HR23 to Genie on old system

We are sorry to hear you had issues with the HR23 boxes, @larry47. Checking, there is no need to run a new cable from the dish to the home. To confirm that we have dispatched the SWiM, we will send you a PM. Natalia, DIRECTV Community Specialist

@larry47 

An upgrade to a Genie is not self-install and should never be drop shipped. Only if it is warranty replacing an existing Genie should that be done. You are correct, unlike the prior boxes all Genies are SWM-only.

Call DirecTV and have them correct this by sending a tech. This 'should' not be any cost to you as was an order error.

HR23 to Genie is decent upgrade. Going from 2 to 5 tuners and 500GB to 1TB hard drive. Does require Whole Home DVR so you are adding $3 to your monthly bill.

@DIRECTVhelp @Juniper

My saga so far: DMing with support all morning, I could not convince them that my dish has no SWiM module. They say my account says it does and is working in spite of the fact that my system has never been connected to either a phone line or the internet and there is no way the system state can be read by directv. The account is wrong.

I told them that there are 4 coax coming out of the arm holding the LNBs and they go directly into my two HR23s in pairs. There is no SWiM box in the system.

Finally, they agreed to send a technician to install the equipment requiring a 24 month commitment. Oh well, I was dreading the hassle of switching to comcast.

DTV has never been able to troubleshoot the receivers or the system as sat service is one way even with being connected to a phone or internet. Having 4 coaxes from the dish doesn't always mean they are all in use as the SWM LNB only needs to use one coax but a SWM system needs a 21v power inserter to work and a SWM splitter to add additional receivers.  Make sure that the tech has an HR54 to install as the is the only Genie that will work with the HR23.

@shannon02

Thanks for the info. DTV shipped the unit to me and I just checked that it is an HR54

That model has the power inserter built in, though surprised they shipped it as usually the tech brings it.

All upgrades come with a 24 month agreement. Only a warranty replacement (like for like) doesn't come with a new agreement.

DirecTV's satellite service has always been one-way so they cannot see your setup remotely. Being connected to a phone line or internet didn't change that. Only thing those sent were PPV orders and anonymous viewing data (nothing that went to your account).

Why do you have both HDDVRs on the same TV? You are paying for a 2nd TV connection so why not have it on a 2nd TV as intended? Since the Genie is more capable like I mentioned, suggested it stays on the TV used the most of course.

@Juniper 
“Why do you have both HDDVRs on the same TV?’

To get 4 tuners and to act as his and hers programming. The tv system is 80inch with 7.1 sound, but still our only tv. Both machines are always full with programs we may never watch. The Genie by itself only equals the storage of the old two. Also, it is nice to have a little redundancy.

Regular HDDVRs and the Genie allow you to setup 2 custom favorites lists.

There is also the option of using an external hard drive if the internal is too small. Your HDDVRs support up to 2TB. The Genie has no known yet limit as people have used 12TB and more.

The Genie-2 has 7 tuners and 2TB internal. Does not support external drives as the eSATA port is no longer included. As long as you just need increased capability, but not separate storage drives, than this may be your optimal choice. Does not support other receivers so would swap both your boxes.

Either way you go be aware that recordings do not transfer from your existing boxes, so be caught up first before replaced.

Good to know about the 2 favorites lists. Once the existing recordings on the remaining HR23 are watched or deleted, we'll probably retire the unit.

You need to check your HR54 though. Newer versions don't have an ESATA port so you unfortunately can't add external drives.

@larry47 

Ahh they already shipped it (was hoping we could catch before that issue). If it is HR54 than you can use an external drive, but if HR54R1 (means revision 1) than the eSATA port is removed. The internal is disabled while the external is connected, so if you plan to use one I would suggest doing so from the start.

Adding the Genie will add $3 Whole Home DVR, which is required as it is DirecTV's Advanced Whole Home HDDVR. But once you deactivate the remaining HR23 that will remove the $7 additional TV fee.

Make sure you got the new style remote with the Genie. The RC7X series (Genie or "peanut" style) simplifies the design compared to the old RC6X series (white universal). It is intended just for the DirecTV box and TV set.

@Juniper @TexasBrit 

The model is HR54-700-R from Feb 22.

But regardless, I was not planning on adding an external drive. It does come with a peanut remote. Tech is coming tomorrow.

Received an email from DTV saying to recycle the old unit and not to return it. I am thinking of keeping it to watch some of the recorded programs but don't know if it allows that with no sat connection.

@larry47 

You should disconnect your HR23 from the satellite as well as Internet but not from power. Disconnect the coaxial cable so that when DIRECTV or the on-site technician goes to deactivate the HR23, it won't receive the 'kill' signal since it won't be connected to the satellite. That way, you'll still be authorized to watch DVR recordings on the hr23 for a short while until it wants to be reconnected to the satellite again for a reauthorization signal. However, this extra time will allow you to catch up on recordings