Picture Quality?

[mjferguson]

My main concern is always PQ. How will this unit compare to the HTL-HD and HD300. I watch a lot of SD along with HD and want the picture quality to be outstanding just like the two mentioned above if I shell out $900. Recording is great, but PQ is #1 on my list.

[jdspencer]

I see no reason why the PQ wouldn't be as good as the other HD receivers. At least for the DirecTV side of the unit. The OTA tuners should be good as well, but there will be an mpeg conversion to store it onto the hard drive, like the standalone TiVos. So there may be a little degradation in PQ. This is all conjecture at this point.

[Chris Blount]

I agree. The PQ should be just fine. The difference (if any) would probably be negligible.

[FlyingDiver]

The OTA tuners should be good as well, but there will be an mpeg conversion to store it onto the hard drive, like the standalone TiVos. So there may be a little degradation in PQ.

I don't think so. My understanding is that the unit will record the OTA digital bitstream, just like it does for the sat channels, so there should be no PQ changes at all. This is different than the standalone Tivo units, which have to do a conversion from analog signal to digital. HD broadcasts are already digital.

joe

[jdspencer]

Okay, I can buy that. I'm still in an analog state of mind when it comes to OTA. :)

[Snakeyes]

While the HR10-250 has excellent quality there is an appreciable difference in picture quality on a high-end wide screen system . The difference was enough for me to add back the HD receiver for normal viewing keeping the HR10-250 for recording and occasional use when I need to use the pause/playback functions.