how to create segmented networks for viewing recordings?

This requires Whole Home DVR. That is what DirecTV calls their Multi Room Viewing (MRV) setup. You can't manually turn on the feature, it is a subscribed service.

This requires at least one HDDVR (HR20 and up, but not THR22 as that is TiVO based), one HD non-DVR (H21 and up), and Whole Home DVR service. (assuming you have the old model of $10 HD and $10 DVR services, this adds just $3 to the monthly bill).

This connects through SWM. Because of the increased data transfer and the Genie lines having 5 tuners, they needed a more capable cable instead of an octopus setup.

Internet is not required for Whole Home. Being connected just means having access to On Demand, restart from beginning, signal saver, and ordering PPVs by remote.

Having two separate dishes is common for those with a 2nd building at same address (detached garage, guest house, etc.). Just means whatever box(es) on one dish cannot communicate with those on the other as they are separate SWM networks. Be aware if a separate address than it needs to be a different account in the first place.

The Genie is DirecTV's advanced Whole Home HDDVR. That means the feature is required (just like having an HD box means HD service is required). Without a Genie, Whole Home (so HDDVRs talking to each other) is optional.

Are all your boxes HR24s or do you have other models in the mix?

So right now I have 3 boxes on one network and 3 on another.  This uses internet and for the most part it works but the boxes disconnect from the internet and need to be restarted all the time.

If I segment them using my 2 dishes then it uses the SWM.

1) I need to pay for whole home which is a minor cost.  once I do that will all the boxes just start connecting via the SWM? And would this mean it would ignore they internet connection they have now to connect.  So then I wouldn really need to do anything?

2) Will it work better/worse than using the internet method? 

All my boxes are hr-24 or hr-22

I dont need Genie to do this correct? all the DVRs will still talk?

Thanks, @Juniper. @upperdeck , we also have a technical specialist ready to help check your equipment setup and set things straight. Sending you a DM now. John, DIRECTV Community Team

I'm not sure if they can just turn on the feature. Having this setup without a Genie was the early days of Whole Home. Required a full tech install.

It was never intended to work with the internet method. Since it will communicate directly through DirecTV's SWM cabling, it should work better as not having an additional point of failure for communication (rebooting router, etc.).

Whole Home does not require a Genie (as long as they haven't completely removed the option in the system), but a Genie requires Whole Home.

You could always consider replacing one box with the Genie. It is a 5 tuner HDDVR with a 1TB hard drive, compared to the 2 tuners and 500GB of each of your boxes. More capability and the end monthly cost is the same. Recordings do not transfer from the replaced box so be comfortably caught up first. Like any upgrade comes with a 24 month service agreement. The Genies do use the new style UI.

If you ever do look to get the Genie, a couple of notes. You are NOT required to replace boxes with Mini Genie Clients as long as you get the regular Genie (last model HR54) since it works with your existing models. Do NOT get the Genie-2 (HS17) as it only works with Clients.

Went down the route of calling tech support.. As usual they have no idea how things work.  it will be 3-4 weeks before they can come to my house. I asked about the Genie and they had no idea the genie-1 and the Genie-2 work differently.

They didnt know how it would work with 2 dishes.  They didnt know if i could start and stop whole-home. 

I asked if I could talk to actual tech support with real questions and they didnt have that option. 

They had no idea that the Genie (HR34, HR44, HR54 / HR54R1) and Genie-2 (HS17) work differently???? You got someone new, lazy to educate themselves on basic equipment, or were talking to a 3rd party partner of DirecTV instead of their direct support.

Regular Genie line functions as a traditional HDDVR (just a bit more advanced). This allows it to work with HDDVR since HR20 (including special R22 which is an HDDVR in hiding, but not THR22 as that is TiVO based) and HD non-DVR since H21.

The Genie-2 (HS17) is a Headless Server Tower. This means it sits by itself, not on a TV. It is a server only, not a regular HDDVR so cannot go on a TV. As such it wasn't built too work with anything but Clients (Mini Genie and Gemini).

With 2 dishes it just means you cannot view recordings between the two sets of boxes. They have to be physically connected (same cabling setup and dish). Clients have to be on the same setup as the main Genie, which is one of the reasons for you to stay away from the Genie-2 as it is impossible to have a multi-dish setup with that one.

This I fear is leftover issues since AT&T sold off DirecTV. They have always been big on all-in-one setups that aren't customer flexible/friendly and gives the company more control.

Though the Genie had been out long before AT&T, so a Whole Home setup without one is such a legacy setup that it is understandable many agents would be unfamiliar with that and to know if turning it on without the Genie could still be done or not.

Simplest solution (and possibly only if non-Genie Whole Home setups were grandfathered) would be to upgrade one box to Genie (keeping all other HDDVRs, not replacing with any clients). The 2nd dish install would be custom work, so plan for extra cost as standard install/upgrades only cover the home itself.

I already have 2 dishes working.    One seems to have a slight alignment issue or else some trees have grown up.  Channels starting to go out over the winter.  Dishes are on the same pole so who knows.  Their tech did the alignment. 

I asked if when the tech comes out if they would be able to set up the whole home and genie and they said probably. I asked how do i know he will come with the right genie and they didnt know. 

My plan was to put one genie on one dish and leave all the HD DVRs using it.  Then on the other dish just continue to use whole home ethernet version  on the other dish.

I asked if I could talk this thru with someone and they said no.  I said what if the tech who comes doenst know the answers?   I have not had good luck with a tech who comes out yet.  Several times they just left the equipment and I dealt with it.

So my question is if you turn on whole home but dont install a genie does that work? Do the DVRs talk using the SWM and remove the genie from the equation?

I guess I dont understand what is required from a tech for setup if all the equipment is in place. 

We apologize for your experience on the phone. Our specialists are fully trained to handle tech setups and are ready to help you get everything configured. Please check your DM, we've sent you one for further assistance. Charles, DIRECTV Community Team

Many of the issues go away if the devices just supported profiles.

The stream is such a terrible user experience I hope to never get forced down that route.

Our Satellite system is built on localized hardware that saves data directly to the box, so it fundamentally can't support separate user profiles or playlists. Because of those system limitations, we don't expect profiles to become available on Satellite receivers. We appreciate your honest feedback on how we can improve. Charles, DIRECTV Community Team

honestly.  think about it.  You already segregate shows on DVRs.  You already have playlists on DVRs.  one more field and you could separate the playlists/shows.   Of course it would require 10secs worth of programming to do it.  You could make it assigned when you set up a recording as a default.  You already have other options like start/stop time and how long to keep them. 

2 dishes on the same pole? That is unique. Alignment or tree issue, could go either way. Even might have some damage/failed part on the one dish. Tech will have to check, or there are some videos out there for you to try yourself if you're comfortable with a bit of DIY.

To setup the Genie it has to be an upgrade order, not a service call. If the order confirmation doesn't say anything about a Genie than it is not an equipment upgrade order.

They are two different lines of equipment so order confirmation will say Genie or Genie-2. What cannot be guaranteed is model number (i.e. HR44, HR54, or HR54R1). Unlikely they have any HR44s still available. The revised model (R1) is simply a cheaper casing with the functional difference there is no eSATA port for external hard drives.

Whole home shouldn't just start working, it has to be active on the account as it is a line item in their system. If you don't have that on your bill, by Whole Home DVR $3 or Advanced Receiver Services $25 (limited time they combined HD, DVR, Whole Home into one bill line item), it shouldn't have been working. But again, internet connected for sharing was not by design. They are a satellite company first and foremost, so internet connection has been their weak point. Though it is gaining focus with the streaming-only services.

DVRs talk through SWM, whether you have the Genie or not. The Genie is DirecTV's Advanced Whole Home HDDVR so was built for the service where earlier boxes were more adapted for it.

As a business some things require a tech to avoid customer DIY issues. They would prefer doing it by their design from the start instead of trying to fix when you get the type of customer "I've got this" and messes up big. So DIY means you get all equipment at your own cost through authorized 3rd parties, but Whole Home might be an exception where you can't just request it turned on because it wasn't approved for DIY. And agents cannot simply get around such overarching business decisions and policies as way above their level.

Remember forum support is an additional resource, but not guaranteed to be expert or high up programmers and techs. So some answers may be from what they've researched, not what they have worked on themselves. And depending on how exactly the boxes are programmed and their rules on how updates or other changes work, it may not take the 10 secs worth of programming you believe. I wouldn't make such a claim unless you have done the programming on that exact equipment yourself. Not saying it couldn't be easier than they imply, but with any business software the customer does not have direct knowledge on how their exact system works internally.

I am curious. You've mentioned the Genie but also doing this without one. Is there a concern you have with the Genie itself?

I want to be able to have my multiple boxes separated.

It works fine for me in that I have several boxes on one network at home and several others on another network. They dont see each other so all the recordings are segregated.  I just plug in the ethernet and go to the DVRs and tell them to share.

But the boxes often lose ethernet connection, its not such a huge problem because I so seldom use on demand because that functions so poorly anyway.  But having to reboot boxes every day so they see each other is a pain. 

If I go the genie root perhaps they dont disconnect daily , but I also don't want to lose the ability to keep the boxes from seeing each other.