Just wondering if anyone has the new hd/dvr from directtv. I Was going to swtich back to cable /... albeit i dident want to... but direct tv said they will upgrade my reciever for free to the hd/dvr they have now the HR20 i belive. I read some stuff about it on cnet and some reviews say its a peice of trash and others say its very good. I have directtv with tivo (not hdbox) and it awsome. Just wanted toknow if anyoone has this new box and has experienced any problems with it.
You talking about the new HR20-700S? The DVR that can record the MPEG-4 stuff from the birds they put up last year? If they are going to give you one for free I wouldn't pass it up. I haven't heard good reviews about it, and the DTV UI sucks compared to the TiVo, but they are working on it and coming out with code upgrades for the thing. I don't know a way to scam DTV into giving me a free one since there is no way I would ever go back to cable. I'm waiting for a couple more revs. of code to come out before I worry about picking one up. Although being able to record Heros in HD would be sweet. -steve
i just said to them I want to have HD and my cable company is going to give me the hd dvr for free ... I want to cancel my service... They said to me if i can give you the hd dvr for direct tv would you stay.. I said sure thing... now just waiting for it to come in the mail
I can tell you that if you go with either the DirecTV HD DVR or a cable DVR (like Comcast's), you will not be pleased. I have a Comcast DVR, and it's OK, but no TiVo. I hear the same in regard to DTV's non-TiVo HD DVR. Comcast had signed an agreement with TiVo about a year ago so that some of the TiVo software could be integrated within the Comcast DVR ... but I've not yet seen anything develop out of this.
I need to get them to send me one since they lied and said I could get local stuff in HD on the old one
Yep, and that's what I'm going to try and exploit to get the one I want. I knew going in they were sending me the old one.
I haven't used the new DirecTV HD-DVR, and I'm kinda on the fence in regard to getting one. On one hand it'd be nice to be able to record HD, on the other hand ... it's not Tivo, the reports are that the interface sucks, and it doesn't give me any of the network features I have with my current series2 tivos. The sad truth though, is that most people don't understand/know how much better Tivo is than any of the cable/sat supplied DVRs. They think they're all the same like a VCR This is going to be a big hurdle for Tivo unless they get these partnerships up and running with the big cable cos. - Roach
I had a HR20-700 installed last week. I 'upgraded' from the series II Directivo I had. DirecTV gave me the HR20-700 for $99 + w/free dish (at-9 needed for HD channel) install and 6 months of free HD programming. Call customer retention @ 800-824-9081 and ask. As for the unit itself....it's no Tivo. Close, but only at about 75% of what a Tivo is. The todo list and scheduler is still wonky, and difficult as hell to remove a wish-list. I scheduled 'The Simpsons' to record only 1st run, but it still grabs repeats. Deleting a program doesn't always remove it from your VOD list. HDMI shouldn't be used, it causes issue with audio and video sync. 30 second skip is a 30 sec fast-forward (unlike the Tivo), and the unit doesn't automatically rewind back 2 seconds if you hit the play button too late. The OTA input is disabled, which is no big deal for me since the locals come over the sat. DirecTV is working to fix these issues. Since I've had the unit, they have released two code upgrades that have fixed some issues, but not others. If you can get it cheap, or free, do it. Just don't pay the $400 list for it. John
how about dish network? comcast has finally pissed me off enough that I thought I might have an aneurysm. so it's either drop them or go down there and do a homicide. since I just spent 30 minutes threatening the night manager's family with torture and mutilation, I think they might look at me first if one shows up dead. so it's gonna have to be the service swap. (on the other hand, if anybody here want to make some good money, get back with me in about a year or so. you mail me a few fingers, I'll send cash.) a few months back, when I got the same way, I went to a big box and looked. both dish and directv were expensive (for the original equipment fee) and you were 'leasing' not buying the equipment. so it's a $400 up-front fee, and it's their stuff. the tivo (the real tivo) I seem to remember requiring a monthly service charge to operate? the kid said the fee used to be for the guide to work properly, now it's to make it work at all. he also said what I really should do was shop ebay for a prior generation tivo, the new ones were restricted somehow. anyway, can anyone fill me in? it looks like it'll be dish network, because they bundle with the dsl provider. should I get the new tivo, buy one off ebay, or use dish's dvr?
I've never spent that much on equipment and I've definitely never leased. You can hit any electronis store and buy the stuff relatively cheap for the basic receivers, not sure what cost is on HD stuff sorry.
I think it was circuit city and directv, not dish. anyway, kid said you can't actually buy the equipment, they're now all leases. the intital fee is deemed a setup fee. but when you bolt from the plan, you have to return the stuff. the $400 is fuzzy, but I was trying to replicate the setup we have now: 2 hd dvr/receivers, 1 hd receiver, 2 plain receivers. I wouldn't mind (as much) buying the stuff, but I don't think I want to lease it. we still have an old (like 4 years) dish receiver. left the actual dish on the house, though. I have to call tomorrow, but I guess it'll be dish, the only question is to get the real tivo or the dish dvr.
I've used the Dish DVR. It's complete crap. Ours crashed constantly, and the interface was horrible (Laura had Dish network at her house when we met). Also, if you have a big screen TV, the picture quality from Dish (non HD) is not nearly as good as from DirecTV. Dish compresses each channel more than DTV. Re: leasing. This seems to be DirecTVs new deal. The DirecTV DVR is a "lease" for $300 and you give it back if you quit. This is actually not that bad of a deal though, considering that the new HD Tivo series3 (only works with cable) is $800. Regular boxes are a "free lease" when you sign up, but you have to pay for them if you cancel before the contract is up (usually 2 years). Tivo has always had a fee if you wanted it to actually do anything other than be a rather shiney VCR (i.e. record only when you tell it to at a specific date/time). They used to offer a lifetime subscription for $250, but no longer do. Now they basically give away the hardware and charge more for the service. My two Series2 Tivos both have lifetime subs. - Roach
