Getting the HR20-700

[borghe]

alas I am screwed on the 6.3 upgrade for now. My HR10 is still modded, and I logged in to try to force the 6.3 upgrade only to discover that my entire /var/hacks directory had become corrupted. to force the upgrade at minimum I have to install binutils and TivoWebPlus to be able to see where the 6.3 upgrade is in the SwSystem database.

Does the 6.3 upgrade do much beyond folders? Is it worth it for me to install the software and force through the upgrade?

edit - and I can't believe you have your install date earlier than mine. that's hilarious. I guess having DirecTV pay me $20 after the year's up to take the DVR means I'm shuffled low on the priority list.

[sp44again]

Does the 6.3 upgrade do much beyond folders? Is it worth it for me to install the software and force through the upgrade?
.

Oh yeah! Much snappier guide, menus.

[jf3233]

Yeah go figure on the install dates. Although they did say based on equipment availability? Of course D* could not predict supply only one week away!

[Tom Snyder]

Yeah go figure on the install dates

Yeah... I just called to try and schedule my install for our move-in date on the 3rd, and the soonest they can do it is October stinking 13th!  :bang:

Last time I needed a DTV install, I went to Best Buy, and they had a guy the next morning.  Has it changed, or are there different "networks" of installers based on who you buy from?

[jf3233]

Tom,

Got a call yesterday to rechedule my install which was supposed to be today! Then got another call from D* to schedule my install? Long story short the first apt never made it into the system so you may want to call and CONFIRM. I am in Men Falls and D* always sends a company called premeir Communications in my area. To their credit their installers have always been pretty good if watched! Customer service not so good at times IE SCHEDULING

[sp44again]

Yeah... I just called to try and schedule my install for our move-in date on the 3rd, and the soonest they can do it is October stinking 13th!  :bang:

Last time I needed a DTV install, I went to Best Buy, and they had a guy the next morning.  Has it changed, or are there different "networks" of installers based on who you buy from?

First time I got through it was Oct 7th. Then I called a week later and they could change it to a couple weeks earlier.

[borghe]

if you haven't already made the leap, afaik there is only one directv installer in the area. at least that's how it was a couple years back when I needed work on my disc (sat "c" lnb died). I know when I bought my last receiver from Best Buy (2001) they told me to call directv for installation. don't know if it is different now.

[sp44again]

I'll see how they are tomorrow.

[Bebop]

Anyone has a spare 3LNB after the 5LNB install and don't know what to do with it?


Someone well known here will gladly dispose of it for you.  

[sp44again]

My install was suppose to be Saturday but the guy never showed!  :bang:  Said he had truck problems. Didn't bother to call til after 5, 1-5 slot. Set up another appointment for yesterday. Guy showed up at 12, 8-12 slot. The guy knew what he was doing for the most part. I ended up with a pole in the yard because of the weight of the new dish. He said most people with nice houses have been doing this. AT-9 dish is 35lbs. Looks alright to me just weird that's it's not on the house anymore. The HR20-700 had a problem, no picture! He had to manually download an update to get it work. That took a while. Got a 6x8 multiswitch now. So far so good but it's only been a day.  Only area the new box is faster is with recording. I'm comparing the HR10-250 with the 6.3 update. Box itself is very hot to the touch. I'll add more if anything comes up.

[Drake]

Do you notice any vibration when you touch the HR20?  Mine shakes like crazy, and turned the shelf it sits on into a sounding board.  Now I get this nice audible hum whenever the unit is plugged in (i.e. always :mad: )

[sp44again]

Do you notice any vibration when you touch the HR20?  Mine shakes like crazy, and turned the shelf it sits on into a sounding board.  Now I get this nice audible hum whenever the unit is plugged in (i.e. always :mad: )

not at all

[Tom Snyder]

And I assume the antenna in isn't active?

[sp44again]

And I assume the antenna in isn't active?

I actually didn't check because I'd think I would of read it somewhere. The SATA port is active though. It does shut down the internal drive and then formats the new SATA drive for use. So if anybody has a 500 or 750GB hard drive you can have mucho space!

[borghe]

antenna is not active.

my install also was delayed, twice. I swear I think we had the same installer ditch us. I think he is out of a job now (really, I think I heard him get fired).

anywho, the guys who finally came (at 6:30pm, god bless em) knew what they were doing. I actually have 95+ across all five satellites.

the system is LIGHTSPEED compared to the 3.1.5 tivo (still have to fix my mods to pull down 6.3). however as others have noticed, it's lightspeed because it doesn't commit all changes right away. the most noticeable area this has been in is when setting up season passes. we hit the R button twice and it still only shows "record" even though it is really a season link. also when you add items to record and it doesn't show up in now playing right away. I also (accidentally) started and stopped a recording last night like 3 times. all three times showed up in the now playing list, but only one of them was really the recording.. odd.

I have the receiver set to native mode (nice) but it is kind of annoying with my tv, though I am pretty sure that's the TV (switching resolutions and vertical compression settings). there is a delay when going to and from Ka channels (4,6,12) and Ku channels (everything else). so far haven't hit any bugs yet.

one thing I do like about it over the tivo is how the picture ALWAYS displays when in the guide or menus (and in OAR even). I also like finally how when you hit channel 4 (For example) that the D* HD local comes up instead of ML4. this has always been a sticking point of the tivo, though not the tivo's fault. if I hit 4 on the tivo, ML4 comes up. kind of a pain to hit 4-1, especially given the location of the "-" button on the tivo remote.

user interface is nowhere near as intuitive as the Tivo. again, not a showstopper, but it will take some getting used to, whereas the tivo it took me like two seconds to get used to using it.

long story short, this is the future.. we have no choice. as has been said before, DirecTV will never add another MPEG2 HD channel. RIP DirecTivo.. I'll keep my living room Tivo probably until they activate the eSATA port (assuming that is after the OTA tuners) after which I will lose the last remanents of tivo from my house.

edit - nm.. just read the thread on the esata activation. kind of cool and what we already knew. very handy for those who have the cash to drop on a 700GB drive.

edit - oh, and as for local channel quality... hehe... I really don't get a wow from it, but that more likely has to do with this being on a 32" set. I won't have a better feeling with it until I replace the Tivo in the living room. Anyone else who has MPEG4 locals on a big screen, I would like to hear your opinions on PQ. Also wish there was a way we could find out what kind of bitrates the MPEG4 is compressed at. would be fun.