LaRue Medlin
In Memoriam 1955-2017
Anyone have it? They are offering me the free upgrade because of my 10 year of being a customer. Pro's.... Con's...... I have a week to decide.
Directv Genie
- Thread starter LaRue Medlin
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Andy Chase
Well-Known Member
I got the same upgrade offer. Only thing that i don't like about upgrading my DVR is that I lose everything on the old DVR. It'd be nice if they would let you transfer it.
LaRue,
I have the DirecTv whole-house Genie. The DVR receiver unit is in the living room, and I have a mini-Genie unit in the master bedroom. I have a Nyrius Aries NAVS500 wireless HD unit set up to broadcast the Main Genie to my office (don't have to pay DirecTV charge for another box. I also have both Genie units setup to use the RF remote mode, so I can use my Android phone or tablet PC App to control the main Genie in the living room...Works great.
I had DirecTV before, about 10-12 years ago when you had to buy your own receiver and dish. 3 years ago I bought a new house and had Time Warner Cable. DirecTV and the Genie are miles ahead of TWC. TWC was always going out when ever there was a storm or heavy rain (we have underground cables?) and it would take them hours or even days to fix it. I do get a little Rain Fade with DirecTV but it only last about 10-15 minutes and only during the hardest downpours. Odd, but I still have TWC Internet service and have hardly had any issues with it?? For both DirecTV and TWC Internet I am still paying less than what I paid to TWC for both HD TV and Internet. Now that I don't have TV going through the same cable as the Internet, my Internet speed is noticeably faster (25 mbps).
...Rich
I have the DirecTv whole-house Genie. The DVR receiver unit is in the living room, and I have a mini-Genie unit in the master bedroom. I have a Nyrius Aries NAVS500 wireless HD unit set up to broadcast the Main Genie to my office (don't have to pay DirecTV charge for another box. I also have both Genie units setup to use the RF remote mode, so I can use my Android phone or tablet PC App to control the main Genie in the living room...Works great.
I had DirecTV before, about 10-12 years ago when you had to buy your own receiver and dish. 3 years ago I bought a new house and had Time Warner Cable. DirecTV and the Genie are miles ahead of TWC. TWC was always going out when ever there was a storm or heavy rain (we have underground cables?) and it would take them hours or even days to fix it. I do get a little Rain Fade with DirecTV but it only last about 10-15 minutes and only during the hardest downpours. Odd, but I still have TWC Internet service and have hardly had any issues with it?? For both DirecTV and TWC Internet I am still paying less than what I paid to TWC for both HD TV and Internet. Now that I don't have TV going through the same cable as the Internet, my Internet speed is noticeably faster (25 mbps).
...Rich
LaRue Medlin
In Memoriam 1955-2017
Richard,, I read that there was a lot of software problems with it, but all I read was about 6 months old stuff. So you think it would be a good deal? It's hard to pass up free....
LaRue,
No software issues with mine....Mine was installed in February. The installer told me that if I ever thought that the system was acting funny or not functioning correctly, to just reboot the main DVR/Receiver.
I only had one issue with the Genie DVR/Receiver when I could not get some channels? I got a message that said I was not authorized to receive that channel??? I rebooted the Genie and everything worked perfectly. At that time, I was never shutting off the Genie...I just shut my TV off. I suspect that if the Genie is never shut off, it may not run any software updates?
Sometimes the mini-Genie in the bedroom will only show a blank screen when I turn it on. It does not have any reset/reboot button so I just disconnect the power cord at the back of the box and plug it right back in again...and it come back on in a few seconds and everything works fine....Kind of like rebooting a router:grin:
Shutting the Genie off is different than a complete reboot that may take 10 minutes or more. You can even program the Remote to turn on/off both the Genie and your TV at the same time. Since I have started shutting the Genie off when not watching TV I have not had any issues with it.
I have a wireless network in my house, so they installed a little WiFi box which takes the place of the old requirement to connect a phone line to the receiver (I am like a lot of people who don't even use land-line phones anymore)
I don't know how old your old DirecTV receiver is, but the Genie is light-years ahead of any of the DirecTV old systems and the top of the line HD cable box is not even in the same league with the Genie. My girlfriend in Dallas had Verizon's fiber optic TV service which was much better than the best cable system, it still could not do as much as the DirecTV Genie.
I suspect that people who claim their are software problems may not be shuting the Genie off or rebooting it periodically.....Perhaps their installer did not tell them that? The other possibility is that some software updates may be received via the WiFi connection, so it their Internet is off, or not working, they might be missing some updates.
When my system was installed I had two people here. One guy was from the contracted installer who installed the dish and cables. Later a guy came who said he was from DirecTV and he did all of the programming setup on the Genie.
...Rich
No software issues with mine....Mine was installed in February. The installer told me that if I ever thought that the system was acting funny or not functioning correctly, to just reboot the main DVR/Receiver.
I only had one issue with the Genie DVR/Receiver when I could not get some channels? I got a message that said I was not authorized to receive that channel??? I rebooted the Genie and everything worked perfectly. At that time, I was never shutting off the Genie...I just shut my TV off. I suspect that if the Genie is never shut off, it may not run any software updates?
Sometimes the mini-Genie in the bedroom will only show a blank screen when I turn it on. It does not have any reset/reboot button so I just disconnect the power cord at the back of the box and plug it right back in again...and it come back on in a few seconds and everything works fine....Kind of like rebooting a router:grin:
Shutting the Genie off is different than a complete reboot that may take 10 minutes or more. You can even program the Remote to turn on/off both the Genie and your TV at the same time. Since I have started shutting the Genie off when not watching TV I have not had any issues with it.
I have a wireless network in my house, so they installed a little WiFi box which takes the place of the old requirement to connect a phone line to the receiver (I am like a lot of people who don't even use land-line phones anymore)
I don't know how old your old DirecTV receiver is, but the Genie is light-years ahead of any of the DirecTV old systems and the top of the line HD cable box is not even in the same league with the Genie. My girlfriend in Dallas had Verizon's fiber optic TV service which was much better than the best cable system, it still could not do as much as the DirecTV Genie.
I suspect that people who claim their are software problems may not be shuting the Genie off or rebooting it periodically.....Perhaps their installer did not tell them that? The other possibility is that some software updates may be received via the WiFi connection, so it their Internet is off, or not working, they might be missing some updates.
When my system was installed I had two people here. One guy was from the contracted installer who installed the dish and cables. Later a guy came who said he was from DirecTV and he did all of the programming setup on the Genie.
...Rich
Jackson Ellis
Active Member
Richard L,
I have DirecTv whole-home DVR with two DVRs. I can view the contents of either DVR from any TV in the house. I can also record/erase shows from either DVR from any TV in the house. However, there are setbacks when watching on a TV without a DVR hooked directly to it. Rewind/fast forward are very choppy and kinda hard to use; I can't rewind live TV; I lose some functionality in the "info" and other tabs such as movie ratings, etc.
With Genie, do you have all the functions on all the TVs?
I have DirecTv whole-home DVR with two DVRs. I can view the contents of either DVR from any TV in the house. I can also record/erase shows from either DVR from any TV in the house. However, there are setbacks when watching on a TV without a DVR hooked directly to it. Rewind/fast forward are very choppy and kinda hard to use; I can't rewind live TV; I lose some functionality in the "info" and other tabs such as movie ratings, etc.
With Genie, do you have all the functions on all the TVs?
ncstatewolfpacker,
Yes, I have the Whole House DVR feature that allows you to recorde or watch recorded programs from up to 4 additional TV's with mini-Genies. The mini-Genie is a tiny Receiver (about 5" L, 3" W, 1" H) that communicates with the Main-DVR/Receiver to record or playback.
I have full control of the main Genie DVR/Receiver from my Mini-Genie in the bedroom. I can also control the Genie DVR/Remote from my Cellphone and Tablet PC using the Android DirecTV Remote Apps, but only when my phone is connected on my local wifi network.
There is also another DirecTV app that lets me watch some DirecTV programming on my tablet or cellphone as well as look up the Programming guide, read a synopsis of the program and set programs to record even when I am away from home, as long as I have a wifi Internet connection. I tried that from my friends house just for a test, and it worked perfectly.
I only have one remote tv in the bedroom connected with the mini-Genie. The TV in my office is connected using the Nirius Aries HD Wireless transmitter/receiver that transmits what ever is playing on the Main Genie DVR/Reciever to the receiver connected to my office tv. The Nirius Aries can also transmit Remote control signals, but I use my cellphone remote app to change channels on the Main Genie so I don't have to drag the remote from the living room to the office.
I understand the Genie, you can record up to 5 programs and the main Genie and mini-genies can be watch all different programs than are being recorded. You can also shut the Genie off, go to bed, and it will continue to record all scheduled programs.
...Rich
Yes, I have the Whole House DVR feature that allows you to recorde or watch recorded programs from up to 4 additional TV's with mini-Genies. The mini-Genie is a tiny Receiver (about 5" L, 3" W, 1" H) that communicates with the Main-DVR/Receiver to record or playback.
I have full control of the main Genie DVR/Receiver from my Mini-Genie in the bedroom. I can also control the Genie DVR/Remote from my Cellphone and Tablet PC using the Android DirecTV Remote Apps, but only when my phone is connected on my local wifi network.
There is also another DirecTV app that lets me watch some DirecTV programming on my tablet or cellphone as well as look up the Programming guide, read a synopsis of the program and set programs to record even when I am away from home, as long as I have a wifi Internet connection. I tried that from my friends house just for a test, and it worked perfectly.
I only have one remote tv in the bedroom connected with the mini-Genie. The TV in my office is connected using the Nirius Aries HD Wireless transmitter/receiver that transmits what ever is playing on the Main Genie DVR/Reciever to the receiver connected to my office tv. The Nirius Aries can also transmit Remote control signals, but I use my cellphone remote app to change channels on the Main Genie so I don't have to drag the remote from the living room to the office.
I understand the Genie, you can record up to 5 programs and the main Genie and mini-genies can be watch all different programs than are being recorded. You can also shut the Genie off, go to bed, and it will continue to record all scheduled programs.
...Rich
Last edited by a moderator:
Jackson Ellis
Active Member
Thanks.
