Few questions...

[dan-kc]

1) My buddy said i could cancel my directv service, and then he could add me to his account and only pay for a 2nd receiver and i'd get service at my house, even though he lives nowhere near me. Is this possible?

2) Also...definitely apologize for not knowing diddly, but if i bag directv and have to go with cable, is it possible to get a 2 tuner receiver? kinda spoiled with my directv setup and not wanting to go backwards

3) Lastly, I saw references to "the other" company, or E* -- are there other products that are better that i should be looking into, that are priced at the mainstream and not at the sky?

Thanks y'all...

[scalo]

1 = Theft of Service and is frowned upon here
2 = In my opinion there is nothing that compares to the D* Tivo
3 = it is all in what you are looking for.

[Guindalf]

1) As stated, technically possible, but totally illegal. The penalties are severe - and the chances are you WILL get caught.

2) Depends on your cable company. To my knowledge, none of them offer a dual tuner DVR at this time.

3) You can look at E*, but judging from the comments here and over at dbstalk.com, their products leave a lot to be desired. Look for yourself as you won't get an unbiased opinion in a TiVo forum!

[dan-kc]

You say the penalties are severe and the chances of getting caught are high. How do you know? You know someone that actually received these severe penalties you speak of?

[CsrLiz344]

The only one I know of is Time Warner, their DVR's are dual tuner.

[DesignDawg]

You say the penalties are severe and the chances of getting caught are high. How do you know? You know someone that actually received these severe penalties you speak of?

Dude, it's a scumbag thing to do. It's theft. Don't do it. You have to see proof of penalties to do the right thing?

Ricky

[trnsfrguy]

The only one I know of is Time Warner, their DVR's are dual tuner.

Cablevision in NY has dual tuner dvrs.

[skaeight]

You say the penalties are severe and the chances of getting caught are high. How do you know? You know someone that actually received these severe penalties you speak of?

I can't find a live link, but postal workers in Florida were busted for this last Dec. If I were you, I'd drop the subject. Talk of theft is not allowed in this forum.

[Guindalf]

That's why I didn't even bother to answer. If you need proof, look elsewhere. No-one here is trying to be holier than thou, but talk of theft is strictly frowned upon. If your concience allows you to even think this way, then get your info somewhere else.

[dan-kc]

no problem guys. i should have worded my question different. i wanted to find out a true answer to the question posed, but my example was fictitious.

on another note, i saw in a post about a hughes HD DVR. is that dual tuner, and also, what's the deal with HD on directv. are channels in 1080? is there a big difference? one guy mentioned they couldn't purchase their local channels with this model, that they needed to wait for an mpeg4 unit to come out? if this unit will bring my viewing to new heights i want to buy. your opinion greatly appreciated...

[SeattleCarl]

DirecTV is in the initial stages of rolling out a new compression method called MPEG4 for local hi-def channels. So far, the reviews have been less than overwhelming. Eventually, I think it will be pretty good.

For the other HD channels (non-locals), D* has a fairly thin offering compared to either cable or E*. That is expected to grow in the future as their MPEG4 system grows, and they get a couple of more satellites into orbit. But right now, I would not call them the strongest service for HD.

I can't answer the resolution part of your question. I have heard D* referred to as "HD light", which I think suggests it is less than 1080.

As far as the HD DVR, the current HR10-250 is only capable of receiving the MPEG2 stream, not the new MPEG4 stream. The future DVR that will do MPEG4 will not be a tivo based product, but rather an in-house development like the standard definition R15. You can find discussion of that on dbstalk.com. The reviews on the R15 so far have also been less than overwhelming. Because it is not a Tivo based unit, it is not discussed on the Tivo forums.

Carl