DirectTV HR20 DVR, anyone got one?

[Santoro]

I just got DirectTV to give me an HR20 DVR for $20 with a 2-year extension.. what can I expect from this unit?  I am currently using Tivos so I know it won't be that good, but is it a bad DVR?  Any good links to hacking/upgrade info?

[ChadTower]

No idea on the DirecTV DVRs but I've been using a pair of DirecTivos for years now.  I have always read on various forums that the DirecTV software is quite inferior to Tivo but I don't have the experience to give the specifics.

I wouldn't mind getting one HD DVR, though... how did you go about getting that one for $20?  Promotional offer or Customer Retention?  2 year extension is pretty long.

[MustardTent]

I currently have the DirecTV HD-DVR.  I have never used a Tivo, so my frame of reference is pretty limited here, but I really like it.  It's simple, it works, and it does actually record and playback at HD quality.

I'll try to answer specific questions about it if you have any.

[Edit] Never looked into hacking, though. [\Edit]

[ChadTower]

Outside of the premium movie channels, how much HD content is actually out there?  I'm somewhat tempted, but the only HD capable tv I have is only 32", so the difference wouldn't even be that big.

[MustardTent]

I'd say there's somewhere between 15-20 HD channels, not including premiums.  DirecTV keeps claiming something over 100 HD channels are coming in the near future. 

[ChadTower]

They've been saying that for years.  I think my bigger problem would be that not enough of what I watch would be in HD and the NFL Sunday Ticket HD channels are an extra $100.

[MustardTent]

I actually overhead somebody at work complaining about being charged twice for the NFL Sunday Ticket: once for the HD channels, and once for the SD channels.  He was told by DirecTV customer support that they couldn't separate the two, and thus he was charged for both versions of that package.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, you have to buy the standard Ticket package and the HD content is an addon.  You can't buy the HD games alone and the price for the addon+package is stupid.  Actually, the price for the standard package is stupid, especially if you don't have a DVR going, since most of the games are simultaneous.

[Santoro]

I wouldn't mind getting one HD DVR, though... how did you go about getting that one for $20?  Promotional offer or Customer Retention?  2 year extension is pretty long.

I called the regular 800-DirectTv number and asked for the price on an HR20. They quoted me $199, $100 off the $299 price because I am an 'excellent customer.'   I told them very nicely that I had seen online that someone got one for $50 with an extended commitment and I wanted the same deal.  They transferred me to who I assume was the retention department, who offered me $20.  OK, sold.

The risk is low, I was going to pay the $199 if I didn't get a deal.  If I leave before the 2 years, I need to pay a $179$ fee, so it'd be exactly the same total price anyway.  And if I stay for 2 years, well I saved $179!

{edit: spelling.}

[AtomSmasher]

Let us know how you like it after you use it for a few days.  I'm considering doing the same thing, but I don't like the non-HD DVR I got from directv last year, so I'm wondering if the newer HD one is better. 

[clanggedin]

I have both a DirecTivo and a Directv DVR. The biggest dislike about the Directv unit is that when you fast forward and then hit play it doesn't jump back a few seconds like it does on the Tivo unit. Other than that it's not too bad.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, you just described Customer Retention, AKA their Bend Over and Take It Dept.  I usually try to avoid commitments on service and probably would have paid a little more to have to only do one year.  I've seen people pile on commitment years and then end up moving to a place they can't get a signal or install a dish.

[Zero_Hour]

They've been saying that for years.

They have, but they are actually now naming channels to be added, doing some tests this summer, and beginning a roll out of additional channels starting this September. Actually got an e-mail from them this week, explaining how to make sure my HD receiver is ready for the expansion (it is).

I have an SD DirecTivo unit as my second receiver, and really like it, but would love to hear from someone who has used that and the DireTV DVR just to know what the major differences are - and any details like, can I program it to do the 30 second skip function like I can on the Tivo. Eventually I'm going to upgrade my HD receiver to DVR, just like to know what to expect when I get to that point.

[Dervacumen]

Any good links to hacking/upgrade info?

Your model's not on here but I'll bet if you check out the forums you can find what you need.

Tivo upgrade site

[shardian]

Dish Network has 40 HD channels, including premiums. Most of the movie ones are just upconverts though. What is cool is that they have a MonsterHD that shows monster and horror movies 24/7 unedited and in upconverted HD, and a non-stop jappyslappy HD movie channel too! The rest of the channels whould just collect dust after those two in my house.

[divemaster127]

I have the new direct tv dvr it works fine for what I want to do, I was told by sept 1st direct tv will have over 100 hd channels & 150 by jan. 1st from customer service
dm

[ChadTower]

They have said that every year for the last 3.  They keep running into federal regulations problems in the satellite signal space.  DirecTV just doesn't have enough licensed bandwidth to carry that amount of data.  Ever notice that every time they add HD content, many of the SD channels decrease in quality?  They partially make up for it by adding compression to regular stuff.  The local channel quality is total garbage sometimes and other stuff like USA gets worse every few months, always seemingly coinciding with the addition of HD content.

[clanggedin]

Zero_Hour

The DirecTV DVR has an actual 30 second skip button already on the remote. You don't have to program it in like you do the Tivo unit. As I said in my earlier post, that the biggest downside I can find in the DirecTV DVR is that when you press play after using fastforward it doesn't slide back a few seconds like the Tivo unit does it starts exactly where you tell it to.

You also get call ID on screen and a little window of what you are watching when you are looking at the guide, and the guide is 10 times faster too. I haven't used the search feature much in the DVR.  (I've had it about a month) but I don;t think you can record shows by who is in it like Tivo, I'm not sure though

[ChadTower]

You can do caller ID on a DirecTivo.

The bigger question than features is the upgrade process.  You can drop a 300g drive in a DirecTivo without much effort.

[Santoro]

There is an eSATA port on the back of the HR20 that supposedly is enabled for adding larger drives.  I read that the internal drive isn't used once you upgrade, which really is quite stupid.

[ChadTower]

Probably only has one disc controller on board.  The DirecTivos can handle two drives but it presents real heat problems.  I had two drives in my T60 but the primary ended up dying in about two years, I suspect mostly because of heat, so I replaced it with one bigger drive.

[Zero_Hour]

Zero_Hour

The DirecTV DVR has an actual 30 second skip button already on the remote. You don't have to program it in like you do the Tivo unit. As I said in my earlier post, that the biggest downside I can find in the DirecTV DVR is that when you press play after using fastforward it doesn't slide back a few seconds like the Tivo unit does it starts exactly where you tell it to.

You also get call ID on screen and a little window of what you are watching when you are looking at the guide, and the guide is 10 times faster too. I haven't used the search feature much in the DVR.  (I've had it about a month) but I don;t think you can record shows by who is in it like Tivo, I'm not sure though

Glad to hear the skip is built in. I can probably survive the lack of a 5 second backup when resuming from fast forward easily enough. Do most of my search functions by Title only, so as long as that works, I should be a happy camper. I haven't had any need or desire to expand storage on my current Tivo, so that isn't a concern at all for me.

And Chad, I have noticed the quality issues with HD signals as well. DireTV claims they'll be moving to a different compression scheme to counter that, we shall see...

[ChadTower]

I haven't even seen the HD channels myself.  I didn't know they were affected too.  I just notice when a show I watch all the time suddenly looks worse and that always seems to happen when new HD channels pop in.  The locals are particularly bad now, makes watching sports on the locals a real pain.

[Spaz Monkey]

I have a DirecTv Tivo for regular channels.  Got it free after rebates ($150 at Best buy, $150 rebate from DirecTv).  My has the rewind when hitting play.  Thing that sucks is that I have USB ports on the back, but I would have to hack the darn thing to use them, and then I would loose all the saved programs on it.

Here's a site that might help you with the hacking: http://www.weethet.nl/english/tivo_dtv2_os6hack.php