I own a HR10-250... What should I do?

[BNut]

I've received the phone calls and emails from D* telling me that my current HD receiver (Hughes HTL-HD) and HD-TIVO (HR10-250) are no longer compatible for HDTV with D*.

What model(s) does D* offer for an HD-DVR? From what I've read so far D* won't have an HD-TIVO unit until late 2009 to early 2010 at the earliest.

How do the current D* HD-DVR models compare to the HR10-250? (Pros/Cons?) Will I lose features like the 30 second commercial skip or the 30 minute buffer on each input? I'm kinda freaked right now because I have $1,200 worth of equipment b/w my old HD receiver and the HR10-250.

I've read a few posts that some people were able to get the free replacement unit WITHOUT giving up their purchased HR10-250 but that sounds like the exception rather than the norm.

I haven't called D* yet because I want to be as informed as possible before I make any potentially bad decisions.

I've tried searching the forums as much as possible but wasn't able to find this type of info covered in the stickies or FAQ's at the top of the forum.

Thanks for any help you can provide,
Brian

[bigpuma]

I've received the phone calls and emails from D* telling me that my current HD receiver (Hughes HTL-HD) and HD-TIVO (HR10-250) are no longer compatible for HDTV with D*.

What model(s) does D* offer for an HD-DVR? From what I've read so far D* won't have an HD-TIVO unit until late 2009 to early 2010 at the earliest.

The current HD DVR model is HR21 I believe. There may be a newer version as well. You are correct about the new HD TiVo unit from DirecTV.


How do the current D* HD-DVR models compare to the HR10-250? (Pros/Cons?) Will I lose features like the 30 second commercial skip or the 30 minute buffer on each input?


I have had the DirecTV HD DVR for over 2 years now and it works quite well compared to the HR10. There are some things you may like better and a few things that are not as good, like the 50 season pass limit and no dual live buffers. It does have a 30 second skip similar to the HR10 but it only has one buffer which is 90 minutes.


I'm kinda freaked right now because I have $1,200 worth of equipment b/w my old HD receiver and the HR10-250.

I've read a few posts that some people were able to get the free replacement unit WITHOUT giving up their purchased HR10-250 but that sounds like the exception rather than the norm.

I haven't called D* yet because I want to be as informed as possible before I make any potentially bad decisions.

I've tried searching the forums as much as possible but wasn't able to find this type of info covered in the stickies or FAQ's at the top of the forum.

Thanks for any help you can provide,
Brian

You should be able to get them to upgrade your equipment for free or a low price by calling them. If the first CSR doesn't give you a good deal politely hang up and try again later with a different CSR.

Also check out www.dbstalk.com for more information.

[TonyTheTiger]

The HR22 is the latest model, I believe (or maybe the HR23) - exactly the same as the 21, but with a bigger capacity hard drive.

I have not heard of anyone having to give up their HR10. D* have no use for them. I still have mine (although it's dead now).

[JimSpence]

Also note that if you can receive any locals via OTA, the HR10 will work very well to record those channels. And, the HR10 will continue to record the SD channels for some time.

[shibby191]

The HR22 is the latest model, I believe (or maybe the HR23) - exactly the same as the 21, but with a bigger capacity hard drive.

HR23 is the lastest. Here is the model list:

HR20 - First model, has OTA tuners built in
HR21 - same as HR20 with no OTA
HR22 - same as HR21 with larger hard drive
HR23 - same as HR22 with BBCs built in.

If you end up with an HR21/22/23 and need OTA you can get a USB OTA tuner called an AM21 for free from DirecTV.

My advice: If you want to stay with DirecTV, get the free upgrade (they'll upgrade your dish and switches as well), keep the HR10 for SD recording and OTA HD (if you get it). Then when/if the new HD DirecTivo box comes out and it gets good reviews then trade in your HR2x for it.

[BNut]

A big THANK YOU for everyones help! I'm assuming its reasonable to expect D* to require me to sign a 1 or 2 year contract for the free equipment upgrade?

Is my understanding correct that you only pay ONE DVR fee, regardless of how many DVR units you have in your home? You simply pay the $5 for each additional receiver, right?

If that is the case then I would be very interested in moving my HR10 to the spare bedroom and getting a newer HR2X for the living and now having 2 DVR units and being able to record 3 channels (maybe 4 if my I run another cable from my dish to the HR10?) at the same time.

One other thing I was not clear on, D* doesn't offer my locals in HD yet and doesn't show my city to be scheduled for it either. After Feb 09 does that mean I will no longer get ANY local channels from D* or would they work a deal with me to allow me to see some other markets local channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) in HD?

Shibby,

You mentioned something about BBCs. I have to admit ignorance on that acronym.

Thanks again,
Brian

[shibby191]

A big THANK YOU for everyones help! I'm assuming its reasonable to expect D* to require me to sign a 1 or 2 year contract for the free equipment upgrade?

Yes, it's a 2 year contract. And they have been requiring contracts long before the DirecTV DVRs came to be. :) I don't really care for them myself but it is what it is.

Is my understanding correct that you only pay ONE DVR fee, regardless of how many DVR units you have in your home? You simply pay the $5 for each additional receiver, right?

Correct. 1 DVR or 6 DVRs, same $5.99 DVR fee. You just pay the $5 mirror fee for each additional receiver beyond your first.

If that is the case then I would be very interested in moving my HR10 to the spare bedroom and getting a newer HR2X for the living and now having 2 DVR units and being able to record 3 channels (maybe 4 if my I run another cable from my dish to the HR10?) at the same time.

Yep, if you get 2 cables run to both then you can record 2 things on both DVRs.

One other thing I was not clear on, D* doesn't offer my locals in HD yet and doesn't show my city to be scheduled for it either. After Feb 09 does that mean I will no longer get ANY local channels from D* or would they work a deal with me to allow me to see some other markets local channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) in HD?

The digital OTA transition has nothing to do with what you get from DirecTV. Nothing will change, you'll still get your local channels in SD as you do today. The digital transition also has nothing to do with HD.

Shibby,

You mentioned something about BBCs. I have to admit ignorance on that acronym.


B-Band Converters. They are required to get the signals from the new KA sats (which is where the new HD is coming from) properly converted so your receiver can understand it. Up until the HR23 you needed these little BBC dongles on your cable coming from the dish. The HR23 has them built in so the dongle is no longer needed.

[BNut]

Hope I don't regret this....

Just got off the phone with Direct TV customer support. Suprisingly I actually got someone who was very knowledgable and informed me about the HR22 not having the OTA tuner but that there was a AM12 or 21 device that could be attached. She also mentioned that I am at the mercy of the local installer as far as the hardware I get, but from what she mentioned she primarily see's HR22's for new activations. Just about any question I asked her, she gave me the same answers that I received from you all.

Everything she told me over the phone I am able to confirm via the order # on D*'s website. They will relocate my HR10 (I don't have to give it up), add an HR2X (the order description actually says HR20 IRD), and replace the dish. The order # shows $0.00 for the new HDDVR as well as the installation. I was able to find my letter from D* that says "FREE of charge to you" as well as "NO COMMITMENT" relating to the equipment swap. She informed if I cancel there are no early termination fees as long as I surrender the new equipment (I'm guessing I'd have to pay to mail it somewhere though). She also told me there was no contract associated with the new equipment either, which is the same thing the letter indicates.

When the local installer shows up, is it worth asking if he'll run another cable from the dish to the room that HR10 will be moved to? (Currently that room just has a single cable drop) I actually have a 500' spool of RG6 that I purchased when I decided to reactive my old HTL-HD receiver in a spare bedroom so he wouldn't even need to use his cable. I wouldn't mind tipping the guy for his time and it wouldn't require any materials on his part other than connectors that attach the cable to the dish right?

Concerning not receivng local channels in HD...

The customer support rep transferred me to the Waiver Dept to see if they will grant me a waiver to receive the local channels from the NY market (because I'm in the Central time zone). The way this person explained it to me is that its out of D*'s hand. They simply submit a request to the FCC and they are the ones who either deny or approve the waiver. Based upon the guidelines that the FCC follows, my chances of being approved are pretty slim. All the FCC cares about is if I can get the local channels from D*, they don't care if the channels don't happen to be in HD or not. When I asked this same person about finding out when my local channels will be in HD she said I would need to contact my local stations since they have to setup equipment on their end to make the HD channels available to D*. I guess I will try to following up with them to see if I can find someone who has any information.

Well that's my story for now. Thanks again to everyone for helping me out! I'll let everyone know how it goes from here so if other people are in a similiar situation they can learn from my successes or failures (hopefully the former and not the latter).

Take care,
Brian

[shibby191]

Good deal. As for the 2nd cable, they should be able to run that as part of the free install but it needs to be on the work order. You can call back and get that added but it sounds like you've had one of the smoother install orders I've seen so you may not want to chance it getting messed up at this point. But if you don't I'm sure the installer will charge you to run the line. Then again you may get a better install from him since they make virtually nothing on installs but if you pay him direct to run the line he might do a better job. :)

Good luck.

[appleye1]

You're right about the waivers. Your chance of getting them are next to nothing. And it's not really the FCC that makes the call, it's the local stations themselves, and they're not about to give up a viewer to the New York stations. You'd have to prove that you get no viewable signal at all.

As for the line they gave you about not having locals because the TV station hadn't installed the equipment, I'm not sure that's true. I believe it is DirecTv that provides and installs the equipment at the station. I think the CSR was misinformed there.

A good resource for information on your local stations and what DirecTv is up to is the local HD reception forum on AVS Forum. Click on this LINK (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=45) and find the thread for your market.

[BNut]

Ahh... thank you very much for the URL. Fortunately I live about a 1/2 mile from all of my local TV stations so if I can't find out any information from the forums I may try visiting in person to ask questions. :)

Currently there is no NBC station in my city and there nearest ones are out of range for a "normal" indoor OTA antenna. I wonder if I could at least get NBC in high def since I currently get my NBC station from Biloxi, MS. (Although with my luck Biloxi, MS isn't providing D* with a HD feed either!)

Thanks again,
Brian

[markbox]

If the contract/commitment is a big deal for you be sure
to have the installer show you the paperwork you will be
required to sign and make sure it does not stipulate a
commitement period. I was told "no commitment" by the
phone rep but the installer's paperwork showed a commitment.
Before I signed I called DirecTV and they insisted that a
commitment was required. I was quite perturbed but since
the installation was already completed and the commitment
really wasn't that big a deal to me I accepted. I suspect
your install is already done so this may be a bit late to
the party.

[BNut]

I still have time... my install is scheduled for this coming Wed. Thanks for the information and I will be sure to review the paperwork before signing. Fortunately I kept the letter form D* that says there is no commitment required.

Take care,
Brian