HR10-250 today - anything to check?

[lordbah]

Today is the day they are coming to install an HR10-250 in place of my old DirecTv receiver. I'm going high def. I've already taken notes of all my season passes before I removed my old standalone Tivo so I can re-enter them on the new unit. The first thing I'm going to check is that he has the right model receiver to install, since I had to correct them a couple of times over the phone - they kept wanting me to get something else. Anything else I should verify with the installer while he's here? Any other "so you just got an HR10-250" suggestions?

[JimSpence]

Make sure that they run all four lines from the new dish regardless of your current need. You will need two for the HR10. Since the HR10-250 is the only current HD receiver (except for areas getting MPEG4). Do you plan to get your local HD with an antenna?

[stevel]

Make sure that you get all the cables included with the unit - HDMI, HDMI-DVI, S-Video, yellow/red/white.

[dagap]

Some installers like to confiscate the unused cables from the HR10-250 box. They use the one(s) you need and quietly pocket the rest.

Edited: Doh!

[lordbah]

Make sure that they run all four lines from the new dish regardless of your current need. You will need two for the HR10. Since the HR10-250 is the only current HD receiver (except for areas getting MPEG4). Do you plan to get your local HD with an antenna?

They told me on the phone that the dish I currently have would work for HD. I currently get locals from the dish but will be getting them over the air in HD now instead since DirecTv isn't doing HD locals in my area. Will I actually need 4 lines?

[vtfan99]

They told me on the phone that the dish I currently have would work for HD. I currently get locals from the dish but will be getting them over the air in HD now instead since DirecTv isn't doing HD locals in my area. Will I actually need 4 lines?

You wont need 4 just for the HR10-250. He was suggesting that you get all four lines run from the dish in case you plan on adding additional receivers or antennae in the future. This way you don't have to worry about running extra lines as they are all run for you. It just makes any job in the future a bit easier. :D

[JimSpence]

A quick check shows that Rochester gets its locals from the 119 sat, so you should be just fine.
However, have the extra two lines run if they aren't already for future expansion.

[lordbah]

The installer wanted to give me a newer dish anyway just to be ready for the future. So he did.

He has also run 4 lines from the dish to a "ground block" which is on the outside of the house just outside the hole where cables come into the house. So I guess in the future it'll just be internal wiring.

[mr.unnatural]

Make sure the installer connects all the cables before plugging in the power. My installer plugged the power cord in first and then proceeded to toss the HDTivo around like a sack of wheat while the drive was spinning up. The HDTivo died an untimely death after about three months. It was 93 days to be exact, just past the 90-day window where DTV would have swapped out the unit with a brand new HDTivo. The sent me a refurbed unit instead of a new one but the good news is that the refurbed unit actually worked better than the original HDTivo and is still going strong over a year later.

[bidger]

When I got my HR10-250, I opened the box and connected the receiver cables while the installer was setting up the new dish.

[lordbah]

*sigh* I ask the guy first thing, still in the driveway, it's the HR10-250 right? Yeah, we were out but we just got more in today. He puts up the new dish, strings the cables, unpacks a receiver and goes thru "guided setup", I see prompts like "Almost there...", sounds like a TiVo ... he chats with the office to get it activated while it downloads new software. I snag the manual ... hmm, nothing about season passes or suggestions ... no thumbs up/down on the remote ... maybe it's not the Tivo one ... look at the receiver, don't see any indication of model number. Finally I look on the box it came in and see "HR20". Argh! I bring it up with him, he says oh that's right you said HR10-250, I thought you meant this one ... we don't have any HR10-250 any more ... DirecTv doesn't have any more either, you'll have to go out and buy one. Grrr. They told me on the phone, and I triple-checked it with them, it was HR10-250. But his work order doesn't list a model number, just says HDDVR. They don't even tell the installer what to install! WTF?

Now I'll have to go through another telephone marathon to convince them they didn't deliver what they sold me.

F*&king hopeless. I hate cable because they raise the rates every two months. I hate satellite because of their customer disservice. I'm screwed.

[myboyblue]

make sure you knoe beforehand if you need the off air antenna. I was supposed to have the HR10-250 installed today, but when I asked the installer if I could get the locals in HD w/o the antenna he said not with the HR10. Retention told me I wouldn't need the OTA with the 5LNB, but I guess they didn't realize that I was getting the HR10. I called retention back and explained what happened. They offered to send an installer Fri. morning with a free OTA for my trouble.

[lordbah]

In just a half hour of playing with the HR20 I see it's not going to make me happy. So now I've been on the phone with DirecTv 30 minutes (and counting). They are still at the stage of "we can't find any evidence that we ever promised you a certain model number". Yo, that's how you got a 2 year commitment out of me. Man, how I hate dealing with them. Always nice to tell the customer you don't believe him. And argue with him about how this new model does everything the other model does, when that's clearly incredibly false.

[rrr22777]

*sigh* I ask the guy first thing, still in the driveway, it's the HR10-250 right? Yeah, we were out but we just got more in today. He puts up the new dish, strings the cables, unpacks a receiver and goes thru "guided setup", I see prompts like "Almost there...", sounds like a TiVo ... he chats with the office to get it activated while it downloads new software. I snag the manual ... hmm, nothing about season passes or suggestions ... no thumbs up/down on the remote ... maybe it's not the Tivo one ... look at the receiver, don't see any indication of model number. Finally I look on the box it came in and see "HR20". Argh! I bring it up with him, he says oh that's right you said HR10-250, I thought you meant this one ... we don't have any HR10-250 any more ... DirecTv doesn't have any more either, you'll have to go out and buy one. Grrr. They told me on the phone, and I triple-checked it with them, it was HR10-250. But his work order doesn't list a model number, just says HDDVR. They don't even tell the installer what to install! WTF?

Now I'll have to go through another telephone marathon to convince them they didn't deliver what they sold me.

F*&king hopeless. I hate cable because they raise the rates every two months. I hate satellite because of their customer disservice. I'm screwed.


Exact thing happened to me with my order. When I placed the order the HR20 was not even out. After trying the HR20 for 2 days I bought the HR10-250 on ebay.

After 5-6 tries on the retention line I got them to give me $150 programming credit. Thats about it. Good luck.

[ebonovic]

In just a half hour of playing with the HR20 I see it's not going to make me happy. So now I've been on the phone with DirecTv 30 minutes (and counting). They are still at the stage of "we can't find any evidence that we ever promised you a certain model number". Yo, that's how you got a 2 year commitment out of me. Man, how I hate dealing with them. Always nice to tell the customer you don't believe him. And argue with him about how this new model does everything the other model does, when that's clearly incredibly false.

So 30 minutes?
It probably took me nearly 3 weeks to get used the new GUI interfrace (when the R15 came out)

And you must be one of the first people in NY to get one of the HR20's...

[rrr22777]

...
And you must be one of the first people in NY to get one of the HR20's...

Its like the bird flu virus .. its spreading!! :) :)

[The Bad Guy]

I didn't even realize that the HR20's were out already.

How can I check to see if they are available in my area with HD locals?

[lordbah]

Yeah, everyone at DirecTv has been surprised about the HR20 being in New York ("I thought those were only in LA right now"). And apparently I'm the first person anyone has ever heard of who wanted to send back an HR20.

After 90 minutes on the phone, they've agreed to find an HR10-250 and send it to me along with a "recovery kit" to ship back the HR20. Supposedly within 72 hours. More likely I'll be on the phone with them again one week from now and they will be saying "we never told you that, and we don't have any more HR10-250s anyway". Time will tell.

Everyone I spoke to *really* tried to convince me to like the HR20. Kept saying it does everything the older model does plus more. Is it possible they don't even know they're lying? I'm a little surprised *how much* I dislike this thing though.

[rminsk]

And apparently I'm the first person anyone has ever heard of who wanted to send back an HR20.Those CSRs are always great for a laugh...

[vikingguy]

I don't blame you for being a little upset. I would of done the same thing because I would not trust a brand new box for the new fall TV season. Direct tv really got the time line screwed up big time. They should of launched the hr20 late may so some of the bugs could be worked out for the fall TV season.

[rrr22777]

Yeah, everyone at DirecTv has been surprised about the HR20 being in New York ("I thought those were only in LA right now"). And apparently I'm the first person anyone has ever heard of who wanted to send back an HR20.

After 90 minutes on the phone, they've agreed to find an HR10-250 and send it to me along with a "recovery kit" to ship back the HR20. Supposedly within 72 hours. More likely I'll be on the phone with them again one week from now and they will be saying "we never told you that, and we don't have any more HR10-250s anyway". Time will tell.

Everyone I spoke to *really* tried to convince me to like the HR20. Kept saying it does everything the older model does plus more. Is it possible they don't even know they're lying? I'm a little surprised *how much* I dislike this thing though.


I had the same conversation but they said we can send a replacement but more then likely it will be another HR20. I even told them I have video and pictures of this think malfunctioning which I can email to them.

In 4-5 days of using it I have had recording and playback problems with it everday.

[Stanley Rohner]

The HR20 will do MPEG4, the HR10-250 won't.

It's great you made a 90 minute phone call and got them to send you a DVR that won't be compatible with the newest DIRECTV HDTV offereings.
WTF.
I'm sure you would have lived thru having an HR20.
:rolleyes:

[rrr22777]

The HR20 will do MPEG4, the HR10-250 won't.

It's great you made a 90 minute phone call and got them to send you a DVR that won't be compatible with the newest DIRECTV HDTV offereings.
WTF.
I'm sure you would have lived thru having an HR20.
:rolleyes:

You can only watch TV is the MPEG4 receiver works right? Try the HR20 and let me know how it goes.

[lordbah]

The HR20 will do MPEG4, the HR10-250 won't.

It's great you made a 90 minute phone call and got them to send you a DVR that won't be compatible with the newest DIRECTV HDTV offereings.
WTF.
I'm sure you would have lived thru having an HR20.
:rolleyes:

Watching TV is my time to relax, not to "live thru" the experience. Why deal with frustration every day just to get a benefit which won't even matter to me for at least a year? I want everything to be quick and painless.

Had my first lockup last night, scant hours after installation. It kept playing the live show, but none of the buttons on the remote would do anything. Nor the buttons on the front of the box. The top of the box was extremely hot. (I don't know, but maybe because I was driving two TVs at the same time, one on component and one on S-Video, maybe it wasn't designed to handle that without overheating. I was just curious to compare 16:9 to 4:3.) As it rebooted, for some reason it had to acquire data from the satellite again (*yawn*).

It may have rebooted overnight as well. I had turned off those silly lights in a circle in the center of the unit, but in the morning they were on again.

When I move around within a show there is a second or so until the audio resynchronizes. Minor annoyance.

The button which does a 30 second skip forward appears to be implemented as a fast forward rather than a direct jump as you can watch it move ahead. It takes a few seconds. I'm used to being able to slap this button 6 or 8 times to start skipping a break, then one more press at a time until I've gone too far, then hit the back 8 seconds button until I hit the right spot. This is not as quick or as smooth. Middling annoyance.

Sometimes when I hit Select when Record All is highlighted while setting up a search, it does nothing. It'll continue to refuse to do anything. I find I have to back out one screen and come back in, and then it might work. Possible this is tied to changing the Stop Time but I'm not sure about that yet. Annoyance.

Over The Air isn't even implemented yet! Major annoyance. If I was to keep this machine I would have to buy another DVR to record HD locals, until such time as DirecTv feels like turning on this feature (or transmitting HD locals for my area, which is likely at least a year away). A feature which they don't seem to have any discernible incentive to turn on, other than irate customers. Critical missing feature.

Pause seems to slip a few frames before pausing.

I thought there was no way to do a wishlist because it wouldn't let me enter a title search for something which isn't being broadcast in the next 14 days (say, "Hill Street Blues" in case anyone ever decides to show it). But it turns out you can do a "keyword" search for arbitrary text, which is supposed to accomplish the same thing.

I see no Clear button. There is Exit, but when you exit it leaves a channel banner up there, until you hit Exit again. Annoying.

After playing a recording and hitting Stop, it bounces me to the top of the now playlist list (aka "MyVOD"), instead of to a menu where I can do something with the show I just watched, or to the folder ("group") that show is in.

The categories when setting up a search don't seem detailed enough.

This is my state of mind after playing with the unit for a few hours.

(In fantasy-land, DirecTv gets a clue, and instead of re-implementing most everything TiVo has but in a horribly annoying way, makes a deal with TiVo to have them provide the software. DirecTv sticks to what they're good at <whatever that is :-)> and TiVo sticks to what they're good at. And the customer wins! :-))

[rminsk]

The HR20 will do MPEG4, the HR10-250 won't.

It's great you made a 90 minute phone call and got them to send you a DVR that won't be compatible with the newest DIRECTV HDTV offereings.
WTF.
I'm sure you would have lived thru having an HR20.
:rolleyes:Because the HR10-250 is a solid well tested product. The HR20 is still being debugged and does not have the ATSC tuners enabled yet.

[lordbah]

Son of a ... I get home, and the damn thing is locked up. Video image frozen. No buttons on remote or on receiver do anything. Had to pull the power again. When it finally finishes rebooting I'll have to try to figure out when it locked up, what it failed to record. (This time I wasn't driving two TVs, in fact I wasn't driving any. Top of the receiver is still pretty hot.)
POS.

11pm: another lockup. Only the Guide button worked and it only cycled between the menu of available guides and the actual guide itself. The arrow keys (on remote or on receiver) did nothing, select did nothing, no other key that I found did anything, not even Exit.

[rrr22777]

Son of a ... I get home, and the damn thing is locked up. Video image frozen. No buttons on remote or on receiver do anything. Had to pull the power again. When it finally finishes rebooting I'll have to try to figure out when it locked up, what it failed to record. (This time I wasn't driving two TVs, in fact I wasn't driving any. Top of the receiver is still pretty hot.)
POS.

:D :D :D :D

Sorry but this is too funny now that I sent this crap back to Directv. You can check the temperature on the information page. Mine said 122F after 20 minutes of running it!

[ebonovic]

:D :D :D :D

Sorry but this is too funny now that I sent this crap back to Directv. You can check the temperature on the information page. Mine said 122F after 20 minutes of running it!

The 122f is how hot the unit is at the temperature sensor (which is built into the hard drive).

How hot do you think your PC hard drives run?

If it is 122, you wouldn't be able to touch the top of the case.

[myboyblue]

I've had them send the HR20 twice, even though each time I specifically ask for the HR10. They keep telling me they work the same and asking why would I want an old outdated model when I can have the HR20. I decided to call the installation company direct to make sure I got an HR 10 next time. The CSR say's she never heard of that model. I know they have them b/c the installers have told me they have them in the warehouse but don't usually bring them out b/c they're pushing the HR20s.

Each time I call retention back and have to explain that I ordered a HR10 not HR20. Then I have to explain how I'm getting a $400 HD DVR for free. What a pain. Hopefully 3rd times the charm.



*sigh* I ask the guy first thing, still in the driveway, it's the HR10-250 right? Yeah, we were out but we just got more in today. He puts up the new dish, strings the cables, unpacks a receiver and goes thru "guided setup", I see prompts like "Almost there...", sounds like a TiVo ... he chats with the office to get it activated while it downloads new software. I snag the manual ... hmm, nothing about season passes or suggestions ... no thumbs up/down on the remote ... maybe it's not the Tivo one ... look at the receiver, don't see any indication of model number. Finally I look on the box it came in and see "HR20". Argh! I bring it up with him, he says oh that's right you said HR10-250, I thought you meant this one ... we don't have any HR10-250 any more ... DirecTv doesn't have any more either, you'll have to go out and buy one. Grrr. They told me on the phone, and I triple-checked it with them, it was HR10-250. But his work order doesn't list a model number, just says HDDVR. They don't even tell the installer what to install! WTF?

Now I'll have to go through another telephone marathon to convince them they didn't deliver what they sold me.

F*&king hopeless. I hate cable because they raise the rates every two months. I hate satellite because of their customer disservice. I'm screwed.

[vikingguy]

Watching TV is my time to relax, not to "live thru" the experience. Why deal with frustration every day just to get a benefit which won't even matter to me for at least a year? I want everything to be quick and painless.

Had my first lockup last night, scant hours after installation. It kept playing the live show, but none of the buttons on the remote would do anything. Nor the buttons on the front of the box. The top of the box was extremely hot. (I don't know, but maybe because I was driving two TVs at the same time, one on component and one on S-Video, maybe it wasn't designed to handle that without overheating. I was just curious to compare 16:9 to 4:3.) As it rebooted, for some reason it had to acquire data from the satellite again (*yawn*).

It may have rebooted overnight as well. I had turned off those silly lights in a circle in the center of the unit, but in the morning they were on again.

When I move around within a show there is a second or so until the audio resynchronizes. Minor annoyance.

The button which does a 30 second skip forward appears to be implemented as a fast forward rather than a direct jump as you can watch it move ahead. It takes a few seconds. I'm used to being able to slap this button 6 or 8 times to start skipping a break, then one more press at a time until I've gone too far, then hit the back 8 seconds button until I hit the right spot. This is not as quick or as smooth. Middling annoyance.

Sometimes when I hit Select when Record All is highlighted while setting up a search, it does nothing. It'll continue to refuse to do anything. I find I have to back out one screen and come back in, and then it might work. Possible this is tied to changing the Stop Time but I'm not sure about that yet. Annoyance.

Over The Air isn't even implemented yet! Major annoyance. If I was to keep this machine I would have to buy another DVR to record HD locals, until such time as DirecTv feels like turning on this feature (or transmitting HD locals for my area, which is likely at least a year away). A feature which they don't seem to have any discernible incentive to turn on, other than irate customers. Critical missing feature.

Pause seems to slip a few frames before pausing.

I thought there was no way to do a wishlist because it wouldn't let me enter a title search for something which isn't being broadcast in the next 14 days (say, "Hill Street Blues" in case anyone ever decides to show it). But it turns out you can do a "keyword" search for arbitrary text, which is supposed to accomplish the same thing.

I see no Clear button. There is Exit, but when you exit it leaves a channel banner up there, until you hit Exit again. Annoying.

After playing a recording and hitting Stop, it bounces me to the top of the now playlist list (aka "MyVOD"), instead of to a menu where I can do something with the show I just watched, or to the folder ("group") that show is in.

The categories when setting up a search don't seem detailed enough.

This is my state of mind after playing with the unit for a few hours.

(In fantasy-land, DirecTv gets a clue, and instead of re-implementing most everything TiVo has but in a horribly annoying way, makes a deal with TiVo to have them provide the software. DirecTv sticks to what they're good at <whatever that is :-)> and TiVo sticks to what they're good at. And the customer wins! :-))

I can't believe that direct tv would be dumb enough to force this on user who don't have mpeg 4 locals. They expect people to be happy to miss the first month or more of the fall tv season in hd? This product should only be rolled out to mpeg 4 citys unless requested by the user atleast till the OTA are turned on. I am just thankfull I got my HR10 just in time late july. I really hope some one at direct tv gets smart and thinks about the customer for a change. Forcing a dvr with no OTA on top of a buggy box at the start of the fall tv season is as dumb as it gets.

[lordbah]

5 more lockups today. I sure hope they found a HR10-250 to send me.

[vikingguy]

5 more lockups today. I sure hope they found a HR10-250 to send me.

I know you don't want to hear this but you might have to bite the bullet and get a hr10 from an online retailer who still has stock or leave direct tv. I feel bad for you being completely shafted by direct tv. They should be lucky to keep a customer who got the run around like you have.

[rrr22777]

I know you don't want to hear this but you might have to bite the bullet and get a hr10 from an online retailer who still has stock or leave direct tv. I feel bad for you being completely shafted by direct tv. They should be lucky to keep a customer who got the run around like you have.

I bought mine from this guy on ebay. Very fast shipping

http://cm.ebay.com/cm/ck/1065-29392-2357-0?uid=2344399&site=0&ver=EOIBSA080805&lk=ItemDescriptionANDimage&Item=330020635138

[m122979]

I purchased my H10-250 on ebay and really love it compared to the DirecTV: R15 or H20 ... I do wish that the s/w was updated to the same as my other TiVo that I subscribe to. Not sure how to get the latest software

[stevel]

You have the latest there is (assuming that you have 3.1.5f). There has been a hint that DIrecTV might release 6.3 for these boxes, but it has not happened yet and may never. No matter what, you won't get the equivalent of what standalone TiVos have,