Need help with HR10-250 Receiver

[apsulliv]

Hello all -
My first post and as you'll probably be able to tell, I'm a rookie at this stuff. I purchased two HR10-250's off of ebay from two different vendors, both who were highly rated vendors, so I don't believe I received two bad receivers.

When I went to switch out my current standard def DirecTv DVR's to these HR10-250's the power would come on, the screen would say "Please wait" for about 1 minute and then nothing. I wouldn't even be able to get to the setup screen.

I have a slim line dish with a Zinwell Wide Band 6x8 Multi SW P#WB68. I have DVR's in my bedroom and great room that I want to switch out to these HR10-250 HD TiVo DVR's. Does anyone know my problem? Are the HR10-250's not compatible with my current equipment?

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

[litzdog911]

What do you mean by "... and then nothing"? Black screen? Any audio?

How is the HR10-250 connected to your TV? Verify that the Tivo's video output resolution is set to "480i", not 720p or 1080i. Those higher resolution settings blank the composite and SVideo outputs.

Do you realize that these old HD Tivos cannot receive the satellite HD channels?

[Mertzen]

Besides the fact that soon the only HD those IRDs will be able to get is OTA they are compatible with that zinwell switch.
Are you sure the lines from the switch go into the SAT feeds and not the OTA.

[apsulliv]

No audio and black screen.
They are connected with a HDMI cable.
No I wasn't aware that I wouldn't be able to get high def stations. Sounds like a got the wrong receivers then, huh? Well, that leaves me with having to get the right ones because yes I do want to get high definition stations. It would be defeating the purpose.

I am not sure what you mean by SAT feeds and OTA lines but I am pretty sure I have them hooked up right. I have 4 lines coming in on one side of the swithc and they look like they run to the dish and on the other side there are 8 lines. I hooked up coax to the side that has eight lines coming out.

What receivers would you recommend I get instead of the HR10-250? I was looking for a cheap route(and that's what you usually get, I know) of getting HD Tivo DVR receivers because I don't care for DirecTv's DVR's but at this point, I am willing to live with DirecTv's DVR's to keep my costs down.

[Mertzen]

You would have to get one of the current HR2x IRDs.

[BattleZone]

No audio and black screen.

The symptions you describe are consistant with a hard drive failure, which is the most common failure mode for HD Tivos (the second being a sat tuner failure). The TiVo OS resides on the hard drive, and isn't starting up because the drive is dead.

As others have mentioned, the old HD TiVos are unable to get any of the current HD programming, so you're better off getting an HR2x-series DVR.

NOTE: the vast majority of HR2x's are leased receivers. This means a few things: if the receiver has never been activated before, then you can activate it on your account, but like all leased receivers, it will trigger a 2 year programming commitment. You'll also have to return the receiver if you cancel the service.

If the leased receiver has been activated on another account, then that account holder is responsible for returning the receiver to DirecTV, and cannot transfer it to another account (DirecTV will not activate it).

There are a relatively tiny number of *owned* receivers, but you'd need to get the Receiver ID (RID) number and call DirecTV to verify that it is indeed "owned" and that it has no balance owed on it, and therefore can be transferred to another account. You'll have to call DirecTV and get a new access card for it ($20). Owned receivers have no programming commitment, but unless you have the protection plan, they'll have no warranty either, so be careful.

All in all, most folks find that obtaining them from DirecTV directly, or from an authorized retailer like Best Buy or Costco, is better in the long run. Note that all receivers obtained from retailers are LEASES, with the exception of the HR21 Pro. The HR21 Pro is intended for commercial/custom installs and is always owned.

[Matt L]

Well "Owned" are out there, I pickup up 4 HR20s in the last month or so. Prices ranged from $50-$125.

[harsh]

It seems odd that two receivers from two different sources are dead.

Have you tried connecting the DVRs to a TV using composite cabling? It may be that the DVRs are set for modes that your TV can't deal with. Using a composite connection should allow you to see something regardless of what's going out (or not going out) on the HDMI or component outputs.

[litzdog911]

No audio and black screen.
They are connected with a HDMI cable.
No I wasn't aware that I wouldn't be able to get high def stations. Sounds like a got the wrong receivers then, huh? Well, that leaves me with having to get the right ones because yes I do want to get high definition stations. It would be defeating the purpose.

I am not sure what you mean by SAT feeds and OTA lines but I am pretty sure I have them hooked up right. I have 4 lines coming in on one side of the swithc and they look like they run to the dish and on the other side there are 8 lines. I hooked up coax to the side that has eight lines coming out.

What receivers would you recommend I get instead of the HR10-250? I was looking for a cheap route(and that's what you usually get, I know) of getting HD Tivo DVR receivers because I don't care for DirecTv's DVR's but at this point, I am willing to live with DirecTv's DVR's to keep my costs down.

Did you try pressing the front panel RESolution button to cycle the Tivo's video output resolutions? I'm guessing it's simply set to a video format that your HDTV can't processes.

At any rate, it sounds like you won't be keeping these.