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Need Help! DIRECTV Install

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by Honkytonk, Aug 28, 2012.

  1. Honkytonk

    Honkytonk New Member

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    Has anyone been told by a DIRECTV technician that cannot install the dish because of Open Band cables? I live in a townhouse off Village Drive and was recently told this after the tech arrived. He seemed a tad lazy and an was an extreme jerk so I'm not sure how enthused he was to be working. Has anyone else has a problem with this? He told me he'd have to rewire the entire home and it would cost several hundred dollars. Was I being scammed or has anyone had to have their home rewired...seems strange.
     
  2. Chsalas

    Chsalas Active Member

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    Was it a DIRECT TV subcontractor? They seem to install everywhere OB is located so I can't imagine that it would be any more different in your home.
     
  3. pauleyc

    pauleyc Member

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    I had no issues with the direct tv install. They ran a new wire into the NID (structured wiring box) and used the RG6 already in my walls. They would not use the openband splitter b/c the direct tv splitter is unique and has a port for power (for the dish LNBs). They typically use independent sub contractors. You will only see a direct tv employee (which is still a subcontractor) if you have a service issue.

    Sounds like you had a difficult install and the independent didn't want to do the work. They don't get much money for each install (which is why the service sucks) and they only get paid if you state in the follow up survey by directtv that everything is functioning properly. If a directtv employee has to come out after, they get docked like 50+% of the pay.
     
  4. joerig

    joerig New Member

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    I've had no issues at all, running through the RG6 and the regular coax...I'd call DirecTV directly, complain about him, threaten to get Dish installed and I'm sure they'll throw in some special offers....
     
  5. Charlie

    Charlie New Member

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    We had no issues, and if anything, the guy was happy that the house was pre-wired. All he had to do was run the wires from the dish to the wiring box and he could then hook up any room we wanted using the existing wires.
     
  6. hometheaterguy

    hometheaterguy New Member

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    Ya know, with those contractors... They'll hire anybody that can bolt four bolts down on a dish and twist a couple BNC connectors - and that is sometimes the extent of their training. I've met some satellite installers that genuinely didn't know that the RG6 inside your walls is the same as the RG6 on the spool in their trucks... Yes he could have been trying to BS you to get out of climbing on your roof - but he may just have been "coaxially-challenged". It takes all kinds to make the world go round, some folks need help spinning their cogs.
     
  7. PDILLM

    PDILLM Well-Known Member

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    I got Dish, but no issues with my install. We kept a one of the house drops Openband so we could use with our "free" box and old 1970s TV and made the rest of the house drops that we actually use with Dish.

    The only pushback we got was the guy was hesitant to get on our roof since it had just snowed the night before. I didn't push it because there was no way I'd get up there either, so we compromised on its current location.
     
  8. twohokies

    twohokies New Member

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    We are getting DirecTV installed at the moment....... the guy is still in the house. 2 tv's still have Openband on them and are working just fine. The guy did whatever he had to do to ensure that both wirings are working. I'd call DirecTV and get a new installer back out. The guy who was here was Said Fikar with Star Home Theater (authorized DirecTV installer) and he was really good. It took him 3 hours but now we are FREE FREE FREE from the OpenBand fleecing :).
     
  9. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Oh..you're still getting fleeced. You now have to pay for Openband services you don't use!!
     
  10. twohokies

    twohokies New Member

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    Yes, but I have the confidence that that will be taken care of very soon :). It's the extra costs we were paying for inferior products and services that I am glad to be done with. We are now paying less to DTV than we were to OB and have much better tv.
     
  11. PDILLM

    PDILLM Well-Known Member

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    How true! I may be paying for openband tv that I never use, but with Dish every moment I watch on my TV or use my DVR is trouble free! I have no idea what pixilation looks like or DVR issues look like! I can't wait to stop paying for the Openband video, but paying extra each month for a frustration free experience each month is well worth it!
     
  12. csurak

    csurak New Member

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    We had a similar problem a few years back. Because the house is wired for Open Band, you need a "diplexer". You can do a google search for one. They are pretty cheap. We bought it, but neither Direct tv nor Open Band would accept responsibility for installing it. They each said the other was responsible. In the end, I had a super nice Open Band Tech who installed it even though his supervisor told him not to.
     

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