# DirecTV Blackout and why I love my HR10



## annenoe (Oct 19, 2003)

So, not sure what happened last night (and don't really care at this point), but I had been happily anticipating the return of my favorite Thursday night comedies (Earl, 30 Rock, Office) and as my DirecTV brand HD DVR switched over to NBC to start recording at 8 pm, we get a splash screen saying something to the effect "don't call us, it's not our fault, but there's no signal". This is **exactly** why I was annoyed to get "upgraded" to the D* HD DVR that doesn't have the OTA feed. If that was my only option, I would have missed the entire nights worth of shows - not sure when signal came back - I didn't care ;-)

But wait, there's my trusty old, "obsolete* HR10-250 in the other room hooked up to a nice 47" flat screen Samsung (our backup setup) that is getting beautiful OTA feed. We just went in there to watch.

This is why I keep my HR10-250. Having just upgraded my antenna feed to a rooftop, I can guarantee nice HD feeds for the majors.

So, don't let anyone try to tell me it's obsolete or of no value. It certainly saved the day last night!


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## sean67854 (Jul 11, 2001)

annenoe said:


> So, not sure what happened last night (and don't really care at this point), but I had been happily anticipating the return of my favorite Thursday night comedies (Earl, 30 Rock, Office) and as my DirecTV brand HD DVR switched over to NBC to start recording at 8 pm, we get a splash screen saying something to the effect "don't call us, it's not our fault, but there's no signal". This is **exactly** why I was annoyed to get "upgraded" to the D* HD DVR that doesn't have the OTA feed. If that was my only option, I would have missed the entire nights worth of shows - not sure when signal came back - I didn't care ;-)
> 
> But wait, there's my trusty old, "obsolete* HR10-250 in the other room hooked up to a nice 47" flat screen Samsung (our backup setup) that is getting beautiful OTA feed. We just went in there to watch.
> 
> ...


Uhh, my DirecTV HD DVR has OTA inputs. In fact, all of the DirecTV HD DVRs do.


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## TolloNodre (Nov 3, 2007)

sean67854 said:


> Uhh, my DirecTV HD DVR has OTA inputs. In fact, all of the DirecTV HD DVRs do.


No, they all don't.

The older HR20 does come with OTA built in, but those are being phased out in favor of the new HR21 which does NOT have OTA built in. DirecTV is beta testing a new OTA tuner 'add-on' for the HR21 called the AM21. Here's a review of it from DBSTalk:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=123012


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## sean67854 (Jul 11, 2001)

TolloNodre said:


> No, they all don't.
> 
> The older HR20 does come with OTA built in, but those are being phased out in favor of the new HR21 which does NOT have OTA built in. DirecTV is beta testing a new OTA tuner 'add-on' for the HR21 called the AM21. Here's a review of it from DBSTalk:
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=123012


My apologies, I thought this was already in the wild.


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## bigpuma (Aug 12, 2003)

My HR20 has OTA inputs but I am over 70 miles from the NBC towers so I missed Earl, 30 Rock, and The Office last night.


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

sean67854 said:


> Uhh, my DirecTV HD DVR has OTA inputs. In fact, all of the DirecTV HD DVRs do.





sean67854 said:


> My apologies, I thought this was already in the wild.


So you contradicted yourself here. You said "all of the DirecTV HD DVRs do" but then you you say you thought there was an external box which is not the same as them having it built in. In fact the external box is going to cost $100.00.


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## LlamaLarry (Apr 30, 2003)

So what happened to the feeds and was it everyone, just the national feeds or several markets? Either way I guess I am glad I switched back to using the OTA on my HR20's last week.


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## cowboys2002 (Jun 15, 2001)

I am in the Houston Market. The other day during an Astros Game, the same splash screen was on my HR21, HDVR2 and RCA Combo box.

I tuned to the station using OTA and the station itself had a spalsh screen and just audio?

Not saying it didn't happen to you, but your thread title about the blackout and the content of your post do not co-inside.


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

NY NBC HD was AWOL last night. Started about midnight eastern time.


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## sjberra (May 16, 2005)

rminsk said:


> So you contradicted yourself here. You said "all of the DirecTV HD DVRs do" but then you you say you thought there was an external box which is not the same as them having it built in. In fact the external box is going to cost $100.00.


$100? Have you seen this on the Directv website, or is it speculation from what the 3rd party vendors have as a guesstimate. Last thing I saw was about 60.00 US


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## LlamaLarry (Apr 30, 2003)

Where did you see $60? DirecTV website?


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## shibby191 (Dec 24, 2007)

LlamaLarry said:


> Where did you see $60? DirecTV website?


That was the announced price at CES.

There are a couple online dealers taking pre-orders and they are charging $99. Just in case I guess. But I believe they say that they will charge only the actual retail price. But still, why take the chance and get overcharged.


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## LlamaLarry (Apr 30, 2003)

Yeah, I have seen the $99 preorders only on a few sites, but was hoping to find a $60 outlet for my dad and his HR21. I OTOH have two HR20's so I don't need one.


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

It looks like valueelectronics has them pre-order for $60.


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## annenoe (Oct 19, 2003)

cowboys2002 said:


> I am in the Houston Market. The other day during an Astros Game, the same splash screen was on my HR21, HDVR2 and RCA Combo box.
> 
> I tuned to the station using OTA and the station itself had a spalsh screen and just audio?
> 
> Not saying it didn't happen to you, but your thread title about the blackout and the content of your post do not co-inside.


Sorry, let me clarify.

I have two HD DVRs. My original HR10-250 which I can use to see my locals in HD. And a DirecTV HD DVR which does NOT have OTA. So, when my DirecTV feed went out and I could not watch NBC HD, I was able to switch to my old "obsolete" HR10-250 and the feed was perfect.

In other words, my satellite was out but because I don't have OTA on my new DVR, my old trusty HR10 saved the day.

It's just another reason to keep my HR10.


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## sean67854 (Jul 11, 2001)

rminsk said:


> So you contradicted yourself here. You said "all of the DirecTV HD DVRs do" but then you you say you thought there was an external box which is not the same as them having it built in. In fact the external box is going to cost $100.00.


Jerk much? I guess I considered the tuner attachment to be one box because there is not, as far as I know, a separate controller for it and it will be controlled from the HR21. I was also under the impression that new customers that requested an HR20 and received an HR21 instead would be getting the tuner box for free. But I'm sure you'll point out to me where I'm wrong and have contradicted myself again.

Thanks.


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## Starrbuck (Sep 29, 2003)

No problems with the DirecTV NBC feed in Dallas/Fort Worth on that night.


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## cowboys2002 (Jun 15, 2001)

sean67854 said:


> Jerk much? I guess I considered the tuner attachment to be one box because there is not, as far as I know, a separate controller for it and it will be controlled from the HR21. I was also under the impression that new customers that requested an HR20 and received an HR21 instead would be getting the tuner box for free. But I'm sure you'll point out to me where I'm wrong and have contradicted myself again.
> 
> Thanks.


Still,

How is this a DirecTv Blackout? Maybe the signal from the station to DTV had an issue? Who's to blame? BOTH.

And in my case, I have an OTA antenna connected to my HDTV, and the signal was still out, but at least I had audio.

I have to SD DVR's (combo's) so I can still record the locals if needed. I find myself watching HD stuff live whenever possible and will choose the OTA signal over the DVR's tuner.


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## AVPhan (Oct 20, 2004)

annenoe said:


> So, not sure what happened last night (and don't really care at this point), but I had been happily anticipating the return of my favorite Thursday night comedies (Earl, 30 Rock, Office) and as my DirecTV brand HD DVR switched over to NBC to start recording at 8 pm, we get a splash screen saying something to the effect "don't call us, it's not our fault, but there's no signal". This is **exactly** why I was annoyed to get "upgraded" to the D* HD DVR that doesn't have the OTA feed. If that was my only option, I would have missed the entire nights worth of shows - not sure when signal came back - I didn't care ;-)
> 
> But wait, there's my trusty old, "obsolete* HR10-250 in the other room hooked up to a nice 47" flat screen Samsung (our backup setup) that is getting beautiful OTA feed. We just went in there to watch.
> 
> ...


My forever reliable HR10-250 is still being used to back up the forever faulty HR20-100.


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## rickmeoff (Aug 25, 2006)

sean67854 said:


> Jerk much?


hey, family forum!


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## gio1269 (Jul 27, 2006)

annenoe said:


> So, not sure what happened last night (and don't really care at this point), but I had been happily anticipating the return of my favorite Thursday night comedies (Earl, 30 Rock, Office) and as my DirecTV brand HD DVR switched over to NBC to start recording at 8 pm, we get a splash screen saying something to the effect "don't call us, it's not our fault, but there's no signal". This is **exactly** why I was annoyed to get "upgraded" to the D* HD DVR that doesn't have the OTA feed. If that was my only option, I would have missed the entire nights worth of shows - not sure when signal came back - I didn't care ;-)
> 
> But wait, there's my trusty old, "obsolete* HR10-250 in the other room hooked up to a nice 47" flat screen Samsung (our backup setup) that is getting beautiful OTA feed. We just went in there to watch.
> 
> ...


Get a HR20-700 w/ OTA!! That HR10250 will lock-up or die on you so you will miss those shows anyways!

Does your TV not have a OTA input? if you are watching live, just switch over.

Missed plenty of shows because that ""trusty" lock-up or rebooted all night. 

if you tell D* you NEED OTA when ordering, you will get a box with OTA. Why deal with a Dinosaur??


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## gio1269 (Jul 27, 2006)

annenoe said:


> Sorry, let me clarify.
> 
> I have two HD DVRs. My original HR10-250 which I can use to see my locals in HD. And a DirecTV HD DVR which does NOT have OTA. So, when my DirecTV feed went out and I could not watch NBC HD, I was able to switch to my old "obsolete" HR10-250 and the feed was perfect.
> 
> ...


If the show is live, just use your TV tuner. problem solved.

I know, I know, just the last reason to keep the HR10 alive....


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## gio1269 (Jul 27, 2006)

AVPhan said:


> My forever reliable HR10-250 is still being used to back up the forever faulty HR20-100.


Well mine is in a landfil now where it should be thanks to TIVO engineers and there great 6.X updates that KILLED the HR10. Now I have a smooth and perfect HR20-700 and 100 in the house!


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

gio1269 said:


> Well mine is in a landfil now where it should be thanks to TIVO engineers and there great 6.X updates that KILLED the HR10.


I would not blame TiVo completely for the problem. DirecTV does not allow TiVo to due proper testing and updates.


> Now I have a smooth and perfect HR20-700 and 100 in the house!


Smooth? I guess you have never tried fast forwarding on the HR20. Perfect? I will not begin to go into how unreliable it is....


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## gio1269 (Jul 27, 2006)

rminsk said:


> I would not blame TiVo completely for the problem. DirecTV does not allow TiVo to due proper testing and updates.


Really? Tivo can do proper updates on their own units in house before sending crap to D*? I guess D* did this so we would hate Tivo and more to their box? 



> Smooth? I guess you have never tried fast forwarding on the HR20. Perfect? I will not begin to go into how unreliable it is....


I don't have issues with FF. What's wrong with it? Mybe some of you just analyze this DVR way too much for me. My God it's a DVR for Christ's sake!


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## wblynch (Aug 13, 2003)

I'm still running our HR10-250. Just switched all the locals to OTA when Dave screwed us.

Not letting go of my Tivo. I will give up satellite first. One day the HR10-250 will no longer work and on that day D* will get my cancellation.

I should say that over 4 years and this unit has performed flawlessly. It have never been opened or hacked or expected to do anything more than what it was built for. My only complaint is that it only has two tuners. ...wish it was 4!


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## rickmeoff (Aug 25, 2006)

gio1269 said:


> Mybe some of you just analyze this DVR way too much for me. My God it's a DVR for Christ's sake!


hypocrite much?

you need to take your own advice, because you attack anyone who has anything positive to say about tivo, or anything negative about the hr20.


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

gio1269 said:


> Really? Tivo can do proper updates on their own units in house before sending crap to D*? I guess D* did this so we would hate Tivo and more to their box?


If you have done any commercial software development you realize that testing in the lab and testing in the field is completely different.



> I don't have issues with FF. What's wrong with it? Mybe some of you just analyze this DVR way too much for me. My God it's a DVR for Christ's sake!


When fast forwarding it only displaces about 3 or 4 frames a second. It is like looking at a bunch of postcards.


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## gio1269 (Jul 27, 2006)

rickmeoff said:


> hypocrite much?
> 
> you need to take your own advice, because you attack anyone who has anything positive to say about tivo, or anything negative about the hr20.


No, because it's nothing but HR20 bashing here and TIVO is perfect! Do a search, both have issues! For me it's Tivo.

The Tivo HR10 was ONCE a GREAT product. Now it's crap IMO.


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## gio1269 (Jul 27, 2006)

rminsk said:


> If you have done any commercial software development you realize that testing in the lab and testing in the field is completely different.


 That is a frickin cop out! If the software runs fine on numerous machines in house, why would it be sooo bad in people homes?
This is not like PC were there are so many other factors. Unless the hardware in these things suck compared to in house.



> When fast forwarding it only displaces about 3 or 4 frames a second. It is like looking at a bunch of postcards.


?? Again, maybe you are just over analyzing the whole thing 

Tivo is fine and changed the way we all watch TV. For me, I prefer D* style of DVR. Plus I don't have a choice. Comcrap sicks here and I prefer the HR20 over the S3 or HD box.


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## sjberra (May 16, 2005)

AVPhan said:


> My forever reliable HR10-250 is still being used to back up the forever faulty HR20-100.


out of all the HR10's I had, with the exception of one that has been relagated to the garage for teh set out there, they all met Mr Remington and are now feeding the fish's


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## rickmeoff (Aug 25, 2006)

gio1269 said:


> No, because it's nothing but HR20 bashing here and TIVO is perfect! Do a search, both have issues! For me it's Tivo.
> 
> The Tivo HR10 was ONCE a GREAT product. Now it's crap IMO.


gee, hr20 bashing on a TIVO FORUM? what are the odds? but that war has been fought, and is pretty much over.......did you come out of the bomb shelter a little late?

and a search to reveal that both have problems isnt necessary.........thats pretty common knowledge. its a fact that dvrs........like computers, have problems. tivo isnt perfect.

but there are people who prefer it over the hr2x..........and vice versa. so what? theyre entitled to their opinion without having to have someone tell them theyre wrong, and that "tivo is crap" while being called a lemming.

your 'opinion' is that 'tivo is crap..........' we get that, because you post it over and over and over. and over. and then, after all that _you _post "its only a dvr for christ's sake?"

switch to decaf.....cut back on the red bull......whatever, you need to relax a little and take your own advice. with tivo being such 'crap,' and yours sitting in a landfill somewhere......... why even bother posting here in the tivo forum?

we have dbstalk for hr2x.......and the hr2x doesnt need any defending here on the tivo forum.......whats the point?

the arguing has gone on for months, and it seems to have finally stopped and gotten to be amicable and civil around here without the name-calling ("lemmings") and overly strong sentiment ("crap").

are you capable of keeping it that way?:up:


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## sean67854 (Jul 11, 2001)

rickmeoff said:


> hey, family forum!


You just made me blow chocolate muffin chunks on my screen.


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## majortom (Apr 17, 2002)

gio1269 said:


> That is a frickin cop out! If the software runs fine on numerous machines in house, why would it be sooo bad in people homes?
> This is not like PC were there are so many other factors. Unless the hardware in these things suck compared to in house.


When DirecTv took over these DVRs from TiVo, it took over field testing and has done a terrible job there. TiVo is no longer able to do that for those units.


> I prefer the HR20 over the S3 or HD box.


What do you like better about the HR20 than the Series 3 or the TiVo HD?

/carmi


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## sjberra (May 16, 2005)

majortom said:


> When DirecTv took over these DVRs from TiVo, it took over field testing and has done a terrible job there. TiVo is no longer able to do that for those units.
> 
> What do you like better about the HR20 than the Series 3 or the TiVo HD?
> 
> /carmi


Wasn't aware of the fact that Directv took over anything from Tivo. I believe the units where always under control of Directv and Tivo just had the software contact to interface them with Directv's equipment.


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## majortom (Apr 17, 2002)

sjberra said:


> Wasn't aware of the fact that Directv took over anything from Tivo. I believe the units where always under control of Directv and Tivo just had the software contact to interface them with Directv's equipment.


No, when they were first released (_i.e._ when one could buy UltimateTV or DirecTiVo receivers), Microsoft and TiVo supported their products directly. With the Series 2 units, DirecTv began to take more and more control for their products, until they eventually took total responsibility for them.

/carmi


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## sjberra (May 16, 2005)

majortom said:


> No, when they were first released (_i.e._ when one could buy UltimateTV or DirecTiVo receivers), Microsoft and TiVo supported their products directly. With the Series 2 units, DirecTv began to take more and more control for their products, until they eventually took total responsibility for them.
> 
> /carmi


Not talking about the SD units, only the HD unit. Got one when they first released and can swear it was Directv support only.


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

sjberra said:


> Not talking about the SD units, only the HD unit. Got one when they first released and can swear it was Directv support only.


Maybe some of us need to recheck the title of this sub-forum. :up:

And yes, there has only ever been one box, one manufacturer, one model for units that fit that category, the Hughes HR10-250. Everything else is either not Tivo, or not HD-capable, or not DTV-capable. And all support was through DTV.


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## sjberra (May 16, 2005)

TyroneShoes said:


> Maybe some of us need to recheck the title of this sub-forum. :up:
> 
> And yes, there has only ever been one box, one manufacturer, one model for units that fit that category, the Hughes HR10-250. Everything else is either not Tivo, or not HD-capable, or not DTV-capable. And all support was through DTV.


?


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## poppagene (Dec 29, 2001)

According to this thread: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=392337

DTV hase released the OTA add on for the HR21 and it costs50 dollars+tax and free shipping.

Also in that thread someone stated that if you've been upgraded by DirecTV from an HR10-250 to an HR21 within the last 90 days DirecTV will give you AM21(s) at no charge w/free shipping.


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## LlamaLarry (Apr 30, 2003)

Thanks for the pointer to the other thread. I have to pass the word to a couple of local HR21 owners that have been waiting.


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