# Thinking of upgrading to HR-21 and want help w/ things Directv doesn't know



## sublue (Nov 10, 2005)

Hi,

I'm thinking of upgrading from my R15 to the HR-21 and I have a few questions concerning this HD DVR system.

1) If I wanted to upgrade the hard drive, what kind does it take (sata, IDE ect.)?

2) Is there a max size drive?

3) do you know if On demand works for the HR-21, (Driectv website says only HR20)?

4) Is the free content of On demand any good? Example: Does it have the past 3 seasons of Battlestar Galactica? Does the free content have any good movies or just b-flicks from 1981? I can't evaluate it without the system.

5) Can the ethernet connection work as a nas drive or a sling box (i.e., be able to view dvr content on any pc on our local network)? If not, is there any known plan for that capability. 

6) why 2 ehternet connections?

7) are there any hacks for this system?

Answer any or all. Thanks,

Robert


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## tfederov (Jul 6, 2003)

1) eSATA
2) How big can you go?
3) Not yet but very soon
4) I'm not sure of Battlestar Galactica but most of the shows three are recent. A very good mix of shows to be honest.
5) No but I believe they are working on a DVR to PC solution. Right now they have Music & Photos from PC to DVR
6) The 2nd port lets you daisy chain equipment such as an Xbox to DVR to Ethernet connection
7) Nope, none that any of us are aware of.


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## sublue (Nov 10, 2005)

Thank you. That was very helpful.


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

To add to #1. The hard drive upgrade is done via an external eSata enclosure with whatever size you can afford. 
When the external is connected, the internal is disabled until the external is disconnected. So it's an either or situation.


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## sublue (Nov 10, 2005)

Yes, Thank you Jim. I read a link that talked about that, after I posted this. So I imagine there's an eSata port somewhere on this unit and as hard drives get cheaper, I will upgrade (either internally or externally).


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## tfederov (Jul 6, 2003)

sublue said:


> Yes, Thank you Jim. I read a link that talked about that, after I posted this. So I imagine there's an eSata port somewhere on this unit and as hard drives get cheaper, I will upgrade (either internally or externally).


Yep. Just an FYI though. When you go eSATA it'll disable your internal drive. Anything you had on there will still be there but not accessible. Your eSATA will also not be able to be moved to another DVR. It's married to the one you initially use (although you could format it and hook it up to another one and start the process over).


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## slydog75 (Jul 8, 2004)

6) The 2nd port lets you daisy chain equipment such as an Xbox to DVR to Ethernet connection
[/QUOTE]

What? Is the HR21 acting like a switch or something?


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## slydog75 (Jul 8, 2004)

Nevermind.. there was some new info as well.


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## sublue (Nov 10, 2005)

tfederov said:


> Your eSATA will also not be able to be moved to another DVR. It's married to the one you initially use (although you could format it and hook it up to another one and start the process over).


Wow, that really sucks. So if I record it in the living room, the only thing I can do to watch it in another room is move the whole unit. I can't steam it or move an external drive.

From reading through the forums, One thought I'm having right now is attaching a diplexer to the living room so I can watch the DVR in other rooms. Does anybody know of a link that covers diplexer basics? Also can anyone confirm that the remote that comes with the HR21 is rf?


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## smoking_rubber (Dec 21, 2005)

sublue said:


> 3) do you know if On demand works for the HR-21, (Driectv website says only HR20)?
> 
> 4) Is the free content of On demand any good? Example: Does it have the past 3 seasons of Battlestar Galactica? Does the free content have any good movies or just b-flicks from 1981? I can't evaluate it without the system.
> 
> ...


As far as I know, ON DEMAND is a cable feature. ON DEMAND is not available through Directv. I have never seen it on my HR20 and I couldn't find anything about it on Directv's website. I'd be interested in using this feature if it were available, but it's not (as far as I can tell).

Correction: It's only available through the internet connection on the HR20. My DVR is not connected to my network (who knew it did anything).

Info:
http://www.dbstalk.com/archive/index.php/t-105326.html


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

DirecTV does have On Demand for the HR20s. Not quite yet for the HR21.
See this forum.
http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=137

Currently the content for it is somewhat limited, no network shows.


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## sublue (Nov 10, 2005)

smoking_rubber said:


> As far as I know, ON DEMAND is a cable feature. ON DEMAND is not available through Directv. I have never seen it on my HR20 and I couldn't find anything about it on Directv's website. I'd be interested in using this feature if it were available, but it's not (as far as I can tell).


Smoking Rubber, Also see:

http://www.directv.com/dod/dod.html


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