Question About HR21 and B-Band Converters

[Lightning]

Hey guys,

I got an HR21-700 back in December - the week before Christmas to be exact. Anyways, my question is about the hardware in the DVR itself.

From what I see here on DBSTalk, the HR21's come with a 320GB internal HDD and you also need a B-Band converter to see channels such as the Weather Channel in HD (I checked DirecTV's website). Anyways, from what I see on D*'s website, as well as from what I have and from the Installer, the HR21 has (or at least the one I have) a 500GB internal HDD (+/- 100 Hours of HD Recording and not +/- 50 Hours of HD Recording - I recorded more than 50 hours of HDNet recording to check and had about 45% left). It is also listed on DirecTV's website that the HR21's have a 500GB Hard Drive.

Finally, I am unsure what these B-Band converters are that everyone talks about. I know I don't have any connected (externally) as I have checked the back of the DVR, yet from what I have seen here, only the HR23 doesn't need a B-Band converter. On DirecTV's website it actually tells you check to see if you get the Weather Channel in HD to see if you need a B-Band converter if you can't get to the back of your box, and I get it (and can tune in and watch it). I have also checked the B-Band test channels back when DirecTV sent out the email about it which came back with correct HD setup..

So my question here is that is some of the information here on DBSTalk out-of-date or misinformed and do I need to get the B-Band converters that everyone talks about?

[Mike Bertelson]

Hey guys,

I got an HR21-700 back in December - the week before Christmas to be exact. Anyways, my question is about the hardware in the DVR itself.

From what I see here on DBSTalk, the HR21's come with a 320GB internal HDD and you also need a B-Band converter to see channels such as the Weather Channel in HD (I checked DirecTV's website). Anyways, from what I see on D*'s website, as well as from what I have and from the Installer, the HR21 has (or at least the one I have) a 500GB internal HDD (+/- 100 Hours of HD Recording and not +/- 50 Hours of HD Recording - I recorded more than 50 hours of HDNet recording to check and had about 45% left). It is also listed on DirecTV's website that the HR21's have a 500GB Hard Drive.

Finally, I am unsure what these B-Band converters are that everyone talks about. I know I don't have any connected (externally) as I have checked the back of the DVR, yet from what I have seen here, only the HR23 doesn't need a B-Band converter. On DirecTV's website it actually tells you check to see if you get the Weather Channel in HD to see if you need a B-Band converter if you can't get to the back of your box, and I get it (and can tune in and watch it). I have also checked the B-Band test channels back when DirecTV sent out the email about it which came back with correct HD setup..

So my question here is that is some of the information here on DBSTalk out-of-date or misinformed and do I need to get the B-Band converters that everyone talks about?How many wires are there connected your HR21?

If it's only one and you can record two things at once you have SWM. This would not need the BBCs.

Mike

[veryoldschool]

"Our" data/info is normally pretty good.
The HR21 come with the 320 GB drive.
The HR22 come with the 500 GB drive.
And the HR23 is the one with the wideband tuners which don't require BBCs.
Now if you're on a SWM system, you don't need BBCs and should only have one coax going to your receiver.
"Maybe" they have started using the 500 GB drives in place of the 320 GB, but this wouldn't explain the lack of BBC, unless you're on a SWM.

[BattleZone]

It's very possible the HR21 was a refurb with a new (500 GB) drive. The HR21 was discontinued long before December.