Well, I never thought I say this, but my HR20 is now a more stable box than my HR10-250 (after version 6.3b downloaded). The HR10 is now locking up, doing random re-boots, etc. I even went the "clear everything" route as suggested by tech support.

So, at least for me, the tables have turned and I am looking to the HR20 to be the more reliable one.

Several days into my 11b update and my DVR is working quite well.

Getting all the requests for recordings and playback is fine.

Much improved from 10b

mine too, I just had to reset one of my hr20's but so far so good because I was resetting almost every couple of days before this update.

mine too, I just had to reset one of my hr20's but so far so good because I was resetting almost every couple of days before this update.

Oh yeah. 11b is a winner.

So is it safe to buy one now? I got a BestBuy gift card and I was thinking of picking one up this weekend. Mistake?

So is it safe to buy one now? I got a BestBuy gift card and I was thinking of picking one up this weekend. Mistake?


My HR20 is in my home theater and I purchased at BB after a D* installer put in my new 5LNB dish and HR20 in the Den.

The unit from BB had HDMI cable in box and both HDMI and Ethernet worked right out of the box. The D* installed unit still has no HDMI or Ethernet working even on 11B.

I assume you have the new dish installed?

The HR20 from BB with 11B works pretty well while still experiencing audio drops during playback - especially while watching a recorded show.

Then there is the issue of "chirping" which is a odd noise that comes up with pixelation freezes while watching a show that is still being recorded. Once it starts happening your really have to reboot.

Earl made a comment in one of the forums wondering if D* is giving up on this box but then we got the flood of software upgrades. I wondering if a HR20-700X will sneak into the supply chain fixing tuner and other problems they thought the could fix with software but now realize they can't.

An finally, I too now have experienced the total loss of WBBM 2-1 OTA with my last reboot. Simply no signal even though if I flip to my HR10-250 its fine. This is in numerous posts in numerous cities so looks to be a random software bug.

Oh, the 1.5TB eSATA I added is working great - a nice upgrade to the capacity.

If you don't mind being a part of this ongoing experiment go ahead. If you want a component as reliable as your current unit (i.e. plug it and and it works), wait.

Scott

Is anyone in Chicagoland able to receive WBBM 2-1 OTA with the HR20? I have never been able to get it since OTA was activated although it comes in fine on every other receiver in the household.

Thanks Scott. The last thing I need to due is buy something and then have my wife ask me why we bought this again. I really could benefit from a DVR as we have kids and would like to watch some of our favorite shows after the kids go to sleep. I am currently watching D* HD, but do not have a DVR, the dish I have was installed a year ago (Should work right?). I was given a $200 giftcard to BB and really do not need anything, so if the headaches are minimal an HDDVR makes sense. I'll continue reading this thread and probably pick up the unit on Sunday.

Any reason not to buy it at BB and buy direct from D*?

I really did try to like the HR20.

But with my signal strength taking a permanent hit after a big winter storm and frequent pixelization appearing randomly on several stations (but especially the Golf Channel), after the last firmware "upgrade" resulted in:

* the double-press for series recording not showing the series icon till much later
* quadruple identical listings listings appearing for some To Do items
* multiple end of football games & golf matches lost because the recording stopped earlier than the "Plus 3 hours" I started using

Knowing that the resolution of HD was not as good as Cable (D*'s infamous HD-Lite) always bugged me (I compared them when my HR20 was installed) and I have always hated the "press & hold Play to activate Slo-Mo sometime soon" debacle.

So I bit the TiVo Series3 bullet yesterday.

Two deciding factors:

- multi-hundred dollar discounts off of the Series3 list price are now available online through big name e-tailers
- I found out yesterday :D that I could get Lifetime Monthly Service on the Series3 by "transferring" my Lifetime Service from my old Series2 ! ! ! Given that A) this is the ONLY WAY to get Lifetime Service on the Series3 (the only other deal is 3 years for $300) and B) this lifetime service transfer only applies to Series3 purchased by next Tuesday, I jumped on it.

It will ship on Tuesday, and a week later, DirecTV will get a "take this stuff away" call from me.

Hopefully, the HR20 won't mess up the SuperBowl recording if I have to use it for that. :^/

YMMV,

rclams

Is anyone in Chicagoland able to receive WBBM 2-1 OTA with the HR20? I have never been able to get it since OTA was activated although it comes in fine on every other receiver in the household.


Not since last reboot of 11b.

Thanks Scott. The last thing I need to due is buy something and then have my wife ask me why we bought this again. I really could benefit from a DVR as we have kids and would like to watch some of our favorite shows after the kids go to sleep. I am currently watching D* HD, but do not have a DVR, the dish I have was installed a year ago (Should work right?). I was given a $200 giftcard to BB and really do not need anything, so if the headaches are minimal an HDDVR makes sense. I'll continue reading this thread and probably pick up the unit on Sunday.


Nope. Need new dish for this - two units to the right of dish while looking at it and a missing unit on the left side. If you have three LNB's in middle you don't have the right dish. We have a 9 year old - this rocks for that since early to bed is not in the gameplan anymore :)

Any reason not to buy it at BB and buy direct from D*?


Nope - Same as D*. BB units seem to be higher hardware levels.

Any reason not to buy it at BB and buy direct from D*?
Only that you might be able to get a better deal direct from D*.

On the other hand, some people have reported wrangling a discount from D* after buying a box from BB or elsewhere. No guarantees on any of this. As usual with D*, you play CSR roulette when you upgrade equipment through them. :rolleyes:

Only that you might be able to get a better deal from D*.

On the other hand, some people have reported wrangling a discount from D* after buying a box from BB or elsewhere. No guarantees on any of this. As usual with D*, you play CSR roulette when you upgrade equipment through them. :rolleyes:


I cannot recover the number of hours spent on these two units. It's like designing a plane to take-off and then in the air , figuring out how to land.

Scott

I cannot recover the number of hours spent on these two units. It's like designing a plane to take-off and then in the air , figuring out how to land.

Scott
:D That's why I have stuck to my HR10-250 so far. ;)

:D That's why I have stuck to my HR10-250 so far. ;)


Me too, took some creative cabling to accomplish but when I am too frustrated with HR20 I go back to HR10-250

Guys I have an install of the 5lnb dish & HR20 on Feb. 19th....I talked to retention and was given both for $99.63.......I also get Local HD programming from my cable company in which I use the Samsung 150 OTA HD receiver to get them.......My main question is can I run the cable from cable company into the HR20 and record my local HD programming also????The HD locals are 8vsb or something like that.

Any info would be appreciated

Is anyone in Chicagoland able to receive WBBM 2-1 OTA with the HR20? I have never been able to get it since OTA was activated although it comes in fine on every other receiver in the household.It's a database problem. It won't work for anybody.

does anybody have the hr20 connected to a vizio gv47lf tv if so can you tell me if there is any problems with this setup because i am planning on getting both just wanted to get a heads up on the problems witch may occur

new software update tonight and Monday night 11p to 1:30a est. This is a preproduction certified build. 0x11f

force update only 02468 at welcome screen.

beta version

Guys I have an install of the 5lnb dish & HR20 on Feb. 19th....I talked to retention and was given both for $99.63.......I also get Local HD programming from my cable company in which I use the Samsung 150 OTA HD receiver to get them.......My main question is can I run the cable from cable company into the HR20 and record my local HD programming also????The HD locals are 8vsb or something like that.

Any info would be appreciated


With the new dish and the HR20 your HD locals will come in MPEG4 over the D* dish. I the guide/HR20 will not acccept you putting a Cable feed in the OTA port and have it work - meaning finding programming. The OTA will use zip code to find OTA schedule but won't with cable feed - channel numbers extra. Also, since you are using a cable box, the ability for the HR20 to "switch" channels on it is impossible. How are you doing it now? or are you a new D*?


You have to pick your poison.

I am in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area and am curious to know if the local ota digital channels have been enabled on the HR-20 in my area.

I am in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area and am curious to know if the local ota digital channels have been enabled on the HR-20 in my area.
-------------------
If you mean the MPEG4 ones available with a 5 LNB dish, yes (depends on the
software version you use.)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9614200&&#post9614200
The last 3 or 4 updates have enabled H/D locals via D*

Guys I have an install of the 5lnb dish & HR20 on Feb. 19th....I talked to retention and was given both for $99.63.......I also get Local HD programming from my cable company in which I use the Samsung 150 OTA HD receiver to get them.......My main question is can I run the cable from cable company into the HR20 and record my local HD programming also????The HD locals are 8vsb or something like that.

Any info would be appreciated
Coming from the cable source, what channel numbers appear for the HDTV channels?

If they are the same channel numbers as you would receive OTA (if you could) then your combination could possibly work.

If the cable HDTV channels use different channel numbers than OTA for the same HDTV channels, then the guide data from DirecTV would not correlate to the cable channel numbers and your combo will likely not work.

This is all based on the cable source providing 8VSB as you stated earlier in your post. Most of what we hear about from cable companies is QAM instead of 8VSB, so your scenario is not common and may not be understood by some folks.

Its my understanding that my cable HD channels have the same channel #s as my local OTA HD! I was told my cable company has a tower that receives the OTA signals and converts and then it is sent to the customers. I guess i'll know for sure FEB19

Only that you might be able to get a better deal direct from D*.

On the other hand, some people have reported wrangling a discount from D* after buying a box from BB or elsewhere. No guarantees on any of this. As usual with D*, you play CSR roulette when you upgrade equipment through them. :rolleyes:

Well I called D* today and I could not get them to budge on the price (same as BB and I have a $200 gift card from BB). I explained to her that I was thinking about trying out cable and she gave me a discount off the HD package and HBO (total savings of $20 a month) and Starz for free. She told me to go ahead and buy the HR20 from BB and she said D* will install the new dish and set up the box for free (notes on account). Overall, I am saving over $100 on my bill, added some channels (not really a big deal) and can spend the giftcard on me instead of something the wife wanted! :rolleyes:

Thanks for the help. I am sure I will need more of it after I am all set up!

HR20 OWNERS

Another software beta update tonight!!!

This is not the 2nd night of the Sunday update, this is a newer version than was sent out last night. This correct issues from last nights 0x11f version.

Get it tonight 11p-1:30a by force method

Sorry short notice, just got home and had the update notification.

got the update 0x120

DirectTV sent me an HD20 to replace my failed HD10-250 that waas essentially DOA. They sent me another HD20 that worked (but no TiVo) for several weeks, but last night showed banner and program info but had no program content whether recorded or live. Unplugged it to reset, but it wouldn't reboot. Are HD20s dogs? Thinking about switching to cable HD DVR service.

db

just got one for $99, didn't even have to ask for it, called to schedule install because I'm moving and they said they wanted to upgrade me. I was going to upgrade if they did it for $199, but didn't even have to argue to get a good price.

Is there a way to turn off the stupid bright blue LED light on the front of the HR20-700s?
It's day time and that thing is annoying! Nice move D*tv!

Thanks.

Is there a way to turn off the stupid bright blue LED light on the front of the HR20-700s?
It's day time and that thing is annoying! Nice move D*tv!

Thanks.
--------------------
Assume you mean the rotating light ring?
Simultaneously press left and right on the ring buttons. On each press they'll go through several levels of brightness, then off. However you can't control the other
LED's on the unit!

Thanks!

Is there a guide hack yet so you can go right to the guide instead of the filter?

Is there a way to turn off the stupid bright blue LED light on the front of the HR20-700s?
It's day time and that thing is annoying! Nice move D*tv!

Thanks.

Why so angry about the blue lights, it states clearly in the manual you recieved with it how to shut them down, or lower their intensity.

I haven't had a chance to read the entire manual yet. And "usually" those little settings are not in there. Have you had D*tv for more than a week? Than you know they are infamous for annoying little things on their systems that you cant adjust. I am actually stunned that you can adjust the blue light. So far I don't like the HR20 much. The mpeg4 is nice but the guide setup and all the tweaks that you "cant" do stinks. The HR10-250 was better in that respect so it's a catch 22. Fun fun.

For a species to survive it must be able to adapt to changes in their environment. :)

I haven't had a chance to read the entire manual yet.
----------------------------
Then you might want to read this...
http://www.dbstalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7268&d=1170104701
:)

Thanks!

Is there a guide hack yet so you can go right to the guide instead of the filter?Just double click the guide button.

Called Directv about some issues with the HR20, resolved them with the firmware update last night. Got to talking about some other things... The guy on the phone mentioned being able to hook the receiver up (somehow) to the computer via USB and it would show up as a removable "usb mass storage" device. With that said, I'm not sure how this is possible, since both ports on the receiver are female, and such a cable would be male-to-male, which are odd... not the standard Male A to Male B connectors we use on just about every other device. Needless to say, I found such a cable and connected it up to boh, but nothing happened. Can anyone shed some light onto the issue?

For a species to survive it must be able to adapt to changes in their environment. :)

Lol, good one old school : )

There is a fine line between adapt and "conform". If your paying for a product and all of our money put together keeps the company alive then the product should fit our likes and preferences more than the companies. Changes in the receiver and changes in the environment are to totally different things.

Incidentally I'm starting to like the HR20 more the longer I use it. It doesn't feel as comfortable as the Hr10-250 yet but we'll see.

Called Directv about some issues with the HR20, resolved them with the firmware update last night. Got to talking about some other things... The guy on the phone mentioned being able to hook the receiver up (somehow) to the computer via USB and it would show up as a removable "usb mass storage" device. With that said, I'm not sure how this is possible, since both ports on the receiver are female, and such a cable would be male-to-male, which are odd... not the standard Male A to Male B connectors we use on just about every other device. Needless to say, I found such a cable and connected it up to boh, but nothing happened. Can anyone shed some light onto the issue?

Why didn't you ask the CSR more about how to do that? : )

I've heard that you can do that with the HR10-250, well, you can copy to your pc and use your pc hard drive as extra storage for your shows or something like that. I never spent time to try it but it sounds useful as I'm always filling up my hr10-250.
It's a touchy subject and some things like that you can talk about and some things related to that issue you cant talk about in certain forums.
Personally if I want to transfer some cooking show for instance to my pc and maybe put it on cd to keep for ever it's my dang business. I'm not selling it!
I buy a lot of DVD's and my issue is most of the shows I want to buy are not available on DVD and probably never will be.

Good luck though. Let me know if you figure it out.

p.s. Did you notice there is some kind of usb port of the front. Maybe for a usb jump drive or something like that?

----------------------------
Then you might want to read this...
http://www.dbstalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7268&d=1170104701
:)

kmullen? I LOVE YOU! This is a TOTALLY COOL page!

I'm sending special Tech blessings your way.
May your HDMI connectors stay strong and stable.
May your internet be extra fast today.
And my you find extra special deals on anything you wish to buy for the next month.

There, consider yourself blessed by the Goddess herself ; )

kmullen? I LOVE YOU! This is a TOTALLY COOL page!

I'm sending special Tech blessings your way.
May your HDMI connectors stay strong and stable.
May your internet be extra fast today.
And my you find extra special deals on anything you wish to buy for the next month.

There, consider yourself blessed by the Goddess herself ; )
-----------------
Aw shucks.. :o :o your welcome, glad to help out.

DBSTalk is a sister forum to AVS dedicated to satellite equipment and use. Try the following too.
http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=118
http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112
http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=115

I haven't had a chance to read the entire manual yet. And "usually" those little settings are not in there. Have you had D*tv for more than a week? Than you know they are infamous for annoying little things on their systems that you cant adjust. I am actually stunned that you can adjust the blue light. So far I don't like the HR20 much. The mpeg4 is nice but the guide setup and all the tweaks that you "cant" do stinks. The HR10-250 was better in that respect so it's a catch 22. Fun fun.

yea, I haven't read it either...I found that on dbstalk first :-)


9 years with direct tv actually including a wonderful couple of years with the H and Hu cards :cool:

Just be thankful you have a working unit. I know 4 other people with them, 3 of them are on their 3rd hr250.....

Thanks for the tip Greywolf. I've noticed the more I read in this forum the more I get linked to dbs talk. I have to balance time in here with actually living life and using what I learn so it is a delicate balance.

wsmc831 - I'm thinking I've had directv for 15 years. And yes some very nice years with the cards ;) I started with Primestar satellite before that even. I love tech and it loves me :)

The USB port seems to be for a portable device [slingshot?].
What the CRS might have meant was the networking connection is now active, but since it was a CSR, it would be anybody's guess what they meant.
As far as getting something out of the DVR to a PC, there doesn't seem to be a chance of this happening for a while. The "copyright boys" haven't yet figured out how. You can get music & photos from a PC into the DVR.

Got the HR20 installed yesterday. A couple of things:
1) Software downloaded was OX120. Is this the latest version?
2) Channel changing is much slower than the H20. And I'm not using Native mode (output is set to 1080i, which matches my tv). When changing the channel I get a gray screen for about 3 seconds, before the channel actually changes (around 4-5 seconds). Is this normal?
3) When I turned on the unit this morning, it was not locked, yet the only channels that would display were the local MPEG4 channels. Any clue?

Got the HR20 installed yesterday. A couple of things:
1) Software downloaded was OX120. Is this the latest version?
2) Channel changing is much slower than the H20. And I'm not using Native mode (output is set to 1080i, which matches my tv). When changing the channel I get a gray screen for about 3 seconds, before the channel actually changes (around 4-5 seconds). Is this normal?
3) When I turned on the unit this morning, it was not locked, yet the only channels that would display were the local MPEG4 channels. Any clue?
-----------------------
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. see link, you are not alone..a reboot fixes this.. http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=817291&postcount=1

Thanks kmullen! I'm reading up on this on DBSTALK right now. Looks like #3 is the BSB problem, right? I had waited to purchase until I thought this unit was stable. Given all the software updates and posts here, I assumed it was. I guess not. Another unwilling D* beta tester here...

Last week my HR-20 would not respond to a powerup, neither the remote nor the power button on the front functioned.
I called DTV. Various reboots and resets would result in the power light turning on for a couple of seconds. Followed by it turning off, and after around 1-2 minutes it would turn back on and the resolution lights would flicker quickly and the unit would turn itself off.

DTV said I had a bad unit and sent me a new one. Around 1/2 hour later I noticed it was back on and recording something. It was recording a show I did NOT have scheduled! I cancelled the recording and it has worked perfectly for 3 days.

I'm not sure if I should hookup the replacement they sent me or call them and send it back.

Any thoughts?

Three interesting things I have noticed about this unit:
1) OTA signals are delayed about 3-4 seconds compared to OTA on the H20. I assume that's because this is more like a computer and the data is being processed for possible pausing, etc.
2) Why in the heck would you build a unit with one antenna input that splits the signal inside the box to two tuners, thereby weakening the OTA signal? Why not just have two antenna inputs and let me decide if I want to use both of them? Poor design.
3) Maybe it's just my eyes, but the MPEG4 locals look better on this unit compared with the H20. Given all the software updates they've done with the HR20 and the few, if any, they've done with the H20 this would make sense.

Any thoughts?

Well, it's your call. If you now feel comfortable with that unit, keep it. If you're afraid that if it failed once it might again, return it.

Whichever you do, keep the FedEx tracking number and use web access to track the package so you can confirm it was returned. I had to return my first HR20 after it failed and a month later there was a >$400 charge on my bill because their records showed I hadn't returned it. A call to D* with the FedEx tracking # showed I had shipped it back and they removed the charge. Cover your butt.

Well, I don't want to jinx things, but with the last two software downloads, no black screen of death and only one recording cancelled by the unit. I find if I check on the day of a scheduled center ice game I can always record. I do notice a lot of gaps in the guide, like even at 6:30 there are no games listed in either Center Ice or League Pass, but if you go back and forth a few times, they do eventually appear.

I've had the black screen, but no missed recordings.

mine didn't tape american idol last night in mpg4, first time in a couple months I've had a problem with it. My wife was mad. I wasn't.

I have had D* for about 10? years and a DirecTivo since they were first sold, and I have been very happy with the service. I ordered the HR20 and HD package but they have been installed yet.

After following this thread, however, and seeing how many more HD channels Dish has, I am really wondering why I should not switch to Dish. I know D* is planning to have a lot more HD channels someday, but Dish has them now. I don't understand why Dish would have Starz HD and D* wouldn't. I know D* has more sports available, but I don't watch games very often. I can always switch back when and if D* has a better HD package than Dish.

So why not switch? I am really interested in others' opinions about this. I have a week to make a decision before the D* installer arrives with the HR20 and the big dish.

D* doesn't have enough bandwidth. Two new satellites are going up later this year. They will provide enough bandwidth for every national channel that offers HD. See the HDTV section at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directv

I haven't read all the posts on this thread (it is over 60 pages long,) but my DVR skips occasionally and also occasionally has pixilation. Is this something that just happens with this unit, or do I have a faulty unit? By skipping, I mean that the sound goes off for a second and you miss a couple of words.

New beta software can be downloaded now until 1:30a est

by force update, reset box hit 02468 on remote at welcome screen.

HDMI/DVI Support
reliablity
Closed captions polished
User interface polished
recording extensions

New Feature
90 min review buffer while in stand by


more info at www.dbstalk.com

I've been a D* client for about 9 years now. I've been an HD client for about 3. Lost my distants and that almost caused me to flee, but heard that E* couldn't even consider my old waiver letters made me stay and upgrade with an mpeg 4 receiver. Now I'm wanting to replace my two old 2nd gen (Zenith) HD receivers with two HR20's. This is due to two reasons: First, neither Zenith gets my assigned local HD channels (I use "assigned" because I personally don't recognize a town an hour and a half away as MY LOCAL), and Second, never having a TIVO I really think since I need to replace these receivers anyway I might as well get the "full party package". So...My question: At the present time what is the best deal that I could possibly get for 2 of these HR-20's? If a good deal on two isn't possible then what about one? I'm a 9-year client who spends about $115 monthly so perhaps that's something I can use? Looking for advice here or at jwwerner@bellsouth.net

I want to hook up my HR20-700 DVR to my Onkyo receiver via the HDMI output, but when I do I can't receive a video/audio signal. A HDMI hookup will work with my TIVO HD10-250. Is this a software issue with the HR20?

Keep a eye on the www.dbstalk.com
Cutting Edge forum, they let us know about test software versions for the HR20 and other DTV boxes. Almost every update has HDMI updates, there was a test download last night.
Most cases they send it down 2 nights in a row.
11p-1:30a EST Not seen any announcement for a 2nd night tonight.

Check your resolutions, my samsung tv HDMI will not work with 480i, only 480p, 720p, 1080i

To download these test versions you have to reset reciever, once welcome screen comes up, hit 02468 on remote. Once you have the software you can revert back to the prior version as long as it is still the national version by doing the reset download again.

Notice of these updates come in usually the the night that the updates occur. You can subscribe to the thread(no charge) and get email notifications of these.

If I didn't care about getting my locals, will this box work with a 3 LNB dish? It's alot cheaper than a hr10-250, and I can get my local channels OTA.

If I didn't care about getting my locals, will this box work with a 3 LNB dish? It's alot cheaper than a hr10-250, and I can get my local channels OTA.

yes, but if your local sports channel is in HD you probably won't get it but in some places select HD local sports events are broadcast on channel 95. You also won't get the additional HD channels as new satellites go up and come on line.

Why wouldn't you just let them install a free 5 LNB dish?

Why wouldn't you just let them install a free 5 LNB dish?

My condo already has the 3 LNB installed and wired in all rooms. I have never had DTV before. I don't want to sign any contracts with them. I'm willing to try it out, but if it sucks, I will go back to Comcast quickly. I'm sick of paying Comcast 12.99 for a crappy DVR, and that is why I am thinking about giving DTV a shot.
Can I just add the extra 2 LNB's to my current dish, or do I need the new dish as well to make mpeg-4 channels work?

My condo already has the 3 LNB installed and wired in all rooms. I have never had DTV before. I don't want to sign any contracts with them. I'm willing to try it out, but if it sucks, I will go back to Comcast quickly. I'm sick of paying Comcast 12.99 for a crappy DVR, and that is why I am thinking about giving DTV a shot.
Can I just add the extra 2 LNB's to my current dish, or do I need the new dish as well to make mpeg-4 channels work?


NO you have to have the new dish, the 99/103 sat are KA band, the 72.101,110,119 are KU band.

How many of you have taken advantage of WRALs antenna give away, Im in Washington NC and not even in the WRAL area and they gave me and my father in law both a free Channel Master 4228, We get RDU channels from about 4p-11a
WRAL, WTVD, WNCN, WLFL, WRDC, WRAY, WRAZ plus my locals WITN, WNCT, WCTI, WYDO, WUNK, WUND, WUNM

NO you have to have the new dish....

Thank you.

The rest of it sounds like Manning barking out signals....K103, Red 99, Blue 101, set, hut hut! :D

My condo already has the 3 LNB installed and wired in all rooms.
You can use the same RG-6 cabling that's already installed if you upgrade to a 5-LNB dish. Note that to use both tuners on a DVR, you'll need two cable runs between the receiver and the dish.


I have never had DTV before. I don't want to sign any contracts with them.
Well, just signing up nowadays will require a two-year commitment...

~Dan

Well, just signing up nowadays will require a two-year commitment...

~Dan

I was hoping you guys could read between the lines.

I haven't read all the posts on this thread (it is over 60 pages long,) but my DVR skips occasionally and also occasionally has pixilation. Is this something that just happens with this unit, or do I have a faulty unit? By skipping, I mean that the sound goes off for a second and you miss a couple of words.

Well, do they all do this?

HR20 HD DVR OWNERS

A new beta update tonight at 11-1:30a, this is different than last nights.

FORCE UPDATE 02468

Is anyone still having to Restart their recorder on a regular basis? I turn mine "off" every night, as it's in the bedroom and I don't want to see all the lights. I'd say 50% of the time I turn in on the next day I have to restart the recorder. For a while it was good, but now it's back to the BSON. I was able to get a few of my local channels in HD from the sat, but nothing else before a reboot.

Deezul

Is anyone still having to Restart their recorder on a regular basis? I turn mine "off" every night, as it's in the bedroom and I don't want to see all the lights. I'd say 50% of the time I turn in on the next day I have to restart the recorder. For a while it was good, but now it's back to the BSON. I was able to get a few of my local channels in HD from the sat, but nothing else before a reboot.

Deezul
well I had it cancel a centrer ice recording tonight. Fortunately I still have an R15 and so I back up everything I want to watch by recording on both machines. I have never had to reboot. I did think that the center ice problem was pretty much gone til today. :rolleyes:

Is anyone still having to Restart their recorder on a regular basis? I turn mine "off" every night, as it's in the bedroom and I don't want to see all the lights. I'd say 50% of the time I turn in on the next day I have to restart the recorder. For a while it was good, but now it's back to the BSON. I was able to get a few of my local channels in HD from the sat, but nothing else before a reboot.

Deezul

I used to have to do it every other day but now its been good for about 2 weeks.

Check your software version today, I beleive the beta version we tested Thursday night went national Friday night.

Version 0x12a

Have not had any issues with this update so far.

I used to have to do it every other day but now its been good for about 2 weeks.
They're working on errdicating that issue for everyone (some have it some don't).
Check your software version today, I beleive the beta version we tested Thursday night went national Friday night.

Version 0x12a

Have not had any issues with this update so far.
V12A was downloaded to all HR20's early this morning and is the new National Version. Based on 2 days of testing, as well as other feedback so far, this is the best release to date, and eliminates a number of annoying problems.

They're working on errdicating that issue for everyone (some have it some don't).

V12A was downloaded to all HR20's early this morning and is the new National Version. Based on 2 days of testing, as well as other feedback so far, this is the best release to date, and eliminates a number of annoying problems.


And which of those problems are covered with this release??? ;)

Check your software version today, I beleive the beta version we tested Thursday night went national Friday night.

Version 0x12a

Have not had any issues with this update so far.

Had my first Black Screen of Death tonight with the new release. RBR fixed it and at least I didn't lose any of the recordings. Other than that, it is working OK.

0x12a, like its predecessor, put my HR20 out of business until I pulled the plug for a few seconds. Any other type of reboot left it inoperative. I also lost an overningt recording that was scheduled after the download. On 0 x 12 it took me over an hour to find the fix - this time I knew what do. but nevertheless very annoying.

very annoying! especially since mine has been working fine since install. now it occasionally SAYS it recorded something, but hit play and you get nothing but black screen and all zero's at the beginning. Must have something to do with the file marker on the drive, but sure wish they'd leave it alone.

very annoying! especially since mine has been working fine since install. now it occasionally SAYS it recorded something, but hit play and you get nothing but black screen and all zero's at the beginning. Must have something to do with the file marker on the drive, but sure wish they'd leave it alone.

I had a black screen recording last night but I fast forwarded through recording, chose Do Not Delete, and chose play from listing again and it played fine. :confused:

I had a black screen recording last night but I fast forwarded through recording, chose Do Not Delete, and chose play from listing again and it played fine. :confused:

Interesting, I don't think I've tried that approach yet...but I think that's the only one...though, on mine, it never actually showed the location bar as moving forward...

eh, whatever, it's just tv, not worth getting upset over. :)

Interesting, I don't think I've tried that approach yet...but I think that's the only one...though, on mine, it never actually showed the location bar as moving forward...

eh, whatever, it's just tv, not worth getting upset over. :)


I think I had to hit play or fast forward before it showed the location bar.

I think I had to hit play or fast forward before it showed the location bar.

yea, I tried fast forward, slowmo, even a system reset...nada.

but not so concerned, had it since November and it's my original unit..while my father and friends are each on their 3rd or 4th.

New to the forum, but I just ordered my HR20 in January, had an install on Feb 7th, ordered my replacement on Feb 9th. Waiting on my replacement to come. Not real thrilled with this yet....

I feel sorry for the many who are struggling with the HR20 and don't know about AVS Forum and DBS Talk. With D* as their info source, dealing with the quirks must be very frustrating.

I feel sorry for the many who are struggling with the HR20 and don't know about AVS Forum and DBS Talk. With D* as their info source, dealing with the quirks must be very frustrating.

yep my neighbor cancelled his service after one month and went back to Dish. If I knew he was having probs, I'd have helped him out. I feel kinda bad cause I got a $100 credit for referring him too. :D

I feel sorry for the many who are struggling with the HR20 and don't know about AVS Forum and DBS Talk. With D* as their info source, dealing with the quirks must be very frustrating.
Or they could keep getting refurbished HR-20's for months to come.

I'm hoping my next HR-20 works better..

Has anyone else had this problem? My unit has been working fine until the last three weeks. i've noticed that when i power the unit to stand by mode i can't get it to come out of stand by. no blue lights anywhere. I've tried hitting the power on the remote and manually pushing the power button, but nothing ever happens. it just stays in stand by. The only way to fix it is to unplug it. the RBR doesn't work when this happens. I stopped putting it in stanby mode for the last couple weeks and it's been fine until this happened the other day: i've notice that sometimes the channel doesn't change when i type in a number (it is a channel i receive). I'll punch in say 298 enter and I can see the numbers come up, but it just stays on the same channel. Just curious if anyone else has seen this.

The last two firmware downloads have locked my HR20 up so that only an unplug could reactivate it. This type of reformat evidently goes beyond what an RBR can do.

Dear forum members, I would appreciate some advice on the HR-20,

I currently have the H-20 (non-dvr) and mpeg-4 dish. Everything works very well. OTA comes in great, I never have to move my indoor antenna, and the PQ is great.

My Bday came with a couple of bucks and I've scheduled an install of the HR-20 for middle of March. Only 2bills and that includes running the second line from the mpeg-4 dish to the HD living room.

I currently have the old 3-LNB dish for my SD rooms (2 boxes/single line each) and SD-dvr (2 lines). Plus one 5-LNB dish for mpeg4 (HD living room only). Yes, SETI would envy my set up.

My dilemma, after reading through this thread, I fear only heartache and frustration will come from this new install. I see my future as: no HD for my fave sporting events and prime time shows due to STB failure and recording failure, black screen of death, billing problems, and poor reception of 2 digital stations in my area (Phoenix) not carried over sat, plus multiple replacement boxes with no HD while waiting.

So, my question is, carry on with the install and follow every thread to keep up with firmware installs, tips, tricks, reboots, replacements, etc...

Or, just wait until beta-testing is over.

Please advise. Thank you for any advice.

J

PS Did I just answer my own question?

does anybody have a problem with the local hd channels in hd on 2 different channels for instance sometime cbs hd is on channel 2 and sometime on 81 but they are never on the same channel at the same time i was watching american idol on fox 11 and 5 min later iy was only working on 89 and five min after that was back on 11

Do these boxes have to be connected to a phone line when 1st installed?

Thanks

No. Download is done thru the satellite connection.

No. Download is done thru the satellite connection.

Thanks that is good news. I hope I am not making a mistake getting this box but I want my HD NESN feed

Puckhead if you are worried about all of these things then you should wait. I have 2 of these boxes and they are pretty good but some are not as fortunate.

Puckhead if you are worried about all of these things then you should wait. I have 2 of these boxes and they are pretty good but some are not as fortunate.

Exactly. Seems to be hit or miss. D* is definitely trying to address all the bugs with software updates, and they have definitely made progress. I've been pretty lucky with my HR20 so far, knock on wood.

My 4+ months with the HR20 has been mostly OK. I've been able to work through the problems so far, losing an occasional recording here and there. My bottom line is that I am much better off with an HR20 than I would be without it.

My 4+ months with the HR20 has been mostly OK. I've been able to work through the problems so far, losing an occasional recording here and there. My bottom line is that I am much better off with an HR20 than I would be without it.

I've had the occasional hiccup as well with mine, usually BSONs. But since it's in my bedroom and not my primary DVR (Two HD TiVos for that!) I'm not too worried. Plus, it will make the eventual transition to all D* branded receivers easier.

Or maybe John Mahone will have an epiphany between now and '09 and a new HD Tivo with MPEG4 decoding will come out. Not likely, but I can dream!

Deezul

Yeah I had some recordings which were nonexistent but it's been good the past cople of months.

Did have some audio dropouts for a sec or two on an MTV recording but I don't know if that was the DVR or the channel.

That said, it would be nice to see a new model. Since Malone controls D*, does he have any reason to stay with NDS? Tivo should see this as an opportunity and try to get back but maybe they're wedded to Comcast now.

what pisses me off the most is the remote control.... it sometimes goes off...

Yeah I had some recordings which were nonexistent but it's been good the past cople of months.

Did have some audio dropouts for a sec or two on an MTV recording but I don't know if that was the DVR or the channel.

That said, it would be nice to see a new model. Since Malone controls D*, does he have any reason to stay with NDS? Tivo should see this as an opportunity and try to get back but maybe they're wedded to Comcast now.

As I understand it (I could be wrong), the HR20 DOES NOT use NDS software. All the software development, etc. is done in house at D*.

could someone please help im haveing alot of problems first when i record a show pressing the record button every channel except the one i am recording is black if i stop recording all the channels are fine and yes i do have two tuners connected both are at 95% when tested

problem # 2 when espn2hd is working espnhd is not and vice versa same with mtv and if espnhd is working espnsd is black .
same thing happens with my local channels my cbs is channel 2 i have two channel 2's kcbs and la2 and then cbsw is 81 if the picture is working on 81 it isnt working on 2 and if it is working on 2 it isnt on 81 this is a problem because i dont know at any given time what channel to record if any has had this problem please help or have any suggestions thanx

My Tivo HD10-250 will pass a digital signal from it's HDMI output to my Onkyo 604 receiver, but the HR20-700 HDMI output will not work with the Onkyo 604. Is there a solution in the works from Directv?

(Help! Sorry if this had been covered before, please lead me to the right thread.)
The D* website says the HR20 will be able to receive local HD channels thru OTA antenna by late 2006, with some kind of software upgrade pushed through their satellite.
It is now mid February 2007. The website still say the same thing.
Question: can this machine receive (and record) local HD channels through an OTA antenna now ? I'm in the San Francisco area.
(Calling D* led to over 15 minutes wait, I hung up)
Thanks.

Yes, OTA is active...

I've viewed and recorded OTA with my HR20 - I'm in the DC area.

(Help! Question: can this machine receive (and record) local HD channels through an OTA antenna now ? I'm in the San Francisco area.
(Calling D* led to over 15 minutes wait, I hung up)
Thanks.
This feature has been enabled for some time now. What version of the software are you using? If the "Antenna settings" in your menu is still greyed out, you need
to download a later version of the software. If your machine has not downloaded
one, try a restart or unplug & replug power cord.

This feature has been enabled for some time now. What version of the software are you using? If the "Antenna settings" in your menu is still greyed out, you need
to download a later version of the software. If your machine has not downloaded
one, try a restart or unplug & replug power cord.
Thank you, I don't have this DVR yet. Will be buying one soon. That's why I needed to make sure. Sounds like if I buy it in March 2007, everything should be all set, plug & play.

Can these DirecTV HD DVR units be upgraded, capacity-wise? We currently use the DirecTV HD TiVo and have upgraded units that hold more than 100 hours of HD content. I just don't know if 30 hours will be enough BUT the DirecTV TiVo units are becoming obsolete and I don't want to invest more money in something that won't be able to receive local HD via sat when we finally get it, later this year.

Thoughts? Advice?

You can upgrade capacity by attaching an eSATA drive. If the drive is 900GB, 800GB is used for storage and 100GB is for D*(this info is from DBSTalk.com).
Dug

Thanks for the info ... Can you provide a link to instructions on how to do this? Is this an external or internal modification? (Color me totally stupid, but I have no idea what an eSATA drive is.)

Yes. A December upgrade was the first to enable OTA use.

Thanks for the info ... Can you provide a link to instructions on how to do this? Is this an external or internal modification? (Color me totally stupid, but I have no idea what an eSATA drive is.)
-------------------
It is a external connection that replaces the internal drive....this means that you
cannot use the internal drive to add to the external one...discussed here....
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=66201&page=34
Read the FIRST post...
Hope this helps you.

I posted this on the DBS forum, and would like to add it here: I just had an install of the HR20 this afternoon (Cupertino, CA). The installers came on time, did the job efficiently, seemed to know what they were doing, relocated my HR10-250 as I had ordered. Everything seems to work. I have read posts about problems with SFBay installers, and I just wanted to add my experience as a positive one.

EDIT: I was DBS Talk, not DBS forum, just to be accurate.

what pisses me off the most is the remote control.... it sometimes goes off...


What TV do you have? Some LCD TVs (Sharp Aquos is the most mentioned) generate terrible IR interference from the backlight and this stops the remotes working correctly.....

I posted this on the DBS forum, and would like to add it here: I just had an install of the HR20 this afternoon (Cupertino, CA). The installers came on time, did the job efficiently, seemed to know what they were doing, relocated my HR10-250 as I had ordered. Everything seems to work. I have read posts about problems with SFBay installers, and I just wanted to add my experience as a positive one.
gp4rts, when did you order the HR20 install? I ordered mine in early January, had in cancelled twice on the basis that no HR20s are available (even though the Bay Area Best Buys have them), and rescheduled for the end of April.

gp4rts, when did you order the HR20 install? I ordered mine in early January, had in cancelled twice on the basis that no HR20s are available (even though the Bay Area Best Buys have them), and rescheduled for the end of April.


Maybe I just got lucky, but I ordered around the 1st of Feb. Try again, maybe a shipment has come in.

There have also been reports of D* reimbursing you if you bought your own (from Best Buy) for example. That may have been a while ago when they were real short stocked though

Back in Oct / Nov when the HR20's were unavailable, D had a sign up waiting list on their web page. Signing up, was supposed to get you 12 PPV coupons once you purchased your unit.
Has anyone received these? I have not, although once units were available I still went through retention to obtain a better price. Perhaps that invalidated my 12 free coupons...?

Back in Oct / Nov when the HR20's were unavailable, D had a sign up waiting list on their web page. Signing up, was supposed to get you 12 PPV coupons once you purchased your unit.
Has anyone received these? I have not, although once units were available I still went through retention to obtain a better price. Perhaps that invalidated my 12 free coupons...?
---------------
I was on the sign up list as well....when notified, I ordered one at full price(299).
Have not received the coupons.

I connected a new HR20 to my Pioneer 5070 today and I can not get a picture using HDMI connection. I can with component? Is the HR20 version 1.1 HDMI?

I connected a new HR20 to my Pioneer 5070 today and I can not get a picture using HDMI connection. I can with component? Is the HR20 version 1.1 HDMI?
i just bought a vizio gv47lf and just had the hr20 installed and is going through hdmi with out any problems well actually this is my second hr20 first had a bad tuner right out of the box.

I connected a new HR20 to my Pioneer 5070 today and I can not get a picture using HDMI connection. I can with component? Is the HR20 version 1.1 HDMI?Did you try using the RES button on the front of the box to change resolution? Some TVs cannot handle 480i over HDMI.

11p-2:30a EST Sat & Sun night

BETA VERSION

Force update method


Rumor has it that there will be a toogle added, not sure if this will have dual buffers or just the ability to toggle between tuners.

No release note yet.
Keep checking www.dbstalk.com
directv cutting edge forum.

Did you try using the RES button on the front of the box to change resolution? Some TVs cannot handle 480i over HDMI.

Yes, I think I have a bad box. My TV does handle 480i through HDMI. It does require HDCP and version 1.1 HDMI. Not sure if the HR20-700 is both?

On another note, my STD channels look very fuzzy through the HR20. I've tried running regular Audio/Video into another TV input, but it is still crappy. Can I run a splitter off one sat. line coming in for the HR20 and route that to my old D* STD DVR and watch it for analog stations? The picture quality was excellent from the older box.

11p-2:30a EST Sat & Sun night
BETA VERSION
Force update method
Rumor has it that there will be a toggle added, not sure if this will have dual buffers or just the ability to toggle between tuners.
No release note yet.
Keep checking www.dbstalk.com
DirecTV cutting edge forum.
If you press & hold the guide button [on front panel] until the guide filter shows & then press the active button & release both, it will become a "one press to guide" instead of two.

Also GAME LOUNGE is now working channel 110

is it better to have the output on native or always at 1080i

is it better to have the output on native or always at 1080i


According to posts on the DBStalk forum, there are two problems with native mode:

1) Slow in changing channels

2) Can cause the receiver to lock up.

Also, the reports are that the scaler in the HR20 is quite good, so there is little advantage to native mode unless you have a high-end external processor.

http://www.dbstalk.com/index.php

If I don't want/need to force the downloads, will they happen automatically? If so, when and how often? Why would I ever need to force them?

According to posts on the DBStalk forum, there are two problems with native mode:

1) Slow in changing channels

2) Can cause the receiver to lock up.

Also, the reports are that the scaler in the HR20 is quite good, so there is little advantage to native mode unless you have a high-end external processor.

http://www.dbstalk.com/index.php
thanx answered perfectly

According to posts on the DBStalk forum, there are two problems with native mode:

1) Slow in changing channels

2) Can cause the receiver to lock up.

Also, the reports are that the scaler in the HR20 is quite good, so there is little advantage to native mode unless you have a high-end external processor.

http://www.dbstalk.com/index.php
If you read the posts there you would find that the problem with lockups using native "ON" is limited to a beta testing software release we're currently testing, AND NOT anything that happens with the current national release. FWIW....I hate BS

If I don't want/need to force the downloads, will they happen automatically? If so, when and how often? Why would I ever need to force them?
When D* releases a new national update to the software, it will be automatically downloaded late at night.

admittedly, i haven't read through the pages and pages of this thread but i have read through a few and noticed that there have been problems. here is my dilemma. DTV has offered me the HR20 and the LNB for about $20 and i am trying to decide if i should take it or not. i currently have an HR10-250.

Take it. It is different but works fine. Rememebr that these forums are populated by technophiles and tend to amplify the negatives. I have had Ultimate TV, Tivo and now the HR20. The only things that really bug me is the lack of rewind after fast forwarding and that the 30 second skip is a fast forward rather than a skip. On the plus side the recordings are organized by show rather than recording time which is a big plus, and it always lets you know how much is left on the hard drive.

Take and keep the HR10. For $5 extra per month you have both.

I have been a long time D* user but have never owned a dvr. I think I am the only person still usig a vcr. Anyway, I have decided to get the HR20 to replace the H20 I currently have. I am just curious as to what they will have to do when they come install this? Will they have to run a new cable from my dish or do they even need another cable? I assumed it did since it is a dual tuner. I just want to be able to tell D* exactly what I need so the install goes smoothly and they won't have to come out again. Thanks for any replies.

I have been a long time D* user but have never owned a dvr. I think I am the only person still usig a vcr. Anyway, I have decided to get the HR20 to replace the H20 I currently have. I am just curious as to what they will have to do when they come install this? Will they have to run a new cable from my dish or do they even need another cable? I assumed it did since it is a dual tuner. I just want to be able to tell D* exactly what I need so the install goes smoothly and they won't have to come out again. Thanks for any replies.

You do need two RG6/U lines to the HR20. There are also two broadband convertors in the box that must go into the line fairly close to the HR20, if you want support for the new HD channels planned. I am guessing you already have a 5LNB dish for your local channels in HD, but if you don't I would upgrade that at the same time....again this would be for the new HD channels they are planning to add later in the year.

The talk is that a new technology (FRM??) will allow it to work on just one line from the dish or multi-switch, but don't know how far out that is. I just got mine last night and i love it so far.

There's a note in the manual that says "in the future" it might be possible to get two different feeds from one cable. Has any progress been made on this front?

No progress yet. If you search DBSTalk.com for FTM, it should give you info as, "Pretty Soon". No real timeline.

You do need two RG6/U lines to the HR20. There are also two broadband convertors in the box that must go into the line fairly close to the HR20, if you want support for the new HD channels planned. I am guessing you already have a 5LNB dish for your local channels in HD, but if you don't I would upgrade that at the same time....again this would be for the new HD channels they are planning to add later in the year.

The talk is that a new technology (FRM??) will allow it to work on just one line from the dish or multi-switch, but don't know how far out that is. I just got mine last night and i love it so far.


Thanks for the reply. I do have the 5LNB dish, so I am good there.

I actually just got off the phone with D*. The best they could offer me was $199 for the receiver plus $10 off of my bill for 6 months and 3 months free Showtime. That offer was from retention so I'm not even sure if it is worth it to try and get something better or not. Any opinions on this?

Thanks for the reply. I do have the 5LNB dish, so I am good there.

I actually just got off the phone with D*. The best they could offer me was $199 for the receiver plus $10 off of my bill for 6 months and 3 months free Showtime. That offer was from retention so I'm not even sure if it is worth it to try and get something better or not. Any opinions on this?

Spunds like a pretty good offer. You're essentially getting it for less than half the "regular" cost. That's about the same offer I got from retention six weeks ago.

NEW BETA UPDATE TONIGHT AND WED NIGHT 0x131

11p-2:30a

by force update, new feature- ONE BUTTON GUIDE

also adds interactivity feature-GAME LOUNGE

plus other improvements

www.dbstalk.com
go to the cutting edge forum for more.

Does anyone know if it's possible to hack the HR20 receivers to integrate any kind of access to a home audio network?

I have an NAS running SlimServer, with a large library of music on it, and I'd love to pull my HTPC out and get rid of it, and it seems that with the ethernet connection on the HR20, and the way the GUI is programmed, it could work kind of like the XBox/XBMC hacks are going.

Anyone have ideas on this?

The HR20 has audio and still picture capability from network computers now via its Ethernet port. Viiv, Windows Media Player 11 and Twonky are the software packages that can use that capability. See the HR20 networking threads at http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112

You do need two RG6/U lines to the HR20.

You don't NEED two lines in, I just got mine installed a few nights ago in a BR with only one line in, and it is working fine (but no dual tuner functionality obviously). Did not want a new line coming in from the outside and snaked along the floor.

Also FYI I ordered these 2 HR20 boxes a few weeks ago from D* (just the regular customer #) and got them for $99 each and free install...

With the last 2 beta releases the USB ports have been activated for use on advanced home theatre products.

If you dont have 0x130 or ox132 the 132 beta will be available for force download tonight at 11p-2:30a est.

You don't NEED two lines in, I just got mine installed a few nights ago in a BR with only one line in, and it is working fine (but no dual tuner functionality obviously). Did not want a new line coming in from the outside and snaked along the floor.

Also FYI I ordered these 2 HR20 boxes a few weeks ago from D* (just the regular customer #) and got them for $99 each and free install...

Sorry, you are correct renomik. You don't "need" two lines going to it unless you want to use all of the HR20's features, like watching one program while recording another. With one line going to this box, you will be unable to record anything, except the channel you are watching, while your HR20 is in operation. If it is a second HR20 box, this may be acceptable. for most though, this would be unacceptable if it is your only one. I have three lines going to mine, two D* lines and one OTA. In the event of a lost signal from Directv due to storms or tech problems, you still have your OTA for local channels to fall back on. Just a thought if your running a extra line anyway.

This can also be accomplished with a desk top antenna plugged into the OTA in on your HR20, if you live in a area with good OTA signal strength.

You could hook it up to one line as renomik says, and then just wait for the technology I understand is coming in the future to allow both internal tuners to work from one line in too.

I have been a long time D* user but have never owned a dvr. I think I am the only person still usig a vcr. Anyway, I have decided to get the HR20 to replace the H20 I currently have. I am just curious as to what they will have to do when they come install this? Will they have to run a new cable from my dish or do they even need another cable? I assumed it did since it is a dual tuner. I just want to be able to tell D* exactly what I need so the install goes smoothly and they won't have to come out again. Thanks for any replies.

If you want to use the feature of dual tuners you will need to have a second line run from your dish to your reciever. (dual tuners is a feature that you may not think you would need but if you learn to use it you will wonder how you ever survived without it, same goes with DVR/ Tivo.)

Some advice: If you don't mind the $5.00 a month extra for the second reciever, keep the H20 also connected to your TV. That way if you have any problems with the HR20 you will have a backup. You will also be able to record 2 programs with your HR20 and at the same time watch a third live on your H10. You will need a multiswitch to be able to split your 2 cables into 3. If you have the new 5 lnb dish you can just have them run 2 more cables and you will not need another multiswitch.

I have a regular DTivo (SD-cant get rid of the Tivo) an H20 and an HR20 hooked to my TV and it is nice to have the reliable Tivo to record standard def programs and manage season passes. The HR20 has a great picture for HD but is notorious for problems It is good to store a few HD movies and great to transfer them to an external HD, the H20 is backup for watching HD when the HR20 is busy or not working.

I had my HR20-700 installed yesterday to replace my HR10-250. I got it for $99 after refusing the $199 deal.

It is different so folks who don't like change are going to complain. However for me I really like it. Extremely pleased with the picture quality and ease of basic operation. I have only had it less than 24 hours and am still learning it. I will have another "learning session" this evening as I explore more features now that I will have some shows recorded.

My installer was very pleased that I had the cable runs needed and all he had to do was install the DVR. I had to laugh to myself however that during the install it said a newer version of the software was available and did we want to download it. When he said no, I asked him why. In typical installer logic, he answered that will take too long. The good news is the older version allowed us to get the DVR up and running and a 1/2 hour after he left the system asked me if I wanted to update again and I did successfully.

Ok so I have recently run into a little problem with my HR20. I have the optical audio output connected to my sony receiver, and will periodically experience audio stutters and drop outs while watching in live mode. When I back up and play from the buffer the audio is fine. So what I initially thought was a reception problem now has turned into something completely different. A hard reset does not fix this issue. Has anybody else experienced this problem or better yet found a solution short of watching everything delayed? All help will be greatly appreciated

It is different so folks who don't like change are going to complain. However for me I really like it. Extremely pleased with the picture quality and ease of basic operation. I have only had it less than 24 hours and am still learning it. I will have another "learning session" this evening as I explore more features now that I will have some shows recorded.

It is different, and in many ways better, in other ways it means just getting used to something different. The most annoying omission, for me, is the lack of the short reverse when pressing "play" during fast-forward.

Ok so I have recently run into a little problem with my HR20. I have the optical audio output connected to my sony receiver, and will periodically experience audio stutters and drop outs while watching in live mode. When I back up and play from the buffer the audio is fine. So what I initially thought was a reception problem now has turned into something completely different. A hard reset does not fix this issue. Has anybody else experienced this problem or better yet found a solution short of watching everything delayed? All help will be greatly appreciated

I reported the same issue a little earlier in the Washington DC/Baltimore MD forum.

DirecTV recently upgraded my HD Tivo to their HR20 to solve a problem. The HR20 has been pretty reliable, but lately I've noticed a tremendous amount of audio breakup on OTA reception of WMAR-DT. It could be that I don't watch WBFF-DT enough to notice the issue there. I have found with WMAR-DT, however, that if there is an audio break, if I back up a bit and replay, the break up is not there. In effect, it seems that if the DVR is playing the station "live" and in real time, I get the audio break up, but a solution for this is to simply back up a bit and play the station on a slight delay. Odd software stuff going on with the HR20, I guess.

I'm thinking about switching from DirecTV to VZ FiOS and wondering if their DVRs have similar software issues. One disadvantage of going with VZ or Comcast would be that I would no longer have the luxury of DVR'ing OTA channels. I would be limited to the channels that they provide and where I live (Prince George's County part of Laurel), I would not even have access to the Baltimore stations.

It is different, and in many ways better, in other ways it means just getting used to something different. The most annoying omission, for me, is the lack of the short reverse when pressing "play" during fast-forward.
same here i wish they had the little reverse when fastforwarding

Never had a DVR. Do have 3 LNB dish (single line into house). Better to buy HR20 from BB and arrange for DTV to install 5 LNB dish or order "whole" package from DTV?
TIA

Use the replay button instead of the play button after FFing.

Use the replay button instead of the play button after FFing.
good idea ill try thanx

Never had a DVR. Do have 3 LNB dish (single line into house). Better to buy HR20 from BB and arrange for DTV to install 5 LNB dish or order "whole" package from DTV?
TIA
Same question here. I see Circuit City by me has the HR20 in stock but should I buy it for $299 and have Directv install the dish or buy everything from directv?

Same question here. I see Circuit City by me has the HR20 in stock but should I buy it for $299 and have Directv install the dish or buy everything from directv?
You might get a better price from D*. If they don't "sell" you it cheaper [it's a lease] then you might get programing credits to offset the costs...

You might get a better price from D*. If they don't "sell" you it cheaper [it's a lease] then you might get programing credits to offset the costs...

One programming credit I don't want is Showtime. I got 6 months of that free and never watched it once.

I am still in the middle of my install right now, but I can say that I was able to get the HR20, 5LNB dish, and install for free. I was transferred, voluntarily by the CSR, to retention when I said that I really could not see paying $199 for the HR20. I know that I could get better deals with either VZ FIOS or Comcast, and since I already have relationships with those companies, I am not opposed to going there. I did tell the CSR that I really wanted to stay with D* and that I was very happy as a customer. I did not threaten, talk down D*, or talk up the others; the CSR just mentioned that I might be able to get a little more credit from a retention specialist. I said, okay, and the deal got sweeter. The retention guy mentioned that he could get me down to $99, and I agreed after talking to him about the notes to leave for the installer. At the last minute, he says, "Hey, wait, I can only charge you $199, and I have already offered you $200 in credits, so basically, the deal now is free. How does that sound?" I replied that free sounded even better than $99, which I was totally willing to pay.

The bad news was the install was scheduled for May 11. I mentioned that I think it's called March Madness, and not May Madness, and he was pretty sympathetic. I said this humorously and not as a PIA, mainly because I knew from this forum that I could probably reschedule online. Sure enough, we hang up, I get home and online, and find that the next available date was this past Friday. Mind you, I placed the order on Monday, so I saw this as a Good Thing.

The installer was quite competent, and very willing to work with me on resolving a few problems left by the previous two installers I have had over the years. One was he agreed to ground the dish. The first guy (4 years ago) said he did, and clearly, did not. The second guy (2 years ago) noted the first guy's omission, but said the dish was mounted more than 25' from the water meter and other ground points. This guy on Friday (#3) volunteered to do it; he was going to go to THD/Lowe's to get a grounding rod. I haven't seem him since, though he did call to apologize about not being able to return on Friday. We agreed to have him come back yesterday, but I have yet to see him as of today (Sunday). He was also going to help me get the inside wiring tucked along the baseboard in two rooms in exchange for not running a second line (I only needed one more since I now have 8 total running 4 DVRs). So, he hasn't finished that inside work, either.

What he did do is mount the 5 LNB on my garage roof with signals above 90% (not today, however, with the snow) and setup my HR20 and program the remote. He downloaded the latest stable firmware, and made sure I could see HD networks and locals. He reminded me that it might take time for the guide to fill in and for the SD locals to come in. I now have the HD, SD, and OTA HD subchannels in my guide. My OTA antenna is not great and is located inside, so that signal is pretty dodgy much of the time.

So, my only complaints so far are:
1) The installer, though seemingly reputable, seems to have a scheduling issue and has not really earned a lot of bonus points with respect to actually finishing the job.
2) Though we talked about the new dish wrt the original 2 LNB disk location, and he originally said he could install in the same location, he changed his thinking, I guess, and mounted the dish further up the garage roof, without telling me first. This means three things: a) We can now see the dish from the front of the house (it is mounted almost at the peak of the roof), b) it is exposed to much more wind now, and c) I cannot reach the dish, even with a broom, from our bathroom window in order to knock the snow off the dish.

Having said all that, he seemed the most qualified and competent of the three installers I have had over the years. He actually drove a D* truck with the full livery; the other guys were sub-sub-contracted out, and had lame magnetic signs on their trucks. Not sure how that works.

Anyway, if this guy doesn't show up to finish the job, I will be pretty upset, since he didn't do the things he agreed to do, and didn't have to do the full standard job since we agreed on an alternative arrangement. I haven't signed his paperwork order, interestingly, so I am not sure how that part plays out. I even told him that when he went off to THD to get the rod, I would go to the ATM and get cash to tip him out when the job was done.

Jerry

Edit: Realized that no equipment allowed in sigs; removed.

i got it for 199 10 dollar credit for a year and 10 dollar credit for hbo for six months

I went ahead and bought it at Circuit City for $299 and while i was there I got the R15 non HD DVR for upstairs. I probably should have tried to call Directv and talk them down but I was impatient and wanted the DVR last night. :D
I got both of them set up fine and someone is coming out April 1 to install the 5 lnb dish. I guess they are pretty booked up.

betterdan,
If you haven't already done so, register your directv account online, go to My Orders, and see if you can't reschedule your installation for an earlier date. I went from May 11 to February 23 here in the Annapolis, MD area, so you may be able to get a much better date than April 1.

betterdan,
If you haven't already done so, register your directv account online, go to My Orders, and see if you can't reschedule your installation for an earlier date. I went from May 11 to February 23 here in the Annapolis, MD area, so you may be able to get a much better date than April 1.
Wow thanks for the tip!
I did what you said and there were a lot of open slots available. I rescheduled my installation for this coming Friday, March 2. I wonder why they scheduled me so far ahead if there were open slots available.

I am not sure why D* does it this way, but I am glad I first saw a reference to it on the forum here. When the retention rep mildly suggested it when I booked the original order, I realized that this was independent confirmation that going online definitely was worth a shot. Had I not read it first on this forum, I probably would have not followed through, and I would be watching March Madness on SD.

Don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I've called Direct TV twice about upgrade from 10-250 to HR20 and they only offer $299 upgrade. For than I'll wait, it doesn't benefit me too much presently. Maybe when they actually add the new 70 HDTV channels that would be different.

I'd go with the $99 plus some credits in a minute.

I've been pretty happy with the 10-250.

Who do you guys talk to to get the good deals? :(

Customer Retention Group (CRG). It seems to make some difference if you are still under committment or not. If not, they work harder to keep you. FWIW, I was still under committment (until September this year), but I just let the CSR, and then later, the CRG rep talk. I also have the Premiere (formerly, Total Choice Premiere), Full Court, March Madness, and 3 mirrors, so there wasn't room for a lot of credits in the form of free movie channel offers. I let the CSR talk about leasing vs. owning and why D* was better than VZ FIOS and Comcast, and then she politely transferred me to CRG when I said I just couldn't see myself paying $199 for the HR20. I spoke with the CRG rep for quite some time, but mostly about logistics and his TiVo vs. HR20 comparison/contrast list, since I had agreed to $99 early in the call. It was at the end of the call when he credited the remainder. I rather enjoyed the call, honestly; he agreed with my statements that leasing a DVR for big money seemed to go against D*'s long-standing business model, that the HR20 did not enjoy a great reputation, and that some D-TiVo capabilities would be missed.

In fairness, I have enjoyed the HR20 so far, and really have not found any show-stoppers, literally or figuratively, over this first week. I actually think the build and fit/finish of the HR20 is better than some of the later D-TiVo units, but on the other hand, the D-TiVo units have been rock solid in performance and reliability , regardless of their outward appearance. It looks like the latest/greatest HR20 firmware is pretty decent, at least for us, so far.

Forgive me if this has already been covered in this thread. I read through the first 10 pages, but don't have time to read every post in the others today.

My second HR10-250 in 18 months "died" on me this past Sunday. DirecTV is sending another replacement unit to me via ground shipment. I don't know if it will be refurbished, new, an HR10-250 or the HR20. For reasons that I won't go into detail about, I didn't want to wait for them and after 6 hours of searching was able to find a new HR20 and convinvce the store to sell it to me (even though it was already reserved and assigned for a 4 unit custom install job). I've had it hooked up and running since last Sunday at ~5pm.

Now, here are my questions:
1) Why does OTA local HD not look as crisp as it did with the HR10-250? Is it because the tuner splits the signal into 2 feeds to allow to record 2 local OTA channels at once? How could that it explain it if I had this capability on the HR10-250 as well with no loss in PQ? I don't get it. The picture is very noticeably less crisp and detailed on the HR20. Why? I thought newer technology receivers were supposed to provide a benefit. I am still waiting for the 5 LNB dish install. Will this resolve the issue?
2) Same thing for D* HD channels. I was watching a little bit of "King Kong" over lunch on HBO HD and you can actually see scan lines now. WTF??? I didn't have this problem at all with the HR10-250. Again, will the 5 LNB dish resolve this?
3) If I receive the replacement unit from D* and it is an HR10-250 unit, should I use it (and just count the days until it also fails erasing my entire drive full of saved shows) or continue to use the HR20 with reduced PQ?

Forgive me if this has already been covered in this thread. I read through the first 10 pages, but don't have time to read every post in the others today.

My second HR10-250 in 18 months "died" on me this past Sunday. DirecTV is sending another replacement unit to me via ground shipment. I don't know if it will be refurbished, new, an HR10-250 or the HR20. For reasons that I won't go into detail about, I didn't want to wait for them and after 6 hours of searching was able to find a new HR20 and convinvce the store to sell it to me (even though it was already reserved and assigned for a 4 unit custom install job). I've had it hooked up and running since last Sunday at ~5pm.

Now, here are my questions:
1) Why does OTA local HD not look as crisp as it did with the HR10-250? Is it because the tuner splits the signal into 2 feeds to allow to record 2 local OTA channels at once? How could that it explain it if I had this capability on the HR10-250 as well with no loss in PQ? I don't get it. The picture is very noticeably less crisp and detailed on the HR20. Why? I thought newer technology receivers were supposed to provide a benefit. I am still waiting for the 5 LNB dish install. Will this resolve the issue?
2) Same thing for D* HD channels. I was watching a little bit of "King Kong" over lunch on HBO HD and you can actually see scan lines now. WTF??? I didn't have this problem at all with the HR10-250. Again, will the 5 LNB dish resolve this?
3) If I receive the replacement unit from D* and it is an HR10-250 unit, should I use it (and just count the days until it also fails erasing my entire drive full of saved shows) or continue to use the HR20 with reduced PQ?
I would go into the setup menu & look for what resolutions you have checked & whether you are using native "on" or "off". It sound more like a "display issue" [as in settings] than a problem with the HR-20. If you're using "native off", what happens when you press the "format" button on the remote?

Don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I've called Direct TV twice about upgrade from 10-250 to HR20 and they only offer $299 upgrade. For than I'll wait, it doesn't benefit me too much presently. Maybe when they actually add the new 70 HDTV channels that would be different.

I'd go with the $99 plus some credits in a minute.

I've been pretty happy with the 10-250.

Who do you guys talk to to get the good deals? :(

I'm so perturbed with DirecTV today that I'm thinking of going FiOS TV. Back in the fall, I began having a problem with my DirecTV HR10-250. In effect, for some reason, it could only tune the HD channels on one of it's HD tuners. I pay extra for the service plan since I've had dish and cabling problems in the past, but this problem was intermittent, so when the first service tech came out, it was acting fine. A second tech came out in December, confirmed the problem was with the HR10-250 and suggested that DirecTV replace it. He called them and arranged the replacement. They couldn't say whether I would get another HR10-250 (refurbished) or one of their HR20s (which I'd read had a lot of issues). So, of course, an HR20 arrived and they sent me shipping labels to turn in the HR10-250 which I did.

Now, a couple of months later, DirecTV is telling me that I'm "renting" the HR20 which I found interesting since I owned the HR10-250 that I traded them for it. But the conversation with the CSR went downhill from there when he informed me that I have a 2 year commitment (presumably because I accepted the HR20). I don't remember signing up for any commitment with them to replace a unit that in effect they were warrantying because I was paying the warranty monthly.

I don't agree that I have a commitment at all and I believe that I should own the HR20 outright since it was a replacement. Where does this company get off on these kind of silly bait and switch tactics?

I immediately cancelled all of my movie channels except HBO and Showtime (which are the only two in HD) because the whole conversation with the CSR made me angry. And I am thinking about ordering FiOS and cancelling everything. And hell would have to freeze over before I pay them for a 2-yr commitment I never signed on to. I'm also tempted to contact the Attorney General of Maryland.

So, I would say to upgrade to an HR20 at your own risk. This unit isn't even as good as the HR10-250 was both on reliability and PQ.

1) I went into the menu and set the display to Native "ON". This does seem to have made some difference in PQ, but I'll have to stare it at it for awhile to confirm. My initial thought is that it returned the PQ to what I was used to with the HR10-250 (i.e. acceptabel, but still not as good as BluRay or HD-DVD). Verizon FIOS is not an option where I live. :(

2) In my recent dealings with D*, they also tried to tell me that my 2nd HR10-250 was a lease. I didn't go into too much detail, but I responded with, "The Hell it is and you better not be charging me monthly for it. I paid full retail price to Best Buy for the first HR10-250 which didn't even work for a full year. DirecTV provided the replacement unit since the original unit was faulty. Don't tell me that I was only leasing that replacement." Then, when I brought up that I went to buy the HR20 at a local store with money out of my pocket ($299 + state tax), they claimed that the $299 sticker price was tied to a lease agreement and that if I didn't agree to such, then the price would have been $699. I'll let my attorney wife look at this one. There was absolutely no mention by the salesman of any "lease agreement" tied to the $299 price.

Don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I've called Direct TV twice about upgrade from 10-250 to HR20 and they only offer $299 upgrade. For than I'll wait, it doesn't benefit me too much presently. Maybe when they actually add the new 70 HDTV channels that would be different.

I'd go with the $99 plus some credits in a minute.

I've been pretty happy with the 10-250.

Who do you guys talk to to get the good deals? :(

I had a similar experience when I ordered my upgrade. I talked to two CSRs and they both offered the $299 deal, plus some modest credits (amounting to 5$/mo for six mo). i said I was concerned about not being able to receive the MPEG4 channels, and that if I didn't get a reasonable upgrade, I would cut back to bare minimum service and sign on to Comcast (which I would do). They transferred me to customer retention, noted that I had been a long-time subscriber and offered the $99 deal (which is what I expected to get). This comes with a 2-yr commitment. From reading other forums I have read that you have to keep calling back and trying until you get the deal you want.

The HR20 is leased, but there is only one payment; I guess it's considered a pre-paid lease. But unlike the H10, you never own it.

Version 0x134 is coming down, I think this is a national release, its available now if you want to force it, or it may come automatically over night, I have not seen any release notes.

How do you force it?

How do you force it?
red button reset, at the blue screen press 0 2 4 6 8

Thanks. I just figured it out a little bit ago by doing a search on DBSTalk. Worked like a charm.

Thanks. I just figured it out a little bit ago by doing a search on DBSTalk. Worked like a charm.
where do you think I learned. ;)

Ok quick question, my new dish was installed and my HR20 delivered, however my new HD TV wont be here for a few days. The installer advised the HR20 wont work with my old tube tv, and said I should wait to hook it up myself until my new tv is here. Is there ANY truth to that? (if you saw the installer youd know why I am asking) Id like to have the box up and running before the TV gets here. Any problem with using it on the old tv for a few days? Thanks for any ideas!

It will work on any TV just use composite outs to your old set. I kept my old TV for SD stuff because it looks better on a smaller screen.

Thanks, got it all hooked up and lo and behold, numerous channels just show the banner at the top of the page and a black screen. After some time with level 2 support they are sending me a new one.

Thanks, got it all hooked up and lo and behold, numerous channels just show the banner at the top of the page and a black screen. After some time with level 2 support they are sending me a new one.
FWIW: it most likely isn't the unit.
You have the new dish?
Are you getting your local HD channels?
What channels are "blank"?

I'm so perturbed with DirecTV today that I'm thinking of going FiOS TV. Back in the fall, I began having a problem with my DirecTV HR10-250. In effect, for some reason, it could only tune the HD channels on one of it's HD tuners. I pay extra for the service plan since I've had dish and cabling problems in the past, but this problem was intermittent, so when the first service tech came out, it was acting fine. A second tech came out in December, confirmed the problem was with the HR10-250 and suggested that DirecTV replace it. He called them and arranged the replacement. They couldn't say whether I would get another HR10-250 (refurbished) or one of their HR20s (which I'd read had a lot of issues). So, of course, an HR20 arrived and they sent me shipping labels to turn in the HR10-250 which I did.

Now, a couple of months later, DirecTV is telling me that I'm "renting" the HR20 which I found interesting since I owned the HR10-250 that I traded them for it. But the conversation with the CSR went downhill from there when he informed me that I have a 2 year commitment (presumably because I accepted the HR20). I don't remember signing up for any commitment with them to replace a unit that in effect they were warrantying because I was paying the warranty monthly.

I don't agree that I have a commitment at all and I believe that I should own the HR20 outright since it was a replacement. Where does this company get off on these kind of silly bait and switch tactics?

I immediately cancelled all of my movie channels except HBO and Showtime (which are the only two in HD) because the whole conversation with the CSR made me angry. And I am thinking about ordering FiOS and cancelling everything. And hell would have to freeze over before I pay them for a 2-yr commitment I never signed on to. I'm also tempted to contact the Attorney General of Maryland.

So, I would say to upgrade to an HR20 at your own risk. This unit isn't even as good as the HR10-250 was both on reliability and PQ.

wow, you sound alot like me. in aug of 2005, i upgraded to an hr10-250. about 6 months later, it went out so they sent me a new one, which was still under warranty. then in oct. of 2006, that one went out and they sent me a new one, which should have been still under warranty. well as it turns out, in their mind, i 'upgraded' equipment and that started me over with a fresh 2 year warranty. i have made so many phone calls to them and it never seems to help. i would call and explain my situation and they would say "sure, we'll get that fixed" and then when i call back later, it's still the same thing.

so then i decided that i might want to upgrade to the hr20. i called and they offered it to me for $20, with the new 5 LNB dish. they said that i would have to return the hr 10, to which i replied 'huh?'. like you, i paid for the hr10 outright so in my mind, i shouldn't have to return it. not according to directv, although they said the last time i called that i could just go ahead and keep it.

sometimes i seriously wonder how they stay in business at all. i live out in the country so cable is not an option. i have considered switching to dish, but the cost of getting the hd-dvr isn't worth it. so now i just have to decide whether or not i want to take DTV up on their offer.

I thought I would ask the pros. My current promo rates with Charter end in about 7 days, so do I:

1. Renegotiate with Charter through their retention dept.
2. Go with D*.
3. Go with E*.

Seriously, I can do anything I want at this point, but I've only ever had cable. Therefore, if you guys could start over, what would you do of the aforementioned choices?

My priorities are (in order of importance): PQ (HD and SD), DVR capabilities, service reliability, price.

...and sure enough, it's a refurbished HR10-250. Hmmm, so do I disconnect my brand new HR20 (that I paid $325 out of pocket for at a local store) and connect the refurbished HR10-250? Keep in mind that I've already had 2 HR10-250s fail on me now (in about 18 months). I think I'll remove the cases of the refurbed unit that just arrived and the previous replacement unit (the 2nd HR10-250 that died on me), place several generous portions of some of my dog's excrement in them and return them to D*. :eek:

If they find the "surprises" and call me about them I'll just say,"Well I wonder if that's why the unit stopped working? But how did my dog also manage to get her doodoo into the refurbished unit? Wow, I knew that Jack Russell terriers were smart, but she's smart and vindictive. I'll have to go give her a treat." :D

...and sure enough, it's a refurbished HR10-250. Hmmm, so do I disconnect my brand new HR20 (that I paid $325 out of pocket for at a local store) and connect the refurbished HR10-250? Keep in mind that I've already had 2 HR10-250s fail on me now (in about 18 months). I think I'll remove the cases of the refurbed unit that just arrived and the previous replacement unit (the 2nd HR10-250 that died on me), place several generous portions of some of my dog's excrement in them and return them to D*. :eek:

If they find the "surprises" and call me about them I'll just say,"Well I wonder if that's why the unit stopped working? But how did my dog also manage to get her doodoo into the refurbished unit? Wow, I knew that Jack Russell terriers were smart, but she's smart and vindictive. I'll have to go give her a treat." :D

When my hr20 failed I asked for an HR 10 and was told they did not have any available any longer. I wanted one back, figuting it was more reliable than the new ones and that at least reliability was better than HD on my locals. :rolleyes:

D* is phasing out the hr 10's if you get one at all consider yourself lucky,.

then again, i don't know why you'd want something that will be obsolete in a few months when D* adds new channels.

If you have an hr10 and want the hr20 DON'T give your HR10 back. just tell them no. They really have no need for it, and you paid to own it.

...and sure enough, it's a refurbished HR10-250. Hmmm, so do I disconnect my brand new HR20 (that I paid $325 out of pocket for at a local store) and connect the refurbished HR10-250? Keep in mind that I've already had 2 HR10-250s fail on me now (in about 18 months). I think I'll remove the cases of the refurbed unit that just arrived and the previous replacement unit (the 2nd HR10-250 that died on me), place several generous portions of some of my dog's excrement in them and return them to D*. :eek:

If they find the "surprises" and call me about them I'll just say,"Well I wonder if that's why the unit stopped working? But how did my dog also manage to get her doodoo into the refurbished unit? Wow, I knew that Jack Russell terriers were smart, but she's smart and vindictive. I'll have to go give her a treat." :D

I ended up getting 3 HR10s as refurbs. I kept calling and eventually ordered a new HR20 and was given full credit for the price. Of course, the first Tech Support lady told me I WOULD get an HR20. Now I have 1 HR10 and 1 HR20 active, so hopefully, if they EOL HR10 and free replace, I will be a happy camper.

You may be able to talk to retention and tell them you bought the HR20 to replace the defective HR10 while you were waiting for the refurb HR20...they may be able to give you credits to cover the $325.

Where the FOOK is the channel signal strength indicator?
Where the FOOK is the favorites channel grid?

are you FOOKING kidding me??? :(

Where the FOOK is the channel signal strength indicator?
Where the FOOK is the favorites channel grid?
are you FOOKING kidding me??? :(
You might try going into the setup menu for your SAT signals.
For your OTA signal, you would need to look in that section.
There isn't a "favorites" channels grid, but you can setup a "custom" channel guide, by going into the menu for favorites.

You might try going into the setup menu for your SAT signals.
For your OTA signal, you would need to look in that section.
There isn't a "favorites" channels grid, but you can setup a "custom" channel guide, by going into the menu for favorites.

This is terrible engineering. My "old" Zenith SAT530 had a button that would bring up a signal strength bar graph which was very helpful in tuning OTA channels and I could monitor satellite channels.

The custom channel guide is a joke! Press Guide 2x, surf to Favorites, surf to Custom 1 and then scroll scroll away?

This is terrible engineering. My "old" Zenith SAT580 had a button that would bring up a signal strength bar graph which was very helpful in tuning OTA channels and I could monitor satellite channels.

The custom channel guide is a joke! Press Guide 2x, surf to Favorites, surf to Custom 1 and then scroll scroll away?
If you have the latest software you can setup the guide for "one press". I also have my "custom guide" as default. All in the settings.
On the front panel press guide & hold for it to display, then also press the advanced button & release both. Now you should have one press guide from your remote.
Yes the "old signal" meter was handy [as on my Sony]. Since you should only need it for setting up your channels & antenna, they put it in: OTA channels setup.
I find the same "bar" within the HR-20 setup for SAT & OTA so I don't understand what problem you might be having other than not finding the right page or window for it.

Quick question. I just realized that my beloved HR 10-250 can't benefit from the new 5 lnb dish I recently installed for local HD. Is the HR20 the model that replaced the 10-250, or was there another Tivo based unit that accepts a 5 lnb? To bad I only had this reciever for just over a year and now it's outdated....as is the 3 lnb dish. AND I LIKE TIVO!

No more new Tivos for DirecTV. The HR10 was the last HD Tivo.

So then the HR-20 is the only solution.... Really liked that 10-250......

People liking the new unit OK?

So then the HR-20 is the only solution.... Really liked that 10-250......
People liking the new unit OK?
After many months of problems, it looks as if there have been enough software updates to have it actually work right. The latest update has been, dare I say it, faultless. While it's only been out for a short time, the beta testing has been working fairly well for the last month, making the current version so much better than just a few months ago. FWIW

Sounds promising....... Since I bought the 250 outright being a current DTV customer, wonder if I will get some credit towards the new box?

First post on this thread, sorry if I haven't read everything.
When I heard that CBS and FOX in Raleigh,NC had settled their affiliated dispute with DTV I got excited and ordered local HD right away. I ordered an HR20; the installers in my area apparently are out of them right now, so the install date is April 2. Do you think I will be getting a unit that should work O.K.? Is there a particular software or firmware version that I should check for.

Or did I just make a mistake and should I wait a few more months? Should I cancel this order while I still can? :o :(

Anybody see NGHC Channel 77? Listed but no picture yet.

Anybody see NGHC Channel 77? Listed but no picture yet.

Yes I noticed that last night.


Wondering what's up with the new HR-20 DVR units availability. A search this AM tells me all CC's in Washington State are not stocking one now.

Sounds promising....... Since I bought the 250 outright being a current DTV customer, wonder if I will get some credit towards the new box?
There have been some that D* has given new boxes to [for free].

First post on this thread, sorry if I haven't read everything.
When I heard that CBS and FOX in Raleigh,NC had settled their affiliated dispute with DTV I got excited and ordered local HD right away. I ordered an HR20; the installers in my area apparently are out of them right now, so the install date is April 2. Do you think I will be getting a unit that should work O.K.? Is there a particular software or firmware version that I should check for.
Or did I just make a mistake and should I wait a few more months? Should I cancel this order while I still can? :o :(
When it gets installed, it should find the new software with mins. What comes in the box "out of the box" is very old. The new national release should make you "a happy camper."

There have been some that D* has given new boxes to [for free].

When I'm ready I will see what they can do for me on the newer box. Maybe they can do something extra as I bought my own slimline as I was worried an installer wouldn't do things the way I wanted. New dish is aimed and ready for cables, (in a new location).

If you have the latest software you can setup the guide for "one press". I also have my "custom guide" as default. All in the settings.
On the front panel press guide & hold for it to display, then also press the advanced button & release both. Now you should have one press guide from your remote.
Yes the "old signal" meter was handy [as on my Sony]. Since you should only need it for setting up your channels & antenna, they put it in: OTA channels setup.
I find the same "bar" within the HR-20 setup for SAT & OTA so I don't understand what problem you might be having other than not finding the right page or window for it.

With all due respect (and thanks for your help), the design is very cumbersome. The OTA signal meters are still 53 clicks deep into the menu system (j/k). I guess my problem is my OTA antenna is not mounted, but a Silver Sensor under the end table which I hand tweek.

First post on this thread, sorry if I haven't read everything.
When I heard that CBS and FOX in Raleigh,NC had settled their affiliated dispute with DTV I got excited and ordered local HD right away. I ordered an HR20; the installers in my area apparently are out of them right now, so the install date is April 2. Do you think I will be getting a unit that should work O.K.? Is there a particular software or firmware version that I should check for.

Or did I just make a mistake and should I wait a few more months? Should I cancel this order while I still can? :o :(

You should second guess yourself day and night until 4/1 and then cancel the order.

You should second guess yourself day and night until 4/1 and then cancel the order.

Can I wait that long to cancel without penalty? Or should I cancel within 14 days like a cell phone contract?

When it gets installed, it should find the new software with mins. What comes in the box "out of the box" is very old. The new national release should make you "a happy camper."

What is mins.? And how do I get the new national software release and install it? Would the installer be likely to have it, or is that asking way to much of him.
Thanks in advance.

With all due respect (and thanks for your help), the design is very cumbersome. The OTA signal meters are still 53 clicks deep into the menu system (j/k). I guess my problem is my OTA antenna is not mounted, but a Silver Sensor under the end table which I hand tweek.
I don't need the respect, :) & in your case it sounds like a PITA for you. :)

What is mins.? And how do I get the new national software release and install it? Would the installer be likely to have it, or is that asking way to much of him.
Thanks in advance.
The installer "should" do it, but even if not, you should see the message within 10 -20 min. from power up.
The updates come through the SAT feed & will "auto install". If you don't do anything, they will install over night. FWIW.

BTW: there seem to be two types of HR-20 posters, 1) they like them & 2) they hate them.
If it matters, I was in #2, but with the updates have moved to #1. More and more are making the move. FWIW.
I hope you can start out in #1. :D

The installer "should" do it, but even if not, you should see the message within 10 -20 min. from power up.
The updates come through the SAT feed & will "auto install". If you don't do anything, they will install over night. FWIW.

BTW: there seem to be two types of HR-20 posters, 1) they like them & 2) they hate them.
If it matters, I was in #2, but with the updates have moved to #1. More and more are making the move. FWIW.
I hope you can start out in #1. :D

Thanks OS,

I hope it goes smoothly, and I'm willing to take a little risk, because being without ability to get over the air signals, my biggest bitch in the 2 years of going HD is lack of local channels and network shows/sports. I was going to jump into and HD-DVD, but with the format war, I'd rather wait it out and get the local channels now.
Also recording shows in HD for later view is a huge tease.

I don't need the respect, :) & in your case it sounds like a PITA for you. :)

I'm actually enjoying the DVR capabilities and PQ is better than the old Zenith. It just seems that the OTA capabilities were added as an afterthought.

Oddly, when I went to program my HR20 last night for this coming week's shows, there was missing program data, but only for the OTA HD channels. The program guide seemed complete for every channel except some of those that I receive OTA.

So, I waited an hour or so and came back to it and the info was there. But then, after programming most of everything in for this week, the HR20 just froze. I ended up having to unplug it and let it reboot overnight. I wonder what awaits this morning when I turn it on...

You should second guess yourself day and night until 4/1 and then cancel the order.

Thanks, Tyro,

You've obviously had some bad experiences with this unit. The problem is, because I can't get OTA, I have not had local HD channels for 2 years now. The NFL playoffs are all but unwatchable, and seeing tennis all week in HD on ESPN and then having to watch the finals on CBS in SD drives me nuts. So this local HD via satellite is too much for me the bear.

I'll go ahead with the installation, but I'm going to hedge my bets. I'm going to keep my present HD receiver and just add the HR20, running in one new line. That way I can keep my old one connected through component to my AV/R, along with my DVR and DVD. The HR20 can run through HDMI and get the new channels. Then if the HR20 craps out, I won't be without TV, just what I don't have now. I'll run that for 6 mos. or until I feel the new unit is worthy of our sole dependence on it. Then I'll switch it over and use the other line in for the dual tuner. I will still be able to record on the HR20 and watch TV on the old one. I'll be spending a little extra per month for a while, but the added security should be worth it.

I'll just have to take the heat from my family for yet another thing they can't figure out! :o

It just seems that the OTA capabilities were added as an afterthought.
You have that right. It wasn't active until a software up date in Dec. & then we found the tuner is "weak" compared to others...

I'll go ahead with the installation, but I'm going to hedge my bets. I'm going to keep my present HD receiver and just add the HR20, running in one new line. That way I can keep my old one connected through component to my AV/R, along with my DVR and DVD. The HR20 can run through HDMI and get the new channels. Then if the HR20 craps out, I won't be without TV, just what I don't have now. I'll run that for 6 mos. or until I feel the new unit is worthy of our sole dependence on it. Then I'll switch it over and use the other line in for the dual tuner. I will still be able to record on the HR20 and watch TV on the old one. I'll be spending a little extra per month for a while, but the added security should be worth it.
I'll just have to take the heat from my family for yet another thing they can't figure out! :o
You have a good plan.
If I can suggest: have two coax cable installed so you will have the full "record & watch" features.

You have a good plan.
If I can suggest: have two coax cable installed so you will have the full "record & watch" features.

Are you talking about watching HD on one channel, while recording on another? How is that different from recording on the HR-20, while I watch a broadcast on my other HD box?

Are you talking about watching HD on one channel, while recording on another? How is that different from recording on the HR-20, while I watch a broadcast on my other HD box?
Do you have local HD channels? Your "old HD box" doesn't have MPEG-4 capabilities.
Now I'm sure if you don't want to have the"extra" cable, you could make sure which box you tune, to which channel, to watch/record what you want.
There are some "nice" feature in the HR-20 that the HR10-250 doesn't [& vice versa]. FWIW. :)

I am supposed to get a HR20-700 this week. Can someone link me to or provide an answer to this question?

Native on or off?
It seems to be all over the place.

While I am at it, what are suggested settings that most agree with around here. I have been reading up on it at DBS, but I value the opinions of the AVS clan.

I am supposed to get a HR20-700 this week. Can someone link me to or provide an answer to this question?

Native on or off?
It seems to be all over the place.

While I am at it, what are suggested settings that most agree with around here. I have been reading up on it at DBS, but I value the opinions of the AVS clan.
i like ilike to have native set off and output to 1080i but once you get it youll have to see what you like better i dont like the resolutions changing all the time when i switch channels.

Version 0x134 is coming down, I think this is a national release, its available now if you want to force it, or it may come automatically over night, I have not seen any release notes.

Have any interesting features been added lately? Anyone know any details about the USB port activation?

So then the HR-20 is the only solution.... Really liked that 10-250......

People liking the new unit OK?

I've got two HR20's and two HR10-250's. Once I got used to the new layout of the HR20, I've grown to like it MUCH better. Plus - its fast. I can barely stand the "slow as dirt" HR10's anymore.

Have any interesting features been added lately? Anyone know any details about the USB port activation?
USB has some [maybe beta] options for controlling the HR-20 [serial to USB conversion]. I'm not sure if the slingbox uses it or not.

Do you have local HD channels? Your "old HD box" doesn't have MPEG-4 capabilities.
Now I'm sure if you don't want to have the"extra" cable, you could make sure which box you tune, to which channel, to watch/record what you want.
There are some "nice" feature in the HR-20 that the HR10-250 doesn't [& vice versa]. FWIW. :)

Yes, I intend to use the "old HD box" cable as the 2nd line in for the H20, once I'm satisfied it is working reliably. Hence I wouldn't have to pay for the additional coax or have one left over in the end. I would just not be able to watch local HD on the old box while I recorded on the H20, something I could live with for a while.

That brings me to a question I have. Let me make sure I understand just how this machine works. Will running one coax into the H20 still allow me to watch tv, or watch tv and record that station to the HD, or playback from the HD. It just won't allow me to record on one station, while I watch another? Is that true? I was in Best Buy today, where the H20 is on dislpay, and two different sales people told me i could not hook it up with just one coax in. DTV when I asked that question, said yes I could, it would just limit recording to the station being watched. Who is correct?
The answer, of course affects whether I can do that temporary one line hookup.
Thank you for your answers VOS; you are very helpful.

Yes, I intend to use the "old HD box" cable as the 2nd line in for the H20, once I'm satisfied it is working reliably. Hence I wouldn't have to pay for the additional coax or have one left over in the end. I would just not be able to watch local HD on the old box while I recorded on the H20, something I could live with for a while.
That brings me to a question I have. Let me make sure I understand just how this machine works. Will running one coax into the H20 still allow me to watch tv, or watch tv and record that station to the HD, or playback from the HD. It just won't allow me to record on one station, while I watch another? Is that true? I was in Best Buy today, where the H20 is on dislpay, and two different sales people told me i could not hook it up with just one coax in. DTV when I asked that question, said yes I could, it would just limit recording to the station being watched. Who is correct?
The answer, of course affects whether I can do that temporary one line hookup.
Thank you for your answers VOS; you are very helpful.
First: we're talking about the HR-20 [right] and not the non DVR H20.
BB was "full of it". The D* CSR was correct [but don't get used to this].
A second [third, fourth] cable doesn't cost any more. Installation is FREE. All the cables [up to 125' each], switches, dish, etc. for EVERY location that has a D* receiver.
Now you may not want [think you need] a second cable [now] you would be surprised how soon you need another feed. I started with 2 [one for each receiver] & now have four. FWIW :)

Two questions:

1. I installed my own Slimline dish and now recieve local HD content. When I checked signal strength it shows 0 on the 103 and 99 satellites. So why am I getting these channels when the signal says 0?

2. This one I've pondered for a while. I have DTV boxes in both the Living and Bed rooms, one hooked to a 55" Hitachi 720P unit, and the other to the Hitachi 42" 1080i unit. What is the best resolution to send these sets from the DTV box?

Two questions:

1. I installed my own Slimline dish and now recieve local HD content. When I checked signal strength it shows 0 on the 103 and 99 satellites. So why am I getting these channels when the signal says 0?

2. This one I've pondered for a while. I have DTV boxes in both the Living and Bed rooms, one hooked to a 55" Hitachi 720P unit, and the other to the Hitachi 42" 1080i unit. What is the best resolution to send these sets from the DTV box?
1) new software should be downloading [soon since it's a national release] that will show the SAT's transponders power.
2) There is no RIGHT ANSWER, other than what ever you like. Basically if the TV is 720 then 720, if 1080i then 1080i, but there can be many things that you like that would be different.
I have a Sony 1080. I have 480, 720, 1080 all checked & then I use native "ON", because "I think" it looks better, but many many would say theirs looks better some other way. Are they wrong? No, they are the ones watching their TV with their eyes....[start to see the theme here...what they see & they like...].
If you use native "on" the TV does most of the work. If you use native "off" the HR-20 does & you can change the resolution with the remote control [upper left button]. Best advice is to check all of the resolutions your TV will show, then play with it until you find what you like.

First: we're talking about the HR-20 [right] and not the non DVR H20.
BB was "full of it". The D* CSR was correct [but don't get used to this].
A second [third, fourth] cable doesn't cost any more. Installation is FREE. All the cables [up to 125' each], switches, dish, etc. for EVERY location that has a D* receiver.
Now you may not want [think you need] a second cable [now] you would be surprised how soon you need another feed. I started with 2 [one for each receiver] & now have four. FWIW :)

O.K. Thanks much.
Let's see, I already have 4 boxes, 1 HD and 3 SD. What the heck; if the installer is willing to run 2 cables, even better funcionality. Wonder if he'll run 2 cables to a location that already had an HD box there. Although, technically, if I keep paying for the old HD box, he is installing a completely new box, so maybe I am entitled to 2 cables. I've got nothing to lose by trying. ;) ;)

1) new software should be downloading [soon since it's a national release] that will show the SAT's transponders power.
2) There is no RIGHT ANSWER, other than what ever you like. Basically if the TV is 720 then 720, if 1080i then 1080i, but there can be many things that you like that would be different.
I have a Sony 1080. I have 480, 720, 1080 all checked & then I use native "ON", because "I think" it looks better, but many many would say theirs looks better some other way. Are they wrong? No, they are the ones watching their TV with their eyes....[start to see the theme here...what they see & they like...].
If you use native "on" the TV does most of the work. If you use native "off" the HR-20 does & you can change the resolution with the remote control [upper left button]. Best advice is to check all of the resolutions your TV will show, then play with it until you find what you like.

Thanks, now to see how fine I aimed that thing once I can. Other satellites have a stronger signal than the 3lnb so.....

2) There is no RIGHT ANSWER, other than what ever you like. Basically if the TV is 720 then 720, if 1080i then 1080i, but there can be many things that you like that would be different.
I have a Sony 1080. I have 480, 720, 1080 all checked & then I use native "ON", because "I think" it looks better, but many many would say theirs looks better some other way. Are they wrong? No, they are the ones watching their TV with their eyes....[start to see the theme here...what they see & they like...].
If you use native "on" the TV does most of the work. If you use native "off" the HR-20 does & you can change the resolution with the remote control [upper left button]. Best advice is to check all of the resolutions your TV will show, then play with it until you find what you like.

I had a problem with the Black Screen of Nothingness on my HP 42" plasma and the HR20 when I set it to Native. Since reading here that the scaler on the HR20 is halfway decent, I switched it to 720p all the time. Now, I haven't had a BSON in over two weeks. I usually averaged two-three BSONs a week.

Deezul

Does anyone have a current number for D* customer retention dept.?

Does anyone have a current number for D* customer retention dept.?
There is no special number anymore. Just call D* & ask to be transfered.

I had a problem with the Black Screen of Nothingness on my HP 42" plasma and the HR20 when I set it to Native. Since reading here that the scaler on the HR20 is halfway decent, I switched it to 720p all the time. Now, I haven't had a BSON in over two weeks. I usually averaged two-three BSONs a night.
Deezul
And just another "why there is no one right answer". This, I would guess, "looks better in your eyes". :D

Anyone notice the new channel 77, NGC? Looks like D is still adding HD channels to MPEG 2, hmmm.

Kemical

I've got two HR20's and two HR10-250's. Once I got used to the new layout of the HR20, I've grown to like it MUCH better. Plus - its fast. I can barely stand the "slow as dirt" HR10's anymore.

I agree I really like this box 3 days into it, I guess time will tell

Anyone notice the new channel 77, NGC? Looks like D is still adding HD channels to MPEG 2, hmmm.

Kemical

It is apparently only a part-time channel, but any HD is better than none.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=814022

Two questions:

1. I installed my own Slimline dish and now recieve local HD content. When I checked signal strength it shows 0 on the 103 and 99 satellites. So why am I getting these channels when the signal says 0?

2. This one I've pondered for a while. I have DTV boxes in both the Living and Bed rooms, one hooked to a 55" Hitachi 720P unit, and the other to the Hitachi 42" 1080i unit. What is the best resolution to send these sets from the DTV box?

Your HD locals come from a transponder on the 99 satellite. All signals on 99 and 103 are spotbeamed to different cities, so the only way you would see more than your "own" transponder is if you are in some other city's spotbeam. In your location, you won't be in any spotbeam other than Seattle, the other cities are too far away, which is why you see nothing on 103. If you lived on the East coast, you would be in several spotbeams - you can't get programs from other cities spotbeams though, only your own.
If you have an H20 receiver, there is a bug in the code that stops the signal strength test showing the transponders on the 99 satellite, but since you are receiving the Seattle HD locals OK don't worry about it.

When the new DirecTV 10 and 11 satellites launch later this year there will be new national HD channels transmitted from the 99 and 103 slots; at that time you will start to see transponders on 103. I expect DirecTV will fix the signal strength issue on the H20 on 99 at some time also.

Being the HR-20 forum, wouldn't the OP be asking about the HR-20, which after download shows the transponders on 99 & 103?
You have a good post for the H-20 forum though. :)

I've got 2 HR10's and have been thinking of migrating to the HR20's. I just have not had time to read much of this and/or other various threads. My concerns:

1. I need a smaller antennae (roof top install only) than the original...is the smaller D* antenna out and getting good reviews?

2. I understand they've opened up the USB2 port for increased/external HD storage. Nice, but is this a "win" or buggy out of the gate? There's no mention of this feature on D*'s site.

3. 30-second skip available yet?

4. Does it have Folders? That's a must after finally getting them on the HR10.

5. Any word on a revised unit coming out this year? I can truly probably wait until Fall and the next ST gig.

...hmmm, think that's it on my quick hit list.

I've got 2 HR10's and have been thinking of migrating to the HR20's. I just have not had time to read much of this and/or other various threads. My concerns:
1. I need a smaller antennae (roof top install only) than the original...is the smaller D* antenna out and getting good reviews?
2. I understand they've opened up the USB2 port for increased/external HD storage. Nice, but is this a "win" or buggy out of the gate? There's no mention of this feature on D*'s site.
3. 30-second skip available yet?
4. Does it have Folders? That's a must after finally getting them on the HR10.
5. Any word on a revised unit coming out this year? I can truly probably wait until Fall and the next ST gig.
...hmmm, think that's it on my quick hit list.
1) the 5LNB dish is bigger than all of the others before.
2) USB isn't for increased storage, but the eSATA is active & does.
3) yes the 30 sec slip works.
4) not having a HR10, I don't know about folders, or NO it doesn't.
5) Doesn't look as if this will be replaced, changed anytime soon.

4. Does it have Folders? That's a must after finally getting them on the HR10.

5. Any word on a revised unit coming out this year? I can truly probably wait until Fall and the next ST gig.

...hmmm, think that's it on my quick hit list.

4. Recorded shows are grouped together. If you have more than two of one show, it will show the show name, then the number of new episodes followed by total episodes. A show is "new" if it's never been viewed. Once someone starts to watch it, it's no longer "new."

5. I doubt as well that there will be a new or revised version. Software updates are easily pushed down, and there's the eSATA drive available for expanding storage.

Deezul

NEW BETA SOFTWARE RELEASE WINDOW

WED AND THURS NIGHT 11p-2:30a

go to the cutting edge thread at www.dbstalk.com
for more.

Warnings and disclaimers on Cutting Edge (aka CE or beta) releases here (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=79021).

Info on the latest CE release here (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=81639).

Your HD locals come from a transponder on the 99 satellite. All signals on 99 and 103 are spotbeamed to different cities, so the only way you would see more than your "own" transponder is if you are in some other city's spotbeam. In your location, you won't be in any spotbeam other than Seattle, the other cities are too far away, which is why you see nothing on 103. If you lived on the East coast, you would be in several spotbeams - you can't get programs from other cities spotbeams though, only your own.
If you have an H20 receiver, there is a bug in the code that stops the signal strength test showing the transponders on the 99 satellite, but since you are receiving the Seattle HD locals OK don't worry about it.

When the new DirecTV 10 and 11 satellites launch later this year there will be new national HD channels transmitted from the 99 and 103 slots; at that time you will start to see transponders on 103. I expect DirecTV will fix the signal strength issue on the H20 on 99 at some time also.

OK thanks, makes sense. I only have a H20 in the bedroom that will get the new sats, as I'm in no hurry to replace the 10-250 yet. I've had the LA networks in HD as a waver for some time.... Will be asking DTV for the new recorder soon though. So far the local HD reception has been perfect.

Quick question here from a nube...

First:
1) I do not subscribe to D*tv.
2) I do not have cable (or access to it).

I was in B*Buy looking for DTB-H260F (no stock) and noticed the D*tv STBs
had HDTV (atsc) tuners built-in. The units with ($299) and without ($99) DVR had the tuner.

Associate said I could buy them outright but couldn't use the OTA tuner without being a D*tv subscriber and having them install a dish. Well, I already have a dish installed and the free (sales) channels tuned in on a Samsung S300w - just no D*tv service account (and not getting one).

I just want to get the 12 or so OTA HDTV channels in my area!

Who'da thought this would be such a tall order considering the digital mandate! :eek:

KC

OTA will not work on a box not sub'd to D* and connected to a dish.

Order a Samsung DTB-H260F online for $170 and free shipping from ABT Electronics dot com. Or look here (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=samsung+dtb-h260f).