OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 9:51 pm

JackB1 wrote:anyone ever try one of these?

http://www.dimax.com.ua/grex/grex.shtml#BUY[url][/url]

I haven't used that exact one, but I've used something similar that I purchased back in 2001 or so. It was a simple design, a black plastic box with a yellow composite video connection on either end that you put between your DVD player and VCR.

We used it to copy our Disney/Kid's DVD's to VHS and kept the original DVD's in the case.

It worked fine, but we didn't get much use out of it because soon after I got a DVD burner on the PC with DVD shrink and made dupes of our kid's movies that way.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:26 am

I thought there were sales of HBO DVD box sets for like $25 each.

That's a real good value.

But I'm waiting for Blu-Ray releases. They've done Blu-Ray for one of the last seasons of the Sopranos and Showtime's Weeds.

The Direct TV DVR BTW lets you add external eSATA drives. So you could potentially save a lot of HBO recordings that way, in HD.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 7:43 pm

wco81 wrote:
The Direct TV DVR BTW lets you add external eSATA drives. So you could potentially save a lot of HBO recordings that way, in HD.

That's what I did. I added an extra 1TB drive and now have about 50 HD movies on it (from HBO, Starz, Showtime, and of course Cinemax

)

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 11:53 am

wco81 wrote: The Direct TV DVR BTW lets you add external eSATA drives. So you could potentially save a lot of HBO recordings that way, in HD.

I thought about that option, but when you hook up a eSATA drive, it temporarily "disables" your original hard drive on the DVR. I have so much stuff on there now that I don't want to "lose", so that's why I chose the dvd recorder option. Also, your eSATA drive is now "married" to the Direct TV dvr, so if that ever goes down, you won't be able to read the eSATA on another dvr.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 12:02 pm

Yeah I don't feel the need to add storage. I've never gone past 50% and yet I keep a few things on there for months but mostly watch and delete within a week of recording.

I figure in a couple of years, there will be Blu-Ray versions of movies and TV shows I'd want to rent or buy, with extras and better PQ and SQ than anything you record off Direct TV.

Plus I'm hoping that Direct TV offers new DVR models at some point. Maybe with CES in a week or two.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:19 pm

I just wish that DTV didn't get so greedy and we could be enjoying Tivo DVR's that are upgraded on DTV. While thier HD DVR has made some great strides it is still way behind a Tivo unit in terms of features.

I've had to reformat my hard drive on both of my DTV DVR's already because you could no longer fast forward through recorded shows.

Sorry to rant, I feel better now.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:30 pm

Danimal wrote:I just wish that DTV didn't get so greedy and we could be enjoying Tivo DVR's that are upgraded on DTV. While thier HD DVR has made some great strides it is still way behind a Tivo unit in terms of features.

I've had to reformat my hard drive on both of my DTV DVR's already because you could no longer fast forward through recorded shows.

Sorry to rant, I feel better now.

I agree, there are a lot of glitches with the Direct TV dvrs. It freezes a lot and you can't "manually" record anything...meaning you just can't press record and pause out the commercials. Also, you can't rename anything you have already recorded. You HAVE to record complete shows. You can't transfer recordings from one dvr to another. Old fashioned VCR's have way more flexibility, but who the heck wants those bulky tapes.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 9:33 pm

Take this with a grain of salt, but the installer that dropped off my HR21 last week (got them to give me another one for free, after getting the HR20 in Sept for free), told me that DirecTV and TiVo are in discussions again on the possibility of bringing a 1080p DVR to market for DirecTV.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:17 am

These DVRs came out of the time that Murdoch owned Direct TV.

Now that DTV has changed ownership again, Tivo might be possible.

However, Tivo is about to come out with DVRs for Comcast so going back to DTV seems unlikely.

I heard that their latest DVR is still slow with the menus. That is one thing I like a lot about the DTV models, how much quicker the UI is compared to Tivo.

MUTTS · Post by **MUTTS** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:15 pm

So who are the home theater geeks in here that I want to talk to as it looks like we are going to design one?

I know the avsforum is a great source of knowledge. Has anyone here purchased from or worked with the avscience store?

Thanks

Tony

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:14 am

MUTTS wrote:So who are the home theater geeks in here that I want to talk to as it looks like we are going to design one?

I know the avsforum is a great source of knowledge. Has anyone here purchased from or worked with the avscience store?

Thanks

Tony

I'm purchased to front projectors from projectorpeople.com (AVSforum sponsor) as well as countless purchases from monoprice.com (another sponsor) for cables, mounts, and other accessories.

There are several of us A/V geeks here, but you'd be best to try and investigate some for yourself first and get a knowledge base so that you can at least talk shop.

Avsforum is a good resource, and projectorcentral.com has great reviews for front projectors.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 12:22 pm

OK, I've been going toe-to-toe with Comcast for the last month over repeated service trouble and I'm ready to exercise the Doomsday Option and switch to DirectTV. I'm not happy about losing In Demand, which we love around here, but I think Setanta should help me get over it

From perusing the threads here and (Jah help me ) the AVS Forums, I have some sense of what to expect, but I do have a few questions.

1. If I get the HD-DVR and HD package, do I need to do anything else to get local channels in HD? Some seem to need an OTA antenna.

2. Will the installer need to put in new coax, or will they just use the cable that's already installed?

3. Do I have any say over which DVR they install? There seems to be much debate about which of the various models is best.

Anything else that I should know before switching from one institution of aggravation to another? Any input/warnings are much appreciated.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:04 pm

RobVarak wrote:OK, I've been going toe-to-toe with Comcast for the last month over repeated service trouble and I'm ready to exercise the Doomsday Option and switch to DirectTV. I'm not happy about losing In Demand, which we love around here, but I think Setanta should help me get over it

From perusing the threads here and (Jah help me ) the AVS Forums, I have some sense of what to expect, but I do have a few questions.

1. If I get the HD-DVR and HD package, do I need to do anything else to get local channels in HD? Some seem to need an OTA antenna.

2. Will the installer need to put in new coax, or will they just use the cable that's already installed?

3. Do I have any say over which DVR they install? There seems to be much debate about which of the various models is best.

Anything else that I should know before switching from one institution of aggravation to another? Any input/warnings are much appreciated.

1. In Chicago, I believe you'll at least get the major 4 digital local networks. CW and PBS are coming out very slowly, but most of the country can get the major 4. I have an antenna still because my kids like to watch alot of PBS HD kids shows.

2. If you get a DVR, you'll need 2 coax going to that receiver (unless you get one of the new single wire multiswitches that are starting to come out).

3. Not really. The one I got in Sept was a HR20 (w/ OTA input), the one I got last month was a HR21 (no OTA input, but there is a new device that will solve that soon).

PS. You can get video on demand with DirecTV. I use it all of the time on my HR20.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:22 pm

DTV signed a deal with PBS to carry local PBS stations. But it's probably going to have to wait until they get a new satellite up.

To get locals (HD LIL), you have to subscribe to a package which includes locals. To get HD cable channels, you have to pay the HD Access fee of $10. The DVR fee is $6. Additional DVRs or tuners are $5 each.

You can still get HD locals without subscribing to get the HD cable channels.

They will run new coax from the dish all the way to the TV but they're not going to route it inside the walls. Rather, they will run it along the outside of your home, then drill a new hole in, unless your home has coax prewired.

If you have an older home, the built-in coax is likely not RG-6 quality cable, so you'd have to get a new run anyways.

TheGamer · Post by **TheGamer** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:34 pm

Rob, I live in Elmhurst. the local HD stations you will get are Fox, CBS, ABC, and NBC. also the CW is in HD as its WGN. This is with the HR-20.

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 2:24 pm

jondiehl wrote:
RobVarak wrote:
PS. You can get video on demand with DirecTV. I use it all of the time on my HR20.

It's still pretty limited. And if you are a instant gratification person like myself, it leaves something to be desired.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 2:41 pm

Cable VOD is their answer to better DVRs on satellite with bigger hard disks.

My understanding is that they don't have every season of The Sopranos for instance, online, or every season of every show.

Comcast for instance touts how it will have every Warrior and Sharks game broadcast in FSN on VOD later that same day.

But I could just as easily record that on my DVR and watch it at my convenience and the DTV DVRs have bigger disks and the capability of expanding storage.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:54 pm

jondiehl wrote:PS. You can get video on demand with DirecTV. I use it all of the time on my HR20.

How?

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:31 pm

Danimal wrote:
jondiehl wrote:PS. You can get video on demand with DirecTV. I use it all of the time on my HR20.
How?

There's an FAQ on DirecTV.com

Basically you need to connect your DVR to your router, and in the guide go to channel 1000.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:29 pm

The fact that you can now schedule and record shows from your cell phone or an internet connection is awesome on the new DVR Plus receivers.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:01 pm

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to take the plunge. I'm a little concerned because I double-checked the availability of locals in HD on the D* website, and it said ok. But I just got the confirmation e-mail from them and it said they are not available in my area. Puzzling.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:22 pm

If you're in the Chicago market, you should get them. No PBS yet and you may or may not get the CW.

The DTV HD-DVRs also have OTA tuners, I think. Or the HR20 does but not the HR21.

TheGamer · Post by **TheGamer** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:32 am

Rob, once again I live in Elmhurst and I get the HD locals on the HR-20. nbc, cbs, cw, fox, abc

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:06 am

Oh, I'm not panicking or anything, but the e-mail was odd.

I'm going to spend the next 72 hours composing the all-time FU letter to Comcast. I know that it doesn't mean anything in the whole scheme of things, but they have redefined the parameters of how to jack around long-time customers.

I know there are enough horror stories about D* and every other provider to go around, but at this point any devil is better than the one I know LOL

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:44 pm

So the DirectTV tech came out today. Set up my dish, ran the coax, connected the DVR and other tuners, did a hell of a nice job despite brutal conditions outside etc. He goes to activate the receivers and is told that the DirectTV internal computers are being upgraded. They will contact me to complete the process in an hour or so. An hour and a half passes, so I call to check. They tell me another half hour. Call back again...now it's 1.5 more hours. As of my last call, about 10 hypertensive minutes ago, they're saying 3 more hours!

To quote Vincent Vega, "I'm a race car and I'm in the red here." I'm about to move up to Jules' "Guns of the Navarone" level, at which point I fully expect my head to explode like Marvin. My wife will call to have things cleaned up, but I'm sure that Mr. Wolf will be having technical issues...

MUTHERFRACKER!!!