Best model of directivo?

[lazarus000]

ok ... so my samsung sir4040R died

i thought it was just the hard drive ... but it wasn't

i'm prolly gonna buy a new "shell" directivo from weaknees

unless there is a better option.


is there a "best model"?

hughes HDVR2
hughes SDVR
phillips dsr70x


also what happens if you hook a HD directivo to a non-HD dish system? would it record better ... or look like crap?

[John T Smith]

>what happens if you hook a HD directivo to a non-HD dish system?

I have an HR10-250 in the theater room in our new house... connected to an SD input from a round dish

I bought the HD DTivo for 2 reasons...

1st was in case I ever decide to switch to the HD disk

2nd was for the 200 hours of SD recording... this one is for movies only, so potentially about 100 will someday be available (well... I doubt I'll ever get that high... with watch and delete)

Since the HR10-250 is designed to use both SD and HD input... the recordings are the same as if I had put an SD only DTivo in the room

[lazarus000]

>what happens if you hook a HD directivo to a non-HD dish system?

I have an HR10-250 in the theater room in our new house... connected to an SD input from a round dish

I bought the HD DTivo for 2 reasons...

1st was in case I ever decide to switch to the HD disk

2nd was for the 200 hours of SD recording... this one is for movies only, so potentially about 100 will someday be available (well... I doubt I'll ever get that high... with watch and delete)

Since the HR10-250 is designed to use both SD and HD input... the recordings are the same as if I had put an SD only DTivo in the room

thanks ... i thought maybe the HD would have a better tuner or something.

any particular model that i should avoid?

[John T Smith]

>any particular model that i should avoid?

If you want HD in a DTivo model, the HR10-250 is the only one I know of

If you plan to modify the software, stay away from the R10 model
(read at http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=24 forum)

Otherwise, all the models are pretty much the same... just be sure, before you buy a used model off of eBay or anywhere else, that the seller will give you the serial# so you may call DirecTv to verify there is no balance owed on the account

Where to I get a DirecTv Tivo?
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=316297

[lazarus000]

seller will give you the serial# so you may call DirecTv to verify there is no balance owed on the account
woah ... didn't think of that

thanks

[rminsk]

is there a "best model"?

hughes HDVR2
hughes SDVR
phillips dsr70xThese were all made in the same plant in Mexico with different plastic face plates. See
http://archive2.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=166720

also what happens if you hook a HD directivo to a non-HD dish system? would it record better ... or look like crap?All DirecTiVos record the digital satellite stream with no encoding/compression happening in the unit. The HR10-250 may look a tiny bit better just because the back-end that converts the digital signal to analog may be a bit better. The advantage of getting a HR10-250 would be you could possibly receive your ATSC locals OTA.

[lazarus000]

These were all made in the same plant in Mexico with different plastic face plates. See
http://archive2.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=166720

All DirecTiVos record the digital satellite stream with no encoding/compression happening in the unit. The HR10-250 may look a tiny bit better just because the back-end that converts the digital signal to analog may be a bit better. The advantage of getting a HR10-250 would be you could possibly receive your ATSC locals OTA.
thanks very much ... i feel better now

i'm so lost without my directivo :(

found several identical samsung units on ebay for under 50 bucks. :p

[John T Smith]

>several identical samsung units on ebay for under 50 bucks

Check the descriptions VERY carefully to be sure there are no known problems, and check the seller's rating to be sure there are not major problems (and if there are any problems noted, be sure they are not related to defective items... minor shipping issues are not, to me, a reason to now buy from someone)

[CrashHD]

I've been wondering this myself. I'll offer the differences I've noted.

The unhackability of the R10 without a prom mod is a big one, I would say, to most people. My first tivo was an R10, because I bought it before I was aware of tivo hacking, and at the time, it was the newest item in the shiniest box (you know, the typical things that attract a consumer that hasn't yet spent the time to properly educate oneself about the product in question). I have now prom-modded 2 R10's. I enjoyed the learning experience, and I performed the prom-mod, because the R10 was what I already had to work with, but if I had it to do over again, I think I would just start with a unit that did not require prom hacks.

R10: Pros
1) It's the newest (not necessarily meaningful)
2) My R10s seem to run cooler than my DVR40.
3) I like the fact that the power supply is a 3 conductor cord, is grounded to the case.
4) It has a faster memory subsystem, and faster processor (although the apparent difference is negligible, borderline unnoticeable)
5) With a prom hack, if a kernel update should be necessary in the future, it should be easier. Most likely you could just strip the initrd from the new kernel and run. Software hacked units would potentially have to wait for an updated killhdinitrd.

R10: Cons
1) Unhackable without prom mod
2) Unhackable without prom mod
3) Unhackable without prom mod.
4)Less hack support due to smaller hacked user base (due to 1,2,3). Less people running hacked units means less people working on hacks.
5) Bufferhack does not work on the R10's tivoapp (due to 4).
6) No FPU (unknown to me what specific effect this has)

Series 2 RID units: Pros
1) Software hack currently exists...no hardware work involved, save for pulling/reinstalling drive.
2) Greater hack compatibility

Series 2 RID units: Cons
0) None really I can think of.

Series 2 non RID: Pros
1) Ability to (supposedly) move a card to this unit with the 722 trick, without ever calling DTV (makes for a handy dandy backup unit.
2) All other pros same as series 2 RID units

Series 2 non RID: Cons
0) None I've really thought of yet.

[JaserLet]

If you plan on doing any modifications/hacks, then the Series2 units (HDVR2/SDVR/DSR70x/DVR39/DVR40/etc) are all the same any will work fine.
Pros: popular, stable version 6.2 software, can be hacked to enable many extra features, such as Multiple Room Viewing (record on one tivo, watch from another)
Cons: DirecTV reception only

HR10-250 adds MPEG-2 HD abilities as well as over-the-air local digital tv station reception (ATSC tuners).
Pros: Adds some DirecTV HD abilities, Adds local digital reception abilities
Cons: 6.3b software still has many issues, cannot do Multiple Room Viewing even when hacked

Most of the DirecTivos in my home are Series2 units. I also have 2 HR10-250 models so I can record my local stations from my antenna (DirecTV does not carry my local stations over satellite). I haven't bothered hacking my HR10-250 due to its software limitations. I do have my other DirecTivos hacked so they can share recordings over my home network. Even when hacked, they work just great. My un-hacked HR10-250 crashes weekly and almost always requires one or two manual extra unplug-replug power cycles after a power outage in order for it to detect the satellites.

HR10-250 is still a Tivo (yay!) and can record local digital stations from over the air (yay!) but the 6.3b software still sucks (boo!) and the current hacks for it don't add much value (boo!).