I want to go HD, and have an HD ready LCD TV in the coach. So,I decided to buy the HD DVR first, then later the Winegard 3005 all sat dish. This is when my problems started.

First, DTV would only send the new DVR out with an "upgrade person", and only to my permanent address. Seems they would only upgrade my account if they also installed a new dish on the "roof of my house", and we know that won't work on an RV. And, being some 1,000 miles from Livingston anyway, we finally decided I can buy one at Circuit City.

So that is what I did. I got the unit, installed it, activated it, only to have the picture go bad on me almost right away. I called DTV to report a DOA unit, they would send out a service guy with replacement.... but only to Livingston! I can't take it back to Circuit City, or exchange it there, as there is a "no return if activated" policy.

I then asked them to send a replacement to my address at 1000 Trails, they couldn't do that either as it had to be a permanent address. After almost 2 hours on the phone, and as far up the chain as I could go, we compromised on a unit being sent to a relative (with a fixed street address) where I will be in a week or so.

What a run around! Seems simple, just replace the DOA unit, I'm not asking for much, am I? Anyway, there has to be a better way. I'm researching how to improve satellite service and support for RVers, maybe we can set something up that would help those of us who are on the road full time.

John

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Johnontheroad,

Wow...while I got a no hassle replacement for my tuner...you message is a continuing theme from a lot of people. They just seem to go out of their way to be difficult. Their customer service is a joke. If you find one that speaks English.

Course DISH can be a pain in the keister too. But, nothing like the monster Directv has become.

It would be interesting to know if you have the "RV Waiver" on file with DTV.

The only reason for an RV Waiver is to receive DNS from NY and LA. It would have nothing to do with John's problem.

Direct TV has a web page (see below) for RV satellite TV. Hope this helps.

http://www.americansatellite.com/satellite-news-article.asp/Key/27

quote:

Originally posted by LindaH:
The only reason for an RV Waiver is to receive DNS from NY and LA. It would have nothing to do with John's problem.

Well, since he said, "First, DTV would only send the new DVR out with an "upgrade person", and only to my permanent address. Seems they would only upgrade my account if they also installed a new dish on the "roof of my house", and we know that won't work on an RV. And, being some 1,000 miles from Livingston anyway, we finally decided I can buy one at Circuit City."

With an RV Waiver in place they then should have known that it was on an RV. Also he never said they did'nt have DNS service.

I had my DirecTV receiver go bad while in Quartzsite AZ last winter and they sent a new one to the local Realtor as we were camped in the BLM. I think it helped that I had a DNS waver on file so I could prove that I lived fulltime in my RV and did not have a home address for them to send it to.

BTW: I just called and they do offer DNS in HD to people who have a waver on file but only the feeds for the east or west not both. Dependes on your billing address.

Not quite true, we got our DNS waver last Oct. and had no grief from them about HD and we have both east and west DNS with HD. We got our new DVR at about the same time and they came out and set it up on our tripod. Most installers could give a damn if you use a tripod, as ours said, we get paid for the install, if we blow it off because it isnt a perm install they lose the commission. If you do get a whiney installer send him packing and call again and ask for another, we had to do that once a few years ago. We have the 5LNB HD dish at the moment but when they get all the stuff shifted and the Sats consolidated and go back to a 3 LNB in the next year or so we will go back to a 3 LNB dish..

quote:

Originally posted by Exnavydiver:
when they get all the stuff shifted and the Sats consolidated and go back to a 3 LNB in the next year or so we will go back to a 3 LNB dish..

HUH?

Oldman...what you said

Directv has their programing spread over 5 sats. They are consolidating them onto I believe 3. The 5 LNB dish will eventualy go back to being a 3 LNB dish. They have launched several new birds the last two years and will be doing the shifting over the next year.

Directv has their programing spread over 5 sats. They are consolidating them onto I believe 3. The 5 LNB dish will eventually go back to being a 3 LNB dish. They have launched several new birds the last two years and will be doing the shifting over the next year.

Let me explain a little better, Directv has new birds in service, they are trying to shift from KU band to KA band for the HD and other services. probably because of more bandwidth. This info I got from the Datastorm site and several other Sat sites. Most of the new HD channels are on the new KA band birds.For now to receive the full line of channels for now you will need the 5 LNB slimline dish. This will last for the next 1 to 2 years, after that you will be able to use a single KU/KA LNB. So for now you are stuck with the 5 LNB dish if you want full HD service from Directv.

It would be easier to believe this if you could provide a a link to something credible other than a discussion board.

quote:

It would be easier to believe this if you could provide a a link to something credible other than a discussion board.

While that statement is true, I doubt you will find anything "official" put out by DTV on the topic. The "other" discussion boards are frequented by industry insiders, including DTV employees, so I tend to believe there is "some" truth behind some of the info from them. Plus, in this case, from a technical and business perspective, it actually makes sense, so I do tend to believe this one.....for what it's worth...