# Why to buy HR10-250 in 2008...



## texster (Mar 11, 2005)

.. or year end 2007

Trying to to decide if the HR10-250 is worth it for off-the-air (OTA) HD only, as an addition to a multi unit standard def system.

Does it add up? What are the total up front costs and incremental total monthly costs?

The Unit Price is roughly $100. Or so it seems on ebay.

The Mirror Fee is $5/month.

Is the HD Access Fee now mandatory for the HR10-250? How much is it and is it waived w/ Premier Package?

Assuming it is only needed for guide data, is the oval dish necessary, or would the round dish work? 

What sort of OTA Antenna is required? Indoor/Outdoor? Ballpark price?

Anything else I missed?


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

The HD access fee is automatically tacked onto your monthly bill if you have any HD receivers or DVRs active on your account. I don't know what the situation will be for the HR10-250's once DirecTV switches over all mpeg2 HD channels over to mpeg4. You will no longer have access to HD programming from DirecTV but you will be able to receive and record OTA HD locals.

The oval dish is required to receive the mpeg2 HD channels but the round dish would probably suffice for getting the guide data (just don't hold me to it). You can hook up the HDTivo to the dish and see if it will acquire the local guide data (no sub is required for guide data). You'll need to scan for your locals first to see what channels you can receive. Once that is established then the HDTivo will acquire the guide data for those channels. If it doesn't then you'll probably need the oval dish.

The type of antenna you need is all dependent on where you are in relation to the broadcast towers for your local stations. If you're within 20 miles or so then a set of rabbit ears may be all you need. Otherwise, you should consider an antenna in the attic or on your roof. Check out www.antennaweb.org to see what kind of antenna you may need.


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## Jim M (Feb 1, 2002)

Bzzzt!! Wrong answer. You don't "automatically" get hit with the HD access fee with the 10-250. I use mine all day long for standard DrecTV and HD OTA. I do NOT pay the $9.99 HD fees.


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