Switch from DirecTv to Comcast

[Knocka]

I have been a DirecTv subscriber for many years and have been very happy with them. I have several DirecTv TiVo units that work extremely well. I use a Channel Modulator and have IR repeaters, so all the TVs in the house can tune tune into the TiVos.

But, they are not HD.

I would love to get HD from DirecTv, but the HD satellites are too low in the sky, and I have trees in the way. Therefore, HD by way of Satellite is not an option.

Consequently, if I want HD, my only choice is Comcast (I am in northern NJ). Here are the issues, if anyone can help:

(1) I want to be able to distribute the shows recorded by the DVR throughout the house. Has anyone had any experience with distributing shows recorded in HD via a Channel Modulator, Slingbox, or other means? Also, if I have Cable, won't the Cable interfere with the Channel Modulator. Currently, I only have DirecTv.

(2) I am very accustomed to the TiVo interface and very reluctant to switch to Comast's DVR. But, $800 seems absurd for an S3. Is it possible to get TiVo in a Comcast DVR?

(3) I do not yet have an HDTV (because of all the problems described above). So I cannot really "test" the Comcast HD DVR option because if I am not happy with it, I will then have a new, expensive HDTV, and no HDTV signal from anywhere.

Can anyone provide some guidance.
Thanks.
Knocka

[sockgap]

(3) I do not yet have an HDTV (because of all the problems described above). So I cannot really "test" the Comcast HD DVR option because if I am not happy with it, I will then have a new, expensive HDTV, and no HDTV signal from anywhere. Not true. You can get network HD channels over the air for free with an antenna.

[Budget_HT]

Not true. You can get network HD channels over the air for free with an antenna.
And, you can tune in and record those over-the-air HDTV channels with an HD TiVo (HR10-250) from DirecTV. But, they don't offer those new any more because they have their in-house near-equivalent unit (HR20-700).

Many folks who are very satisified with their DirecTiVo experience are not nearly as happy with the newer HR20. But the HD TiVo can still be found at some retail outlets (perhaps moreso at online than local stores) and can still be activated with DirecTV, with the "DVR" fee already covered if you have other DirecTiVo's on the same DirecTV account.

The HD TiVo only receives MPEG-2 programming. As DirecTV evolves their national HDTV satellite HD channels to MPEG-4 over the next two years or so, those won't be received by the HD TiVo. But, over-ther-air HDTV will be MPEG-2 for a long time, so the HD TiVo can record them for a long time. And, the non-HD channels on DirecTV will also stay MPEG-2, so the HD TiVo can also record them for the long term.

I have 2 HD and 2 SD DirecTiVo's. As I become more interested in the national MPEG-4 HD channels, I will likely add an HR20 non-TiVo HD DVR to my mix, and perhaps retire my series 1 SD DirecTiVo. I will not replace the HD TiVo's until they "wear out" beyond repair.

[HomieG]

(1) I want to be able to distribute the shows recorded by the DVR throughout the house. Has anyone had any experience with distributing shows recorded in HD via a Channel Modulator, Slingbox, or other means? Also, if I have Cable, won't the Cable interfere with the Channel Modulator. Currently, I only have DirecTv.


An HD modulator will be very expensive.


(2) I am very accustomed to the TiVo interface and very reluctant to switch to Comast's DVR. But, $800 seems absurd for an S3. Is it possible to get TiVo in a Comcast DVR?

The Comcast DVR is OK. Not a TiVo, but not bad. According to reports, the Motorola versions of the Comcast DVR will have a TiVo software option around Q1 of next year. What we don't know is if it will be full-featured, or crippled. And there's supposed to be an extra fee for this option.


(3) I do not yet have an HDTV (because of all the problems described above). So I cannot really "test" the Comcast HD DVR option because if I am not happy with it, I will then have a new, expensive HDTV, and no HDTV signal from anywhere.


If you don't like their DVR, you can always get their standard set-top HD box. Or, if you just want local channels in HD, they still pass them in the clear, so if yo get an HDTV that has a QAM tuner, you will get the local HD channels, albeit with weird channel numbers. And then there is always the S3 option.

[hybucket]

I have D* H10, but since thier update, I've been getting missed and/or shortened recording and audio dropouts. It's been almost two months of this now, and no sign of a fix for this, so I'm thinking of switching to Comcast and the Series 3. Are there any such known problems with this unit, or would I be wasting my time and $??

[Knocka]

Getting a standard Comcast set top box without a DVR is not really an option. I have been using TiVos for too many years to go back to watching Live TV. I could not live without a DVR. The issue is whether I can live without a TiVo.

Also, the HR10-250 is not a very good option because its feature will largely be wasted since I cannot "see" HD satellites. So it will basically act as a standard TiVo with the ability to record OTA HD signals. I suppose that might not be a terrible option, but the HD programming will be very limited.

Knocka

[Jerry_K]

I am on DirecTV with DirecTiVo for SD only. I get my HD OTA. Just enjoyed an episode of Desparate Housewives recorded on a $150 DVHS. Pain in the butt changing tapes, but it works until the Series 3 prices come down to something reasonable. Then it is Series 3 for me. Well really for my lovely wife who is now a poster child for Tivo.

[classicsat]

(1) I want to be able to distribute the shows recorded by the DVR throughout the house. Has anyone had any experience with distributing shows recorded in HD via a Channel Modulator, Slingbox, or other means? Also, if I have Cable, won't the Cable interfere with the Channel Modulator. Currently, I only have DirecTv.


You won't get HD on a modulator. You will have to directly distribute the component and digital or analog audio throughout your house.

For a normal modulator, you would set up a separate internal cable system (or in your case, a separate system for outside cable).

Under certain circumstances, with certain compromises, you could probably do both on one coax.


(2) I am very accustomed to the TiVo interface and very reluctant to switch to Comast's DVR. But, $800 seems absurd for an S3. Is it possible to get TiVo in a Comcast DVR?

Early next year maybe, but that probably won't help with your distribution dilemma.


(3) I do not yet have an HDTV (because of all the problems described above). So I cannot really "test" the Comcast HD DVR option because if I am not happy with it, I will then have a new, expensive HDTV, and no HDTV signal from anywhere.

AFAIK, you don't need to commit to their DVR, or can use their non-DVR HD box, and as other have said, get digital OTA for HD.
Plus you can get "fixed media" sources, such as HD-DVD.

[golubian]

(1) I want to be able to distribute the shows recorded by the DVR throughout the house. Has anyone had any experience with distributing shows recorded in HD via a Channel Modulator, Slingbox, or other means? Also, if I have Cable, won't the Cable interfere with the Channel Modulator. Currently, I only have DirecTv.Knocka

I currently have the exact same setup that you have and am going through the same decisionmaking process.

There is more than one way to do this, but if what you're looking for is as seamless as your current, multi-channel distribution setup, then what you (we) probably need is a matrix switcher that will distribute component video to multiple zones. That will accomodate multiple TiVO's, DVD players, VCR's, cable boxes, all located in a central location and feeding their signals into the switcher.

One that I'm looking at is the Key Digital Fatboy 8x4, which will take up to 8 sources from a single location and make them independently accessible in any or all of four zones. There are lots of options out there and you should probably talke to one or more integrators to find out what they recommend. An Extron model has also been mentioned to me, although that's maybe twice the price of the Key Digital.

There's also a product called the Netstreams Panorama which will achieve the same sort of thing, but over CAT5 wiring. I think the Panorama ends up being much more expensive than other options that are out there, however.

The bad news is that the price is in no way comparable to the costs of our current setup. The Key Digital, which is no where close to the most expensive of these devices, costs about $2,000 w/o accounting for installation. I've seen other options closer to the $1k range.