Directv HD setup
 

I just got my first HDTV (37" Vizio, nice set btw) and I'm thinking of moving from our old Directv box to Directv HD. Now I know I'm going to need a new dish (the 5lnb job) and the new HD20 receiver.

My question is: Should I just get the equipment through Directv and have the installer come and set it up or can I save a little money and buy the equipment myself and setup the hardware? Anyone have any experience with this? I have set up several mini dishes so I don't think I would have a problem with that (unless the HD setup is a lot different).

I recently made the swith to Dish-HD, so maybe my experience will apply. I had the installer do it and bought all the equipment through them for two reasons: 1-I was hesitant like you are as I had never messed with this HD stuff before and new very little what the process entailed and 2- I got a pretty good deal.

That being said, if I could have gotten the better deal doing it myself, I think I certainly could have. I was there for the whole shebang and it didn't look like the installer did anything all that special. I mean, certainly the equipment was different, but the process seemed the same. He changed the dish, ran new cables, replaced the receiver and with a few minor adjustments in the back with a pair of wrenches, I had HD programming.

[edit]I forgot to point out that my installation is a fairly simple one. Pre-existing mount, which isn't on the roof or hanging off the side of the building. Pre-existing holes both in the crawlspace below the house and through the floors.

I just did this too, and I never seriously considered doing it myself for several reasons. The first is that our house is 3 1/2 stories tall and getting on the roof is difficult and dangerous. I leave that stuff to professionals. The second is the equipment. I don't have the line testers to sort out the various signals, and the guys that did the job were up there for an hour finding the right lines.

Finally, this was a 6 hour job, and that's way too much time to be worth it for me.

Your experience may vary, though.

Depends on the price. Sitting on the roof, fiddling with the dish to get the best signal is a pain in the butt. Plus the pros do a better job of cabling and if anything goes wrong you can have them come back and fix it. Also go to someplace like monoprice.com and get a hdmi cable for about $5 and don't waste your money on a monster.

Thanks guys. Way ahead of ya on the cables. Already got 2 hdmi and 2 component cables through monoprice.com

I'll probably just go with the pro install after all. Hate to fall off the roof and miss all that HD goodness while in traction.