rcorretjer's profile

Tutor

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4 Messages

Monday, March 10th, 2014 7:06 PM

Wireless Receiver

I am a new (as of 1/18/2014) Uverse TV and Internet customer and so far have been very satisfied with the service. When I had my service installed, I only had the one TV in the living room, so there was no need to have a 2nd receiver.

 

I just got a TV for the bedroom and want to add a wireless receiver. I understand and am ok with the $8 a month fee for the 2nd receiver, but when I go online to add a 2nd receiver it wants to add a $49 one-time fee.

 

Is there any way to get a receiver by going to a store or online without having to pay this "junk" fee? Right now, I just move the receiver from the living room to the bedroom (long cable), but would like to have a receiver in the room.

 

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Official Solution

Expert

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10.1K Messages

10 years ago

rcorretjer - I believe the $49 fee cannot be waived. An alternative is a wired box, but I believe the install charge is even more.

You do have a unique situation in being able to route a cable to the other room.

Probably the least expensive is to plug the receiver into an extension cord. So, when you move it you do not have to restart it.

You could leave the receiver in the living room and wire that TV component. Then get a long HDMI wire to the bedroom. If you want two HDMI connections you can get an HDMI splitter. Sewell is a source for both the cable and the splatter - http://sewelldirect.com/Sewell-HDMI-1x2-Splitter-v13b.asp?ad_source=GoogleAdWords&ad_medium=PPC&ad_term=HDMI%20%2Bsplitter&ad_campaign=53983803&ad_group=2074889043&ad_network=search&ad_creative=7153161963&gclid=CKe_ir2ii6gCFUiK4AoduEbyCQ

But, you need to access the receiver with the remote. Is there line of sight? Or, one bounce off a mirror? Or, a better location for the receiver? Another possibility is an RF remote. One universal/RF remote for the receiver and two TVs as described below. These are available from Amazon and http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

The only speed bump I see would be if the two TVs use the same IR, any buttons would affect both TVs at the same time (one via IR & the other via RF)

With the loss of the Logitech Harmony Model 300 & the general malaise surrounding the Harmony Line of remotes, I started poking around the URC line of remotes to handle cases beyond the U-verse standard remote capabilities.. Here is what I found.

They have a couple of really inexpensive ones. But the reviews seem to indicate that they do NOT support U-verse. (looks like the RCA RCRP05BR is still first choice in the low price category).They, also, have very expensive models, that I would not consider.

The sweet spot is RF10 or RF20 - They have similar functionality and learning capability and price and RF capability and do support U-verse (per a reviewer).

The RF10 has a “shift “ button that nearly doubles the button availability as well as eight extra physical buttons. A button supports one function without pressing shift & another function immediately after the shift button is pressed.

The RF20 adds buttons with a screen (same as my Harmony 700) I find I only want to use the first screen, which is similar to the ”shift button” concept.

Maybe, you select the RF10 or RF20 based on whether you prefer the shift button or the LCD screen for added buttons.

The programming uses only the remote button pushing via codes or searching, similar to the U-verse remote or learning from the original remote (which is only available on the U-verse point anywhere remote). Some find it difficult to program, some do not.

A big adder is RF capability. It is probably a better choice (when the RF receiver is also purchased) than the U-verse point anywhere remote, in most cases.

It does NOT have pairing, (like the U-verse remote) so, you cannot have two separate RF systems for two u-verse STBs. If you happen to have a very close neighbor that has the same remote with U-verse, each would control both STBs.

Reviews seem to indicate both the RF and IR are very powerful. Some expressed concern about two remotes controlling two devices (due to both devices being “in range”). This limits it to one U-verse STB. The limit includes IR and RF because the remote always sends both RF and IR. If RF and IR could be turned off by device, it could control two STBs (one IR {visible} and one RF {hidden}).

The RF/IR converter does have a single large IR blaster and individual, paste-on blasters. But, the individual ones are NOT assignable to specific devices. If they were, it could control multiple u-verse STBs.

If it had either of these capabilities to control more than one of the same device (specifically - U-verse STBs), I would probably get one. If I could choose IR/RF by device, I could control a visible STB (via IR) and a hidden STB (via RF). If I could assign a tape-on blaster to a device button, then I could control two or more hidden STBs.

The eight extra buttons at the bottom are labeled as surround system. It always seems a struggle with the U-verse remote on how to handle the volume button. This allows for flexibility in having a button for TV volume & another for surround sound volume.

The remote is device oriented. It introduces the concept of “activity” by allowing controlling features on one device while another device is active. Similar to the U-verse remote, but I believe it is more specific/flexible. It , also, can turn on multiple devices with a single button press.

If you have a device with separate on/off IR (not toggle), the RF10 has the separate buttons to allow selection, based on that detail. This is powerful for when two devices get out of synch on start-up (Like the U-verse OK button).

If this writeup piques your interest in the URC RF remotes, be sure to read the reviews and questions in Amazon, as well as the user manual at the URC site to see if there are any speed bumps in the way of your needs. - http://www.universalremote.com/pdf/Manual_RF10.pdf

Note that this info was derived from Amazon postings and the URC user manuals. NOT personal experience with using a RF10 or RF20 remote.

ACE - Expert

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34.7K Messages

10 years ago

If you add a wireless reciever to an existing account there is a one-time fee that covers getting you the Reciever and the WAP that supports it.  I imagine that part of that fee covers the shipping and some of it covers their expected costs in supporting the install and part of it makes the investors happy.

 

Tutor

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4 Messages

10 years ago

I understand the shipping and I'm ok with fees/charges when they're reasonable. $49 does not seem a reasonable amount to get a receiver when there's no actual "work" being done. I understand if a technician had to come to my house, but charging $49 for me to do a self install is a "junk" fee in my book. Guess I will just move the living room receiver to the bedroom when I need to watch TV in there.

 

I guess my question is if I go to the AT&T store, do I still have to pay the $49 since no one is shipping anything to my home or installing anything at my home?

ACE - Expert

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34.7K Messages

10 years ago

I think part of the issue is that they will not let you self-install a non-wireless STB, so they get a truck-roll fee out of that installation.  So... they charge half a truck-roll fee to make the bean counters less unhappy about the lost upgrade revenue.

 

Just my guess.

 

Tutor

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4 Messages

10 years ago

Well, if a tech has to come to my home, then I can justify the fee. I was under the impression it was a self-install.

Tutor

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4 Messages

10 years ago

aviewer, thanks for the information. Very interesting indeed!

Contributor

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1 Message

7 years ago

I currently have the main TV wired with a 2nd TV wireless.  I need another wireless receiver for a third TV.  How do I get the receiver and what are the costs? 

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