Satellite or Cable? New HDTV, Scared of HR20

[johnl-HR20]

Long time Direct TV subscriber. Love it.:)
Just got a 47" Vizio LCD :D and need a HD tuner/DVR.:confused:
About to buy a HR20-700 but got scared off by the negative reviews.:nono:
What about a HR10-250?
We have Time-Warner basic cable for non-DirectTV TVs.
Could go with Time-Warner HD package.

What should I do?

[bidger]

About to buy a HR20-700 but got scared off by the negative reviews.:nono:


By whom?

[Michael D'Angelo]

Long time Direct TV subscriber. Love it.:)
Just got a 47" Vizio LCD :D and need a HD tuner/DVR.:confused:
About to buy a HR20-700 but got scared off by the negative reviews.:nono:
What about a HR10-250?
We have Time-Warner basic cable for non-DirectTV TVs.
Could go with Time-Warner HD package.

What should I do?

:welcome_s to DBStalk

I would say go with the HR20. I was a long time TiVo user and loved them. I was so mad when Directv started using there own DVR's. But since that was the way they were going I knew I would have to get them because I cannot live without DVR's. I have 3 of them now and love them. I think they are the best DVR's I have ever used. I have had 2 of them since September and got another last month. I will also be adding 2 more of them.

[johnl-HR20]

By whom?

Cnet reviews

I just now tried to post the links but I was barred from doing so because I don't have five posts yet - joined today

Basically - lots of complaints about crashes and pixelation and skipping and dropping recorded programs and software updates causing problems.

Admittedly, there are good comments at cnet.

Not wanting to rely on one source, I found this forum here too I read about problems. I do see that there are a lot of rational folks trying to work the bugs out of a product that they are invested in, either financially or in terms of experience and time and that a lot of them seem happy with the product.

[johnl-HR20]

:welcome_s to DBStalk

I would say go with the HR20. I was a long time TiVo user and loved them. I was so mad when Directv started using there own DVR's. But since that was the way they were going I knew I would have to get them because I cannot live without DVR's. I have 3 of them now and love them. I think they are the best DVR's I have ever used. I have had 2 of them since September and got another last month. I will also be adding 2 more of them.


So that I can quantify your experience -
How often do you have to "red button re-boot?"
Have you ever had your HR 20 dump/lose recorded programming?
How much time have you spent on the phone with tech support?
Have you been unable to resolve without sub-contractors coming out?

[davring]

Last summer when new the HR20 had its shortcomings, but D*, with the help of the people here have turned it into a very fine and capable machine. I would go for it.

[harsh]

Cnet reviewsYou need to take the date of the reviews into account. By most recent accounts, the HR20 is ready to be released on the general public. That wasn't the case a few short months ago.

There are still some issues, but they are mostly known.

[Michael D'Angelo]

So that I can quantify your experience -
How often do you have to "red button re-boot?"
Have you ever had your HR 20 dump/lose recorded programming?
How much time have you spent on the phone with tech support?
Have you been unable to resolve without sub-contractors coming out?

1) I have done one reset on one of my units in the last 5 months. The picture froze after a rain storm.

2) I lost one recording in the last 5 or 6 months and that was about 2 months ago. It just did not record for some reason. When I first got 2 of my HR20's back in September I did not lose any recording. I just had some of the black screen problems. When you just get keep or delete as soon as the program starts. But I have not had that since November.

3) 1 time the other night. I was having problems getting the XM channels to work and it was because I was clicking on the wrong ones. So I really did not need to call.

4) The only time I needed a TECH to come out to do something was when I first had my 5LNB dish installed back in June. The installer did not align it very good. But at the time I got the new dish they did not have the right signal meters yet to do the job correctly. But that was a year ago.

[KCCardsfan]

Go with the HR20, the negative reviews were probably old posts. I've had mine since mid-December & had to RBR three times until the national software release 0x10b (12/18/06). Since then I've had NO RBR's, & have not missed a recording, absolutely no trouble. The unit is extremely easy to use compared to the TIVO unit. If you want all the HD that is coming (MPEG4) you will need the HR20, the HR10-250 is not MPEG4 compatible.

[djlong]

I have a question about the HR20.. I know that you can hook it up to your LAN. What I'm looking for is a FAQ or something to tell me what features you get. Specifically, I'd like to know:

- could I have 2 HR20 units (living room / bedroom) and watch a show in the living room that was recorded on the bedroom unit?

- can the HR20 play DivX files on my LAN?

- can my PCs access all the programs on the HR20s?

[Michael D'Angelo]

I have a question about the HR20.. I know that you can hook it up to your LAN. What I'm looking for is a FAQ or something to tell me what features you get. Specifically, I'd like to know:

- could I have 2 HR20 units (living room / bedroom) and watch a show in the living room that was recorded on the bedroom unit?

- can the HR20 play DivX files on my LAN?

- can my PCs access all the programs on the HR20s?

As of right now all you can do with it is stream music and photos from your PC to it. Next and soon you will use it for VOD (Video On Demand) and you will be able to set programs to record via the internet. At some point you will be able to stream video's from you PC. No word yet if Directv will add MRV (Multi Room Viewing). If they do this will allow you to watch a recorded program that is on one of your HR20's on another HR20 in another room.

[TomDavis]

I just switched (6 weeks ago)from Comcast because of cost, service, image quality and lack of adequate equipment. Other than that I loved it.

I got the HR20 and I have not had any major issues. The only negative I have had is recording OTA stations which seem to have an intermittent pixalation issue but I can;t tell if it is signal or HR20. It will resolve I'm sure.

If you have TW run it directly to your TV and do a locals search. You might be surprised to find the digital HD stations are not scrambled and show up on the cable direct feed.

I am much happier with D* than I was with cable and I am saving a bundle as well. I would also tell you to try an OTA antenna. I hooked up an old attic antenna and was surprised to see I got 44 local digital channels (New England)through the HR20 tuner. About half with a solid signal. So I was able to get rid of cable completely.

Good Luck,

Tom Davis

[johnl-HR20]

Thanks everybody. Very helpful. Looks like we will go ahead witht he HR20.

[harsh]

- could I have 2 HR20 units (living room / bedroom) and watch a show in the living room that was recorded on the bedroom unit?
- can the HR20 play DivX files on my LAN?
- can my PCs access all the programs on the HR20s?No.

[djlong]

Thanks for the information. I had high hopes for this year and HD but Verizon has put a hold on Fios TV since they want to sell off their Northern New England assets. Alas, no Fios/TiVoS3 combination for me. I was hoping that perhaps D* had a solution.

[Capmeister]

Thanks everybody. Very helpful. Looks like we will go ahead witht he HR20.

I think you'll be pleased. It's a good unit. It's not perfect, but the DirecTV engineers working on it seem committed to making it the best DVR on the market. They listen to the feedback of the users here (and I assume other feedback from other sources as well) and have intergrated many wishlist items into it.

Get one, come back here, and we can walk you through any learning curve or issues you might have, I'm sure. :)