kathymoore
01-02-08, 01:38 PM
I had a HR20 and two HR21s installed last month, because DirecTV gave
them to me for free. The three HR10s were removed and used in other
rooms of the house.(SD only, on old SD TVs)
Last night, I took one of the old HR10s and plugged it in next to the HR21.
I unplugged the HR21's HDMI cable and connected it to the old HR10.
The viewing was done on a new Panasonic AE2000 1080p projector,
using a Da-Lite High Power 133-inch screen in a completely-dark
basement room with dark walls.
The output of the HR20/21 and the HR10 were all set to 1080i. All
I did was unplug the HDMI cable from one to another, so I could
compare them objectively.
Wow.... I thought there was something wrong with my eyes when I
immediately noticed how much better the picture was. The HR10's
output was clearer, sharper, and the colors were a little more vivid.
I played back several identical programs that were recorded
both on the HR21 and the HR10.(example: Rick Steves European
travel programs, several movies on UHD, and documentaries on
Discovery HD Theater) Obviously I can compare the channels in
the 70's, which are MPEG2 that the HR10 can record.
Don't the HD DVRs(HR10, HR20, HR20) only receive the DirecTV HD
signal and sends it out via HDMI? Or is there some sort of encoding,
re-enconding, or decompression going on inside? That's the only
possible reason that I can think of... otherwise, I can't figure out
why all three of the HR20/21 have worse picture the the old HR10.
Oddly, I notice very little difference when I conducted the same test
on my living room TV(a Panasonic 58" 1080p plasma, ordered from
Costco.com) Perhaps the much smaller screen hides it better?
Is there a remote chance that all three HD DVRs(2 HR21s and 1 HR20)
are somehow defective? The DirecTV retention dept rep that I spoke
to that they'd be happy to send me out a replacement with a return
label... I'd like to figure out what the problem might be before I do this...
Thanks for any info! :)
them to me for free. The three HR10s were removed and used in other
rooms of the house.(SD only, on old SD TVs)
Last night, I took one of the old HR10s and plugged it in next to the HR21.
I unplugged the HR21's HDMI cable and connected it to the old HR10.
The viewing was done on a new Panasonic AE2000 1080p projector,
using a Da-Lite High Power 133-inch screen in a completely-dark
basement room with dark walls.
The output of the HR20/21 and the HR10 were all set to 1080i. All
I did was unplug the HDMI cable from one to another, so I could
compare them objectively.
Wow.... I thought there was something wrong with my eyes when I
immediately noticed how much better the picture was. The HR10's
output was clearer, sharper, and the colors were a little more vivid.
I played back several identical programs that were recorded
both on the HR21 and the HR10.(example: Rick Steves European
travel programs, several movies on UHD, and documentaries on
Discovery HD Theater) Obviously I can compare the channels in
the 70's, which are MPEG2 that the HR10 can record.
Don't the HD DVRs(HR10, HR20, HR20) only receive the DirecTV HD
signal and sends it out via HDMI? Or is there some sort of encoding,
re-enconding, or decompression going on inside? That's the only
possible reason that I can think of... otherwise, I can't figure out
why all three of the HR20/21 have worse picture the the old HR10.
Oddly, I notice very little difference when I conducted the same test
on my living room TV(a Panasonic 58" 1080p plasma, ordered from
Costco.com) Perhaps the much smaller screen hides it better?
Is there a remote chance that all three HD DVRs(2 HR21s and 1 HR20)
are somehow defective? The DirecTV retention dept rep that I spoke
to that they'd be happy to send me out a replacement with a return
label... I'd like to figure out what the problem might be before I do this...
Thanks for any info! :)