[rcramer1]

i was selling my hr's to someone and after calling direct tv they told us that the box will be obsolete when they have the new 5 lnb dishes come out. you can only use their non tivo box.

i said,"so all the money i spent for 3 of them are just wasted now"? and the said...pretty much.

has anyone come across this.

if so, i am not only pissed but i am moving to cable.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

One word - baloney!

The HR10 will not receive the MPEG4 HD channels, so in that respect, it's been obsolete for over a year, but they are capable of receiving SD programming, OTA HD and the current MPEG2 channels and will be for as long as they are operational.

If you want to receive the new HD channels that started to come online this week, then yes, you need the newer D* DVR (HR20), but as far as the HR10 being non-operational, baloney. After all, even if there is no HD for it to record, it's still a good 200 hour SD DVR.

There are strong rumors that a new TiVo-based HD DVR is in the works, but at this time, that's all they are - rumors.

 

[Jon J]

If I recall from all the discussions we've had and are currently available, the HR10-250 will function far into the future. It will continue to record HD locals and any national HD that remains on satellite in MPEG2. In addition, since all channels will not be in or go to HD, the SD recording capability will remain.

I'll be happy to take those old boxes off your hands.

 

[dthreet]

I think the person you talked to had no clue. The 5-lnb dish has been available to the public for the last two years. Has been know to the public or through press releases that the HR10 will not work with the hr10 to get MPEG4 since 2004. There has been roomers that DirecTV have a product in negotiation for a Series 3 that will work with direcTV. however from what I have heard tivo is not so easy to work with. At this point I doubt there will be much life for tivo and directv and tivo or any other cable/sat provider. Tivo has had a hard time working with not just directv also cable companies. They will release a software and say all set top boxes will have it by... they delay the process over 3 months past the date all should have it. I am guessing because tivo software contains alot of other software, they have to pay lic agrements for release per unit. So a problem is presented to tivo takes months to get fixed. Unless its there own stand alone unit.

 

[HiDefGator]

i was selling my hr's to someone and after calling direct tv they told us that the box will be obsolete when they have the new 5 lnb dishes come out. you can only use their non tivo box.

i said,"so all the money i spent for 3 of them are just wasted now"? and the said...pretty much.

has anyone come across this.

if so, i am not only pissed but i am moving to cable.

On the positive side they will give you the new HD boxes for very little money. I paid roughly $40 each for the last two I had installed. Compare that to what you spent on the HR10.

 

[ebonovic]

It will still function... for SAT-SD, and OTA, and as stated with the SAT-MPEG-2-HD until it is turrened off.

A better term for the HR10-250 is depreciated vs obsolete

 

[fasTLane]

Well.. this unit will lose mpeg2 HD much sooner than later when I drop the current HD package and go to OTA for my all my HD content.

Unless the image quality issue is addressed and soon.

 

[MikeekiM]

i said,"so all the money i spent for 3 of them are just wasted now"? and the said...pretty much.

I say you call them up again and try to get someone who knows what they are talking about... It has been a known fact for quite sometime that (1) DirecTV is going to MPEG4; and (2) that the HR10-250 will not support MPEG4. However, it is absolutely incorrect that these units are now paper weights... I still have two standard definition DirecTiVos, and will NOT be getting rid of them anytime soon... They only record SD, and will never be MPEG4 capable... but they are far from useless...

In fact, you are one up on me (or maybe it is more accurate to say you are two up on me), since you can record MPEG2 HD for as long as they are available, AND you can record OTA HD locals indefinitely... None of which I can do on my SD DirecTiVos...

But anyone would be crazy to think that any of this stuff is future proof... Heck, I still have laptops that only have enough power to run windows 95...

if so, i am not only pissed but i am moving to cable.

I own no stock in DirecTV... So I really am not invested in whether you stay with them, or go to cable... What I think you should do is do a situation and cost analysis... Your really have 4 alternatives...

* Status Quo - Stick with what you have... Now that you know that the HR10-250s are not paper weights, you can continue to watch all of the SD content, as well as OTA HD and MPEG2 HD... This is a lot more than many have access to today... In fact, when I think about what I watch, most of it (80%) is from the major networks... Actually, an HR10-250 would work for me for the most part (with an external antenna in the configuration)...

* Add an HR20 - If access to MPEG4 HD content is a showstopper for you, and you are willing to be flexible (i.e., watch MPEG4 HD content off one receiver), why not simply add an HR20 to the mix? I am sure they would give you a screaming deal... And if you don't want to add the $5 additional receiver fee, then take one of your HR10s out of the mix... You can manage your recordings to best utilize all your receivers... As an example, I don't record any HD content on my HR20...all SD content is recorded between my two SD DTiVos...

* Replace all three HR10s with HR20s - If complete access to everything on all three receivers is a showstopper, then have DirecTV cost out an upgrade offer and see what it costs... There is some middle ground here... start with 1, and phase in the other two replacements overtime...

* Move to Cable - Cost out what it will take to move to cable... And be sure that it is meeting your needs at least equal or beyond what you could do with the above three options...

Bottom Line - Be smart here... Don't move to cable out of emotion... The HR10s are a sunk cost at this point... You can decide in your own mind that it is a total loss, or you can leverage what you have and figure out a migration strategy (that's what a business would do with a similar situation with older servers)...

In my mind, by throwing your hands up and saying you'll just move to cable, you are making a very drastic decision to abandon equipment that you have already paid for... I would take option 1 or 2 if I were you... And perhaps go to option 3 if the costing was right, or migrate to option 3 over time...

 

[wilbur_the_goose]

Well.. this unit will lose mpeg2 HD much sooner than later when I drop the current HD package and go to OTA for my all my HD content.

Unless the image quality issue is addressed and soon.

For what it's worth, the new D10 HD (MPEG-4) channels are NOT "HD-Lite". The PQ and sound quality is outstanding. I have a HD-DVD player, and I can't tell the difference.

 

[fasTLane]

For what it's worth, the new D10 HD (MPEG-4) channels are NOT "HD-Lite". The PQ and sound quality is outstanding. I have a HD-DVD player, and I can't tell the difference.

Thats good. But, it doesn't explain or justify the recent drop in quality for the Tivo units.

If you are seeing 1080p quality on a satellite feed I would have to call that a miracle.

 

[wilbur_the_goose]

I'm seeing 1080i quality feed.

And the MPEG-2 HD channels (ESPN, TNT, etc) are not as good.

 

[fasTLane]

And the MPEG-2 HD channels (ESPN, TNT, etc) are not as good.

Duh. Did I not say just that?

 

[Jon J]

And the MPEG-2 HD channels (ESPN, TNT, etc) are not as good.

I disagree. To me they are equal.