realize that DTV had gone away from the home network and had started using the deca system. SO, last night one of my old HR20s died. I called for a replacement, sending me out I assume an HR24 at no cost. I mentioned that my MRV wasn't working and she said that I needed two DECA's for my HR21 and HR22 that I have on my system..then I would be up and running. So she shipped me two DECA's free of charge. I started reading...and have discovered I also need a SWM, which they didn't bother to tell me. I"m not paying $200 for an install...I'll do it myself...here are my questions. Assuming I have the HR24 and the HR21 and HR22 have DECA's connected. My Dish is the AUG9 3 LNB installed in 2008. What else do I need to make it the easiest/best install? Do I need a SWM LNB or is there a SWM"multiswitch". If I get the SWM LNB...then do I just need the SWM splitter with power inserter?


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## F1 Fan (Aug 28, 2007)

kkollins said:


> I did the beta test for MRV, after it was over I just kept using my powerlines which work hit or miss. I didn't realize that DTV had gone away from the home network and had started using the deca system. SO, last night one of my old HR20s died. I called for a replacement, sending me out I assume an HR24 at no cost. I mentioned that my MRV wasn't working and she said that I needed two DECA's for my HR21 and HR22 that I have on my system..then I would be up and running. So she shipped me two DECA's free of charge. I started reading...and have discovered I also need a SWM, which they didn't bother to tell me. I"m not paying $200 for an install...I'll do it myself...here are my questions. Assuming I have the HR24 and the HR21 and HR22 have DECA's connected. My Dish is the AUG9 3 LNB installed in 2008. What else do I need to make it the easiest/best install? Do I need a SWM LNB or is there a SWM"multiswitch". If I get the SWM LNB...then do I just need the SWM splitter with power inserter?


Whole Home install is $99 from memory [edit: corrected by VOS - it is $199 and no deals]. You may get discounts, but it is also a new commitment I think.

You can get a swm8 or swm 16 which uses 1 cable to your receivers so you can drop the second to your hr2xs

You would also want a Deca broadband connector which connects your deca mrv cloud to the internet for VOD etc. then you can drop everything.

HR20,21,22 and 23 and H21, H22 and H23 need the white deca boxes they are sending, HR24 and 34, and H24 and H25 have deca built in.

By the time you get it all going, you may find it cheaper to try for the Whole Home Upgrade. See if they can cut you a deal.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

F1 Fan said:


> Whole Home install is $99 from memory. You may get discounts, but it is also a new commitment I think.
> 
> You can get a swm8 or swm 16 which uses 1 cable to your receivers so you can drop the second to your hr2xs
> 
> ...


It's $199 with "no deal".
If no receivers are swapped/upgraded, there isn't a programing commitment either.
I also wouldn't "assume" to be getting a HR24 as a replacement. You might, but you might not too.
As for what's needed, this thread has lots of images of setups: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=177308


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## willyslc (Dec 31, 2011)

Hi,

I think I'll chime in as yet another newbie. 

Was going to have DTV do my install, but they essentially botched the order and I'm on hold until the 4th. Considering cancelling the order all together and going it alone. They wanted $250 for the install!!! And that for a loyal customer for 11 years? Really???

DirecTV Upgrade Plan.

Current Equipment:
•	2 – HR20-700 HD-DVR
•	1 – HR21-700 HC-DVR
•	1 – H10 HD RCVR
•	1 – TiVO SD DVR
•	1 – RCA SD RCVR
•	Slimline 5 Antenna (a year old or so)
•	Non-SWM Multiswitch

Proposed Receiver Equipment
•	2 HR20-700 HD-DVR
•	1 HR21-700 HD-DVR
•	3 H21,22,23,24 HD RCVR

SWiM Parts Needed:
•	SWiM16 Multi-Switch w/ Power Inserter and 2 – 8 Way Splitter ($75 + $15 shipping, 90 eBay)
•	Splitter for each HR20 (2) ($14ea – eBay)
•	DECA Converters (6, Bedroom, Family Room, Master Bedroom, Exercise room, Basement and 1 for router) $20.00/ea

My antenna is a slimline 5. Are there different flavors of Slimline 5? How can I know if I need to make any antenna/LNB changes?

I've looked at the "images" postings and I think I understand it all very well. The only thing I haven't seen really is the connection of a non-dvr HD Receiver, like the H21,22,23 etc. Isn't it the same as the HR's? Are there any HD Receivers (non-dvr) that have DECA built in?

Thanks


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

willyslc said:


> Hi,
> 
> I think I'll chime in as yet another newbie.
> 
> ...


There are 2 versions of the Slimline LNB's. One is SWM one isn't. Since you have a HR10 connected you shouldn't have SWM.

You will need a SWM 16 w/PI to replace your existing multi-switch, DECA's for each receiver that's not a 24/25 series plus the receivers you would need.

It's going to cost you more to do it yourself than DIRECTV's deal.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

willyslc said:


> Proposed Receiver Equipment
> •	2 HR20-700 HD-DVR
> •	1 HR21-700 HD-DVR
> •	3 H21,22,23,24 HD RCVR
> ...


Why two 8-way splitters? You will have six boxes; to avoid additional signal loss, get a 2-way and a 4-way. Or for future growth, two 4-ways. And unless you are running a separate wire to your router, you need a 2-way splitter to hook that up.

As shades said, you are going to spend more doing it yourself. Time to play CSR Roulette.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

willyslc, $250 to upgrade your entire system to SwiM while replacing 3 receivers to boot is not bad. I don't understand this "I've been a customer since blah, blah, blah crap. It should be much cheaper or free" It's not cheap what you're asking them for and if you have them do it then its covered by them, you put it in, you're on your own.


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## F1 Fan (Aug 28, 2007)

You are comparing apples to oranges again.

You say they want $250 for the MRV PLUS 3 new HD receivers, (normally $99 a piece) but are comparing it to buying it off ebay etc. for not much less, but no receivers. And doing all the hard work yourself, and not being covered if anything every goes wrong.

To me, $250 for 3 H2x receivers, WholeHomeDVR, SWM16 upgrade etc. plus support in the future is a bargain!


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

> •	Splitter for each HR20 (2) ($14ea - eBay)


Not needed for HR20-700

"Having someone who knows what they're doing".... priceless


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## willyslc (Dec 31, 2011)

CCarncross said:


> willyslc, $250 to upgrade your entire system to SwiM while replacing 3 receivers to boot is not bad. I don't understand this "I've been a customer since blah, blah, blah crap. It should be much cheaper or free" It's not cheap what you're asking them for and if you have them do it then its covered by them, you put it in, you're on your own.


Fair statement. The thing that was frustrating is that DTV totally botched the actual request. They somehow did not understand that what I wanted was to upgrade my non-HD equipment and get the MRV going. Somehow that turned into a professional install of the DirecTV Cinema which seems to already be available on my DVR's with an internet connection. Anyway, I'm going to make another call and see where we go from here.


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## willyslc (Dec 31, 2011)

F1 Fan said:


> You are comparing apples to oranges again.
> 
> You say they want $250 for the MRV PLUS 3 new HD receivers, (normally $99 a piece) but are comparing it to buying it off ebay etc. for not much less, but no receivers. And doing all the hard work yourself, and not being covered if anything every goes wrong.
> 
> To me, $250 for 3 H2x receivers, WholeHomeDVR, SWM16 upgrade etc. plus support in the future is a bargain!


Yeah, you guys are all probably right. Let's see how my phone call goes that I'm going to make right now goes.


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## TAK3210 (Dec 11, 2011)

veryoldschool said:


> Not needed for HR20-700
> 
> "Having someone who knows what they're doing".... priceless


Well, that's why we come here, isn't it?  I still haven't figured out what the $199 for MRV includes. Seems high to me.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

TAK3210 said:


> Well, that's why we come here, isn't it?  I still haven't figured out what the $199 for MRV includes. Seems high to me.


The "whole Home" DVR service is $3/month.
The $199 is their "one price fits all" for upgrading customers to:
SWiM, dish/LNB, swapping any receivers not compatible with SWiM,
Installing DECA devices on all receivers that don't have them internally, adding filters where needed, and another DECA to bridge to your home network for internet access.
For some customers this becomes "the deal of the century", while for some others "not so much".


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## TAK3210 (Dec 11, 2011)

veryoldschool said:


> The "whole Home" DVR service is $3/month.
> The $199 is their "one price fits all" for upgrading customers to:
> SWiM, dish/LNB, swapping any receivers not compatible with SWiM,
> Installing DECA devices on all receivers that don't have them internally, adding filters where needed, and another DECA to bridge to your home network for internet access.
> For some customers this becomes "the deal of the century", while for some others "not so much".


Thank you!  It looks like I would fall in the latter category.


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## willyslc (Dec 31, 2011)

So, off the phone with DTV. The $250.00 I guess would have been great. Now the price went UP to $450.00!!! Not surprising, given that I had not included the cost of additional receivers above. However, now I'm wondering about the cost/benefit of doing some stuff myself. 

Thoughts? More CSR Roulette? They would only give me a deal on one HD upgrade. I need two more. Apparently my H10 is kind of a lost child. Why should I have to do any upgrade on the H10? It is already an HD receiver, but just not compatible with the MRV. Shouldn't that one be a freebie since it is a leased unit?

Comments?


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## TAK3210 (Dec 11, 2011)

Ouch! That's not so much a 'bargain' anymore.


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## bradpr (Sep 8, 2007)

Have you tried getting d* to turn on Ethernet-only (unsupported) MRV? It might be an option...if they'll let you have it.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> SWiM, dish/LNB, swapping any receivers not compatible with SWiM


note...they will upgrade to a SWiM capable unit, but it won't necessarily be MRV compatible. E.g my R15 was upgraded to an R16. The R16 worked with my new SWiM system, but was not part of my new MRV. I ended up upgrading that unit to an HR box.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

trh said:


> note...they will upgrade to a SWiM capable unit, but it won't necessarily be MRV compatible. E.g my R15 was upgraded to an R16. The R16 worked with my new SWiM system, but was not part of my new MRV. I ended up upgrading that unit to an HR box.


"and now you see", why I worded my statement as I did.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

"willyslc" said:


> So, off the phone with DTV. The $250.00 I guess would have been great. Now the price went UP to $450.00!!! Not surprising, given that I had not included the cost of additional receivers above. However, now I'm wondering about the cost/benefit of doing some stuff myself.
> 
> Thoughts? More CSR Roulette? They would only give me a deal on one HD upgrade. I need two more. Apparently my H10 is kind of a lost child. Why should I have to do any upgrade on the H10? It is already an HD receiver, but just not compatible with the MRV. Shouldn't that one be a freebie since it is a leased unit?
> 
> Comments?


The typical MRV upgrade is $199. They sometimes also charge $50 for the tech visit. As mentioned already, the MRV upgrade is to upgrade all your receivers to SWM compatible and also your dish if it is not HD or SWM compatible.

With 2 DVRs and 3 receivers (7 tuners), that will mean that you are upgraded to a SWM-LNB, which allows only SWM compatible receivers. In your case, your HR2x receivers are fine. However, your HD receiver and 2 SD receivers are not SWM compatible. The upgrade cost covers the cost to swap out the HD receiver with a H2x receiver. That receiver needs to be swapped out as the one you have is not SWM compatible. The SD receivers will only be swapped out for D12 receivers, which are SD SWM compatible receivers. Since you want to upgrade them to HD, you are then being charged $99 per receiver for the upgrade.

It's possible that if you play CSR roulette, you might be able to get a better deal. Your other option is to do the MRV upgrade without the SD receiver upgrades. It's possible that down the road, you might be able to get HD receiver upgrades for free. Just be advised that anytime you upgrade those receivers to HD that you will end up with a new 2 year commitment.

- Merg


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## willyslc (Dec 31, 2011)

The Merg said:


> The typical MRV upgrade is $199. They sometimes also charge $50 for the tech visit. As mentioned already, the MRV upgrade is to upgrade all your receivers to SWM compatible and also your dish if it is not HD or SWM compatible.
> 
> With 2 DVRs and 3 receivers (7 tuners), that will mean that you are upgraded to a SWM-LNB, which allows only SWM compatible receivers. In your case, your HR2x receivers are fine. However, your HD receiver and 2 SD receivers are not SWM compatible. The upgrade cost covers the cost to swap out the HD receiver with a H2x receiver. That receiver needs to be swapped out as the one you have is not SWM compatible. The SD receivers will only be swapped out for D12 receivers, which are SD SWM compatible receivers. Since you want to upgrade them to HD, you are then being charged $99 per receiver for the upgrade.
> 
> - Merg


That's very good information. So continuing the DTV strategy, let's see:

To upgrade to SWiM, their going to have to upgrade my H10 anyway, that should be part of the 199 deal. They appear to be willing to do one HD upgrade of my SD's for 49. So if I were willing to live with one SD receiver, shouldn't I be back to the $249 price tag?

The last CSR was not especially pleasant and actually kind of cranky. Bad day? Seems like if I could get a good knowledgeable one, I could plead my case above and get to SWiM, if not MRV.

Think I'll give it one more CSR spin tomorrow and see where that goes.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

You cannot just place an order for SWM you would need to place an order for WHDVR.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

willyslc said:


> Thoughts? More CSR Roulette? They would only give me a deal on one HD upgrade. I need two more. *Apparently my H10 is kind of a lost child. Why should I have to do any upgrade on the H10?* It is already an HD receiver, but just not compatible with the MRV. Shouldn't that one be a freebie since it is a leased unit?
> 
> Comments?


The H10 hasnt been able to receive any HD from the sat in over 2 years....its strictly an OTA HD device now....in fact there was a great swap out program that is LONG since over that you should have taken advantage of when they made the switch to MPEG4


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

"willyslc" said:


> That's very good information. So continuing the DTV strategy, let's see:
> 
> To upgrade to SWiM, their going to have to upgrade my H10 anyway, that should be part of the 199 deal. They appear to be willing to do one HD upgrade of my SD's for 49. So if I were willing to live with one SD receiver, shouldn't I be back to the $249 price tag?
> 
> ...


I don't think they are charging you $50 to upgrade the one SD receiver to HD. My guess is that they are charging you the $50 for the tech visit or for the swap out of the H10 as it is so old now. You are then being charged $100 for each of the SD receivers to be upgraded to HD, hence the $450 total cost.

And as mentioned, upgrading to SWM cannot be ordered stand-alone. You either need to upgrade to Whole Home to be converted to SWM or in your case add a DVR to give you 9 tuners, which will force a SWM16 install.

- Merg


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