# MRV fee $3??



## Luck255

So I was calling today to add the March Madness package and asked how much MRV would be after a short search the agent responded with $3. Seems reasonable, I'm not really interested in it personally but $3 doesn't sound terrible.


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## cygnusloop

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/directv/technology/multiroom

So it seems...


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## barryb

That sounds reasonable to me as well. I am sure they spent a decent amount of money on this product.


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## matt

"Limit 8 MRV-capable receivers per household." SWM-16 perfect!

and

"All you need is one HD DVR (model HR24) in one room and HD receivers (model H24) in your other rooms." Interesting...


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## barryb

Thats one way to fix that 50 series link limit.


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## kevinturcotte

matt1124 said:


> "Limit 8 MRV-capable receivers per household." SWM-16 perfect!
> 
> and
> 
> "All you need is one HD DVR (model HR24) in one room and HD receivers (model H24) in your other rooms." Interesting...


Wait-where's this limit of 8 receivers coming from? That could be a problem for me.


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## barryb

kevinturcotte said:


> Wait-where's this limit of 8 receivers coming from? That could be a problem for me.


Thats 16 tuners, or 8 DVRs Kevin. That is a lot of television.


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## kevinturcotte

barryb said:


> Thats 16 tuners, or 8 DVRs Kevin. That is a lot of television.


I plan on adding 1 more receiver to my account, which will up the total of MRV capable receivers to 9. They REALLY not going to turn MRV on for me?
5 HD DVRs
4 HD Receivers


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## TheRatPatrol

kevinturcotte said:


> Wait-where's this limit of 8 receivers coming from? That could be a problem for me.


The fine print at the bottom of the link above.



> Limit one remote viewing per HD DVR. HD Access ($10/mo.), DVR service ($7/mo.) and Multi-Room DVR service ($3/mo.) required. Limit 8 MRV-capable receivers per household. Lease fee of $5/mo. required for 2nd and each additional receiver. Hardware and programming available separately. Other conditions apply.


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## vbedford

8 ok where do you have these things at?


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## kevinturcotte

vbedford said:


> 8 ok where do you have these things at?


Scattered throughout the family at $20 a pop  j/k
I just have one in literally just about every room. Also have multiple DVRs for additional tuners, and some just for backup.


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## matt

kevinturcotte said:


> Scattered throughout the family at $20 a pop  j/k
> I just have one in literally just about every room. Also have multiple DVRs for additional tuners, and some just for backup.


Uh huh, there's a little truth to every just kidding...


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## kevinturcotte

If they'd add more than 2 tuners to the DVR, and allow backing up, I could SERIOUSLY drop my receiver needs!


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## Alan Gordon

TheRatPatrol said:


> The fine print at the bottom of the link above.





> *Limit one remote viewing per HD DVR.* HD Access ($10/mo.), DVR service ($7/mo.) and Multi-Room DVR service ($3/mo.) required. Limit 8 MRV-capable receivers per household. Lease fee of $5/mo. required for 2nd and each additional receiver. Hardware and programming available separately. Other conditions apply.


What the heck does that mean?! 

~Alan


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## matt

Alan Gordon said:


> What the heck does that mean?!
> 
> ~Alan


I think it means when a box is acting like a server, it can only output to one client at a time.


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## kevinturcotte

Alan Gordon said:


> What the heck does that mean?!
> 
> ~Alan


That's fine, just exactly what we can do now. You can only view one one program from a specific HD DVR remotely. Same as right now. If you try and view another program from the same HD DVR on a 2nd remote receiver, you get an error message.


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## Alan Gordon

matt1124 said:


> I think it means when a box is acting like a server, it can only output to one client at a time.





kevinturcotte said:


> That's fine, just exactly what we can do now. You can only view one one program from a specific HD DVR remotely. Same as right now. If you try and view another program from the same HD DVR on a 2nd remote receiver, you get an error message.


WHEW!! I was worried they were going to try and charge a MRV fee per DVR...

~Alan


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## Shades228

I believe it will actually be 8 per subnet but the average person has no clue what a subnet is. I believe you will need 1 DECA per subnet as well. Chances are this is how MDU's will get setup eventually without everyone seeing everyone else. Unless someone else can think of a better way to ensure seclusion of other people's receivers connected to a SWM 8/16/32.



Alan Gordon said:


> WHEW!! I was worried they were going to try and charge a MRV fee per DVR...
> 
> ~Alan


Like Tivo? Sorry I couldn't resist.


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## kevinturcotte

Shades228 said:


> I believe it will actually be 8 per subnet but the average person has no clue what a subnet is. I believe you will need 1 DECA per subnet as well. Chances are this is how MDU's will get setup eventually without everyone seeing everyone else.


Okay, that wouldn't be so bad. Backups are connected to the Same Tv as the main DVRs, so those don't really NEED to be included in the available MRV list.


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## Alan Gordon

Shades228 said:


> Like Tivo? Sorry I couldn't resist.


Technically, I could really have a ball with that statement, but this isn't the thread for that! 

I'm just glad I was reading the fine print wrong...

~Alan


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## kevinturcotte

Shades228 said:


> I believe it will actually be 8 per subnet but the average person has no clue what a subnet is. I believe you will need 1 DECA per subnet as well. Chances are this is how MDU's will get setup eventually without everyone seeing everyone else. Unless someone else can think of a better way to ensure seclusion of other people's receivers connected to a SWM 8/16/32.
> 
> Like Tivo? Sorry I couldn't resist.


Does Tivo charge for MRV? Per receiver? I thought they just charged their DVR fee?


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## kokishin

Luck255 said:


> So I was calling today to add the March Madness package and asked how much MRV would be after a short search the agent responded with $3. Seems reasonable, I'm not really interested in it personally but $3 doesn't sound terrible.


$3/month for MRV seems unreasonable for a relatively minor feature that I am already using via my home LAN. There was no additional Directv equipment nor installer charges involved so I feel this is another Directv gouge. If Directv charges a reasonable non-recurring charge for those customers that need additional equipment and installtion, then I understand that.


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## kevinturcotte

Shades228 said:


> I believe it will actually be 8 per subnet but the average person has no clue what a subnet is. I believe you will need 1 DECA per subnet as well. Chances are this is how MDU's will get setup eventually without everyone seeing everyone else. Unless someone else can think of a better way to ensure seclusion of other people's receivers connected to a SWM 8/16/32.


I thought there was some sort of filter for that, to keep different accounts from seeing each other.


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## Doug Brott

kokishin said:


> $3/month for MRV seems unreasonable for a relatively minor feature that I am already using via my home LAN. There was no additional Directv equipment nor installer charges involved so I feel this is another Directv gouge. If Directv charges a reasonable non-recurring charge for those customers that need additional equipment and installtion, then I understand that.


Then don't pay for it .. problem solved.


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## barryb

Doug Brott said:


> Then don't pay for it .. problem solved.


Typed the words right off my keyboard.

I do not feel that 3 bux a month is unreasonable, and if I did, I would not use this feature, just like I do with other packages.


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## kokishin

Doug Brott said:


> Then don't pay for it .. problem solved.


I won't.


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## inkahauts

kokishin said:


> $3/month for MRV seems unreasonable for a relatively minor feature that I am already using via my home LAN. There was no additional Directv equipment nor installer charges involved so I feel this is another Directv gouge. If Directv charges a reasonable non-recurring charge for those customers that need additional equipment and installtion, then I understand that.


Everyone else charges for it, so they figured why not as well.. And yes, ATT does charge for it.. They just don't line item it.. Just check there pricing for boxes per month....


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## inkahauts

I'm going to guess the limit of 8 is really for the installation headaches that more than 8 would cause, or could cause, and nothing more.... Also a supply issue...


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## TheRatPatrol

matt1124 said:


> I think it means when a box is acting like a server, it can only output to one client at a time.





kevinturcotte said:


> That's fine, just exactly what we can do now. You can only view one one program from a specific HD DVR remotely. Same as right now. If you try and view another program from the same HD DVR on a 2nd remote receiver, you get an error message.


So I'm wondering how the HMC will handle this then?


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## opfreak

barryb said:


> Typed the words right off my keyboard.
> 
> I do not feel that 3 bux a month is unreasonable, and if I did, I would not use this feature, just like I do with other packages.


Its unreasonable, considering Directv2PC is free. And overall servers the same funiction.

already have on HTPC, and in the process of adding a 2nd. So both tv's will be covered.

Please tell me what you are really getting for 3 dollars a month?

Is there any extra programing? extra hardware?

And its not 3 dollars a month, its 36 dollars a year+ taxes, over a contract term thats 72 bucks + taxes.

Its a ~6 ppv movies a year. Or 3 months moths of HBO, etc etc.

Just a way to nickel and dime people for 'features' that are barely features.

Yes I wont pay, if it was free I'd use it. But I have better things to use my money rather then lining the pockets of some big wig CEO.


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## David MacLeod

I wonder if the 8 receiver clause only applies to deca based and in lan based would not apply.
or $3 for every 8 receivers..


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## joed32

matt1124 said:


> "Limit 8 MRV-capable receivers per household." SWM-16 perfect!
> 
> and
> 
> "All you need is one HD DVR (model HR24) in one room and HD receivers (model H24) in your other rooms." Interesting...


But you can watch one program on the HR and stream one program to a receiver, that's it on current HRs. Maybe the HR24 will be able to do more but with the present units you would want more than one DVR for multiple receivers.


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## Doug Brott

David MacLeod said:


> I wonder if the 8 receiver clause only applies to deca based and in lan based would not apply.
> or $3 for every 8 receivers..


I'm pretty sure the limit is for DECA, but it's not entirely accurate as not many people would have 8 single-line connected DVRs 

SWiM-16 should increase that limit just a bit.


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## Stuart Sweet

$36 a year... less than a tank of gas for most people (admittedly not for me ) is not a big price to pay.


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## tkrandall

Unlike the beta MRV page, the official MRV link
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/directv/technology/multiroom

says HR24 and H24s are required. No mention of other model HRxx and Hxx receivers.

Do you think this is a test market limitation, given beta testers on this forum have been using DECA modules hooked up to older models.


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## PAJeep

kokishin said:


> $3/month for MRV seems unreasonable for a relatively minor feature that I am already using via my home LAN. There was no additional Directv equipment nor installer charges involved so I feel this is another Directv gouge. If Directv charges a reasonable non-recurring charge for those customers that need additional equipment and installtion, then I understand that.


Your using it via your home LAN because Directv spent man hours and money to develop it.


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## evan_s

8 Receiver limit wouldn't be a SWM limit. To do MRV with 8 receivers you would need a minimum of 9 tuners as you would have to have 1 dvr with 2 tuners to act as a server. I think the 8 receiver limit is an indication that DECA is based on MoCA 1.0 which was limited to 8 devices and not 1.1 which was increased to 16.


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## Alebob911

:lol::lol::lol::lol:


Doug Brott said:


> Then don't pay for it .. problem solved.


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## Alebob911

I wonder if they are trying to eliminate the extra DECA units since its built in those receivers. It takes out one more piece of equipment in the networking aspect of MRV. Not to mention the increase in performance of these new receivers. Only D* know for sure.


tkrandall said:


> Unlike the beta MRV page, the official MRV link
> http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/directv/technology/multiroom
> 
> says HR24 and H24s are required. No mention of other model HRxx and Hxx receivers.
> 
> Do you think this is a test market limitation, given beta testers on this forum have been using DECA modules hooked up to older models.


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## tkrandall

evan_s said:


> 8 Receiver limit wouldn't be a SWM limit. To do MRV with 8 receivers you would need a minimum of 9 tuners as you would have to have 1 dvr with 2 tuners to act as a server. I think the 8 receiver limit is an indication that DECA is based on MoCA 1.0 which was limited to 8 devices and not 1.1 which was increased to 16.


Did anyone click on the FAQ section? It says 15.

_What is the maximum number of TVs that can share one DVR?

Up to 15 TVs can share one DVR. One of them must be connected to the HD DVR receiver and the others must be connected to HD receivers. _​


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## Lee L

I personally do not agree with the strategy of making people pay $3 a month, but it is not unreasonable and I'll pay it. I do think it is kind of weird they allow DirecTV2PC for free since they could potentially lose out on a $5 a month reciever charge by allowing it.


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## barryb

opfreak said:


> Please tell me what you are really getting for 3 dollars a month?


A really, _really_ big DVR with 400 series links and I cannot calculate how much storage space, and thats without hooking up eSata drives. For me this is a game changer for about 10 cents a day.

Its most certainly an opt-in for anyone.... and I am gonna give kudos to DirecTV for not making it $3 _per receiver. _


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## barryb

tkrandall said:


> Did anyone click on the FAQ section? It says 15.
> 
> _What is the maximum number of TVs that can share one DVR?
> 
> Up to 15 TVs can share one DVR. One of them must be connected to the HD DVR receiver and the others must be connected to HD receivers. _​


It comes down to the amount of tuners. That number is 16. Up to 15 can share from one DVR = 16 total tuners running at the same time. This also means you can be recording 15 programs while watching another, and thats a lot of TV.


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## Sim-X

I'm sure they spent a boatload of $ on deca - hopefully they give me a good deal on upgrading all my receivers. $3 for all dvrs seems fair


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## BudShark

evan_s said:


> 8 Receiver limit wouldn't be a SWM limit. To do MRV with 8 receivers you would need a minimum of 9 tuners as you would have to have 1 dvr with 2 tuners to act as a server. I think the 8 receiver limit is an indication that DECA is based on MoCA 1.0 which was limited to 8 devices and not 1.1 which was increased to 16.


DECA is MoCA 1.1


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## Doug Brott

Lee L said:


> I personally do not agree with the strategy of making people pay $3 a month, but it is not unreasonable and I'll pay it. I do think it is kind of weird they allow DirecTV2PC for free since they could potentially lose out on a $5 a month reciever charge by allowing it.


The alternate strategy would have been to raise everyone's prices, even beyond the pricing changes we saw last month.


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## Mike Bertelson

Alebob911 said:


> I wonder if they are trying to eliminate the extra DECA units since its built in those receivers. It takes out one more piece of equipment in the networking aspect of MRV. Not to mention the increase in performance of these new receivers. Only D* know for sure.


It doesn't exactly say it's required. It lists them in parentheses. In the fine print it just says DVR and receiver. I wonder what the implications are.

Mike


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## Mike Bertelson

tkrandall said:


> Did anyone click on the FAQ section? It says 15.
> 
> _What is the maximum number of TVs that can share one DVR?
> 
> Up to 15 TVs can share one DVR. One of them must be connected to the HD DVR receiver and the others must be connected to HD receivers. _​





barryb said:


> It comes down to the amount of tuners. That number is 16. Up to 15 can share from one DVR = 16 total tuners running at the same time. This also means you can be recording 15 programs while watching another, and thats a lot of TV.


There's a potential problem here though. If a sub has one DVR and three receivers, only one of those receivers can do MRV at a time.

I wonder how big a problem that could be.

Mike


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## Jason Whiddon

Does anyone know install costs yet?

I want to use MRV, and I'll take the DECA, but really do not wanna fool with it myself. I have a SWM3 and two HR22's, so if the upgrade fee would not be bad, then I'd soon have them roll a truck.


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## dwr11

So is the limit 16 tuners or 8 receivers? In theory, could you have 4 HR24's and 8 H24's?


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## damondlt

elwaylite said:


> Does anyone know install costs yet?
> 
> I want to use MRV, and I'll take the DECA, but really do not wanna fool with it myself. I have a SWM3 and two HR22's, so if the upgrade fee would not be bad, then I'd soon have them roll a truck.


I'm really in the dark about the MRV. Is it all Software? Whats invloved in getting it?

How's it Going Elway?:grin:


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## Jason Whiddon

damondlt said:


> I'm really in the dark about the MRV. Is it all Software? Whats invloved in getting it?
> 
> How's it Going Elway?:grin:


Wassup Hemi!

They need to install the adapters, or you can do it yourself.

Here's what I hope happens soon:

1) I login in to my online account and order the upgrade to DECA for a fee

2) They send out a truck and a tech does all the work

3) I pay $3 xtra per month and really get the use outta my 2nd HDDVR.


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## Doug Brott

dwr11 said:


> So is the limit 16 tuners or 8 receivers? In theory, could you have 4 HR24's and 8 H24's?


I believe the network limit is 16 devices .. This mean one broadband DECA and 15 STBs. You can't reach that number with an SWiM-8, but you can with a SWiM-16. In your scenario above,

4 HR24s + 8 H24s + 1 broadband DECA can be supported by 1 SWiM-16.


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## dsw2112

MicroBeta said:


> There's a potential problem here though. If a sub has one DVR and three receivers, only one of those receivers can do MRV at a time.
> 
> I wonder how big a problem that could be.
> 
> Mike


That's a good point Mike as I didn't see anything specifically addressing that on the D* MRV page

I wonder how well this will be explained to those that order -- I get the feeling some will expect the above setup to work differently...


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## Mike Bertelson

elwaylite said:


> Does anyone know install costs yet?
> 
> I want to use MRV, and I'll take the DECA, but really do not wanna fool with it myself. I have a SWM3 and two HR22's, so if the upgrade fee would not be bad, then I'd soon have them roll a truck.


A member stated ithat it was $99.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=174322

Mike


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## Jason Whiddon

MicroBeta said:


> A member stated ithat it was $99.
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=174322
> 
> Mike


Thanks. Once they have the gear in my area I am gonna try and order. Hopefully as a Premier sub, with 2 HDDVR's and the Repair Plan, I can get a decent price. $99 aint bad for the install, but $59 or $79 would look better


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## Clemsole

MRV is not worth a penney. If there is something recorded on another DVR I have the strength to get up and walk into that room and watch it there. I will not pay one cent extra for it. Then again we are not couch potatoes.


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## Jason Whiddon

Clemsole said:


> MRV is not worth a penney. If there is something recorded on another DVR I have the strength to get up and walk into that room and watch it there. I will not pay one cent extra for it. Then again we are not couch potatoes.


Thats an asinine statement. I have a HR22 on the bedroom tv which is 32"'s. I have the other HR22 on a calibrated 55" LED LCD. I'd rather watch all my shows on the bigscreen, but be able to record some over flow on the other.

Nothing to do with being lazy.


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## Doug Brott

Clemsole said:


> MRV is not worth a penney. If there is something recorded on another DVR I have the strength to get up and walk into that room and watch it there. I will not pay one cent extra for it. Then again we are not couch potatoes.


All depends on how you use it. In a two-TV household, some folks may both want to watch something from the same DVR .. Without MRV, they would all have to watch at the same location, but clearly couldn't do it at the same time. With MRV, they could both watch shows from the same DVR at the same time.


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## slimoli

Clemsole said:


> MRV is not worth a penney. If there is something recorded on another DVR I have the strength to get up and walk into that room and watch it there. I will not pay one cent extra for it. Then again we are not couch potatoes.


 I simply can't live without MRV anymore and the 3 bucks a month is a decent price to pay.


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## Scott Kocourek

Or how about kids programs, no matter where it is recorded they can watch it where you let them. Or even as simple as someone may have one DVR but two or three regular HD receivers, they can watch what they record where they want. There is no one size fits all, if someone thinks it's useless they probably won't get it.


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## wingrider01

really interested in this, but would have to forklift the infrastructure have the original MPEG4 LNB, WB16, a couple of HR20's, R15's and even a HR10


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## slimoli

Based on today's news, can I assume I can keep my existing cat5 network (no D* support) if I don't want DECA ?


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## Jason Whiddon

slimoli said:


> I simply can't live without MRV anymore and the 3 bucks a month is a decent price to pay.


As more and more majors cram the same shows into the same night, and channels like Fx and Syfy get better originals, the conflicts are vast. Saves from D* having to create a 4 tuner 2 terabyte DVR thats costs us a ton. Just add more general HDDVR's and allow you to "share" the storage.



scottandregan said:


> Or how about kids programs, no matter where it is recorded they can watch it where you let them. Or even as simple as someone may have one DVR but two or three regular HD receivers, they can watch what they record where they want. There is no one size fits all, if someone thinks it's useless they probably won't get it.


Another good reason.


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## BudShark

wingrider01 said:


> really interested in this, but would have to forklift the infrastructure have the original MPEG4 LNB, WB16, a couple of HR20's, R15's and even a HR10


It will be interesting to see how much of the heavy lifting is handled in the MRV upgrade... do you get HR24s inplace of HR20s or just the DECAs? I'm interested to hear how real world upgrade scenarios work. I know what I'd prefer...


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## Mike Bertelson

Clemsole said:


> MRV is not worth a penney. If there is something recorded on another DVR I have the strength to get up and walk into that room and watch it there. I will not pay one cent extra for it. Then again we are not couch potatoes.


As an example, my daughter can watch something in her room off the DVR in the living room while we're watching then news. That might be worth $3 to some people.

Mike


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## dwr11

I'm sure this is a dumb question but everyone has been so helpfull I thought I would ask. I am interested in MRV. We are in the process of building and will be in our new house in early May. Right now we have 1 HR20, 1 HR22 and 2 H2*. What happens when we move to our new house and have DIRECTV come out to install and we want MRV. Do we trade the receivers we have right now for the HR24 and H24 or will we need to purchase those? Also, I plan on getting quite a few more receivers so I am interested in knowing for sure if 16 tuners is the absolute maximum number allowed? Thanks for the help.


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## say-what

dwr11 said:


> I'm sure this is a dumb question but everyone has been so helpfull I thought I would ask. I am interested in MRV. We are in the process of building and will be in our new house in early May. Right now we have 1 HR20, 1 HR22 and 2 H2*. What happens when we move to our new house and have DIRECTV come out to install and we want MRV. Do we trade the receivers we have right now for the HR24 and H24 or will we need to purchase those? Also, I plan on getting quite a few more receivers so I am interested in knowing for sure if 16 tuners is the absolute maximum number allowed? Thanks for the help.


You don't need the H/HR24 for MRV. When available in your market, they will most likely add the DECA Adapters to your existing receivers/network. I don't see them swapping out working receivers.


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## daveriv

barryb said:


> A really, _really_ big DVR with 400 series links and I cannot calculate how much storage space, and thats without hooking up eSata drives. For me this is a game changer for about 10 cents a day.[/I]


Thanks for this. First time I really looked at it logically. I was willing to pay and didn't want to lose the feature - this is a great way to call out the benefits. A good eSata drive would cost me the same as 2+ years of MRV. And since it appears I can continue to use my home network all is good!


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## TBlazer07

opfreak said:


> Its unreasonable, considering Directv2PC is free. And overall servers the same funiction.
> 
> already have on HTPC, and in the process of adding a 2nd. So both tv's will be covered.
> 
> Please tell me what you are really getting for 3 dollars a month?
> 
> Is there any extra programing? extra hardware?
> 
> And its not 3 dollars a month, its 36 dollars a year+ taxes, over a contract term thats 72 bucks + taxes.
> 
> Its a ~6 ppv movies a year. Or 3 months moths of HBO, etc etc.
> 
> Just a way to nickel and dime people for 'features' that are barely features.
> 
> Yes I wont pay, if it was free I'd use it. But I have better things to use my money rather then lining the pockets of some big wig CEO.


So your HTPC's were free? Amortize them vs. the $36/year. The electricty the 2 of them use would probably pay for 2/3rds of the $3/month fee.

Also, Directv2PC is not the same because one would need a computer in each room to watch vs. MRV which nothing has to change.

So for YOU (and others) with 2 TV's I can understand it not being worth $3/month but for me with 4TV's and no desire for 4 MORE computers and more cables and more electricity and yet another remote to add to the Harmony and having to show the wife, parents, kids and grandkids how to use it. One $3/month fee is a great value. That's only 75cents per location per month. PLUS I am still able to watch all my videos, photos etc off my PC with my little $89 streamer box.


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## TBlazer07

slimoli said:


> Based on today's news, can I assume I can keep my existing cat5 network (no D* support) if I don't want DECA ?


 Now THAT'S the $36 question! I'd love a final answer Regis.


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## Doug Brott

slimoli said:


> Based on today's news, can I assume I can keep my existing cat5 network (no D* support) if I don't want DECA ?





TBlazer07 said:


> Now THAT'S the $36 question! I'd love a final answer Regis.


I think I've sufficiently posted on this at this point .. The answer is "Yes."


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## BudShark

TBlazer07 said:


> Now THAT'S the $36 question! I'd love a final answer Regis.


Yes. For $36/yr you can run MRV in its current iteration on your existing hardware using your ethernet network. Just don't call DirecTV and expect them to help you. If you do, the only help they'll likely give you is a $99 MRV upgrade offer.

Exactly how you'll turn it on, etc is unknown until it leaves the beta period.


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## Barry in Conyers

TBlazer07 said:


> Now THAT'S the $36 question! I'd love a final answer Regis.


More like the $64,000 question, but that probably dates me.

D* customer = cash carrying mushroom.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The contents of my posts are my personal opinions.
I have never received free equipment from DirecTV or its partners.
I have never been provided with talking points by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
I have never been provided with non-public information by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
I have no quid pro quo or other beneficial relationship with DirecTV or dbstalk.com.


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## David MacLeod

Clemsole said:


> Then again we are not couch potatoes.


or disabled like some.


----------



## Doug Brott

Barry in Conyers said:


> More like the $64,000 question, but that probably dates me.
> 
> D* customer = cash carrying mushroom.


It's an optional charge .. you don't have to get MRV if you don't find it worth $3/month.


----------



## TBlazer07

BudShark said:


> Yes. For $36/yr you can run MRV in its current iteration on your existing hardware using your ethernet network. Just don't call DirecTV and expect them to help you. If you do, the only help they'll likely give you is a $99 MRV upgrade offer.
> 
> Exactly how you'll turn it on, etc is unknown until it leaves the beta period.


They haven't come out and said that yet have they? That would be great when they do. We all are ASSuming that to be a fact (unless I missed the announcement).

I've been using MRV for well over a year and it has been flawless on my Network and I (not speaking for others) certainly don't need DirecTV's "support." Besides if their support is anything like their "normal" technical support (open script to page 3 and read "press the red button" oh, that didn't work, "reformat your drive") it's meaningless anyway. :lol:

I'm more then willing to pay the $3/month to keep what I have as it is.


----------



## Jason Whiddon

I'll be paying the $99 the first day I can.


----------



## LameLefty

TBlazer07 said:


> They haven't come out and said that yet have they? That would be great when they do. We all are ASSuming that to be a fact (unless I missed the announcement).


Word from Doug is about as close to an announcement as we're likely to get for the next couple months.


----------



## BudShark

TBlazer07 said:


> They haven't come out and said that yet have they? That would be great when they do. We all are ASSuming that to be a fact (unless I missed the announcement).
> 
> I've been using MRV for well over a year and it has been flawless on my Network and I (not speaking for others) certainly don't need DirecTV's "support." Besides if their support is anything like their "normal" technical support (open script to page 3 and read "press the red button" oh, that didn't work, "reformat your drive") it's meaningless anyway. :lol:
> 
> I'm more then willing to pay the $3/month to keep what I have as it is.


Its fact at this point that MRV will be allowed, unsupported, on home networks. Doug's made the announcment several times. But again, since its unsupported don't expect a DirecTV Press Release like their actual MRV announcement today.


----------



## Doug Brott

I'm not sure DIRECTV will ever announce this .. I don't seem them blazing the ad trail about their unsupported (but usable) eSATA solution.


----------



## swyman18

> I have the strength to get up and walk into that room and watch it there


Wow...good for you.

You're right, there could not be any other reason for someone finding it useful.


----------



## sorahl

ok i got sent here from the other thread where Directv had announced MRV. I was worried at first glance but finding now that it's only $3 for all receivers.. tha'ts fine withme...
i was worried they were going to charge $5-$7 per..

John


----------



## gregftlaud

Any idea when the MRV fee will kick in? I dont want to be surprised one day while trying to use it and it says I have to pay for it. I want to add it to my services on the dtv website as soon as the fee kicks in.


----------



## ffemtreed

I probably won't pay the fee because I really don't use MRV that much now. (I only have 2 boxes in my house) but $3 dollars a month isn't a big deal, however the thing that scares me is this setting a precedent that everytime DTV comes out with a new feature are they going to start charging us these token fees?


----------



## bobnielsen

Barry in Conyers said:


> More like the $64,000 question, but that probably dates me.


I even remember the $64 question


----------



## pfp

Cool, another fee that can go up a few buck each year.


----------



## slimoli

Doug Brott said:


> I think I've sufficiently posted on this at this point .. The answer is "Yes."


Doug

This is the first time the answer was "yes". We had a lot of "maybe", "probably" and other guesses. Thanks .


----------



## slimoli

gregftlaud said:


> Any idea when the MRV fee will kick in? I dont want to be surprised one day while trying to use it and it says I have to pay for it. I want to add it to my services on the dtv website as soon as the fee kicks in.


I heard from a Directv supervisor and several other posts agree that the cut off date is April 28. Nothing official,though.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

slimoli said:


> I heard from a Directv supervisor and several other posts agree that the cut off date is April 28. Nothing official,though.


Hmmmm...interesting.

Mike


----------



## Doug Brott

slimoli said:


> I heard from a Directv supervisor and several other posts agree that the cut off date is April 28. Nothing official,though.


I've heard May, but I've not seen anything official either.


----------



## Barry in Conyers

Doug Brott said:


> It's an optional charge .. you don't have to get MRV if you don't find it worth $3/month.


Gee, thanks Doug,

I had no idea I didn't have to pay the MRV fee if I did not want MRV. 

For the record, I will probably go with MRV (when the H24 becomes available to replace an H20) and with DECA (when available). Based on the gushing DECA "first looks" and statements that ethernet does not / cannot properly handle MRV, not going with DECA would be silly.

A lot of "probably" could be turned into real plans and actions if DirecTV would abandon the mushroom approach.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The contents of my posts are my personal opinions.
I have never received free equipment from DirecTV or its partners.
I have never been provided with talking points by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
I have never been provided with non-public information by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
I have no quid pro quo or other beneficial relationship with DirecTV or dbstalk.com.


----------



## LameLefty

Barry in Conyers said:


> Gee, thanks Doug,
> 
> I had no idea I didn't have to pay the MRV fee if I did not want MRV.
> 
> For the record, I will probably go with MRV (when the H24 becomes available to replace an H20) and with DECA (when available). Based on the gushing DECA "first looks" and statements that ethernet does not / cannot properly handle MRV, not going with DECA would be silly.
> 
> A lot of "probably" could be turned into real plans and actions if DirecTV would abandon the mushroom approach.
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The contents of my posts are my personal opinions.
> I have never received free equipment from DirecTV or its partners.
> I have never been provided with talking points by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
> I have never been provided with non-public information by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
> I have no quid pro quo or other beneficial relationship with DirecTV or dbstalk.com.


Someone has forgotten Wheaton's Law. :lol:


----------



## Beerstalker

Doug Brott said:


> It's an optional charge .. you don't have to get MRV if you don't find it worth $3/month.


But it does sound like if you get it you may have to keep it. At least if you get the HR24/H24 it sounds like they might lock you into it.

"Limit one remote viewing per HD DVR. HD Access ($10/mo.), DVR service ($7/mo.) and Multi-Room DVR service ($3/mo.) required. "


----------



## Barry in Conyers

LameLefty said:


> Someone has forgotten Wheaton's Law. :lol:


Hello, pot!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The contents of my posts are my personal opinions.
I have never received free equipment from DirecTV or its partners.
I have never been provided with talking points by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
I have never been provided with non-public information by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
I have no quid pro quo or other beneficial relationship with DirecTV or dbstalk.com.


----------



## LameLefty

Barry in Conyers said:


> Hello, pot!
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The contents of my posts are my personal opinions.
> I have never received free equipment from DirecTV or its partners.
> I have never been provided with talking points by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
> I have never been provided with non-public information by DirecTV or dbstalk.com.
> I have no quid pro quo or other beneficial relationship with DirecTV or dbstalk.com.


So remind everyone again . . . which of the two of us has a ridiculous "disclaimer" at the bottom of each post, and who is intentionally mischaracterizing the entire DECA/ethernet situation?


----------



## barryb

One of the best things I see about MRV is the ability to start a program on one television and finish it on another, no matter where that TV is located in our house.


----------



## mikeny

barryb said:


> One of the best things I see about MRV is the ability to start a program on one television and finish it on another, no matter where that TV is located in our house.


I agree. A few minutes here and a few minutes there as needed...It's extremely convenient!


----------



## barryb

Also add in the increase in series links and storage space.


----------



## pfp

barryb said:


> Also add in the increase in series links and storage space.


This is definitely a plus, but without being able to manage to-do lists remotely (leaving cooperative scheduling completely off the table) it's a bit of a pain.


----------



## slimoli

pfp said:


> This is definitely a plus, but without being able to manage to-do lists remotely (leaving cooperative scheduling completely off the table) it's a bit of a pain.


I think it will be available, eventually.


----------



## Beerstalker

Managing to do lists remotely would be nice, but I have found now that I have the series links set up on my 3 DVRs I really don't have to mess with it much anymore. About the only thing I have to do is go into the to do list on my theater room DVR every other week and clear out all the Simpsons reruns because my local Fox station runs 2 episodes a day and evidently marks them all as new episodes.


----------



## Doug Brott

Barry in Conyers said:


> Gee, thanks Doug,
> 
> I had no idea I didn't have to pay the MRV fee if I did not want MRV.
> 
> For the record, I will probably go with MRV (when the H24 becomes available to replace an H20) and with DECA (when available). Based on the gushing DECA "first looks" and statements that ethernet does not / cannot properly handle MRV, not going with DECA would be silly.
> 
> A lot of "probably" could be turned into real plans and actions if DirecTV would abandon the mushroom approach.


Grumpy today? :grin:

Go ahead and use your home network for MRV. DECA is optimized for streaming and trick play so it will perform better. If your Home Network is working to your satisfaction, then what's the problem? :shrug:


----------



## bananfish

I've been following the MRV stuff recently on these boards, and it honestly doesn't seem like a big deal feature to me, at least for two or three TV households. It seems to me that all that MRV really does is create a centralized recording structure, with different "nodes" capable of accessing those recordings. It's not clear to me that would be an improvement for me.

Our setup for several years has been two TVs, each with its own DVR (an HR21 in the family room and an HR10-250 in my bedroom), so we've had the capability to watch recorded programs at different TV "nodes" for years. Sure, we have to separately set up the DVRs to record various programs and series, but that second DVR acts as a critical backup for important programs. That has saved my bacon on several occasions when the family room DVR has filled up, or had a conflict, and not recorded, say, an episode of Project Runway my wife was looking forward to.

I'd hate to upgrade to MRV by adding an HR-24 in the family room and an MRV'ed non-DVR in the bedroom (an H-24?), and end up with a system where we have to rely on one DVR to get all our programs, without any backup capability. Sure, we could put HR-24s in both rooms and then use a similar backup system to what we have now, but at more expense, both initially (costs of the boxes and installation) and then on an ongoing basis ($3/month). 

I certainly consider the HR-24 to be a must have in the family room for its speed advantage over the HR-21. It's just not clear we shouldn't be satisfied with our trusty and agile HR10-250 in the bedroom, without MRV. (I do realize to wrestle my best deal out of D* for an HR-24 for the family room, I may *have* to order MRV in some fashion.)

I must be missing something fundamental - everyone on these boards seems to feel that networking and MRV is the greatest thing since sliced bread (someone even said exactly that, I think.) Can someone explain to me what I'm missing and why I should be excited?


----------



## bobnielsen

bananfish said:


> I've been following the MRV stuff recently on these boards, and it honestly doesn't seem like a big deal feature to me, at least for two or three TV households. It seems to me that all that MRV really does is create a centralized recording structure, with different "nodes" capable of accessing those recordings. It's not clear to me that would be an improvement for me.
> 
> Our setup for several years has been two TVs, each with its own DVR (an HR21 in the family room and an HR10-250 in my bedroom), so we've had the capability to watch recorded programs at different TV "nodes" for years. Sure, we have to separately set up the DVRs to record various programs and series, but that second DVR acts as a critical backup for important programs. That has saved my bacon on several occasions when the family room DVR has filled up, or had a conflict, and not recorded, say, an episode of Project Runway my wife was looking forward to.
> 
> I'd hate to upgrade to MRV by adding an HR-24 in the family room and an MRV'ed non-DVR in the bedroom (an H-24?), and end up with a system where we have to rely on one DVR to get all our programs, without any backup capability. Sure, we could put HR-24s in both rooms and then use a similar backup system to what we have now, but at more expense, both initially (costs of the boxes and installation) and then on an ongoing basis ($3/month).
> 
> I certainly consider the HR-24 to be a must have in the family room for its speed advantage over the HR-21. It's just not clear we shouldn't be satisfied with our trusty and agile HR10-250 in the bedroom, without MRV. (I do realize to wrestle my best deal out of D* for an HR-24 for the family room, I may *have* to order MRV in some fashion.)
> 
> I must be missing something fundamental - everyone on these boards seems to feel that networking and MRV is the greatest thing since sliced bread (someone even said exactly that, I think.) Can someone explain to me what I'm missing and why I should be excited?


You could always add the HR24 and replace the HR10-250 with your HR21 to get MRV. At one point Directv would replace HR10-250s with a HR2x DVR, but I suspect that boat may have already sailed.


----------



## dennisj00

It's pretty close to the best thing since sliced bread!

Two people, two TVs (Living Room / Bedroom) 4 HR2xes (two at each TV).

We've had MRV since early (very) testing and for the last year or so have become very dependent on it. It's just easier to pull up the playlist (would like some individual dvr selections on the playlist, but that's another topic for other threads) and watch what we want rather than switch inputs of the tv or change rooms.

Or we can move to the other room and resume what we were watching.

It gives us the whole home DVR without all the apples being in one basket. I'm not sure I would / could trust a single unit with 8 tuners and multiple terabytes of storage as easily as 4 dvrs of the same capacity.


----------



## Barry in Conyers

Doug,

Not a bit grumpy; it was a beautiful day. You?

I previously posted "For the record, I will probably go with MRV (when the H24 becomes available to replace an H20) and with DECA (when available). I am *NOT* insisting on using ethernet.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The contents of my posts are my personal opinions. I have never received free equipment from DirecTV or its partners. I have never been provided with talking points by DirecTV or 
dbstalk.com. I have never been provided with non-public information by DirecTV or dbstalk.com. I have no quid pro quo or other beneficial relationship with DirecTV or dbstalk.com.


----------



## bananfish

bobnielsen said:


> You could always add the HR24 and replace the HR10-250 with your HR21 to get MRV. At one point Directv would replace HR10-250s with a HR2x DVR, but I suspect that boat may have already sailed.


The HR21 was a "replacement" in the family room for the HR10-250 under D*'s program, but then I just kicked the HR10-250 upstairs to the bedroom to replace my prior bedroom DVR (a GXCEBOT).

I far prefer the HR10-250 to the HR21 (just frustratingly slow), so I can't see putting the HR21 in the bedroom to get MRV.

I have a daughter who will be 5 in a few weeks, so I'll probably end up with a third TV in her room at some point, which may be more impetus for MRV, but I'm trying to avoid that for as long as possible - I prefer her not to waste her life away watching TV like her daddy!!!


----------



## bobnielsen

bananfish said:


> The HR21 was a "replacement" in the family room for the HR10-250 under D*'s program, but then I just kicked the HR10-250 upstairs to the bedroom to replace my prior bedroom DVR (a GXCEBOT).
> 
> I far prefer the HR10-250 to the HR21 (just frustratingly slow), so I can't see putting the HR21 in the bedroom to get MRV.
> 
> I have a daughter who will be 5 in a few weeks, so I'll probably end up with a third TV in her room at some point, which may be more impetus for MRV, but I'm trying to avoid that for as long as possible - I prefer her not to waste her life away watching TV like her daddy!!!


I have never seen a HR10-250 in operation, but my HR21 is at least as fast as my HDVR2 was. The HR24-500 blows it away, of course.


----------



## sonofjay

The $3 fee is lame. It is also interesting that the chart they use on their website where they compare their MVR to Dish and Cable conspicuously leaves out Verizon. Looks like a great feature, but it should be included in the $7/month DVR fee DirecTV already charge. If the nickel/dime price of $3 stays it is a service I will do without. EDIT: Just saw that in addition to the $3/month is a $100 "MRV option" to install. ouch.


----------



## dpeters11

sonofjay said:


> The $3 fee is lame. It is also interesting that the chart they use on their website where they compare their MVR to Dish and Cable conspicuously leaves out Verizon. Looks like a great feature, but it should be included in the $7/month DVR fee DirecTV already charge. If the nickel/dime price of $3 stays it is a service I will do without. EDIT: Just saw that in addition to the $3/month is a $100 "MRV option" to install. ouch.


But that $100 is for equipment as well, that's not that bad, especially if that covers all the boxes.


----------



## gully_foyle

As someone who has no interest in MRV -- one TV in the house -- I'm glad that the users of this service will pay a fee, rather than tacking it onto everyone's bill. I don't know if $3 is too high or too low -- no clue -- but I've been worried that the cost of re-installation, technical development and other NRE, and the cost of the converters and whatnot would be passed along in the form of yet higher subscription rates. Glad to see that is not the case.


----------



## gully_foyle

PAJeep said:


> Your using it via your home LAN because Directv spent man hours and money to develop it.


 Wonder how he'd feel about a $50 software update charge? Which they won't do because they don't want software flavors in the field, so they do it this way. Makes more sense because not all that many folks have wired home LANs.


----------



## opfreak

TBlazer07 said:


> So your HTPC's were free? Amortize them vs. the $36/year. The electricty the 2 of them use would probably pay for 2/3rds of the $3/month fee.
> 
> Also, Directv2PC is not the same because one would need a computer in each room to watch vs. MRV which nothing has to change.
> 
> So for YOU (and others) with 2 TV's I can understand it not being worth $3/month but for me with 4TV's and no desire for 4 MORE computers and more cables and more electricity and yet another remote to add to the Harmony and having to show the wife, parents, kids and grandkids how to use it. One $3/month fee is a great value. That's only 75cents per location per month. PLUS I am still able to watch all my videos, photos etc off my PC with my little $89 streamer box.


my 2nd HD-dvr wasnt free ethier.

But your right, the htpc isn't free, but it can also stream netflix, pandora, and my collection of dvds/blu-rays all things my DVR cannot do.

3 bucks is 40% the cost of DVR service.

Now think about that. For 7 dollars you get to record programs, rewind fast forward, have series links, ect ect.

For 3 dollars you get 1 feature.


----------



## sonofjay

gully_foyle said:


> As someone who has no interest in MRV -- one TV in the house -- I'm glad that the users of this service will pay a fee, rather than tacking it onto everyone's bill. I don't know if $3 is too high or too low -- no clue -- but I've been worried that the cost of re-installation, technical development and other NRE, and the cost of the converters and whatnot would be passed along in the form of yet higher subscription rates. Glad to see that is not the case.


That's a good point. But the draw back in this is that a some point the customer begins to feel every little thing is additional cost. One of the reasons VOIP companies came around was because the Bells nickle & dimed everything. $3.95/mth for caller id. $6.95/mth for voicemail. $2.95/mth for anonymous call block, $4.95/mth for call-waiting. But at the end of the day it'll be the customer who decides. Dish & Cable offering their version of MRV is not too far away, it'll be interesting if the attack commercials fly or if they also follow suit and charge additional.


----------



## wingrider01

sonofjay said:


> The $3 fee is lame. It is also interesting that the chart they use on their website where they compare their MVR to Dish and Cable conspicuously leaves out Verizon. Looks like a great feature, but it should be included in the $7/month DVR fee DirecTV already charge. If the nickel/dime price of $3 stays it is a service I will do without. EDIT: Just saw that in addition to the $3/month is a $100 "MRV option" to install. ouch.


they could do waht Uverse does - charge 7 dollars per STB, so basicly paying 2 bucks a mont mre per reciever for mrv/whdvr capabilities. Want anothere std - believe it is 80.00 to roll a truck to install it for the end user, Directv's charges are a lot less, 3.00 for the entire house. Oh this is on top of the HD monthly charge AND the DVR charge if you don't have a package that includes both of them.

Don't deal with verizon, not in my area(thank the dieties for samm favors) and besides when I was dealing with them, their service and support was pretty much substandard, even below what people claim for Directv.


----------



## BudShark

opfreak said:


> For 3 dollars you get 1 feature.


Gee, based on that assumption for $100 I get 1 feature (ability to watch TV).

Its clear you don't want MRV, you don't like the structure in use for MRV, and you aren't a candidate for MRV. It might be time to avoid threads that are titled "MRV".


----------



## dtrell

Stuart Sweet said:


> $36 a year... less than a tank of gas for most people (admittedly not for me ) is not a big price to pay.


except for the fact that it is yet another gouging for something that should be free when new equipment is not needed. i am using my HR21 and H21 and everything is fine over my LAN. the only thing needed by D is to keep the switch turned on...thats it period. plus if you add this nickel to the other dimes they just jacked up...such as my plus hd dvr service going from 73.99 to 79.99...a 6 dollar jack..for NOTHING...they havent added one channel...and not only that they took AWAY versus...at least my time warner service might keep going up every year, but they are adding new HD channels almost MONTHLY...and I now have many more HD channels on time warner than i do on D...and i dont care about D12 coming on and new channels "coming"...i dont want to get my service fee jacked up for nothing UNTIL those channel area available....this is the point most people here are making, its not that its 3 dollars...i couldnt care less about 3 dollars...but its when you combine it with everything else that it becomes ridiculous....

the only reason i am keeping D now that i am out of my contract is because of MLBEI HD and ST...and if they were to throw me a bone such as FREE MRV which warner does not have, then that might be good enough for me to keep throwing them the extra almost 100 dollars a month i am paying to keep their service.

Thats that point.


----------



## Mike_TV

Hmmm, I think I'll spend my $36/year on Pandora.


----------



## timmmaaayyy2003

If we've done the "Opt-In" thing for the beta is DTV just going to start charging us, or will we need to "Activate" when this goes live? My kids use it, but I have no intention of paying for it.

I just changed services to save money and I'd hate any surprises on my bill.


----------



## joed32

tkrandall said:


> Unlike the beta MRV page, the official MRV link
> http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/directv/technology/multiroom
> 
> says HR24 and H24s are required. No mention of other model HRxx and Hxx receivers.
> 
> Do you think this is a test market limitation, given beta testers on this forum have been using DECA modules hooked up to older models.


They're not very good at communicating, I would guess that is for new installs in the test markets for people who want MRV.


----------



## LameLefty

Mike_TV said:


> Hmmm, I think I'll spend my $36/year on Pandora.


Hey, I love Pandora but giving them the $36 a year won't let me share my 5 DVRs' worth of recordings across 6 HD receivers.


----------



## Doug Brott

dtrell said:


> l...and not only that they took AWAY versus...


Uh, Versus has been back for a week ...


----------



## Packersrule

I have been using the beta MRV and I find it very useful. The menu selection is too slow but it's a beta. This well worth 3.00 a month to me.


----------



## David MacLeod

Packersrule said:


> I have been using the beta MRV and I find it very useful. The menu selection is too slow but it's a beta. This well worth 3.00 a month to me.


it will get better. being disabled sometimes its very hard to go to another room to watch stuff, mrv has been a very good thing for me.
don't get me wrong, I have vehemently objected to the fee and feel it should be free but I will pay the $3. and I will whine about all the time.


----------



## scottb8888

WillDTV replace my recievers so i can use MRV?


----------



## veryoldschool

scottb8888 said:


> WillDTV replace my recievers so i can use MRV?


They will replace defective receivers or upgrade your receivers that need to be.
What receivers are you asking about?


----------



## spartanstew

dtrell said:


> ..such as my plus hd dvr service going from 73.99 to 79.99...a 6 dollar jack..for NOTHING...they havent added one channel.


Prices go up on everything, regardless of whether they're different or better. I noticed Milk went up in price last week, but guess what? It's in the same size container. They added NOTHING, but still increased the price.



dtrell said:


> and not only that they took AWAY versus.


It's back now. Should they raise the price because of it?



dtrell said:


> .at least my time warner service might keep going up every year, but they are adding new HD channels almost MONTHLY.


TW would raise the price regardless. One has nothing to do with the other. When D* added all their HD channels they didn't raise the price to do it. Just the normal yearly increase. Your logic of raising prices vs adding channels is flawed.


----------



## dpeters11

spartanstew said:


> Prices go up on everything, regardless of whether they're different or better. I noticed Milk went up in price last week, but guess what? It's in the same size container. They added NOTHING, but still increased the price.


They could do like some companies do, raise the price and have a smaller container.

I don't like the fee either, but it is what it is. As for the other poster, that DirecTV raised prices without adding anything, there are a few things with that. One, they are facing increased costs. Cost of running a business, everything from employee health care, paper etc to channels wanting more money for carriage. And we will be getting more channels.


----------



## carl6

scottb8888 said:


> WillDTV replace my recievers so i can use MRV?


They will not upgrade an SD receiver or DVR to HD under the $99 upgrade. They will replace an H20 (no ethernet port) with an H2x that does have ethernet or DECA.


----------



## Lee L

Doug Brott said:


> The alternate strategy would have been to raise everyone's prices, even beyond the pricing changes we saw last month.


This has been hashed and reshased and I am over the whole thing, but there is more than one alternate strategy. Another, completely valid strategy would be to use free MRV as a tool to entice new customers, retain current customers and to encourage additional programming and harware buys to utilize MRV.



Doug Brott said:


> I'm not sure DIRECTV will ever announce this .. I don't seem them blazing the ad trail about their unsupported (but usable) eSATA solution.


And they are not exactly shouting this from the rooftops, but they are running anti-Dish Net ads that mention that Dish charges you $40 for saving shows to your own hard drive while DirecTV provides this for free. I thought it was kind of funny to advertise an annanoucned and unsuported feature, personally.


----------



## veryoldschool

Lee L said:


> This has been hashed and reshased and I am over the whole thing, but there is more than one alternate strategy. Another, completely valid strategy would be to use free MRV as a tool to entice new customers, retain current customers and to encourage additional programming and harware buys to utilize MRV.


I've been pushing this from the first time this fee came up, but.... DirecTV has taken another path.


----------



## scottb8888

veryoldschool said:


> They will replace defective receivers or upgrade your receivers that need to be.
> What receivers are you asking about?


I have 1 HR20 and 4 H20's. Sounds like I need to upgrade it all?


----------



## veryoldschool

scottb8888 said:


> I have 1 HR20 and 4 H20's. Sounds like I need to upgrade it all?


When the DECA/MRV upgrade comes to your area, the HR20 will get the DECA adapter & the 4 H20s should be part of the receiver swap [H21/23s, maybe even 24, but :shrug:] for the $99 + $50 service call + 1 year commitment.


----------



## tkrandall

dtrell said:


> except for the fact that it is yet another gouging for something that should be free when new equipment is not needed. i am using my HR21 and H21 and everything is fine over my LAN. the only thing needed by D is to keep the switch turned on...thats it period.
> 
> ridiculous....


That capability many have been enjoying for free in beta cost DirecTV something to develop. They would not have spent the $ to develop the feature lacking a business rationale for it, be it a direct charge incremental revenue opportunity (which they apparantly see it as), or as a feature on its own that would draw incremental revenue via attracting more customers to directv, or as simply a necessary feature as a competetive response to hold onto customers and prevent churn/loss of revenue. As much as I would love for them to have this as a "free" feature, Directv clearly sees it as a value added service worth charging for. Either way, it cost them something to develop and they owe it to no one to provide free.


----------



## Beerstalker

Sure it cost them something to develop, but shouldn't that development be covered by all of the other charges? I mean are they still "developing HD" or "developing DVRs"? No but those charges still get made every month.

MRV in my opinion should have been covered by the DVR fee. DVRs don't cost D* anything more than a regular receiver as far as the programming costs go (the difference in hardware costs should be covered by the difference in the lease fee). So for them to keep charging a DVR fee that fee should cover all development and additions to the DVR functionality.


----------



## leww37334

veryoldschool said:


> When the DECA/MRV upgrade comes to your area, the HR20 will get the DECA adapter & the 4 H20s should be part of the receiver swap [H21/23s, maybe even 24, but :shrug:] for the $99 + $50 service call + 1 year commitment.


If all I need to do is add an SWM switch outside and attach two dongles inside, do I have to pay the $50?

Honestly, I really do know how to screw on coax and plug in an ethernet jack.. :lol::lol::lol:

Also 1 year commitment for what amounts to a B band converter and multiswitch replacement seems kinda outrageous. If I got two new HR-24's I could understand, but I guess then it would be two years, this it getting to be too much to pay for TV, especially when the actual content hasn't gotten any better.


----------



## veryoldschool

leww37334 said:


> If all I need to do is add an SWM switch outside and attach two dongles inside, do I have to pay the $50?
> 
> Honestly, I really do know how to screw on coax and plug in an ethernet jack.. :lol::lol::lol:


And to keep you "safe" from doing that, they're holding on the the DECAs very tightly. :lol:


----------



## leww37334

veryoldschool said:


> And to keep you "safe" from doing that, they're holding on the the DECAs very tightly. :lol:


:eek2:

possibly one of the reasons I hate proprietary network solutions.


----------



## DogLover

leww37334 said:


> If all I need to do is add an SWM switch outside and attach two dongles inside, do I have to pay the $50?
> 
> Honestly, I really do know how to screw on coax and plug in an ethernet jack.. :lol::lol::lol:
> 
> Also 1 year commitment for what amounts to a B band converter and multiswitch replacement seems kinda outrageous. If I got two new HR-24's I could understand, but I guess then it would be two years, this it getting to be too much to pay for TV, especially when the actual content hasn't gotten any better.


Even at $150 for equipment and installation, that's not bad if you need a SWM. You'd pay that just for the SWM equipment if you got it from a place llike solid signal.


----------



## leww37334

DogLover said:


> Even at $150 for equipment and installation, that's not bad if you need a SWM. You'd pay that just for the SWM equipment if you got it from a place llike solid signal.


But I wouldn't be stuck with a 1 year commitment


----------



## lugnutathome

I have to second this opinion.

I've priced out a SWM conversion for me on weaknees and to cover the 100 ft downleads from the dish, the 150 ft long drops to the workout and master bedrooms I'm looking at just over a grand in parts not counting "patch coax cables" to chain together a polarity locker, adjustable signal amplifier, 2 8 way splitters, and up to 3 in line amplifiers to support a dual SWM8 module for 14 tuners. And this does not include the DECA add ons.

Since I don't expect the residential techs to have the polarity locker or the adjustable amplifier I'm fairly certain I'll need to have the SWM set up via a commercial 3rd party install as I have had to do with my existing infrastructure but once so done it will finally be supportable via normal residential tech. A 150 dollar charge to convert the normal home over is a bargain!

And they swap out non internet capable receivers too.

Currently running 12 tuners and MRV via a 10/100 hardwired internet. MRV is every bit as good as watching on the local DVR but gives me whole home access to any program right where I left off if I change locations.

Don "whaadayawaitinfor?:grin:" Bolton



DogLover said:


> Even at $150 for equipment and installation, that's not bad if you need a SWM. You'd pay that just for the SWM equipment if you got it from a place llike solid signal.


----------



## dsw2112

lugnutathome said:


> I have to second this opinion.
> 
> I've priced out a SWM conversion for me on weaknees and to cover the 100 ft downleads from the dish, the 150 ft long drops to the workout and master bedrooms I'm looking at just over a grand in parts not counting "patch coax cables" to chain together a polarity locker, adjustable signal amplifier, 2 8 way splitters, and up to 3 in line amplifiers to support a dual SWM8 module for 14 tuners. And this does not include the DECA add ons.


There was someone who posted awhile ago (can't find the post currently) that had similar cable lengths from the dish and to the STB's. A SWM8 ended up working perfectly for them. I have seen a 200+ foot RG6 run from a SWM8 to an STB, but the SWM8 was at the dish. I'm not saying this will work well for you, but SWM8's can be had for $50 bucks a piece. Quality cable would be a key in your situation, but it's certainly worth a try before dumping a bunch of money into your setup...

I haven't seen or heard of a DECA cable length limit, but that may come into play in your case and would be worth looking into.


----------



## dtrell

Doug Brott said:


> Uh, Versus has been back for a week ...


o really..lol...ive been in puerto rico for two weeks, so i didnt know...ill check that out when i get home tomorrow....although i didnt really miss it too much on D because ive had it in HD on time warner along with Travel channel HD and ESPNU HD and LMN HD and MAV HD and AMC HD....and so on...


----------



## bobnielsen

I'd like to see what the price would be for a single DECA dongle before I decide whether to go that way with my HR21 or just stick with the MoCA adapters I have now (on the second line from before I had a SWM installed). The Actiontec MoCAs were around $75 each.


----------



## DogLover

leww37334 said:


> But I wouldn't be stuck with a 1 year commitment


True, but why would you be bothering to upgrade at all if you don't plan on staying with DirecTV for at least 1 year?


----------



## DogLover

lugnutathome said:


> I have to second this opinion.
> 
> I've priced out a SWM conversion for me on weaknees and to cover the 100 ft downleads from the dish, the 150 ft long drops to the workout and master bedrooms I'm looking at just over a grand in parts not counting "patch coax cables" to chain together a polarity locker, adjustable signal amplifier, 2 8 way splitters, and up to 3 in line amplifiers to support a dual SWM8 module for 14 tuners. And this does not include the DECA add ons.
> 
> Since I don't expect the residential techs to have the polarity locker or the adjustable amplifier I'm fairly certain I'll need to have the SWM set up via a commercial 3rd party install as I have had to do with my existing infrastructure but once so done it will finally be supportable via normal residential tech. A 150 dollar charge to convert the normal home over is a bargain!
> 
> And they swap out non internet capable receivers too.
> 
> Currently running 12 tuners and MRV via a 10/100 hardwired internet. MRV is every bit as good as watching on the local DVR but gives me whole home access to any program right where I left off if I change locations.
> 
> Don "whaadayawaitinfor?:grin:" Bolton


Not sure why you'd need to change out any cables? SWM should work fine with the cables that are already there.

And as someone already pointed out, you may not have a problem with the long cable runs.


----------



## General Custer

This definitely is Directv nickeling and diming the consumer. I am tired of the "it cost them money to develop this service" excuse. It cost them money to develop DLB-no charge. It cost them money to develop esata-no charge. Same goes for Directv to PC and Remote scheduling-no charge.

A big part of the development hinged on the thousands of man hours that people from this site put in debugging the software. By the same logic these people should be compensated for their efforts.

And before I get flamed, I can afford the fee. 

The FCC needs to step in and open up the satellite set top box world the way that they did for cable. You'd see how fast these fees would go away if the provider had competition. With the rising costs of service and content things are getting a bit out of control. Its also time for a la carte so that the content providers can't dictate the channels for which you have to pay.

I guess we'll have to wait until apple flushes out the appletv. They'll squeeze the content providers and drive down the cost of television for all.


----------



## prospero63

I think the charge sucks, but at least I know how much to ask for in credit every time there's a problem with it.


----------



## BubblePuppy

Ala Carte would allow the provider to dictate the cost for each channel, more for some channels less for some.


----------



## DC_SnDvl

Based on that, every time they make an "improvement" out bills our going to go up a few bucks a month.

The new HD guide will be a month $3



PAJeep said:


> Your using it via your home LAN because Directv spent man hours and money to develop it.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

DC_SnDvl said:


> Based on that, every time they make an "improvement" out bills our going to go up a few bucks a month.
> 
> *The new HD guide will be a month $3*


I wouldn't make such an assumption.


----------



## leww37334

DogLover said:


> True, but why would you be bothering to upgrade at all if you don't plan on staying with DirecTV for at least 1 year?


At this point in my life I am not counting on being around for a year.....

Plus I love to play with new technology.


----------



## damondlt

If they Add to their Over all Premium movie channels, HD or SD 
I'll gladly pay $3 extra for MRV.


----------



## PAJeep

DC_SnDvl said:


> Based on that, every time they make an "improvement" out bills our going to go up a few bucks a month.
> 
> The new HD guide will be a month $3


Its not an improvement, its a new feature and a substantial one, although some will beg to differ. Apples to oranges in your comparison.


----------



## pfp

Want to watch a show - $65
Want to watch it in HD - $10
Want to record it - $7
Want to play it back in a different room - $5 + $3


----------



## Doug Brott

pfp said:


> Want to watch a show - $65
> Want to watch it in HD - $10
> Want to record it - $7
> Want to play it back in a different room - $5 + $3


Do you work for DISH?


----------



## David MacLeod

pfp said:


> Want to watch a show - $65
> Want to watch it in HD - $10
> Want to record it - $7
> Want to play it back in a different room - $5 + $3


depending on your recording needs this could, for some people, alleviate the need for extra dvr's.


----------



## pfp

Doug Brott said:


> Do you work for DISH?


No but it does seem to be getting a little out of hand with all the add-on charges. People used to make fun of the cable co's for the various fees (such as monthly charges for the remote control) and now D seems to be going down the same type of road.

Heck, this is a fee that REQUIRES two other fees (mirrored receiver and DVR) before it's of any use.


----------



## dsw2112

pfp said:


> Heck, this is a fee that REQUIRES two other fees (mirrored receiver and DVR) before it's of any use.


Actually, according to the D* website it also requires the HD fee as well... $25 a month looks to be necessary for MRV...



> Limit one remote viewing per HD DVR. HD Access ($10/mo.), DVR service ($7/mo.) and Multi-Room DVR service ($3/mo.) required. Lease fee of $5/mo. required for 2nd and each additional receiver. Hardware and programming available separately. Other conditions apply.


----------



## D-Bamatech

I know!!
U-verse should raise prices everytime for adding a VRAD or DSlam to serve its Own AND *current cx's who Are
Indeed their OWN MRC. (monthly re-occurring charges)

Funny though they have no contract and MRV is typical. (weird??).

Btw i think Fiber & Vrad's cost a little more than Dl-ed Software?

So...One more time: Say hello to the Malone shark!


----------



## pfp

D-Bamatech said:


> I know!!
> U-verse should raise prices everytime for adding a VRAD or DSlam to serve its Own AND *current cx's who Are
> Indeed their OWN MRC. (monthly re-occurring charges)
> 
> Funny though they have no contract and MRV is typical. (weird??).
> 
> Btw i think Fiber & Vrad's cost a little more than Dl-ed Software?
> 
> So...One more time: Say hello to the Malone shark!


I have no idea what you just said.


----------



## rakstr

tkrandall said:


> That capability many have been enjoying for free in beta cost DirecTV something to develop. They would not have spent the $ to develop the feature lacking a business rationale for it, be it a direct charge incremental revenue opportunity (which they apparantly see it as), or as a feature on its own that would draw incremental revenue via attracting more customers to directv, or as simply a necessary feature as a competetive response to hold onto customers and prevent churn/loss of revenue. As much as I would love for them to have this as a "free" feature, Directv clearly sees it as a value added service worth charging for. Either way, it cost them something to develop and they owe it to no one to provide free.


However, the Beta Users also provided free testing  That should be worth something!!!

I agree with those saying MRV should be one of those differentiators that should not be nickled and dimed on the bill. Many other solutions that should have been easy to implement would have served up similar results. For instance, if they keyed the recording encryption to the account and allowed recorded shows to go to a NAS, the customer could decide their own right fit for sizing and perfromance and playback. If they truely supported replaceable/larger drives like EVEN Sony does on the PS3, you'd have more space to make duplicate recordings, if they allowed for transfer of shows from one DVR to another (not unlike on demand stuff), ... My point is that they decided on this client/server design with limited flexibility and it is suspiciously limiting to force the use of a $3 service. I've been with DTV since 1996 and have taken advantage of very few of their promotional hardware give aways. We basically pay out the wholesale cost of equipment to enter the "DTV game" and the service structure to get HD (NOW THE STD) is a list of add on fees, especially with DVR. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about the free market place but there is a very fine line between free market and captive market in this business model. On the revenue side, there are a BUNCH of stations in my packages that I will never believe are profitable on their own and are being subsidized by the majority to increase DTVs ability to penetrate some market segments.

Anyway, not trying to stir any pots, just trying to add an opinion and like is often said, an opinion is like an ..., we all have one


----------



## gusjohnson

David MacLeod said:


> depending on your recording needs this could, for some people, alleviate the need for extra dvr's.


I'd love to replace the DVR in my bedroom with an HD Receiver if that meant it was quieter and used less electricity (i.e. could be turned off). The later would save me about $8.50/month per DVR (my PG&E electricity costs are insane!). Would be nice to know if you lose any features other than having fewer total tuners.


----------



## wingrider01

D-Bamatech said:


> I know!!
> U-verse should raise prices everytime for adding a VRAD or DSlam to serve its Own AND *current cx's who Are
> Indeed their OWN MRC. (monthly re-occurring charges)
> 
> Funny though they have no contract and MRV is typical. (weird??).
> 
> Btw i think Fiber & Vrad's cost a little more than Dl-ed Software?
> 
> So...One more time: Say hello to the Malone shark!


Uverse's version of MRV

- singe DVR with normally a small hard drive for the entire house, no additional drive attachment available, 7 bucks a month for a STB for each additional set - you cannot pause live TV in them, you are limited to 2 HD streams at any one time, 1 if you are out of the range from the vrad for 2 streams

Directv

4 HD dvrs w/ 1TB external drives @ 5.00 each = 15.00 (1 included in the price)

3.00 additional for MRV

total outlay 18.00 a month

Uverse in the same envionment

1 HD DVR, 3 STB's = 21.00
limited to 2 concurrent HD streams if lucky = 0.00

total outlay 21.00 a month for less capabilities

Directv 18.00 vs Uverse for 21.00 = 3.00 a month savings, more capabilities for Directv, the clear winner

Seems like you get what you pay for - oh wait a minute you are paying more for less with Uverse. Guess that works out better in some people's books


----------



## gusjohnson

pfp said:


> No but it does seem to be getting a little out of hand with all the add-on charges. People used to make fun of the cable co's for the various fees (such as monthly charges for the remote control) and now D seems to be going down the same type of road.
> 
> Heck, this is a fee that REQUIRES two other fees (mirrored receiver and DVR) before it's of any use.


I'm thrilled with MRV and grateful that DTV keeps improving the product. I've had their HD DVR since the beginning and it's gone from terrible (check out my posts from a couple years ago) to good, to IMHO, great. And I will certainly pay $3/month for the capability, but... I agree that the nickle & dime approach get old quickly. Plus, while I'm happy to pay extra for the latest greatest features, shouldn't I get to pay less for the features that are 3 years old? Software makers keep adding features - but the cost of the product doesn't generally keep going up.

That said, I'm really happy with my DVR and appreciate how it keeps improving ... typically for free. And like I said, I'm loving MRV and can't see going back.


----------



## D-Bamatech

wingrider01 said:


> Uverse's version of MRV
> 
> - singe DVR with normally a small hard drive for the entire house, no additional drive attachment available, 7 bucks a month for a STB for each additional set - you cannot pause live TV in them, you are limited to 2 HD streams at any one time, 1 if you are out of the range from the vrad for 2 streams
> 
> Directv
> 
> 4 HD dvrs w/ 1TB external drives @ 5.00 each = 15.00 (1 included in the price)
> 
> 3.00 additional for MRV
> 
> total outlay 18.00 a month
> 
> Uverse in the same envionment
> 
> 1 HD DVR, 3 STB's = 21.00
> limited to 2 concurrent HD streams if lucky = 0.00
> 
> total outlay 21.00 a month for less capabilities
> 
> Directv 18.00 vs Uverse for 21.00 = 3.00 a month savings, more capabilities for Directv, the clear winner
> 
> Seems like you get what you pay for - oh wait a minute you are paying more for less with Uverse. Guess that works out better in some people's books


From a Biz and MRC perspective , you missed the point.
from a "tv watcher" perspective, you do have a "service offering" point.

One thing remains:
D* is software Not a VRAD and miles of Fiber.


----------



## Doug Brott

D-Bamatech said:


> So...One more time: Say hello to the Malone shark!


Malone no longer owns a controlling interest in DIRECTV.


----------



## D-Bamatech

Doug Brott said:


> Malone no longer owns a _controlling interest_ in DIRECTV.


by who's definition???  
Unreal!

I thought last year this whole spin off "set up" was "the deal"... lol

[/QUOTE]


> As part of the transaction, Mr. Malone, Liberty Media's chairman, will receive a special class of DirecTV stock that gives him and his family 24 percent voting power, DirecTV said.
> 
> Liberty was already DirecTV's largest shareholder, owning a nearly 54 percent stake (although its voting power was effectively limited to 47.9 percent).





> The deal will enable Liberty Media, an entity controlled by media mogul John Malone, to boost its stake in DirecTV to 54 percent from 48 percent.


----------



## pjo1966

I've been using MRV for a few weeks now, and feel it is well worth the $3, simply for the convenience it provides. Both DVRs are hooked up to the same plasma, but if we're finished watching a program on one DVR, and want to watch another show, we need to scroll through several pages on the DVR we're on, only to find that it's on the other DVR. Grab remotes, switch inputs, call up List, and start scrolling again. Having both Lists of recordings viewable in one combined list is a convenience I would be willing to pay for. I would like it even more if I could set up a recording on one DVR and it could figure out which DVR has an available tuner for that program, but I'll take what I can get for now.


----------



## wingrider01

D-Bamatech said:


> From a Biz and MRC perspective , you missed the point.
> from a "tv watcher" perspective, you do have a "service offering" point.
> 
> One thing remains:
> D* is software Not a VRAD and miles of Fiber.


From a biz prospect it is 100 perce on - MRV is definately cheaper and more user friendly from Directv over Uverse, pay less, get light years more, seems like a lot beeter biz offering for the end user then for the company. My compariosn was simply on the cost of the service offered, period. Only thing Uverse's version of whdvr is a cost savings for them, minimal functionalty and usability.

Suspended my directv service, tried Uverse for 60 days, very poor offerings and servicability, canceled, reinstated directv and went shopping with the rebate cards from att.

By the way, Uverse is software also, unless they get the picture via a diety and a miracle. Belive Microsoft wrote it, at least according to the Uverse forums they did


----------



## D-Bamatech

wingrider01 said:


> From a biz prospect it is 100 perce on - MRV is definately cheaper and more user friendly from Directv over Uverse, pay less, get light years more, seems like a lot beeter biz offering for the end user then for the company. My compariosn was simply on the cost of the service offered, period. Only thing Uverse's version of whdvr is a cost savings for them, minimal functionalty and usability.
> 
> Suspended my directv service, tried Uverse for 60 days, very poor offerings and servicability, canceled, reinstated directv and went shopping with the rebate cards from att.
> 
> By the way, Uverse is software also, unless they get the picture via a diety and a miracle. Belive Microsoft wrote it, at least according to the Uverse forums they did


Whats the cost of D* deployment?
Earl's Salary? :lol: and JK>
There is no comparison.

Whats funny to me, IS that, you guys are expected to pay for the MRV "supported" hardware, the fee a month, and oh yeah this 2 year commitment *BS* to "upgrade" their "leased" ird's to make it work.
SPELL DEVISED & ARTICULATED ... REVENUE. (cha-ching!).
From Malones words considering "conectivity".


> :Having not charged for something, how do you then all of a sudden turn around and charge them for it?
> 
> MR. MALONE: That's really the challenge. You should be asking a psychologist. We did it by tying together something that people are perfectly used to paying for-connectivity/QUOTE]
> 
> 
> 
> The general public ,? One gullible entity in itself.
> I mean , who in their right mind Leases something, it fails religiously due to design, needs replaced to continue to honor "the comitment" and BAM! another 2 yrs on the MRC w/ penalty for "leased EQ" with Upfront costs. (WHAT!?!?!) Then theres those who will seem to exhibit the "protection plan" as the escape. Again WHAT? MRC again? and on something you dont own and shouldnt be responsible for in the slightest to start with. (no logic).
> The most illogical thing for the public ive seen to date out of this provider and yet it continues no matter how many law suits arise.
> I work on this mess sure (since 96) and in every facit, but do i support "them" anymore or "SAIL" their service.. NOPE and i wont due to their ethics & regardless of "commissions". Thus all my cx's dont even know the 1800 # nor do they have a desire to.
> When it was Hughes, GM, and/or there was a USSB, this Service was "somebody", now its a cut throat stock based racket and nothing else IMHO. Frankly, Rup and Malone destroyed this "thang!" Heck you ought to be on my end and see what "i see", i bet opinions of backbone generated ethical people would roll over in disgust.
> But then again, Channel 603 is In HD! and other than that, the general masses refuse to "see" the "reality channel" as it really IS
> Sooo!
> Come on----
> _"let me Upgrade ya!"_ :lol:
Click to expand...


----------



## usnret

Question: why can't I have the option of transferring, via MRV, a program from my H22 (HD enabled) to my HR22?? I could do it with my Tivo's (when I had them), so just wondering if it's a big problem to enable?


----------



## Doug Brott

D-Bamatech said:


> When it was Hughes, GM, and/or there was a USSB, this Service was "somebody", now its a cut throat stock based racket and nothing else IMHO. Frankly, Rup and Malone destroyed this "thang!" Heck you ought to be on my end and see what "i see", i bet opinions of backbone generated ethical people would roll over in disgust.


Sounds like you have a serious grudge .. Home networking works for those that don't want the MRV upgrade .. 2 yr commitments are for those that want a new receiver. That part is actually no different than it was one year ago, two years ago, heck even three years ago.

We're talking about a $3/month fee which will allow you to watch programming from one DVR on a receiver in another room. Some folks will make use of the service, some won't. For me, it's definitely worth $3/month and if that's what DIRECTV is charging, I'll pay it. I'd be happier if it were free, but I'm don't see DIRECTV as a charity either. Certainly there would be a dollar amount where the fee would be too high and I would pass on it. $3/month isn't too high for me. It's the cost of about 3/4 tank of gas in my car.

Funny thing is that I'm actually going to be dropping a receiver saving me $5/month so the the net result will be a savings of $2/month when all is said and done.


----------



## The Merg

D-Bamatech said:


> I mean , who in their right mind Leases something, it fails religiously due to design, needs replaced to continue to honor "the comitment" and BAM! another 2 yrs on the MRC w/ penalty for "leased EQ" with Upfront costs. (WHAT!?!?!) Then theres those who will seem to exhibit the "protection plan" as the escape. Again WHAT? MRC again? and on something you dont own and shouldnt be responsible for in the slightest to start with. (no logic).


Replacing a defective receiver does not give you another 2 year commitment. And the protection plan is for those aspects of your setup besides the receiver as you own those components (dish, wiring, multi-switch). The PP is no different than the in-house wiring service contracts that phone and cable companies offer.

- Merg


----------



## D-Bamatech

Doug Brott said:


> Sounds like you have a serious grudge .. Home networking works for those that don't want the MRV upgrade .. 2 yr commitments are for those that want a new receiver. That part is actually no different than it was one year ago, two years ago, heck even three years ago.
> 
> We're talking about a $3/month fee which will allow you to watch programming from one DVR on a receiver in another room. Some folks will make use of the service, some won't. For me, it's definitely worth $3/month and if that's what DIRECTV is charging, I'll pay it. I'd be happier if it were free, but I'm don't see DIRECTV as a charity either. Certainly there would be a dollar amount where the fee would be too high and I would pass on it. $3/month isn't too high for me. It's the cost of about 3/4 tank of gas in my car.
> 
> Funny thing is that I'm actually going to be dropping a receiver saving me $5/month so the the net result will be a savings of $2/month when all is said and done.


Grudge? As John Wayne said in Big Jake : "not hardly". As i had to tell another "kisser" here, - I have never worked For D* as a entity in any shape or form.
Just Try a grasp on Reality as it IS from a chair thats seen it all as far as the D* words are concerned and since inception of DBS period.

AND Cost? NOPE its the set forth principle, nothing else, so theres no use in trying to SAIL me nothing as most of what you guys see and/or print about ive seen prior.
Dont forget i see these D* folks here practice Plagiarism from the Blue 
Logo-ed paper as it sits also & which IS
The source of most of my laughter in this place period concerning the "sail" tactics and their devised introduction as such.
Hint: Notice how i appeared here Before VS was back on and in that thread.
Where did i get such info while the "racer" was sent in true to form "liaison" status.? :lol: Just say he never wins the race.

And as far as how long the "lease program" has been going on?
Does that make it any more ethical or in some instances its legality?
i can hear it now < "Mam, to use MRV we will have to upgrade you to another HD ird because you only have (1) HD dvr on your account" Then here we go with EQ costs (Moca Deca Latte' and sounding like coffee), More MRC$$ and let me guess when it doesnt work a White van comes and with it then also 2 more yrs with a leash.

Carry on now.. "Hail To D*!" :eek2:
We Have "Capacity"...:lol:


----------



## Doug Brott

D-Bamatech said:


> Grudge? As John Wayne said in Big Jake : "not hardly". As i had to tell another "kisser" here, - I have never worked For D* as a entity in any shape or form.
> Just Try a grasp on Reality as it IS from a chair thats seen it all as far as the D* words are concerned and since inception of DBS period.
> 
> AND Cost? NOPE its the set forth principle, nothing else, so theres no use in trying to SAIL me nothing as most of what you guys see and/or print about ive seen prior.
> Dont forget i see these D* folks here practice Plagiarism from the Blue
> Logo-ed paper as it sits also & which IS
> The source of most of my laughter in this place period concerning the "sail" tactics and their devised introduction as such.
> Hint: Notice how i appeared here Before VS was back on and in that thread.
> Where did i get such info while the "racer" was sent in true to form "liaison" status.? :lol: Just say he never wins the race.
> 
> And as far as how long the "lease program" has been going on?
> Does that make it any more ethical or in some instances its legality?
> i can hear it now < "Mam, to use MRV we will have to upgrade you to another HD ird because you only have (1) HD dvr on your account" Then here we go with EQ costs (Moca Deca Latte' and sounding like coffee), More MRC$$ and let me guess when it doesnt work a White van comes and with it then also 2 more yrs with a leash.
> 
> Carry on now.. "Hail To D*!" :eek2:
> We Have "Capacity"...:lol:


 .. You're right grudge was not the right word .. I've got no clue where you are coming from with these comments. What does "sail" mean?


----------



## dennisj00

Oddly enough, I think he means 'sell' and 'selling' tactics. . . but from most of the post I have no clue!


----------



## Syzygy

I sympathize with rebels in general, but not if English is so foreign to them that it hurts my head to try to read their rants. It's worse with D-Bamatech, though... I'm pretty sure that _logic _as well is foreign to him.


----------



## spartanstew

Syzygy said:


> not if English is so foreign to them


He's from Alabama.


----------



## dsw2112

I thought it was a Haiku -- was that a rant? :lol:


----------



## BubblePuppy

I wrote a paper back in the early 70's that made as much sense as D-Bamatech's post. 
I did learn that LSD is NOT a study aid.


----------



## inkahauts

Come on guys, everyone has a right to their opinion, even if we can't figure out what that opinion is... :backtotop


----------



## D-Bamatech

The comments = :lol:

Haiku?
Just a bit. 

Logic?
maybe too much for the common Patron of "sails". :lol:

Sails VS Sell = One person got it right and to a "T".



One thing remains:
TRUTH,
and that None of you can change. 

BTW,
How many "suckers" ae in this tootsey pop Anyway?


----------



## sigma1914

Suckers? Really?


----------



## Doug Brott

D-Bamatech said:


> BTW,
> How many "suckers" ae in this tootsey pop Anyway?


Suckers? DIRECTV has chosen to charge for it, so anyone who wants to stick with DIRECTV and wants MRV .. They get to pay. If they don't want to pay the fee (principle or need), then they don't have to pay.

Really, what is your point?

And great, so someone got "Sail" right .. I still don't know what you're talking about when you use that term .. :shrug: .. I consider sailing being on a boat out on the water.


----------



## Syzygy

True, in one sense we're all suckers — all of us sat & cable subscribers. Instead, we should be getting our moving pictures from OTA (through HD TiVos and their successors), Blu-ray (eventually via kiosks) and Vudu.


----------



## D-Bamatech

Doug Brott said:


> Suckers? DIRECTV has chosen to charge for it, so anyone who wants to stick with DIRECTV and wants MRV .. They get to pay. If they don't want to pay the fee (principle or need), then they don't have to pay.
> 
> Really, what is your point?
> 
> And great, so someone got "Sail" right .. I still don't know what you're talking about when you use that term .. :shrug: .. I consider sailing being on a boat out on the water.


What generates the "sail" for movement,
as in Typical Physics?
Dont make me make reference to inertia in this also... :lol:

Wind? maybe?

Maybe i should change the Parable to "hot air" for a Balloooon! :lol:


----------



## Syzygy

*D-Bamatech*: This forum is no place for poetry (which is no more than prose transmogrified towards meaninglessness).


----------



## Doug Brott

D-Bamatech said:


> What generates the "sail" for movement,
> as in Typical Physics?
> Dont make me make reference to inertia in this also... :lol:
> 
> Wind? maybe?
> 
> Maybe i should change the Parable to "hot air" for a Balloooon! :lol:


Oh, so you're just blowing wind .. OK! Have at it then


----------



## sigma1914

D-Bamatech said:


> What generates the "sail" for movement,
> as in Typical Physics?
> Dont make me make reference to inertia in this also... :lol:
> 
> Wind? maybe?
> 
> Maybe i should change the Parable to "hot air" for a Balloooon! :lol:


So you blow hot air? :eek2:


----------



## D-Bamatech

Syzygy said:


> *D-Bamatech*: This forum is no place for poetry (which is no more than prose transmogrified towards meaninglessness).


It was so recognized as Haiku of sorts , i thought. :lol:

And the next comments as far as me blowing Air?
Again "not hardly",
it IS the general way and over all synopsis of what exactly goes on here in this forum.

So...
One more time (and in rebuttal):
For with TRUTH , there is No substitute.

How many of you still licking the tootsey pop?
Got to the center yet?
You wont, if you ride on their boat with a "SAIL". :lol:

And ya know, 
I read these comments and try my best to keep from becoming Grandiose and tend to just laugh along with you guys.
BUT...
One title of a old song comes to mind here when i read the cooments and as Steven Tyler sang:
"toys in the attic", ..... 
IE:Like Yo-yo's on a string to me , and nothing else


----------



## David MacLeod

ought to add drunken postings to TOS....


----------



## D-Bamatech

David MacLeod;2400238 TOS....[/QUOTE said:


> Do i have to get the PP plan?
> 
> Drink? Nada, got the wrong one ,
> so put that in your pipe and smoke it! :lol:
> 
> Might be in a Pub though t-morr adding a switch, amps / overhead speakers
> AND oh yeah,
> Two of these patch ridden to work H series HD Ird's thoiugh .
> (no kidding on that one/job  )
> 
> See you guys later, I'll quit............ (for now  )


----------



## slimoli

A guy at avsforum reported he got a msg about MRV Beta being "expired". Does anybody know anything about it ?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18351962#post18351962


----------



## dennisj00

Yea! I got the sail = sell . . . I think. . .

I'm sure the University of Alabama is proud!


----------



## pfp

whatever


----------



## David MacLeod

slimoli said:


> A guy at avsforum reported he got a msg about MRV Beta being "expired". Does anybody know anything about it ?
> 
> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18351962#post18351962


if he's in any of the 4 rollout markets I'd bet thats why. did not see his location.


----------



## DC_SnDvl

What would they do if no one was willing to pay $3 for MRV?



Doug Brott said:


> Suckers? DIRECTV has chosen to charge for it, so anyone who wants to stick with DIRECTV and wants MRV .. They get to pay. If they don't want to pay the fee (principle or need), then they don't have to pay.


----------



## MartyS

BubblePuppy said:


> I wrote a paper back in the early 70's that made as much sense as D-Bamatech's post.
> I did learn that LSD is NOT a study aid.


Professor Irwin Corey made more sense than that post! :lol:


----------



## David MacLeod

DC_SnDvl said:


> What would they do if no one was willing to pay $3 for MRV?


probably not sell it to anyone.


----------



## davring

DC_SnDvl said:


> What would they do if no one was willing to pay $3 for MRV?


There will be someone who will buy it, people pay more than that for a Toyota, go figure


----------



## Luck255

DC_SnDvl said:


> What would they do if no one was willing to pay $3 for MRV?


If no one subscribed to it I would bet they would stop supporting it.


----------



## Doug Brott

DC_SnDvl said:


> What would they do if no one was willing to pay $3 for MRV?


Either (1) it would be free or (2) it wouldn't be available at all. I'm sure plenty of people will be willing to pay $3, so those who aren't willing will just not have access to MRV when the Beta is over. It is unfortunate.


----------



## houskamp

Doug Brott said:


> Either (1) it would be free or (2) it wouldn't be available at all. I'm sure plenty of people will be willing to pay $3, so those who aren't willing will just not have access to MRV when the Beta is over. It is unfortunate.


 the $3 may not stop many but a 50-100$ install fee will..


----------



## rakstr

houskamp said:


> the $3 may not stop many but a 50-100$ install fee will..


I'll be honest, as a long term customer (1996), the pricing model is beginning to irritate me. Under powered receivers I have to buy and then have unwanted "features" jammed in like widgets, On Demand taking up valuable disk space, undersized disks, inability to upgrade disks "legally", paying for the equipment with no control over what I get, lack of support for standard media formats, subsidizing channels that are obviously targeted at markets that couldn't survive alone, and the list goes on.

Don't get me wrong, I still think DTV has the highest quality TV signals but I am seriously reviewing alternatives as the cost to me continues to escalate. There are really only a dozen channels I really want, I don't mind getting my locals OTA, in fact I prefer it for better quality, and I think over $100 per month is getting outside the value range. I tolerate a number of issues like receiver lock up, slow response, and others without complaint but it seems like DTV is ready to hit me up for every nickel and dime they can. I hope I'm wrong.


----------



## Doug Brott

rakstr said:


> Don't get me wrong, I still think DTV has the highest quality TV signals but I am seriously reviewing alternatives as the cost to me continues to escalate. There are really only a dozen channels I really want, I don't mind getting my locals OTA, in fact I prefer it for better quality, and I think over $100 per month is getting outside the value range. I tolerate a number of issues like receiver lock up, slow response, and others without complaint but it seems like DTV is ready to hit me up for every nickel and dime they can. I hope I'm wrong.


Remember, MRV is optional .. You don't have to get it. Leaving because DIRECTV costs $100/month makes a whole lot more sense than leaving because MRV cost $3/month.


----------



## gphvid

I still believe the MRV should be as part of the regular DVR package and as such, no additional fee required. If this happens, what's next? The DVR fee should be for all things DVR which includes all functions. If I choose to use it using network equipment I provide (which I do), I should be able to access it anyway as part of the DVR functions. Therefore, a fee is really bordering on excessive. Now if a user decides to use MRV and have DirecTV set them up, then an install/service charge may be in order. But the MRV itself should remain fee-less and part of the overall DVR fee already charged.

Besides, doesn't DISH offer this option free?


----------



## wingrider01

D-Bamatech said:


> Whats the cost of D* deployment?
> Earl's Salary? :lol: and JK>
> There is no comparison.
> 
> Whats funny to me, IS that, you guys are expected to pay for the MRV "supported" hardware, the fee a month, and oh yeah this 2 year commitment *BS* to "upgrade" their "leased" ird's to make it work.
> SPELL DEVISED & ARTICULATED ... REVENUE. (cha-ching!).
> From Malones words considering "conectivity".
> 
> 
> 
> The general public ,? One gullible entity in itself.
> I mean , who in their right mind Leases something, it fails religiously due to design, needs replaced to continue to honor "the comitment" and BAM! another 2 yrs on the MRC w/ penalty for "leased EQ" with Upfront costs. (WHAT!?!?!) Then theres those who will seem to exhibit the "protection plan" as the escape. Again WHAT? MRC again? and on something you dont own and shouldnt be responsible for in the slightest to start with. (no logic).
> The most illogical thing for the public ive seen to date out of this provider and yet it continues no matter how many law suits arise.
> I work on this mess sure (since 96) and in every facit, but do i support "them" anymore or "SAIL" their service.. NOPE and i wont due to their ethics & regardless of "commissions". Thus all my cx's dont even know the 1800 # nor do they have a desire to.
> When it was Hughes, GM, and/or there was a USSB, this Service was "somebody", now its a cut throat stock based racket and nothing else IMHO. Frankly, Rup and Malone destroyed this "thang!" Heck you ought to be on my end and see what "i see", i bet opinions of backbone generated ethical people would roll over in disgust.
> But then again, Channel 603 is In HD! and other than that, the general masses refuse to "see" the "reality channel" as it really IS
> Sooo!
> Come on----
> _"let me Upgrade ya!"_ :lol:
> 
> 
> 
> not sure where your grudge is but if someone wants to pay the cost it is a no brainers, firm believer in TANSTAAFL - How is Uverse by the way - guess you only have 1 HD set
Click to expand...


----------



## joed32

gphvid said:


> I still believe the MRV should be as part of the regular DVR package and as such, no additional fee required. If this happens, what's next? The DVR fee should be for all things DVR which includes all functions. If I choose to use it using network equipment I provide (which I do), I should be able to access it anyway as part of the DVR functions. Therefore, a fee is really bordering on excessive. Now if a user decides to use MRV and have DirecTV set them up, then an install/service charge may be in order. But the MRV itself should remain fee-less and part of the overall DVR fee already charged.
> 
> Besides, doesn't DISH offer this option free?


Dish doesn't have it yet, you can watch a different program in SD on a second TV from one receiver with their current system. I'm sure they will be getting it and then we will see what they charge.


----------



## GCoop

Not worth it........ End of story


----------



## Mike Bertelson

GCoop said:


> Not worth it........ End of story


For you that's true. For others, it's well worth it.

Mike


----------



## pjo1966

GCoop said:


> Not worth it........ End of story


Thank you for deciding for all of us.


----------



## Doug Brott

GCoop said:


> Not worth it........ End of story


So you won't be taking it 

I will be getting MRV .. It fits nicely with my arrangement. I've always had 2 DVRs @ my central location, but I can now see a situation where only a single DVR is needed there.


----------



## leww37334

I am really beginning to think that MRV and d12 may fit together, I think it may be best (just for me) to wait until D12 is on line, to see just how much new HD we get, before I plunge back into a 1 year commitment.


----------



## pfp

Doug Brott said:


> So you won't be taking it
> 
> I will be getting MRV .. It fits nicely with my arrangement. I've always had 2 DVRs @ my central location, but I can now see a situation where only a single DVR is needed there.


Same here, but the problem remains with managing to-do on the second receiver if moving it.


----------



## Doug Brott

pfp said:


> Same here, but the problem remains with managing to-do on the second receiver if moving it.


I'm one that rarely looks @ TODO .. I just use LIST and play from there, so the current arrangement works fine for me. One thing that would be helpful and maybe down the road would be to set the recording on a different DVR (either single or Series Link) .. As it is now I have to go to each DVR to make the changes. Not so bad because it's not every day, but potentially annoying.


----------



## pjo1966

Doug Brott said:


> I'm one that rarely looks @ TODO .. I just use LIST and play from there, so the current arrangement works fine for me. One thing that would be helpful and maybe down the road would be to set the recording on a different DVR (either single or Series Link) .. As it is now I have to go to each DVR to make the changes. Not so bad because it's not every day, but potentially annoying.


One benefit would be to be able to remove an input from the home theater and just manage both DVRs from one. I do need to look at ToDo every day for a while since my recordings and Series Links got blown away. If they could add that functionality to my Droid App, I could get away with it. If I didn't have to check ToDo so frequently I could just set up new recordings on the Droid.

A web interface to manage recordings would be nice too.


----------



## pfp

Doug Brott said:


> I'm one that rarely looks @ TODO .. I just use LIST and play from there, so the current arrangement works fine for me. *One thing that would be helpful and maybe down the road would be to set the recording on a different DVR (either single or Series Link) .. As it is now I have to go to each DVR to make the changes.* Not so bad because it's not every day, but potentially annoying.


This is what i meant.


----------



## pfp

pjo1966 said:


> One benefit would be to be able to remove an input from the home theater and just manage both DVRs from one. I do need to look at ToDo every day for a while since my recordings and Series Links got blown away. If they could add that functionality to my Droid App, I could get away with it. *If I didn't have to check ToDo so frequently I could just set up new recordings on the Droid.*
> 
> A web interface to manage recordings would be nice too.


Agree, the mobile app (iphone for me) does help. However it currently only allows adding recordings. If it allowed removing them and reordering the prioritizer (both of which also necessitate displaying the prioritizer) that would solve the issue for me.


----------



## xmguy

As long as MRV is JUST $3 it MIGHT be worth it. I currently use CAT5 (of course). Now if they charge a $100 fee for something I already have set up. Well that is another kettle of fish. If the $100 fee is for a DECA upgrade then ok. Also if CURRENT users with CAT5 can use their setup for MRV AND D* allow users to use EITHER I'm happy. Forced upgrade should not be mandated for MRV.


----------



## Doug Brott

xmguy said:


> As long as MRV is JUST $3 it MIGHT be worth it. I currently use CAT5 (of course). Now if they charge a $100 fee for something I already have set up. Well that is another kettle of fish. If the $100 fee is for a DECA upgrade then ok. Also if CURRENT users with CAT5 can use their setup for MRV AND D* allow users to use EITHER I'm happy. Forced upgrade should not be mandated for MRV.


You will not be forced to upgrade. You can use your home networking, but it will not be eligible for technical support.


----------



## veryoldschool

scottb8888 said:


> The H20's I have.


These are the only ones that are HD/MPEG-4 without networking for MRV. As this has been explained, these "should be" replaced with H21/23/24 as part of the MRV upgrade, since you're not being "upgraded" from SD to HD, or from a non DVR to a DVR.
Since this case has yet to be posted how it "does work", we don't have anything more than what has been explained so far.
Your case has been asked about and the "should be" comes from the reply.


----------



## Doug Brott

veryoldschool said:


> These are the only ones that are HD/MPEG-4 without networking for MRV. As this has been explained, these "should be" replaced with H21/23/24 as part of the MRV upgrade, since you're not being "upgraded" from SD to HD, or from a non DVR to a DVR.
> Since this case has yet to be posted how it "does work", we don't have anything more than what has been explained so far.
> Your case has been asked about and the "should be" comes from the reply.


Also, I believe the H24 would be the first choice as the replacement vehicle, but there are other options as VOS pointed out .. The Installer might not have an H24 with him, for instance.


----------



## baloo75

Sorry if this has already been posted somewhere. I received an email from DirectTV asking if I want to sign up for MRV (I'm in the Portland, Or. area). I would take a screen shot and attach if I knew how. In the fine print it says:

_OFFER INFORMATION 
To access DIRECTV Multi-Room HD DVR service functionality, you need a DIRECTV Plus HD DVR receiver (models HR24, HR20-HR23 with DECA), a second MRV-capable receiver (models H24, HR24 or R22, H21, H23, HR20-HR23 with DECA), a SWiM network, HD Access ($10.00/mo.), DVR service ($7.00/mo.) and Multi-Room HD DVR service ($3.00/mo.)._

Does this mean we can't use our own network? Other interesting thing in the add it says "one-time setup fee as low as $99". Does that mean the fee varies?


----------



## Doug Brott

baloo75 said:


> Sorry if this has already been posted somewhere. I received an email from DirectTV asking if I want to sign up for MRV (I'm in the Portland, Or. area). I would take a screen shot and attach if I knew how. In the fine print it says:
> 
> _OFFER INFORMATION
> To access DIRECTV Multi-Room HD DVR service functionality, you need a DIRECTV Plus HD DVR receiver (models HR24, HR20-HR23 with DECA), a second MRV-capable receiver (models H24, HR24 or R22, H21, H23, HR20-HR23 with DECA), a SWiM network, HD Access ($10.00/mo.), DVR service ($7.00/mo.) and Multi-Room HD DVR service ($3.00/mo.)._
> 
> Does this mean we can't use our own network? Other interesting thing in the add it says "one-time setup fee as low as $99". Does that mean the fee varies?


I'm guessing over time the fee will vary, but for now it seems to be one set price for everyone. You will be able to use your home networking if you are already set up, but if DIRECTV comes out to install and you pay the $99, you will be converted to DECA.


----------



## Richierich

barryb said:


> A really, _really_ big DVR with 400 series links and I cannot calculate how much storage space, and thats without hooking up eSata drives. For me this is a game changer for about 10 cents a day.
> 
> Its most certainly an opt-in for anyone.... and I am gonna give kudos to DirecTV for not making it $3 _per receiver. _


I have 600 Series Links with 8,000 Gigabytes of Storage so I have plenty of space for recordings and backup in case a hard drive fails!!!

I think I can afford the $3 per month for that convenience and savings on storage so I don't have to record things in 3 different DVRS because I don't know which room I will be in when I want to view that recording.

I can View What I Want To Watch Where I Want To Watch It and When I Want To Watch It!!!


----------



## RobertE

I think that once MRV goes national, people will find that they won't need Tb after Tb of storage or lots and lots of DVRs.


----------



## RAD

RobertE said:


> I think that once MRV goes national, people will find that they won't need Tb after Tb of storage or lots and lots of DVRs.


That may be true but you can't pause live TV on a non-DVR box.


----------



## Doug Brott

RAD said:


> That may be true but you can't pause live TV on a non-DVR box.


Live TV? :scratchin


----------



## Richierich

RobertE said:


> I think that once MRV goes national, people will find that they won't need Tb after Tb of storage or lots and lots of DVRs.


Well, I have many DVRs because I have many rooms and want more than 50 Series Links and I also have lots of Storage Space on other DVRs to Backup my other DVRs in case they have a hard drive failure.

Of course I am not you average User but this is what I need and so I go with extra storage space for backup which 99.99% of users do not have or even contemplate.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

Doug Brott said:


> Live TV? :scratchin


Yes Doug, some of us actually do watch Live TV.  

You remember Live TV don't ya? !rolling

Mike


----------



## Richierich

WOW, watching LIVE TV, what a Concept!!!!

I must try that sometime when I can watch something that doesn't have LOUD OBNOXIOUS COMMERCIALS that I don't care to WATCH!!!


----------



## Shades228

Owning a DVR and watching Live TV is like wearing socks in the shower.


----------



## dvdmth

Shades228 said:


> Owning a DVR and watching Live TV is like wearing socks in the shower.


Well, I guess I wear my shower socks proudly.


----------



## David MacLeod

great, back into the live tv snobbery again.
a dvr allows me to watch what I want when I want to in the manner I want to.
multiple dvr's allow me to do that even more.


----------



## DC_SnDvl

I'll probably paythe $3 until I watch everything I have recorded on my 2nd DVR and then decide if I am going to keep it.

Lets hope that the next improvement does not cost us another $3 and another and another...

I don't have a problem with them making money. The $3 will more than cover the development costs. It would be more understandable if the lease fee for a non-DVR box was less than the lease fee for a DVR.



Doug Brott said:


> Either (1) it would be free or (2) it wouldn't be available at all. I'm sure plenty of people will be willing to pay $3, so those who aren't willing will just not have access to MRV when the Beta is over. It is unfortunate.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

Shades228 said:


> Owning a DVR and watching Live TV is like wearing socks in the shower.


And mindless analogies are a waste of time.

I happen to find it useful to be able to swap tuners on live TV...some people only watch recorded stuff, I get it. However, it isn't the only way to watch TV, and you don't see people making comments about that do you? 

Mike


----------



## GCoop

MicroBeta said:


> For you that's true. For others, it's well worth it.
> 
> Mike


Isnt the fact that my statment appies to me obvious? Sure it might be worth it to others. I was stating my opinion as that is what the thread is about...... 



pjo1966 said:


> Thank you for deciding for all of us.


Thank you for failing to understand the obvious. 



Doug Brott said:


> So you won't be taking it
> 
> I will be getting MRV .. It fits nicely with my arrangement. I've always had 2 DVRs @ my central location, but I can now see a situation where only a single DVR is needed there.


Of course I wont be taking it..

As others have already stated it more of the current pricing philosophy that is starting to annoy me. $3 extra for this 5$ more for that $10 here 2$ there. Pretty soon all of that adds up to a significant amount. Almost a 15 year customer now so I have seen quite a bit along the way. I guess I am reaching my limit.


----------



## Doug Brott

GCoop said:


> As others have already stated it more of the current pricing philosophy that is starting to annoy me. $3 extra for this 5$ more for that $10 here 2$ there. Pretty soon all of that adds up to a significant amount. Almost a 15 year customer now so I have seen quite a bit along the way. I guess I am reaching my limit.


You're not the only one .. The fact that it's $3/month really isn't relevant. Folks that want it will buy it, folks that don't won't. In that respect, the fact that there is a fee allows those that don't want the service to save a few $$.

The average bill is approaching $100/month and regardless of how it's paid for, that is more where the pain is. Certainly it reaches a point where folks have to make a call on whether they want to continue or not.

Isn't it nice that the $3/month is optional?


----------



## ehilbert1

I wish they would just offer this for free. Didn't all of our bills just go up? I hear their going to be adding new HD channels. I just hope DirecTV realizes that not all of us care about more HD channels that we won't watch anyway. I guess $3 isn't that bad, but we all know it will go up every year or every other year just like everything else. So $3 will turn into $5 soon and so on. I'm just wondering what's next? Then again no one has to have this feature.


----------



## Doug Brott

ehilbert1 said:


> I'm just wondering what's next?


This seems to be the biggest fear. As far as I know, there isn't any other additional charges coming soon (other than perhaps the yearly increase). I'm not privy to any pricing conversations, but I can't think of any other feature right now that would incur a charge.

MRV actually required a lot more effort than you guys want to think .. but regardless of how much it cost DIRECTV to get to this point, I understand the "keep it free as an incentive" argument. Still, there is a compelling argument (from DIRECTV's perspective) to charge for MRV. The bottom line is that people will pay $3 to get this feature.

If we were talking about DoublePlay, I'm pretty sure that most people (myself included) would say .. Nah, I can just record the two programs I watch and watch them back-to-back rather than at the same time. Even most of the diehard DoublePlay/DLB fans would have a hard time justifying $3/month for DoublePlay.

This lack of interest in paying can be said of so many other features as well. Most of the time, folks simply won't pay for the option to use some features. They'll live without if necessary. MRV is a different breed and when folks realize .. Oh, I can watch that in the bedroom? .. $3/month is cheap.

I've had the opportunity to chat with a few folks that aren't as technically astute as most of the folks here. Turns out that MRV is a highly desired feature even among that group. And guess what, this group of people totally understands that there is a cost associated with it. Uverse Marketing will undoubtedly spin it as "But we don't charge extra for MRV" .. which will be followed by DIRECTV saying "But we don't hide the MRV charge in the monthly cost of each additional receiver."

For IT folks (like myself), it's even more troublesome because pretty much everything you plug into your network (home or office) just works. Now there's a license cost? What's up with that? Unfortunately, as times change, so do pricing strategies. DIRECTV found an opportunity to add a new product to their portfolio and now we have what we have. $3/month, IMHO, is cheap. I'll top it off with the fact that I will be dropping one receiver about the time this charge kicks in. My bill will go down.

There are always options ....


----------



## rakstr

Doug Brott said:


> This seems to be the biggest fear. As far as I know, there isn't any other additional charges coming soon (other than perhaps the yearly increase). I'm not privy to any pricing conversations, but I can't think of any other feature right now that would incur a charge.
> 
> MRV actually required a lot more effort than you guys want to think .. but regardless of how much it cost DIRECTV to get to this point, I understand the "keep it free as an incentive" argument. Still, there is a compelling argument (from DIRECTV's perspective) to charge for MRV. The bottom line is that people will pay $3 to get this feature.
> 
> If we were talking about DoublePlay, I'm pretty sure that most people (myself included) would say .. Nah, I can just record the two programs I watch and watch them back-to-back rather than at the same time. Even most of the diehard DoublePlay/DLB fans would have a hard time justifying $3/month for DoublePlay.
> 
> This lack of interest in paying can be said of so many other features as well. Most of the time, folks simply won't pay for the option to use some features. They'll live without if necessary. MRV is a different breed and when folks realize .. Oh, I can watch that in the bedroom? .. $3/month is cheap.
> 
> I've had the opportunity to chat with a few folks that aren't as technically astute as most of the folks here. Turns out that MRV is a highly desired feature even among that group. And guess what, this group of people totally understands that there is a cost associated with it. Uverse Marketing will undoubtedly spin it as "But we don't charge extra for MRV" .. which will be followed by DIRECTV saying "But we don't hide the MRV charge in the monthly cost of each additional receiver."
> 
> For IT folks (like myself), it's even more troublesome because pretty much everything you plug into your network (home or office) just works. Now there's a license cost? What's up with that? Unfortunately, as times change, so do pricing strategies. DIRECTV found an opportunity to add a new product to their portfolio and now we have what we have. $3/month, IMHO, is cheap. I'll top it off with the fact that I will be dropping one receiver about the time this charge kicks in. My bill will go down.
> 
> There are always options ....


Nicely said but I'd like to add that DTV made MRV more complicated than it needs to be and the higher development cost is the result. There are plenty of solutions that could have formed the basis for MRV except I think DTV made a conscious decision to keep it all in box for revenue purposes. Not trying to be a smuck but the limited drive space, content being tied to a receiver and not an account, the fact they chew up that drive space we paid for with material, we can't expand, we can't replace, and even if we want to use our own network it's "off plan" leads me to lose a bit of my zeal for their services and think they are getting a bit predatory.

Opinions are like you know what and we all have one


----------



## Doug Brott

rakstr said:


> ... the limited drive space, content being tied to a receiver and not an account, the fact they chew up that drive space we paid for with material, we can't expand, we can't replace, and even if we want to use our own network it's "off plan" leads me to lose a bit of my zeal for their services and think they are getting a bit predatory.


Unfortunately, the folks that come to DBSTalk are really in the minority. We all want advanced versions of what we actually have .. Or barring that, the ability to make it more advanced on our own. That I get.

Problem is, there ain't that many of us. We are such a small fraction of the DIRECTV population that DIRECTV really has to consider everyone else. Those are the folks that really do want one thing .. "I just want it to work" was the phrase that was told to me yesterday by someone. And honestly, I don't think even a slow receiver would matter. So, the box might be dumbed down a bit in some respects, but at the end of the day it's all to make the receiver easier for the common folk. We are the exception.


----------



## rakstr

Doug Brott said:


> Unfortunately, the folks that come to DBSTalk are really in the minority. We all want advanced versions of what we actually have .. Or barring that, the ability to make it more advanced on our own. That I get.
> 
> Problem is, there ain't that many of us. We are such a small fraction of the DIRECTV population that DIRECTV really has to consider everyone else. Those are the folks that really do want one thing .. "I just want it to work" was the phrase that was told to me yesterday by someone. And honestly, I don't think even a slow receiver would matter. So, the box might be dumbed down a bit in some respects, but at the end of the day it's all to make the receiver easier for the common folk. We are the exception.


I think we need to have a beer next time I'm out your way, agree again. HOWEVER (knew that was coming), we also participate to make their services better and my expectation would be a little "love" in return. For instance, you participated in the Beta = fee waived, you help debug eSata and/or disk replacement = no penalty for modifications, ... Sorry but I come from Old School were the customer came first and the fact you treated your customers right guaranteed you would succeed.


----------



## Lee L

In the end, the market will decide. The main issue I see is that for a long time, DirecTV enjoyed a nice high ground of High customer Satisfaction, arguably better service than Cable or Dish Net and a slightly lower cost than Cable, while being a touch higher but competitive with Dish Net.

They were able to be the Anti-cable company, attacking them on their channel selection, equipment rental costs, quality, service and nickel and diming over the years. In fact, I would say that most americans with cable benefit from the improvements cable made over the last decade due in large part from competition from DirecTV.

However it seems like DirecTV has tilited a little more toward the cable model in the last couple of years. Maybe the old boutique model that many of us have enjoyed just will not work long term and they are realizing it. Certainly XM and Sirius beleive the same thing and have moved from an true alternative to FM to essentiall satellite delivery of the same content. THen again, Sirius/XM are just about bankrupt in any given quarter. Kind of like how GM thought they were the king for so many years, but eventually things changed. 

Hopefully DirecTV is correct and they will stay ahead of things and not lose too much market share. It is just unfortunate that the reasons that many of us went to satellite in the first place are now lost in order to gain the masses. The same masses which will drop you in a second to save $2 a month. Time will tell.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

rakstr, I see where you're going but I think the kind of consideration you describe has most often been associated with closed beta tests, not opt-in, public testing.


----------



## ehilbert1

Doug Brott said:


> I've had the opportunity to chat with a few folks that aren't as technically astute as most of the folks here. Turns out that MRV is a highly desired feature even among that group. And guess what, this group of people totally understands that there is a cost associated with it. Uverse Marketing will undoubtedly spin it as "But we don't charge extra for MRV" .. which will be followed by DIRECTV saying "But we don't hide the MRV charge in the monthly cost of each additional receiver."


Thats just it. I don't think Uverse hides their fee. You can get their lowest package without a DVR. Believe it or not some people out there don't want a DVR. Plus they have a lot of good channels in their lowest package. I use a DVR mostly to fast forward through commercials. I don't store things like a lot of people here. I watch it and then delete it. Atleast with Uverse you have 4 tuners on their DVR and with one extra box I can watch up to 4 shows. With DirecTV you have to have 2 seperate DVR's for the 4 tuners. So thats $7 plus $5 for the rental or mirror fee. I know you have a lot more recording space with 2 DVR's, but for people like me that doesn't matter.

I guess I just have to look into what is best for me. I love DirecTV. I really do. I just think they need to add to the value of their product and MRV would have done that. Most of the people on here want nothing but HD and thats fine, but not all of us want just that. Oh yea.... Uverse has a lot of HD channels in their U200 pack. The best part really is the fact that I don't have to get MRV if I don't want it. Having a choice is great.


----------



## Doug Brott

Stuart Sweet said:


> rakstr, I see where you're going but I think the kind of consideration you describe has most often been associated with closed beta tests, not opt-in, public testing.


Many of us here did get free MRV for well over the past year .. Even the folks who stick to the national release have had a few months free.


----------



## David MacLeod

Doug Brott said:


> Many of us here did get free MRV for well over the past year .. Even the folks who stick to the national release have had a few months free.


WELL over a year for some feature whores 

I can't speak to deeply about it, but the fee was argued to death and free was the desire.
$5 per receiver was the initial, now its $3 per account. 
so do with that what you will..it is what it is I guess.


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## dpeters11

Stuart Sweet said:


> rakstr, I see where you're going but I think the kind of consideration you describe has most often been associated with closed beta tests, not opt-in, public testing.


And even that is changing. Microsoft used to give free copies of Windows to beta testers, that changed with 7.

I will be paying for MRV, and will happily report issues as they come up, at least if I go ahead and go DECA.


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## Sgt. Slaughter

I'm assuming the free on-demand is priced into the packages as thats a service i'm surprised they do not charge for at all too. I could see many people paying $3 for on-demand access. 

What will be interesting is if they consider the HMC30(whenever it comes out, which is in the distant future) to be MRV or not. I could see an argument for both sides with that one. This I'm sure will be something hashed out when the time is right though(which isn't now).

I myself will debate on the fee. If I get DECA for the 99 fee and have no commitment tied to it then I likely will do it just to get the DECA in house here and move the box's into a cloud and simplyfy my network some(though all is hardwired cat5e now anyway).


----------



## rakstr

Sgt. Slaughter said:


> I'm assuming the free on-demand is priced into the packages as thats a service i'm surprised they do not charge for at all too. I could see many people paying $3 for on-demand access.
> 
> What will be interesting is if they consider the HMC30(whenever it comes out, which is in the distant future) to be MRV or not. I could see an argument for both sides with that one. This I'm sure will be something hashed out when the time is right though(which isn't now).
> 
> I myself will debate on the fee. If I get DECA for the 99 fee and have no commitment tied to it then I likely will do it just to get the DECA in house here and move the box's into a cloud and simplyfy my network some(though all is hardwired cat5e now anyway).


Perfect  They can keep their on-demand and give me back my disk space and MRV! You're a genius... I'll even give them back their widgets that take 10 minutes to launch.

I've spent a lot of money on receivers and equipment since 1996 only to have them made obsolete. Heck, I paid almost $1000 for a Toshiba DST3000 and oval disk back around 2000. By the time they actually had enough channels to make the "high def" worthwhile I needed a third LNB that they charged me for and before all that was installed and ready the poor design of the DST-3000 burned up from it's own heat, never activated. The house got hit by lightening and both my other receivers got fried in 2004. DTV would not help me out at all. Paid full price for the replacements from a retailer and they charged me an activation fee to replace.

Again, I take full responsibility for my actions but I was buying into something other than cable, you know, $2 here, $5 here, ... I don't want to switch DTV, my business is yours to lose but don't take that to mean it's yours regardless.


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## OttOpotamus

I will probably get MRV. I'm fine w/the $99 DECA cost but I am disappointed with the $3/mo charge. $3/mo may not seem that much to some, but it adds up over the years. It is also something that they can increase later and will be difficult for people to give up once they become accustomed to it. I’m sure all this added into their decision for their monthly charge.:money:

I understand that DirecTV needs to cover their development costs, but I would rather have a choice to have a one-time charge or the $3/mo charge. This is the choice I had when the first DirecTV DVR came out (Tivo 'lifetime' or monthly fee). I chose the Tivo lifetime which I happily learned that DirecTV later changed over to lifetime DVR service. I know that DirecTV no longer offers the lifetime DVR option because they make more money in charging a monthly DVR charge. Once again, they will make more money by charging a monthly MRV fee, but I would personally rather keep my subscriber costs down and pay a one-time charge. If this charge was $100, I would be better off after 3yrs. Since DirecTV is my only source for NFL Sunday Ticket, I expect to be around for 3+ yrs. For those that don’t want to pay the one-time charge, they can select the monthly charge.

Of course, I can't watch NFL Sunday Ticket in HD (even though I am already paying $10/mo for HD) unless I also pay for the Superfan package (even though I don't care about the other things I get w/Superfan).:hair:


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## DennisMileHi

I live in the Denver area which is one of the four official locations for MRV. My current setup using Powerline adapters for my network works pretty well most of the time with the exception of scenes which have a very high motion content.

Anyway, I just called D* and asked them about getting the DECA modules since I already have a SWM, which I paid for and installed myself a long time ago.

The net of what I was told is that there would be a $99 fee to replace any DVRs, upgrade to SWM and provide the DECAs. Professional installation would be an EXTRA $49!! I told the Rep I didn't need anything but the DECAs. Right now, D* does not make just the DECAs available and you must have an installer come out. 

He told me the beta for MRV would be ending around the end of May and maybe the DECAs could be available by then without the extra charges. At the end of the beta, it will cost everybody $3 a month for MRV. 

So, I decided I would wait to see what happens down the road as the beta ends. Would be nice to be able to get the DECAs, install them myself and avoid the $150 charges. We'll see what the future brings.


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## kevinturcotte

DennisMileHi said:


> Anyway, I just called D* and asked them about getting the DECA modules since I already have a SWM, which I paid for and installed myself a long time ago.
> 
> The net of what I was told is that there would be a $99 fee to replace any DVRs, upgrade to SWM and provide the DECAs. Professional installation would be an EXTRA $49!! I told the Rep I didn't need anything but the DECAs. Right now, D* does not make just the DECAs available and you must have an installer come out.


What exactly did they mean by "Replace DVRs"? And is that PER DVR, or does the $99 cover EVERYTHING?


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## dsw2112

kevinturcotte said:


> What exactly did they mean by "Replace DVRs"? And is that PER DVR, or does the $99 cover EVERYTHING?


In other threads those with the upgrade explained that "replacing receivers" means upgrading to SWM compatible/Ethernet compatible (I.E. R15 to R16, D11 to D12, H20 to H21.) It is not supposed to make SD receivers MRV capable.


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## veryoldschool

There are several postings about this. Some are only charged the $99 and others have to pay for the service call too [$50]. Seems like there is some leverage over the service call charge.
DVR for DVR to work with SWiM, shouldn't have a charge, but changing receivers seems to have a commitment attached.
SD for SD, DVR for DVR, are part of the DECA upgrade [because of the SWiM].
Changing SD to HD, or non DVR to DVR, aren't part of this upgrade.


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## stewp97

So I lost MRV on my HR22-100 tonight. The message I received was that the beta had expired and the receiver was no longer authorized. The message said to call DirecTV. 

After spending about an hour on the phone with DirecTV, they informed me that because they are rolling out the new MRV program in the Denver market, they want me to upgrade to a SWM and DECA. According to the CSR, I may or may not need DECA but it is part of the package. I do need the SWM. It runs $99 +$49 install, and I will have to pay $3/month for MRV.

Funny thing is I still have MRV on my HR21-700

peter


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## slimoli

stewp97 said:


> So I lost MRV on my HR22-100 tonight. The message I received was that the beta had expired and the receiver was no longer authorized. The message said to call DirecTV.
> 
> After spending about an hour on the phone with DirecTV, they informed me that because they are rolling out the new MRV program in the Denver market, they want me to upgrade to a SWM and DECA. According to the CSR, I may or may not need DECA but it is part of the package. I do need the SWM. It runs $99 +$49 install, and I will have to pay $3/month for MRV.
> 
> Funny thing is I still have MRV on my HR21-700
> 
> peter


Does it mean the SWM/DECA is indeed mandatory ? I was assuming we could keep our existing network (without Directv support) but it looks like there will be no MRV without DECA at all.

Can anybody in the know clarify this ?


----------



## stewp97

slimoli said:


> Does it mean the SWM/DECA is indeed mandatory ? I was assuming we could keep our existing network (without Directv support) but it looks like there will be no MRV without DECA at all.
> 
> Can anybody in the know clarify this ?


The CSR thought I could use my existing network, but I do need to upgrade to the SWM. Becasue DECA is part of the SWM upgrade, I will be using it as well. I am getting my install done on Tuesday, so I will see if the Tech knows anything more. I do think it is strange that as of last night my MRV was still working with one receiver. I have not checked it yet this morning.

peter


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## raott

stewp97 said:


> The CSR thought I could use my existing network, but I do need to upgrade to the SWM. Becasue DECA is part of the SWM upgrade, I will be using it as well. I am getting my install done on Tuesday, so I will see if the Tech knows anything more. I do think it is strange that as of last night my MRV was still working with one receiver. I have not checked it yet this morning.
> 
> peter


But if you can use your existing network, (ie ethernet) there should be no need for SWM. What the CSR told you doesn't seem to make sense.


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## wingrider01

slimoli said:


> Does it mean the SWM/DECA is indeed mandatory ? I was assuming we could keep our existing network (without Directv support) but it looks like there will be no MRV without DECA at all.
> 
> Can anybody in the know clarify this ?


It has been posted here that you can use your own network outside of DECA, same 3.00 charge per month is required and there is 0 support from Directv if you have problems. You are own your own to make sure it continues to function


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## kevinturcotte

wingrider01 said:


> It has been posted here that you can use your own network outside of DECA, same 3.00 charge per month is required and there is 0 support from Directv if you have problems. You are own your own to make sure it continues to function


This is assumed, but hasn't actually been confirmed, but not even by Doug.


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## RAD

kevinturcotte said:


> This is assumed, but hasn't actually been confirmed, but not even by Doug.


Doug has said that he's been told that DECA will not be a requirement for MRV.


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## kevinturcotte

RAD said:


> Doug has said that he's been told that DECA will not be a requirement for MRV.


I must have missed that. Cool!


----------



## Richierich

stewp97 said:


> So I lost MRV on my HR22-100 tonight. The message I received was that the beta had expired and the receiver was no longer authorized. The message said to call DirecTV.
> 
> After spending about an hour on the phone with DirecTV, they informed me that because they are rolling out the new MRV program in the Denver market, they want me to upgrade to a SWM and DECA. According to the CSR, I may or may not need DECA but it is part of the package. I do need the SWM. It runs $99 +$49 install, and I will have to pay $3/month for MRV.
> 
> Funny thing is I still have MRV on my HR21-700


The CSR only got it partly right. You can Activate without SWM or DECA and should just have to pay the $3 for the Activation/Monthly Fee. Call them back and tell them just to Activate your MRV.


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## TheRatPatrol

richierich said:


> The CSR only got it partly right. You can Activate without SWM or DECA and should just have to pay the $3 for the Activation/Monthly Fee. Call them back and tell them just to Activate your MRV.


It sounds to me like this might turn into a support nightmare. Some CSR's are going to tell you that you need it, and some are going to say no you don't need it.


----------



## Richierich

I agree that not all CSRs will know exactly what the deal is and will have to be told and then bring in a Supervisor, etc.


----------



## kevinturcotte

TheRatPatrol said:


> It sounds to me like this might turn into a support nightmare. Some CSR's are going to tell you that you need it, and some are going to say no you don't need it.


This is different from most every other CSR experience how? :lol:


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## Doug Brott

You will be able to use your home networking. You will need SWiM/DECA to receive technical support.


----------



## stewp97

richierich said:


> Call them back and tell them just to Activate your MRV.


I asked the CSR that very question. He said it was not possible as there was no option on their system to turn it back on. That is the part that is making me a little nervous too.


----------



## kevinturcotte

Doug-when did you confirm that we could use MRV without DECA? Is it possible they changed their minds last minute and aren't allowing it now?


----------



## veryoldschool

stewp97 said:


> I asked the CSR that very question. He said it was not possible as there was no option on their system to turn it back on. That is the part that is making me a little nervous too.





kevinturcotte said:


> Doug-when did you confirm that we could use MRV without DECA? Is it possible they changed their minds last minute and aren't allowing it now?


As time goes by, everyone will know more and it doesn't surprise me that the DirecTV system isn't completely setup/programed yet along with the CSR training.
Are we even in week two of the test market rollout?


----------



## Doug Brott

kevinturcotte said:


> Doug-when did you confirm that we could use MRV without DECA? Is it possible they changed their minds last minute and aren't allowing it now?


Of course, I should never say never, but .. No, it is not possible.


----------



## raott

Doug Brott said:


> You will be able to use your home networking. .


Not if the CSRs refuse to turn it on. I would suggest that D* make some attempt at training on this- probably would have been helpful if that took place _before_ turning MRV off for some customers.


----------



## Doug Brott

raott said:


> Not if the CSRs refuse to turn it on. I would suggest that D* make some attempt at training on this- probably would have been helpful if that took place _before_ turning MRV off for some customers.


I think VOS sums it up nicely .. We're clearly entering a new phase here. The kinks will get worked out.



veryoldschool said:


> As time goes by, everyone will know more and it doesn't surprise me that the DirecTV system isn't completely setup/programed yet along with the CSR training.
> Are we even in week two of the test market rollout?


----------



## The Merg

Plus, is MRV even considered to be national yet? I realize it may be that the Beta is over, but that doesn't mean that it is considered to be national.

- Merg


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## Doug Brott

I don't think the Beta is over yet, but I don't know when it will end. I think everyone would be having an issue now if it had actually ended already.


----------



## Richierich

I heard that it would end on April 15, 2010 but can't remember where or who posted that comment.


----------



## RAD

richierich said:


> I heard that it would end on April 15, 2010 but can't remember where or who posted that comment.


I've seen a middle of May date thrown around for when MRV/DECA goes national and the beta ends.


----------



## dminches

I have read every post in this thread before posting. My quick thoughts:

1 - MRV is a very nice feature.
2 - I don't think $3/mo is a big charge but I do think this ala carte approach to pricing is getting annoying.
3 - I also have FiOS. They do not charge for MRV. Are they not considered "cable?"

The one thing that isn't clear is does the $99 installation fee for DECA include the SWM equipment and installation too? I have a multiswitch and no SWM. The MRV beta works fine over my wired home network. If I have to also pay for SWM I can't see doing that.

Finally, I really don't want to swap out my HR20s since I'll lose all those recordings. This is another reason not to go the SWM/DECA route. I assume others are in the same boat.


----------



## sigma1914

dminches said:


> I have read every post in this thread before posting. My quick thoughts:
> 
> 1 - MRV is a very nice feature.
> 2 - I don't think $3/mo is a big charge but I do think this ala carte approach to pricing is getting annoying.
> 3 - I also have FiOS. They do not charge for MRV. Are they not considered "cable?"
> 
> The one thing that isn't clear is does the $99 installation fee for DECA include the SWM equipment and installation too? I have a multiswitch and no SWM. The MRV beta works fine over my wired home network. If I have to also pay for SWM I can't see doing that.
> 
> Finally, I really don't want to swap out my HR20s since I'll lose all those recordings. This is another reason not to go the SWM/DECA route. I assume others are in the same boat.


Fios' MRV is kind of "hidden." I thought they charge more for a whole home DVR setup.

You don't need SWM & won't need to change equipment. If you want SWM & DECA, then your HR20s will be fine.


----------



## dminches

sigma1914 said:


> Fios' MRV is kind of "hidden." I thought they charge more for a whole home DVR setup.
> 
> You don't need SWM & won't need to change equipment. If you want SWM & DECA, then your HR20s will be fine.


I should have said there is no explicit charge for MRV with FiOS.

I thought the HR20s do not work with SWM. I thought I read that earlier in this forum.

NM, it was the H20s that needed to be swapped.


----------



## sigma1914

dminches said:


> I should have said there is no explicit charge for MRV with FiOS.
> 
> I thought the HR20s do not work with SWM. I thought I read that earlier in this forum.


All HR2x & H2x work on SWM.


----------



## Davenlr

H20's dont work (no ethernet port). HR20's are fine.


----------



## Moeman

stewp97 said:


> So I lost MRV on my HR22-100 tonight. The message I received was that the beta had expired and the receiver was no longer authorized. The message said to call DirecTV.
> 
> After spending about an hour on the phone with DirecTV, they informed me that because they are rolling out the new MRV program in the Denver market, they want me to upgrade to a SWM and DECA. According to the CSR, I may or may not need DECA but it is part of the package. I do need the SWM. It runs $99 +$49 install, and I will have to pay $3/month for MRV.
> 
> Funny thing is I still have MRV on my HR21-700
> 
> peter


I just had the same issue. When I hit LIST on my HR22-100 I got the message that the Beta had ended and my received was no longer authorized for MRV. My HR20-700 and HR21-700 still worked fine. I refreshed my services on the DirecTV website, but that didn't work. I decided to give DirecTV a call (not really expecting a solution or a CSR that even knew what MRV was) and was pleasantly surprised to get a CSR that at least knew what the MRV beta was and said that as far as he knew it hadn't ended yet except in a few markets (I'm in Seattle and that's not one of them). He deauthorized and reauthorized my HR22 but it didn't appear to work at first. When trying to share my playlist there was a message that said Multi-Room was not authorized on my receiver and to call DirecTV to order. A few minutes later, I went into the Multi-Room setup page and this time was asked to Opt-In again. After Opting back in, my playlist was already shared, but I had to reboot in order to be able to see the playlists on my other DVR's.

The CSR said it sounds like they were working on the programming for the upcoming national rollout and my receiver was sent a signal that it shouldn't have been.

If anyone else runs into the same message, just give DirecTV a call and have them deauthorize/reauthorize your receiver.


----------



## dpeters11

Davenlr said:


> H20's dont work (no ethernet port). HR20's are fine.


Just MRV and DECA. They work fine with SWM.


----------



## Richierich

Moeman said:


> I just had the same issue. When I hit LIST on my HR22-100 I got the message that the Beta had ended and my received was no longer authorized for MRV. My HR20-700 and HR21-700 still worked fine. I refreshed my services on the DirecTV website, but that didn't work. I decided to give DirecTV a call (not really expecting a solution or a CSR that even knew what MRV was) and was pleasantly surprised to get a CSR that at least knew what the MRV beta was and said that as far as he knew it hadn't ended yet except in a few markets (I'm in Seattle and that's not one of them). He deauthorized and reauthorized my HR22 but it didn't appear to work at first. When trying to share my playlist there was a message that said Multi-Room was not authorized on my receiver and to call DirecTV to order. A few minutes later, I went into the Multi-Room setup page and this time was asked to Opt-In again. After Opting back in, my playlist was already shared, but I had to reboot in order to be able to see the playlists on my other DVR's.
> 
> The CSR said it sounds like they were working on the programming for the upcoming national rollout and my receiver was sent a signal that it shouldn't have been.
> 
> If anyone else runs into the same message, just give DirecTV a call and have them deauthorize/reauthorize your receiver.


EXCELLENT POST!!!


----------



## stewp97

Moeman said:


> I just had the same issue. When I hit LIST on my HR22-100 I got the message that the Beta had ended and my received was no longer authorized for MRV. My HR20-700 and HR21-700 still worked fine. I refreshed my services on the DirecTV website, but that didn't work. I decided to give DirecTV a call (not really expecting a solution or a CSR that even knew what MRV was) and was pleasantly surprised to get a CSR that at least knew what the MRV beta was and said that as far as he knew it hadn't ended yet except in a few markets (I'm in Seattle and that's not one of them). He deauthorized and reauthorized my HR22 but it didn't appear to work at first. When trying to share my playlist there was a message that said Multi-Room was not authorized on my receiver and to call DirecTV to order. A few minutes later, I went into the Multi-Room setup page and this time was asked to Opt-In again. After Opting back in, my playlist was already shared, but I had to reboot in order to be able to see the playlists on my other DVR's.
> 
> The CSR said it sounds like they were working on the programming for the upcoming national rollout and my receiver was sent a signal that it shouldn't have been.
> 
> If anyone else runs into the same message, just give DirecTV a call and have them deauthorize/reauthorize your receiver.


Glad to here that! I thought the CSR I spoke to Friday night tried it, but maybe I should have them do it again. I am still scheduled to have the SWM and DECA installed tomorrow morning though. If I here anything worthwhile from the tech I will post it here.

peter


----------



## thekochs

I know this may be futile attempt but I'm confused........
I have three HR23-700s and use MRV thru my Network fine...no need or desire for DECA. However, while I may or may not (since I have my DVRs connected to switch anyway) pay for MRV I would easily do so if it could do remote scheduling. What puzzles me about this request is that it is a main feature of the DirecTV Ads for non-DVR to DVRs. To me, I run into all the time where I'm on one DVR and hit RECORD and BAM....two conflicts. I would love the option to select another DVR thru MRV to assign this schedule to....effectively increasing my recording ability. Now, that I *would* pay the $3 for along with the MRV playback and what seems odd is this is standard feature/ability of non-DVRs to DVRs in MRV.....am I missing something.....why not DVRs to DVRs ? 

Also, for what it is worth a "nice to have" would be to see/manage a combined TO-DO List of all DVRs.


----------



## thekochs

LameLefty said:


> Hey, I love Pandora but giving them the $36 a year won't let me share my 5 DVRs' worth of recordings across 6 HD receivers.


I'll save you the $36 on Pandora....go to Slacker....FREE....and has Comedy, etc.


----------



## thekochs

Shades228 said:


> Owning a DVR and watching Live TV is like wearing socks in the shower.


I don't find that silly....wonder if you don't have hot water....how on earth would you keep your feet warm ? I suppose you want me to bring the hair dryer into the shower to heat the water ? :lol:


----------



## Richierich

thekochs said:


> Also, for what it is worth a "nice to have" would be to see/manage a combined TO-DO List of all DVRs.


How about a Selective Unified Playlist so you could Select the DVRs that you want to make up the UPL???


----------



## thekochs

richierich said:


> How about a Selective Unified Playlist so you could Select the DVRs that you want to make up the UPL???


These and the ones I pointed out are the ones that make MRV more attractive to pay for....IMHO.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

richierich said:


> How about a Selective Unified Playlist so you could Select the DVRs that you want to make up the UPL???


I might consider paying for MRV is there was even the slightest bit of control of the Playlist.

Mike


----------



## rakstr

I only have two DVRs and I distribute HDMI from each to each TV (thank you monoprice). I also hardwired my GbE to each DVR thinking MRV was to be standard fare for a DVR. I'm disappointed it is not.

Using RF remotes, I get enough of the functionality for remote play without MRV. Although convenient, not worth the $3 based on the features/performance that I've seen. Best be careful, DTV may start a $2 per mos per DVR RF remote fee and a $5 per mos per DVR I detected a HDMI switch fee. Whoever it is in DTV's front office that hired the new kid from Wharton should rethink the nickel and dime approach to revenue before that tipping point of too many upset customers is reached. Sneaks up on you then WHAM, too late.


----------



## Doug Brott

rakstr said:


> Whoever it is in DTV's front office that hired the new kid from Wharton should rethink the nickel and dime approach to revenue before that tipping point of too many upset customers is reached. Sneaks up on you then WHAM, too late.


Clearly DIRECTV wants to monetize MRV .. They could have simply added another $3/month to the DVR fee this past February. We would have all screamed about it for a while but eventually paid and the whole nickle & dime talk wouldn't exists. If you want to say DIRECTV could have been nicer about that aspect, then perhaps it could have only been $1 or $2 instead of the $3/month.

In that scenario, everyone would be paying for MRV .. including those folks with no DVR that supports MRV and those folks with a single DVR (no use for MRV).

The only folks that are paying for this add-on will have to have at least the following:

One HD DVR plus and HD Receiver or HD DVR
HD Access
DVR Access
the desire for MRV.

Folks that don't meet that criteria simply have no need for MRV at all (SD Only R22s excepted). The fee is also optional. You don't have to pay it. If $3/month is too much for you (need or principle), then don't get it. MRV is not going to be right for everyone.


----------



## rakstr

Doug Brott said:


> Clearly DIRECTV wants to monetize MRV .. They could have simply added another $3/month to the DVR fee this past February. We would have all screamed about it for a while but eventually paid and the whole nickle & dime talk wouldn't exists. If you want to say DIRECTV could have been nicer about that aspect, then perhaps it could have only been $1 or $2 instead of the $3/month.
> 
> In that scenario, everyone would be paying for MRV .. including those folks with no DVR that supports MRV and those folks with a single DVR (no use for MRV).
> 
> The only folks that are paying for this add-on will have to have at least the following:
> 
> One HD DVR plus and HD Receiver or HD DVR
> HD Access
> DVR Access
> the desire for MRV.
> 
> Folks that don't meet that criteria simply have no need for MRV at all (SD Only R22s excepted). The fee is also optional. You don't have to pay it. If $3/month is too much for you (need or principle), then don't get it. MRV is not going to be right for everyone.


You seem a bit sensitive to any kind of comment that suggest this feature should be included in the "Plus" packages. You repeatedly say that if you don't want it, don't pay for it. I/we get that. I thought the purpose of these forums were to exchange opinions, not get chided for disagreeing with the plan of record. I think those of us that already subscribe to the "premium" DVR service should get it as is, not ala carte. As I've said before, it's an opinion. Just my two cents and it's not worth an argument


----------



## Doug Brott

rakstr said:


> You seem a bit sensitive to any kind of comment that suggest this feature should be included in the "Plus" packages. You repeatedly say that if you don't want it, don't pay for it. I/we get that. I thought the purpose of these forums were to exchange opinions, not get chided for disagreeing with the plan of record. I think those of us that already subscribe to the "premium" DVR service should get it as is, not ala carte. As I've said before, it's an opinion. Just my two cents and it's not worth an argument


well, I would like to get it free too, BTW ...


----------



## hdtvfan0001

Doug Brott said:


> well, I would like to get it free too, BTW ...


I surely don't want to add another $3 on my bill either.

But I will end up paying it, because the viewers in my household feel it is worth the added convenience of having that capability.

It's a personal decision - there is no right or wrong.


----------



## Rakul

As much as I want this for free I'm actually going to see a net $2 reduction in my bill since there is no need to have 2 HR20's in the living room anymore so while I will be paying the $3 I get to lose that $5 charge. All good for me, though for each his own.


----------



## thekochs

Simply put for me....the MRV in its "current state" is not feature rich enough to pay $3 for....if however, they had remote DVR scheduling, unified playlist control, remote DVR TO-DO or Series Link lists, etc. then there is enough meat in the thing to be justified. I think the disconnect is that it costs DirectTV money to have developed this and the hardware to support so they feel they can/should charge for it....but I think the point that they are missing is that simple playback as it sits IMHO is not worth $3/month....I really don't think MRV is ready for primetime but I'm guessing the marketing folks are pushing to get it on the street. Frankly, I was kinda shocked it is out of BETA so soon...still creeps along..not terribly responsive like native control....so fairly feature poor and performance is "so-so". Also, don't forget it's not just $3/month if you amoritize the $99+$49 DECA installation cost into say a year then DirecTV is really asking for *~$13*/month...not $3.

Don't get me wrong, I know like most on this Forum I am the very, very small minority but how many of DirecTV's ideas and debug come from the folks here ? I get the fact they are appealing to folks with several HD settops and one DVR but it just appears to me in the rush to get this out and compete with MOCA they are forgoing making a broader appeal and one that could easily justify $3/month.

My two cents...but not my $3-to-$13.


----------



## Doug Brott

I still don't get why you want management over viewing programs since clearly you find "worth" in management than in watching the programs your managing. I spend time watching TV and not watching the menus.

That being said, if you still think that MRV is not working well, I have to wonder if your home network just isn't performing as well as is necessary. Sure, DECA is not a for-free option, but MRV works great over DECA.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

I just want to choose which DVRs appear in my Playlist. That would be enough for me. If I could do that I might consider the $3.

Mike


----------



## wingrider01

thekochs said:


> Simply put for me....the MRV in its "current state" is not feature rich enough to pay $3 for....if however, they had remote DVR scheduling, unified playlist control, remote DVR TO-DO or Series Link lists, etc. then there is enough meat in the thing to be justified. I think the disconnect is that it costs DirectTV money to have developed this and the hardware to support so they feel they can/should charge for it....but I think the point that they are missing is that simple playback as it sits IMHO is not worth $3/month....I really don't think MRV is ready for primetime but I'm guessing the marketing folks are pushing to get it on the street. Frankly, I was kinda shocked it is out of BETA so soon...still creeps along..not terribly responsive like native control....so fairly feature poor and performance is "so-so". Also, don't forget it's not just $3/month if you amoritize the $99+$49 DECA installation cost into say a year then DirecTV is really asking for *~$13*/month...not $3.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I know like most on this Forum I am the very, very small minority but how many of DirecTV's ideas and debug come from the folks here ? I get the fact they are appealing to folks with several HD settops and one DVR but it just appears to me in the rush to get this out and compete with MOCA they are forgoing making a broader appeal and one that could easily justify $3/month.
> 
> My two cents...but not my $3-to-$13.


little confused about the remote scheduling comment, don't use MRV at the moment but I am able to remote schedule a program to any one of my HR2X units now, either through the web interface or the cell phone interface, are you claiming that this feature will no long be available if you turn on MRV?

Or maybe we just differ in opinion as to what remote scheduling really is - to me it is the ability to remotely setup a recording - at that point my definition of remote is when you are out of the house and no where near the units. trying to do it from any location inside the house is just, never mind


----------



## Syzygy

wingrider01 said:


> ... opinion as to what remote scheduling really is - to me it is the ability to remotely setup a recording - at that point my definition of remote is when you are out of the house and no where near the units. trying to do it from any location inside the house is just, never mind


... what's the word I was looking for? Oh, yeah, "convenient."

Also, remote scheduling should IMO include cancelling a remote recording and manipulating SLs in a remote Prioritizer.


----------



## joed32

wingrider01 said:


> little confused about the remote scheduling comment, don't use MRV at the moment but I am able to remote schedule a program to any one of my HR2X units now, either through the web interface or the cell phone interface, are you claiming that this feature will no long be available if you turn on MRV?
> 
> Or maybe we just differ in opinion as to what remote scheduling really is - to me it is the ability to remotely setup a recording - at that point my definition of remote is when you are out of the house and no where near the units. trying to do it from any location inside the house is just, never mind


Right, it's a definition thing. In relation to MRV we are talking about being able to use DVR A to schedule a recording on DVR B.


----------



## Doug Brott

I don't think we've seen the last feature related to MRV ...


----------



## slimoli

thekochs said:


> performance is "so-so". .


Since last national release, performance is excellent if you have a decent network (wired or DECA). If your performance is "so-so" is because your network is not up to the job. I have 4 receivers with a wired network and never had a single glitch. I watch 80 % of the programs using MRV.


----------



## thekochs

Doug Brott said:


> I still don't get why you want management over viewing programs since clearly you find "worth" in management than in watching the programs your managing. I spend time watching TV and not watching the menus.


I think it is fairly simple concept and expecation to manage what you are viewing. DirecTV has put a ton of effort on the "management" function of their DVRs over the years...this for is evidence of that desire and need and they've dome well to develop features that make the DVR function worth using and paying for. With the parallel to MVR which is a network function they basically have given you playback....that's it...no management functions that would be expected in my mind as a paid feature. I'm a fan of MVR but on my mind it is feature poor and still a Beta level product....in regards what I'd expect to pay $13 a month for.


----------



## kevinturcotte

slimoli said:


> Since last national release, performance is excellent if you have a decent network (wired or DECA). If your performance is "so-so" is because your network is not up to the job. I have 4 receivers with a wired network and never had a single glitch. I watch 80 % of the programs using MRV.


If you're running wireless (Not sure if you are or not), or even mixed wired/wireless, expect a performance hit. Granted, there are *SOME* wireless networks out there that may perform almost as well as wired, but for the majority, wireless is just never going to perform as well as wired, or DECA.


----------



## rakstr

slimoli said:


> Since last national release, performance is excellent if you have a decent network (wired or DECA). If your performance is "so-so" is because your network is not up to the job. I have 4 receivers with a wired network and never had a single glitch. I watch 80 % of the programs using MRV.


What receivers/endpoints do you use? My network (wired Gb with ASUS RT-N16) IS up to snuff and even when I isolate just the two devices (HR21-700's) with nothing else there is periodic disruption. Lot of other factors in play like disk activity, CPU in the device, ............... For me the bottom line is the receivers are just too underpowered to do a lot of multitasking. I know I'm repeating this but I believe the feature should be in the DVR Plus package as we've already paid for the receiver, DTV limited our storage and won't let us upgrade easily (wo/buying new equipment and a long term lease), we already pay an extra receiver fee, ........


----------



## Doug Brott

thekochs said:


> I think it is fairly simple concept and expecation to manage what you are viewing. DirecTV has put a ton of effort on the "management" function of their DVRs over the years...this for is evidence of that desire and need and they've dome well to develop features that make the DVR function worth using and paying for. With the parallel to MVR which is a network function they basically have given you playback....that's it...no management functions that would be expected in my mind as a paid feature. I'm a fan of MVR but on my mind it is feature poor and still a Beta level product....in regards what I'd expect to pay $13 a month for.


No, I understand wanting remote management .. That's not my point .. I don't understand how management (looking at menus) is more important than shows (watching TV).

As for thinking it's Beta Level .. Is that because of the lack of remote management or because it doesn't work well for you. If it's not working well for you, it may be your network setup. I find the quality to be excellent and often don't even realize that I'm watching a show remotely.


----------



## joed32

Why would it cost you $13 per month?


----------



## thekochs

joed32 said:


> Why would it cost you $13 per month?


The DECA installation amoritized over a year + $3/month makes it ~$13. I understand the other is one-time but you need to look at the real cost...you don't need DECA for any other feature so my point is that the cost of this is not just $3.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

thekochs said:


> The DECA installation amoritized over a year + $3/month makes it ~$13. I understand the other is one-time but you need to look at the real cost...you don't need DECA for any other feature so my point is that the cost of this is not just $3.


[strike]Isn't a DECA install $99?[/strike]

Wait I see (99+49+36)/12=15.33....sorry I wasn't thinking clearly. :grin:

Mike


----------



## thekochs

Doug Brott said:


> No, I understand wanting remote management .. That's not my point .. I don't understand how management (looking at menus) is more important than shows (watching TV).
> 
> As for thinking it's Beta Level .. Is that because of the lack of remote management or because it doesn't work well for you. If it's not working well for you, it may be your network setup. I find the quality to be excellent and often don't even realize that I'm watching a show remotely.


I can live with the performance....I have a subnet that is GigE that my three settops bolt to and nothing else on it except them...so not network....plenty of bandwidth. The only real performance issue is the trick play is still slower than local STB...you can see this most notably when the DELETE pops-up at the end of the show. I do agree the playback is fine....but while DirecTV's latest firmware is much better there still is a difference. For the sake of this discussion lets assume that I'd either live with any performance delta of my GiGe network vs DECA or even pay for the DECA. My point is that the "feature" ability of MRV is plainly too limited IMHO....playback only. To your point....about menus vs playback....would you really use the DVR if it was basically a VCR type playback ?....I'll almost guarantee the answer would be no...not acceptable....to DirecTV's credit it is the management of the playback and organization features that bring the value...DVR vs. VCR. Hence, my point to MRV....it's nice and all but without the supporting features I'm really wondering what the charge is for other than DirecTV has made an initial investment....well so does every company trying to get/keep customers. My viewpoint as a consumer is that I pay for the value of the product....so on record I'd pay the $3 but not for the level of features MRV has now....to me seems like a BETA product that DirecTV is rushing to market to compete with MOCA rather than a nice robust solution that is more in line with the efforts they've done on the DVR. As an avid longtime DBSTalk member I'm just dissapointed...of course as I admitted above the folks like me/you on this forum are the minority to DirecTV users to the average homeowner may/will think it is super.

Just my two cents....I like their effort....just think it falls short and would still class as BETA level featured product. I just won't pay for *BETA*.....I did that in the 80s and got burned by VHS. !rolling ...I know boo...bad joke..coudln't resist.


----------



## thekochs

MicroBeta said:


> [strike]Isn't a DECA install $99?[/strike]
> 
> Wait I see (99+49+36)/12=15.33....sorry I wasn't thinking clearly. :grin:
> 
> Mike


Your right.....$13, $15....$155....one "billion".....heck maybe it can be covered under the new Oboma-care balloon. This new government math confuses me.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

I suspect that in the future there may be some wiggle room in the $99/$49 charges. That would have an effect on the overall cost. 

Mike


----------



## slimoli

rakstr said:


> What receivers/endpoints do you use? My network (wired Gb with ASUS RT-N16) IS up to snuff and even when I isolate just the two devices (HR21-700's) with nothing else there is periodic disruption. Lot of other factors in play like disk activity, CPU in the device, ............... For me the bottom line is the receivers are just too underpowered to do a lot of multitasking. I know I'm repeating this but I believe the feature should be in the DVR Plus package as we've already paid for the receiver, DTV limited our storage and won't let us upgrade easily (wo/buying new equipment and a long term lease), we already pay an extra receiver fee, ........


I have a very simple setup: 3 HR22-100 and 1 H21-200 hardwired to a Ethernet switch which is hardwired to my U-Verse router/gateway. After the MPEG4 problem was fixed (the current NR has it fixed), not a single dropout watching basicaly only HD in MVR. Very often, my wife is watching a separate program also using MRV. Before the MPEG4 bug was fixed I was about to give up on MRV but now it's perfect performance-wise.

I do expect MRS (multiple room scheduling) soon or whatever name they give to allow remote management of todo list and serial links. MRV will be well worthy the 3 bucks then.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

slimoli said:


> I have a very simple setup: 3 HR22-100 and 1 H21-200 hardwired to a Ethernet switch which is hardwired to my U-Verse router/gateway. After the MPEG4 problem was fixed (the current NR has it fixed), not a single dropout watching basicaly only HD in MVR. Very often, my wife is watching a separate program also using MRV. Before the MPEG4 bug was fixed I was about to give up on MRV but now it's perfect performance-wise.
> 
> I do expect MRS (multiple room scheduling) soon or whatever name they give to allow remote management of todo list and serial links. MRV will be well worthy the 3 bucks then.


You can schedule from an H2x to a DVR, just not from one HR to another.

Mike


----------



## slimoli

MicroBeta said:


> You can schedule from an H2x to a DVR, just not from one HR to another.
> 
> Mike


I know. I just want the same feature on the HRs.


----------



## Doug Brott

thekochs said:


> Just my two cents....I like their effort....just think it falls short ...


OK, I think I fully understand your position you. When you call it 'Beta' you are simply saying it's not feature rich enough for you. I'm sure there will be adjustments.

Keep in mind, though that this is Multi-Room Viewing .. The feature you want is Remote Management. I suspect that if DIRECTV ever does enable Remote Management that it will fall under the same MRV fee .. meaning that if you don't subscribe to MRV, you wouldn't have either MRV or Remote Management.

As for managing the system .. I rarely look at the To Do list or History .. I just let the DVR do it's thing. I look at the Series Link manager from time to time, but not often. I don't mind going to the other room .. but then again, I have a pretty small house. If it were a really big house, that might bother me more. Still, it's very infrequent.

What I do look at often is My Playlist. That is available with MRV now. Yes, it's unified, but I like having everything listed .. the unified playlist works well for me because I tend to record things where there is capacity available and just watch the recordings from the list.

I definitely consider MRV (in its current state) to be one of the best features of the HR2x. I'd love for it to be free, but I have no problem paying DIRECTV $3/month now that I know that is what they are charging.


----------



## Syzygy

Doug Brott said:


> I don't mind going to the other room .. but then again, I have a pretty small house. If it were a really big house, that might bother me more. Still, it's very infrequent...


I'd have to trek up and down the stairs, and my 73-year-old legs don't work as well as they should. (Side effects of having taken statins, ill-advisedly, to fight cholesterol.)


----------



## thekochs

Doug Brott said:


> OK, I think I fully understand your position you. When you call it 'Beta' you are simply saying it's not feature rich enough for you. I'm sure there will be adjustments.


Yes.



Doug Brott said:


> Keep in mind, though that this is Multi-Room Viewing .. The feature you want is Remote Management. I suspect that if DIRECTV ever does enable Remote Management that it will fall under the same MRV fee .. meaning that if you don't subscribe to MRV, you wouldn't have either MRV or Remote Management.


Agreed....any this is what I'd pay for....I think it should be there already. After all it "is" for non-DVRs to DVRs....why not DVRs to DVRs ?



Doug Brott said:


> As for managing the system .. I rarely look at the To Do list or History .. I just let the DVR do it's thing. I look at the Series Link manager from time to time, but not often. I don't mind going to the other room .. but then again, I have a pretty small house. If it were a really big house, that might bother me more. Still, it's very infrequent.
> What I do look at often is My Playlist. That is available with MRV now. Yes, it's unified, but I like having everything listed .. the unified playlist works well for me because I tend to record things where there is capacity available and just watch the recordings from the list.


I use Playlist too and like that it is unified....but how on earth do you know what space is available where without going to every room and logging how much space is on each DVR and managing that dynamic info ?...PITA. Also, besides space the feature should also be to extend MPEG encoders. Example, in Guide or Search you go to record a show and .... ooopps ...already two conflicts at that time. So, you cancel out of that request and go to other room and find which DVR has best space and program there ?...or as it should be a message comes up as part of the conflict list options and a drop-down to select which MRV DVR you wish to assign this to....would be cool if it showed next to the MRV DVR name the percent space of the DVRs. You know the info is there and with all the hoop-la about DECA bandwidth the small traffic across the network to accomplish this would be zilch.



Doug Brott said:


> I definitely consider MRV (in its current state) to be one of the best features of the HR2x. I'd love for it to be free, but I have no problem paying DIRECTV $3/month now that I know that is what they are charging.


It has the potential for sure....won't argue that nor even the $3...but with the features I listed versus what I'll call "just playback" seems aweful basic to me...and to charge for...geeze. So, my only point would be these extra features IMHO put this in a class more in line with the other DVR "management" software of the box. After all, as we said before...we could be doing playback on a VCR but we buy/pay for these DVRs...why, because of the management features.


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## dtvmike1652

Luck255 said:


> So I was calling today to add the March Madness package and asked how much MRV would be after a short search the agent responded with $3. Seems reasonable, I'm not really interested in it personally but $3 doesn't sound terrible.


No it's not bad at all considering UVERSE is $8, FIOS is $4, and DISH is $0 but their DVR controls 2 rooms and you pay $7-$17 a month for each dual receiver.


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## dtvmike1652

MicroBeta said:


> I just want to choose which DVRs appear in my Playlist. That would be enough for me. If I could do that I might consider the $3.
> 
> Mike


You can any DVR hooked up to the MRV will populate and you can watch what's on that DVR.


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## dsw2112

MicroBeta said:


> I just want to choose which DVRs appear in my Playlist. That would be enough for me. If I could do that I might consider the $3.
> 
> Mike





dtvmike1652 said:


> You can any DVR hooked up to the MRV will populate and you can watch what's on that DVR.


I think MicroBeta is referring to the fact that he can't select which particular DVR's he wants/doesn't want in a particular playlist. Not everyone wants all networked DVR's to show in the playlist at all times...


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