I gurantee you if we could all send a bill to DirecTV every fricken time we made these service calls the problems would disappear overnight.

That's not a bad idea. Maybe I'll start doing that.

Don't waste the stamp, unless it makes you feel better. At best, they will round-file it. At worst, your letter will end up as a target in the men's room. :-)

Actually, at worst you and your company will end up in a lawsuit claiming your bill is libel, and then your company is out of business because of the jugernaut satellite company. I've seen it a hundred times :)

*All preceding remarks are for the sole intention of humor. Any actual real life situations wich resemble the preceding is purely coincidental. In the actuallity of this event happening, blah, blah, blah.

EVERYBODY HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS!!!

Is there a model of HD DSS that is going to lock up less? We can sell our cleints a better receiver if it actually does work better. The LG's for instance are easier to integrate due to more discrete codes, but the lock up issue is one that clients can relate to and will pay extra to avoid.

Jason

We're having the same problems with Samsung Satellite receivers especially the SIR-TS360. We have been on the phone with Samsung and found out that this is a nationwide problem. Samsung says DirecTV made a change to their system, and ever since then their Satellite receivers have been locking up and require you to kill the power or hit the reset button. The SIR-TS160 doesn't have the reset button but the SIR-TS360 does.. Samsung says they have engineers working with DirecTV to fix the problem and will have an answer within the next few weeks.

Samsung gives you the "blah, blah, blah", and you buy that?

I have a TS-160 in my personal home, and it's a wonderful thing. Well, other than the fact that it cannot apparently pick up ALL of my off air HD channels, since they come from different directions (aim antenna array, do scan. re-aim antenna array, do scan, lose previous scanned channels). I gather that Samsung engineeers thought everyone would receive all their off air HD channels with one single scan? And of course, the fact that it locks up now and then, which requires a full channel scan each time....Well, there is that heat thing too.....lol

I also have a new HD10-250. Other than the "slower than molasses" guide menus, it's been operating great. No lock ups, ALL off air channels that I can receive (without a scan...my word).

I once had an issue with a Sammy DLP. The techs answer? "Our products are all plug and play. You must be mistaken about what's it's doing".

Easy way to get rid of #'s 8, 6, and 4 of AHEM's list....
HD Cable
I resisted, I hate cable as an institution, but when it comes down to the final issue...profitability...cable is the way to go now.
I have done quite a few HD TIVO's and yes that is the only advantage in my part of the country now.
I heard comcast will be introducing HD DVR's this year, why sat at that point?

1 reason...digital picture on every channel, no crappy locals etc.

Other than that no more ant. for local digital, easier distribution in large homes, no initial install that never pays for itself, no modulation, box is sitting there ready to go upon equip install (if you did your trim right)

Are the HD boxes solid....hell no they suck
But since you did not install the boxes, are not responsible for them, once you have diagnosed the problem to the cable box, no more onus. It is a hell of alot easier to be compensated for your trouble shooting and reinstall time when it is comcast's crap.

Just insure your customers DSS is just as bad, which it is, and remind them they did not have purchase a thousand dollar box.

I just installed one of the new Comcast Digital/HD/DVRS today.

Comcast is such a wonderful institution. 90% of the channels looked like complete garbage. The 2 or 3 HD channels didn't display a picture, but instead said "channel will be available momentarily" (for 30 minutes until I gave up).

The box has a power switch on it. Why, I have no clue.

Comcast isn't broadcasting any of the local channels in HD. Thus, they look crappy too.

Several channels were broadcasting only one of the two audio channels. I don't know about other areas of the country, but I find that this is a CONSTANT problem with Comcast.

Oh, and to top it all off, when my customer ordered the HD/DVR, he told Comcast that his system was installed by a specialist and therefore would like to pick up the the boxes himself. Comcast denied his request - telling him that these products had to be installed by them. That way, they could be sure that they were properly working.

When I got there, Comcast had sent not one, but two installers to the house to connect the boxes. They took one look at his two theater systems and decided that they couldn't handle the complexity of the system. Therefore, they did the old Channel Three approach (after yanking some of the cables that I'd installed and causing me more work).

What did we get from this experience? Well, the customer was charged a $30 fee (per box) for the Comcast experts to "professionally install" his system, and I was given an extra hour of work by them yanking the cables that I'd connected.

I'm guessing that after they left, they went to another subscribers house to F Up his system.

On the other hand, last night, I literrally had to SHOVEL A ROOF, and heat up four runs of RG-6 with a propane torch (in order to get it to be pliable enough to accept an F connector) to install a HD Directv system.

I did not intend to present the HD Cable option as perfect, just the best, currently, of two evils. (enough comma's?)

My situation allows it so I normally schedule myself onsite the day comcast will show up. Notice I said the "day", I wish I could schedule with my customers in six hour blocks....
Anyway pinning those guys down helps, remember your first glimpse at a real rack?
I will point out the distribution panel, provide a portable display for them to use, often the cable pro's cannot use my cable meter, and I clean up with amp, etc.
I completely dig where you are coming from though....
I feel every time an insulator, drywaller, or cabinetmaker shows up on site they should hand me fifty bucks, just cuz..
Here we do have local digital on comcast and a crappy OTA broadcast situation so cable works for that too.

Beside everything else, how did the HD DVR function?

GREAT!!!!!

I thought I was the only one getting constantly screwed by these fools.

I have gone through the effort to leave EVERYTHING for the Comcast guy including component cables hooked up, digital audio cable, RG6Q connected to wall and a power cord for the box. All zip tied to a note explaining everything is connected at the other ends - just connect to the box and switch TV to input xx. They can't even get that right. Boobs!

Yeah
The first thing the cable installers do is look for reasons why they can't do s***
I figure the time spent holding their hands still is less then the time spent installing a complete DSS.
And all the extra's.

And if they had boobs and not were even better.

I was reading through this thread and was wondering, what temp do you think is acceptable for home theater components. My equipment is in a mechanical room where the temp is a constant 80 degrees F, is this too warm?

Good accept for the fact that I couldn't view any HD channels.

The interface was similar to that of TIVOs. The only thing that annoyed me was the use of icons such as > on the onscreen display instead of saying things like "play".

Maybe I'm just nit picking.

Bill,

I wish some of my install were in a room that was constantly 80 degrees. I have one system that is in an equipment room that has fiberoptic lighting illuminators, furnaces, and the fans for a wine cellar cooler/dehumidifier. I would like to see that room drop down to 80 degrees for a five minute period. I don't think you should have any problem, as long as you give the equipment some breathing room.

Matt