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Bell TV 9400 Discussion Thread

542K views 990 replies 168 participants last post by  noah12 
#1 ·
The last few days with every install of a 9241 I've had Bell in their infinite (lack of) wisdom has started labeling the job info as a 9400 install. I've never seen nor even heard of a 9400 till then.

Anyone?
 
#2 · (Edited)
That model number was introduce into the DART system in error when Bell launched the 6400 model. To the very best of my knowledge the 9400 does not exist and will not exist it was merely a typo that someone made and as yet nobody has removed from the systems.

EDIT:

OK, I was wrong. Just had a confirmation that a 9400 is in the works. It is scheduled for an October Release but as yet I have no further information on it, other than it will be a Dual Tuner 2 Room solution. Maybe it will be a dumbed down version of the 9252 I posted about a long time ago or hopefully it is the 9252 just re-numbered......

I will post more as I get more details.
 
#3 ·
I remember it appeared in dart as a couple of flukes for a few days months ago when we still had the handhelds. Also I remember it wasn't interchangeable with 9241 to leave as is on the dart as 3100 and 4100 are.

I left it 9400 on dart exactly once and I couldn't get my 9241 to activate....all sorts of PITA. Now after being gone for months it's back with a vengeance on every single install of a 9241 we have. I just assume from that bad past experience and swap it to 9241.
 
#5 ·
monkeyhunk, you should be able to active a 9241 in the Dart as a 9400 now. I've been doing it for weeks with no problems.

I actually asked a CSR today if he knew what was up with the 9241s being coded as 9400s, seeing as how the 9400 doesn't even exist, and he kind of hesitated for a second and was like "well, there is, er, will.... uhhh... I don't know", which seemed kind of suspicious to me lol.
 
#7 ·
Hopefully this is true. They want to swap my 9200 with 2 receivers and I've been refusing.

They keep telling me they don't make a receiver that will work with 2 TVs anymore. I told them unless the swap is for something that will do what my current receiver does I'm not interested. :)
 
#8 ·
I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for the "9400" to be released before the 9200s are deactivated. The MPEG swap has been going on since October, at this point I'm sure that they just want to finish it and make the switch to MPEG4. Have you tried asking for a 9242?
 
#9 ·
You will end up with a couple of Boat anchors. Do the swap, sell BOTH 5900's and look around for a good used 9242 unless you can convince them to give you the 9242's you want.

As JoeLouie says this has been going a long time, and time is running out, get what you can while you can.
 
#10 ·
While this is off topic (my apologies), our plan would be to leave Bell if they won't supply us with something equivalent. We are fed up with their customer service (or lack of) when something goes wrong so this is just another nail in the coffin.

Our 9200 is a rental and it's over 5.5 years old. If they want it back, they can have it back. :) You would think they would have put their rental customers at the top of the list but that wasn't the case. We weren't "eligible" to swap the unit until we got our letter in July.

When I asked about a 9242 they said that they didn't have any more and that even if they did, it wouldn't support the 2 TVs anyway. At that point I told them to call us back when they have a single unit that would work for us.

I'm going to call and check on a "9400" and see what they say. We have nothing to lose as we are fully prepared to leave them. They've already lost cell, internet and are about to lose home phone so who knows. Getting rid of satellite with them would make us Bell free which does have a nice ring!
 
#11 ·
Until they officially announce a 9400 that CSRs aren't going to be able/allowed to tell you anything about it. Hell, they probably won't even know about it until 6 months after it's released lol.

By the sounds of it, you're either going to have to keep insisting that they give you a 9242, or you're going to have to leave Bell.
 
#14 ·
We don't know yet, it is still shrouded in mystery.

If I were to guess and that is all it is, I think it might have no Component Outputs (like the 6400) and still offer TV2 via Coax in SD. It should have a larger Internal Drive as well but as I say, this is nothing more than a guess.
 
#17 ·
46FD04, I don't think that would ever happen. You'd basically need the receiver to emulate/send the OTA signal to TV2, which I don't even know is possible, and if it is, I'm sure it's the last thing on Bell's to-do list lol. It would require TV2 to have an ATSC tuner, which most (all?) modern TVs have, but not everybody has a modern TV. The amount that it would cost to create this technology wouldn't be worth it unless they charged a fortune for the receiver, and even then they'd end up selling less 6400s.

I think that Pinza is probably on the right track. It will probably be an updated version of the 9242, with no component outputs (like the 6400), with TV2 via coax, a larger hard drive and the same guide/menus as the 6400. Nothing groundbreaking, but it sounds like it will be on par with the 9242, with a few extras.
 
#18 ·
kayden, the Dart is just the tool/application that the technicians use.

It's been a while, but I believe it stands for:
Dispatch
Activation
Repair
Tool

As for upgrading from your 9241, we don't know. As of right now the 9400 is still not officially announced by Bell. Up to this point everything is still unconfirmed rumours and assumptions. As soon as anything (semi)official is announced, I'm sure that you'll find out about it here first though.
 
#19 ·
Well, as "luck" would have it, Bell zapped all our receivers today so nothing would work. When we called they told us they would turn on the signal again once we accepted the 2 receivers to replace our 9200. I told them I was actually going to call them anyway to ask about the "9400" and, as predicted in here, they stated no such receiver exists or has ever existed. Not that I believe them over them fine folks in DH. :)

When I told them no dice on the 2 receivers for the 9200, they told me they wouldn't be able to re-enable our receivers. Apparently they were bluffing though because when I told them to cancel everything, they miraculously found a 9242 for us and re-enabled our receivers immediately. They are also sending a tech over for free to re-align our dish since we lose signal with even a moderate rain.
 
#26 ·
I'm sure it's possible, but will Bell ever do it? Who knows. I'd like to see an option to switch between the two options, but that will probably never happen.

A brand new 6400 out of the box has the same guide/menu as the 4100/6131/6141/9241/9242. It's the mandatory software update that changes it to the darker blue/black guide/menu.
 
#28 ·
9400

I was told point blank today that the 9400 (that was on order for me as a replacement for my faulty 9242) wont be available until October and WON'T have the capacity for two tv's.
I had to cancel my service as they no longer have suitable options for me.
15+ years with them. Oh well onwards and upwards.
 
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