DirecTV HD Tivo HR10-250 IS HERE!!!!!!

[borghe]

just came in (literally a minute ago). Getting the good old camera warmed up and will take shots of everything.. will post back in a little bit.

man I'm so excited!!!!

:rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:

[kjnorman]

Boy am I jealous!  Jealous, jealous, jealous!

I dump HD cable back in its infancy as I could not record it and said that i would not go back to HD until the HD Tivo came out.  Now I hear about several month wait lists for the machine (I did not pre-order).

Unable to record with no HD, I feel like I am not worthy to be here :bow: :bow:



Congrats!

[borghe]

ok, I took a ton of pictures but my stupid card reader isn't playing nice with my computer.. so until I fix that, I'll just give you the scoop.

backed up the virgin drive successfully (never even powered on once, in my possession at least).

restored the backup image to the new maxtor drive to make sure the backup worked.. powered up the unit with the maxtor as the sole drive and went all the way through setup.. everything looked to be good.

took out the maxtor, blessed it as the B drive, booted up, setup, and activated the receiever with directv.

final numbers: 63 hours HD, 427 hours SD

will try to get some pictures posted including my system info screen for proof just gotta fix the stupid car reader.

basic impressions.. what can I say. it is just like my other two tivos, only it records hd also. only problems so far are needing to go through my channel setup and remove the usual DirecTV channels that I don't get or want (spanish, distant locals, and now loca SD), and another one that I will post elsewhere (don't know if it's related to the Tivo or not)

also a small problem with lowered antenna signal strengths across the board.. admittedly my signal is already lowered wiith a 20dB attenuator not to mention being fed through a 5x8 multisiwthc, and finally being split internally in the Tivo as well.. I bought a variable attenuator from radio shack and will see if I can pad the signal by lower than 20 and get a little more juice to the Tivo before the internal split. basically went from solid 100's on everything to 90's on everyting and 70's on 46/58.

otherwise it is a Tivo... one of the pictures I took showed my pausing hope and faith and that it was in 1080i, but like I said, you'll have to wait for pictures.

[borghe]

ok.. got my stupid USB card reader fixed (drivers for this nvdia board are lacking sometimes, other times great.. grr..) here they are.. hosting them at home so they may be a little slow.. compressed them down as much as possible. the last two are pretty dark and kind of blurry.. I assure you that was my camera and not the TV.. ironically my camera is awesome, but the lighting sucks so it was a slow shutter speed hence the kind of blurry pictures (flash would have destroyed the picture). anyway, without further adieu:

Still in the shiiping box
Just out of the box
Inside the box
everything laid out nicely
Inside the tivo
Back of the Tivo
63 HOURS BABY!!
Hope & Faith paused in HD

anyway, aside from the one minor and one semi-major issue posted in the other forum, the box works great... hopefully the channel 58 bug will get resolved quickly as well as the 10-2 bug and then everything will be perfect.. not a single other bug I have come across besides those two which is saying a  lot.. everything is recording as shceduled, looks great, etc....

HIGHLY recommended to the other DirecTV subscribers on the board..... being able to finally record all of the off-hour movies on HDNet Movies and HBO, being able to record Discovery and Channel 36, and (soon) being able to record CSI without a hitch.... worth every single one of those 90,000 pennies.

[gparris]

Hope and perserverance...good job. Thank you for the pictures.
You should get good use out of that HD Tivo and waiting like you did and getting the extra HDD installed makes it even more worthwhile. I guess Directv wins with a usable HD DVR available and in use in a consumer's home in SE Wisconsin, first before any of us TWC folk get to record anything in HD.

Timeshifting is the big thing now without having to "tape". It wasn't too long ago that this was your only option. I usually don't watch anything in HD unless I take time out for it and stop and drop everything. When we had analogue sets with their displays, even the 50 incher I had back in 1991, tape and laserdisc did the trick; not so with HDTVs as they look worse (especially the VHS).
Then there is the question of "did I load a fresh tape?" or "is it the timer set to record or do I have enough time left to record?"
Much less the factor of recording something new while you play what you recorded-not a problem with DVRs. Once you have them they become a part of your viewing experience. You are not tied to the TV but watch it on your own terms. Something is always on when YOU want to  watch it.

And now, you can do it with HD programmes...cool!

TWC: we are impatiently waiting:
Some of us are getting tired, too, of having to put up with having a HD box and SD-DVR box at the same time just to get our programming..get the the bugs out of the SA 8000HD and deliver...pleeeeeeze!:bow:

[borghe]

here was my dilemma (much the same as many others' I would imagine)

I have had my Tivo since long before I even knew about this board (spring of 2001). So the "way I watch TV" has been changed for over 3 years now.

I have had HDTV for almost 2 years now. (reception that is, have had the TV for over two years). So by the time I got HDTV, how I watched TV had already been changed. I had already be taught to watch TV on my schedule and not the broadcasters'.

Unfortunately you can't exactly "unteach" yourself to watch TV timeshifted, nor would anyone want to. So while I have watched the big events with you guys over the past few years, getting myself to watch a regular program has largely failed... convenience wins out over quality.

but now I don't have to choose anymore. I will be the first to admit I've paid a lot for this ability, but IMHO it is well worth it. I have removed all SD versions of channels from my guide, so if it comes across a show from now on on a channel that has an HD simulcast, it will ALWAYS record the HD version...

It's been a long time coming (two years to be exact), but I can honestly say from here on out, I am watching TV EXACTLY how I want to be watching it.

Don't worry though.. before too long TWC will have their DVR and prices will drop on these things (hoping to get another one by Christmas if the price drops low enough). Heck, even OTA only folks can look to either a PC card or one of the under-$1000 tuners out there now. Really the only people who are SOL are Dish owners (I'm sorry, but it is looking like the 921 disco rumors are becoming more and more true every day).

Before too long, this point won't even be a point anymore. It will just be how we all watch TV.

[gparris]

Quote:
Before too long, this point won't even be a point anymore. It will just be how we all watch TV.

You are right, thank you.

Once you get a DVR you are lost without one.

I go to other people's houses and want to back up what I just saw or pause in real time when they have something on and they ask me "is that possible?" and are sincere about it. :eek:

I tell them if they have cable to get the DVR or if they have Directv to get that $49 (I believe) DirecTivo upgrade for customers in good standing.

Once, not long ago, I got a call from a friend I haven't been in touch with for awhile and they were out-of-town and couldn't reach anyone, so knowing what they know about me, they asked: "can you tape this show for me?"
"Tape? Huh?", I asked.
Now they were "out of the loop" so to speak. I told them to upgrade their cable service to the DVR, knowing full well satellite was beyond their grasp (that's why we aren't close).
I don't know if they ever got anyone to "tape" that show for them, much less got a DVR, but that is not my concern anymore.

Get with the program and get a DVR-from some service provider-and end the hassle of tapes for timeshifting once and for all!

I think in the end, TV sets might all be HD and all of them will come with a removable or upgradeable hard drive just for recording, like cars which used to have A/C as an option and most come with it automatically now (only example I can think of).

Now, if the HD Tivos or HD DVRs could come with DVD burners built in so the firewire issue would not be an issue,  so you could archive your HD off the HDD, even cooler!
Eventually, at 60+ hours of HD recording, borghe will have to erase SOMETHING!;)

Good luck and thanks for the HD-Tivo updates!:bow:

[borghe]

I just posted the best availability I knew about the TWC box so I fgured I might as well do the same here for Tivo.

It seems that non-preorder boxes have been shipping into places like circuitcity.com, and most preorder locations have already shipped a substantial number.

It seems if you were to order one now you would most likely get it in the beginning to middle of June.. There are also instances where you will be able to get it sooner than that (check circuitcity.com frequently as the unit goes in stock often.)

It does look like the unit will be widely available "on-demand" before the TWC box if you were deciding between the two.

[The Law]

Why the need for a phone jack?  Is this for firmware/software updates or such?

[borghe]

the phone jack does still send software updates, though the real reason for it is to prevent piracy. No different than any other DirecTV box, though in a tivo's case it REQUIRES you to have it make a call like once every 3 weeks or it will shutdown your DVR service.

[borghe]

sigh... well, I am sending my box out to have its prom modded.. I was trying to hold off and don't relish sending out my new $1000 unit, except this last three weeks has been torture not having everything I was used to on my series 1.. ethernet, web access, video extraction, caller id, internet daily calls, web access (yeah I know I said that twice)....

So I should be sending my box out sometime next week (hopefully I will be able to temporarily reactivate my living room series 1) and around a week later (after shipping times) have back a new and improved HD Tivo....... will keep you updated (for those interested)..

oh, and this beats firewire with a stick...

[The Law]

Can you advise as to what web access via the TiVo is used for?  Caller ID? as in - calls to your home get popped up on TiVo???

I would very much like to see a comparison of TiVo vs TWC DVR (a real one - not a "this one sucks, that one's awesome")

Does TiVo work with TW or is this an interface into your Satelite service?

At least while you wait for your Precious to come back, you can talk it up!

[borghe]

ok.. here is a fair outlay of what I have done to my other Tivos and what I will be doing to this one.

TivoWebPlus
http://borgh.dyndns.org:8080/tivoweb1.jpg
This is just the main menu. Pretty self explanatory what each option will do. The next screens I'll show you some of the more used fuctions. The ones I WON'T really touch upon are:

MFS - Just information on the MFS filesystem. MFS is the proprietary filesystem format Tivo uses to actually store their database and the shows you record.

Phone - Phone functions. Shows the last call, success of that call, next call, and lets you force a daily call or a test call.

Screen - This is actually kind of handy, but I rarely use it. This is an exact simulation of your television screen (in text form of course). So whatever menu you are on will be represented and "drawn" to this screen.

Theme - Change your CSS style for TivoWeb

Web Remote - Another really useful item I rarely use. You can simulate every single key press from the remote with this web remote.. Very handy for manipulating the Screen screen.

What's On - A simple grid guide across all channels.

Restart - Restarts TivoWeb.


http://borgh.dyndns.org:8080/tivoweb2.jpg
This page shows half of the info screen. Things like your software version, what's currently on, uptime, system temperature, some kernel information and some memory allocation information.


http://borgh.dyndns.org:8080/tivoweb3.jpg
This is the handy part of the info screen. This is your drive usage information. More importantly it tells you (further down on the screen) how much space you have remaining.. Doing some quick math in your head you can guess how many hours of space you have left..


http://borgh.dyndns.org:8080/tivoweb4.jpg
Logs... I am one of those guys who ALWAYS find logs handy.. the handiest one though is elseed. This is the callerid program log. I can track all calls made to my house, even when I am away (through terminal services into my box and then viewing the log from there).


http://borgh.dyndns.org:8080/tivoweb5.jpg
Searching.. Every ability you have to search from within the Tivo you have here. Search by Title Keyword, Title + Description Keyword, Actor, or Director. All categories  are available as are subcategories.


http://borgh.dyndns.org:8080/tivoweb6.jpg
The bread and butter of TivoWeb. Here you can modify your Season Passes, your Wishlists, look at your ToDo list (upcoming shows scheduled), recover deleted shows (by far the handiest part of all of TivoWeb), look at your preferences (historical thumbs up and down data), look at your entire recording history (past and future), look at and edit your suggestions.. whew... if you can do it on Tivo, you can do it here, and then quite a bit more to boot.


Elseed
Right behind TivoWeb as the second most useful mod to your Tivo. Caller ID on your TV screen. Yes it exists in many other DirecTV boxes, but unfortunately the DirecTivo spec does not REQUIRE a callerid capable modem to be included. However most modems in the DirecTivo units are indeed capable of it. So you just put a little program on the box and have callerid data displayed right at the top of the screen. And no, it isn't recorded to the video.

Video Extraction
This is a VERY grey area. You have to break video encryption which is a violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, but the legal question is, can you really violate DMCA if you are in fact not violating any copyrights by doing so? We all have fair use when it comes to televised broadcasts, and if we aren't putting this stuff on the internet, what copyright laws are we violating by extracting it to our hard drives and backing it up to DVDR. Anyway, this is right behind Elseed as the third most useful part of Tivo. You can also archive to DVD Video, in other words downrez HD (or leave SD alone) and watch it on any DVD player.  I would imagine you can also send it out over Firewire to DVHS though I have never actually tested this.

Video Insertion
With the ability to extract video from the Tivo comes the ability to put Tivo video back on the Tivo (only works with video from the Tivo directly without modification. you can't put your AVIs on there). So you can archive HD off to DVDR in file format and at a later date insert that file back into your Tivo and watch it again. Taking that one step further, you can insert that video into other Tivos as well (compatible with the video of course, so no HD to an SD unit) and transfer shows between units in the house (or even over the internet if you wanted, though that would be illegal).

Various others
Many other things are available.. the list is numerous.. but a few things off the top of my head are weather maps, local weather reports frmo NOAA (all on screen), sports box scores (on screen), instant messaging notifications (people going in and out and even messages sent to your screen), news headlines printed to your screen, and umm.. that is all off the top of my head but there are lots others...

Those are the basics of advanced hacking on the Tivo. As for Tivo comparing to TWC DVR, here is what I am aware of.

TWC DVR
Abilities - Record by show title, alphabetical scrolling through shows in guide and recording from that listing, recording from the program guide listing, guide data out to 7 days, 250GB/30 hours HD recording, Picture In Picture, no fee to purchase.

Limitations - No wishlists, no season passes, no upgrade possibilities, no way to get digital video off of the unit for archiving, no searching by keyword, actor, or director, no category searching, no callerid, no way to program for the OS and create your own applications like those listed under various others above.

Tivo
Abilities - All of those of TWC DVR except for picture in picture, plus season passes, wishlists, 14 day guide data, searchable listings by keyword, actor, director, and/or category, drive expandability (currently limited to 550GB total), video extraction, callerid, and the ability to program for a MIPS based linux OS meaning you can pretty much do whatever you choose to do as long as you can program it (the list really is endless), video insertion, transferring shows between units through extraction and insertion.

Limitations - No PIP, HD model is expensive (SD is only $40-100), HD model must be sent out to allow hacks (soldering, socket installation, chip removal, and prom flashing all required)

Whew... that is about as extensive as I can think of. If I have left out anything please let me know.

As you can tell, I am obviously biased. Tivo done with hacks is more robust than any other video system on the planet.. Tivo has been trying to make each newer unit more tougher to crack than the previous, but once the unit is cracked they have never come down and removed those cracks. The only thing they or DirecTV have ever gone after on these units were hacks that allowed piracy of Tivo or DirecTV service.

The TWC DVR is fine for what it is. A way to record HD video. The fact that you don't have to pay upfront for it is a god send as long as these boxes cost $1000-1500. But if you want the best of the best of the best, Tivo is without a question heads above the TWC DVR without hacks, and with hacks you are talking about an entirely new interface to watching and recording TV.

[The Law]

Thanks for the comprehensive post.  I really like the idea of a web interface for playing around.  W/respects to callerID, this would be a nice feature.  Not having to get up and walk to the phone during a movie to see the name of the person who you aren't going to talk to.

If you down convert an HD to DVD for archive and then send it back up - presumably, it has lost some of the original lustre?

[borghe]

downconverting to DVD is NOT an automatic process.. sending SD shows to DVD is fairly straightforward nowadays, but sending HD to DVD (I haven't done it yet) I have to imagine is a less simple process.. At the very bare minimum you will have to extract the MPG from the TMF or TY file.. then you will have to load it up in a full blown DVD/MPEG2 encoder, change the resolution and reencode the entire video. It could potentially take hours.

The advantage to this is that you will have an absolutely gorgeous DVD (though not HD), and you will be able to fit probably 3.5 hours on a dual layer DVDR and watch it on any DVD player vs. being able to only fit one hour of HD and not being able to watch it on anything but your computer or inserting it back into your Tivo.

as for callerid, ironically that is the one thing that most prompted me to do this... it is nice and I do miss it.. we still have it in the bedroom, but most of my TV watching is in the living room which no longer has it since I shutdown that series 1.