LA_john
03-26-07, 02:48 PM
Since I have had my HR20 for one week, I thought it might be a good time to offer this forum an in depth review of my experiences so far. I lurked on this site for over a month reading all I could (which is volumes!) about the HR20 before it was installed and the information provided has been helpful and valuable. Now it's my turn to contribute in some small way. When you get bored, jump to the last paragraph for a summary of this review.
First, the facts.
My HR20 was installed a week ago including a new 5LNB Slimline dish. I have a Radio Shack OTA antenna roof-mounted with between 80% to 100% signal strength on both OTA and D* signals -- on all transponders. Software version: 0x13e. Because I have been reading all the posts here I think I knew as much as the installer about the HR20. I am being modest. I knew more. Especially about OTA.
The HR20 is connected to the Denon amp with a optical cable and the TV using the component cables (HDMI being used by my DVD player). Native is on using only 720p and 1080i. Animations are off. Phone line is connected (not callerID) -- network is not. I put the HR20 to sleep (standby) when not in use. No UPS, yet. I plan to test the HDMI to TV connection in the coming week. Pics are attached below.
Let me take a moment to offer my general philosophy on all things mechanical. My MINI Cooper owners manual says the MC tops out at around 130MPH. I will never drive it that fast. Other members of the MINI clubs take their cars to the track -- race around and **some** of them complain about early clutch, brake, engine or tire failure. Others accept that pushing a car to its limits regularly will cause "undue wear and tear" and force them to the repair shop more frequently. I have a convertible and during the summer the top is up and down several times a day. I expect that I will have to repair the top motor before long (actually, MINI will as it has a 4 year warranty). Should the top work perfectly 100% of the time for 4 years? Maybe, but not realistically. Without getting to verbose on this thought -- the same can be said for computers. I have NEVER had a computer that didn't start acting up when the HD reached 90% capacity. I could go on but -- 'nuff said...
I have been a DTV customer since 1998. After a horrendous Replay experience, I have had several Tivos -- the last one a Samsung with a Weaknees drive upgrade. My early report on the HR20 (compared to Tivo) is very positive.
I like the guide, list, search and system menus. The unit comes out of standby quickly and the PQ is as good as my ATSC receiver I had been using for OTA. Sat channels look great (HDnet ROCKS!) I have programmed the remote to operate the Denon, Samsung DVD and Panny LCD and no longer use the Sony monster shown in the picture below. I do have a couple of issue with the remote that I will address in the "questions" section below.
Last night my HR20 was put to the test -- Sundays being a big TV night for my wife and I. Two concurrent HD recordings -- one from the dish (Planet Earth) and the other OTA. During that, playback of a previously recorded HD show. Aside from a minor and brief audio dropout during playback, all worked great. Shows (like Housewives) recorded the extra minute at the end. PQ on Planet Earth is as advertised, awesome. As is Get Out and Rick Steves. Even Family Guy (SD program recorded from KTTV-DT OTA) looked better than I had ever seen it.
In fact, the HR20 has performed the tasks I have asked of it this last week flawlessly. I have no serious issue with the slower "native on" channel changing -- obviously it would be better if it was instant but it's not a deal buster for me. My wait for the channel change is not as long as others have reported here -- only about a second or two. The guide is sharper on my TV with native on. Same with the "clunky" RR. To me, very tolerable issue. The "to do" list contains a whopping 85 items to be recorded in the next 2 weeks, almost all from HD sources, so my wife and I have to keep up with watching and deleting. Speaking of deleting, following the advice on this forum, I have yet to delete a program from the pop-up box at the end of the program. I press "stop" and then delete from the menu. Works perfect every time.
I will be adding a eSATA drive in the near future. A friend (and DBSTalk member) has found a 1TB LeCie (two 500GB-raid 0) for around $450.
To be fair to others on this forum, I have no need or want for CallerID or networking so if they work or not makes no difference to me. For me, the HR20 is a DVR/tuner -- plain and simple. I expect it will work well for me because I am not trying to make it do more than it's basic task. Also, I am sure other HR20 users have received bad units -- previous software versions were not stable -- installations/signal strength caused problems -- local stations had/have transmission problems -- these could all contribute to the HR20 not performing up to ones expectation. IMHO -- FWIW.
************************************************** ***************
Questions:
I have my RC34 remote programmed to control my Denon AVR-2700 amp on AV1. VOL is programmed to operate AMP volume in all modes. The remote does not allow me to select all the inputs on the Denon. The number 2 selects the CD player and others allow phono and tuner -- none of which I need. I want to select TV and DVD.
The remote is programmed to operate the TV. When I switch the mode to TV I have to press the power button twice to power off the TV. No big deal but I believe this is why my "D and TV power" button only powers the DVR. It **would** be nice just to press the one button.
************************************************** ***************
In summary, I give the HR20 an "A" grade. Based on what I have read on this site perhaps the first user to do so. Room for improvement? You bet. Am I pleased? You bet!
Thanks to all the contributors here. I can't imagine how different my experience with the HR20 would have been had I not been mining this sites info.
Cheers,
John
PS. Just received this in the mail today. Sign up for HBO and receive three months Cinemax for free. I signed up yesterday for HBO -- wasn't offered the deal -- called them back today and they added it. FWIW.
First, the facts.
My HR20 was installed a week ago including a new 5LNB Slimline dish. I have a Radio Shack OTA antenna roof-mounted with between 80% to 100% signal strength on both OTA and D* signals -- on all transponders. Software version: 0x13e. Because I have been reading all the posts here I think I knew as much as the installer about the HR20. I am being modest. I knew more. Especially about OTA.
The HR20 is connected to the Denon amp with a optical cable and the TV using the component cables (HDMI being used by my DVD player). Native is on using only 720p and 1080i. Animations are off. Phone line is connected (not callerID) -- network is not. I put the HR20 to sleep (standby) when not in use. No UPS, yet. I plan to test the HDMI to TV connection in the coming week. Pics are attached below.
Let me take a moment to offer my general philosophy on all things mechanical. My MINI Cooper owners manual says the MC tops out at around 130MPH. I will never drive it that fast. Other members of the MINI clubs take their cars to the track -- race around and **some** of them complain about early clutch, brake, engine or tire failure. Others accept that pushing a car to its limits regularly will cause "undue wear and tear" and force them to the repair shop more frequently. I have a convertible and during the summer the top is up and down several times a day. I expect that I will have to repair the top motor before long (actually, MINI will as it has a 4 year warranty). Should the top work perfectly 100% of the time for 4 years? Maybe, but not realistically. Without getting to verbose on this thought -- the same can be said for computers. I have NEVER had a computer that didn't start acting up when the HD reached 90% capacity. I could go on but -- 'nuff said...
I have been a DTV customer since 1998. After a horrendous Replay experience, I have had several Tivos -- the last one a Samsung with a Weaknees drive upgrade. My early report on the HR20 (compared to Tivo) is very positive.
I like the guide, list, search and system menus. The unit comes out of standby quickly and the PQ is as good as my ATSC receiver I had been using for OTA. Sat channels look great (HDnet ROCKS!) I have programmed the remote to operate the Denon, Samsung DVD and Panny LCD and no longer use the Sony monster shown in the picture below. I do have a couple of issue with the remote that I will address in the "questions" section below.
Last night my HR20 was put to the test -- Sundays being a big TV night for my wife and I. Two concurrent HD recordings -- one from the dish (Planet Earth) and the other OTA. During that, playback of a previously recorded HD show. Aside from a minor and brief audio dropout during playback, all worked great. Shows (like Housewives) recorded the extra minute at the end. PQ on Planet Earth is as advertised, awesome. As is Get Out and Rick Steves. Even Family Guy (SD program recorded from KTTV-DT OTA) looked better than I had ever seen it.
In fact, the HR20 has performed the tasks I have asked of it this last week flawlessly. I have no serious issue with the slower "native on" channel changing -- obviously it would be better if it was instant but it's not a deal buster for me. My wait for the channel change is not as long as others have reported here -- only about a second or two. The guide is sharper on my TV with native on. Same with the "clunky" RR. To me, very tolerable issue. The "to do" list contains a whopping 85 items to be recorded in the next 2 weeks, almost all from HD sources, so my wife and I have to keep up with watching and deleting. Speaking of deleting, following the advice on this forum, I have yet to delete a program from the pop-up box at the end of the program. I press "stop" and then delete from the menu. Works perfect every time.
I will be adding a eSATA drive in the near future. A friend (and DBSTalk member) has found a 1TB LeCie (two 500GB-raid 0) for around $450.
To be fair to others on this forum, I have no need or want for CallerID or networking so if they work or not makes no difference to me. For me, the HR20 is a DVR/tuner -- plain and simple. I expect it will work well for me because I am not trying to make it do more than it's basic task. Also, I am sure other HR20 users have received bad units -- previous software versions were not stable -- installations/signal strength caused problems -- local stations had/have transmission problems -- these could all contribute to the HR20 not performing up to ones expectation. IMHO -- FWIW.
************************************************** ***************
Questions:
I have my RC34 remote programmed to control my Denon AVR-2700 amp on AV1. VOL is programmed to operate AMP volume in all modes. The remote does not allow me to select all the inputs on the Denon. The number 2 selects the CD player and others allow phono and tuner -- none of which I need. I want to select TV and DVD.
The remote is programmed to operate the TV. When I switch the mode to TV I have to press the power button twice to power off the TV. No big deal but I believe this is why my "D and TV power" button only powers the DVR. It **would** be nice just to press the one button.
************************************************** ***************
In summary, I give the HR20 an "A" grade. Based on what I have read on this site perhaps the first user to do so. Room for improvement? You bet. Am I pleased? You bet!
Thanks to all the contributors here. I can't imagine how different my experience with the HR20 would have been had I not been mining this sites info.
Cheers,
John
PS. Just received this in the mail today. Sign up for HBO and receive three months Cinemax for free. I signed up yesterday for HBO -- wasn't offered the deal -- called them back today and they added it. FWIW.