uprading to HD

magellan · 09-09-2006, 08:14 PM

As a long time satisfied Directv/tivo subscriber, I am finally consider upgrading to HD. In researching directv/tivo/hd I was told that the current HD/tivo receivers will no longer receive the HD signal when Directv makes the switch to MPEG4. Is this true? Is it all HD broadcast or just local cahnnels? NY metro area. Not interested in giving up my tivo. What is the true story. Thanks.

litzdog911 · 09-10-2006, 02:23 AM

Lots of posts here and the next forum about this ....

In a nutshell .... The HR10-250 HD DVR receives DirecTV's MPEG2 channels (SD and HD), along with over-the-air digital TV channels. DirecTV's new satellite-delivered local HDTV channels are rolling out now in various cities using new satellites (99- and 103-deg) and new MPEG4 compression. The HR10-250 cannot receive those. Over the next year (or more?) it's likely that new HDTV channels will use the new satellites and MPEG4 compression, and some or all of the current MPEG2 HD channels may migrate to MPEG4. But DirecTV hasn't announced anything specific about those plans yet. When the day finally comes, though, your HR10-250 will still be able to receive over-the-air HDTV channels, along with other MPEG2 DirecTV satellite channels. And, of course, DirecTV is still promising attractive upgrade/swap program for the new HR20 MPEG4 HD DVR (which are not Tivo-based).

mr.unnatural · 09-10-2006, 10:08 AM

Quote:

And, of course, DirecTV is still promising attractive upgrade/swap program for the new HR20 MPEG4 HD DVR (which are not Tivo-based).

What upgrade/swap program are you referring to? There were initial rumors that this was going to take place once the HR20 was released but all recent reports indicate that DTV is not providing any sort of upgrade incentive to existing HDTivo owners.

ckelly33 · 09-11-2006, 06:43 AM

Has anyone seen the Mpeg4 feeds? How do they compare to Mpeg2? I have heard that Mpeg4 will provide for more bandwidth, but what about PQ?

beanpoppa · 09-11-2006, 07:18 AM

There are lots of debates about which compression scheme provides a better picture quality. Suffice it to say that when bandwidth isn't a concern, you wouldn't be able to tell a difference between the two. Also, mpeg4 can provide an image comparable to mpeg2 with about half the bandwidth.

However, it all depends on how much D* decides to turn up the compression. If they use a bitrate close to what they are using today with mpeg2, you will see an improved image with mpeg4. If they decide that the PQ of current streams is acceptable, and they squeeze the b/w down to 60% of what it is today, you will not likely see any improvement.

Mavrick22 · 09-11-2006, 07:41 AM

They upgraded me to the new HR20 for Free on Friday and let me keep my leased HR10-250 also.

All I had to do was call customer retention