Bell TV exchanging old HD receivers.

[Hilch]

One thing that sucks is that if the receiver is not on your account they will not replace it. I had taken a 9200 off my account when I moved into my new place with the hopes to hook it up when my renos were done in the garage, turns out it is just a very large paper weight now. It would have been nice to get a letter or email or something to tell me this was happening.

[Vulcan]

That's bad news Hilch.
Just for a future heads up there is usually no need to take a receiver off your account unless it is no longer working as we are allowed 6 receivers and there are no extra charges.

In good news I got my UHF remote kit that I had requested from Bell with my 6131. I thought I would have to call them back a few times. Good work Bell, I'm almost starting to trust you a bit.

On an aside, I got a phone call from Shaw today. I currently have Shaw extreme high speed internet and they are offering me TV and extreme speed for $39/mo for a year. A savings, I think of $18/mo. So unless it was a crank call I'll be getting a Shaw HD box to go along with my 3 or 4 Bell HD boxes. I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with it.

[Draug]

Originally Posted by Draug

I just used the Bell Chat to initiate my receiver exchange. I now have, in writing, that I'll be getting two 9242's to replace my two 9200's. Hopefully they come correctly.

Thanks again Vulcan.

And, in a big suprise, Bell screwed up.

They sent me a 9242 as a replacement, but they sent only one. They didnt send anything else to replace the other receiver..... sigh. I wonder how many tries it will take them to get the other receiver properly replaced.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Draug

And, in a big suprise, Bell screwed up.

They sent me a 9242 as a replacement, but they sent only one. They didnt send anything else to replace the other receiver..... sigh. I wonder how many tries it will take them to get the other receiver properly replaced.

Did you check the Bell site to see your hardware listing? It could be that the missing receiver is listed on your account but it's still in transit. Of course, if it's not, it's back to talking to Bell.

To find the receivers listed on your account, go to Bell, sign in and click on 'change my pin'. After that click on 'Manage My Account'.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by psicodude

I just called tonight and got a 9242, although the CSR girl told me they had less than 100 left. She told me they get them in shipments of a few hundred at a time, so they go pretty quick.

I think it should be mentioned that Bell is doing a really good job of handling this, IMO. I was literally on hold for zero seconds and the entire thing was hassle free. The CSR floated the idea of sending me a 9141 and a 5000 something, but when I said I don't want that junk she just laughed....sort of like she knew that I knew what the score was.

Yup, they screwed mine up as well. They sent me a 9241.

Sigh...

[Hilch]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

That's bad news Hilch.
Just for a future heads up there is usually no need to take a receiver off your account unless it is no longer working as we are allowed 6 receivers and there are no extra charges.

After posting I thought about it and I had actually never put that receiver on my account. Long story short I bought a 9200 just before the 9242 came out, they wouldn't let me return the 9200 so I bought a 9242 and left the 9200 off the account with the hopes of putting it else where when the renos were complete.

But it all worked out a CPer PM'd me and he told me what to do to get it fixed and they are replacing that 9200 with a 9242 at no extra cost. Now I guess the next thing will be if they send the right equipment, I was pretty adament that it was the 9242 not the 9241 so fingers are crossed.

I noticed they don't sell the 9242 on the website, are they producing them just for this swap or did they just have a huge abundance of them? Seems weird they wouldn't sell them anymore as most say this is the best receiver on the market with any company.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Hilch

I noticed they don't sell the 9242 on the website, are they producing them just for this swap or did they just have a huge abundance of them? Seems weird they wouldn't sell them anymore as most say this is the best receiver on the market with any company.

Not to start a war over it, but that was true a year+ ago before Shaw and Telus released new boxes. Now I doubt it is. The Bell box, which I use frequently, is not nearly as good feature wise compared to the Gateway System and the Optik TV system. The fact that you need to watch the same thing on both TVs is ridiculous plus you need to manually move things to the HDD expander.

Unless there is some other redeeming quality of the 9242 that I have missed, I cannot see a justification for it to be considered the best receiver any longer.

Don't get me wrong, it is still a good box and when it was released it was no doubt the best box you could get, but it is several years old in a market where both competitors have just leapfrogged it.

[Vulcan]

The fact that you need to watch the same thing on both TVs is ridiculous

That depends on how you set it up. In single mode you have PIP options and in dual mode you can watch separate programming on a second TV.

Don't get me wrong, it is still a good box and when it was released it was no doubt the best box you could get, but it is several years old in a market where both competitors have just leapfrogged it.

Could be and probably is true but I've become attached to it. Bell does have a new box (9252) in the wings but they've been testing it for a year or so with VIP customers and still haven't brought it to market, so I'm not sure when it will be offered to the general public.

Unless there is some other redeeming quality of the 9242 that I have missed, I cannot see a justification for it to be considered the best receiver any longer.

The other quality is that it has a third tuner, so you can watch and record OTA programming. One other thing is that it is very reliable and just works with few glitches.

From what I've heard the reason it was discontinued was so that there was less time CSRs had to take in dealing with a technically ignorant public in setting up the second TV,and don't forget the training Bell had to do with their technically ignorant CSRs.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

That depends on how you set it up. In single mode you have PIP options and in dual mode you can watch separate programming on a second TV.
...


The other quality is that it has a third tuner, so you can watch and record OTA programming. One other thing is that it is very reliable and just works with few glitches.

Amazing how the tech who installed my mom's didn't know about that one. Is switching to dual mode something that is easy to do? I know whenever there are any number of people at her house, there is always a disagreement with the kids not wanting to watch whatever I am.

Interesting to hear about the OTA tuner though, I might just have to test that next time I am at my mom's.

[Hilch]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Amazing how the tech who installed my mom's didn't know about that one. Is switching to dual mode something that is easy to do? I know whenever there are any number of people at her house, there is always a disagreement with the kids not wanting to watch whatever I am.

It is very easy to do, I can't remember off the top of my how to do it but it was just in the Menu options. Not surprised the tech didn't know about this as they know very little about the equipment. A tech was actually the reason I ended up with this extra 9200 because he told me it would work for the external hard drive, went and bought it but nope just the 9242.

And ya wasn't trying to start a war about which one was the best receiver. I just kept reading it was the "most powerful on the market" but maybe they were old articles.

Originally Posted by Vulcan

One other thing is that it is very reliable and just works with few glitches.

Speaking of reliability one of my 9242's the hard drive went in it, could I open up one of these 9200's and swap the hard drive out? Or are they different equipment? It works fine besides the PVR part of it but it's annoying watching like TV.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Amazing how the tech who installed my mom's didn't know about that one. Is switching to dual mode something that is easy to do? I know whenever there are any number of people at her house, there is always a disagreement with the kids not wanting to watch whatever I am.

Interesting to hear about the OTA tuner though, I might just have to test that next time I am at my mom's.

For dual mode, press menu, 6 for system set up and 2 for shared mode. From there you are on your own as I like my PIP and ability to swap tuners. For other TVs I have other receivers.

To set up the OTA tuner, you'll need some type of antennae than press menu, 6 for system set up, 9 for local channels and then scan.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Hilch

It is very easy to do, I can't remember off the top of my how to do it but it was just in the Menu options. Not surprised the tech didn't know about this as they know very little about the equipment. A tech was actually the reason I ended up with this extra 9200 because he told me it would work for the external hard drive, went and bought it but nope just the 9242.

And ya wasn't trying to start a war about which one was the best receiver. I just kept reading it was the "most powerful on the market" but maybe they were old articles.



Speaking of reliability one of my 9242's the hard drive went in it, could I open up one of these 9200's and swap the hard drive out? Or are they different equipment? It works fine besides the PVR part of it but it's annoying watching like TV.

Yeah, I've heard you can swap out the hard drives from the 9200. What I did was pick up a spare Hard drive from Newegg for $50 bucks. The thing is it is very hard to find a compatible hard drives for the Bell PVRs as they have to be an exact number match and they are no longer made. Go to Digital Home Canada for more info.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=58

The other thing you can do is subscribe to dish care and wait a couple of weeks and phone BEll telling them that your receiver has gone tits up. They will replace it for free. If you don't have dish care, Bell will replace your 9242 for $150.

[ken0042]

So did all of you guys get calls and or letters from Bell? Or did any of you call in? I haven't heard anything yet which is why I am wondering.

Also, did they indicate a timeline to have to return the old receiver? I know when they replaced a 9242 under warranty for me I only had 30 days to return it, and I missed the deadline and had to deal with being charged and then having the charge refunded. (Which did go well considering it was Bell.)

I'm just doing a 6100 to 6131 swap so I am not in a hurry; just with Christmas and everything I could see it taking me longer to get things done.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by ken0042

So did all of you guys get calls and or letters from Bell? Or did any of you call in? I haven't heard anything yet which is why I am wondering.

Also, did they indicate a timeline to have to return the old receiver? I know when they replaced a 9242 under warranty for me I only had 30 days to return it, and I missed the deadline and had to deal with being charged and then having the charge refunded. (Which did go well considering it was Bell.)

I'm just doing a 6100 to 6131 swap so I am not in a hurry; just with Christmas and everything I could see it taking me longer to get things done.

I phoned in and got my letter the same day I got my new 6131. I got my UHF kit a couple of weeks later. You have to request the kit if you want it.

They don't seem to want the old receivers back and suggest you dispose of them at a proper location. My 6100 still works but I don't know if and when they will deactivate it. If they don't it will still be good as a SD receiver and the 9200s will work as an OTA and SD PVR.

[Hilch]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Yeah, I've heard you can swap out the hard drives from the 9200. What I did was pick up a spare Hard drive from Newegg for $50 bucks. The thing is it is very hard to find a compatible hard drives for the Bell PVRs as they have to be an exact number match and they are no longer made. Go to Digital Home Canada for more info.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=58

The other thing you can do is subscribe to dish care and wait a couple of weeks and phone BEll telling them that your receiver has gone tits up. They will replace it for free. If you don't have dish care, Bell will replace your 9242 for $150.

Sorry but what do you mean by exact number match?

I already called them about the broken 9242 so I doubt I can get away with adding the Dish Care for that receiver. $150 really isn't that bad considering the regular price of these things. What would be a good price to buy a 9242 used or even new from someone?

[Hilch]

Originally Posted by ken0042

So did all of you guys get calls and or letters from Bell? Or did any of you call in? I haven't heard anything yet which is why I am wondering.

Also, did they indicate a timeline to have to return the old receiver? I know when they replaced a 9242 under warranty for me I only had 30 days to return it, and I missed the deadline and had to deal with being charged and then having the charge refunded. (Which did go well considering it was Bell.)

I'm just doing a 6100 to 6131 swap so I am not in a hurry; just with Christmas and everything I could see it taking me longer to get things done.

They told me that they sent out a letter with my invoice but I never got one. I just happened to be phoning in about the PVR not working on my 9242 when the rep told me about the swap going on with the 9200's. I was not pleased to find out about my one receiver not being elibiligle but glad it got sorted out. Bell had become more customer friendly in the past 2 years or so.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Hilch

Sorry but what do you mean by exact number match?

I already called them about the broken 9242 so I doubt I can get away with adding the Dish Care for that receiver. $150 really isn't that bad considering the regular price of these things. What would be a good price to buy a 9242 used or even new from someone?

Here is the current list of supported drives in the 9242:
Hitachi HDT722525DLAT80
Hitachi HCP725025GLA380
Hitachi HCP725025GLAT80
Hitachi HCP725032GLA380
Hitachi HCP725050GLA380
Hitachi HCS5C1032CLA382
Hitachi HCS5C1050CLA382
Hitachi HCS5C3225SLA380
Hitachi HCS5C3232SLA380
Hitachi HCS725025VLAT80
Hitachi HCS725032VLA380
Hitachi HCS725050VLA380
Hitachi HCT721010SLA360
Hitachi HCT721016SLA380
Hitachi HDS721616PLAT80
Hitachi HCS5C1010CLA382
Maxtor 4A250J0
Maxtor 4R120L0
Maxtor 4R160L0
Maxtor 5A250J0
Maxtor 6L120P0
Maxtor 6L160P0
Maxtor 6L250R0
Maxtor 6L250S0
Maxtor 6L320S0
Maxtor 7Y250M0
Maxtor 7Y250P0
SAMSUNG HA250JC
SAMSUNG HA500LJ
SAMSUNG HA501IJ
SAMSUNG HD502HI
SAMSUNG HD503HI
SAMSUNG HD105SI
SAMSUNG SP1243N
SAMSUNG SP1644N
SAMSUNG SV1203N
SAMSUNG SV1604E
Seagate ST31000335CS
Seagate ST3120025ACE
Seagate ST3120213ACE
Seagate ST3160022ACE
Seagate ST3160023AS
Seagate ST3160212ACE
Seagate ST3160215ACE
Seagate ST31000424CS
Seagate ST3250310CS
Seagate ST3250312CS
Seagate ST3250820ACE
Seagate ST3250820SCE
Seagate ST3250823ACE
Seagate ST3250823SCE
Seagate ST3320310CS
Seagate ST3320311CS
Seagate ST3320820SCE
Seagate ST3320832SCE
Seagate ST3500312CS
Seagate ST3500321CS
Seagate ST3500830SCE
WDC WD10EAVS-57
WDC WD1200JB-57REA0
WDC WD1600AAJB-57
WDC WD1600AVVS-57
WDC WD1600JB-57REA0
WDC WD2500AAJB-57
WDC WD2500AAJS-57
WDC WD2500AVVS-57
WDC WD2500JB-55GVA1
WDC WD2500JB-57GVA1
WDC WD2500JB-57GVC0
WDC WD2500JB-57REA0
WDC WD2500JD-55HBB1
WDC WD2500JD-57HBB1
WDC WD2500JD-57HBC0
WDC WD2500JS-57MHB1
WDC WD3200AAJS-57
WDC WD3200JS-57PDB0
WDC WD5000AAJS-57
WDC WD5000AAVS-57

They can't be close, they have to be an exact number match.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...=103462&page=4

I got the "Recertified" Seagate Pipeline HD ST3500312CS 500GB from Newegg a month or so ago. I paid about $50 for it and am keeping it for when the hard drive in my 9242 dies. Right now hard drives are way over priced so you may be better off swapping in the hard drive from an old 9200 or paying the $150 to Bell.

Used 9242s aren't cheap but can be found on ebay, kiji etc.

[Hilch]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Used 9242s aren't cheap but can be found on ebay, kiji etc.

Only reason I ask is because before this swap I was going to go to all streaming and downloading for my TV as I was getting tired of paying for when 99% of the things I watch can be found for free elsewhere. Was thinking of selling my 3-9200's and 1-9242 (before it crapped out) but now that I have 4-9242's, 3 which will be brand new I could sell them and buy a better computer to hook up to my TV. Just wasn't sure what a fair price is for them or if it's even worth it now.

[Pilsner12]

Took care of mine tonight online and was told that I would be receiving the 9242. Have a soft and hard copy of the conversation.

[Ryan Coke]

Ken, I called in before I got the letter. If they ask, just say yes you got it. And they don't want the old receiver back.

Also, I understand that the 9200 ( and I assume the 6100) won't work for even SD satellite, it will be taken off your account. The only thing you can do with it is use it to watch your old recordings, and as an OTA PVR. Too bad, I need an SD only PVR.