# Best way to get a DTV HD DVR?



## integlikewhoa (May 21, 2006)

Hello.. Im new to Dtv since the fooball cards went down. I now use a stand alone tivo on free cable and would like to upgrade to DTV HD DVR. Im woundering what would be the best way of going about this. I have been reading up on the mpeg4 problem and no more "tivo" problem. I feel i have done so much research its made me not like any of my options really. Between cable, dtv and dish none have all the qualitys i really want. So now its like finding the lesser of the evils. Well i dont really want to sign a 2 year contract with DTV. Is there any way around this? I also hear about buying the HR10-250 from newegg so its not a lease. Whats this going to solve? Only the fact that if i cancel dtv they cant take the equipment? Im going to want 1 basic reciver (which i will use with my stand alone tivo on a non-HD TV) and one HD DVR. So should i buy the HR10-250 from newegg and then sign up for DTV and tell them i have a HR10-250 already? OR should i get 2 basic recivers for free then call them up and tell them i want to replace one of them with the HR10-250. This would mean they would probley have to come back out and change the dish for HD right? Also should i get a OTA intenna for my setup i have going here? Thanks for your help.

I should also add my local COSTO has the HR10-250 for 429.99 -100.00 mail in rebate and a 50.00 costo mail in gift card. So its not much more then newegg plus ill get a 100 mail in rebate. So it seems cheaper to go this way. If i go with newegg ill probley just sign up on DTV website and i dont think ill get a 100 rebate uless i buy a HD or DVR reciever for the 2nd room. What do you think?


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## integlikewhoa (May 21, 2006)

Anyone have any type of comments or sugestions for me?


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## BigBearf (Aug 18, 2005)

Here are some thoughts re: the HR10-250. First it is a great box. You really need to know if you can receive HD locals via OTA. If you can then you are future proofed regarding the upcoming MPEG4 transition. Personally I would buy from Newegg and then you may upgrade the HD capacity easily using the Zipper. See the Zipper thread and the HD-DVR section on this forum. I have four HR10-250's and have zippered 3 of them. I am in the Raleigh Area and have good OTA reception and currently have 2 of 4 DNS HD feeds which I got by asking Directv to submit waivers. I would like to see the 6.2 upgrade for the HR10 and hope that the upgrade will allow the Zipper to do its thing like it has for my SD-DVRs and allow HMO and MRV. 
BigBearf


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## integlikewhoa (May 21, 2006)

Well im less then 10 miles from Los angeles. So I can actually recieve either OTA or threw DTV. But what your saying is go with a OTA antenna right? If newegg is going to cost me more whats the advantage to buying from them? Why can i only zipper that one? Thanks for your reply.


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## rbautch (Feb 6, 2004)

You're not supposed to, but there shouldn't be any problem with Zippering a leased unit.


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## riverdoglb (May 17, 2006)

integlikewhoa said:


> Hello.. Im new to Dtv since the fooball cards went down. I now use a stand alone tivo on free cable and would like to upgrade to DTV HD DVR. Im woundering what would be the best way of going about this. I have been reading up on the mpeg4 problem and no more "tivo" problem. I feel i have done so much research its made me not like any of my options really. Between cable, dtv and dish none have all the qualitys i really want. So now its like finding the lesser of the evils. Well i dont really want to sign a 2 year contract with DTV. Is there any way around this? I also hear about buying the HR10-250 from newegg so its not a lease. Whats this going to solve? Only the fact that if i cancel dtv they cant take the equipment? Im going to want 1 basic reciver (which i will use with my stand alone tivo on a non-HD TV) and one HD DVR. So should i buy the HR10-250 from newegg and then sign up for DTV and tell them i have a HR10-250 already? OR should i get 2 basic recivers for free then call them up and tell them i want to replace one of them with the HR10-250. This would mean they would probley have to come back out and change the dish for HD right? Also should i get a OTA intenna for my setup i have going here? Thanks for your help.
> 
> I should also add my local COSTO has the HR10-250 for 429.99 -100.00 mail in rebate and a 50.00 costo mail in gift card. So its not much more then newegg plus ill get a 100 mail in rebate. So it seems cheaper to go this way. If i go with newegg ill probley just sign up on DTV website and i dont think ill get a 100 rebate uless i buy a HD or DVR reciever for the 2nd room. What do you think?


Where did you hear about a rebate and a gift card from Costco? I just bought one of these last weekend from the Los Alamitos Costco and didn't see anything like that. I would be VERY interested obviously.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you are. I called D* yesterday and they told me all of the LA locals were now MPEG4 and couldn't be received via this unit. From what people on this forum have said, that is not the case yet. D* said they would come out and upgrade my dish and give me 3 free months of the HD package so I could try the other HD stuff. I'm curious if the locals will work also. I tried installing an OTA antenna in my attic but can't get a signal even though I'm in the LA area. I'm going to try messing with it to see if I can get it to work.

Let me know about Costco!

riverdoglb


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## integlikewhoa (May 21, 2006)

Well my costco (alhambra) has the rebates displayed right in front of the units. One says mail in for 50.00 costco gift card for new customers and the other is the same as DTV web site. Says 100 mail in rebate for new customers when you get either the HD, DVR or HD DVR reciver. And the HD or DVR unit is like 89.00 and the HD DVR is 429.99. IM a new customer so these apply to me not sure if you were? They didnt have any basic recivers. I also dont think they have any dishs. correct me if im wrong but you only buy the reciver there then they come out and install a dish and stuff right? Where do you actually sign up? In the store or at home on the phone? What info do they take from you at costco? 
Im suprised you dont get OTA channels. I was going to buy a terk HDTVo antenna and mount it on the roof. I checked on one of the web sites and it showed im 10 miles away from the stations antenna. I figured i would be ok. Im suprised your not. I heard the LA locals in HD are in mpeg2 right now and once they go to mpeg 4 we wont be able to view them on the current HD DVR. Correct me if im wrong. If they already send the LA HD locals in mpeg 4 that means when i sign up in the next week or so i wont get any Locals in HD?


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## riverdoglb (May 17, 2006)

I completely forgot about the new customer rebate fron D*. I have been a subscriber for 6 years so it doesn't apply to me. I just purchased the receiver, took it home, hooked it up and called D* to activate. I think you would do the same. They might charge you a small amount or just ask you for a year commitment for installation. 

You're closer to the antennas than I am but I should get them with no problem. I think I need to adjust it since it's in the attic. If I understand other posters correctly, the MPEG2 & MPEG4 locals issue only applies if you're getting the HD locals through Directv. If you're going to use an antenna to get them, it's a non-issue for now.


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## integlikewhoa (May 21, 2006)

I agree on the antenna deal. But if i could get all the locals in HD threw DTV then i could save some money. I would rather go that way if possible. But where does the problem begin? Is the quality going to be better with a OTA vs. threw DTV? Am i going to get the same amount of local channels in HD (if i read somewhere correctly there was like 2-3 local HD channels that dont work threw DTV)?


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

integlikewhoa said:


> I agree on the antenna deal. But if i could get all the locals in HD threw DTV then i could save some money. I would rather go that way if possible. But where does the problem begin? Is the quality going to be better with a OTA vs. threw DTV? Am i going to get the same amount of local channels in HD (if i read somewhere correctly there was like 2-3 local HD channels that dont work threw DTV)?


OTA has a better picture because the satellite signal is more compressed to fit in the available bandwidth. That said HD locals (not distant Network) is only available in mpeg-4 and there are no mpeg-4 HDTivos available. you can get locals on a new reciever but no tivo. The only HDTivo option is the HR10-250 and it will not recieve HD locals via Sat, but will OTA.


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## integlikewhoa (May 21, 2006)

HHmmmmm. Will the OTA still be a better quality even after there is a mpeg 4 HD tivo? I can still tivo HD locals with the HR10-250 and a OTA, right? Also other links i have read say that locals in NY and LA (im guessing because they been out for awhile) are still MPEG 2 and all the other cities that have been comming out latley are MPEG 4. Im in LA. So how can i find out for sure if they are MPEG 2 or 4 right now. Heres one of the threads im talking about. http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=300573

Thanks


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## integlikewhoa (May 21, 2006)

Well i just got off the phone with DTV right now and confirmed that LA locals are already in MPEG 4 format and i wont recieve any locals in HD with the HR10-250 (without an OTA). After finding this out they said i would be able to call customer service when the new HR20 comes out and they would send me a new HR20 at no charge. (I didnt ask but im sure that means sending in my old box) I also tryed to use this to get a better rebate since i will either not have locals or have to by an OTA antenna. It didnt work. All they said about the HR20 is that it would be out late summer 2006. Damn should have asked if it was going to be a "TIVO" unit or their own DVR.


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

integlikewhoa said:


> HHmmmmm. Will the OTA still be a better quality even after there is a mpeg 4 HD tivo? I can still tivo HD locals with the HR10-250 and a OTA, right? Also other links i have read say that locals in NY and LA (im guessing because they been out for awhile) are still MPEG 2 and all the other cities that have been comming out latley are MPEG 4. Im in LA. So how can i find out for sure if they are MPEG 2 or 4 right now. Heres one of the threads im talking about. http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=300573
> 
> Thanks


Satellites have a limited number of transponders and channels per transponder available. In order to get as many channels as they can (most amount of money) the signal is compressed. The more compression the more channels you can put on. Is the amount of compression noticable? That depends on a lot of things, Amount of compression, size of the TV, how far you sit from the set, how good your eyes are, how good the electronics are in the set, how well the TV is setup. The point is OTA, and cable for that matter, will always have more bandwidth available therefore IN THEORY will always have a better picture. MPEG 4 allows for more compression without noticable loss of resolution therefore less bandwidth required, but it is compressed more that OTA and cable.


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

integlikewhoa said:


> Well i just got off the phone with DTV right now and confirmed that LA locals are already in MPEG 4 format and i wont recieve any locals in HD with the HR10-250 (without an OTA). After finding this out they said i would be able to call customer service when the new HR20 comes out and they would send me a new HR20 at no charge. (I didnt ask but im sure that means sending in my old box) I also tryed to use this to get a better rebate since i will either not have locals or have to by an OTA antenna. It didnt work. All they said about the HR20 is that it would be out late summer 2006. Damn should have asked if it was going to be a "TIVO" unit or their own DVR.


I believe that it will be their own DVR like the R15.


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## NYHeel (Oct 7, 2003)

integlikewhoa said:


> Well i just got off the phone with DTV right now and confirmed that LA locals are already in MPEG 4 format and i wont recieve any locals in HD with the HR10-250 (without an OTA). After finding this out they said i would be able to call customer service when the new HR20 comes out and they would send me a new HR20 at no charge. (I didnt ask but im sure that means sending in my old box) I also tryed to use this to get a better rebate since i will either not have locals or have to by an OTA antenna. It didnt work. All they said about the HR20 is that it would be out late summer 2006. Damn should have asked if it was going to be a "TIVO" unit or their own DVR.


That's not really true. The LA locals are available from the satellite in Mpeg-2 (in the 80s channels) just like the New York ones (which I get). So if you live in the LA area, you wouldn't need the antenna and can still use the hr 10-250. Granted the antenna will give you a slightly better picture but you can fit more onto your tivo's hard drive it's more compressed from the satellite.


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