This is a continuation of the original thread which starts Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=3711780&&#post3711780) in April 2004 and ends Here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7855009&&#post7855009)

Please keep all talk about the HR10-250 in this thread only

Please keep On Topic and please avoid bashing or feuding

Thanks :)

I have a H10-250 with the OTA hooked up. In addition to the local channels I receive can I also tune in the multicast channels that my locals are broadcasting?

It would be nice to tune into the local live radar without a lot of fuss.

Do you mean is D* carrying your local multicasted channels? No, they aren't. They are not carrying the digital versions (HD if you want to call the LiL channels that) in MPEG2. I am not certain that they are carrying the multicasted channels even on the MPEG4 LiL feeds. The MPEG4 discussion thread could probably answer that for you.

However, if you are just asking if the HR10-250 can pull in all the OTA stations including multicasted ones using an OTA antenna, then the answer is an emphatic YES.

Hope that helps,
Jeff


I have a H10-250 with the OTA hooked up. In addition to the local channels I receive can I also tune in the multicast channels that my locals are broadcasting?

It would be nice to tune into the local live radar without a lot of fuss.

I have a H10-250 with the OTA hooked up. In addition to the local channels I receive can I also tune in the multicast channels that my locals are broadcasting?

It would be nice to tune into the local live radar without a lot of fuss.


if you mean the sub channels, yes you can, Ethek.

have you done a "scan for off-air channels?

Anyone get a fix on the digital audio switch noise with Tivo and ND channels?

I just got the free HD DVR installed, great machine, but:
1. I cannot get the digital audio out to work with my receivers, I went thru the menu and set it dd5.1 out on.

2. Watching HDNET, I paused the pic and toggled thru the 1080i, 720P, 480P. 720P looked the worse and I didn't notice much difference b/w 1080i and 480P if any?

3. Is there any way to remove some of the off-air channels that don't work?

4. any way to determine the amount of space left on the HD.

Couldn't find the answers in the manual.

Thanks in advance.

All in all, pretty cool.

I just got the free HD DVR installed, great machine, but:
1. I cannot get the digital audio out to work with my receivers, I went thru the menu and set it dd5.1 out on.

2. Watching HDNET, I paused the pic and toggled thru the 1080i, 720P, 480P. 720P looked the worse and I didn't notice much difference b/w 1080i and 480P if any?

3. Is there any way to remove some of the off-air channels that don't work?

4. any way to determine the amount of space left on the HD.

Couldn't find the answers in the manual.

Thanks in advance.

All in all, pretty cool.


1. are you using toslink/optical cable?

2. what's the native resolution for your set? i think allot of people expect more of a difference between resolutions when they first check it out, i know i did.

3. yes go into setup, settings, channels and then channels you receive. once your there, uncheck the channels you don't want.

4. no, unfortunately. i keep an eye on it by counting approximately how many hours of recordings i have. for example, i add 2 hours for each HD movie to 1/2 hour and one hour shows, when i get close to 25 HD hours, i start deleting shows i don't really want.

the unit can hold 250 hours of SD programming or 30 hours of HD, if i remember correctly.

enjoy, gwlbe. ;)

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes I'm using the Toslink, still nada on both my Denon and Yamaha receivers.

Sony WS510 not sure manual doesn't state native resolution, just says it accepts 480P,720P & 1080i. My Panny AE300 front projector is 1/2 1080i. I notice the same on my upscaling DVD player that not much difference b/w 1080i and 480P on the Sony. On the projector big difference.

Thanks for the info

Sure wish they would activate the USB ports.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes I'm using the Toslink, still nada on both my Denon and Yamaha receivers.

Sony WS510 not sure manual doesn't state native resolution, just says it accepts 480P,720P & 1080i. My Panny AE300 front projector is 1/2 1080i. I notice the same on my upscaling DVD player that not much difference b/w 1080i and 480P on the Sony. On the projector big difference.

Thanks for the info

Sure wish they would activate the USB ports.

you have a toslink cable going from the HR10 straight into either your dennon or yammy and you get no sound?

what happens if you turn off the DD in the settings, have you tried that?

how big is your sony TV?

Toslink straight to either receiver, nada, I'll try with DD off tonight.

Sony is 51 inch.

Per pg. 32 of the DirectvHR10-250 pdf Manual..."While a cable is connected to the
HDMI Output jack, the Component Video Output is disabled. You can’t view video
from both the HDMI Output and the Component Video Output at the same time."

I have to unplug my HDMI switch (feeding InFocus SP4805 projector) whenever I want to watch Panny PT51HX41E RPTV thru component.
Anyone know of any other solutions?

TIA,
sgibson

Per pg. 32 of the DirectvHR10-250 pdf Manual..."While a cable is connected to the
HDMI Output jack, the Component Video Output is disabled. You can’t view video
from both the HDMI Output and the Component Video Output at the same time."

I have to unplug my HDMI switch (feeding InFocus SP4805 projector) whenever I want to watch Panny PT51HX41E RPTV thru component.
Anyone know of any other solutions?

TIA,
sgibson

here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=298233) you go, tia.

here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=298233) you go, tia.



That's it! Thanks a million,

sgibson

That's it! Thanks a million,

sgibson


my pleasure. ;)

Sony WS510 not sure manual doesn't state native resolution, just says it accepts 480P,720P & 1080i. .

HDNet is a 1080i channel. If I recall correctly the WS510's are CRT based and 1080i native. The vast majority of these types of sets do *not* do a very good job with 720p sources ... (often they are bobbed and cropped to 540p.) You are probably better off leaving the HR10 at 1080i for all HD programming.

I tested my "720p accepting," Toshiba, CRT based set with a native 720p source (local ABC affiliate) during MNF. Toggling between 1080i, 720p and 480i/p output on the HR10, it was clear that the TV was demoting the 720p input to 540p ... YMMV of course.

One more thing: the Sony's have a DRC circuit which is just a fancy name for a scaler/upconverter. As I understand it, the device has several settings one of which promotes 480i/p to 540p by 960.

Did a search but couldn't find anything. My digital audio stopped working right in middle of a movie. I've switched cables, that didn't work so I know it is not the cable. I know the component sound works, so it is not my receiver. Also tried moving input on receiver from 2 to 3..still no sound. Has anyone else had their digital output die?
TIA. :mad:

Assume you are using optical(toslink) directly from the HR10-250 to the receiver?


Jerry

Did a search but couldn't find anything. My digital audio stopped working right in middle of a movie. I've switched cables, that didn't work so I know it is not the cable. I know the component sound works, so it is not my receiver. Also tried moving input on receiver from 2 to 3..still no sound. Has anyone else had their digital output die?
TIA. :mad:


no but what do you mean by "component sound", steelerhater?

Does this unit come with an HDMI cable in the box?

Thanks.

I recently tried calling yesterday because I am getting my new D* service on monday. What I really wanted was a DVR but I've got this whole trade-off with either recieving local channels in MPEG-4 HD with the H20 reciever or getting the DVR now (Tivo box) functionality and no local channels. I know I can get the off-air antenna for local channels but I was told my someone else in our area that it doesn't work too well.

When I called, they told me initially next month the new DVR will be released. I tried calling again about it because I was trying to get more info about having a DVR now and upgrading later but they didn't seem to be too helpful. One person said next month, the other person said in FEBRUARY (geez!!) and the same difference in answers when I asked about upgrading if I were to get it now. One said I could be paying $0 or $99 to upgrade and the other said I could be paying full price.

So who should I believe and what should I do? Should I just get the H20 now and wait on the DVR until the HR20 is released or should I get the HDTivo box, miss out on local channels and upgrade the to HR20?

I recently tried calling yesterday because I am getting my new D* service on monday. What I really wanted was a DVR but I've got this whole trade-off with either recieving local channels in MPEG-4 HD with the H20 reciever or getting the DVR now (Tivo box) functionality and no local channels. I know I can get the off-air antenna for local channels but I was told my someone else in our area that it doesn't work too well.

When I called, they told me initially next month the new DVR will be released. I tried calling again about it because I was trying to get more info about having a DVR now and upgrading later but they didn't seem to be too helpful. One person said next month, the other person said in FEBRUARY (geez!!) and the same difference in answers when I asked about upgrading if I were to get it now. One said I could be paying $0 or $99 to upgrade and the other said I could be paying full price.

So who should I believe and what should I do? Should I just get the H20 now and wait on the DVR until the HR20 is released or should I get the HDTivo box, miss out on local channels and upgrade the to HR20?


i would definitely get the HR10 now, only god knows when the HR20 will finally be released and besides, you really have nothing to lose anyway.

I am sorry if this has already been asked.

I subscribed to Direct TV and wanted to get the Tivo 10-250 to time shift HD TV

My main interest was stuff off the networks, ESPN then movies off HBO etc.

Now I'm hearing that the 10-250 will not record HD CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC off the networks from my Direct TV.

Am I missing something here as it all plays perfectly well on my projector.

Many thanks
Rob

Now I'm hearing that the 10-250 will not record HD CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC off the networks from my Direct TV.

Only if you live in an area that has MPEG4 HD Locals via DirecTV.

LA and NY HD locals are still MPEG2, as they are the DNS HD Networks provided by DirecTV to those who don't have HD locals available by satellite yet.

You'll be able to record/time shift HD locals if you can get them from an antenna (OTA),
and will be able to for some time.


Jerry

once again, should I, can I, demand the 5lnb dish? someone's coming out this afternoon... and my current dish is installed pretty shoddy. So I want the guy to at least install A dish correctly. Think I'll have problems?

once again, should I, can I, demand the 5lnb dish? someone's coming out this afternoon... and my current dish is installed pretty shoddy. So I want the guy to at least install A dish correctly. Think I'll have problems?

I have the AT9 since January - it delivers a beautiful signal. It is larger and heavier than the triple dish, but in my case that is NOT an issue nor a problem. It is not visible unless you are a distance away from my house, and it was securely installed with monopole supports.

If this is similar to you, I would have the 5lnb installed. It will allow you to immediately be able to take advantag of any new MPEG4 channels (and they WILL be starting to add some this weekend) - such as the local RSNs.

You still can have the HR10-250 DVR with this dish, but you can also have H20 HD receivers. When the new HD-DVr comes out, all you would have to do is plug it in to the wall.

There is a new 'slimline' 5lnb dish to be launched but there has been NO hint of when. My own feeling is that you almost have to be able to reduce rain fade with the current larger current AT9 version - so if the size of the dish doesn't scare you I would go ahead with it.

I have the AT9 since January - it delivers a beautiful signal. It is larger and heavier than the triple dish, but in my case that is NOT an issue nor a problem. It is not visible unless you are a distance away from my house, and it was securely installed with monopole supports.

If this is similar to you, I would have the 5lnb installed. It will allow you to immediately be able to take advantag of any new MPEG4 channels (and they WILL be starting to add some this weekend) - such as the local RSNs.

You still can have the HR10-250 DVR with this dish, but you can also have H20 HD receivers. When the new HD-DVr comes out, all you would have to do is plug it in to the wall.

There is a new 'slimline' 5lnb dish to be launched but there has been NO hint of when. My own feeling is that you almost have to be able to reduce rain fade with the current larger current AT9 version - so if the size of the dish doesn't scare you I would go ahead with it.

that's news to me, from what i hear, the HR10 will NOT work with the new 5 LNB dish.

that's news to me, from what i hear, the HR10 will NOT work with the new 5 LNB dish.

I will check on this and get back by tomorrow, I am almost certain that my cousin has this - and has for 4 months or so.

went to DbsTalk.com, see many people stating things like the following in their signatures:

10 year D* Customer
Panasonic TH-50PX50U
5-LNB/H20
(2) HR10-250's
(2) Harmony 880's
Sony DAV-FR8 HT
SAT-B2 RCA Receiver (10 Years old)
SD-DVR-40 and 80

bunches more with similar statements about AT9 and HR10-250

i stand corrected, the HR10 IS compatible with the new 5 LNB dish, it's NOT able to receive Mpeg4 signals though.

i did a quick search over there and this statement from litzdog911 confused me.


"I think they are now available. You need both the new 5-LNB dish and an H20 HiDef Receiver to view them. The HR10-250 DVR is not compatible with the new MPEG4 channels. Note also that DirecTV is only providing CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox local HDTV channels. You'll need an over-the-air antenna to receive PBS and other local HDTV broadcasts."


sorry about that. :o

cool. I'll chat with the guy and see what he's willing to hook me up with. thanks for the insight.

...Now I'm hearing that the 10-250 will not record HD CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC off the networks from my Direct TV.

Am I missing something here as it all plays perfectly well on my projector...
Any channel that plays on your TV via the 10-250 can be recorded by it.

As huberjgl said, you must be able to get HD locals over the air for the 10-250 to receive them (NY and LA excluded), but your statement sounds like you can do that. Or maybe you live in LA, in which case you can continue to watch/record the MPEG-2 local station transmissions from D*, just as you have in the past.

no but what do you mean by "component sound", steelerhater?

the hr10-250 has two audio outputs...optical and component...I have the optical running to the receiver and the component going to the TV. The component to TV allows the wife and kids to use the TV straight up w/out the receiver. Both audios output simultaneously, so you can have the tv sound on while the receiver is on for DBS. I always mute the tv sound when using the receiver. Anyway, the optical is not outputting sound to the receiver anymore.....as a test, I took the component cables going to the tv and hooked up to the receiver...sound is fine..trouble is, can't use the tv straight up now.

the hr10-250 has two audio outputs...optical and component...I have the optical running to the receiver and the component going to the TV. The component to TV allows the wife and kids to use the TV straight up w/out the receiver. Both audios output simultaneously, so you can have the tv sound on while the receiver is on for DBS. I always mute the tv sound when using the receiver. Anyway, the optical is not outputting sound to the receiver anymore.....as a test, I took the component cables going to the tv and hooked up to the receiver...sound is fine..trouble is, can't use the tv straight up now.

ah, i've always known those outputs as stereo outputs.

what happens when you turn the DD off on the HR10, does the optical work then?

no....I had dd on and it worked fine for about 4 months...took it off...still doesn't work...my dvd optical works in all three receiver ports so it's not my receiver...I'm not looking forward to dealing with Directv on this....the hard drive has been great so I hate to have to return the box...

no....I had dd on and it worked fine for about 4 months...took it off...still doesn't work...my dvd optical works in all three receiver ports so it's not my receiver...I'm not looking forward to dealing with Directv on this....the hard drive has been great so I hate to have to return the box...


urgh...it looks like you don't have a choice then, steelerhater.

new HR10-250 shutting down on thermal

I bought an HR10-250 and it is shutting down on thermal:this is a second unit: I have had another HR-10-250 running for a year now with no trouble

I am aware of ventilation requirements and the info screen is showing 41-44C temperature which is within normal range: the unit runs for several hours before shutting down

are there any fixes to deal with this? I activated the card so it is not easy to return: if I call D* they will send me a refurbished unit

new HR10-250 shutting down on thermal

I bought an HR10-250 and it is shutting down on thermal:this is a second unit: I have had another HR-10-250 running for a year now with no trouble

I am aware of ventilation requirements and the info screen is showing 41-44C temperature which is within normal range: the unit runs for several hours before shutting down

are there any fixes to deal with this? I activated the card so it is not easy to return: if I call D* they will send me a refurbished unit

What software version is it running? I seem to recall that one version had a problem with the temperature sensor on the HDMI card. The fix might be as easy as using the component outputs until the box updates to 3.1.5f ...

What software version is it running? I seem to recall that one version had a problem with the temperature sensor on the HDMI card. The fix might be as easy as using the component outputs until the box updates to 3.1.5f ...

it is running 3.1.5f-01-903A-2481

funny you mention HDMI: that is how it is connected now while I am setting it up but HDMI will not be used normally:

I will switch over to component video and see how it behaves

Thanks for the response

more:

I finally got an HR10-250 that operates properly (in addition to one I have had for over a year)

first one shut down on thermal almost immediately: second replacement unit ran for about 30 minutes to shutdown: both with latest firmware connected thru HDMI: showed normal operating temps with good ventilation

Third unit received today works properly

To borrow from Professor Farnsworth from "Futurama", Good news everyone! (http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P3200006)

Does anyone have a list or link for the HR10-250 that includes all the tweaks the player is capable of? For example changing the playlist to alphabetical order & the sequence for the 30 second skip? Did a google search but no luck!

Thanks!

Steve

This may soon be moot, as the HR10-250 will soon be receiving a Version 6.3 software upgrade.

This may soon be moot, as the HR10-250 will soon be receiving a Version 6.3 software upgrade.

Very interesting.....I see the link here:

http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P3200006

So this will NOT allow the 30 second skip function to work anymore than? Also are there any other beneifts besides the ones D* mentions??

Thanks,

Steve

So this will NOT allow the 30 second skip function to work anymore than?
You'd have to re-program it in after the restart caused by the software upgrade. Since it was asked for in the post before yours, here 'tis:

-Start playing a recording from the "Now Playing" menu. Don't do it in Live TV

-Hit the following buttons in sequence: Select-Play-Select-3-0-Select

-Hit the skip-to-tick button (looks like this: ->) and it should skip ahead 30 seconds. If it goes to the end of the program, try again. If you have sound effects enabled you'll hear three dings to confirm it's programmed.

SORTing shows:

-In "Now Playing", hit the following buttons in sequence: Slow-0(Zero)-Record-Thumbs Up

If it goes through, you'll see a prompt that tells you to hit the Display button for your SORT options.

In the realm of idiosynracies, mine never gives me the three confirming dings. Well, it did the first time, but I've had to reset several times and it never has since. It still works as described above, though. If it doesn't ding, you might want to try it anyway. If it works, it will be okay, confirmation or not.

In the realm of idiosynracies, mine never gives me the three confirming dings. Well, it did the first time, but I've had to reset several times and it never has since. It still works as described above, though. If it doesn't ding, you might want to try it anyway. If it works, it will be okay, confirmation or not.

You won't get the dings if you are watching a DD 5.1 program.

TiVo sound effects are disabled when outputting digital audio.


Jery

You won't get the dings if you are watching a DD 5.1 program...
Ooooh! I'd never noticed. :o Thanks for the info.

-Hit the skip-to-tick button (looks like this: ->) and it should skip ahead 30 seconds. If it goes to the end of the program, try again. If you have sound effects enabled you'll hear three dings to confirm it's programmed.
.

Of course after awhile, one might come to the conclusion that it could be easier to hit the FF button twice and play once, rather than aquiring a case of carpal tunnel with multiple presses of -> followed by the enevitable "oops went too far", "RW" ... "play" sequence. ;)

Of course, YMMV (as always.) :D

To borrow from Professor Farnsworth from "Futurama", Good news everyone! (http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P3200006)

I'd like to hear from folks once they get it. Of course, like just about everyone one here, you tried calling in to see if you'd get it immediately. Didn't work for me on either box. :( Once we see it "in the wild," I'd like to hear from folks on their experiences with it. As much as I love the folders on my one SD TiVo, what I want more than anything else is the reduction in time when doing anything - searching, season pass editing, browsing the current listings, etc.

Deez

once dtv rolls out the update it will come by sat and d/l to your HDD. then have it call in and will intialize the update to be installed. supposed to help with guide speed and hopefully other choice issues like setting up recordings, season passes etc, alphabetical sorting and folders.

when the updates start coming over sat you will see them noted in the forums pretty quickly.

Yep - I plugged in a phone line to my unit for the first time in 2 months and made a call. Although the call was successful, sadly no update. Guess I will have to leave it plugged in so it can make the call each day until the update downloads.

This is probably just a conspiracy just to get us to keep it plugged in.

One more thing - while my call was being made, I read the text screen that shows up when you hit "select" from the phone call status screen. The message mentions something about a pending status and the machine resetting itself at 2:00 am in order to load the new software. This was not a 6.x specific message, just a general information screen. Still, I'll probably check the unit in the morning to see if anything happened.

...This is probably just a conspiracy just to get us to keep it plugged in...I must be missing something, but what is the downside of that?

I know a lot of people don't keep their phone connection, but I've assumed it was just inconvenient for many of them to run a permanent phone connection to the box. If that's not the case, what is the objection?

I must be missing something, but what is the downside of that?

I know a lot of people don't keep their phone connection, but I've assumed it was just inconvenient for many of them to run a permanent phone connection to the box. If that's not the case, what is the objection?


I can't say that I really know. I believe D* cannot track your PPV purchases otherwise and Tivo may not get full access to your viewing habits. One other could be that since D* now has an alliance with BellSouth and other telco's to bundle its service, they want to encourage people to have land based telephone service. That is all that I can think of and am not even sure if these even apply.

I must be missing something, but what is the downside of that?

Put's a kink in "movers" secret evil plans ... (in addition to the PPV thing.)

Of course there's the paranoia aspect too. ... Oh and account "stackers" ... ;)

I am contemplating changing out 3 LNB Dish for a 5 LNB Dish so I can be lined up for any new HD channels coming out through d* and I thought I'd check to see if there are others who have done this to get some feedback - positive or negative. I am keeping my current HR10-250s for SAT and OTA, but would like to get new HD channels when they come available (I know I will not be able to record with HR10-250 - sucks! and have to wait for the new DirecTV HD DVR to record MPEG4 stuff).

Put's a kink in "movers" secret evil plans ... (in addition to the PPV thing.)

Of course there's the paranoia aspect too. ... Oh and account "stackers" ... ;)
Yeah, I should have asked if there was any downside for non-paranoid owners who are using the HR10-250 "legally." :rolleyes:

there's allot of people out there subbing to directv and paying full dollar that can't connect to a phone line, just to be clear. some of them live in trailers, boats or RV's and some of them live outside the U.S.A.

it's not fair to paint everybody with the same brush and i think that's why directv hasn't cutoff those who don't use a phone line, they'd be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

As far as the phone line thing - don't you need to be connected to get the guide updated for tivo?

As far as the phone line thing - don't you need to be connected to get the guide updated for tivo?

the tivo can use the information as the satellite downloads and makes it available to you. Just as you can go ahead and see what's coming up, so can the TIVO.

for some dumb reason, the thing still needs to make that initial call to get started, but then it works fine without a phone line.

there's allot of people out there subbing to directv and paying full dollar that can't connect to a phone line, just to be clear. some of them live in trailers, boats or RV's and some of them live outside the U.S.A.

it's not fair to paint everybody with the same brush and i think that's why directv hasn't cutoff those who don't use a phone line, they'd be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
I wasn't trying to cast aspersions. I really was just curious about why some people choose to not connect the phone line, even though they could.

I started out mentioning I recognized some people found it inconvenient to permanently connect a phone. Clearly, not having a land line would represent inconvenience extended to its maximum. ;)

once dtv rolls out the update it will come by sat and d/l to your HDD. then have it call in and will intialize the update to be installed. supposed to help with guide speed and hopefully other choice issues like setting up recordings, season passes etc, alphabetical sorting and folders.

when the updates start coming over sat you will see them noted in the forums pretty quickly.

I don't believe the updates come THROUGH the Satellite. I remember a big update that came out in late 2004 when I was staying with my sister. She had one of those phone line extenders that runs through the power lines. Her house doesn't have the greatest electric wiring, so after 4-5 minutes, it would disconnect. Since the download was so big, we had to run a cord from the closest phone line, a good 40 feet run straight through the middle of her room. Now when she knows there's a big update, that's what she has to do. So a phone line will be needed for the download. Once it's downloaded, it will disconnect and then process.

Deezul

I know what you're saying, Deezul, because the phone calls that initializes the software upgrades are very lengthy. But, if you check the forums for threads by those who have their D-TiVos networked and not connected to a phone line, they mention having the upgrade in "slices". They can see 6.x when they're doing Telnet or Hyperterminal to their TiVo where it was previously 3.x. That's why some folks say the download comes from satellite and is initialized by phone. I have no idea how they account for the 45 min. phone call though.

I know what you're saying, Deezul, because the phone calls that initializes the software upgrades are very lengthy. But, if you check the forums for threads by those who have their D-TiVos networked and not connected to a phone line, they mention having the upgrade in "slices". They can see 6.x when they're doing Telnet or Hyperterminal to their TiVo where it was previously 3.x. That's why some folks say the download comes from satellite and is initialized by phone. I have no idea how they account for the 45 min. phone call though.

That's a network pulled upgrade - seems different from a phone one. I would assume that TiVo would want those using a phone to keep the calls to a minimum. Also, I thought that the ONLY thing pulled via Sat was listing information and PPV info purchased on the web. I think the link above says that the update will come via phone during a call. But I may be wrong. I just always remember reading that the big upgrades came via phone - since they are spread out. If they came via SAT, my receivers should then update at the same time. D* says that it's likely multiple owned ones would come at different times.

there's allot of people out there subbing to directv and paying full dollar that can't connect to a phone line, just to be clear. some of them live in trailers, boats or RV's and some of them live outside the U.S.A.

Of course if the reason is that you live outside the USA, you ain't getting DirecTV legally anyway. Surely, folks in the rest of those categories would have filed their RV waiver requests so that they can get their national network feeds. ;)

My point is that there seems to be an extraordinary number of people that are "concerned" about D*'s phone line requirements. :D

PS: OTOH, if for some reason you wanted to delay or refuse a software upgrade disconnecting the phoneline would be the way to do it. Did I mention "hacked boxes" above? :) Then again, one might legitimately want to wait until the new release is proven stable and bug free ... as always YMMV ...

Does anyone have a list or link for the HR10-250 that includes all the tweaks the player is capable of? For example changing the playlist to alphabetical order & the sequence for the 30 second skip? Did a google search but no luck!

Thanks!

Steve

Believe this is what you are looking for:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/printthread.php?t=122090&p=1251272

Any one else notice that the press release announcing the software upgrade is gone?

Any one else notice that the press release announcing the software upgrade is gone?

I have a feeling it's a case of somebody stumbled upon the webpage before it was meant to be seen. As far as I can tell there was no way to access the "press release" page from the main page and menus ... Which of course also raises several suspicions for the paranoid amongst us ...

Of course if the reason is that you live outside the USA, you ain't getting DirecTV legally anyway. Surely, folks in the rest of those categories would have filed their RV waiver requests so that they can get their national network feeds. ;)

My point is that there seems to be an extraordinary number of people that are "concerned" about D*'s phone line requirements. :D

PS: OTOH, if for some reason you wanted to delay or refuse a software upgrade disconnecting the phoneline would be the way to do it. Did I mention "hacked boxes" above? :) Then again, one might legitimately want to wait until the new release is proven stable and bug free ... as always YMMV ...

i know what you mean by account stacking. sometime last year, directv shutdown a bunch of "brokers" because they were account stacking. i've had my directv account for years now, way before black sunday, when the HU cards got fried. it's my own account and i access it whenever i want on their website.

paying full price with my own account gives me the peice of mind i desire, HDTVChallenged, my government, with their silly laws, can go screw itself. ;)

I have a HR10-250 and have had several black outs from my programming, both in SD and HD. What is the cause of this?

Is there a link or post as to what the 6.3 upgrade will have in it.

1) Will it allow network connection?
2) Faster?

ect...

Thanks,

BoomerangThree
Semper Fi

Is there a link or post as to what the 6.3 upgrade will have in it.

1) Will it allow network connection?
2) Faster?


Huge discussion over on the Tivo Community forums.

No networking, much faster menus and such, and folders for Now Playing.

Basically the same speed and functionality of the R10 SD D*TiVo.


Jerry

I have a HR10-250 and have had several black outs from my programming, both in SD and HD. What is the cause of this?

Usually it's signal problems.

Could be signs of a faltering hard drive as well.


Jerry

Any one else notice that the press release announcing the software upgrade is gone?

Text of original page...

---------------------------------
Great news for customers with the DIRECTV® DVR!
Your 6.3 Software Upgrade is coming soon.

You don't need to do a thing. Just make sure your receiver is continuously connected to a land-based phone line and we'll do the rest!

YOUR DIRECTV DVR will soon be even better than before:

# Find what you want faster. Navigate through your ON-SCREEN GUIDE more quickly than before. Plus, you'll be able to SEARCH faster for your favorites.

# Have more control. You can sort your NOW PLAYING LIST alphabetically or by date recorded.

# Get more organized. Our new FOLDERS feature lets you group similar programs in folders for easy reference and retrieval. Some examples:


Now Playing List
Each TV series with more than one recorded episode.
Each WishList® search with a recorded program.
TiVo® Suggestions.
Have questions about your upgrade? We've got the answers.

What do I need to do to receive my upgrade?
Nothing! Just make sure your DIRECTV DVR is continuously connected to your land-based phone line and you will receive the upgrade automatically.

When will I receive my upgrade?
The 6.3 software upgrade will roll out over a period of several weeks. Customers with more than one DIRECTV HD DVR may receive their upgrades at different times for each receiver. We appreciate your patience while we deliver these new and improved features to eligible DIRECTV HD DVR customers nationwide.

Are all DIRECTV DVRs receiving this upgrade?
No. DIRECTV DVR models SONY SAT-T60, PHILIPS DSR6000R and HUGHES GXCEBOT will not receive the 6.3 software upgrade. Other models received a similar upgrade, 6.2, in the past.

I have a DIRECTV R10 DVR with 6.1 software. Will I receive this upgrade?
No. The 6.1 software on the DIRECTV R10 DVR already includes the 6.2 features such as folders and faster menu scrolling.

Will any of my DVR settings be changed as a result of the upgrade?
Yes, some of your settings or preferences will be changed back to the factory default settings as a result of the upgrade. These include: "Favorite Channels," "Channels You Receive," "Spending Limits" and "Clear Channel Banner Quickly."

To change Channel Banners, Channels You Receive and Favorite Channels preferences:
1. Select "Messages and Setup"
2. Select "Settings"
3. Select "Channels"

To change Spending Limits:
1. Select "Messages and Setup"
2. Select "Settings"
3. Select "Parental Control"

Will I be charged for this upgrade?
No. We're upgrading your DIRECTV HD DVR as part of your normal DIRECTV® DVR with TiVo® service at no additional cost.

What happens if I don't have my phone line plugged into my DIRECTV DVR?
You will not be able to receive the upgrade if your DIRECTV DVR is not connected to your phone line. To install the upgrade, your receiver must successfully make a call to our servers.

How will I know when I have received my upgrade?
You'll receive an on-screen message the first time you visit DIRECTV Central after your upgrade is complete. It will also appear in your Messages section. You can also check your System Information screen to find out which software version you currently have.

Will the download delete any of my currently saved programs?
No. All of your saved programs will still be there for your enjoyment after the installation.
Once your upgrade is complete...

How do I activate the Grouping (folders) option?
1. Go to your Now Playing List.
2. Press Enter on your remote control.
3. Change groups to ON.

SHORTCUT HINT: While viewing your Now Playing List, press number 2 on your remote control and your Now Playing List will change from the GROUPS view to show each individual recording. Press 2 again and it will switch back to the GROUPS option.
How do I sort alphabetically instead of by date recorded?
1. Go to your Now Playing List.
2. Press Enter on your remote control.
3. Change sorting option to Alphabetical.

SHORTCUT HINT: While viewing your Now Playing List, press number 1 on your remote control and your Now Playing List will change from alphabetical to date sort. Press 1 again and it will switch back to alphabetical sort.

Anyone receive the upgrade yet? I haven't & can't wait...

I'm thinking it may be time to finally make the plunge to HD DVR. Is it really necessary to go through the whole thread to find the answers I am looking for? (As I am sure they are there, but perhaps it would save me a ton of time I don't have just to ask these questions--pardon me if they are pretty basic).

My situation: I have an D* HD box, and a D* Tivo box (non-HD) that I use for my viewing pleasure. The D* HD box, while located downstairs, actually runs to my tv upstairs in my bathroom, and is controlled with an RCA remote that is IR-based and wireless, so I can control the receiver downstairs with my remote upstairs.

My D* DVR is acting up like crazy--it freezes up every night, and has to be reset in the morning, which takes time, of course, but then I have to reprogram the 30-second skip. Something clearly has to be done...

I would like to keep the D* HD box, because of the remote's wireless capabilities, and it allows me or my wife to watch tv upstairs that is different from what is being watched downstairs.

So my thought is to get a HD DVR to replace the standard D* DVR. Questions:

1. What is the going "deal" for upgrading to HD DVR? Can I use the malfunctioning standard D* DVR to negotiate? (I don't have the service plan...)

2. What would be the cost of having both the D* HD box and the D* HD DVR? The HD package is $9.99 on the D* HD box--would I have to pay that a second time for the HD DVR AND pay a DVR fee?

(More of a what-if:) 3. If the HD DVR will record any signal entering the unit, is it possible to piggy back the HD DVR to the HD box, and just record from the HD box without paying the extra HD fee (I know, this defeats the purpose, a bit, of having two receivers--but I would still be able to play tivo-recorded programs downstairs, and live tv upstairs via separate receivers. (One drawback is I wouldn't get the record one, watch another live, or record two, watch one recorded.)

4. Right now, I have a 3 lnb dish--should I upgrade to the 5lnb dish, and if so, why?

5. Anyone have any idea when D*'s HD DVR is coming out?

Anyone receive the upgrade yet? I haven't & can't wait...

I don't think the update has been announced yet. The initial discussion about this update started over at tivocommunity.com. The creator of the thread announcing the update later said that he just "guessed" at the URL based upon other previous update announcements to other DVRs. Look at this post at tivocommunity.com (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4194886&&#post4194886)

I'm thinking it may be time to finally make the plunge to HD DVR. Is it really necessary to go through the whole thread to find the answers I am looking for? (As I am sure they are there, but perhaps it would save me a ton of time I don't have just to ask these questions--pardon me if they are pretty basic).

My situation: I have an D* HD box, and a D* Tivo box (non-HD) that I use for my viewing pleasure. The D* HD box, while located downstairs, actually runs to my tv upstairs in my bathroom, and is controlled with an RCA remote that is IR-based and wireless, so I can control the receiver downstairs with my remote upstairs.

My D* DVR is acting up like crazy--it freezes up every night, and has to be reset in the morning, which takes time, of course, but then I have to reprogram the 30-second skip. Something clearly has to be done...

I would like to keep the D* HD box, because of the remote's wireless capabilities, and it allows me or my wife to watch tv upstairs that is different from what is being watched downstairs.

So my thought is to get a HD DVR to replace the standard D* DVR. Questions:

1. What is the going "deal" for upgrading to HD DVR? Can I use the malfunctioning standard D* DVR to negotiate? (I don't have the service plan...)

The DVR is probably out of warranty and therefore of little consequence to D*, other than if you don't have it fixed, they'll miss out on their add'l receiver and DVR fees.
I think the HD DVR is $399, but if you're a Sunday Ticket customer you can get it free. The new, non-TiVo HD DVR is supposed to be out this fall, but if you need a DVR, don't wait. The HD DVR can do everything you're used to plus record any locals you get via antenna.


2. What would be the cost of having both the D* HD box and the D* HD DVR? The HD package is $9.99 on the D* HD box--would I have to pay that a second time for the HD DVR AND pay a DVR fee?

You pay $9.99/mo for the HD pack once for your household. You would also pay the DVR fee, but you're already paying that with your broken D*TiVo.

(More of a what-if:) 3. If the HD DVR will record any signal entering the unit, is it possible to piggy back the HD DVR to the HD box, and just record from the HD box without paying the extra HD fee (I know, this defeats the purpose, a bit, of having two receivers--but I would still be able to play tivo-recorded programs downstairs, and live tv upstairs via separate receivers. (One drawback is I wouldn't get the record one, watch another live, or record two, watch one recorded.)

Not necessary. Enjoy your three HD tuners!

4. Right now, I have a 3 lnb dish--should I upgrade to the 5lnb dish, and if so, why?

No, because they probably will give you a deal (free) on the 5-lnb when you are forced to switch to it in the future. If everything's working fine now (especially if you have OTA diplexed in) then leave it alone.

5. Anyone have any idea when D*'s HD DVR is coming out?

See answer above, which basically is just the latest guess.

The HD TiVo is a great box, it's just that it won't get HD locals when D* puts up the ones for your area. If you're in a market below 200,000, that could be a long time.

The HD TiVo is a great box, it's just that it won't get HD locals when D* puts up the ones for your area. If you're in a market below 200,000, that could be a long time.

Need to specify, "HD Locals from satellite", as the HD TiVo can currently get, and will get for a very long time, OTA HD Locals.


phox

Thanks, KSBugeater, for your help, and huberjgl for your clarification. I will look into trying to get a free HD Tivo box out of D*.

What makes you think they will hand out free HD Tivo boxes?
Let me know as I am also interested in getting one, and free is always good.
I currently have only SD Tivo with D*.

What makes you think they will hand out free HD Tivo boxes?
Let me know as I am also interested in getting one, and free is always good.
I currently have only SD Tivo with D*.
Some D* CSR's were promising free MPEG-4 HD DVR upgrades to buyers when the HR10-250s were on "sale" last year.

However, CSR promises are about worth the paper they are printed on. They rarely are privy to inside information before it is announced to the public. No one knows what D* will really do, but that doesn't stop some of us from wishful thinking. ;)

In any case, it is highly unlikely that they will upgrade a SD DVR to HD for free.

Some D* CSR's were promising free MPEG-4 HD DVR upgrades to buyers when the HR10-250s were on "sale" last year.

However, CSR promises are about worth the paper they are printed on. They rarely are privy to inside information before it is announced to the public. No one knows what D* will really do, but that doesn't stop some of us from wishful thinking. ;)

In any case, it is highly unlikely that they will upgrade a SD DVR to HD for free.

Well, I will see how far I can get them down. I am really considering trying my luck with Comcast because I think I can get a lot more, for a lot less, and at better quality.

My first attempt with D* customer service, was an offer (because I was such an excellent customer) for an HD Tivo upgrade for $399 plus shipping and installation.

Awesome, huh? Wouldn't budge on it, either. (Although I tried prodding a little, I chalked this first call up to "information gathering). Will try again tomorrow...

Well, I will see how far I can get them down. I am really considering trying my luck with Comcast because I think I can get a lot more, for a lot less, and at better quality.

My first attempt with D* customer service, was an offer (because I was such an excellent customer) for an HD Tivo upgrade for $399 plus shipping and installation.

Awesome, huh? Wouldn't budge on it, either. (Although I tried prodding a little, I chalked this first call up to "information gathering). Will try again tomorrow...

To me Comcast looks more expensive than D*.

But, anyway: Keep trying and please report back as to what you were able to get.

..
In any case, it is highly unlikely that they will upgrade a SD DVR to HD for free.

I disagree. Its all about who you talk to. Call retention directly and tell them your situation. Don't demand things or make empty threats. You may be surprised. Check out this thread over at tivocommunity.com (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=303111). It worked for me :D

On the phone with D* right now. They just agreed to free HD DVR upgrade to replace my faulty DVR and confirmed free installation. Didn't have to agree to any other packages, just a 2 year committment.

I disagree. Its all about who you talk to. Call retention directly and tell them your situation. Don't demand things or make empty threats. You may be surprised. Check out this thread over at tivocommunity.com (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=303111). It worked for me :D
It worked for me, too, with the HR10-250 last year (not "free", but $50 installed with a new dish, which was close enough).

But I was talking about the as yet unreleased HR20-XXX MPEG-4 HD DVR, which is likely to be in short supply for awhile. No one has any experience with what they will do with that.

My guess is that D* will have a decent offer for HR10-250 owners who were "promised" a free upgrade (probably not "free" though), but I still doubt that they will make the same deal for SD DVR owners.

Of course, I've been wrong before. :)

It worked for me, too, with the HR10-250 last year (not "free", but $50 installed with a new dish, which was close enough).

But I was talking about the as yet unreleased HR20-XXX MPEG-4 HD DVR, which is likely to be in short supply for awhile. No one has any experience with what they will do with that.

My guess is that D* will have a decent offer for HR10-250 owners who were "promised" a free upgrade (probably not "free" though), but I still doubt that they will make the same deal for SD DVR owners.

Of course, I've been wrong before. :)


Well, I am now an HR10-250 owner, so hopefully you are right.

Everything I have read has indicated that D* will either offer it free to existing customer, or for a fee. I can't imagine they wouldn't try to get money out of people if they have the opportunity. But I would also expect it to be waivable if asked nicely.

But who knows what they are going to do...

help me out here before I call for a technician - I just got the free H10-250. The HD-specific channels (HDNet, Discovery, etc.) look great, but I don't seem to be getting my local stations in HD. The installer did not make any kind of OTA antenna hook-up. I still have a 3-LNB dish on the roof. I'm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Should I be getting HD locals thru the dish or OTA?

jim

help me out here before I call for a technician - I just got the free H10-250. The HD-specific channels (HDNet, Discovery, etc.) look great, but I don't seem to be getting my local stations in HD. The installer did not make any kind of OTA antenna hook-up. I still have a 3-LNB dish on the roof. I'm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Should I be getting HD locals thru the dish or OTA?

jim

I don't know if HD locals are offered in your area--someone else can probably fill you in on that, but I am pretty sure you have to tell D* you want HD locals in order for them to work.

You should be able to get the locals OTA, though. I don't know what your situation is (how far from the city, etc.), but I live about 50 miles from Chicago, and I set up a $40 antenna in my attic, and I am able to get all the Chicago locals perfectly (except CBS), and I get Rockford's CBS, so I am set. As soon as I get the HD DVR, I'll be running my locals through that OTA.

The only HD locals you can get with theHR10-250 are the four national feeds in the 80's. If DFW qualifies.

The only HD locals you can get with theHR10-250 are the four national feeds in the 80's. If DFW qualifies.

...via the dish. With OTA, you can pick up anything you are within range of. You will also need the new 5lnb dish to get the HD locals via the dish (if available in your area)

An HR10-250 with a 3LNB dish will receive national DNS HD feeds from ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, if you are eligible. With an OTA antenna you can receive local OTA HD as well, if you get a good signal. You can record all the above.

An HR10-250 with a 5LNB dish will receive the same as the above. You can record all the above.

To receive sat delivered local HD, if your area has them, you will need the H20 receiver and the 5LNB dish. A H20 and 3LNB dish combination will not receive the sat delivered local HD. You cannot record anything with the H20, it is not a DVR.

An HR10-250 with a 3LNB dish will receive national DNS HD feeds from ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, if you are eligible. With an OTA antenna you can receive local OTA HD as well, if you get a good signal. You can record all the above.

An HR10-250 with a 5LNB dish will receive the same as the above. You can record all the above.

To receive sat delivered local HD, if your area has them, you will need the H20 receiver and the 5LNB dish. A H20 and 3LNB dish combination will not receive the sat delivered local HD. You cannot record anything with the H20, it is not a DVR.

I think that tells me what I need to know. I've got an unused antenna in the second-floor attic that has a direct line of view to our broadcasting towers in this market. i'll tell them to hook it up. don't know why he didn't do that in the first place, other than he was being lazy. thanks to all for the help.

I think that tells me what I need to know. I've got an unused antenna in the second-floor attic that has a direct line of view to our broadcasting towers in this market. i'll tell them to hook it up. don't know why he didn't do that in the first place, other than he was being lazy. thanks to all for the help.
I'm in Frisco, TX and have no trouble picking up all the locals in HD with OTA (even with diplexing out to four tv's). Check out the following link for good info on HD in the DFW area...

http://dhtg.napurano.com/forum/register.asp

Also, you may want the installer out to hook up your attenna unless you are familiar with doing it. FWIW, you should be able to record two stations at once (or record one while watching the other) no matter if its SAT or OTA...if you haven't hooked up an attenna to your tv before, you need to know that it is more than just connecting it to the HR10-250...the HR10-250 has to search for the signal (which is in the setup menu area). The installer who hooked up my first one didn't know this or how to do this and thought it was just a weak signal, but I knew from previous experiences that a search for the digital signal had to happen...I figured it out by going through the setup menu. It has been awhile so don't remember exactly and I'm not in front of my HR10-250, but if you have trouble post a question and I'm sure someone will give you instructions...

FYI, you may be able to get the east coast feed for Fox, CBS and NBC...I do, but I don't know if d* is still offerring it to new requests or not...you have to get waiver or rider to get those channels, but OTA is much better.

I think that tells me what I need to know. I've got an unused antenna in the second-floor attic that has a direct line of view to our broadcasting towers in this market. i'll tell them to hook it up. don't know why he didn't do that in the first place, other than he was being lazy. thanks to all for the help.

Got the OTA up and working with my own rooftop antenna - great pictures on all but one station. I'll work on that.

But I don't think my SD picture with this machine is as good as my SD picture was with my SD Tivo unit I replaced. I think my Sony CRT did an unusually good job upgrading the SD signal previously. I wonder if now that I'm going thru HDMI my TV's circuitry is bypassed and it just deals with the 480i signal without trying to upgrade it. It would be nice to have the best of both worlds, great HD and great SD.

Any thoughts?

jim

Your set may need to be professionally calibrated. There's only so much you can accomplish with color, sharpness & hue.

Not sure if you have the ability, but what alot of us do is use one input on the tv to watch SD and another to watch HD. Use a macro capable remote to switch to the correct input and settings accordingly. Just a thought. Personally, I said screw it and just watch everything through the HDMI out->DVI in on my tv and just toggle between 480i and 1080i with the up arrow depending on the content. D* content is so damn overcompressed that differentiating between flavors of crap is really fruitless. YMMV. Good luck!

Regs,
Jeff

Just got the HR 10-250 for my new Sony KDS-60A2000 and love them both! I was hesitant about how the HD would look when recorded and played back, but I thought it looked perfect! I asked a few different people at direct TV about the upcoming hd DVR with the MPEG 4 compatibility and I heard that it wouldn't be until at least the fall and that it is was being "beta tested" now. Also that Tivo is going into the crapper. They also said there would be an upgrade possibility (i'm hoping thats not the 400 dollar upgrade...)

Also, just curious.....I already had a 3lnb dish way up on my roof but with only one line running from it. The tech (who barely spoke english) told me he could just add the 2nd dish (which was part of what I paid for) and that way I would have the two tuner functionality (which is the case, it works just fine). Now when I upgrade to the 5LNB dish, they'll have to run a 2nd line from that dish right?

Thanks, and sorry if I reposted any questions from the old list, i didn't take the time to go through it...

Also, just curious.....I already had a 3lnb dish way up on my roof but with only one line running from it. The tech (who barely spoke english) told me he could just add the 2nd dish (which was part of what I paid for) and that way I would have the two tuner functionality (which is the case, it works just fine). Now when I upgrade to the 5LNB dish, they'll have to run a 2nd line from that dish right?

If you have the 3lnb dish from DirecTV with the built in multiswitch, you don't need another dish to get dual tuner functionality, you just need to run another line from the dish to the HD-TiVo. If/When you upgrade to the 5lnb dish the same will apply. Two lines from the dish would give you dual tuners on the new non-TiVo DVR.

drmrw, where do you get your local channels from? There are some areas that require a 2nd dish pointed at a different location in the sky to get locals. You may have misunderstood the installer about the need for the 2nd dish. (If you subscribe to certain international channels, they would also require a 2nd dish pointed at another direction.) Tell us what city your locals come from and we can tell you if the 2nd dish is needed.

Pkscout is correct, 2 tuners <> 2 dishes

I get my local channels from direct TV off the intial dish (the one i've had for a couple years). The Local HD are over the air through my regular antenna. Both dishes, as far as I can see, are pointed in the same direction.

What the tech did, which saved him alot of trouble is he took an existing cable, running from my normal outdoor antenna (used for local HD channels) and spliced into it for the satellite dish, which he mounted next to the regular antenna. He then used a splitter inside the house and one cable went to tuner 1 the other went to the over the air connector. He used the intial dish (the old one) to supply the other tuner. He did this as opposed to running another new cable from the new dish i guess. Either way it all appears to work perfectly. Thanks for your answers, i was just curious. Anyhow i'm really pleased with the HD recorder so far, it's better than I had hoped.

Hi All,
I'ver learned lots in this thread. Thanks for your posts. I am considering buying this player to go into our new house along with my new 42" LCD HDTV. I know my HD content rocks on my new tube(even though there are no tubes any more). :p

I am concerned that the SD image quality will be the pits, like my new TV is currently with the coax feed from my mother-in-laws SD dish player. (Yes, I am living with my mo-in-law, but only while we are searching for a new house....at least my priorities are straight, get the tech goods before the mortgage ties me down) ;) So, I see this box has the HDMI connector, does the SD content come through better than it would through the coax? Moreover, better than the RCA jack, or the composite jacks? I have a DVD player that upscales to 1080i, and it's pretty sweet. I'm hoping this box will do something similar.

Thanks,
SFirth

...I see this box has the HDMI connector, does the SD content come through better than it would through the coax?...
With my Panasonic plasma and HR10-250, SD looks much better when sent to the TV from the DVR "upconverted" to 1080i. I think much of the improvement is because that setting activates the HD color matrix in the TV, giving the picture a richer color.

Some others have had similar results. This was discussed recently in this forum. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8066359#post8066359)

The results may be different with different equipment combinations, though, so YMMV.

Is the remote for the HR10-250 capable of RF transmission or is it IR only?

My wife wants to get a cabinet that is solid wood and I don't think the remote will transmit through the wood.

Help...

IR zh.guitar.

It seems that the program guide for my HR10-250 is only seeing up until tomorrow afternoon. Usually, it gives me 2 weeks ahead. Anybody know what's up with DirecTV and the guide?

Sounds like your box might have rebooted or lost power.

Is the remote for the HR10-250 capable of RF transmission or is it IR only?

My wife wants to get a cabinet that is solid wood and I don't think the remote will transmit through the wood.

Help...

IR but really strong, i'm amazed at the range on these things.

Sounds like your box might have rebooted or lost power.

So, is there a way to get the Program Guide updated through manual intervention?

So, is there a way to get the Program Guide updated through manual intervention?

Not that I know of (although a "recorder restart" might help if there's a stuck/hung process.)

IIRC, the box gets the first 48 hours or so from the main APG data stream and fills out the rest s-l-o-w-l-y over period of 2 or 3 days. Make sure you have a good signal on the 101 satellite, I think all the APG data downloads from there.

FWIW, it does look like D* might have had a guide glitch somewhere or perhaps they changed some channel mapping info ... My box as reacted badly a couple of times (over last 1.5 years) to these events.

ATSC Tuner not tuning a channel that my TV can tune.


Channel 38 has a signal of 90% but the channel doesn't show a picture to tune. Other channels are fine.

Another tuner in my house works fine.

Is the tuner in the HR10-250 more sensative than other tuners? ie. the stream is missing some of the data?

hxmiller,

For what it's worth, I feel that the ATSC in the HR10-250 is easily the worst I have ever owned in a D* unit. My RCA DTC-100 and Samsung TS-160 both pick up stations that the HR10-250 does not, and they are all fed from the same OTA antenna. I even tried switching which coax cable went to which sat receiver, just to rule out the cable or particular splitter output... no dice. The tuner sucks, IMHO.

Regs,
Jeff

Is the remote for the HR10-250 capable of RF transmission or is it IR only?

My wife wants to get a cabinet that is solid wood and I don't think the remote will transmit through the wood.

Help...

This might not be the best solution, but it is something that I just initiated in my household, in a slightly different form, but it would work with the HR10.

I have two HD receivers--one for the upstairs bathroom that is not tivo, and one for the downstairs that is the HR10. For the upstairs, we have an RCA that is IR and RF-based, but my son dropped the remote in our bathtub, and it ruined the RF component of the remote. I could order a new reomte, but I am a cheap bast*rd, and remembered that I had a pair of "Leapfrog" AV RF extenders in my basement doing nothing. (They allow a composite and stereo signal to be sent wirelessly from one location of the house to another, but the quality of the video signal is pretty poor...)

Anyway, these devices also convert an IR signal to RF, then back again to an IR "eye" that adheres to the IR panel of the receiver. Now, I have the IR component of the remote being sent from upstairs to downstairs via this device, and I can hide it away pretty easily.

Don't know how much these devices are these days. In the long run, it would have cost me a lot less to just get a new remote--but perhaps this is a solution for you, or something similar...

Edit: THere is also this: http://www.smarthome.com/8220A.html

Channel 38 has a signal of 90% but the channel doesn't show a picture to tune. Other channels are fine.

This is the classic symptom of a locked up PSIP generator at your local station. Try doing a "scan for local channels" and see if you get any "new" channels. Very often, the offending station will turn up somewhere else other than where the HR10 expects it based on mapping info from the APG. Most likely, the station will turn up on the physical RF channel number in these cases.

Check out this story:

http://www.tvweek.com/page.cms?pageId=202

This is the classic symptom of a locked up PSIP generator at your local station. Try doing a "scan for local channels" and see if you get any "new" channels. Very often, the offending station will turn up somewhere else other than where the HR10 expects it based on mapping info from the APG. Most likely, the station will turn up on the physical RF channel number in these cases.



Right you were. WWORDT is on UHF 38. The channel 9 feed was on 38.3.

sorry - double posted by mistake

So, it's been at least a month since the webpage went up (and down) promising the software update was rolling out. I guess it's not going to happen, huh?

So, it's been at least a month since the webpage went up (and down) promising the software update was rolling out. I guess it's not going to happen, huh?

There are a few folks over at tivocommunity.com that claim to know inside sources....say its going to roll out later this month. But they also said it was supposed to roll out early this month. I think the general consensus is that it is going to happen...just not as soon as everyone would like. It appears that it will be timed with the release of the new D* HD DVR, which rolls out in LA sometime later this month.

Month, year, decade...

Interested in getting the HR10-250, LNB 5 dish & install from D*, as was mentioned earlier. I am in the SF Bay Area and was wondering that even though the HR10-250 cannont pull in the local HD channels from the sat., will D* still give me the SD local channels?

Also, anyone on forum know about the quality/quantity of OTA reception in the East Bay?

Thanks!
R~

Interested in getting the HR10-250, LNB 5 dish & install from D*, as was mentioned earlier. I am in the SF Bay Area and was wondering that even though the HR10-250 cannont pull in the local HD channels from the sat., will D* still give me the SD local channels?

Also, anyone on forum know about the quality/quantity of OTA reception in the East Bay?

Thanks!
R~
Yes, you will get the SD locals.

As far as local OTA, HD you can try in the below thread, if you have a reasonably clear line of sight to Sutro Tower you should be good to go.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8150289#post8150289
San Francisco, CA - OTA - AVS Forum


There is also a SF bay area DBS thread that may be helpful,

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8168026#post8168026
San Francisco, CA - DBS - AVS Forum

If you're getting the HR10-250 why do you want the 5 LNB dish? The 99/103 birds require an MPEG4 receiver. You'd get all of the available channels off of the Phase III dish.

If you're getting the HR10-250 why do you want the 5 LNB dish? The 99/103 birds require an MPEG4 receiver. You'd get all of the available channels off of the Phase III dish.
He might as well get it, he'll need it eventually if he wants any new MPEG4 channels, for example the local RSN is being carried in HD now and is only in MPEG4 and then all he needs in the MPEG4 STB or the DVR when it's available.

This is the classic symptom of a locked up PSIP generator at your local station. Try doing a "scan for local channels" and see if you get any "new" channels. Very often, the offending station will turn up somewhere else other than where the HR10 expects it based on mapping info from the APG. Most likely, the station will turn up on the physical RF channel number in these cases.

I'm having this same issue with WFUT-DT (68.1 on channel 53). Scanning doesn't help. trying 53.1 does nothing either. I'm getting excellent signals (high 90s) on all 3 boxes (HR10-250, Dish 622 & Zenith HDR230) but only the 622 is getting a picture. Any thoughts?

I'm having this same issue with WFUT-DT (68.1 on channel 53). Scanning doesn't help. trying 53.1 does nothing either. I'm getting excellent signals (high 90s) on all 3 boxes (HR10-250, Dish 622 & Zenith HDR230) but only the 622 is getting a picture. Any thoughts?

Definately sounds like a PSIP problem. What does your HR10-250 say when you check the off-air signal strength for channel 53? (It should give you the physical channel number, the first virtually mapped channel-number listed, and the first subchannel's short-ID.) A strange or missing result for the virtual channel number would confirm the cause. If confirmed, contact the station and have them kick ... er ... reboot the PSIP generator.

OK Im sure this has been answered 100 times but Im still a bit confused. I think I understand but I was just wondering if someone can confirm.

I live in Staten Island, NY (NYC) and just ordered Directv for the 1st time. I ordered the HD DVR (HR10-250). From everything I read this DVR cannot receive or record local HD channels in MPEG4 format. Most people would need an OTA to pick up and record local HD channels. But since I live in NY I can still receive and record local HD channels thru this DVR because they still broadcast them in MPEG2. Is this statement correct? I just want to be able to watch and record my shows like House and Lost in HD.

Also, why are the HD local channels still broadcast in MPEG2 in NY & LA only?

I live in Staten Island, NY (NYC) and just ordered Directv for the 1st time. I ordered the HD DVR (HR10-250). From everything I read this DVR cannot receive or record local HD channels in MPEG4 format. Most people would need an OTA to pick up and record local HD channels. But since I live in NY I can still receive and record local HD channels thru this DVR because they still broadcast them in MPEG2. Is this statement correct? I just want to be able to watch and record my shows like House and Lost in HD.

Yes, you can see them and record them with the HR10-250

Also, why are the HD local channels still broadcast in MPEG2 in NY & LA only?

For the very reason you stated, the HR10-250 can't record the MPEG4 channels, so the "distant networks" which happen to be the NY and LA locals are still MPEG2.

Once DirecTV releases their new DVR that can record the MPEG4 channels, it won't be long before all HD from DirecTV is MPEG4.


Jerry

Steelerhater,

The term your looking for is "Composite".

Composite is the standard RCA type connection that's been around for a very long time, and can be used for audio or video.

Component refers to a video connection, not audio. Component connections seemed to hit the consumer market the same time high definition video did.

It took me awhile to remember what was what when high def video came to consumers a few years back.

I think that's why the Gentleman was confused about your "Component Audio" statement.

Definately sounds like a PSIP problem. What does your HR10-250 say when you check the off-air signal strength for channel 53? (It should give you the physical channel number, the first virtually mapped channel-number listed, and the first subchannel's short-ID.) A strange or missing result for the virtual channel number would confirm the cause. If confirmed, contact the station and have them kick ... er ... reboot the PSIP generator.

Well I cleared and rescanned and that appears to have fixed the problem on the HR10. Not too worried about the Zenith as it is a backup.

I noticed that when I add HBO-HD and SHO-HD to my Favorites they appeared in the list as 70 (Virtual) and 71 (Virtual). Anybody know what the virtual represents?

Thanks!

I noticed that when I add HBO-HD and SHO-HD to my Favorites they appeared in the list as 70 (Virtual) and 71 (Virtual). Anybody know what the virtual represents?

Thanks!

So that D* can keep all the HD channels together, HBO and Showtime's HD channels map to 70 and 71 respectively. HBO is also 509; I don't have Showtime so I can say what it's "real" channel is. It doesn't mean that the channels are on two feeds, as some folks have said. Just means that 70-101 is where you will find the HDs.

Deezul

Hi All,
I have recently installed the HR10-250, and while I am loving the picture, the audio is causing me some problems. It seems that the Audio level is significantly lower on all the HD channels then it is on the SD channels. So if I am switching between two shows, one in HD, and the other in SD, I get blown away when I switch to the SD because I have had to crank it up on the HD Channel. This applies to both the OTA channels and the Satellite HD channels.

I am using the HDMI to feed the TV, and am just using the TV's speakers, no home audio equipment.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Schep

Pretty much the nature of the beast. If you really want to hear loud, hook up an analog OTA feed to your TV. Switch between that an an HD OTA, WOW!

Pretty much the nature of the beast. If you really want to hear loud, hook up an analog OTA feed to your TV. Switch between that an an HD OTA, WOW!

Nature of which beast? The HR10-250? Or the OTA HD signal itself?

Yeah same happens with the Motorola Moxi box I just got yesterday. HD is much lower than SD.

OTA and HD. My 622 exhibits the same issues.

Nature of which beast? The HR10-250? Or the OTA HD signal itself?

Nature of the 5.1 digital audio beast.

In order to be able to hear it on only 2 speakers, the other 4 channels have to be mixed in to the left/right, so it seems lower as phase cancellation comes into play.

If you hooked it up to a proper 5.1 surround sound system, there wouldn't be much level change between the HD channels and the SD channels.
There's still a difference, but nothing like you're seeing (hearing) now.


phox

Okay - it's been almost two months since the webpage went up (and then back down) promising a release of update software for the HR10-250. Any chance the rollout is actually going to happen?

I use a a HR-10-250 HD TiVo with a Sony KDF-E42A10 42" Grand WEGA and DirecTV. I've had it for about 6 months now. Two weeks ago, I turned on my television and didn't get a picture on the screen. The DVR and my television were connected with a HDMI cable. The other inputs on my tv were working fine (and are working fine right now.) I thought it might be a problem with the TiVo, so I turned it off, then on again. Still no signal, so I checked the HDMI cable to make sure the connections were fine. At this point, I was a little worried, so I hooked up my DVR w/ component cables, and that's been working fine ever since.

I called DirecTV to ask them what I should do about this, and the guy in tech support said that I should try a new HDMI cable. I bought a new one yesterday at Fry's, and I still get no signal via the HDMI. It's just a black screen with nothing on it. When I switch the output format on my TiVo from 720p -> 1080i -> etc... my television recognizes the signal type and will switch as well. There's a little bit of static, then the image goes black again as if there is nothing connected.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. I've been watching with the component cables, and that's been fine, but I feel like the image quality is slightly reduced. (I could be imagining this, I guess.) My concern is that now that I know the HDMI cable isn't the problem, it's either my DVR or my tv, and I'd like to know which one. DirecTV said that they'd ship out a new one for me, which is fine, but I would also lose a few things that I have saved on the hard drive. My television is under warranty, so I could get that fixed if need be. At the moment, this isn't a total crisis because I can still watch television in HD. I'm just concerned because something is broken in one of my devices, and I'd like to get it fixed sooner or later.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there a way to test which device isn't working? I don't have another device w/ HDMI output, so I can't figure out how to test my television. I suppose I could take my DVR into the place where I bought my tv and test whether or not the HDMI output is working, and that might do the trick. It's just a hassle for me to pack it all up, drive over there, etc....

Any help that you can offer would be great. Thanks in advance. :)

what the CSR should have told you was that HDMI has been nothing but trouble with the HR10 and that it's well documented.

like i've said a million times before, forget about HDMI with the HR10 and go with component. you won't have any problems and the PQ is virtually the same.

a small percentage of people say the PQ is slightly better through HDMI but personally, i think it's all in their heads.

component, Cornballer, use component. ;)

like i've said a million times before, forget about HDMI with the HR10 and go with component. you won't have any problems and the PQ is virtually the same.Thanks. I'll give that a shot.

Cornballer, there is supposed to be a Directv HDMI firmware update coming sometime in September. I was on with the Directv techs trying to restore my HDMI & satellite service (again), and at the end of the call asked if I could get another 10-250 to replace my current box since the HDMI has a record of failing. That's when I was told it wouldn't be necessary since a firmware solution is going to be downloaded in Sept. Of course, being the technically inclined person that I am, I replied "Oh. Cool". Maybe I should have asked more questions, but I didn't...sorry. Oh, she also said there is no plan to send notices out about the firmware upgrade to D'tv's customers. Maybe one of you guys can call, ask more questions and confirm the download.

Could be talking about the new upcoming non-Tivo box swapout? Me no likee.

Could be talking about the new upcoming non-Tivo box swapout? Me no likee.I do not want to swap out my HR10-250 for the HR20. I just got my HR10 a couple days ago and I've been using Tivo for over 6 years. But I'm worried about them converting HD channels to MP4 in the future. The biggest reason I don't want to upgrade is due to the single live buffer on the HR20. If it wasn't for that I'd consider it.

Cornballer, there is supposed to be a Directv HDMI firmware update coming sometime in September.Thanks for the news. How do the firmware updates work? Do they auto-download, or will I have to do something to get the update?

I have a couple of questions if anyone has the time to respond I would appreciate...

I saw a 750gb SATA HD for $349, is it compatibalbe with the hacks to upgrade this? (I will buy it now while it is on sale and figure out the hack stuff later... I need more storage!)

I only have the HD package, NFL sunday ticket and PVR package. Will I get fox sports HD anything it is supposed to be on 73,4,5 for something? Where is NFL Netwokr HD located?

p.s. if an allinclusive place exisits with files / instructions for upgrading for more space and to archive to pc and you have a link close by I would appreciate any pm with it.

Bruehaha

Thanks for the news. How do the firmware updates work? Do they auto-download, or will I have to do something to get the update?

Yes, they auto-download over the phone line during phone calls that the unit makes. The only thing you should have to do is ensure that your phone line is connected (or manually connect it once a month).

Yes, they auto-download over the phone line during phone calls that the unit makes. The only thing you should have to do is ensure that your phone line is connected (or manually connect it once a month).

Not quite.

DirecTV software updates are delivered by satellite, same as the guide info.
The unit then makes a phone call to confirm it has the update and gets the ok to install it.

So it needs a phone line to "get" the update, but doesn't get the update over the phone line.


Jerry

Not quite.

DirecTV software updates are delivered by satellite, same as the guide info.
The unit then makes a phone call to confirm it has the update and gets the ok to install it.

So it needs a phone line to "get" the update, but doesn't get the update over the phone line.


Jerry
I'm not sure I believe you. When a dial-up is performed, TIVO 'downloads' something, sometimes for several minutes. One of my non-HD TIVO downloaded for almost 15 minutes one time, disconnected, ran some processing, rebooted, and then presented me a new version of software.

Either way, the dial-out and subsequent reboot is necessary for the delivered update (however it arrived) to take effect.

I'm not sure I believe you. ...

Of course (as it has been stated many times over at the TiVo Community Forums) it's quite possible that *both* satellite and phone download methods may be used ... depending on how "late" you are to the upgrade party. Satellite is used for initial rollouts ... after a while the upgrade gets removed from the satellite spool and is then only available via phone.

My guide is showing a particular sub-channel twice on one of my HR10s. I think they only way to get rid of it is to clear the OTA channels and then re-scan. Has anyone ever cleared their OTA channels? I don't want it to screw up all of my season passes, which I'm afraid might get canceled if the channels they are supposed to record are temporarily out of the guide. Obviously, I will rescan as soon as I do the clear.

Thanks!

Has anyone ever cleared their OTA channels? I don't want it to screw up all of my season passes, which I'm afraid might get canceled if the channels they are supposed to record are temporarily out of the guide. Obviously, I will rescan as soon as I do the clear.I cleared mine a couple times and rescanned. It doesn't seem to effect your season passes, but it does reset the "Channels You Receive" if you've filtered out the junk you don't want to see. So you'll have to go through that process after you rescan.

I received my HR10-250 two weeks ago. I just returned from vacation and was going thru the initial setup. I have 2 lines going into the unit, but I do not have a land line (telephone) at home. My wife wife, kids, and I all use cell phones. Is there any work around to doing the initial setup if i do not have a telephone line at home?

I spoke to level 2 tech support at D*, and they say it isn't possible. They also stated (and noted in my account) that I could return the unit and get the H20 when it becomes available. They said they wouldn't charge me because the CSR that sold me the unit as an upgrade to my Samsung 160 HD Receiver neglected to inform me I needed a phone line. The only problem is that they don't have a concrete date as to when the H20 will be available in NYC.

So, if anyone has a work around that even D* isn't aware of, I'd appreciate it. I was hoping there was an adapter of some sort that i could connect to one of our cell phone (Motorola Q and Razor) that can accept an RJ11 (telephone) cable. Let me know if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks,
Joe

Only thing you can do is borrow a neighbors phone line for the initial setup call.
After that, you don't need the line,
you'll just have to deal with the nag screens telling you to hook it to a phone line.

You just need a TV and the unit for the initial call, no satellite lines.

Odd that DirecTV told you what they did, as far as I know, the HR20 absolutely needs a phone line, all the time.


Jerry

Only thing you can do is borrow a neighbors phone line for the initial setup call.
After that, you don't need the line,
you'll just have to deal with the nag screens telling you to hook it to a phone line.

You just need a TV and the unit for the initial call, no satellite lines.

Odd that DirecTV told you what they did, as far as I know, the HR20 absolutely needs a phone line, all the time.


Jerry


exactly what i was thinking. those CSR's are a complete joke. :rolleyes:

I seem to recall that in the review and FAQ for the HR20 over on DBSTALK it was stated that it does not require a land-line. This was only required for the Tivo part of the downloads, not the D* part.
I can't get to DBSTALK right now to confirm.

I seem to recall that in the review and FAQ for the HR20 over on DBSTALK it was stated that it does not require a land-line. This was only required for the Tivo part of the downloads, not the D* part.
I can't get to DBSTALK right now to confirm.

The HR20 is in no way a TiVo.

That being said, I recall reading somewhere that both of DirecTV's new DVRs, the R15 and the HR20-700 need the phone line more than the previous TiVo based DirecTV DVR's, something to do with some interractive functionality?
Not to mention the Pay Per View billing.

Of course, I could be wrong, as the only times I've paid attention to anything about the new ones is when they're being compared to the old TiVo based ones.

TiVo fan here, if you couldn't tell

Jerry

Of course the HR20 is not a Tivo - which is why I said that the HR10 did need the phone for its Tivo download - the HR20 won't need that.

I had heard the opposite - that the new HR20 doesn't need the landline so much (though it will for PPV etc).

UltimateTV fan here - which means I'm looking fowrard to a non-Tivo UI again! Hate the slowness of the HR10 - but each to tyheir own :-)

Saw this posted on tivocommunity.com. I am just relaying information...I am in no way responsible for the validity of it :D

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=315176

Over at tivocommunity.com, there are several reports from people that have received the update. From the reports, it appears that the "selection" process is random, although D* may have some internal selection process that isn't actually random. I have not yet received the update. Anyway, info here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=315237)

I got the update on one of my two units (interestely its the unit I got just four weeks ago, whereas the one I've had for 2 years did not). No worries, I'm sure it will get it soon enough.

The update definitely speeds up the processing time. Nice to have folders again. The 30 sec skip still works (after activation).

By the way, remember that you have to turn on "groups" in order for the folders to be activated.

With this rollout, I'd say the HR10-250 is back in business as the #1 HD DVR. About the only thing I wish it had is Native Passthrough.

In case anyone cares, if you watch your Phone Call screen during the call, you will actually see a download occur, with a percentage complete indicator, after which you'll get the pending restart message.

I'm hoping it fixes the errors I get with one of my boxes, where often if I'm recording to HD shows and watching a third HD show, the buttons don't respond for several seconds, or shows will continue to records for 2-3 minutes after the show is over and not change to a new channel until after the start time. Plus, I've had my box reboot itself every two weeks or so.

In case anyone cares, if you watch your Phone Call screen during the call, you will actually see a download occur, with a percentage complete
indicator, after which you'll get the pending restart message.

As an FYI, just because it says "downloading" does necessarily mean you will then see the "pending restart" message. I have forced about 5 or 6 calls over the past 2 days....about 4 of them had "downloading" at some point....and none of them ended up with a "pending restart". So, I'm pretty certain the "downloading" message is in no way related to the "pending restart" message.

As an FYI, just because it says "downloading" does necessarily mean you will then see the "pending restart" message. I have forced about 5 or 6 calls over the past 2 days....about 4 of them had "downloading" at some point....and none of them ended up with a "pending restart". So, I'm pretty certain the "downloading" message is in no way related to the "pending restart" message.

I was refering to a screen where you actually watch a percentage number increase while the information downloads. I've never seen that happen before, and it still hasn't happened on my other unit.

I was refering to a screen where you actually watch a percentage number increase while the information downloads. I've never seen that happen before, and it still hasn't happened on my other unit.

Depending on what screen/channel you're tuned to, this message pop up when the HR10 is downloading from the *satellite* ... yes even when you're in the "phone options" menu. If you have a red led, it's recording/downloading from satellite, if the led is amber your HR10 is downloading something via phone. I've never seen my box try to do both satellite and phone download simultaneously ... in fact, if it's downloading via satellite, you can't force the daily phone call.

This message usually pops up when the box is downloading the daily TiVo service data or Showcases.

That having been said, I've noticed that my nightly "service" downloads have been 20 minutes and 8 minutes longer than the normal 1/2hr service download for the past two nights.

I got the update on one of my two units (interestely its the unit I got just four weeks ago, whereas the one I've had for 2 years did not). No worries, I'm sure it will get it soon enough.

Is your old one plugged into a phone line all of the time, or just occasionally?

The 30 sec skip still works (after activation).

How would one "activate" this?

Thanks!

How would one "activate" this?

Thanks!

Press this code in your remote:

Select---Play---Select---3---0---Select

The above will activate the 30 second skip.

You want to do that with a recorded show, not live TV because the "3-0" will just change the tuner to ch. 30.

You want to do that with a recorded show, not live TV because the "3-0" will just change the tuner to ch. 30.

yes, but it will still work. you just need to exit out or change the channel.

Press this code in your remote:

Select---Play---Select---3---0---Select

The above will activate the 30 second skip.

:eek: This is the key sequence that must be entered each time you want to skip forward 30 seconds?

Or is this just the enabler (whew!)? If so, what's the trigger for each time?

Thanks.

Or is this just the enabler (whew!)?

Correct

If so, what's the trigger for each time?


The "skip to end" button, labled "->"

Personally, I find that the FF button is more effective and causes less wear and tear on my digits.

Personally, I find that the FF button is more effective and causes less wear and tear on my digits.

There also might be a commercial or promo that you want to see hiding in that break,
networks are also combatting this by making the breaks not quite increments of 30.


Jerry

Multiple presses of the 30 sec skip until the show starts and then 8 sec rewind to get back to the beginning of the segment is always faster for me than using FF. I do like the auto-backup when you go past where you want to stop, but I still like the 30 sec skip better.

I have 2 HR10-250's in my home. The one in the home theater hooked up to McIntosh equipmet and projector works perfect. The HR10-250 hooked up to my Pioneer Elite receiver has problems when I go from Tivo to live tv and sometimes from a HD signal to SD signal. It will make a loud crackle and the sound goes away. If I turn off the Pioneer receive and turn it back on it works until I start changing channels.
Anyone know a fix for this? I have gone through 3 HR10-250's and they all do this with the Pioneer. It is the Pioneers fault with some kind of digital switching problem?

When I switched to the input from my HR10-250 yesterday, the box appeared to be locked. It would not respond to any button on the remote or on the box itself.

I got it working again by unplugging the power cable and then replugging it to force a re-boot of the box, but this is hard on my old knees since the box is installed too low to reach otherwise.

Is there any key combination that can be used to force a re-boot?

When I switched to the input from my HR10-250 yesterday, the box appeared to be locked. It would not respond to any button on the remote or on the box itself.

I got it working again by unplugging the power cable and then replugging it to force a re-boot of the box, but this is hard on my old knees since the box is installed too low to reach otherwise.

Is there any key combination that can be used to force a re-boot?

I don't know how to reboot without going through the menu, but I find it more than coincidental that my box locked up yesterday too. The lights were on, but there was no signal at the TV. Anyone else?

i paid $1K for my hr10-250 hd tivo when it first came out. i still want to keep it after it gets phased out but when will this happen? also when it does phase out can i use it strictly just to record OTA HD?

any info would be appreciated.

i paid $1K for my hr10-250 hd tivo when it first came out. i still want to keep it after it gets phased out but when will this happen? also when it does phase out can i use it strictly just to record OTA HD?

any info would be appreciated.


if you mean when the HD channels will be gone then nobody knows for sure, cow736. my guess is in about a year or so.

yes, as long as your subscribed, the HR10 will be able to record OTA HD and SD as well as satellite SD.

I have an HR10 which is about a year old and didn't catch the 6.3 update. Currently it has about 25 season passes and 2 or 3 saved recordings. We typically don't keep recordings once we have watched them. In the last week or so we've noticed that we have been getting several glitches; the most annoying is that it doesn't start recording on time but a minute or two late. The info still shows the complete duration but the progress bar that shows during playback will have a blank segment at the beginning. There is nothing in the history.
Changing season passes, which was always quite slow, is now even worse. I timed a change to an SP option as taking over 7 minutes with Please Wait showing. Previously it has been around 2 minutes at most.
I have never really liked the HR10 (ex-UTV owner) and now have an HR20 coming at the weekend but I will be moving this to a bedroom and would like it to perform better. Is it possible that it downloaded some of 6.3 before the cut off and now needs some housekeeping?

yes, as long as your subscribed, the HR10 will be able to record OTA HD and SD as well as satellite SD.
It doesn't record or display OTA SD.

It doesn't record or display OTA SD.
Oh yes it does - it'll record any OTA ATSC programming.
Remember all HD is digital but not all digital is HD.

Oh yes it does - it'll record any OTA ATSC programming.
Remember all HD is digital but not all digital is HD.

Probably meant that it records all digital but no analog.

Deezul

I have an HR10 which is about a year old and didn't catch the 6.3 update. Currently it has about 25 season passes and 2 or 3 saved recordings. We typically don't keep recordings once we have watched them. In the last week or so we've noticed that we have been getting several glitches; the most annoying is that it doesn't start recording on time but a minute or two late. The info still shows the complete duration but the progress bar that shows during playback will have a blank segment at the beginning. There is nothing in the history.
Changing season passes, which was always quite slow, is now even worse. I timed a change to an SP option as taking over 7 minutes with Please Wait showing. Previously it has been around 2 minutes at most.
I have never really liked the HR10 (ex-UTV owner) and now have an HR20 coming at the weekend but I will be moving this to a bedroom and would like it to perform better. Is it possible that it downloaded some of 6.3 before the cut off and now needs some housekeeping?

First off, make sure you have suggested recordings turned off, and clear the thumbs up/down ratings. Those can cause problems. As far as cutting off during the update, I'm pretty sure it would attempt the download again... I know the download is still being pushed out because I got a message yesterday that I will be getting it soon.

As far as the poor performance, not sure what else could cause it. 25 season passes is not too many because I've had that many before and never had an instance where the season pass manager took longer than a minute to perform an operation. I would make a note of the season pass list, watch the remaining recordings, and select the "delete everything" restart option (doing so will take anywhere from 30 minutes to a fewhours).

I couldn't find this discussed before but here goes: With my HR10-250 I get OTA via antenna, as well as locals throught D*. In my channel list, I see, for example:
DL5 (sat)
5-1 (ant)
5-2 (ant)

Why am I not seeing 5 (ant)? Specifically the SD version of all my locals coming through the antenna? They're there on my Hughes HD receiver (non-TiVo).
I've rescanned but no luck. That appears to scan the antenna feed for digital channels only.
Thanks!

The HR10-250 does not have an NTSC analog tuner. The Hughes does.

Any use for 10-250 once trees have grown up in the way?

I have had DirecTv for a number of years. Finally trees have grown up on my neighbor's property so I cannot get any DirecTv birds. I had been using it only for local channel terrestial HDTV recording anyway, but now even that is impossible, since the scheduling is on the bird. I can't even watch real time terrestial TV with it now.

Am I dead in the water, or is there some workaround? Thanks for any help.

Any use for 10-250 once trees have grown up in the way?

I have had DirecTv for a number of years. Finally trees have grown up on my neighbor's property so I cannot get any DirecTv birds. I had been using it only for local channel terrestial HDTV recording anyway, but now even that is impossible, since the scheduling is on the bird. I can't even watch real time terrestial TV with it now.

Am I dead in the water, or is there some workaround? Thanks for any help.

unless you can move your dish and/or antenna away from the trees and still get the signals you need, your S.O.L. becuase it's completely useless, Tucker.

Napalm? ;)

A couple of days ago I received a message that my 6.3 update would soon be done. Last night, while I was recording a program, the download started and the box shut off.

The problem is that it has been raining so hard ever since that I suspect that the download did not complete successfully.

Naturally the recording that was running stopped when the download started. I made the mistake of trying to watch the part that was done and when it came close to the end, the "re-starting" screen appeared and the box locked up. The only way I could re-start it was to unplug the power cord and then plug it back in. I deleted the recording in case it was causing problems.

After the box re-booted, most everything seemed to work again. However system information still shows the operating system as 3.5f.

When the rain finally stops, can I force the download to be done again? Also, is system information the correct place to look for the new version? I assume that it should show 6.3 when the update is done.

I received the 6.3 message on Wednesday and have had clear weather the whole time but no update. I've forced calls, rebooted, nothing! Any thoughts?

I received the 6.3 message on Wednesday and have had clear weather the whole time but no update. I've forced calls, rebooted, nothing! Any thoughts?Wait. The update was being made available to selected groups of boxes over about three weeks total. A problem with including recognition of Sats at 72.5 and 95 has probably added about a week to the process so some people probably won't get an upgrade until as late as October 11th.

As mentioned above trees are in the way of my view of the satellite. However, the spot beam to this area is so strong that I can still get the transponders on it. Anyone know if there is anyway to use the spot beam (or a hi-speed internet or telephone connection for that matter) to schedule terrestial recordings? I don't know what transponder on 101 has the scheduling. Seems unbelievable in this day and age that DirecTv isn't putting the scheduling on a more accessible channel. Especially in view of the fact that the furthest East sattelite is 101, which means from New England that the dish elevation angle is only about 30 degrees from the horizon and directly into trees for a major part of the population.

I suspect DirecTv is going to force me to sign up for Dish or a Series 3 Tivo and replace 3 DirecTv Tivos just so I can schedule terrestial DTV recordings. Oh well, the Series3 looks like a nice box.

The heck with the HR10-250 you can get the new HR20-700 for FREE from D*. Plus I got 4 months FREE HD locals and a $100 credit on my account. If you truely have problems with your HR10-250 D* will take care of you. Just negociate with them.

:rolleyes:

So the new receiver can see through trees? Or does it get program info from somewhere else than the satellite?

I suspect DirecTv is going to force me to sign up for Dish

How would that solve your LOS?

Dish HD and local programming for my market is at elevation 60 degrees +/- since the satellite is much further east. No problem with trees.

That's just the 61.5 bird. You'll get VOOM and local HD only. The core HD comes off 110/119 which is lower than D*'s 101. JSYK

ESPN2
NFL Net
UniversalHD
NatGeo
Starz
Food
Home/Garden

are also on 61.5.

http://ekb.dbstalk.com/61-5list.htm
Dish Network Channels at 61.5°

Well, I'm new to the forum, and I'm trying to wade thru YEARS of info.....

I've had Direct TV for years, LOVE the TIVO boxes, and am just getting into Plasma and HD TV.

I "WAS" looking for one of the HD-Tivo boxes, but, no one LOCAL has them anymore. The "NEW" box is supposedly coming, but.....

I HAVE seen the HR10-250s on Ebay.....

Any danger in buying one of these? And, HOW LONG will I be able to use it with Direct TV? Are they going to cut off all the old boxes in the future? Near future???

Thanks....

Tivo.com has them in stock - promised me 7-10 day delivery - same price as everyone else. I doubt you have to worry about the old boxes being cut off - there are too many of them in the field and it would cause a total uproar. DirecTv also has an agreement with Tivo to use their software for some time to come.

As mentioned above, trees have cut off my line of sight so I have an extra (HD) 10-250 about a year old as well as a Philips SD DirecTivo with upgraded storage that I'm going to have to let go - contact me if interested.

I also got the notice about an upcoming 6.3 update. I have no idea whether this was actually accomplished, since I didn't receive a message that this was done, and System information doesn't show a software version that contains "6.3" in its number. But over the past week I've definitely noticed a speedup in how fast setting up recordings is completed. It was getting horribly slow - a couple of minutes sometimes - and now is down to about 20-30 seconds - which isn't fast but much improved. Season pass doesn't seem to be appreciably faster. I don't know whether this faster response is related to the upgrade which I may or may not have received. Does anyone here know how I can confirm that the 6.3 upgrade has been accomplished? Does anyone here know what features or improvements the upgrade was supposed to do? Are the HD-Tivo upgrades documented anywhere on the internet? Thanks.

Does anyone here know how I can confirm that the 6.3 upgrade has been accomplished? Does anyone here know what features or improvements the upgrade was supposed to do? Are the HD-Tivo upgrades documented anywhere on the internet? Thanks.
As you already did, the Sys info should show the curent software version. Supposed to add folders, improve speed and some menu changes. Just hold tight, they'll do the upgrade soon enough. For my SD Tivo, from the time I received a notice of a SW upgrade to the time it was loaded, took at least several weeks.

I don't know whether this faster response is related to the upgrade which I may or may not have received. Does anyone here know how I can confirm that the 6.3 upgrade has been accomplished? Does anyone here know what features or improvements the upgrade was supposed to do? Are the HD-Tivo upgrades documented anywhere on the internet? Thanks.

The faster response is definitely related to the upgrade. I knew I'd gotten the upgrade the other day and was able to check for the SW version in the system menu which now says 6.3. It seems that the upgrade also played a couple of other nasty tricks on me, though. The first time I turned the DVR on after the upgrade, I noticed that the video output was reset, so I wasn't getting any picture at all. I toggled through the switch on the front to reset that, but I had to do it every time I turned the unit on for a couple of days. Then, I noticed that none of the shows that usually had DD5.1 sound seemed to have it any more. It was a couple of days before I realized that the SW upgrade had also reset the audio menu, so my receiver wasn't getting the DD5.1 from the DVR.

Also, last night, the DVR missed like 20 minutes of a 1 hour recording, but maybe that was just an anomalie.

At this point, I'm just waiting to find out if there any other gotchas that I've missed. DirecTV should send everyone a message with the update to let them know that they really may need to go through the menus from scratch again.

Deleted

Heroes: "Don't Look Back" on Mon 10/2 8:00 pm

This recording was deleted earlier than planned because the space was needed for another recording on Mon 10/2 at 7:59 pm.

... but I remember seeing this episode of Heroes in Now Playing after it was recorded, so the "Mon 10/2 at 7:59 pm" is just a little software glitch. However, the recording was deleted earlier than several older hour-long HD shows. Now that's a big fat software glitch. (v6.3a)

I also got the notice about an upcoming 6.3 update. I have no idea whether this was actually accomplished, since I didn't receive a message that this was done, and System information doesn't show a software version that contains "6.3" in its number. But over the past week I've definitely noticed a speedup in how fast setting up recordings is completed. It was getting horribly slow - a couple of minutes sometimes - and now is down to about 20-30 seconds - which isn't fast but much improved. Season pass doesn't seem to be appreciably faster. I don't know whether this faster response is related to the upgrade which I may or may not have received. Does anyone here know how I can confirm that the 6.3 upgrade has been accomplished? Does anyone here know what features or improvements the upgrade was supposed to do? Are the HD-Tivo upgrades documented anywhere on the internet? Thanks.

Following site/threads provide more info than you will ever want to know about the 6.3 upgrade.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=36

One of my two HR10's just upgraded to 6.3 last night. It was hung up during install this morning. I had to unplug the box. On restart, the new software loaded properly. Improved speed is very nice.

My other HR10 still hasn't upgraded. I thought they were all supposed to be done by Oct. 11. Anyone else still waiting?

Due to delays in changing from 6.3 to 6.3a, Oct 19 is now the estimated end date.

Looking for some advice on my newly acquired HR10-250. I have had a Panasonic plasma, TH-50PX50U connected to a HR10-250 via HDMI for a year now, working flawlessly. This is in my living room, connected with a Denon receiver, and a Sony DVD player. Also have an outdoor antenna connected to this system.

Just purchased a Panasonic plasma, TH-42PX600U for the bedroom. Hooked up a DirecTV HR10-250 today to it. I was not planning on connecting a receiver nor external speakers to this setup in order to keep the bedroom clean looking.

I have the two new pieces connected via HDMI, and have two RG6 cables connected to the HR10-250. I had the unit tuned to ESPN's HD station (channel 73) for two hours. I had video, but no sound. I changed cables, reconnecting with component and digital, but still no sound. I changed every setting on both the TV and DirecTV box I could, but no luck. Then, I changed the channel to a local station, and there was sound. When I went into the HR10-250 settings and changed the Audio setting from digital to analog, and switched the channel back to ESPN HD. I had sound.

I also hooked up my DVD player to the TV via component & digital audio cable, picture, but no sound there either.

I checked the settings on my HR10-250 in my living room, and the Audio setting is setup for digital. It works flawlessly.

Do I have a wrong setting, or do I have a problem with the TV or TIVO unit, or am I just limited by not having the system hooked up to a AV receiver with external speakers? What about the DVD player not having any sound either?

thank you

My other HR10 still hasn't upgraded. I thought they were all supposed to be done by Oct. 11. Anyone else still waiting?
Yup, still waiting. Since I have an HR20 install date scheduled next weekend, it'd be nice to see how much of an improvement the upgrade will be. I can cancel the install for a full refund (but lose my freebies) if I decide to stick with the 10-250.

I got the 6.3 update on a two drive unit and it is now in a permanent infinite loop going from powering up message to getting update message. D* has sent me a new HR20 as a replacement (they said they dont have any H10s). My questions are: HAS ANYONE GOT AN H10 FROM D* RECENTLY? and IS THERE A WAY TO RECOVER FROM THE REBOOTING PROBLEM WITHOUT DOING A COMPLETE RESTORE? and IS THERE A WAY TO PREVENT THE 6.3 UPDATE FROM BEING INSTALLED ON MY OTHER UNIT?

kathy, you need to also connect the optical TOS cable to the Panasonic. The H10-250 does not provide any audio on the HDMI.


Looking for some advice on my newly acquired HR10-250. I have had a Panasonic plasma, TH-50PX50U connected to a HR10-250 via HDMI for a year now, working flawlessly. This is in my living room, connected with a Denon receiver, and a Sony DVD player. Also have an outdoor antenna connected to this system.

Just purchased a Panasonic plasma, TH-42PX600U for the bedroom. Hooked up a DirecTV HR10-250 today to it. I was not planning on connecting a receiver nor external speakers to this setup in order to keep the bedroom clean looking.

I have the two new pieces connected via HDMI, and have two RG6 cables connected to the HR10-250. I had the unit tuned to ESPN's HD station (channel 73) for two hours. I had video, but no sound. I changed cables, reconnecting with component and digital, but still no sound. I changed every setting on both the TV and DirecTV box I could, but no luck. Then, I changed the channel to a local station, and there was sound. When I went into the HR10-250 settings and changed the Audio setting from digital to analog, and switched the channel back to ESPN HD. I had sound.

I also hooked up my DVD player to the TV via component & digital audio cable, picture, but no sound there either.

I checked the settings on my HR10-250 in my living room, and the Audio setting is setup for digital. It works flawlessly.

Do I have a wrong setting, or do I have a problem with the TV or TIVO unit, or am I just limited by not having the system hooked up to a AV receiver with external speakers? What about the DVD player not having any sound either?

thank you

Mine says software version 3.5f-01-2357 - a far cry from 6.3 it seems - It says the last service data download was last night though - thoughts on this? thanks.

Mine says software version 3.5f-01-2357 - a far cry from 6.3 it seems - It says the last service data download was last night though - thoughts on this? thanks.

The supposed end date for the roll out is 10/19. If you don't have it by Friday then you should call D*.

Yup, still waiting. Since I have an HR20 install date scheduled next weekend, it'd be nice to see how much of an improvement the upgrade will be. I can cancel the install for a full refund (but lose my freebies) if I decide to stick with the 10-250.

You'll be impressed with the speed difference, especially on menus and on resorting your season passes.

I got the 6.3 update on a two drive unit and it is now in a permanent infinite loop going from powering up message to getting update message. D* has sent me a new HR20 as a replacement (they said they dont have any H10s). My questions are: HAS ANYONE GOT AN H10 FROM D* RECENTLY? and IS THERE A WAY TO RECOVER FROM THE REBOOTING PROBLEM WITHOUT DOING A COMPLETE RESTORE? and IS THERE A WAY TO PREVENT THE 6.3 UPDATE FROM BEING INSTALLED ON MY OTHER UNIT?

You've probably tried this, but have you unplugged the unit and let it set for a moment, then replugged it in. It allows a reattempt at an installation from a cold start. My first HR10 that was ungraded stuck on the opening screen overnight. I unplugged it and the software install started again and proceeded without incident.

Mine says software version 3.5f-01-2357 - a far cry from 6.3 it seems - It says the last service data download was last night though - thoughts on this? thanks.

Ya, it seems that everyone jumped from v3.x to v6.3a.

Well, I've got bigger problems than getting 6.3 - Earlier this week I started getting an Insert Valid Access Card message - that then turned into a Corrupted Data Message and I couldn't watch anything - They then sent me a new Access Card that I got today - Now the screen flickers to black on HD channels every three seconds making it impossible to watch (thank God I'm not a Tigers fan) and on SD it happens about every 20 seconds - A level 2 tech said they're sending me a new unit (refurb) but does anyone have another quicker solution? thanks.

You'll be impressed with the speed difference, especially on menus and on resorting your season passes.

From the first time I used it to reselect my viewed channels and favorites, I found 6.3a to be SLOWER. I would have a noticable pause opening different pages. Press "Live TV" took almost 5 seconds. I'm also getting the brief "Searching for signal on antenna/satellite" message, and then it tunes in on my OTA channels. I NEVER got this message before the upgrade.

Deezul

Recvd 6.3 last night. Noticeably faster guide and menus. Rather than each channel slowly filling the guide over several seconds, the channels all pop-up at the same time only after a brief delay. No sign of "folders" yet. Is there a something I need to do to activate them? Had to reset to "dolby digital" and redo favorites, which is no biggie.

I think I might now cancel my HR20 install & wait until they force mpeg4 on me. As long as I can get the occasional mpeg2 ch95 broadcast of some RSN sports, I can live without FSN HD.

kathy, you need to also connect the optical TOS cable to the Panasonic. The H10-250 does not provide any audio on the HDMI.

Are you sure about this?
I have my HR10-250 connected via HDMI to my Pioneer 940HD via HDMI only and I receive audio without any problems. You just have to set the HR10-250 to 'Dolby Digital to PCM' under the Settings/Audio section.
Bish

You are correct Bish.

No sign of "folders" yet. Is there a something I need to do to activate them?

Yes. But since I haven't gotten the upgrade yet I don't know how you activate them. :mad:

Yes. But since I haven't gotten the upgrade yet I don't know how you activate them. :mad:
How do I activate the Grouping (folders) option?
1. Go to your Now Playing List.
2. Press Enter on your remote control.
3. Change groups to ON.

SHORTCUT HINT: While viewing your Now Playing List, press number 2 on your remote control and your Now Playing List will change from the GROUPS view to show each individual recording. Press 2 again and it will switch back to the GROUPS option.
How do I sort alphabetically instead of by date recorded?
1. Go to your Now Playing List.
2. Press Enter on your remote control.
3. Change sorting option to Alphabetical.

SHORTCUT HINT: While viewing your Now Playing List, press number 1 on your remote control and your Now Playing List will change from alphabetical to date sort. Press 1 again and it will switch back to alphabetical sort.

How do I activate the Grouping (folders) option?
1. Go to your Now Playing List.
2. Press Enter on your remote control.
3. Change groups to ON.

SHORTCUT HINT: While viewing your Now Playing List, press number 2 on your remote control and your Now Playing List will change from the GROUPS view to show each individual recording. Press 2 again and it will switch back to the GROUPS option.
How do I sort alphabetically instead of by date recorded?
1. Go to your Now Playing List.
2. Press Enter on your remote control.
3. Change sorting option to Alphabetical.

SHORTCUT HINT: While viewing your Now Playing List, press number 1 on your remote control and your Now Playing List will change from alphabetical to date sort. Press 1 again and it will switch back to alphabetical sort.
Cool, thanks. Cancelled my upgrade to hr20 today. I think they let me keep my freebies too ($10 off x12 mo + Showtime free x6mo), but of course with an extension of my contract which I have no problems accepting!

I have 2 HR10-250's in my home. The one in the home theater hooked up to McIntosh equipmet and projector works perfect. The HR10-250 hooked up to my Pioneer Elite receiver has problems when I go from Tivo to live tv and sometimes from a HD signal to SD signal. It will make a loud crackle and the sound goes away. If I turn off the Pioneer receive and turn it back on it works until I start changing channels.
Anyone know a fix for this? I have gone through 3 HR10-250's and they all do this with the Pioneer. It is the Pioneers fault with some kind of digital switching problem?

I have 2 10-250's also and the same problem with the audio pop and no sound with my Elite 49 txi in my media room. You can get the sound back by swapping to another input on the Elite Receiver then back to the satellite input. (ex. sat-tuner-sat)
My other 10-250 is in my living room, hooked to a new Elite 84txi via hdmi and it works flawlessly. I can swap the audio input from hdmi to plain digital (toslink) and it still works fine.
Also, I just got the software update on one receiver and not the other. The update has greatly improved the navigation speed thru the guides and shortened the delay after selecting a program to record.

6.3 seems to have also improved the ease at which to select "channels you receive" and "favorites." They're now both on one screen and expanded channel info, rather than just the 3-4 letter channel code.

Still can't get ch95 to stay in my favorites guide though.

Finally got this after forcing a dialup today. Its sort of anti-climactic now...

6.3 seems to have also improved the ease at which to select "channels you receive" and "favorites." They're now both on one screen and expanded channel info, rather than just the 3-4 letter channel code.

Still can't get ch95 to stay in my favorites guide though.
That's because D* drops it and readds it just about every day. It's a drag, but at least I know to look there for HD games even if it's not in my Favorites.

6.3a has completely messed up my OTA reception. I can only get half the channels, and the strength is highly unstable. Directv was very useless. Oh well, FIOS here I come.

6.3a has completely messed up my OTA reception. I can only get half the channels, and the strength is highly unstable. Directv was very useless. Oh well, FIOS here I come.


i just checked my OTA channels and they're all there, stbuckley.

as far as signal strength goes, if anything, i get a stronger signal now.

Just got back from vacation and decided to cold-reboot by HD-Tivo, what a nice surprise.
Much faster... :cool:

I searched on these but didn't find anything:

1. I don't remember . . . was it possible to search by HDTV only programs before?

2. I definitely DO remember that it was not possible to get continuous sideways cursor motion by holding down the remote button. This makes for much faster searching/programming, especially when changing "Keep until: I delete". I love it. :cool:

Just got back from vacation and decided to cold-reboot by HD-Tivo, what a nice surprise.
Much faster... :cool:

I searched on these but didn't find anything:

1. I don't remember . . . was possible to search by HDTV only programs before?

2. I definitely DO remember that it was not possible to get continuous sideways cursor motion by holding down the remote button. This makes for much faster searching/programming, especially when changing "Keep until: I delete". I love it. :cool:


ya but it was a real pain in the butt, Solfan.

you couldn't specify what you were looking for, is it better now?

i haven't checked yet.

"I searched on these but didn't find anything:"

Sorry Joe, I meant I searched this thread for other comments about these new [?] features.

as far as signal strength goes, if anything, i get a stronger signal now.

I'm with you as well Joe, seems like a stronger signal for me.

What I don't get is why the software update didn't include Caller ID.

Kinda' silly that wasn't included.

I do like the faster menus and navigation though. I can use the grid finally!

Regards,
Frank

Has anyone ever had an issue with these tuners having large differences in signal strength for the same channel? I have no clue as to how this would be possible since they both use the same physical connection unless a tuner was going belly-up, but the thing is it only happens on one channel!

All my channels except one vary by no more that 5-10% between the tuners but this one varies 30-50% or more. That of course make one of those tuners unwatchable and inevitably any show scheduled to record on that channel ends up using that tuner! :-)

This has probably been discussed before, but will the HR10-250 perform OK with just a single satellite line? Would you be able to record two programs, one from satellite and one from an OTA antenna, or both from OTA?

This has probably been discussed before, but will the HR10-250 perform OK with just a single satellite line? Would you be able to record two programs, one from satellite and one from an OTA antenna, or both from OTA?

Yes it will work, no you won't be able to record two programs at once.

Has anyone ever had an issue with these tuners having large differences in signal strength for the same channel? I have no clue as to how this would be possible since they both use the same physical connection unless a tuner was going belly-up, but the thing is it only happens on one channel!

All my channels except one vary by no more that 5-10% between the tuners but this one varies 30-50% or more. That of course make one of those tuners unwatchable and inevitably any show scheduled to record on that channel ends up using that tuner! :-)

did you check the connection on the weaker tuner really well, Scott?

there should be almost no difference at all between the two tuners when it comes to signal strength.

what happens when you switch the two satellite cables from input 1 and 2?

Tivo 10-250 download kills DD5.1...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apparently Directv performed some 6.something upgrade that has totally disabled the 5.1 DD playback and DD5.1 audio record capabilities of the Tivo 10-250 units on any HDTV source (theirs or OTA). Now, all DD stuff is now converted to PCM (stereo). I called Directv last night and they said "...we know. We're trying to find a remedy. We'll call you back in a couple of days". Oh well...

Tivo 10-250 download kills DD5.1...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apparently Directv performed some 6.something upgrade that has totally disabled the 5.1 DD playback and DD5.1 audio record capabilities of the Tivo 10-250 units on any HDTV source (theirs or OTA). Now, all DD stuff is now converted to PCM (stereo). I called Directv last night and they said "...we know. We're trying to find a remedy. We'll call you back in a couple of days". Oh well...

Go to messages and settings>settings>audio>digital output and check Dolby Digital.

Worked for me anyway.

Go to messages and settings>settings>audio>digital output and check Dolby Digital.

Worked for me anyway.

Me as well.

I have to say I'm pretty happy with the new firmware. My box is much faster in the guide screens and switching channels. Like others have reported, the "default" audio mode, after the firmware is completely installed, is some sort of PCM set-up. Just go into the Audio section of Settings and switch it back to DD and everything is fine again. I love the folders and have been anxiously awaiting to get them.

I have to say I'm pretty happy with the new firmware. My box is much faster in the guide screens and switching channels. Like others have reported, the "default" audio mode, after the firmware is completely installed, is some sort of PCM set-up. Just go into the Audio section of Settings and switch it back to DD and everything is fine again. I love the folders and have been anxiously awaiting to get them.
Agreed.

It's been a long time coming, but it's like getting a new box. One more reason for me not to rush into a HR20. (Of course, I can get all my local HD channels OTA, which I realize is not true for everyone.)

I tried resetting the dolby choices, etc., nothing helps so far. Is your tivo hooked up by hdmi or components. Since I have one of the original hdmi problem machines, I am plugged into my Denon 4806 via components & optical out. I'm screwed. I bet I'm going to lose all my hi-def movies (Matrix(s), LOR, Starship Troopers, Star Wars III, ID4, etc., and the opening ceremony to the Greek Summer Olympics. Sucks...

try reseating the optical cord

...Is your tivo hooked up by hdmi or components...
HDMI to TV; optical directly to receiver (not through TV).

There is no inherent reason why the 6.3a software upgrade would disable the DD 5.1, although it does reset several settings to their default modes, including the Digital Output to "Dolby Digital to PCM" which must be changed to "Dolby Digital" to restore DD 5.1.

I know you've probably done all this, but as dturturro suggested, triple check your optical cable connections and your receiver's settings as well as both the Dolby Digital and Digital Output settings in the TiVo. Strange stuff happens, sometimes.

My HR10-250 has messed up video output now, and I'm wondering if this could be from the software upgrade? It was working fine last night, but today I just get a messed up green screen, even though I can hear the audio. I tried unplugging it twice, to no avail.

Oh well, I guess I need to place a call to customer service. :mad: