Denver, CO H20 vs H21

[ttowles]

OK, I am fairly new to the forum, but have searched and read a number of threads a few times.

I used the recommendations here and I am getting a new HD DVR for $99, with some other free stuff thrown in.

The local installers (Ironwood) do not have any H20's and I refused install today asking for an H20 vs H21.

They don't know when/if they will get more H20's.

So, my questions:
1) Do I really need an H20 or will the local Denver channels start being sent over DirecTV in HD soon? Fox ABC CBS, etc.

2) What real value does having an OTA HD antenna do? Doesn't DirecTv broadcast the local channels in HD as soon as they go HD? Most of the programs, like ER or whatever would be HD on DirecTv, right?

3) Are there any advantages of the H21 over the H20? All I see is that the H21 removed the OTA connection.

Thanks for your help. I really like this forum. Very good for helping understand DTV/DVR and helping me make decisions.

[JohnB1000]

dbstalk.com is good for this stuff

1) Most areas get the 4 main channels but do not get PBS. You can often get additional subchannels and the like from a true local signal. Also a few areas are missing a major channel due to various contracts

2) You would expect to get channels in HD via DTV but see #1 for possible missing stuff. OTA will get you more local channels often if you can get the signal

3) They are fundamentally the same, 21 is black and slimmer, they don't always run the exact same software.

[ttowles]

Thanks, I think I'll just get the H21...

[PrimeRisk]

1) It depends on what you want. ABC, CBS, & NBC locals are on D* in HD. PBS, CW, Fox and a few of the others aren't.

2) With OTA you can receive PBS, ABC, CBS, & NBC in HD and depending where you are you can pull in other market Digital OTAs.

3) Well, the H20 has been out longer and appears to be much more mature in the development lifecycle. I got my first HR20 a year ago and after the Superbowl in February I probably didn't watch more than 10 hours on it due to woes. Now I have a 2nd HR20 and we watch everything we can in HD. My father recently got a HR21 and it's experiencing some of the issues that the HR20 was months ago, but is relatively stable and reliable.

If you don't care about PBS and some of the other fringe channels, you'd be fine with the HR21. If you think you want to fight for the HR20, you might be in for quite an effort to get it here. I had a less than pleasant time getting my 2nd one. I also doubt that D* will install a UHF antenna for you either.

Oh, one last note, the HR20 is silver; the HR21 is black.

[DennisMileHi]

I live in Denver and had two HR20s installed on Tuesday. Ironwood uses many different subs and each of them have their own equipment.

The first guy that called about the install said he had only HR21s. I said NO and asked him to tell Ironwood to schedule another installer with HR20s on a different day (it helped that the first schedule would have them crawling on the snow on the roof). He did that and another guy called and told me all he had were HR20s.

The moral: keep asking until you get what you want.

The main reason I want OTA is to get PBS HD. The recent announcement that D* is going to carry PBS locals makes that a moot point. However, when the snow flies and the dish is covered, I have good OTA options with an antenna on the roof.

The CSRs that answer their phones and do the scheduling are in the Phillipines and don't have a clue what equipment each installer has on hand.

Good luck!

[ttowles]

good info...I am leaning to getting the H21, since I can get it tomorrow.
You mention HR20 and HR21, is there a difference between HR and H ex H20 and H21?

[phox_mulder]

H20 and H21 are only receivers, HR20 and HR21 are DVR's.

Don't know the difference between the H20 and the H21.

HR20 and HR21 differences have already been noted, biggest being the lack of antenna input on the HR21.


phox