To HD Upgrade or not HD Upgrade

[GoHurdler1]

Hello All,



I still have the DirecTV DVR R10 TiVo. I recently purchased an HD 1080p monitor/TV. Needless to say the standard DirecTV looks like crap on the TV. I called DirecTV and I asked a customer service rep for the HR 23-700 receiver, which has the 1080 p on it. The CSR stated that DirecTV can’t guarantee what receive model I will get. I told her that I have a 1080p monitor and that they have some 1080p programming available that I would like to get. I told her from what I have read; all of the older HD DVR models such as the HR22 are only 1080i. I told her that I have read this online and I saw the HR22 boxes at Best Buy and that’s what they said. She then proceeded to tell me that the receivers at Best Buy are refurbished models because all of their current receivers are capable of 1080p.



I told the CSR rep that I don’t want to get screwed over by them sending me an HR22 now and then xx amount of months from now they only offer 1080p models. The rep pretty much said that if I wanted another model after I get the HR 22 that I would be charged yet another fee.



I was going to wait for the new DirecTiVo model but from what I have read, that won’t happen until sometime in 2010 if we are all lucky. Should I go ahead and place an order and take my chances or should I wait who knows how many more months for an HR 23-700 model?

:confused:

[litzdog911]

There's really no functional difference between the HR22 and HR23. They both have the same size disk drive. The only slight difference is that the HR23 does not require the B-Band Converter modules.

[whitepelican]

And to continue litzdog's point, ALL of the HR2x series DVRs, even going back to the very first HR20-700, have the capability to output 1080p. You realize the 1080p content is only PPV and VOD right? None of the regular broadcast programming is in 1080p.

[cthomp21]

I'm waiting on some more info on the upcoming HD DirecTivo before investing in an HD upgrade.

If you're dying to get some HD content while still retaining a Tivo interface, swap out your R10 with an HR10-250. Just connect an antenna, and you'll get your locals in HD (sat channels with be in SD). You can pick up one pretty inexpensively off of eBay. Put your R10 on another television.

[robpickles]

I am in the same situation.

I bought a rockin' new tv. Have an R10 and want to upgrade.

I called Dtv and they said they would send me the new reciever for $99 and of course the upgrade and everything would cost an additional $10 month.

My question is... is it worth upgrading now and to pay for the new box, especially when I KNOW i will be gettign the new Tivo HD box when it comes out? Seems kind of silly to me to buy their box, when i am going to switch it out in a year or less.

Any suggestions?

Rob :)

[shibby191]

I am in the same situation.

I bought a rockin' new tv. Have an R10 and want to upgrade.

I called Dtv and they said they would send me the new reciever for $99 and of course the upgrade and everything would cost an additional $10 month.

My question is... is it worth upgrading now and to pay for the new box, especially when I KNOW i will be gettign the new Tivo HD box when it comes out? Seems kind of silly to me to buy their box, when i am going to switch it out in a year or less.

Any suggestions?

Rob :)

First to clarify something...the $10 a month is the HD access fee. Doesn't have anything to do with the DirecTV receiver type you get. You'll pay that even with the new Tivo box.

Second, the new Tivo box has already been delayed once. It may be delayed yet again. So I guess you need to ask yourself this: Do you want to wait a year or longer and have no HD? What if the new Tivo box actually gets canceled? To me, assuming you plan to stay with DirecTV anyway, $99 seems a small price to pay to get 100 HD channels in the meantime. But then that's just me. When I got my first HDTV 6 years ago I paid $600 for an HD receiver to get 2 HD channels. :up:

Then a year from now if the Tivo is out you can get that in addition to the receiver you get now and have 4 tuners of HD goodness. :D

[Matt L]

Just do it. I sat on the fence so long and finally pulled the trigger and am glad I did. You can find more info in my thread "Dark Side"

IF you do the CE download the receivers are pretty much functionally the same, things are just laid out differently, yes even dual live buffers - and they re not limited to 30 minutes either a big plus. The only thing that is missing are Suggestions. But that is totally outweighed by the fact I can network these puppies and watch anything recored on any of them in any room with a DVR.

[GoHurdler1]

Hello Rob,

Yeah, I gave in and bought the HR-22. Even though I have been a customer for over 10 years DirecTV didn't offer me any kind of a discount for the receiver. They actually lied to me and told me that my account would be billed after the unit was installed and activated. I was charged after placing the order and apparently they added an extra installation to another room. I cancelled the order and bought a unit at a store with a discount. The installer was a jerk. I told him that I didn't want him to come in the house but to just install the new slimline dish. He refused gave me attitude along with his dispatcher. The prick installer then said "I'm cancelling the order" and took off. I was suppose to have received a call from a manager, that never happened.

When I called DirecTV to complain, the customer service reps were all rude and dismissive. I was like I've been a customer for over 10-years!!! They basically said that if I didn’t want someone coming into my home and mess with the cables etc that I had to find a local installer and pay them to do the work.

When I threatened to look into some other services such as AT&T's U-Verse or Time Warner Cable, they were like go ahead.
I hate the user interface of the HR-22, and apparently it doesn’t have a “wish list” like TiVo and it can’t find shows to record unless they are currently in the guide.

[shibby191]

I hate the user interface of the HR-22, and apparently it doesn’t have a “wish list” like TiVo and it can’t find shows to record unless they are currently in the guide.

Actually it has similar functionality. Do a keyword search for example and even if it finds no matches you can choose the option to "autorecord" it. It will function like an autorecord wishlist. And in fact with boolean operators you can get pretty crazy with how detailed of a search you want and can limit it to a single channel or range of channels. There is a pretty large thread on DBSTalk all about searching. But of course there is certainly things about a Tivo wishlist that are better. Was just pointing out that you can indeed setup a "wishlist" even if something is not in the guide.

[samo]

The installer was a jerk. I told him that I didn't want him to come in the house but to just install the new slimline dish. He refused gave me attitude along with his dispatcher. The prick installer then said "I'm cancelling the order" and took off.
I don't know who was a jerk in this situation. Installers are people who work for a paycheck and not about to violate company rules because some jerk doesn't let them in a house to verify that dish installation was done correctly.
Not only they are required to verify that everything works (in my case guy verified that signal has good strength on all of the transponders and did have to go out and adjust alignment a little to get better signal on one of the transponders), they also required to replace all the cable connectors on both ends (multi-switch and IRD). When I told my installer to forget it, the connectors are good - he told me "Sorry, but I have to do it because if quality control check the installation I could get fired". I didn't believe him, but 3 days later we had a very polite man at the door from DirecTV QC. He asked to come in and check the installation. Had I insisted not to replace connectors, the installer could get fired.
Sorry, I have no sympathy for you. You didn't want to let the guy in and do his job he is paid by his company to do , so pay out of pocket to somebody else. It is your problem.

[shibby191]

The installer that did my free upgrade 3 years ago needed to come inside. They have to to at the least verify signal strength and force a software update on the DVR. They *have* to do these things. I told him that I just wanted him to swap out the dish and that I would replace the multiswitch and receiver. He came in and checked my work (all lines run and all that) and he was impressed with it. Said "cool" and went out and did the dish while I worked inside. After he was done he came in the check signal strength, told him I already updated the software and he checked that, I signed my paper and off he went.

And installer can't just put up a dish and leave and never actually verify that the installation was correct. If you work with the installer and help out with a good attitude then things would go a lot better then just refusing to let the guy in. No wonder he left.

Honestly, if you never want an installer in your house then simply buy the equipment on your own and install it yourself. That's what I always do other then that one free upgrade.

[Phil17108]

What is the CE download, and is it for the new Directv 20 plus units, and how do we get it?

[sjberra]

What is the CE download, and is it for the new Directv 20 plus units, and how do we get it?

go to www.dbstalk.com register and access the Cutting edge forum

[fjwagner]

Hello Rob,

Yeah, I gave in and bought the HR-22. Even though I have been a customer for over 10 years DirecTV didn't offer me any kind of a discount for the receiver. They actually lied to me and told me that my account would be billed after the unit was installed and activated. I was charged after placing the order and apparently they added an extra installation to another room. I cancelled the order and bought a unit at a store with a discount. The installer was a jerk. I told him that I didn't want him to come in the house but to just install the new slimline dish. He refused gave me attitude along with his dispatcher. The prick installer then said "I'm cancelling the order" and took off. I was suppose to have received a call from a manager, that never happened.

When I called DirecTV to complain, the customer service reps were all rude and dismissive. I was like I've been a customer for over 10-years!!! They basically said that if I didn’t want someone coming into my home and mess with the cables etc that I had to find a local installer and pay them to do the work.

When I threatened to look into some other services such as AT&T's U-Verse or Time Warner Cable, they were like go ahead.
I hate the user interface of the HR-22, and apparently it doesn’t have a “wish list” like TiVo and it can’t find shows to record unless they are currently in the guide.

I think I have to take sides with DTV on this one.

[GoHurdler1]

I don't know who was a jerk in this situation. Installers are people who work for a paycheck and not about to violate company rules because some jerk doesn't let them in a house to verify that dish installation was done correctly.
Not only they are required to verify that everything works (in my case guy verified that signal has good strength on all of the transponders and did have to go out and adjust alignment a little to get better signal on one of the transponders), they also required to replace all the cable connectors on both ends (multi-switch and IRD). When I told my installer to forget it, the connectors are good - he told me "Sorry, but I have to do it because if quality control check the installation I could get fired". I didn't believe him, but 3 days later we had a very polite man at the door from DirecTV QC. He asked to come in and check the installation. Had I insisted not to replace connectors, the installer could get fired.
Sorry, I have no sympathy for you. You didn't want to let the guy in and do his job he is paid by his company to do , so pay out of pocket to somebody else. It is your problem.

No, I don’t think it’s cool that some “jerk” installer arbitrarily decides to cancel the order after DirecTV screwed up my first install order. Adding a standard receiver to the install order and charging me before the installation even took place. I then had to cancel that order and do a new order and wait around for these clowns to show. Oh yeah and when I was told that a manager would be giving me credit for the charge it never happened. I had to call AGAIN and the rep who finally gave me credit said that she couldn’t find any notes stating that a manager would be giving me credit. WOW, I am shocked a lazy CSR not doing their job. I also never received a call from any manager as promised regarding the installer who took off. I have never had any previous DirecTV installers or CSRs act like pricks before.

Yes, I actually found someone who installed the new Slimline Dish. And guess what, he diddn’t f*ck with my cables and didn’t come inside and d*ck with my setup etc. And everything works just fine!

And when I made the initial call asking about an HD Receiver and if there was a discount for a long term customer I was told NO! So I was never presented the $99.99 offer that robpickles was given. And they still haven’t activated the free 3 months of the six HD channels that I was sent via e-mail even though I asked for it!

Remember the “CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT” especially when he is helping to pay your salary!! Oh yeah and telling a long term customer to essentially f-off is not customer service. At any other call center that attitude would not be tolerated and the rep would get FIRED!

[fjwagner]

GoHurdler - you sound like an angry person. I am not surprised that DTV gave you the treatment that they did. Right or wrong, when you do not treat people with respect they eventually will reach their threshold. I can imagine the notes in your electronic file!

[vicmeldrew]

i just scheduled a replacement of one of my 2 tivo sd receivers for one HD dvr - either a 22 or 23 - told them i would not accept anything less; retention said no problem; got it for 99 dollars and a waiver of the $10 monthly hd fee for one year; i didnt have to beg for it etiher but would have taken nothing less; learned this from reading seveal forums. I only decided to do this when dlb was made available thru cutting edge and will be downloading this as soon as the install is done.

guess i just got lucky with retention; told him i would not upgrade other tivo until the new HD tivo is available

[sjberra]

GoHurdler - you sound like an angry person. I am not surprised that DTV gave you the treatment that they did. Right or wrong, when you do not treat people with respect they eventually will reach their threshold. I can imagine the notes in your electronic file!

QFT - add one thing, the customer is always right is a urban legend.

[shibby191]

I only decided to do this when dlb was made available thru cutting edge and will be downloading this as soon as the install is done.


Please make sure you read what the cutting edge is all about. It's about testing and not about getting cool wiz bang new features. They are just starting the CE cycle now that includes DLB and MRV and it's been very high risk downloads so far, several bugs including random reboots, and the 2nd night has been canceled a few times. Unless you want to be a part of the testing and can stand bugs including a non functional receiver I would recommend you wait a month or two into the cycle as it becomes more stable.

Just a suggestion.

[shibby191]

Yes, I actually found someone who installed the new Slimline Dish. And guess what, he diddn’t f*ck with my cables and didn’t come inside and d*ck with my setup etc. And everything works just fine!


Sure everything works fine. You know what you're doing with your setup. But you have to realize that 99.9% of people don't and DirecTV has been burned so many times with chargebacks and such that they have clamped down on installs.

Yea you found someone to install the new Slimine for you. Private company you paid to do it? That's what some here suggested to you before. Or if you actually work with your free installer and not be a prick to them you can get it done as well. There are better ways to present your wishes then throwing up a wall of "stay the f*ck out of my house", ya know? ;)

[rcfuzz]

Rob, I had the same dilemma last month when I upgraded my last SD TV (still using my beloved DirecTivo R10) in the house to HD and reluctantly got a DirecTV HR-22 HD DVR. I too was waiting for the promised new Tivo unit, but I couldn't hold out until 2010 (or beyond). Although I went kicking and screaming, I quickly learned to really love the HR-22. Sure the interface is different from the Tivo and I really miss the dual tuner buffers (and my trusty peanut), but the HR-22 works great and I can do a lot of functions faster than I ever could on my Tivo. HD picture looks great too and the VOD 1040p is amazing. Don't fear the HR-22 and dive in. You won't be sorry.

I am in the same situation.

I bought a rockin' new tv. Have an R10 and want to upgrade.

I called Dtv and they said they would send me the new reciever for $99 and of course the upgrade and everything would cost an additional $10 month.

My question is... is it worth upgrading now and to pay for the new box, especially when I KNOW i will be gettign the new Tivo HD box when it comes out? Seems kind of silly to me to buy their box, when i am going to switch it out in a year or less.

Any suggestions?

Rob :)

[robpickles]

Well... I guess I will take the plunge and order the HR-22 or 23 unit, whatever they give me. I really want to take full advantage of my new tv and I guess waiting for the Tivo is going to be way too long. Most likely I will still switch it out when it does finally become available, probably get a small hdtv for my bedroom by then too! :)

Thanks all for your help! Wish me luck!

Rob :)



Rob, I had the same dilemma last month when I upgraded my last SD TV (still using my beloved DirecTivo R10) in the house to HD and reluctantly got a DirecTV HR-22 HD DVR. I too was waiting for the promised new Tivo unit, but I couldn't hold out until 2010 (or beyond). Although I went kicking and screaming, I quickly learned to really love the HR-22. Sure the interface is different from the Tivo and I really miss the dual tuner buffers (and my trusty peanut), but the HR-22 works great and I can do a lot of functions faster than I ever could on my Tivo. HD picture looks great too and the VOD 1040p is amazing. Don't fear the HR-22 and dive in. You won't be sorry.

[shibby191]

Well... I guess I will take the plunge and order the HR-22 or 23 unit, whatever they give me. I really want to take full advantage of my new tv and I guess waiting for the Tivo is going to be way too long. Most likely I will still switch it out when it does finally become available, probably get a small hdtv for my bedroom by then too! :)

Thanks all for your help! Wish me luck!

Rob :)

That's what I keep telling people. If you plan to stay with DirecTV anyway, why suffer at least another year, maybe longer with basically no HD other then what you might get OTA? If you want the other HD channels why not get an HR2x and if/when the new Tivo unit comes out then upgrade to that, assuming by then you still can't live without Tivo. No lose situation to me, assuming you want to stick with DirecTV anyway. If not then it's not so cut and dried.

[MrAP]

I don't really trust DirecTV reps to give me honest and clear answers, so I'm asking here.

Two questions I need help answering:
1) Has anyone been able to purchase the new HD DVR's? (I really don't want to pay the monthly lease.)
2) I have an SD DTV Tivo DVR that was purchased 6+ years ago. We do not have a landline and so the DVR hasn't phoned home since the original install (we had a landline at the time. If I upgrade now, will I need a landline?

Thanks!

[innocentfreak]

I don't really trust DirecTV reps to give me honest and clear answers, so I'm asking here.

Two questions I need help answering:
1) Has anyone been able to purchase the new HD DVR's? (I really don't want to pay the monthly lease.)
2) I have an SD DTV Tivo DVR that was purchased 6+ years ago. We do not have a landline and so the DVR hasn't phoned home since the original install (we had a landline at the time. If I upgrade now, will I need a landline?

Thanks!

1. If you own it, you have to pay an additional receiver fee if it isn't your only receiver. If you lease it, they waive the additional receiver fee but charge you a lease fee which is the same amount as the additional receiver fee so it is cheaper to lease with Directv since they double dip on you if you own the receiver.

2. I don't believe the new ones need a phone line and work over the Directv lines. I believe most if not all have ethernet also.

[MrAP]

1. If you own it, you have to pay an additional receiver fee if it isn't your only receiver. If you lease it, they waive the additional receiver fee but charge you a lease fee which is the same amount as the additional receiver fee so it is cheaper to lease with Directv since they double dip on you if you own the receiver.


Thanks for the reply! I only have 1 receiver and was going to replace it, but when I looked at DTV online, they only offer a lease option, so I'm wondering if anyone has been able to buy the receiver and how.

Thanks!

[JimSpence]

I believe the only HR DVR you can buy is the HR21 Pro. All others, no matter where "bought", will be leased.

[shibby191]

Thanks for the reply! I only have 1 receiver and was going to replace it, but when I looked at DTV online, they only offer a lease option, so I'm wondering if anyone has been able to buy the receiver and how.

Thanks!

If it's your only receiver then there is no monthly fee, even if leased.

Call it what you want but the monthly fees for owned or leased are exactly the same.

There is no monthly fee for your first receiver.
If you have more then one receiver then your 2nd receiver and beyond is charged 4.99 monthly fee.
If owned it's called "additional receiver fee".
If leased it's called "lease fee".

You can actually buy a receiver from DirecTV directly but it will cost $400+ and you probably will have to call several times to get a CSR that even knows it's an option. The only other buy option is the HR21 Pro. Otherwise no matter where you get it, it will be leased.

So if this is your one and only receiver:
You can buy for $400+ with no monthly fee, or you can lease for anywhere from free to at most $199 (depends on what you negotiate), again with no monthly fee.

If you own and it dies you will replace it on your own. If you lease and it dies DirecTV will replace it for free (or at most a $20 shipping charge).

So what you do is up to you.

[shibby191]

1. If you own it, you have to pay an additional receiver fee if it isn't your only receiver. If you lease it, they waive the additional receiver fee but charge you a lease fee which is the same amount as the additional receiver fee so it is cheaper to lease with Directv since they double dip on you if you own the receiver.


LOL. The fact is that no matter what, owned or leased, any receiver beyond your first is $4.99 a month. It's been called different things on your bill over the years but it's something they have always charged since the beginning 15 years ago, long before there was any lease program.

The fact is that forever it was called "programming mirror fee". When they started leasing they split it and called it "additional receiver fee" for owned and "lease fee" for leased. All for tax depreciation purposes on their end. No great conspiracy to screw the customers. In the end, same $4.99 fee no matter what. :)

[MrAP]

But with the leased ones, don't you have to return the DVR to them? Plus not being able to hack/add bigger drives?

[JimSpence]

But with the leased ones, don't you have to return the DVR to them? Plus not being able to hack/add bigger drives?True and not true. Currently, there are no "hacks" for the HR2x units. You can add an external HDD to get larger storage.

[shibby191]

But with the leased ones, don't you have to return the DVR to them? Plus not being able to hack/add bigger drives?

Yes you return leased boxes if you drop DirecTV. But how long do you have to have that owned box to make it worth paying all that extra money for it? And by the time you'd get rid of it and try to sell it on eBay it would be pretty much worthless since a next gen box would be out and people can get them practically free as a lease upgrade anyway. Could always find a sucker on eBay though I guess.

No you can't hack them.

Yes you can add bigger drives. Just buy an external eSata drive and plug it in. It does replace the internal one, it's not additive. So having a 2 TB drive is as simple as plug and play, no hacking needed. Not really much at all to hack anyway since many of the things you'd hack an old DirecTivo for are built in features of the DirecTV DVRs anyway. But I guess it depends on the hacks you're thinking of if you would miss them or not.

[Matt L]

I believe the only HR DVR you can buy is the HR21 Pro. All others, no matter where "bought", will be leased.

Not really. I bought and they are listed as OWNED, 3 HR20s on ebay. All in the last few weeks. You have to call D and check the RID number. The early HR20s could be owned and if they are in the system as owned they remain owned. The HR10-250 swapped receiver, an HR23 is listed as leased, but all the others on my account are listed as owned, and I do not have a commitment to deal with.

[sjberra]

But with the leased ones, don't you have to return the DVR to them? Plus not being able to hack/add bigger drives?

right in one, but why even bother when you can hang a external estata drive on the unit, restart and have the drive available? 5 minutes work as compared to 2 hours or so to take the unit apart, add a drive then put it back together and hope you did not screw something up

[MrAP]

I pulled the trigger and have an HR23 now. I *really* miss the captions when fastfowarding :( Otherwise, it's okay!