Got an HR22 a couple of weeks ago for the bedroom.

Already had a HR20 for the living room.

Even when it's off and its not recording (no orange light), the HR22 HDD is churning away. I can hear it sometimes and I'm about 6-7 feet away.

Is this normal? I know D* reserves a certain portion to download certain content. That would be the only explanation I can think off.

Even when the TV is on, I can tell it's churning.

Got an HR22 a couple of weeks ago for the bedroom.

Already had a HR20 for the living room.

Even when it's off and its not recording (no orange light), the HR22 HDD is churning away. I can hear it sometimes and I'm about 6-7 feet away.

Is this normal? I know D* reserves a certain portion to download certain content. That would be the only explanation I can think off.

Even when the TV is on, I can tell it's churning.

The HR23 has just been reviewed over at DBSTalk, and no complaints about hard drive noise. So either they've addressed the issue on the new model or yours is defective. You've got a case no matter what. Go back to DirecTV or the dealer you got it from and demand a replacement.

I'm not saying it's grindingly noisy.

Just that it seems to be active when the DVR is off and it's not recording anything.