Thinking about upgrading to DirecTV HR20 from non hi-def Tivo - opinions?

[dkea]

Hi gang, I have a hi-def TV now but I've had a non HD dual tuner Tivo box for a while. Is the HR20 user interface, picture, and sound ready for prime time or will I be disappointed? Are there better alternatives? Thanks for the help. Also, does anyone know if I can get OTA programming in San Jose, CA? Derrick

[Krisko]

I've had a Sammy DLP for over 3 years now but I haven't fed it a hi-def signal. I got the HR20 when it first came out but was unimpressed. Very slow unit, needed time consuming updates all the time and just wasn't as friendly as my Tivo. My wife was pissed at me for changing it so I went back to tivo after a week.

All that said, if you want an HD signal it's really the only way to do it. While Dish has more HD programming currently I believe DirecTV is going to triple their programming within the next year.

As for me, I'm going to consider Comcast HD where I can use the Tivo series 3 HD receiver (I think). Right now I'm fairly happy with the SD signal since I do most of my 'quality' viewing downstairs in the media room with DVDs.

[Reggie]

both have their quirks but I really like the HR-20 now - and looking to get D* to replace the tivo with an HR20 and my Sony HD receiver with one too (yes I have three HD systems)

[dkea]

she'll like the change. I'm okay w/ the SD quality but from what I've read here I might be able to get DirecTV to make me a deal on the upgrade so it would be relatively painless.

I love Tivo but the HD Tivo w/ dual tuners is running about $600 - 700 from what I've seen. Too rich for my blood plus Comcast programming in my area when I checked two years ago was horrible. I wonder if the recent HR-20 software upgrade has helped with any of the issues you've experienced in the past?

Guess I need to find a buddy that has an HR-20 in my area to get more intel. When you went back to Tivo after a week what did DirecTv charge you to revert?

Thanks again for the good info.

Derrick

2005 A4 Ultrasport 1.8 MT

[Krisko]

I got a bunch of stuff for upgrading to HD...free hr20 and another HD receiver, 6 months free HD pkg, $20 credit for 6 months, a ton of stuff.

[dkea]

[4Rings::G2 boosted::]

not sure which one I wanna keep in the living room yet, which in your opinion is better in everyday use, assuming you don't care about MPG4 channels right now?

Also, I heard that HR20 now supports pictures and mp3s over the local LAN, any experince with getting this to work?

[Reggie]

check out dbsforums for details.

I would go with the HR-20:
1. to get use to the new system
2. You'll be ready for the new sats when they go up
3. Local sports and stations are on it.

[Reggie]

• dbs talk

[ArchiTorture]

My HDTV is on backorder for another week or two, so I can't comment on picture quality, but I can compare the unit to my old Tivo.

This was a tough choice for me. I really loved my Tivo and I hated to give it up. I've had the HR20 for about 2 weeks and aside from having 1 corrupted recording, I'm pretty pleased. The corrupted show was apparently due to the fact that I was running an old firmware version. I haven't had any problems once that was updated (it's only been a week tho). The GUI really doesn't compare to Tivo's, but it's not THAT bad. One good thing is that while you are browsing the menus, you get a picture-in-picture which is nice. I also like that it has a little progress bar that shows how much of drive space you have free. Rewinding and Fastforwarding were much smoother on the Tivo and I really miss the skip-back feature. Ordering PPV is going to be much easier now. Oh and also, the remote can be a little unresponsive at times, but not much worse than the Tivo on that issue.

Overall, I'm glad I made the switch. I'd much rather have a S3 Tivo w/ HD cable, but I don't think it's remotely worth all the extra cost.