Joined
·
1,269 Posts
I want a Satellite based HDTV PVR! I have researched the only two possibilities that I know of – DirecTV DVR-250 and the Dish Network 921. After hoping for a 921 I found out that there is NO OTA guide information. I'm not sure how they can claim OTA PVR without this! I then set my sites on a DVR-250 but it doesn't have the HD quality I want or a UHF remote. Here is my totally biased comparison of my two possible choices for HD PVR Satellite receivers.
The * items are the ones I consider to be the most important.
The ** items are the ones that could be the deal killers for me.
Why can’t I have both or even better why can’t someone make an HD PVR that does all that I want it to do.
What am I not considering?
Which one should I get?
DirecTV Hughes HD DVR-250
The Good:
*Guide for most Over-The-Air Channels
*Better hardware track record than Dish Network
*Tivo Features – Season Pass, Wishlist etc.
2 OTA tuners
HDMI Output (DVI Compatible) and Component Outputs
May be possible to upgrade HD (if past policy continues)
The Bad:
**HDTV Picture Quality not as good as unadulterated Dish Network HDTV
*No UHF Remote – IR only
*No Analog RGB Output
*No chance of Fire Wire for archiving
No Caller Id.
Dish Network 921
The Good:
**HDTV Picture Quality as good as the source – no ‘extra’ compression
*UHF Remote – IR capable but supplied remote UHF Only
*Analog RGB Output, DVI and Component Outputs
*Analog RGB out and Component out Simultaneously
*A chance that it will have Fire Wire for archiving someday.
Picture-In-Picture SD only
Extra set of SD Composite Video/Audio Outputs
Caller Id.
Channel 3 and 4 output for SD
The Bad:
**No Over-The-Air Guide – possibly someday, possibly never – What the hell?
*Bug infested – OTA not currently usable – hopefully will be fixed
*Dish Network track record – i.e. The 6000 still has OTA issues
*No Tivo – simple timer based PVR no Seasons Pass etc.
Only 1 OTA tuner
The Common Good:
*2 Satellite Tuners
*PVR Functions FF REW PAUSE SKIP etc.
*Record two watch a third recorded program at the same time
*Dolby Digital Output
250 Gig Hard Drive
Format HD output to fit your screen – 4:3, 16:9 zoom / stretch
USB ports for ‘something’ in the future
S-Video Output for SD
Composite Video/Right and Left Audio Output
The Common Bad:
*Can’t output SD and HD simultaneously
*Availability – 921 is practically impossible to find and Hughes ETA is March
Won’t just pass source HD format. Can only Output one mode at a time (1080i, 720p, 480p etc.)
Requires 2 Satellite Inputs, 1 for each tuner
The * items are the ones I consider to be the most important.
The ** items are the ones that could be the deal killers for me.
Why can’t I have both or even better why can’t someone make an HD PVR that does all that I want it to do.
What am I not considering?
Which one should I get?
DirecTV Hughes HD DVR-250
The Good:
*Guide for most Over-The-Air Channels
*Better hardware track record than Dish Network
*Tivo Features – Season Pass, Wishlist etc.
2 OTA tuners
HDMI Output (DVI Compatible) and Component Outputs
May be possible to upgrade HD (if past policy continues)
The Bad:
**HDTV Picture Quality not as good as unadulterated Dish Network HDTV
*No UHF Remote – IR only
*No Analog RGB Output
*No chance of Fire Wire for archiving
No Caller Id.
Dish Network 921
The Good:
**HDTV Picture Quality as good as the source – no ‘extra’ compression
*UHF Remote – IR capable but supplied remote UHF Only
*Analog RGB Output, DVI and Component Outputs
*Analog RGB out and Component out Simultaneously
*A chance that it will have Fire Wire for archiving someday.
Picture-In-Picture SD only
Extra set of SD Composite Video/Audio Outputs
Caller Id.
Channel 3 and 4 output for SD
The Bad:
**No Over-The-Air Guide – possibly someday, possibly never – What the hell?
*Bug infested – OTA not currently usable – hopefully will be fixed
*Dish Network track record – i.e. The 6000 still has OTA issues
*No Tivo – simple timer based PVR no Seasons Pass etc.
Only 1 OTA tuner
The Common Good:
*2 Satellite Tuners
*PVR Functions FF REW PAUSE SKIP etc.
*Record two watch a third recorded program at the same time
*Dolby Digital Output
250 Gig Hard Drive
Format HD output to fit your screen – 4:3, 16:9 zoom / stretch
USB ports for ‘something’ in the future
S-Video Output for SD
Composite Video/Right and Left Audio Output
The Common Bad:
*Can’t output SD and HD simultaneously
*Availability – 921 is practically impossible to find and Hughes ETA is March
Won’t just pass source HD format. Can only Output one mode at a time (1080i, 720p, 480p etc.)
Requires 2 Satellite Inputs, 1 for each tuner