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9242 swap

7K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  ExDilbert 
#1 ·
Received a letter today from bell today, they want to swap out my 5200 for a 9242,
what are the odds of them giving me a 9242 since this is the last model with dual pvr 2 room solution, is this model even still available? Thanks
 
#4 ·
Any 9242 is going to be at least 5 years old. The 9242 was introduced in 2007 so it could be 8 years old. That's when issues like failing caps and hard drives start to appear in most home electronics. Unless specific features of the 9242 are required (like dual output and OTA tuner) are needed, a 9241 or even a newer model PVR might be a better bet. For features and build quality, the 9242 probably was the best PVR sold by Bell. It's a good replacement for the 5200.
 
#8 ·
Its good to see the 9242 is still availible, i dont want to give up my 5200 for less functionality,the main reason we still use that receiver is for the 2 room solution, the reason they want to swap out my 5200 is because it is incapable of receiving emergency alert messages
 
#9 ·
@centurybreak: I call it PBP or Picture Beside Picture. During the first two rounds of the playoffs it lets me watch two games at the same time without any distortions to either game and without having a "window" cover over part of the screen. It's a great feature for the sports fan.
 
#13 ·
It also would not get all the 3100 and 2700 receivers off the system. Since it requires more resources and bandwidth, Bell's focus is on improving HDTV services. They already did that when they swapped out the 6000s and 9200s.

The 5200 swap is a completely different issue. I would guess that it is due to the lack of software development resources to add the capability of receiving emergency alert messages. It's probably cheaper for them to swap out the few 5200s in use than it is to try and upgrade the firmware.
 
#14 ·
Since Bell offers the receiver equivalent or better for receiver swaps, the 9241 would be the only logical choice to swap the old 51,58,5900 units as there isn't a single tuner HD PVR made by Bell(6xxx models don't count as there main purpose is just a HD receiver) I couldn't see them offering 9400's. Also any old MPEG 2 units such as 2700 or 3100 that come in via dish care should automatically be swapped for a 6400. Bell should be proactive on getting the older models out of circulation as they come in. I know they don't care enough to do this but they should.
 
#16 ·
@blackloz: As jdevlin says that would cost money. What reason does Bell have to swap any older model of receiver for another for free? The reason for the earlier 9242 for 9200 swap did have a technical reason (MPEG2- MPEG4 for HD). It had to be done or there would have been some very angry HD customers. Aside from getting older units out of service what does Bell or the customers gain by your proposal?
 
#17 ·
In theory it only makes sense to move forward. I remember buying my first 2700 almost 18 years ago. If a customer sends one in for replacement through dish care why would Bell want to send a nearly 2 decade old receiver back to them refurb or not? Bell is already behind in technology they should be looking to migrate as many customers to the newest equivalent model that's available. I'm not saying they have or should do a hardware swap which would cost way to much but it wouldn't hurt them to be a little proactive and swap them as they come in for replacement anyway.
 
#19 ·
Compared to the 6000 and 9200 swaps, exchanging all the SDTV receivers and PVRs would cost a lot more money due to the greater number of receivers in use. That may change in a few years. The 6000 and 9200 swaps were not really necessary either. Bell has another satellite at 73 that they could have used to add more channels. Bell chose instead to lease that satellite to Dish Network and use more efficient encoding techniques to squeeze more channels onto the two satellites at 82 and 91. And Bell did have a *lot* of unhappy HDTV customers due to that decision. Bell delayed the 9200 swap for a couple of years longer than desirable and, combined with some transponder failures, caused a *lot* of issues for their existing HDTV customers. Those were cleared up when the MPEG4 changeover was finally made but Bell TV was an absolutely crappy HDTV service to have for some years prior to that.

When Bell decides to swap out the remaining SDTV receivers they will do it to shut down the current SDTV channels and add more HDTV channels without using any more satellite space.
 
#21 ·
That's what Shaw does. Historically, Bell has not done so. It has provided upgrades for customers affected by its own technological decisions. Bell's current business model is to retain and gain customers by pricing the service in a way that they can afford to give away receivers. It's much like wireless phone carriers in that regard. That was not always the case. At one time, customers had to buy receivers and the service was more reasonably priced. Then they decided to hike their prices in order to subsidize cheap or free receivers for new customers. That's when I decided to leave and sell my purchased receivers. I didn't feel like subsidizing new customers' equipment after paying hundreds of dollars for the ones I had.
 
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