Due to the rising costs of standard (analog) cable and lack of service I made the switch to Direct TV. Actually one of the biggest reasons I switched was the intollerable amount of Comacst commercials I had to 'endure' while subscribing to their service (If I'm already a subscriber-YOU DON"T NEED TO ADVERTISE TO ME!)

Honestly I couldn't be happier.

My one and only issue at this point is my ReplayTV 4504 and how long it takes to change channels.

Prior to the switch it took roughly 2 - 3 seconds to change a channel and generate a new, watchable, picture. Slower than standard cable but acceptable nonetheless. Now, using the IR blaster, it takes at least 6 seconds to change from one watchable show to the next channel.

While this isn't the end of the world it should work better/faster. The technical question is this: Based on the instructions and device capabilities of both the replay and the Satellite receiver, I should have two options for allowing the DVR to control the receiver.

1.) - IR blaster (a simple IR repeater designed to allow the Replay TV to relay the commands to the receiver.) This is currently what I'm using.
2.) - Serial (a DB9 cable that, via a DB-to-RJ adapter, should allow the Replay to control the receiver via the 'low-speed data' port on the back of the device.

I have a feeling that option #2 would solve my problem but..... It seems that when I try changing the channel using that setup, the satellite receiver simply 'reboots'. It then must re-acquire a signal and re-download the channel guide.

My receiver is an RCA DRD435RH.

I thought that this would help but the 'troubleshooting' link is broken.

Any suggestions?