HDTV With Satelite

[bebsbabe]

I have a beautiful new HDTV but have Diect TV. Thats a problem...Tivo does not have HD for Direct TV. Does anyone know when that will be available? I have my old Tivo but no tv to us it on. I have DVR on the new one and I hate it...it is just not the same as Tivo. I miss my Tivo and an going nuts hearing that I must have cabel for HD Tivo. Cabel is not an option in my area.

[dtremain]

I have a beautiful new HDTV but have Diect TV. Thats a problem...Tivo does not have HD for Direct TV. Does anyone know when that will be available? I have my old Tivo but no tv to us it on. I have DVR on the new one and I hate it...it is just not the same as Tivo. I miss my Tivo and an going nuts hearing that I must have cabel for HD Tivo. Cabel is not an option in my area.
It has been announced that Directv and TiVo have agreed to develop a Hi-Def unit to be released some time next year.

Not much else has been reported about it yet.

[shibby191]

There are a few threads on this but the bottom line is this:

Tivo and DirecTV announced a new HD DirecTivo receiver to come out 2nd half of 2009. Knowing that both companies never release something on time common wisdom says 2010 but if it comes earlier then bonus.

Tivo has talked this up a lot. DirecTV hasn't talked about it at all after the initial press release months ago. And now we find that DirecTV is canceling all but the most critical capital projects for the next year because of the economy. So it leaves the new HD Tivo in limbo as it's not known if DirecTV views this as a critical top project or not. We probably won't know much about the effect on the Tivo unit for a few months yet unless Tivo talks about it. CES is in a month and if Tivo isn't demoing a unit there I'd be very surprised to see it out in 2009.

Give the new DVR some time. It works just fine for most people unless you are a DLB user. Takes about a month to get used to it. If you go into it with an open mind then you'll probably be fine. But if you have a closed mind that Tivo is the only way to go period then you'll be disappointed no matter how long you use it and yes, then Tivo HD with cable/Fios is your only option.

If DirecTV and Dish are your only options then you're going to have to learn to live without Tivo or live without HD for now.

One other option is if you get OTA HD channels you can find an old HR10-250 (it was the last DirecTivo HD unit) and you can use that for OTA HD and SD from DirecTV, but it won't get any HD channels from DirecTV outside about 7 or so left that will be going away soon. So if you watch mostly just network channels that may do you well until/if the new HD DirecTivo unit comes out.

[JimSpence]

Why not give the DirecTV DVR a chance? I too didn't like 'new' DVR, but have found that it does the job quite well. IMHO, it doesn't matter what the interface looks like, just that it does what it's supposed to do. The only thorn is the lack of dual live buffers.

[litzdog911]

I agree with JimSpence. DirecTV has sweet deals for HD upgraders, so give their HD DVRs a chance. I have both Tivo-based and newer DirecTV DVRs, and even my wife is comfortable with both. :)

[JimSpence]

... I have both Tivo-based and newer DirecTV DVRs, and even my wife is comfortable with both. :)Now that's a high recommendation.

[tallgntlmn]

I'd love to have the HD box for if nothing else, DD 5.1. BUT, I am a major DLB user and that is a hard pill to swallow to lose that. Like right now I am flipping between History and Fox News. And on Sunday it's how I keep track of two different football games. I think I would miss it too much as recording something just to watch two buffers seems a bit harsh to me. If they would implement DLB, I would definitely give it a chance.

[litzdog911]

I'd love to have the HD box for if nothing else, DD 5.1. BUT, I am a major DLB user and that is a hard pill to swallow to lose that. Like right now I am flipping between History and Fox News. And on Sunday it's how I keep track of two different football games. I think I would miss it too much as recording something just to watch two buffers seems a bit harsh to me. If they would implement DLB, I would definitely give it a chance.

I honestly don't miss the dual live buffers because I almost never watch Live TV anymore.

[ttodd1]

I agree with both of the above statements. I to did not think that the DTV dvr could take the place of my DTivo. I have both in 1 room and to tell the truth I think I have watched the DTivo only once in the last year. The interface is different but the picture is fantastic, who wouldn't love HD picture quality. The DLB is the big thing I miss. But at this point in time I'm enjoying the picture so much that I can deal with it.

You have got to give these type of things some time - more than a few days or a couple of weeks - to see if you REALLY don't like it. Change is not ALWAYS bad, it is just different.

[JimSpence]

The other workaround for DLB is to have two DVRs. :D

[tallgntlmn]

But at this point in time I'm enjoying the picture so much that I can deal with it.

You have got to give these type of things some time - more than a few days or a couple of weeks - to see if you REALLY don't like it. Change is not ALWAYS bad, it is just different.From what I understand the picture is better even with a SDTV. I have not taken the HD plunge and probably will not for another year. I think I would enjoy the sound right now more than anything. With the HD DVR, is 5.1 a standard thing (Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, NFLST) or just on pay channels (HBO, Starz) like with the DTiVo?

I'd be willing to give it a chance. The problems are a few. I might be moving soon and may or may not have the view so the 2 year commitment is an issue. I may not have the view for the HD right now even. I'm still on a round dish. If I could get one for free then I would definitely give it a chance. To spend $200 and have to give 2 more years is a sticking point for me. So if I am waiting for a HDTV, it only makes sense to wait for the HD-TiVo. At least I think. Though with the exclusion of DLB from the current DVR, it might be expected for them to exclude it from the TiVo based unit too, eh?

[shibby191]

From what I understand the picture is better even with a SDTV. I have not taken the HD plunge and probably will not for another year. I think I would enjoy the sound right now more than anything. With the HD DVR, is 5.1 a standard thing (Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, NFLST) or just on pay channels (HBO, Starz) like with the DTiVo?

Technically it's not the HDDVR that gives 5.1, it's the channels. And pretty much every HD channel is in 5.1 with very few exceptions. So yes, with the HDDVR pretty much every HD channel is in 5.1. Locals can be hit or miss, depends on their equipment, but they are usually 5.1. SD channels would be the same as you get now.

[JimSpence]

...
I'd be willing to give it a chance. The problems are a few. I might be moving soon and may or may not have the view so the 2 year commitment is an issue. I may not have the view for the HD right now even. I'm still on a round dish. ...Make sure the proper line of sight is a priority for the new place. Also, if you have visibility to the 101 satellite, you should be fine for the 99 and 103 sats, unless it is a very narrow window.