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HR34 Discussion/Anticipation thread

233K views 2K replies 210 participants last post by  Stuart Sweet 
#1 ·
This is the official discussion/anticipation thread for the HR34, continued over from the first look thread.

Please do not post in the issues thread if you do not have an HR34; please post here instead.

HR34 First Look
 
#1,477 ·
This just made me think of something: I've run into situations where DoublePlay will not work for me because I had less than 3% free space on my HR2x receivers. Since PIP on the HR34 is reliant on DoublePlay, and DoublePlay requires a certain percentage of free disk space, if the Playlist on an HR34 gets too full that might disable PIP.

The HR34 has a much larger drive and it's so new so I doubt this has happened to anyone yet, and because it has more storage the free space percentage will likely be different than on the HR2x, but it's something to think about...

First person who fills up their HR34 drive be sure to let us know what happens with PIP and DoublePlay! :)
 
#1,480 ·
Drew2k said:
First person who fills up their HR34 drive be sure to let us know what happens with PIP and DoublePlay! :)
My HR34 has about 1% free space and has . . . for a long time. ;) I don't use PIP a whole lot but I've never had any problems with either DoublePlay or PIP. I'll try it again this afternoon after I get home from work (*grumble grumble*).
 
#1,482 ·
Drucifer said:
Your software version is what?
His firmware version doesn't matter. PIP is a base function of the box. If PIP doesn't show up at the top right of the Info bar, something is wrong besides being on an older version of the firmware.
 
#1,483 ·
LameLefty said:
My HR34 has about 1% free space and has . . . for a long time. ;) I don't use PIP a whole lot but I've never had any problems with either DoublePlay or PIP. I'll try it again this afternoon after I get home from work (*grumble grumble*).
Sorry you have to work... :(

But awesome that you are such a glutton for recordings and can try to find the DP limit! :D

For comparison, here's a quick phone grab (sorry for the blur) of the DP message on the HR2x:

 

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#1,485 ·
Drew2k said:
Sorry you have to work... :(

But awesome that you are such a glutton for recordings and can try to find the DP limit! :D

For comparison, here's a quick phone grab (sorry for the blur) of the DP message on the HR2x:

Most of my boxes run 1 - 3% frees space but I've never seen that dialog, ever. Do you have most of your recordings set to KIUD? Maybe that's got something to do with it. If not, why wouldn't the box just kill a pair of old 1 hour recordings to free up buffer space transparently to the user? :confused:
 
#1,486 ·
mterchila said:
Yesterday evening there was a post in this thread about some alternate online retailers selling the HR34 - specifically usadigitalhd.com.

I called them this morning and talked to William to confirm they had the HR34 in-stock, which they did. I promptly bit the bullet and cancelled my order with Solid Signal (which was placed on 12/5) and placed an order with them.

I wish I would've done it sooner - I already have the tracking number and it's scheduled to be delivered on Friday. :)

I'm very happy with their service thus far.
I just ordered from them as well, just now. They're up to $399.00 plus shipping now (like everybody else).

Got the Fedex tracking number in about 15 minutes--still doesn't show in Fedex system (which I know means it's still just vendor paperwork at this point).

I procrastinated last week and didn't put in an order with VE, and figured I'd just wait it out. But then I saw the post here--darn it :)
 
#1,487 ·
I called VE last friday to get on the list for an HR34 and Robert was hopeful that they'd get more in this week. Sure enough, mine shipped yesterday.

Now the problem: I called DirecTv to setup an install and upgrade to SWM, etc. Got transferred to Case Mgmt like I expected. After being on hold for a long time while he tried to figure out how to specify a SWM install, the rep came back and said that there's no way he could setup an HR34 for an existing subscriber. He said the system only allows new subscribers and DirecTV employees to add a HR34. Has anyone dealt with this before? I suggested that DirecTV won't allow the sale of a HR34 through their system to me, but that I should be able to activate one purchased through an authorized reseller. His (and his manager's) response was that I could return the HR34 or keep it until DirecTV allows existing subs to activate the 34.

So what am I missing here?
 
#1,488 ·
A word of warning.

I just installed an H24 and HR25 to replace two aging HR20's and complement my HR34. Even though both were new boxes will November build dates, I had to force a software download to get them to work. Before I did the software update I would get an error message during Satellite Setup that said my satellite wasn't connected even though I had good signal strength on the meters and each transponder that matters.

So, while I don't know that the HR-34 was the cause of this behavior, just a word to the wise if you are doing a similar upgrade.
 
#1,491 ·
shaddow22 said:
I called VE last friday to get on the list for an HR34 and Robert was hopeful that they'd get more in this week. Sure enough, mine shipped yesterday.

Now the problem: I called DirecTv to setup an install and upgrade to SWM, etc. Got transferred to Case Mgmt like I expected. After being on hold for a long time while he tried to figure out how to specify a SWM install, the rep came back and said that there's no way he could setup an HR34 for an existing subscriber. He said the system only allows new subscribers and DirecTV employees to add a HR34. Has anyone dealt with this before? I suggested that DirecTV won't allow the sale of a HR34 through their system to me, but that I should be able to activate one purchased through an authorized reseller. His (and his manager's) response was that I could return the HR34 or keep it until DirecTV allows existing subs to activate the 34.

So what am I missing here?
I did a self install (already had MRV and SWM16) but I had no problem activating the box once it was installed.

One idea is to call back and just schedule an MRV upgrade. If you have more than 8 tuners, they'll do the SWM16 upgrade and DECA install as part of that, so you should have everything you need for the HR-34. Then you can install the HR-34 yourself and call to have it activated (or do it online).
 
#1,492 ·
Drew2k said:
But awesome that you are such a glutton for recordings and can try to find the DP limit! :D
So I'm home now (yay for half-days) - I have 1% showing free on the HR34. Just went and activated PIP without any issue. After turning it off, my List still shows 1% free. Go figure.
 
#1,493 ·
shaddow22 said:
I called VE last friday to get on the list for an HR34 and Robert was hopeful that they'd get more in this week. Sure enough, mine shipped yesterday.

Now the problem: I called DirecTv to setup an install and upgrade to SWM, etc. Got transferred to Case Mgmt like I expected. After being on hold for a long time while he tried to figure out how to specify a SWM install, the rep came back and said that there's no way he could setup an HR34 for an existing subscriber. He said the system only allows new subscribers and DirecTV employees to add a HR34. Has anyone dealt with this before? I suggested that DirecTV won't allow the sale of a HR34 through their system to me, but that I should be able to activate one purchased through an authorized reseller. His (and his manager's) response was that I could return the HR34 or keep it until DirecTV allows existing subs to activate the 34.

So what am I missing here?
I received my box on Tuesday and plugged it in. I turned off 2 HR25s to keep me under my SWM8 but already had an order for SWM16 upgrade in for yesterday.

I called and activated the box with no problem on Tuesday (it was a "normal" CSR and he also said to keep an eye out for RVU tvs coming out - so I told him they were out already :lol:)

I had my SWM upgrade yesterday with no issues.

For your needs there is no different between adding a couple of HRDVRs and an HR34 - if the number of tuners > 8 you need SWM16 upgrade ($49.99)

My tech did notice one thing, which may also be your problem. First he wasnt notified it was going to be a SWM16 upgrade - the system didnt add it. And we found out why - although I activated it on my account and could see the HR34 online, it was not in their backend system and did not show up on his handheld. Which is why it would not trigger the SWM16 automatically.

Call them back and get them to check that it is on your account and activate it. Then you can get the SWM16
 
#1,494 ·
LameLefty said:
So I'm home now (yay for half-days) - I have 1% showing free on the HR34. Just went and activated PIP without any issue. After turning it off, my List still shows 1% free. Go figure.
You would think they would use the reserved area for the double play buffer rather than the user area on the disk.
 
#1,495 ·
LameLefty said:
Most of my boxes run 1 - 3% frees space but I've never seen that dialog, ever. Do you have most of your recordings set to KIUD? Maybe that's got something to do with it. If not, why wouldn't the box just kill a pair of old 1 hour recordings to free up buffer space transparently to the user? :confused:
LameLefty said:
So I'm home now (yay for half-days) - I have 1% showing free on the HR34. Just went and activated PIP without any issue. After turning it off, my List still shows 1% free. Go figure.
Thanks for checking.

Yeah, I think the KUID is the second part of the formula. That capture was on from my "movie" DVR, with no scheduled recurring recordings and all titles marked KUID. The playlist shows I have 3% free space and if I try to record anything it stops after 30 minutes.

I guess you won't experience the failure-to-start-DP issue on an HR34 unless you have a similar situation with all titles KUID so that the DVR can't free up space.

You could try to replicate by toggling BLUE on all of your titles, but I suspect that would be a bit of work to "do" and to "undo", so I wouldn't blame you for saying "no way, Jose!" :p

F1 Fan said:
You would think they would use the reserved area for the double play buffer rather than the user area on the disk.
It could be different on the HR34 since there's a larger drive than the HR2x, but that's how they did on the HR2x: the DP buffer requires free space in the "user" recording area... no idea why.
 
#1,496 ·
ksalno said:
A word of warning.

I just installed an H24 and HR25 to replace two aging HR20's and complement my HR34. Even though both were new boxes will November build dates, I had to force a software download to get them to work. Before I did the software update I would get an error message during Satellite Setup that said my satellite wasn't connected even though I had good signal strength on the meters and each transponder that matters.

So, while I don't know that the HR-34 was the cause of this behavior, just a word to the wise if you are doing a similar upgrade.
Do you remember what software version they were running before the force/pull?

November, but what year?
 
#1,497 ·
Ok, here are the pics, its a big boy. Nothing much to say yet, menus are very familiar to me, but it is a bit laggy IMO compared to the HR24. I'll keep in mind this is the first 24 hours, but coming from some channels when hitting the guide takes several seconds to move, and I know this is a known bug. Rest of the time it feels pretty zippy. Once while typing this, on CNN, the screen froze and there was nothing I could do other than Red Button Reset... :) I've owned an HR20 when it was released, and an HR24 when it was released, so issues dont shock me too much.

Front shot, with AM21N on top.


SS Screen


Recording 5 sat programs


List of 5 recording


Recording 3 sat and 2 OTA channels


PIP


2TB EHD
 
#1,498 ·
Drew2k said:
It could be different on the HR34 since there's a larger drive than the HR2x, but that's how they did on the HR2x: the DP buffer requires free space in the "user" recording area... no idea why.
I suspect that they did it that way since the DP was patched in later rather than designed in.
 
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