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USMCRET · 05-07-2014, 03:21 PM

So we had DTV installed in our home earlier this week. We got the Genie and one client which is wired. I wanted the wireless, but that wasn't in the stars for some reason. No biggie.

I've been reading up on it and experimenting with its functions and now I have a few questions related to DTV and how it will work in my MH when I get around to installing it there.

Q1: What function does the internet connection perform? I know I won't get on-demand without it, but what else? If internet is out or otherwise unavailable, what do I get when I turn on the system?

Q2: Is 4G MIFI sufficient for this system, or must it be cable or wifi?

Q3: I have pretty much concluded that I must do away with the Winegard distribution box that came in my 9 year old MH? That's a statement, but I'm posing it as a question.

Q4: What exactly does the power inserter do, and why is it necessary? I assume I would not need it if my client box was wireless rather than wired?

So far, this is turning out to be a pretty cool system, and I almost feel like I've pulled myself out of the 90s with this upgrade over Comcast cable.

KiheiKen · 05-07-2014, 11:00 PM

I certainly hope someone can answer your questions. I'm just now purchasing a satellite dish for my DirecTV? I also want to install a new DVD player and LED TV but all the new stuff uses HDMI and the old Winegard box is coaxial. I was actually thinking of driving to Best Buy and speaking to their install guy for guidance. My issue is how to get all the interfaces between the Bose system, DVD player, TV, and satellite without the legacy Winegard.

KiheiKen
2003 Country Coach Allure
2008 Ford Edge

FlyingDiver · 05-08-2014, 02:23 AM

1. Authorization for whole home, on-demand, pay per view, other odds and ends. It'll work fine for most things without internet, for a while.

2. 4G Mifi is sufficient, but DirecTV won't admit that. Don't call customer service if you're currently on a cell connection.

3. The BOMB is pretty useless for HD satellite, but might still be useful for OTA. VCR, or DVD if you still use those.

4. The PI provides power to the LNB and the SWM switch that's integral to the LNB (or external to the LNB, in some cases). The receiver can't provide enough power for an SWM. You need the PI even if you don't have any clients.

pcurt23 · 05-08-2014, 07:16 AM

Q3. I made an amazing discovery while talking to Direct TV tech support last month. It seems that the original DVR receiver had both HDMI and Coax outputs. (new ones do not have coax output) Since I have one of those, I was able to connect the front TV with a HDMI cable and use the box to distribute SD tv to the rest of the coach. When I get the Traveler installed I will be able to get HD in the Living room and still distribute SD in the rest of the coach. I then bought one of these Next Generation Remote Control Extender and I can control the DVR from the other tvs. The Extender works ok but the battery life is short.

I think the best HD solution is to get the wireless genie with two clients. My problem with this solution is that the bill is getting too high for tv.

TVforMyRV · 05-08-2014, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcurt23

Q3. I made an amazing discovery while talking to Direct TV tech support last month. It seems that the original DVR receiver had both HDMI and Coax outputs. (new ones do not have coax output) Since I have one of those, I was able to connect the front TV with a HDMI cable and use the box to distribute SD tv to the rest of the coach. When I get the Traveler installed I will be able to get HD in the Living room and still distribute SD in the rest of the coach. I then bought one of these Next Generation Remote Control Extender and I can control the DVR from the other tvs. The Extender works ok but the battery life is short.

I think the best HD solution is to get the wireless genie with two clients. My problem with this solution is that the bill is getting too high for tv.

You can use wired Genie Clients in a coach by using the coax to connect the remote Clients to the SWM splitter. This gives you HD everywhere, access to your Genie recordings, and eliminated the need for remote control extender since you're controlling the Client locally. This does however, take away your ability to use the off air antenna with your "remote" TVs, since the coax is used exclusively for the DTV network.

docj · 05-08-2014, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by USMCRET

Q1: What function does the internet connection perform? I know I won't get on-demand without it, but what else? If internet is out or otherwise unavailable, what do I get when I turn on the system?

To clarify a previous answer, the internet connection is NOT used for On-Demand programming that is broadcast on a TV channel (pretty much new movies). It is used for the much larger collection of DirecTV Cinema titles that are also available as on-demand. Also things such as Pandora use the internet connection if it is available.

That being said the charges for pay-per-view selections are sent to DirecTV via the internet connection. Usually, your receiver is authorized to collect ~$20 of such charges if it can't bill them because there is no internet or phone connection (you can, of course also order them on your computer/phone instead). However, once you reach that limit it won't authorize any additional ones. When you next establish a connection it will bill all the stored selections.

Quote:

Originally Posted by USMCRET

Q2: Is 4G MIFI sufficient for this system, or must it be cable or wifi?

We use a Verizon 4G connection all the time for streaming using our Roku. In my experience it doesn't work as well with DirecTV because DTV does not utilize dynamic bandwidth control on its downloads (or it didn't the last time I checked). In simple language, on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon the bandwidth of the stream is altered to accommodate changes in your internet speed. Usually you will hardly notice if the picture is a little less "sharp". What this does is make it possible for the video stream to continue even if your connection slows down a bit. My experience with DirecTV is that they don't use this approach because they recommend you let the stream download to your DVR before watching. That means you may not get the satisfaction of watching a move immediately after you purchase it and may have to wait for the download to complete (or at least proceed for a while). With faster internet connections this is less of an issue.