[derkdiggler]

Hello,

I'm still on the old Hughes SD-DVR40 Tivos with the original dish.

Can anyone tell me or point me in the right direction to upgrade to the newest , latest DVR? I see Direct is promoting an HMC and HD DVR HR24

Do I need to change my dish?
Can I just add adapters to the multi cable lines?
Which DVR is the latest and greatest?
Can I just call Direct and upgrade or can I buy one on Ebay or Amazon and install it myself?

Any advice or suggestions is appreciated and thank you
Derk

 

[doctrsnoop]

You should be eligible for a good deal if not free upgrade to a new Slimline Dish, and at least one HD DVR and HD receiver. The latest and greatest is the HR34 which is 399 retail, and you ought to be able to get for 99 hopefully at most.

There's nothing set in stone AFAIK about what kind of deal you get, but if you're polite and honest about wanting to upgrade, some people have done very well.

To answer your question specifically, the dish would have to be changed, but that ought to be left to experienced folks. Not sure what you mean by adapters - but you should probably let a D contractor deal with the upgrades anyways.

 

[trh]

The HMC HR34 isn't available to existing customers until 2/9. Not sure what, if any, deal you'll be eligible for -- nothing has been announced.

I recommend you read the First Looks threads on the HR34 to see if that is what you need and also look at the MRV. Upgrading to MRV requires (at a minimum) 1 HD DRV and 1 HD Receiver (and a certain level of programming -- I forgot which one).

See what fits you best and then call and ask. If they don't offer you any "deals", tell them you need to check with your spouse and then call back the next day. Good luck.

 

[derkdiggler]

How does the HR34 connect to other TV sets in other rooms if it's the main DVR? There must be set top boxes for each TV? What are these called or what model number are these? I'm assuming you still need to connect coax cable from the main DVR to all TV's?

 

[naijai]

How does the HR34 connect to other TV sets in other rooms if it's the main DVR? There must be set top boxes for each TV? What are these called or what model number are these? I'm assuming you still need to connect coax cable from the main DVR to all TV's?

The HR34 uses the RVU Technology to connect to other devices without a receiver the devices become your receiver.
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=197609

 

[carl6]

You have two threads going on this topic. You might ask a moderator to merge them.

 

[Jerry_K]

We just changed (downgraded) to HD DTV boxes from DirecTiVo boxes. One HR24 and one HR34.

Be fully aware of the limitations of the DTV boxes compared to your DirecTiVo box. Regular HD DVR from DTV is 50 series links (Season Passes) maximum. HR34 is 100 maximum.

No grid guide in the DTV interface.

They do not have a very robust system. Lots of little glitches. Non really fatal but all very frustrating when you have come from a DirecTiVo. If you have a need for only one HD DVR then I would investigate the THR22-100 which has a TiVo interface on a DTV box. Those too have problems related to the DTV implementation. Unfortunately they crippled MRV in the THR22-100.

The DirecTV HD DVRs have something called whole home which is streaming from one box to another. That answer about additional sets on an HR34 is a bit misleading as those additional sets must be RVU compliant. There are very few new TVs that have that compliance. As well I am not sure that you can then use an AV receiver to get the second half of the viewing experience, surround sound.

You should really read everything on here that you can. Get a feeling for the sorts of problems reported daily by the folks here. On our new boxes there are about five glitches per day on average. I have given up posting all of them on here.

In the eleven years of TiVo use both DirecTiVo and Series 3 TiVo I just did not have any glitches. The only problem I did have was when DirecTV changed the guide listing method and messed up the DirecTiVo if it had 6.2.a software. Missed two recordings and switched to cable. Had to switch back to DirecTV when we hit the road for full time travel.

Be absolutely sure you want HD before you jump from the DirecTiVo to a DTV box. They just are not as robust or easy to use.

 

[RAD]

No grid guide in the DTV interface.

Not exactly the same but on a HR2X if you scroll right to the channel number and press INFO you get a listing of the next five programs on that channel.

 

[sigma1914]

...

In the eleven years of TiVo use both DirecTiVo and Series 3 TiVo I just did not have any glitches.

I call BS on this. There's no way you went 11 years without a glitch. Your beloved Tivo never froze????

Be absolutely sure you want HD before you jump from the DirecTiVo to a DTV box. They just are not as robust or easy to use.

HRs are way more robust and extremely easy to use, you just have your negative opinion on it that you beat like a dead horse around here.

 

[Caromsoft]

I just switched from a 10 year old DirecTivo to an HR34. So far both myself and my wife have had no problems adjusting to the new system. I was lucky in that the house we purchased a couple of years ago had an HD capable dish already installed so I was able to do the upgrade myself.

There were plenty of times when my DirecTivo had me swearing at it, it was far from being glitch free. It was still a tough choice whether to go with the HR34 or the new DirecTivo, but in the end the more advanced features of the 34 won out. And the first time I saw the 34 recording four HD programs at once brought a smile to my face!

 

[Scott Kocourek]

I call BS on this. There's no way you went 11 years without a glitch. Your beloved Tivo never froze????
[...]

It's the same as when someone tells you about the good 'ol days.

 

[jahgreen]

We just changed (downgraded) to HD DTV boxes from DirecTiVo boxes.

Be absolutely sure you want HD before you jump from the DirecTiVo to a DTV box. They just are not as robust or easy to use.

And folks complain about DirecTV fanboys.

 

[sigma1914]

And folks complain about DirecTV fanboys.

Tivoholics are dedicated. :lol:

 

[carl6]

And folks complain about DirecTV fanboys.

Tivoholics are dedicated. :lol:

Come on guys, everybody has their preferences for their own reasons. We are all about discussing equipment and services and features, not people.

 

[Jerry_K]

I call BS on this. There's no way you went 11 years without a glitch. Your beloved Tivo never froze????

HRs are way more robust and extremely easy to use, you just have your negative opinion on it that you beat like a dead horse around here.

Never once did a TiVo freeze, or miss a recording or double record or not play the other room MRV nor pixelate or have the sound go out, never had to put it in double play but if so probably would not have changed the output format/resolution, never busted out of a playing recording to live TV, never jumped to the end of a program while trying to either skip or fast forward. Never started up playing a recording when on pause.

And today I found another fine bit. We move all the time so I have to set up the dish whenever we move. Moved today. The last three times we moved I guess I was very lucky and had signal just setting the dish by eye. Today that was not true and there was no way to get the stupid box to just go to the signal strength meter. TiVo always was able to do that. I had to go through setup and that was a total waste of time and effort.

Don't tell me how "robust" the DTV boxes are. They just are not that at all.

And yes I know about the painful iinfo and wait for a list. On the TiVo see many hours ahead and on the next arrow down you again see many hours of programming. Click Click Click Click. See maybe forty programs on TiVo.

Click Info Wait Wait now five or six programs instead of ten or twelve. Click down through. Then Done then Click down the info then wait and wait and wait then click down a couple times. How wonderfully handy. Without doing this the guide is basically useless.

Sure would like to move all the recorded movies to the HR24. Oh yeah can't do that. Gee whiz how wonderful. Maybe I could move that wonderful travel program on Italy to the computer and cut a DVD for the kids who are going there this summer. Oh cannot do that either. How wonderfully robust. Pshawww.

 

[sigma1914]

Never once did a TiVo freeze...

...

Right. Was editing Season Pass priority lighting fast, too, on your miracle Tivo?

 

[doctrsnoop]

Right. Was editing Season Pass priority lighting fast, too, on your miracle Tivo?

Oh man I had forgotten how awful that was. And with no programming on screen you weren't doing anything for a few minutes

 

[Jerry_K]

Right. Was editing Season Pass priority lighting fast, too, on your miracle Tivo?

Yes using TivoWebPlus

How does undelete work on the DTV boxes?