Before I get to how multi-room performs, I *think* the multi-room beta is only available on the black colored receivers (HD and HD-DVR).  If your regular HD receiver is beige, chances are you don’t even have an ethernet port.  If I am wrong, post in the comments to correct me.

Setup Process

The setup process is incredibly easy.  Your HD-DVR and regular HD receiver need to be connected to your router. (If you are out of router ports, I highly suggest buying a 100/1000 8port Dlink switch.  )

Next up, go to the multi-room menu on your HD DVR and opt in for the beta.  It will take a minute or so to begin sharing.  You have the option to name your receiver so you can easily identify it.  On your regular HD receiver, click opt in for multi-room.

That’s all there is to it.  Easy enough, right?

Performance

When selecting “List” for your hd receiver, you’ll notice a bit of a delay (especially the first time).  It’s nothing too serious.  When navigating the listing of recorded shows, you’ll also notice a bit more lag than normal.  The most noticable lag happens when you start to play a show.  I’d say it pauses for about 3 to 5 seconds.  However, once the show begins to play, it’s a different story and there is no performance issues at all during my testing.

Fast Forward/Rewind

I was expecting some major lag, but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too bad at all.  There is SOME lag, it doesn’t fast forward as fast as being on the actual DVR box.  I tried the 30 second skip 5x and the 4X fastforward and it had noticeable lag from both pressing the button and fastforwarding.  This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone and it is manageable.

Bottom line: Overall Directv has done a pretty good job at sharing over your LAN to multiple receivers.

Pricing starts at $3 a month.  Some things to keep in mind however.  I suggest using a router with AT LEAST 100mbit speeds.  My particular linksys router is gigabit, but I do not believe the Directv receivers support gigabit connections.  Someone else will have to double check that.

Have you joined the beta as well?  Reply in the comments about your experience.