A Review of the R10 [Text View] - Page 2

killerdc

01-21-2005, 09:54 AM

So if I havent had my TIVO hooked up to the phone in 390 days, as mine hasnt, Im missing a ton of upgrades? lol

On the matter of the R10, is 99 bucks at circuit city a good buy?

Also, is there any advantage to going to a series 2 over the older style. Ive had my tivo for about 15 months and all i use it for is to record my primetime shows. I only use the season pass manager and record on demand, I dont let the current tivo pick and choose what to record, and I wouldnt do it with the new one, so that being said,,,,,
I would like a Tivo box with digital coax instead of fiber optic. Are there any of those?

finaldiet

01-21-2005, 10:00 AM

Just call csr. They'll probably give you one free. Thats how I got mine. In fact, thats how my two son-in-laws are getting theirs. Give it a try. You don't receive if you don't ask! Welcome to the forum!

Rcrew

01-21-2005, 10:13 AM

Do we have a definitive answer on what the R10 will do after 30 days of not being connected to a phone line?

ebonovic

01-21-2005, 11:17 AM

Not yet...

I have about another 2 weeks to go, as I haven't had a land line for 18 days now.

Rcrew

01-21-2005, 11:54 AM

Originally posted by ebonovic
Not yet...

I have about another 2 weeks to go, as I haven't had a land line for 18 days now.

Thanks. I guess I should just pull the phone from mine and start the clock.

I'm not sure where I got the idea that R10s would act differently after 30 days, but that is my impression.

ebonovic

01-21-2005, 12:17 PM

Someone posted a week or so ago, and said that after 30 days his unit stopped recording.

I don't remember the title of the thread though.

Rcrew

01-21-2005, 01:23 PM

Thanks to some deft searching by csrliz344, she came up with derekjsmith's thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=216951&highlight=no+phone+line) talking about no phone on an R10.

However, that thread began on 1-9, talking about 30 days of no phone. He must have gotten a very early release of an R10.

mhallerbach

01-21-2005, 01:40 PM

Originally posted by Rcrew
Thanks to some deft searching by csrliz344, she came up with derekjsmith's thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=216951&highlight=no+phone+line) talking about no phone on an R10.

However, that thread began on 1-9, talking about 30 days of no phone. He must have gotten a very early release of an R10.

Im not sure what I missed -what is the big deal about leaving it plugged in, so everything stays up to date. If you don't have a phone jack nearby, I'm sure one of those $30 phone extenders that plug into an electrical outlet and give you a phone jack would work(I used one on my Dish Network at my old house).

I have an R-10 since December and leave it plugged in all the time - It connects every day or so and everythings up to date.

The only problem would really be for people who live in houses with very old phone wiring, which may not work well with a modem.

ebonovic

01-21-2005, 01:55 PM

Actually the problems are not really problem, but choices people make.

To save money, people are choosing to go land-line less (aka no phone service in the home) and just using their wireless.
Others are selecting VoIP solutions...

Right now, DTivos, since they have no native option to use a broadband connection to make their "calls", they can't dial out at all.

VoIP is a hit or miss proposition.

In MY case, when "trying" to go to AT&T VoIP that is "supposed" to work with TiVo, there has been a MAJOR screw up that has left me phoneless for 3 weeks now.. And looking at another 2 weeks to get it back.

killerdc

01-21-2005, 02:21 PM

The point is, there is no reason for me to have it hooked up at all times. I sure as hell am not running a phone cable from my living room to my kitchen(the nearest phone jack~35 feet), im not spending more money on this tivo, and im not paying the phone co. to come put a jack next to the tv. There shouldnt be any requirement to keep it plugged in. I like the TIVO i have now cause i dont have to have it hooked up.

Jerw134

01-21-2005, 02:26 PM

Originally posted by mhallerbach
what is the big deal about leaving it plugged in, so everything stays up to date.Some people don't like the idea of Tivo logging everything they do, including which buttons they press on the remote.

Rcrew

01-21-2005, 02:30 PM

The biggest problem is folks using their TiVos in locations with no land line service.

CsrLiz344

01-21-2005, 06:28 PM

I have both of mine plugged in, I don't care if they wanna know what I watch, not like I watch smut...lol.
Anyway, the one I have had the longest, a month, still makes daily calls, my Philips 704 was once every 7 or 8 days. I wonder if the R10 will ever go to that length, or stay every day.

Budget_HT

01-21-2005, 09:23 PM

Originally posted by killerdc
...I would like a Tivo box with digital coax instead of fiber optic. Are there any of those?
You can buy optical to coax (digital) converters at Radio Shack.

Here is another example: http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=3

dslchiphead

01-23-2005, 12:06 AM

Originally posted by Vaj
Yeah, I just had mine installed last Saturday and the "grid guide" already moves really slow--so much so you have to wait for it to redraw as you scroll....

I bought a R10 right before Christmas myself and had time to play with it. Before the R10 purchased, I own and use various Hughes DTV receivers and found them very reliable with solid features. I am going to miss the Hughes engineering in future receivers. I think the R10 looks cheap akin to a home brew kit. Anyway, I just discovered this forum tonight and the thread about the R10. I've been reading this long thread about it and found this spot to jump in with some comments.

Since this is my first adventure into TiVo/DVR, I have to say I am disappointed in the performance of the R10 and the lack of features for just using it as a DirecTV receiver to watch some live programming. I miss the SRS sound and the quick favorite channel menu for example.

With that aside, I too think the guide is so slow that it can take up to 3-4 seconds to compose a complete guide per page. Watching the guide blocks assemble randomly like a puzzle. Scrolling through the pages is so time consuming. Now of course I am comparing this to my other Hughes DTV receivers where their guides just appear and scroll effortlessly and with channel logos and program type color coding as well too! (another feature I miss)

Can someone explain why the guide composing is so slow? This is my biggest sore spot with the R10 and just eats at me when using the guide. It also sounds that all DirecTV DVRs suffers this fate. I would think the guide information would be cached or such. Someone I think mention that the guide information is stored on the disk. I am also surprise that this is not a big concern to anyone using the DirecTV DVR units. I guess everyone just uses it for recording and you know what you want to record. I would like to see more of a marriage between standalone DTV receivers and DVRs.

Thanks.

-Dave

Jerw134

01-23-2005, 12:11 AM

Originally posted by dslchiphead
I am also surprise that this is not a big concern to anyone using the DirecTV DVR units.The reason it doesn't seem like a big concern is because everyone has given up hope on ever getting a decent guide on the Tivo. I'm just hoping DirecTV's new NDS DVR and Ucentric HMC will have fast guides.

I personally can't stand the Tivo, but I put up with it because it's the best solution available. I can't wait for it to be replaced by something better.

mike1977

01-23-2005, 12:17 AM

I like the other guide style better. List of channels on left side, the programming for the selected channel on the right.

dslchiphead

01-23-2005, 12:26 AM

Originally posted by Jerw134
The reason it doesn't seem like a big concern is because everyone has given up hope on ever getting a decent guide on the Tivo. I'm just hoping DirecTV's new NDS DVR and Ucentric HMC will have fast guides.

I personally can't stand the Tivo, but I put up with it because it's the best solution available. I can't wait for it to be replaced by something better.

Totally agree! With today's electronics, there is really no excuse for the lack of features in a DTV receiver and the performance of the DVR. I wondering if all systems that advertise as a TiVo, all systems software then must look and act the same per TiVo agreements. It's definitely a TiVo first and receiver second. Just look at the remote! Not even a button for your favorite channels.

dslchiphead

01-23-2005, 12:28 AM

Originally posted by mike1977
I like the other guide style better. List of channels on left side, the programming for the selected channel on the right.

I do too and use. Sorry if I was not clear on that.

Jerw134

01-23-2005, 12:30 AM

Originally posted by dslchiphead
Just look at the remote!Oh man, don't even get me started on that horrible thing. It's honestly the worst remote design I've ever seen in my life.

Shape

01-23-2005, 07:38 AM

Huh. I've always loved the peanut. Of course, I've used one since we bought our 14 hour standalone box years ago.

Now I am using a Harmony 680 remote, but it is taking some getting used to.

Jerw134

01-23-2005, 08:55 AM

If they'd just find a better place for the TV Power & TV Input buttons, that would go a long way in making the remote better. It still wouldn't be great, but certainly better.

tbh999

01-23-2005, 09:40 AM

I think the first generation TiVo remote was better, it had fewer button that I don't use and was smaller so it was easier to get to all of the buttons without changing your grip. The one big gripe I have with the TiVo remote is that it's so damn symmetrical. I seem to pick it up backward half the time and get dumbfounded as to why it doesn't work. Of course I use my MX-500 remote most of the time (when my wife isn't hogging it).

Regarding the slow guide. If you were to search this forum you would find that the slow guide has been an issue since the first DirecTivo's in 2000. The complaints went on for years, but most people here have given-up on beating that dead horse. I for the life of me don't understand why it's so slow, but it appears to be a systemic problem. I know that TiVo has worked on the code to improve the performance, but it's still much slower than a standard DirecTV box. That being said, most people with DirecTivo's don't watch very much TV live any more anyway.

And dslchiphead, last but not least, welcome to the Tivolution.

dslchiphead

01-23-2005, 10:12 PM

Originally posted by tbh999 ... And dslchiphead, last but not least, welcome to the Tivolution.

Thank you very much. Much information to learn from here!

pileofmonkeycrap

01-24-2005, 11:20 PM

Great thread! Been reading everything I can because I just got my D* hardware today, which includes two R10's, dish and regular receiver. I've been a Tivo user since the early days with my upgraded Philips PTV300. I think I bought that in Dec. 2000.

Really looking forward to checking out the newer features of Tivo. Hope I'll like the switch to cable too. Saving a little money, but the higher price of my broadband will even that out.

Anyone mind pointing me to info on what hacks, if any, are available for the R10? I wasn't expecting to get these units and did all my research last week on the hacks like Tivoweb and activating the USB ports on the other models with the older software.

Thanks.

Jerw134

01-24-2005, 11:38 PM

No hacks are available for the R10.

pileofmonkeycrap

01-24-2005, 11:43 PM

Thanks for the reply. Just as well there's no hacks yet. Being new to D*, I'll have plenty to learn and check out. Plus I'm doing a major kitchen remodel right now and it would be tough to take out time for playing with the Tivo. Maybe when I'm done with the kitchen they'll be hacks available and the timing will be right.

tbh999

01-26-2005, 08:32 AM

There are no specific hacks for the R10 yet, however, the hard drive upgrade still works (and Weeknees (http://www.weaknees.com/tbhd.php) has already got a TwinBreeze kit out for it) and from what I understand the 137GB size limit has been lifted.

ppkeith

01-26-2005, 05:09 PM

Okay...here's my situation that I need to figure out in the next 20 hours:

* I'm getting a DSL service in my apartment that's predicated on having a public phone line. The company loops the line in our telco room. So...that is to say that by Friday morning (unless I call and cancel), I'll have DSL with no phone service.

* I've ordered DirecTV with TiVo (through Best Buy) and they sold me the R10.
* Based upon what I've read there are several things in play here:
1. Initialization of service must be done over a land line.
2. USB-based networking off of the R10 box is a non-starter (doesn't work)

Is there ANYWAY to make the R10 work without a landline?

If not, should I go back to Best Buy and see about getting the Hughes box I saw there? or should I cancel my DSL service, order conventional phoneline/DSL service and roll with my already-purchased R10?

I need brilliant, experienced users' comments. Can you tell I'm a novice?

ppkeith

01-26-2005, 05:10 PM

I mean to type that the DSL is predicated on "NOT" having a landline through Ma Bell.

ebonovic

01-26-2005, 05:40 PM

You have a few options:

1) Take it to a friend's to activate it. After this point, that will work fine after that. However, I am current testing to see if that is true with the R10.

2) Make and use the PPP Serial cable (to a search on PPP). You would basically then hook your DTivo to your computer, for phone call purposes. The computer then makes connection over your broadband.

3) Go with the conventional style DSL

4) Return the unit, and go with any other model other then the R10. Then install v4 software on it (basically hack it). With v4 you have the ability to run scripts that will make DTivo think that it has called out. (Amongst other features).

ppkeith

01-27-2005, 11:55 AM

Thanks for the response, Earl. I decided to go with your option 3, last night. I'm a neophyte when it comes hacking those things. I don't have any local friends who could come over and hand-hold me through it so I decided not to risk it.

What I find disconcerting is that D* sells these Hughes R10s (at BB) in 2005 and they aren't network-capable. That just seems asinine to me. Surely the technology is there! Are they just trying to protect themselves for various reasons or is it a cost issue?

phil

ebonovic

01-27-2005, 01:14 PM

Originally posted by ppkeith
Are they just trying to protect themselves for various reasons or is it a cost issue?

We (us here on the fourm) are not sure which it is... Both have valid arguments, of which none of them make practical sense to us...

There are a bunch of thread discussing it...

Vaj

01-28-2005, 10:58 AM

Originally posted by ebonovic
The R10 (and all DirecTivos for that matter), can only record what DirecTV sends them in Digital format. They don't have any inputs for any other signal (the HD unit has an antenna though, for digital OTA).

Also you can not transfer programs from your DVR to your PC (without hacking).

So your best bet would to pickup a digital bridge device (Dazzle, Pinnacle, DV Camcorder) they range from $60 to several hundred depending on which way you go.

You would then hook your VCR to your PC basically and do what you are looking to do.

(The SA Tivo's don't have any offical DVR to PC video transfer either).

Yes you can use that free port on your multiswitch for your line.

By far the easiest way, is to simply replace your VCR with a standalone DVD recorder. Use the S-Video outputs on the R10. You can get them now for around 150-200 bucks. I recommend getting one with jacks on the front, as this will allow you to record your old VHS stuff and camcorder tapes to DVD.

Once it's on DVD, it can be easily extracted for use on a Mac or PeeCee.

mhallack

01-29-2005, 11:39 PM

I'll add to the reviews of the R10, here is my short history of DTivos:

-Couple of years ago traded in my Phillips SA Tivo and bought two Hughes HDVR2 (think same as SD-DVR40). They had the audio bug, where now and then when you paused it took eight seconds for the audio to come back. Recently one of these units had its hard drive lock up and it died.

-Bought a Hughes DVR80 to replace the dead SD-DVR40 a few months ago. It does have the black & white bug, but usually performs well. Love the space upgrade, the audio bug has been corrected.

-Moved to a new house and bought a R10 in the past couple of weeks. The R10's picture is not as clear as the Hughes units, sometimes its fine and other times its pretty grainy or has additional artifacts. Its still generally better than cable. Love the software upgrade with folders. Have seen the sluggishness some have spoken of, but generally it is faster than the Hughes units.

-Bought a Sony KDF42WE655 (42 inch LCD projection HD), but still refuse to purchase the HD-DVR...don't mind all the bugs in units that cost less than $100, but at $1000 they need to fix this stuff.

cygnet74

01-30-2005, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by killerdc
The point is, there is no reason for me to have it hooked up at all times. I sure as hell am not running a phone cable from my living room to my kitchen(the nearest phone jack~35 feet), im not spending more money on this tivo, and im not paying the phone co. to come put a jack next to the tv. There shouldnt be any requirement to keep it plugged in. I like the TIVO i have now cause i dont have to have it hooked up. my directv installer also installed a phone jack for me. i didnt even ask.

trbarnes

02-01-2005, 09:16 PM

I am new to the forum and something tells me this has been brought up about a million times so I apologize in advance....
I have had a series 1 tivo since they first came out and when I saw that Series 2 tivo's had usb ports for networking I got excited.... but.... I went for the R10's because they had the DirecTv receiver's built in.... okay.. my mistake..... is there anyway to get these puppy's on my home network? All I really want to do is share saved programs between the two DVR's but it seems that DirecTv has not activated the USB ports to allow this.... Any help ????
Thanks!!

Jerw134

02-01-2005, 09:31 PM

There is currently no way to hack the R10 to enable networking. You're SOL for now.

trbarnes

02-01-2005, 09:45 PM

now that is really enough to pi$$ a person off isn't it????
Do you think that they will enable this option soon?
What if I were to happen to have (of course hypethical in nature :-)) a Linux guru at my disposal?
They have pi$$ed me off to the point (based on misleading statements on their webiste) that I am ready to "open er' up" and go for it at this point...

Thanks for the reply!!!

ebonovic

02-02-2005, 10:02 AM

Which part of their website is Misleading? Just curious, as no where do they mention networking, broadband support, ect...

You could have a linux guru at your disposal, and it probably still won't help.
The amazing experts that have come up with the previous "hacks", at this point are still working on the 6.1 software and the R10... At this point, they haven't released anything yet.

IMHO... we won't see much until 6.x is release to the other Series 2s.

Rcrew

02-02-2005, 10:06 AM

Hey Earl, sorry if I missed this in another post, what's up with your phone connection? Have you exceeded the 30 days without issue?

I did unplug my R10, but I haven't even seen a nag screen yet.

ebonovic

02-02-2005, 10:19 AM

Haven't clipped it yet.

Got my 21 day notice, Saturday... So soon... very soon.

trbarnes

02-02-2005, 10:52 AM

Hey Earl - the part of their website that is misleading is where they talk about the multi-room viewing. They provide the step by step procedure... first have your homenetwork up and running, then look at their recommended wired/wireless cards (USB in this case), then plug them in, then go to TivoOnline and setup your account (name each of your DVR's), go to the Settings/Phone & Network area to grab your IP address and bam, your ready to share between DVR"s....
They tell you requirements for all of this to work, Tivo Series 2, what the desktop o/s must be for the Tivo Desktop etc.... but no where in this section do they discuss that DirecTV Tivo units are not supported.

Now before everyone jumps on this - there is a section on their website where they say these units are not supported but it is only referenced with the TivoToGo feature. Nothing related to the Mult-room viewing capabilities.

That is where I say the misleading part is. If they explicitly state it on the TivoToGo feature then they should do the same for the Multi-Room viewing.

I could get real nasty here with them because since these units are co-branded by DirecTV and Tivo they are liable. Not to mention that I purchased them from Circuity City where if I try to return them now they will charge me a 15% restocking fee since they have been opened. Now, who really thinks DirecTV or Tivo plans on re-imbursing me for that???

I have already started the research and escalation process within their corporate halls. I plan on raising a little cain here to at least try and get a product roadmap from these guys. I have a feeling it won't be a good outcome since DirecTV has already announced that they are going to be producing their own version of these units soon and probably be dropping the Tivo brand.... Still not right so I'll cause as much discomfort as possible.

My only choice now is to wait... or return the units and then go out and buy seperate DirecTV receivers and standalone TIVO units. The ones I replace were the Sony SAT60 combo units and they were both on a death bed (reboot constantly and modems bad....)...

I cannot think of any other options - can you?

Any recommendations on standalone DTV receivers?

Thanks again

paulfife

02-02-2005, 11:21 AM

Originally posted by trbarnes
I could get real nasty here with them because since these units are co-branded by DirecTV and Tivo they are liable. Not to mention that I purchased them from Circuity City where if I try to return them now they will charge me a 15% restocking fee since they have been opened. Now, who really thinks DirecTV or Tivo plans on re-imbursing me for that???

The primary branding is DirecTV, which means they control the feature set. It sounds like you didn't consult DirecTV, even though they are the ones who are collecting the TiVo fee, and sell the boxes. You didn't notice that tivo.com refers to DirecTV's website for information? They also explicitly state that the DirecTV DVR does not support the home media features (which includes multi-room viewing).

You should also be aware there are advantages of the DirecTV DVR over a standalone, like better recording quality, digital sound, two tuners, that for many of us far override the advantages of HMO and networking.

trbarnes

02-02-2005, 02:45 PM

Oh I understand completely the branding structure between DirecTV and Tivo. I also know what to expect from DirecTV in the future based on their recent announcement. Well as far as consulting with DirecTV.... I could really go into a long esoteric conversation here but about the only mechanism they provide is via telephone (wake up and smell the roses of customer support... it is 2005 you know???). And what I did was go to their website and use their (let me bold and underline that one) Home Media and Networking Guide. Read it? There is one very small side note of mentioning about the DirecTV Tivo unit. Let me provide it to you.... "Some models of the DirecTV DVR with Tivo service also have USB ports, but they are not currently active"..... Okay, I probably should have seen this as a red flag but give me a break - if they are not supported then they should say so in the requirements section!!! That is just pi$$ poor documentation.
So, yes.... there is a "side-note" mention - not a hard line or actual statement under the requirements section though. Any hardware or software company knows how to explicitly state these issues. And other sections of their website have the same inconsistencies, some sections mention it (like under the TivoToGo section) others.... do not. For that fact look at their website where they list all these new Tivo Online features.... They don't even categorize everything under the HMO brand. You have to find that guide and definition on the right hand sideline.... Very poorly done. So, yes I am venting but it is all accurate.

I do appreciate your advantages that you point out. I did not realize the quality issue. Unfortunately I cannot get my 2 tuners to work right now (totally new issue there... ), something with my multiplexer that doesn't make sense.... I'll look around here for answers.

Thanks!!
Tom

Jonathan_S

02-02-2005, 03:55 PM

Originally posted by trbarnes
Well as far as consulting with DirecTV.... I could really go into a long esoteric conversation here but about the only mechanism they provide is via telephone (wake up and smell the roses of customer support... it is 2005 you know???). And what I did was go to their website and use their (let me bold and underline that one) Home Media and Networking Guide. Read it? There is one very small side note of mentioning about the DirecTV Tivo unit. emphasis mine
But the key point is you went to TiVo's website to look for information about a DirecTV DVR, admittedly one that is based on TiVo software.

If you had gone to DirecTV's website you could have found the information about the capabilities of the DTiVos, and they would have stated that the USB ports were reserved for future use and wouldn't have made any mention of Home Media and Networking, since those units don't have that ability.

paulfife

02-02-2005, 04:10 PM

ebonovic

02-02-2005, 05:03 PM

Originally posted by trbarnes

....

I could get real nasty here with them because since these units are co-branded by DirecTV and Tivo they are liable. Not to mention that I purchased them from Circuity City where if I try to return them now they will charge me a 15% restocking fee since they have been opened. Now, who really thinks DirecTV or Tivo plans on re-imbursing me for that???

I have already started the research and escalation process within their corporate halls. I plan on raising a little cain here to at least try and get a product roadmap from these guys. ...

My only choice now is to wait... or return the units and then go out and buy seperate DirecTV receivers and standalone TIVO units. The ones I replace were the Sony SAT60 combo units and they were both on a death bed (reboot constantly and modems bad....)...

I cannot think of any other options - can you?

As others have pointed out, TiVo.com's website is not Extremely clear, that basically, if you are going with a DirecTivo... Stop now, and go to DirecTV's website for details.

With that said.

One option, is to get non-R10's. Say the DSR-704.
And install the v4 TiVo software on it. Then you will get the feature set you where looking for.

But this is more of a discussion for another thread.

Please let us know if your raising hell results in something above and beyond what we have been doing for the last couple years... Since the day HMO was announced by TiVo... We have been clammering with DirecTV to turn it on our systems..

Good luck.

trbarnes

02-02-2005, 09:49 PM

I'll skip all the BS and thoughts about some of the irrelevant comments people have made to my posts, but I appreciate your cander and preciseness Earl...

Net net... are you all telling me that this is a DirecTV and not a Tivo issue?

I was lead to believe something different, so I apologize for any conflicts.

If this is definitely a DirecTV issue then I can take a different approach.
I haven't looked into this yet but does anyone know who the manufacturer of the R10 unit is? I realize it has the DTV brand but who actually manufacturers it? One last question.... To the best of all of yours knowledge, is it DirecTV that is "restricting/controlling" the HMO features from being enabled?

I appreciate the responses as this can definitely give me some more leverage..... I shall not give up on this one ;-)

Thanks again - Tom

Jerw134

02-02-2005, 10:08 PM

Originally posted by trbarnes
does anyone know who the manufacturer of the R10 unit is?Thomson/RCA
Originally posted by trbarnes
is it DirecTV that is "restricting/controlling" the HMO features from being enabled?Yes. Why? Who knows.

ebonovic

02-02-2005, 10:18 PM

As Jerw posted:

Yes, it is most definently DirecTV... As pre-R10, we can run the same software version that is on the TiVo non-combo units. And have HMO. (granted you have to "hack" it a bit, but the physical hardware fully supports it).

DirecTV has never given us a definently reason Why they don't support.
Some think it is $$$ related to support of home networks, others think it is $$$ related to the Tivo Software contract, others relate it to DirecTV's fear of people improperly using the digital signal...

Which ever it is, it is DirecTV's control.
If Tivo had their way, they would have it on our units as it only helps them in promoting their HMO feature set...

There are hundreds of threads that discuss this in more detail... Usually daily one starts... So before this review thread becomes one... To wrap this up...

The R10 is a new product that can't be hack to run HMO/MRV, at this time. DirecTV has not announced any support for HMO/MRV nor have they announced that it will never be suppoted.

Theatermax

02-03-2005, 12:25 AM

So I guess the R10 and all the Tivo boxes for Direct TV are done..

The NDS solution is final and they will ship the R15 shortly.. I guess they dont' want to pay for Tivo LIcensing anymore.

Jerw134

02-03-2005, 12:31 AM

Originally posted by Theatermax
The NDS solution is final and they will ship the R15 shortly.Where did you get this information from?

Theatermax

02-03-2005, 12:50 AM

This came from Direct TV guys when I was at the show last month.. I thought this was regular info now.. The NDS solutions are very nice and years ahead of Tivo. The Media solution box with Cat 5 media boxes in each room is an NDS solution. 4 HD tuners in the main box including the NDS recorder software..

Tivo is is deep yogurt. If Direct TV makes up 75% of Tivo sales, they are about to have a quarter beyond bad !

mishagray

02-03-2005, 09:14 AM

Originally posted by Theatermax
This came from Direct TV guys when I was at the show last month.. I thought this was regular info now.. The NDS solutions are very nice and years ahead of Tivo. The Media solution box with Cat 5 media boxes in each room is an NDS solution. 4 HD tuners in the main box including the NDS recorder software..

Tivo is is deep yogurt. If Direct TV makes up 75% of Tivo sales, they are about to have a quarter beyond bad !

This is NOT a NDS solution. It's made by a company called Ucentric. It was shown at CES in 2004 also, but in the VOOM booth.

Ucentric was just purchased by Motorola.

NDS is shipping a DirecTivo replacement. I would not call it "years ahead". It's a rather evoluionary product.

Theatermax

02-03-2005, 09:26 AM

Fraid you are wrong.. The Solution I am speakign of was displayed in the Direct TV booth on the right side. It was entirely a NDS solution as the NDS guys spent 30 minutes with us explainging the workings of it..

mishagray

02-03-2005, 09:35 AM

Originally posted by Theatermax
Fraid you are wrong.. The Solution I am speakign of was displayed in the Direct TV booth on the right side. It was entirely a NDS solution as the NDS guys spent 30 minutes with us explainging the workings of it..

Yes. I was there also. There were 2 systems on display at the CES booth.

One was a PVR box. No HD support. No multi-room viewing. That's the box from NDS.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2004-11-29-dvr_x.htm

It will be out in the middle of the year. Maybe even earlier.

The other was the multi-room setup. That box was created by Ucentric.

http://www.forbes.com/prnewswire/feeds/prnewswire/2005/01/06/prnewswire200501061306PR_NEWS_B_NWT_SF_SFTH011.html
http://www.ucentric.com/index.php?news/mentions/145

They SAID it will be out before x-mas, but most people believe we won't see it until 1Q 2006.

ironsline

02-03-2005, 10:27 AM

Ok Guys,
I am on Direct TV and was going to go out tomorrow and get a R10. By what I read by you guys I may want to wait for a newer R15 or something like that. What is better, to get the R10 with the shortcomings that it has or wait.

mishagray

02-03-2005, 10:51 AM

Originally posted by ironsline
Ok Guys,
I am on Direct TV and was going to go out tomorrow and get a R10. By what I read by you guys I may want to wait for a newer R15 or something like that. What is better, to get the R10 with the shortcomings that it has or wait.

If you are talking about the NDS box... I don't know if its worth the wait.

There are FEW features that the NDS box have that the DirecTivo doesn't:
It supports some of the new "interactive" channels (MIX channels). These don't seem that interesting to me to be honest. But you may be able to get the local weather displayed on a channel.

It uses a DirecTV like guide, that's actually fast. The Tivo's have a DirecTV-grid guide setup, but it's way too slow. Most people just change the guide settings and the use Tivo guide setup, which I like better than the grid anyways. It's a better design for people who don't watch much live TV.

The box I saw at CES had component video output. I believe it just outputs 480p. That should show a "slight" improvement in video quality. But not so dramatic to offset other issues.

However I didn't get a chance to check the overall user interface of the NDS box. IE: The usability factor. We already now that the Tivo scores very high in this department - it's both easy and powerful.

I'm skeptical about the NDS box meeting the Tivo's simpler design. But I will give it a chance. The NDS box looks far more evolutionary.

The Home Media Center is the other new PVR coming from DirecTV, but it probably won't be available for a year. So I wouldn't wait.

ebonovic

02-03-2005, 10:59 AM

For $99 (or less)... You will get more then your money's worth by the time any NDS or HMC units are available.

IMHO

mshap1507

02-03-2005, 11:02 AM

This may be a dumb question, but what is NDS?

Thanks,

Mark

ironsline

02-03-2005, 11:24 AM

Thanks EB and Mis... Being new I wanted to see if it was really worth even $99 geting the R10. Looking at all of the threads all everyone talks about is the slow stuff and fuzzy pictures. I guess I will dive right in and get the R10 tomorrow.

Theatermax

02-03-2005, 11:40 AM

Ahhh Ucentric , you are right , Thanks for that..

Hey, The R10's we have are getting slow slow slow.. Ther are fast out of the gate and now after 2 weeks of storage they are crawling..

What is next for DVR's ?? I guess just the R15 ? Anyone else going to be doing boxes ?

cheerioboy26

02-03-2005, 11:51 AM

Originally posted by mshap1507
This may be a dumb question, but what is NDS?

Thanks,

Mark

NDS is a sister company to DirecTV - both majority owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. They have a DVR in the UK that they will be selling to DirecTV (similar in functionality) in 2005.

http://www.nds.com/

The XTV DVR:

http://www.nds.com/personal_tv/personal_tv.html

Rkkeller

02-03-2005, 01:29 PM

Why don't we start a new thread on all this as none of it has anything to do with "A review of the R10" which is the heading ?

Also I have had my R10 for about 3 months now, 98 SP's and about 20 WL's and its still WAY faster than my Philips DirecTiVo in every aspect. People just forget how slow the older units were. My Philips is in the bedroom and every night I'm like "man this thing is slow" as I use the R10 all the time in the living room.

Rich

ROB-USA

02-03-2005, 01:45 PM

WoW...

Thanks ebonovic for the time and effort you put into the review.

Rob

rcfisher

02-03-2005, 05:43 PM

I bought a R10 in Dec, I love it, but I was having trouble with the phone line connecting. Direct TV sent me a DVR120 when they said they would send me the same model I had bought, (R10).
Would anyone happen to know witch one is better?

R Fisher

Jerw134

02-03-2005, 05:47 PM

The DVR120 is better. Keep it.

ebonovic

02-03-2005, 05:47 PM

Based on size: the DVR120 is better, as it will give you about 30 more hours.

From a hardware design/quality point of view. Again, the DVR120, as it was built before the build cost was reduced for the R10. (Differen MOBO design and lower quality level of some of the pieces).

From a speed point of view: The r10 is quicker
From a feature set point of view: The r10 has 6.1 thus has folders.

Note: the DVR120 should get an upgraded to 6.2 in the next month or so.

From a "hacking" point of the view, the DVR120 is, the R10 is not at this point.

rcfisher

02-03-2005, 05:53 PM

Are you saying that I will be able to upgrade my 120 to 6.2 or are you saying that the new 120 coming out will be upgraded?

Jerw134

02-03-2005, 05:55 PM

Originally posted by rcfisher
Will I be able to upgrade the DVR 120 to 6.2? and if that is possible, what would something like that cost and where would I be able to purchase the upgrade? You cannot upgrade it to 6.2. DirecTV will be doing that very soon. It's a free upgrade, and all you have to do is keep your receiver connected to a phone line to get it.

rcfisher

02-03-2005, 07:07 PM

Thanks for your help.

DVRaholic

02-05-2005, 11:09 AM

Originally posted by ebonovic
Haven't clipped it yet.

Got my 21 day notice, Saturday... So soon... very soon.

We'll Earl, its 28 days today right ?? Wondering if you are starting to see any issues without the Phone line connected ? I guess Monday is the Big Day. Let us know... Thanks

ebonovic

02-05-2005, 11:14 AM

Well I checked one of my R10's last night.

It last called on 1/5/2005.
It is still recording, and has scheduled recordings way past the 14th.

It is supposed to try and call tonight, so let's see what the unit says tomorrow.

texas arsenal

02-07-2005, 03:01 PM

Ive had my R-10 for just over 48 hrs. So far, so good.

rsudol

02-08-2005, 09:36 AM

So which unit does someone reccomend. I am looking to replace my Hughes HDVR2 with something newer. Can anyone reccomend something.

ebonovic

02-08-2005, 10:26 AM

Any of them are fine... The R10 is the newest.
All the other units are identical underneath the case, with the exception of the size of their hard drive.

So I would first recommend the Philips DSR series, as I simply love their outer casing. Followed by the R10.

Rcrew

02-08-2005, 11:27 AM

Earl, what's the phone status today?

I just checked my R10. There was one message about no call for 14 days. My last successfull call was 1/20.

Info screen says guide data to 2/18. But the one channel I checked has program info through 2/20.

ebonovic

02-08-2005, 11:44 AM

Originally posted by Rcrew
Earl, what's the phone status today?

I just checked my R10. There was one message about no call for 14 days. My last successfull call was 1/20.

Info screen says guide data to 2/18. But the one channel I checked has program info through 2/20.

33 Days so far.. Daily nag message.
I have recording scheduled past 2/16 so far (stopped scrolling at that point).

bobbob20

02-09-2005, 03:16 AM

I wonder if anyone here can read barcodes?
Better yet, anyone got a barcode reader?
Wonder if you should block those out too. ;)

Also, your UPS tracking # still works. ;)

ironsline

02-09-2005, 08:34 AM

Hey Ebonovic,
I just went out and got my R10 this past Saturday. Had the extra line run on Monday and was able to record the Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State basketball game on that evening. Only disapointing thing was 4 hours to download all of the information. Being new to Sat and D-Tivo had to just jump in the water and try different things. I recorded the game and lo and behold the next morning I had about 6 different things recorded all related to basketball.

My question is can I stop the pre recording of things if I don't want it to make Suggesting.

I know that I am going to like this system because have marked 7 shows already because I will be out of town

Thanks in advance

ddobson

02-09-2005, 09:32 AM

You can turn off the Tivo Suggestions. I'm not in front of my Tivo now and have a poor memory.

I think it's under setup and then preferences. You can tell it to completely stop recording Tivo Suggestions then it will only record what you tell it to....

If you can't find it where I said, look around. It's in there somewhere :)

If I was home I'd go look and tell you exactly where to turn it off.... sorry

ebonovic

02-09-2005, 09:48 AM

The other thing I do, is for just about EVERY sporting event that I watch or record, I give it THREE Thumbs down. That way Tivo will think I don't like those shows, thus won't schedule them.

I had that problem a few summers back where I tivoed a baseball game. About a week later, I had about 60 hours of baseball games....

Matt9876

02-09-2005, 04:42 PM

Got my R-10 and my USB to ethernet adaptor.

Guess you guys know what comes next.

Thanks Ebonovic ! :)

ebonovic

02-09-2005, 05:34 PM

Got my R-10 and my USB to ethernet adaptor.

Guess you guys know what comes next.

Yes... The waiting for DirecTV to provide us a software update to let that USB to Ethernet adaptor do something other than draw power

Thanks Ebonovic ! :)

You are welcome

Vashie

02-13-2005, 01:11 PM

Jerw134

02-13-2005, 01:15 PM

I can't think of a reply that isn't insulting, so I'll just keep it simple: that won't work.

Gunnyman

02-13-2005, 01:18 PM

Jerw134

02-13-2005, 01:20 PM

We can always count on Gunnyman to keep a level head in the face of n00bs! :cool:

Vashie

02-13-2005, 01:22 PM

I can't think of a reply that isn't insulting, so I'll just keep it simple: that won't work.

Be insulting if you're techincal with it :) . Why wouldnt it work? Granted I'm new to this stuff but isn't a tivo nothing more then a glorified single purpous Linux box? If it's getting a IP then it's addressing that box. You cant get into it because of a lack of services with open ports. Give it something to open up with then at least you could throw on TivoWeb or something

Vashie

Vashie

02-13-2005, 01:24 PM

expanding on why....
Tivo's kernel is very particular. If there is stuff put on tivo that tivo didn't put there, the Tivo deletes it.
the R10 has an Eprom in it that makes it impossible to install a new kernel unless you hack the Eprom as well.

as of this writing Not bloody easy but folks are working on it I imagine.

Ah, that makes more sense.. so the problem is not getting the software there and activating it but having it stay there without the tivo killing it in a refresh?

Vashie

Jerw134

02-13-2005, 01:27 PM

so the problem is not getting the software there and activating it but having it stay there without the tivo killing it in a refresh?
Well the problem is both, really. Since you need to have the drive attached to a PC to put the stuff on there, as soon as you put it back in the Tivo and boot it up, it's gone. The telnetd or whatever you put on there will never get a chance to run in the first place, it'll simply be deleted.

Gunnyman

02-13-2005, 01:32 PM

We can always count on Gunnyman to keep a level head in the face of n00bs! :cool:

I deal with a 2 year old all day long. So Tivo Noobs are a breeze :D

opus123

02-13-2005, 07:51 PM

So from what I have been reading in this thread, it seems safe to leave the R10 units disconnected from phone lines without affecting performance..

I'm not a big fan of running additiaonal wires. I just want to confirm that it would be ok to do so, only hooking up for the initialization and for updates thereafter... I'm not big on ppv, so that shouldn't be a factor.

Upon hooking up the first time, how long should I keep the unit connected to the phone line before removing it?

Thanks guys...

Sartori

02-13-2005, 10:25 PM

Why are you guys so bent on keeping your Tivos disconnected from the phone line anyway. Whats the big deal........

Gunnyman

02-13-2005, 10:36 PM

well in my case, If my HDVR2 calls in, TOTAL CHAOS!
People who have installed software on thier tivos don't want them calling in.

opus123

02-13-2005, 11:00 PM

Well number one....
I have wayy too many wires running wild all throughout my apartment already!!!! Add a satellite dvr and there's 2 more coax cables to each unit. I've got one phone outlet in the entire place and see no need to add more.

#2.. Not exactly thrilled with the prospect of tivo recording my viewing haits and selling them back to advertising research companies... I'd be less ofended if the service was free of charge.

Just curious... those of you with 4.0 software... do you transfer shows tivo to tivo wirelessly?

R10 seems good to me as I'm not really interested in many of the hacks out there... Unless it was HD content, I don't really see the benefit of archiving, as I usually buy dvd's on tv shows that I follow.

Matt9876

02-14-2005, 07:01 AM

Already invested one day in solving the R10 Eprom problem. From whats been learned so far it's just a matter of time on this issue.

mtagliaf

02-14-2005, 01:25 PM

Granted, I'm pretty new to all this...

You guys are talking about hacking the R10s, the company ptvupgrade seems willing to sell a pre-hacked replacement HD with Network capabilities, web interface, etc.

Do these HDs contain the same features you're trying to gain thru your hacking?

matt tag

Sartori

02-14-2005, 02:20 PM

opus123

02-14-2005, 03:19 PM

Well it seems to me you guys overlooked alot of issues before going into this. If you have a hacked tivo, worried about the info on the calls, or lack the technical ability to add a phone jack, quit complaing or trying to get around this phone line issue.

And we're the ones complaining?

Dude the R10's aren't hacked. If some people want to do so then God bless.
Personally I'd prefer not to have a phone line connected at all times.

If you don't want to contribute any information, that's your right. There's no need to post antagonistic remarks, as I never sought your approval.

the new guy

02-14-2005, 03:37 PM

You guys are talking about hacking the R10s, the company ptvupgrade seems willing to sell a pre-hacked replacement HD with Network capabilities, web interface, etc.

Do these HDs contain the same features you're trying to gain thru your hacking?
matt tag

The hacked drives run 3.1.1 and will not work in the R10. The replacement drives are intended for S2 DTiVo units only. The R10 is technically not S2 because of major hardware differences, and has been labeled Series 2.5 by the hacking community.

Tim

mtagliaf

02-14-2005, 04:18 PM

thanks, I mis-read the web site. I thought the R10 replacement drives had all the hacks included, but they're just to increase capacity.

matt tag.

drosser

02-14-2005, 04:31 PM

I want to get new DTivo units from D*, but I don't want their crappy installers messing around with my wiring. Is there any way to make them just deliver the units w/out installation?

Thanks!
-dr

Matt9876

02-14-2005, 06:08 PM

You can pick up units from a local dealer and install them yourself.

Most will be ok with it as long as the units get activated in a day or two.

DirecTV will want them to be getting channel 100 before activation and having the units able to make the test call is a good idea.

Not all of us installers are crappy, I've done extensive setups in million dollar homes from Palm Beach Fl. to Knoxville Tenn.

With a couple of phone calls you might get someone really good.

opus123

02-14-2005, 06:29 PM

I want to get new DTivo units from D*, but I don't want their crappy installers messing around with my wiring. Is there any way to make them just deliver the units w/out installation?

Thanks!
-dr

Dr... I'm in a similar boat.
I wanted to get all the stuff and see what's what before I had somebody over the house. My attempt to buy at Best Buy was a bust, as they were unwilling to give me free dish or installation with the DVR units. This is a total departure from what they offer via the website, and I'm unsure if it was just a mistake on their part or the actual policy.
Best of luck with your findings

DisturbedLen

02-14-2005, 11:01 PM

Well I am using the remote from my Philips DSR704... Most of the IR codes between the Tivo Remotes are the same.

Does the R10 remote control the TV, Receiver and Tivo?

ebonovic

02-15-2005, 08:21 AM

Does the R10 remote control the TV, Receiver and Tivo?

That is dependent that your equipment is "known" by the Tivo remote.

If there is a code in the remote for your specific equipment, then yes it will work.

My remote controls my TV's Power (and volume) and my Receiver's Volume control

I programmed my TV first, then the Receiver so the volume control goes to the reciever...

The R10 remote is identical to any other Series 2 DirecTivo Peanut Remote.
It is no different

DisturbedLen

02-15-2005, 08:36 AM

That is dependent that your equipment is "known" by the Tivo remote.

If there is a code in the remote for your specific equipment, then yes it will work.

My remote controls my TV's Power (and volume) and my Receiver's Volume control

I programmed my TV first, then the Receiver so the volume control goes to the reciever...

The R10 remote is identical to any other Series 2 DirecTivo Peanut Remote.
It is no different

I ask because of this. I used to have a Phillips Series 2 (which I sent back to DTV because it was defective). Anyway, inside setup, it was missing an option to control the Receiver. I was baffled. I compared to my DVR2 and DSR6000, and both had that option. I was upset that I would have to use a second remote to control volume. So, I temporarily swapped it with the remote from my DSR6000, which already was programmed for the receiver. All was fine.

Then when I returned it to DTV, I sent back the remote that came with it, they gave me a DVR2 replacement, and all was as I was used to.

odawgx

02-15-2005, 10:54 PM

Hey All,

I have been reading your posts about the R10 and I am not sure if its a blessing or more of a problem.

I read that some people have received R10's from D*.

I am a newbie and I used to have DTivo a while ago. The Sat-T60

I read on DirecTV's website that all they offer for new customers is the 35 hour model. Isn't the R-10 an 80hr. model?

Sorry to post this here, but I don't think this is worthy of its own topic.

Thanks
Omar

ebonovic

02-16-2005, 08:17 AM

DirecTV does give the R10 sometimes for new customers, and yes it is an 80hr model.
But to ensure recieving an R10, go with one of the authorized vendors (such as ValueElectronics www.valueelectronics.com)

Yaco

02-16-2005, 09:48 AM

Hi,
Picked up my unit at Best Buy for $99 . I just checked my software version .It is 6.1 XXXXXXX. Any news on the USB Ports working? I see no inference to it anywhere in the 6.1 software .I need arebateform I can't find mine for the $50 rebate
Lee

ebonovic

02-16-2005, 10:00 AM

Yaco

02-16-2005, 10:20 AM

Yaco...

Yes the USB ports are POWERED... But they don't do anything with regards to the software.

As for a rebate form... As far as I am aware, the $50 rebate is for new customers only via retailers. Contact DirecTV directly to see if they have a $50 rebate for existing customers.

If BestBuy didn't print out a rebate form for you at check out... Chances are very likely there is no rebate currently active for the unit, via their retail store... As they are pretty good at printing out the rebate forms.

Hi,
I think you are correct. But after reading and Rereading the eligibility requirements I think I "Could" be able . We are "New" in the sense that we ordered a 3 room system less than a month ago ;)

AS far as the software what is the offical ver out there I have 6.1. 002456 something to that effect
Thanks
Lee

ebonovic

02-16-2005, 10:32 AM

That is the correct version of the software for an R10.

chtrich

02-16-2005, 07:25 PM

OK, so I haven't updated my software version in a long time (too scared of problems), but can anyone tell me if I update my series 2 will I have folders??
I WANT FOLDERS!!!

Or do you HAVE to get the R10 to get folders?

Also, OP, I saw your video demo of the folders.....Does your R10 always move that fast? My series 2 sometimes takes 10-20 seconds to switch from a show back to the List. If it's really that fast there's another reason to upgrade!

Thanks!

ebonovic

02-16-2005, 07:58 PM

Software version 6.2 should be comming soon for the Series 2s. (In the next few weeks).
Those will have folders.

As for the video... yes, at first the R10 did move that fast.
It is not "as fast" any more, but it still pretty quick.

chtrich

02-16-2005, 09:47 PM

Thanks for your reply! I hope 6.2 comes sooner than later. I'm so anxious for folders!!!

I don't keep my Tivo plugged into the phone jack; anyway someone can post when 6.2 is out?

Is R10 still considerbly faster than series 2?

Thanks again!
Chris

timpooz

02-17-2005, 04:35 PM

Is it just me, or is the access card panel hard to open? There is no handle or even a piece of plastic that juts out.

This is discrimination against nail-biters!

sdchrgrboy

02-17-2005, 04:38 PM

Is it just me, or is the access card panel hard to open? There is no handle or even a piece of plastic that juts out.

This is discrimination against nail-biters! Its just you. If you notice when you look at the upper left side, there is an indentation where you should grab it with your finger. Hadn't had any problem opening it. Besides it's not something that you need to do on a daily basis.

NYHeel

02-17-2005, 04:46 PM

My mother has an R10 and I was over there showing her how to use it and I noticed that it's much slower than both of my DTivos. It's not even close and it was like that out of the box and a few weeks later. The remore commands are slightly delayed and when you delete something from the Now Playing List you can actually see the show disappearing. I don't understand. I thought the R10s were supposed to be faster. If this is what the 6.2 software does then I don't want it. It's not worth folders to have my tivo slow up like that.

ebonovic

02-17-2005, 04:49 PM

Access Panel..... Oh yes, they are a major pain in the butt. On both of mine.
When I first got the first one (which I did the review on), I had to use a razor blade to get in there to pry it lose.

Speed: Have you tried to shut it down and restart it. I know after the first few days it got bogged down, but now they just fly along. My one in my bedroom has an upgraded 160gb drive in it, and has about 120hrs of recordings, and it just plugs and chugs... Much faster (MUCH) faster then any of my DSR704s that are at 120gb.

NYHeel

02-17-2005, 04:58 PM

I haven't rebooted it, but she has had it for over a month now and it's still really slow.

dgold21

02-18-2005, 02:29 AM

texas arsenal

02-18-2005, 09:09 AM

ebonovic

02-18-2005, 09:26 AM

Have you tried shutting it down and restarting it?
If that doesn't solve the problem, you are probably having a hard drive failure, and is grounds to have it replaced.

cmshep222

02-18-2005, 02:50 PM

My friend just got the R10 w/ 80 hr from the RapidSatellite site. It is actually Free after Rebate. $49.99 for a One Room 80hr R10 system, then the $50 Rebate makes it Free baby!!! Also comes with 6.1 preloaded.

Check my profile and go to my homepage if you want to check out the deal for yourself.

ebonovic

02-18-2005, 02:51 PM

Free usually only comes with New subscribers, but you can often find deals every once and a while.

Congrats.

pjpete

02-19-2005, 11:17 AM

Hi can someone tell me where the ir sensor window is on the R10.

thanks

Pete

pjpete

02-19-2005, 04:57 PM

Got it figured out.

Pete

ebonovic

02-19-2005, 04:59 PM

Please do tell... I couldn't find it this afternoon when I was lookign

jiserrab

02-20-2005, 12:27 AM

Please do tell... I couldn't find it this afternoon when I was lookign

I beleive it is the white circle in the middle of the directional buttons on the front of the unit.

pjpete

02-20-2005, 10:31 AM

I beleive it is the white circle in the middle of the directional buttons on the front of the unit.

Hi your right this is what I found as well.

Pete

mstrange

02-20-2005, 10:16 PM

First of all Earl thanks for the review and comments!

I am on the phone right now with Directv and just got a free replacement with a one year commitment. I have three DTivo's and my main room Series 1 is about to go (keeps rebooting and have pulled the case and have the temp at 39-42c and it stopped for a few days but is now doing it again.

I called directv and asked for customer retention and told them that I had been a customer for a number of years and was very frustrated. They offered a DTivo for $49 with a one year contract. I said I needed to decide as my local cable was offering a DVR for free with a $5 monthly fee and they offer the DTivo for free with a one year contract. I accepted!

Hope this helps.

Mike

Adam1115

02-21-2005, 03:34 PM

I know this is going to sound silly and probablly already tried before. Since the thing powers a usb ethernet controller, and receives a IP from a DHCP server (and shows up in the tivo desktop app) Couldn't some enterprising linux geek get the drive out, chroot into it drop in a telnetd and throw it into init.d put the thing back into the the device and wambo bambo you've got everything you've needed to do HMO?

Vash

More importantly, why would an enterprising linux geek waste his time, when he could just load 4.01b and have folders, HMO and MRV?? 6.1 doesn't give you anything 4.0 doesn't have...

ebonovic

02-21-2005, 03:52 PM

Adam1115

02-22-2005, 12:53 AM

Because you can't load v4.01b on an R10.

And also a lot of the enterprising linux "geeks" out there do it for the thrill of doing it...

The one thing 6.1 gives you that 4.0 doesn't have, is corresponding support from DirecTV (regardless of how good it is)...

Hmmm.. So following my logic.. why buy an R10? SDDVR-80 running 4.01b seems far superior...

And from what I read nobody is too interested in bothering with any hacks for 6.1...

ebonovic

02-22-2005, 10:19 AM

It is not that people are not "bothering" with any hacks for 6.1; They are...
It is just more difficult at this point in time.

And yes, you are correct. Running an SD-DVR80 with 4.01b (which you must install) is more superior. Provided that DirecTV never does something to "block" unauthorized versions of the software. (Which is a discussion for another thread).

hifi

03-07-2005, 12:34 AM

Can anyone with Speakeasy VOIP comment as to wether it works with there R10? Thanks.

manoj

03-07-2005, 01:10 PM

With the rollout of 6.2, does the R10 still have a speed advantage over the older Series 2 Directivos?

ebonovic

03-07-2005, 02:14 PM

Don't know yet...

It should have "some" speed advantage, as it uses a faster memory subsystem.

But it is not going to be anything "earth" shattering.

Once I get my 6.2 upgrade, I will compare the two as best I can.

And as for the VoIP.... Just because VoIP works for one customer, doesn't mean it will work for you. Watching the forums, you will see that VoIP and TiVo are hit or mis, with no real pattern...

Zentaar

03-08-2005, 05:45 PM

I plan to switch to direct tv and from spending hours reading this forum I have come to the following conclusions:

1) I can NOT share programming between satalite boxes PERIOD.

I was hoping to set up a home network to share programs, but seems undoable at least with the current direct tv hardware.

2) the R10 uses a dual tuner (so I can record 1 show and watch another).

My current box is a single tuner, my wife is annoyed because she puts the cable box on music and tivo changes the channel to record stuff and she can't use the music channels.

rminsk

03-08-2005, 06:26 PM

II was hoping to set up a home network to share programs, but seems undoable at least with the current direct tv hardware.It is not a hardware limitation but DirecTV decission not to release the software that enables it. If you are willing to go with a non-R10 series 2 DirecTiVo then version 4.x can be installing which does allow HMO and MRV.

ebonovic

03-08-2005, 09:09 PM

And for #2...
All Model DirecTivos are dual tuner enabled. Provided you have two feeds from a sat or multiswitch to the DirecTivo.

bga76

03-08-2005, 09:45 PM

Hi ebonovic, Great review on the R10. I just got one of these with my new DTV account. I have a question for you. The installer did not hook up the dual tuner part of the R10 box, I want to know if this is something that i can do myself or do I need to contact the installer? I have 2 lines coming into the house off of the Satellite, one goes to the R10 and the other goes to the regular box upstairs. I have seen on these forums that a multiswitch is needed to do this, can i put a multiswitch at the R10 box?

ddobson

03-08-2005, 11:03 PM

I'm not ebonic but I'll give you my opinion anyway. If the installer did not hook up the second tuner, he did not do his job. I just had 3 DVR's installed and the installer hooked all the tuners up.

It could require more equipment depending on your setup. You must have a lead for each dish, so if you have an open port on your LNB at the dish, you could run the lead yourself if you wanted to. If you don't have an open port available, you will need a multiswitch which the installer should have provided when he hooked it up.

Did you order through DirecTV? If so, perhaps you should give them a call. Trust me, you will most definately want it hooked up. I think the installer should have done it but if you wanted to you probably can yourself as well.

Hope this helps!!!

Enjoy it, I had 1 Tivo for a year and replaced my other 3 receivers with them last month. I now have 4 Tivo's in the house and we're all enjoying it very much.

Dwayne

tbh999

03-08-2005, 11:52 PM

... can i put a multiswitch at the R10 box?No, you can't just add a multiswitch to the one line going to the Tivo.

If you have a round dish, you must run the two cables from the dish to the multiswitch. Then each tuner must be ran it's own RG6 cable from the multiswitch.

If you have an elliptical dish (with two or more LNB's), then you must run all four cables from the dish to the multiswitch. Then, just as in the round dish, each tuner must be ran it's own cable from the multiswitch.

I recommend you read the LNB and MULTISWITCH FAQ's (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=55509) thread and the HD TiVo and HD DirecTV TiVo FAQ (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=151443) thread (with pictures and diagrams).

NOTE: There is a way around the one wire per tuner requirement, however, it requires the use of a stacker and unstacker and the parting with several hundred dollars. But that's another show...

ebonovic

03-09-2005, 12:40 AM

ddobson and tbh999 are correct in what they are saying...

Basically... you got screwed on a proper install.
Contact the vendor you purchased from, and have them get in touch with the installer company if you can't.

All standard installations of DirecTivos are to include a dual run of cable for dual tuners. Period.

Not only did you get screwed out of the labor of the 2nd run, you got screwed out of the multiswitch that would be involved (either integrated into the oval dish, or a seperate multiswitch).. And those can run from $20 to $50 depending on which modle yo ugo with.

You can do it yourself... there is no "magic" trick to it...
Just be certain that you don't have to eat the cost though. Either via credit from your vendor, DirecTV, or the installer in some way.

bga76

03-09-2005, 07:21 AM

Thank you ddobson and tbh999 and ebonovic. I will be contacting the installer today to get him to come back out and hook up the second line.

THis is a great site, very informitive.

Brian

robertwhee

03-10-2005, 07:55 PM

OK since I am new here please explain to a non techie to set the 30 second skip on the new r10 dvr remote

krymaney

03-10-2005, 09:12 PM

robertwhee.

Start watching a show in the Now Playing list.
Point remote control at the Tivo
----the following steps need to be done in about 10-15 seconds------
Push the Select key on the remote
Push the Play key on the remote
Push the Select key on the remote
Push the 3 key on the remote
Push the 0 (zero) key on the remote
Push the Select key on the remote
-----the previous steps need to be done in about 10-15 seconds------

Now the Skip to Tick button (looks like a right arrow key up against a vertical line) becomes a :30 second skip forward button (it is located opposite side of remote and the Instant Replay button)

Hope this is clear. If it doesn't work, start over and try again.

glumlord

03-14-2005, 04:18 PM

I am curious can you set it to 15 seconds by doing the following?

Push the Select key on the remote
Push the Play key on the remote
Push the Select key on the remote
Push the 1 key on the remote
Push the 5 key on the remote
Push the Select key on the remote

robertwhee.

Start watching a show in the Now Playing list.
Point remote control at the Tivo
----the following steps need to be done in about 10-15 seconds------
Push the Select key on the remote
Push the Play key on the remote
Push the Select key on the remote
Push the 3 key on the remote
Push the 0 (zero) key on the remote
Push the Select key on the remote
-----the previous steps need to be done in about 10-15 seconds------

Now the Skip to Tick button (looks like a right arrow key up against a vertical line) becomes a :30 second skip forward button (it is located opposite side of remote and the Instant Replay button)

Hope this is clear. If it doesn't work, start over and try again.

rminsk

03-14-2005, 09:15 PM

It is only a 30 second skip. You can not set it differently by changing the numbers.

salikiji

03-20-2005, 09:21 PM

Ok, I've read this entire thread and would like the opinion of some of you experienced hardware people. I've had a DSR6000 (series 1) for several years, basically happy with it, the drive is kind of noisy and rearranging the Season Pass items can take an eternity, but those are not huge issues for me.

From what I can see, the current series 2 box, the R10, should be quieter, may or may not be faster, still uses S video output, has disabled USB ports (thank you very much DTV), and may have simialr picture quality and may have worse picture quality. Oh, and the new OS has alphabetical/folder view options.

Hmmm. I'm not sure I'm seeing a definite advantage to moving to a series 2 box, aside from another round of trying to make it dial out over my VoIP :cool:

Opinions please? I may call DTV and try to hustle them out of a new receiver for the heck of it.

ebonovic

03-20-2005, 11:02 PM

Mr.Pibb

03-21-2005, 06:35 AM

IMO, the R10 has a better picture than my series1 DirecTIVO. I don't consider it "hustling", but I called the DirecTV retention # and asked them if there was anything they could do for me to replace my other standard receiver with a DVR since the cable companies are offering such great deals. The CSR didn't hesitate and offered me a new unit and I only paid the $14.99 "delivery" fee. I still had 2 months left on an existing commitment, and I don't subscribe to any premium channels.

My opinions of the changes with the R10 compared to my series 1 unit:
Menus are faster. Grid guide faster. Adding season passes faster.
Picture is better, more color and contrast.
More storage (70hr vs 35hr)
Hard drive is quieter (but I had some vibration from the HD or fan transferring into my entertainment center that was audible. I fixed it by adding extra rubber feet to the front where I think the plastic was touching)
Doesn't seem to run as hot, but I haven't verified that. (In an enclosed entertainment center)
Folders are there, I haven't used them yet.

Ok, I've read this entire thread and would like the opinion of some of you experienced hardware people. I've had a DSR6000 (series 1) for several years, basically happy with it, the drive is kind of noisy and rearranging the Season Pass items can take an eternity, but those are not huge issues for me.

From what I can see, the current series 2 box, the R10, should be quieter, may or may not be faster, still uses S video output, has disabled USB ports (thank you very much DTV), and may have simialr picture quality and may have worse picture quality. Oh, and the new OS has alphabetical/folder view options.

Hmmm. I'm not sure I'm seeing a definite advantage to moving to a series 2 box, aside from another round of trying to make it dial out over my VoIP :cool:

Opinions please? I may call DTV and try to hustle them out of a new receiver for the heck of it.

salikiji

03-21-2005, 11:53 AM

1) The R10 will be faster then your Series 1 unit.
2) Your Series 1 has reached it's end of life cycle, and won't be updated again
(aka you won't get folders, lba48 support, additional SAT support)

Other than that.... Unless you have having an issue with your DSR6000... don't upgrade.

Why would you try to hustle them? The unit is only $99... And if you are upgrading for upgrade sake... why should you get it for free?

I have no problem with people who get free upgrades because of something DTV did (aka, bad upgrade software, or their locals are on a sat that they can't recieve with current upgrade). But just to get one because you don't want to pay for it.....

thanks for the response.

I used the term "hustle" humurously...but why would I ask for a deal on a new unit? Well, I've been a DTV customer for many many years (before the DSR6000 I had SAT1 and SAT2 Sony units) and they've enjoy a good deal of my commerce. If they want to offer me a deal on a new unit, cool. It's like my cell phone company, I've paid them $100/month for several years for service, I could pay say $350 for a new phone, but a new customer would only pay $49 for the same phone. So I could switch to a new carrier and get the same deal, or ask my current carrier to sell me the phone for $49 instead of $350 to retain me as a customer.

ebonovic

03-21-2005, 12:40 PM

thanks for the response.

I used the term "hustle" humurously...

Sorry...

There are a LOT of people here on the forum, and elsewhere... That think DirecTV should give them EVERYTHING for free, and try to do so.

Anyway, that is a discussion for another thread, another day.

dshinnick

03-24-2005, 12:30 PM

I have a Harmony 659. I set it up to talk to my SA S2, then I upgraded to an R10. I didn't change the Harmony a bit; it just immediately talked to the R10. I wasn't surprised; I figured they both had the same codes, and so I fully expected it to work.

dave

kbohip

03-25-2005, 02:00 AM

I have an R10 that I bought on Super Bowl Sunday. It is slower today that it was when I first plugged it in. My DSR6000 blows it away, and that's saying something. I'm on the verge of boxing it back up and taking it back...am I being impatient? It literally takes 30 seconds or more sometimes to recognize any remote input whatsoever. I'll click the guide button just once, and about half a minute later, it pops up. This is true of any command at all. Should I give it a little more time to work it out?

FYI, my parent's just got 2 R-10's installed today. I was over there going through the setup on my Dad's Tivo, checking the sat. signal strength. When I went to exit that screen the Tivo seemed to lock up. It sat there for around 20 seconds before it went back to the previous screen. It did this at every screen after that one too. Hitting the exit button to go back to live tv took 20 or 30 seconds to get back to it. I rebooted it (Man I thought my Dish 522 was slow to reboot!) and it seemed to cure the problem.

The Tivo my Mom's using didn't ever have this problem. I'm really hoping it's not a bad drive as someone here suggested it could be. I will ask my Dad if he's having any problems and keep you all up to date.

BTW, do any of you get any pixelation or audio dropouts with these units? The Dish 522's are notorious for this and I'm wondering if all dual tuner DVR's suffer from this.

Mr.Pibb

03-25-2005, 07:51 AM

My new R-10 was just as sluggish the first day until I did a reboot. I haven't had one single slowdown in the past couple weeks since then. The menus are much faster than my Series 1 DirecTIVO.

I've not had any pixelation or audio dropouts at this point.

Tim

FYI, my parent's just got 2 R-10's installed today. I was over there going through the setup on my Dad's Tivo, checking the sat. signal strength. When I went to exit that screen the Tivo seemed to lock up. It sat there for around 20 seconds before it went back to the previous screen. It did this at every screen after that one too. Hitting the exit button to go back to live tv took 20 or 30 seconds to get back to it. I rebooted it (Man I thought my Dish 522 was slow to reboot!) and it seemed to cure the problem.

The Tivo my Mom's using didn't ever have this problem. I'm really hoping it's not a bad drive as someone here suggested it could be. I will ask my Dad if he's having any problems and keep you all up to date.

BTW, do any of you get any pixelation or audio dropouts with these units? The Dish 522's are notorious for this and I'm wondering if all dual tuner DVR's suffer from this.

ebonovic

03-25-2005, 09:54 AM

As Mr.Pibb noted.... A reboot should help your slow down issues.

The R10's are doing something during their first week of life. IMHO, it is something in the code that is causing it to internally loop around and max out the processor.

A Reboot seems to reset that particular issue, and give you all the performance back.
I had to do this on both my R10s (and I have recommeded it dozens of times), in all cases it seems to resolve the performance issues.

Both of my R10's (one being upgraded to a 160gb drive), have been smoking along for almost 3 full months now.

lorick

03-25-2005, 09:57 AM

I also have an R10 upgraded to 285hrs and it is working very fast. No problems here.

gts56

03-25-2005, 01:21 PM

I love my R10. No problems here and I've had it about 6 weeks now. Definitely addicted.

henesy

03-25-2005, 05:49 PM

:(
I was disappointed that I cannot watch something else while recording Tivo to my brand new Sony RDR GX300 DVD Recorder (a STEAL on e-bay.) . Overnight would be an ideal time, but unless Im not grabbing this concept, the DVD Recorder records exactly what is shown on TV, so if you turn off your TV you aint recordin nuttin, brother. Directv to DVD recorder is fine.. it's the same as VCR. You can use timer, leave, shut off TV or watch something else while you're recording.... but you can't do those things from Tivo to DVD recorder.

And, my God, the guide scroll is so slooooow!

ebonovic

03-25-2005, 07:27 PM

:(
And, my God, the guide scroll is so slooooow!

If you think the Guide Scroll is slow on the R10... You need to see on the other models.....

SLOmike

03-26-2005, 07:06 PM

:(
I was disappointed that I cannot watch something else while recording Tivo to my brand new Sony RDR GX300 DVD Recorder... but unless Im not grabbing this concept, the DVD Recorder records exactly what is shown on TV, so if you turn off your TV you aint recordin nuttin, brother.
The DirecTiVo can output only one signal. You can either watch the show that is being sent out, record it using a DVD Recorded (or VCR), or do both (watch and record one show). It does not matter if the TV is on or off. The TV never has to be turned on (except to watch a show). The DVD recorder should be connected between the DirecTiVo and the TV.

cslivkoff

03-26-2005, 09:10 PM

Today, I received a R10 to replace my DSR6000.

Having moved a few weeks ago I am now living in a much smaller market now and needed the newer unit to receive locals. I expected some grief from the tech when I told him that I didn't have a phone line, but he completed the install and called to get my service transfered. He did take my DSR6000 as an exchange, though.

After he left, I took the R10 to a friend's house and attempted to make the initial setup call, but things did not go well. Based on my troubleshooting, the modem was not working properly. I spent about 25 minutes on the phone with DTV and they agreed to send me a replacement (2-3 days).

When I got back home, I popped the top and took a look at the board. The plastic RJ-11 jack for the modem moved slightly when I touched it. I can't see the solder contacts, but I think this might be the problem.

I read through all of this thread, and while I didn't see any mention of any major hw problems, there seemed to be an overall impression that the quality of the R10 is lower than the previous Series 2 models. There was some mention of image quality issues, but I haven't noticed any. The picture looks as good as my old DSR6000.

Has anyone else had any modem problems with the R10 or am I the first to mention it?

Also, I think the 30-day test of no phone call passed, correct? Has there been any change yet or is the R10 still recording?

Thanks,

-chuck

stevemunk

03-26-2005, 11:25 PM

same problem
i had a sony t60 that gave out and replaced it with the r10 today.
i rember that with the t60 i put ",#034" in the prefix and it worked fine.
not this time.
i have 2 separate phone numbers and both lines fail.
i can hear the modem dial out when i pick up the cordless.
who uses a modem anymore anyway?
i will try the wireless modem and will post the results

C_Roberts

03-27-2005, 04:08 AM

I have had a pair of DSR6000’s (1 stock, 1 added 120GB HD) for about 3 years and they have never been that fast. With the addition of all the channels and 3 years use they have gotten ridiculously slow, although I have to say I have not missed one recording on either machine in that time.

Setting a recording takes between 1 to 3 minutes, a season pass takes about 5-10 and don’t even think about readjusting the season passes. :eek: I did all the things I saw there like clearing thumbs and restarting it. They did help, but not by much.

Yesterday I bought a R10 and its like going from a VW to a Corvette. :D It is so much faster. The guide is perfectly clear (not fuzzy as others have had). The only drawback is the larger peanut remote has some buttons in different locations and I keep pressing the ones programmed into my head and messing things up.

I plan on replacing my other DSR6000 tomorrow. :up:

stevemunk

03-27-2005, 07:59 AM

well i did a reset last night
selected clear and delete everything and went to bed
did the phone test today and it worked..
i wont have to get the wireless modem

Rcrew

03-27-2005, 09:54 AM

Today, I received a R10 to replace my DSR6000.

... He did take my DSR6000 as an exchange, though...

Why did you let him do that?

Rcrew

03-27-2005, 10:51 AM

Since the drive died in my primary S1 Wednesday, I had occasion to move the 2 1/2 month old R10 into 'production' in the living room. It's been living in the guest room since Jan. Not much use in there, but it's been chugging along. BTW, at last check the phone had been disconnected for 60 days, and everything was working fine.

I'm still adjusting to the different remote. But I'm not seeing any PQ issues. It is quite a bit faster, in everything. Re-ordering SPs and WLs is quick. But one big difference I saw was in power ups. Since I put my old 40gb back into the failed S1 while I wait for an RMA on the 160gb drive, I had opportunity to watch cold powerups on both systems close together. The R10 blows the S1 away in everything, especially acquiring the sat.

Don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I'm seeing a slight difference in the NPL. On my S1s when I bring up the details on a recording in the NPL, I have up and down arrows that I can use the Channel up and down button to move to the previous or next recording. On my R10 there are no arrows, and I can't seem to move around at the program detail level.

If you're reading Earl, how many hours did you get putting a 160 into your R10? I was going to take my RMA'd drive and put it into my old S1 again. But now I'm wondering if I should just use that to upgrade the R10.

ronwoods

03-28-2005, 03:38 PM

Great Review!!

Could you comment on Fan and HardDrive noise I am planning on an R10 for the bedroom.

Thanks again for all your effort.

Bww

Don't know about anyone else, but when I got my Huges unit it was a bit noisy. I simply disconnected this internal fans power connector from the motherboard and then monitored the internal temp for a time, it has never gotten outside of normal operating temp. This was about 1.5 years ago and it is going stong.

ebonovic

03-28-2005, 04:31 PM

If you're reading Earl, how many hours did you get putting a 160 into your R10? I was going to take my RMA'd drive and put it into my old S1 again. But now I'm wondering if I should just use that to upgrade the R10.

The 160gb drive gave me 140hrs in my R10.
(Sorry for the late reply, it was a LONG holiday weekend).

As for removing the fan... I wouldn't... That heat could spike at any moment. If the fan is that loud, upgrade it one of the MANY available after market fans out there.

And the hard drive, the samsung 120gb drive is DEADLY quiet. You can almost put your ear right on the unit at bearly hear it still.

C_Roberts

03-29-2005, 03:32 AM

Yea! I am now the proud owner of two lightning fast R-10’s. I replaced the first of my two DSR6000’s on Friday and was so impressed with the performance improvement I bought another one today to replace my other DSR6000.

First I was impressed with Circuit City for their fast service in selling the units and informing me of the one year commitment and even more impressed that the DTV call center handled swapping each unit very well and fast. My only complaint is when you call DTV the phone-bot doesn’t make it clear what choices to make for hardware upgrades.

BWASH it should be fine in your bedroom. I was swapping out my second one today and thought I had accidentally unplugged the first one since I was right behind it and could not hear it. I could sure hear the DSR6000 hard drives from that close. It was running fine just being nice and quiet.

Rcrew

03-30-2005, 04:03 PM

Finished this morning. I first tried putting my RMA'd Maxtor 160 in my old S1 after using dd to copy the old 40 gb drive. But I suspected there was going to be a problem when after trying to expand with -x I got "Nothing to Expand" 37 hours.

I'm guessing the old 'original' 40gb drive was rebuilt from the old dual drive upgrade, and there's really a partition problem.

Anyway, since I've liked the R10 in the living room so much, I just decided to use the 160 in it. So I used dd and -x from the PTV LBA 48 cd, and now I've got a 139 hour R10. I assume it's seeing the full, large drive. I'm pretty sure that when the 160 was in my S1 it only got 123 hours.

Thanks Earl for pointing me to the PTV cd .iso for LBA48 support. And of couse thanks to PTV for making the tools available.

I'm back to 3 DTiVos, although just a little bit less total time for the house, 139 + 70 + 35. But I'm guessing that'll be enough! :D

Chevy-SS

04-01-2005, 07:40 PM

Unhappy with the R10

I have a 50" Samsung DLP. I was using DirecTV with a RCA receiver, with S-video connector. It worked really good and many shows (CNN, for example) were coming in at near-HD quality. I then installed the R10 (using same S-video connector and antenna line) and the picture is much grainier, also with a little ghosting. It's a very noticeable and disappointing difference. Some folks might be happy with it if they didn't know better, but my PQ was great with the RCA receiver and now it's just average at best with the R10 Tivo.

Some have mentioned swapping this R10 for another unit? Would that improve PQ? I really don't understand what's happening in the R10 unit. Is there an extra digital to analog conversion or something going on in there?

I really LOVE the convenience of Tivo, but not at the sacrifice of good PQ. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch

C_Roberts

04-03-2005, 12:42 AM

Chevy-SS, I’m using a Toshiba 57HDX82 and the PQ looks as good as Sat TV gets. One thing that makes a Huge difference is to junk the S-Video cables that came with your unit and get a set of quality shielded ones. I’m not talking Monster$$ cables, I bought the GE ones that you can get at Target of Fry’s for about $10 a set and it really is an improvement over the junkers that come with AV equipment. I ended up replacing all of my cables with the GE shielded ones.

Then again you might just have a bad unit. The second R10 I installed last Monday was incredibly slow for the first two days, push a button and wait 10 to 30 seconds for anything to happen. I was getting ready to return it but by the third day it was fast as the first one.

Chevy-SS

04-03-2005, 09:53 AM

C_Roberts, I used the same S-video cable that I was using the RCA receiver with. It is a really good shielded cable from Radio Shack. The only part that was changed was the receiver (went from RCA to R10). Even though I am not an electrical engineer, it seems obvious that if I only change out one part, and I get a decrease in PQ, then something in the new part is affecting the PQ.

Is everything in the R10 digital? I mean, if you can "pause" live TV, that means it is being recorded and then re-broadcast to your set. The PQ loss I am experiencing seems like an extra conversion, maybe digital to analog? I don't know. It's just disappointing to now this crummy PQ on such a beautiful set. I would've spent a lot more money to get a good Tivo unit that did not hurt the PQ.

Will DirecTV take this unit back and give me a better one? Is there a better one?

compac1882

04-04-2005, 09:19 AM

Great thread have been lurking here for a while...
wanted to know about r10 before talking DTV into the best deal available. Just a thanks to all :)

ebonovic

04-04-2005, 10:46 AM

Is everything in the R10 digital? I mean, if you can "pause" live TV, that means it is being recorded and then re-broadcast to your set. The PQ loss I am experiencing seems like an extra conversion, maybe digital to analog? I don't know. It's just disappointing to now this crummy PQ on such a beautiful set. I would've spent a lot more money to get a good Tivo unit that did not hurt the PQ.

Will DirecTV take this unit back and give me a better one? Is there a better one?

The R10 is just like the others: It records the digital stream from DirecTV, then decodes it to an Analog signal to your TV. ALL DirecTivos do that (With the exception of the HR10-250 HD unit)

You can certainly "try" one of the older Series 2 models. Any of them will do (Philips DSR Series, is the one I used to recommend)... They are all the same under the case. But do remember, this "could" be a software related issue with v6.x . There have been enough reports now that we just can't assume it is the viewer opion, that v6.x could be effecting the PQ quality.

It could als be that you have a bum R10, something wrong with it's output.
If you call DirecTV they will "most likely" exchange it for another R10. You may get lucky and get one of the older models. Normally DirecTV won't "specify" what replacement you will get, just that you will get one.

But as in most cases, it depends on the CSR you get, and luck of the draw at that time.

Hodaka

04-04-2005, 11:20 AM

I too have noticed that my R10 picture quality is not as good as that of my old RCA receiver on the exact same hookup. It's not *that* bad.. but it is something my wife and I both noticed.. After testing, I did a lot of cable moving, switch changes, etc. Same picture quality throughout..

The menus and not being able to change the color scheme are the worst part. The guide is almost unreadable for my wife, and blurry to me (but readable at least). I believe this is a software issue, but don't know for sure..

ebonovic

04-04-2005, 11:50 AM

The menus and not being able to change the color scheme are the worst part. The guide is almost unreadable for my wife, and blurry to me (but readable at least). I believe this is a software issue, but don't know for sure..

The color scheme changing is an OVERALL DirecTivo / TiVo thing.
Not specific to the R10

As for the guide... for me at least, it is the same size font and readability as any other model DirecTivo.

But factors (including TV Type, and Size, and Age) do play an important part in that.

vince911

04-05-2005, 02:06 AM

After two weeks with a new R10 I'd say the PQ is noticably a little better than my old Sony SAT-T60. Sharper and clearer but - YMMV.

C_Roberts

04-06-2005, 03:58 AM

Wow, if you are using the S-video your guide should not be blurry at all. Both my R-10's have very sharp menu's. I am guessing that there must be a bad batch out there. I also had good performance with my DSR6000 units except they were too slow. I have been lurking here a lot again and it seems it is common for the menu on the R-10 to be blurry. I guess I lucked out to get two good ones. As a long time D*Tivo user I do use the list guide instead of the grid since it is faster and more transparent, but both are very sharp on my TV's.

I can only suggest

1) Replace the stock S-Video cable with a quality sheilded one
2) Set Sharpness on your TV to about 10% (Sat TV doesn't need sharpness like OTA or cable)
3) use RG-6 cables from the sat to the D*Tivo box(no RG-58,59 splitters)

Another thing I haven't seen so far is that the R-10 has added the bings and bongs to the optical cable. My DSR6000 only would play them in anolog mode.

Chevy-SS

04-06-2005, 09:33 AM

ebonovic

04-06-2005, 10:12 AM

I guess I just cannot understand why there is a digital to analog conversion (and resultant PQ loss) when I want to watch live TV. I can reluctantly accept a PQ degradation for a recorded show, but while watching "live TV" the Tivo unit should be able to pipe the clean digital signal right on through.

The PQ loss is not horrible, mind you, but it is very noticeable. In today's world of $5,000 (and up) HDTV sets, you should be able to expect no PQ degradation from your Tivo unit. I'm just amazed they would build a unit like this.

There is the digital to analog conversion, simply because your TV can't accept a DIGITAL signal. It needs an analog signal (this excludes HD defined connections).

They probably could have used a better grade decoder/modulator to generate the signal for the monitor, but it appears the PQ issue is not consitant. So in some cases (like mine, and others), the PQ is very good. In others it is blurry.

tbh999

04-07-2005, 08:06 PM

Chevy-SS, all direcTV boxes have a D-A converter. The feed from the SAT is digital, so you need to convert it to watch it on your TV.

Now, if you are talking HDirecTV and an HDTV, that's another matter, however the R10 is not HD.

BeRnWuN

04-10-2005, 02:53 PM

Hello all, I am new to Tivo. I have a direcTV r10. I have a media center pc in my living room and just wanted to see if there was a way to pull the files off my r10. Im pretty sure the answer is no from reading through this thread. I have a wireless usb and a home network. Thanks for any help.

ebonovic

04-10-2005, 05:12 PM

You are correct, there is no way to pull your files from your R10 (or any DirecTivo for that matter), to a Windows Media Center PC.

wally87

04-21-2005, 07:26 PM

Would it be possible to use the media center PC to emulate a VCR?

ebonovic

04-21-2005, 08:52 PM

Would it be possible to use the media center PC to emulate a VCR?

Sure... Why do you ask? As this is a TiVo forum, and this partiular thread is for the DirecTV R10 model....

AVSForum DVR section will certainly have some more information regarding Microsofts Media Center PC (this in addition to all the Microsoft Forums and newsgroups).

kryten2x4b

04-22-2005, 04:12 PM

I purchased an R10 a week ago and have it connected to an Hitachi 54" HD monitor. I was using a Hughes GCEB0 receiver.

There is no question that the Hughes receiver had better PQ. The highly compressed digital signal that DirecTV sends varies in quality from channel to channel and was never great, but with the Hughes receiver it was often bearable.

However my R10's PQ on my large screen HD monitor is very difficult to watch. The graininess and the digital artifacts are quite pronounced especially in dimly lit scenes and animation. Sometimes details are just a blur.

Now I realize that watching compressed digital signals on a large HD monitor certainly exacerbates the problem and the R10's output might very well look OK on a smaller screen, but this is 2005 and large screen HD sets are everywhere. You'd think a new generation receiver would at least look as good as a older model, not worse. I can live with the inferior menu system but not with the inferior PQ.

I don't think there's anything defective with my R10, they're probably all like this. I know my HD monitor is fine because the PQ from DVD's is stunning. I just think the R10 was built to be as inexpensive to manufacture as possible and this is the result. Yes I know the HD unit is available but $1000 is ridiculous and there's still too little HD content on DirecTV to justify it.

I'm really disappointed because there are so few viable alternatives. I could give up Tivo or use a smaller size screen or pay a fortune for a few HD channels. All unacceptable choices.

How long will we have to wait before we can receive main stream high quality digital television from satellite TV?

ebonovic

04-22-2005, 05:42 PM

There is no doubt that the R10 has PQ issues with some TV's....

Are you connecting via S-Video, Component, or Composite?
Most times it appears with the S-Video connection style.... but then again, it has not been consitant at all.

There is no doubt they may the unit "cheaper", I saw that the moment I applied a screwdriver to the first screw.

DirecTV optimizes their picture quality for a 26"-32" CRT display model. That information came from a previous DirecTV Employee that frequented the board.

So until DirecTV start to "catch" up with 2005, then we are going to see issues.
There is no dobut that the "TiVo" part does something to the picture, as it has to prepare it for the graphic overlays (the fast forward bar, the thumbs up, down, ect....) So it is adding just enough additional garbage to the video screen, that newer TV's are picking that up.

With regards to the $1,000 HR10-250... With enough "searching", credits, and catching sales that occur. You can get the unit for about $500... See the HD-Forum for more details. Which is still high.... But if you only look for HD Content for DirecTV, then you are going to be waiting a long time, or in about 6 months you are going to be looking at the Home Media Center that can tap into the new sats.

OTA is where "most" of the original HD Content comes from. And if you are in an O&O but can't get reception, you may qualify to get the East or West Coasts feeds.

....

To answer your last point.
Probably about 6 to 12 months at this point. As the new Sats are starting to go up (one is set to launch next week)....
So hopefully we will see the Home Media Center for HD content by the Holiday season.

Mr.Pibb

04-22-2005, 07:31 PM

I purchased an R10 a week ago and have it connected to an Hitachi 54" HD monitor. I was using a Hughes GCEB0 receiver.

There is no question that the Hughes receiver had better PQ...

I had completely the opposite experience going from a hughes GCEB0 to an R10 on my 34" Toshiba HD monitor. The picture on the GCEB0 was noticiably washed out and the blacks all blended together on it. Maybe, if that was the case with your unit, you had your TV adjusted to counter the bad picture on the GCEB0 and now it makes the R10 look bad? Maybe the quality control on the R10's just sucks. :mad:

Anyway, any of the DirecTV "preview" channels look great. If they only allocated that much bandwidth to all the channels I think much of our picture quality issues would go away. I'm interested to see what happens with the new satellites, but nervous that they'll take my Tivo away and give me an inferior PVR.

thedataman

04-22-2005, 08:55 PM

Just became a DirecTv subscriber about 1 week ago. I have 4 units.

1 RCA HD unit
2 D10 SD units
1 R10 Tivo unit

I have the following connections:

1 RCA HD unit connected to 55" Mitsubishi HD RPTV
1 D10 unit connected to 20 inch CRT
1 R10 Tivo connected to 27" CRT
1 D10 unit connected to 42" EDTV Plasma

(The D10 is not connected directly to the plasma. Instead it is connected to a Marantz SR5500 receiver via the S-video output on the D10, which is then converted to component out from the Marantz and then run to the Plasma. I will use the same connection for the R10 once I swap the units.)

I am planing to swap the R10 Tivo unit on the 27" TV with the D10 on the Plasma. However, in reading through this thread, I have to ask a few questions...

1) Does the D10 show better PQ than I will see with the R10 TIVO when I swap the units?
2) Is anyone here running the R10 on a plasma? What are your experiences with PQ.

ebonovic

04-22-2005, 11:39 PM

J
1) Does the D10 show better PQ than I will see with the R10 TIVO when I swap the units?
2) Is anyone here running the R10 on a plasma? What are your experiences with PQ.

for #1: I have never had a D10 (Actually I haven't had a non-dvr reciever for well over three years, so I can't compare it.

For #2: I have hooked one of my R10s up to my Pioneer 503cmx plasma, via S-Video. The PQ was identical to that of my DSR704. The PQ is not "terrific" on some channels, but on others it is just as good as the SD quality from the HR10-250 (that is also hooked up to the Plasma via Component).

If you are going to be more then 10ft away, it VERY watchable... Not HD, but still very watchable. The only thing that really degrades the picture is stretching it out to fill the screen. Other than that both the R10 and the DSR704 PQ was the same on my 50" plasma.

catfish john

04-24-2005, 03:14 PM

Has any one had this happen to them with the HR10?
when viewing the screen goes to black & white with waves of color but will disappear when you change channels?

ebonovic

04-24-2005, 05:25 PM

Yes, it is a problem with the CORE TiVo software or hardware design.
It has been around since the Series 1 units...

catfish john

04-25-2005, 06:48 AM

Yes, it is a problem with the CORE TiVo software or hardware design.
It has been around since the Series 1 units...
thank you ebonovic for your reply. do you know if there is a fix for this problem or not.

ebonovic

04-25-2005, 08:06 AM

Nope, there is no fix.

If it is happening very frequently, contact DirecTV and request a replacment.

johnalb

04-26-2005, 08:32 PM

ebonovic

04-26-2005, 08:39 PM

The unit will get eventualy get the 6.2 upgrade, when it goes full release.

Did you try powering down and restarting your R10 before you sent it back? Just curiuos.
It is possible that the hard drive was going bad.

Either way, the Samsung is a good unit.

johnalb

04-26-2005, 09:26 PM

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I did multiple reboots on the R10 before calling Directv. It just slowed down when accessing recorded programs.

I am in the LA area and the 6.2 upgrade on my DVR40 was awesome.

BTW. Is the Samsung a Series 2? It is still on 3.1e.

Thanks.

kbohip

04-26-2005, 09:54 PM

I get my new R-10's installed on Firday! :D I'll be hooking one up to a 57" Toshiba RPTV and one to a 32" Sony Trinitron. I'll let you guys know what my thoughts are on the PQ. I'm switching from Dish so I'll be interested to see if I can see any differences.

bcushman

04-27-2005, 09:24 AM

The unit will get eventualy get the 6.2 upgrade, when it goes full release.

Did you try powering down and restarting your R10 before you sent it back? Just curiuos.

I bought a R10 from BB on Sunday. Got it activated and found it was SLOW, and I mean slow. I unplugged it, and it was fine after that.

ebonovic

04-27-2005, 09:45 AM

I bought a R10 from BB on Sunday. Got it activated and found it was SLOW, and I mean slow. I unplugged it, and it was fine after that.

We have found that is the case with almost ALL the R10s.
It does something in it's first week of "life" that is causing it to loop out internally.

A reboot fixes it almost ever time.
I rebooted mine, and they have been running solid for almost 4 months now.

db54

04-27-2005, 08:33 PM

I purchased an R10 form Best Buy and after a month and a half, it was so slow that Directv agreed to replace it. However, they sent a Samsung SIR S4080R.

Is this a downgrade?

Should I keep the Samsung or complain to get another R10?

Will this unit upgrade to 6.2?

i purchased my R10 from BB as well and am confused as to who is actually responsible for it, should there be a problem . would it actually be BB or *D) i was under the impression that since it was purchased from BB, that they should be contacted if there were problems.

johnalb

04-28-2005, 11:44 PM

When I contacted BB, they said their policy is to provide a refund if the product is returned within 30 days. According to the manual, DIrectv provides a limited 90 day warranty. However, they will repair, replace with new, repaired, refurbished or comparable product. Thus, they ship whatever they have in stock.

ebonovic

04-29-2005, 08:58 AM

i purchased my R10 from BB as well and am confused as to who is actually responsible for it, should there be a problem . would it actually be BB or *D) i was under the impression that since it was purchased from BB, that they should be contacted if there were problems.

If it is is inside the 30day window, it would be Best Buy.
30 - 90 Days... DirecTV

90+ , Call DirecTV and see if they can do something for you... but it is "technically" out of warranty at that point.

db54

04-29-2005, 12:24 PM

thanks Earl

MikeekiM

05-03-2005, 10:32 AM

I have scanned the entire thread (great review, and informative posts!)...

Quick question which I didn't see covered (though I may have missed it): Does the R10 have the issue of remote hangs? That is, sometimes both my SAT-T60 and HDVR2 units become non-responsive to remote commands... The keystrokes (or at least some of them) seem to get buffered during the "hang", which sometimes lasts for a good 20-30 seconds...

Thanks!

kbohip

05-04-2005, 03:54 AM

When my Dad first got his R-10's hooked up over a month ago he had the remote hang issue. Actually I was going through the menus myself at the time and noticed it. The system got VERY slow and the remote stopped responding and took 20-30 secs to do anything. I did a reboot and it's worked perfect ever since. My mom has the same unit in the other room and it never had the problem. At first I though the drive in my Dad's might have been defective but it's worked perfect since.

I just got 2 R-10's hooked up last Friday and neither one had this problem. As far as PQ goes I have to give a slight nod to Dish Network though. The Directivo looks fine on the premium channels but the locals look like analog cable. Not good on my 57" HD ready tv. I can live with it though because unlike Dish's junk DVR's the Directivo's have both been stable as can be so far. I'm not getting the audio dropouts and pixelation that I got with my Dish 522 dvr either. I can't wait for HD to finally become mainstream! Neither Dish nor Directv SD look as good as they should on my big tv.

ebonovic

05-04-2005, 08:13 AM

Quick question which I didn't see covered (though I may have missed it): Does the R10 have the issue of remote hangs?

Yes it does, but it is not to the same degree as the T60 and the HDVR2.
In fact, after the first "reboot"... my now standard recommendation is that you reboot your R10 about a week after you have had it, and then once again another week later.... (The R10 does something that causes it to loop out inside the software, after a reboot (or 2) that issues goes away.... almost 5 months now, and have not had to reboot again).

I get a rare occasion where it will hang for a few seconds (less then 5). And I have up-ed my hard drive to a 160.

ebonovic

05-04-2005, 08:16 AM

As far as PQ goes I have to give a slight nod to Dish Network though. The Directivo looks fine on the premium channels but the locals look like analog cable. Not good on my 57" HD ready tv.

Local PQ has always been an issue... some locals have good PQ while others are just brutal. There are a lot of factors that go into play with the PQ.. (The source, method of transmission to DirecTV, compression from the source to DTV, compression from DTV to consumer).

Hopefully it will improve when they get to move some of the HD content from the 101 and 119 SATs, and get lower the compression settings for locals.

DTV picture is optimized for a 32" CRT TV... As your TV get's larger, and of better quality, you will start to see the compression artifacts. State of the technology at this point I guess :(

MikeekiM

05-04-2005, 11:03 AM

I did a reboot and it's worked perfect ever since.

Yes it does, but it is not to the same degree as the T60 and the HDVR2.
In fact, after the first "reboot"... my now standard recommendation is that you reboot your R10 about a week after you have had it, and then once again another week later.... (The R10 does something that causes it to loop out inside the software, after a reboot (or 2) that issues goes away.... almost 5 months now, and have not had to reboot again).

I get a rare occasion where it will hang for a few seconds (less then 5). And I have up-ed my hard drive to a 160.

Hmmm... Do you know if my SAT-T60 and HDVR2 would benefit from regular reboots? I know the answer could be "try it and see"...and I can certainly do that. But I am wondering if anyone knows for certain or has any experience...

kbohip

05-04-2005, 01:27 PM

Local PQ has always been an issue... some locals have good PQ while others are just brutal. There are a lot of factors that go into play with the PQ.. (The source, method of transmission to DirecTV, compression from the source to DTV, compression from DTV to consumer).

Hopefully it will improve when they get to move some of the HD content from the 101 and 119 SATs, and get lower the compression settings for locals.

DTV picture is optimized for a 32" CRT TV... As your TV get's larger, and of better quality, you will start to see the compression artifacts. State of the technology at this point I guess :(

Ya, the crappy thing is the only reason I had to get a 57" tv was because after I moved into our new house I found that it was a little hard to see my 32" Trinitron from a distance of 20 feet. The 57" I can see very easily but it REALLY shows any picture artifacts and noise. The 32" is now downstairs and looks awesome with Directv.

MikeekiM, I don't know what to tell you. I have two R-10's and I've rebooted the upstairs one twice now. Once when I first got it and another time after I put the new hard drive in. The one downstairs has never even been rebooted once after the initial setup and works perfect.

ebonovic

05-04-2005, 05:37 PM

Hmmm... Do you know if my SAT-T60 and HDVR2 would benefit from regular reboots? I know the answer could be "try it and see"...and I can certainly do that. But I am wondering if anyone knows for certain or has any experience...

Not really.... Not set pattern with the older models.

The reboot on the R10 is to correct a programming loop it gets stuck in.
Now, the "programming loop" is MY OWN best guess of what is going on, as a programmer.

DirecTV and TiVo have never come out to say what is going on, but it is a logical explanation.

daver42

05-06-2005, 07:36 PM

Glad I found this forum. Just wanted to impart my R10 tale. It was working fine when it was installed a few weeks ago. The other day I started getting blank screens, dropped recordings, and then the message saying that Sat In 2 is not detecting a signal. I reset the thing, did the guided setup, and still no signal. Swapped the lines coming from the sat dish, and still no signal detected by Sat In 2. Called DirecTV and within a 2 minute phone conversation describing the above, the guy says they'll ship out a new one. Anyone experience this? Got my R10 at BestBuy. I'm assuming DTV's going to ship me a refurbished unit though. As long as it works, I'll be happy.

ebonovic

05-06-2005, 09:48 PM

All models of DirecTivos have experienced this problem, it is not exlcusive to the R10.

Your 2nd tuner went bad...

Philip_G

05-07-2005, 09:42 AM

Is there still no way to network the R10? All of the chatter about it seems to be 3 months old, so I was hoping someone had found a way.

My old hacked DSR6000 is stuck in a reboot loop, so rather than redo the hard drive again I figured I'd "upgrade" to an R10, I honestly don't see the speed improvements people claim, but maybe it's just me. Putting a newer/faster hard drive in the dsr6k helped it a lot it seemed at the time. Especially bootup.

ebonovic

05-07-2005, 09:53 AM

Philip_G

05-07-2005, 09:59 AM

Nope... As of right now there have been no publicly released hacks to turn networking on in any fashion on the R10.

Hmmm.... Try a reboot of the R10...
I see the speed up in the menus, are almost night and day. And my R10 has been updated to a 160gb hard drive.

I did notice the R10 was extremely sluggish in the menus at first, but attributed it to downloading guide data or something like that, it's been OK lately.

to be honest the original reason for replacing the drive in the dsr was to eliminate the annoying whine from the old quantum drives they used to use. Glad to see the R10 has a WDC.

that's too bad about the networking, I was hoping to get it on and not have to drag a phone cord across the room every now and then, but I guess I'm used to the 1st gen hack it or it'll go into boat anchor mode without a call mindset. Not to mention I ordered the adapter after checking the tivo website for compatibility, it didn't say anything about the R10 not being compatible :mad:

oh, one complaint about the R10- the chassis is really cheap and mine isn't quite flat, if it's not set on my rack just right it makes a humming sound, I don't know if it's the fan or just vibration, but it'll wiggle back and forth like a bad table at a restaurant. Pretty minor complaint.

svandive

05-08-2005, 02:44 AM

ebonovic

05-08-2005, 03:31 AM

Scott...

"We" as a community have been pleading with DirecTV for over 2 years to allow Networking on Series 2 units. The v4 software runs on ALL Series 2 units with ZERO modifications.. (other then the changes necessary to allow it to run on a RID machine, which is ajust a few files)....

DirecTV is either:
a) not listening
b) TERRIFIED beyond all reproach that users are going to "steal" their not-so-perfect digital versions of programs
c) Can't figure out how to handle networking issues within their support structure.

You only get cookie cutter answers from DirecTV....
Then they introduce the R10, which is just different enough that we can't run v4 on it... but it runs v6.1, which already talks to the USB port, already asks for an IP address, already talks to TiVo Server software, already has some of the trouble shooting screens (find the thread called "Intresting Screen"), thus the 6.1 software HAS all the networking pieces there... DirecTV just doesn't turn them on.....

They simple don't give to rats craps on what we want....

For more details see the HMO Request threads, and the nearly daily posts regarding "networking" for the DirecTivos.

svandive

05-08-2005, 01:40 PM

Yeh, I know... I just think this is so sad, and there is not much that can be done. This is why a software program like PTVNet is so great. I love doing things that make my dTivo do what I want and what d* won't give me.

I mean the simplest of things like a networked unit that I can control via a web browser.

I just don't see how d* expects to last through this. I have been a d* subscriber for going on 12 years now, back when it USSB and DirecTV, and I have started to look at Cable. No Hi-Def local channels, limited Hi-Def channels at all. No On Demand features, the added cost of hardware v. cable. I just hate to give up and move back to cable, but if d* can't catch up with what is out there and listen to what the people are asking for then screw'em.

Scott

tivoupgrade

05-10-2005, 05:30 PM

Well I have been doing research all night now, and have read all that I can about the R10. I have an OLD Sony SAT T-60 and a brand new R10 that has not been powered up yet. I have a 160Gb hard drive and the InstantCake disc for getting my 160Gb drive setup for the tivo. What I am majorly lacking now is Networking. So, I have read the forums here and it seems that quite a few folks have R10s and want Networking. I have also read the forums over at PTVupgrade, there only three people have voted that they own R10s and want Networking. So I would say take a stroll over to the forums at PTVupgrades and vote to have them add functionality for the R10 in their PTVNet software.

First off the software sounds perfect, and it is a simple install. The problem here is they support every Series 2 DirecTivo, but the R10 it seems. I guess what I am looking for is for folks to yell out "Hey we would really like to have networking, and D* isn't giving it to us, so PLEASE will you guys!!!".

My 2pints....

Scott

We'd love to offer PTVnet for the R10; unfortunately, the internals of the R10 are significantly different than those of the other Series2 SD units out there; currently, the only known way to modify the R10 so that additional tools can be installed is with a hardware modification that involves replacing an IC on the systemboard, and that is messy.

So, for those that want to network their Series2 units, best bet is to find a slightly older unit. For those that have a Series1 DirecTiVo or can get one, that is still the best thing out there - not only are the tuners better in the older Series1 DirecTV TiVo units, but file transfers with a CacheCard equipped model are much faster than any networked Series2 units. Of course, its more expensive to go that way, as well....

davekell

05-15-2005, 04:21 AM

Ummmm...I been trying to off load show's and such. Im using a pinnicale mot/Cap card. but it had no rca ports on it, just a line in. So i can get video but no sound....I see there is a 3/8 inch input jack, is that a sound port? Also could i just pull the drive and place it in a comp and off load data? or is the tivo data format diffrent?.....i ran out of room in a week.....my oldest comp has atlest 100 Gigs and that a POS HP. lol

ebonovic

05-15-2005, 08:52 AM

1) Check with Pinnical regarding the card... It is posisble that you need to use the LineIn on your sound card

2) No, you can't pull the hard drive and use it as suggest. If you do, you will actually end up damaging your TiVo hard drive, and it won't be able to be re-installed into your TiVo without applying some hacks and codes to undo what Windows does to it.

Plus, the TiVo data is a format that you will need to convert.

Also, the R10 can not be hacked to add any type of networking function.

Pellegrino

05-17-2005, 10:08 AM

Is there any way to change the color or letter size in the programming Menu list? I find the white letters are a bit small and not as sharp as I would like.

ebonovic

05-17-2005, 10:21 AM

Nope...
On all DirecTivo models (not just the R10). The GUI interface is not customizeable.

The colors and size are what they are...

ayrton911

05-17-2005, 11:23 PM

My R10 is arriving tomorrow, or should. I can't wait to try it out! I'll post back here, in a few days, to say how it has worked out.

PacketBoy

05-19-2005, 11:13 PM

scottjf8

05-21-2005, 12:10 PM

Got two R10's last week for free with credit from D**, did a lot of reading here and just put in 250 GB drives in both units for 217 hrs rec time each.

I am very pleased with the R10. Interface is very quick and easy to navigate. Already have wife unit complaining that I didn't do this sooner.

Guess I'll try to get a few bucks for my old UTV units on eB*y.

Thanx for all the info posted here! You guys ROCK! :)

Jeff

- Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most -

I'm on the phone with D* now ordering the R10 for free!

Did yours come with an 80 hour drive? I think i'm just gonna replace it with a 200GB drive right off the bat...

How hard was the upgrade? I've done both my Series 1's, but wanted a Series 2 in my bedroom (keeping the S1 downstairs since it's networked/hacked)

Pellegrino

05-21-2005, 02:14 PM

Mine came with an 80 GB drive and I heard it from 14 feet away without the TV sound on. It makes a sort of chirping sound that I found quite annoying. Not to be misleading, the noise is most obtrusive when somewhere near the unit, something like a few feet--in a bedroom is someplace I wouldn't put it.

I solved the noise problem by putting acoustical material on the cardboard backing (inside part) of the TV stand.

PacketBoy

05-21-2005, 10:52 PM

I'm on the phone with D* now ordering the R10 for free!

Did yours come with an 80 hour drive? I think i'm just gonna replace it with a 200GB drive right off the bat...

R10 came with WD 80 GB HD ~ 70 hrs

How hard was the upgrade? I've done both my Series 1's, but wanted a Series 2 in my bedroom (keeping the S1 downstairs since it's networked/hacked)

Upgrade was quie easy, hardest part is finding right Torx drivers.

I have my 2 units right beside each other and the remote id trick works nicely.

Jeff

TXTivoUser

06-07-2005, 04:31 PM

I've got a HDVR2 that's at 3.1d (I think) and a new R10 that just replaced another HDVR2 that was about to die.

When in the Now Playing list, you can select a show and you get to the screen to play, delete, save to vcr etc.

On my HDVR2 - I used to be able to use the Channel Up and Channel down buttons to get to the 'details' view of the next recording in the Now Playing list.

On my R10 with 6.1, I'm unable to do this.

Is there a way to enable this? Sure makes it easier to see which of the recordings you want to watch when there's a bunch of the same show.

Perfect example - I like to watch Car and Driver TV, Trucks!, and those type shows. There are usually 2 or 3 of each of these shows recorded on my TiVo. If I want to see what all the Trucks shows are about, I click on one of them I get to see the description of what they are about. It's easier to just hit channel down and go to the next one's description than it is to go back, down, enter again just to see the description.

So - can it be done or am I stuck?

ebonovic

06-07-2005, 04:35 PM

Do you have the R10 in "grouping" mode, as I am 99% sure I have done this on my R10.
I will double check when I get home.

I have noticed that if you have your items grouped, this doesn't allways work.

TXTivoUser

06-07-2005, 04:52 PM

Turns out it works just fine - not sure what changed or what I was doing wrong.

Thanks for the replies!

Gojira69

06-08-2005, 05:54 PM

I have a Dtivo which came with a 40gig HDD; I upgraded it to a 120gig drive. I've had it for about a year and a half so there's a lot of shows on it.

If I get an new R10, can I swap the HDDs between the 2 Dtivos without any untoward consequences? I'd like to put the new R10 in the front room with the old hard drive with all the wife's shows on it and take the older Dtivo in the back to do some further modding on it.

On the other hand, if the R10 is currently 'tweekable' (which everything in this thread says it is not) I'll just tweek it and not bother swapping drives.

ebonovic

06-08-2005, 07:20 PM

Nope on both accounts.

1) You can't take a hard drive from one DTivo and play it back in another DTivo. They put an encryption on the recordings, so that they can ONLY be played back in the unit that recorded them.

2) The R10 is not "tweekable" due to a hardware level security measure. So unless you want to crack out the soldering iron and do some hardware surgery, an upgraded hard drive is the best you can do with an R10.

dnelms

06-08-2005, 09:42 PM

I've looked thru this thread and may have missed it, but do others seem to think the R10 picture quality is different than the Hughes HDRV2? I moved the Hughes to the bedroom and put the R10 in the den. Most TV watching by me is done here, but the cheaper TV is back there. The Hughes picture using Yellow/Red/White cables in my mind was better than what came out of the R10. NOw the difference in the setup also is that I'm passing thru a Panasonic ES1) DVD Recorder... ..tried bypassing that and saw some improvement, but not what I was expecting. Should tell you that the TV does not have a S-Videop input, just the Y/R/W connections. Any suggestions (short of a new TV) for improving this setup?

ebonovic

06-08-2005, 11:02 PM

Not really....

Your DVD Recorder is obviously altering the image somewhat.

The Yellow is composite video. The R and W Are your audio cables.
One thing to try is using the RF output (aka Channel 3) and hook that up to your TV, and just use the Y connection for the DVD recorder (you can have both hooked up at once).

Some people have reported a slightly blured image with the R10s, but it is not a consitant report from all R10 owners (myself included).

Gojira69

06-10-2005, 11:54 AM

Nope on both accounts.

1) You can't take a hard drive from one DTivo and play it back in another DTivo. They put an encryption on the recordings, so that they can ONLY be played back in the unit that recorded them.<snip>

Okay. Got it. Thanks for the info.

Now I have a couple more questions...

If I move the hard drive from the older version 2 dTivo to the new R10 dTivo, I lose my programs, BUT will the Tivo O/S work?

If so, the programs that are no longer accessible, are they deleted and the space freed up on the drive, or, are they simply inaccessible and I have a hard drive that's nearly full?

Thank you in advance,

BobB