new install..

Option 1: Call DirecTV and order service. They schedule a tech which might be one of their contracted techs.

Option 2: Order equipment from Authorized Retailer (Solid Signal, Weaknees, etc.) and install it yourself. Or find your own "trusted" 3rd party to pay to do the work. This will all be at your own cost, no free standard install or equipment. Still 24 month agreement.

Regardless of initial install, that does not guarantee who might be sent to do repair work in the future if ever needed. As a customer we have no say in who DirecTV employees or is contracted with. Either they arrange the work or by DIY, or chosen 3rd party, you pay out of pocket for the work done. And remember if by your own DIY or chosen 3rd party something goes wrong, DirecTV will not be giving you a free service call to fix it.

Hi @tbill1, we'll be glad to have you. You're right, thanks for the information @Juniper. You can sign up by visiting our website at https://www.directv.com/ and get up to $625 in value. We're looking forward to having you. 💙

I am still unclear... Could a business that is not authorized possibly be used?

I am good with anyone else.  Would not DIY. Also, am I at an install disadvantage money wise if I order over the phone? I am not sure of what equipment I would need.

If order is placed with DirecTV itself, than regardless if 3rd party they are authorized techs as they have a contract with DirecTV. You can check the website for their current intro promotions, which usually includes Standard Install for up to 4 TVs.

You could use a non-authorized tech, but they cannot order or activate service for you. At the very least the boxes would be ordered from an Authorized 3rd party (possibly dish as well), and your chosen non-authorized tech does the work you pay them to do. Up to you to contact DirecTV to start the account, which is not expected to have intro promotions since you went another route on the work. This option can be very spendy.

You say the DirecTV dealer is not authorized, which is a contradiction. They cannot send orders to DirecTV without permission (being authorized). So they are either an authorized DirecTV 3rd party retailer or they aren't a DirecTV dealer. DirecTV through the company is over the phone or on their website. Anything ordered or purchased in-person is 3rd party.

Thanks for the info. It looks unlikely that I will make the switch, because they are advertising Directv and are not listed as an Authorized Dealer. Since you say they would still be considered an authorized tech, then it is likely they would be sent to my house to do the install. That is a non starter for me , as I can't take that chance.

They are advertising DirecTV but aren't authorized? That sounds sketchy, or the listing is out of date. Normally the dealer/seller (such as kiosks in other stores) and the techs (Mastec for example) should be separate entities.

Wish I could provide more clarity, but sounds like you have a unique situation beyond my scope. Perhaps someone else will chime in who could provide further guidance.

DTV residential customers are installed by DTV contractors/DTV techs there are no dealers.

Are you saying the DTV contractors/techs are solely DTV employees?

DTV techs are employed by DTV, contractors are approved by DTV.

It seems like I am back to my original worry....This 3rd party dealer has people working for him that have done installs of Satellite dishes (yelp reviews) So it is possible

that they could be approved contractors by DTV.

The only way to find out is to call or place the order on their website and see who shows up.

Thanks, but not a gamble I am willing to take.

Sounds like there is an issue beyond reviews (yelp, etc.) but something personal. With work done (new install or other) they don't have a way to pick and choose techs or to guarantee if they are DirecTV employed or any specific contracted tech company.

Discussing with corporate might be able to give you the assurances you need to address your worries, but it depends on the situation and your concerns with that dealer if a BBB complaint is the correct route.

Also since you are not sure about equipment, and I see an older post got a bit confused with equipment, let me see if I can give you a simple run down.

Genie-2 (HS17) is a Headless Server tower. It is what receives the service from the receiving dish by coax. It then delivers the service to the Mini Genie Clients which are the boxes on each TV. Think of this as the brain for all your little boxes.

The HS17 has 7 tuners and 2TB recording space to share with all your Clients. If you had any 4K Clients, up to two of them could be using a 4K channel at the same time.

The regular Genie line is a more traditional box as it goes on a TV itself. It has 5 tuners and 1TB space. As 2 tuners are reserved to it for the Picture in Picture (PiP) feature, only up to 3 Clients may be in use at one time. The 3rd generation (HR54) also supports 4K Clients, but only 1 using a 4K channel at a time.

Though side by side the Genie has less tuners and recording space, unlike the Genie-2 it supports other HDDVRs (and non-DVR receivers). A regular HDDVR (last model HR24) has 2 tuners and 500GB recording space itself. A Genie and 2 HDDVRs (so a 3 TV setup for example) is already at 9 total tuners which is higher than the hard max of the Genie-2, and with the same recording space.

Regardless if you have the Genie with HDDVRs mixed in or not, or the Genie-2 which only allows Clients, the monthly cost is the same. Regular Genie is more flexible and allows more capability for larger homes or power users, where the Genie-2 is a simpler all-in-one setup (plus allowing for two TVs using a 4K channel).

After AT&T acquired DirecTV, they pushed for Client-only setups (for both Genie and Genie-2). Now supposedly only the Genie-2 is available from DirecTV itself, though Authorized Retailers still have stock of earlier models for those that want the additional options. I hope now that AT&T has sold off all the TV services that the new owner will return to or innovate equipment that gives more freedom to the customer.

Traditionally intro offers include install and equipment for up to 4 TVs. Any boxes beyond the 4 TVs would be at their one-time lease cost ($99 per Mini Genie Client).

(Cost mentioned before about Genie to Genie-2 is if you got service and then decided to make that change before your account was eligible for a free "upgrade", which is typically after 24 months of active service with your account in good standing since your last upgrade/additional TV added.)

Sorry that wasn't too short, but I hope it was organized well to absorb the parts you need for future consideration. Anything you need clarified, or wasn't addressed, please ask.

Thank you for your detailed response.  I still don't know what's best for me. I do not have any 4k Tv's. I have 5 outlets where I need to be able to set a  recording or play back a recording from any room. I would prefer not to be internet dependent for my service to work-recordings going to the hard drive. I hate streaming or cloud versions of recordings. I am still interested, but because of the install problem, I would only switch if I have no choice. Comcast seems to be trending eliminating hard drive DVR's. When that happens, I am gone immediately. Based on the equipment you mentioned,  what would you recommend that would be best for my situation?