# What are differences in DTV receivers?



## aavi722 (Apr 24, 2010)

I have decisions to make. April is D-Day for significant DirecTV price increases for me due to my first year discounts ending. I asked for an HR-23 at the least. I got stuck with an HR-21. I can't stand it!

I am furious that I was misled about the TiVo being released at least by last fall. I just got a TiVo Premier, canceled everything but my Choice Plus and will use Netflix for better and far more instant choices for less money.

I have to decide though if I am going to cancel unless I get a top line receiver and waiver of at least a portion of the $35 increase and buy some more bull about the coming soon TiVo.

I would like to know what the differences are between the HR-21 I have now and the newer models to help me determine if there is anything that would even please me enough to ride out one more year under any circumstances.

I am angry enough right now to cancel entirely, go to cable and fully enjoy my Premier.


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## BrettStah (Nov 12, 2000)

I think the newer models have larger hard drives and faster processors, but the software is basically identical.

What don't you like about the HR21?


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

There's nothing much different with the newest HR24 HD DVR vs. your HR21. Some think that the HR24 is a bit speedier. And it has a larger hard drive (500GB vs 320GB). But it has its own unique issues, too.


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## aavi722 (Apr 24, 2010)

Well that doesn't give me much enthusiasm to get one of those then either.

I don't need a huge drive for the amount of television or movies that I watch. I have had endless frustration with the menu layouts, the remote design, the slow channel changes, the buffering on TV grids looking for future programming. I had to restrain myself from throwing the remote at the screen several times.

Programs don't always record even though I specify record all first run in the grid by double-pushing the record button. I pretty much just hate everything about it in general. Especially after loving the suggestions TiVo would find for me on my series 2. 

The peanut remote is so user friendly and responsive and just works. Can operate it easily with one hand. To me there is no comparison.

I thought maybe the 23 or 24 had some major improvements. Thanks guys, this is pushing me toward cutting the aggravation.


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## Series3Sub (Mar 14, 2010)

Uh, there is the DirecTV Whole home DVR solution that allows you to view content from one DVR in another room in the house (or more rooms) in real time and in HD, I believe. This requires among the latest generation of DTV boxes, but I would say this is a MAJOR upgrade, and I haven't seen a negative post about the DTV's Whole Home Solution. All users have reported enthusiastic love notes. Research it to see if it is something that matters to you.


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## BrettStah (Nov 12, 2000)

I don't like the DirecTV remote either - due to the complexity of me setup I bought a universal remote, so I never use the original remote, fortunately.


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## Larus (Nov 15, 2001)

I'm one of the dwindling number of DirecTiVo Series 2 customers who has been waiting for the long promised new DirecTV HD Tivo DVR, but I am getting close to giving up and switching to the HR24 to gain high defintion. 
A question: With the DirecTV Whole Home DVR solution, can one have a HR24 in mutiple rooms in the house (like 5 rooms) and still have them linked to watch programming from any of the 5 HR24s in the house from any of the 5 rooms?


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## dagap (Dec 5, 2003)

It's pathetic they're still shipping HR-21s. Something as fundamental as changing channels is frustrating, often requiring multiple attempts due to lagging or dropped key presses.


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## poppagene (Dec 29, 2001)

Larus said:


> I'm one of the dwindling number of DirecTiVo Series 2 customers who has been waiting for the long promised new DirecTV HD Tivo DVR, but I am getting close to giving up and switching to the HR24 to gain high defintion.
> A question: With the DirecTV Whole Home DVR solution, can one have a HR24 in mutiple rooms in the house (like 5 rooms) and still have them linked to watch programming from any of the 5 HR24s in the house from any of the 5 rooms?


Yes


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## poppagene (Dec 29, 2001)

Series3Sub said:


> Uh, there is the DirecTV Whole home DVR solution that allows you to view content from one DVR in another room in the house (or more rooms) in real time and in HD, I believe. This requires among the latest generation of DTV boxes, but I would say this is a MAJOR upgrade, and I haven't seen a negative post about the DTV's Whole Home Solution. All users have reported enthusiastic love notes. Research it to see if it is something that matters to you.


The whole house dvr works on the earlier HD dvrs as well beginning with the HR20.


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## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

I have an HR21 (and an HR20) and have no problems with it whatsoever. It is no slower than my HR10. The HR24 is supposedly much faster to respond. I like the features DirecTV provides for the HR2x line, not to mention all the HD I can watch!


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## BrettStah (Nov 12, 2000)

stevel said:


> I have an HR21 (and an HR20) and have no problems with it whatsoever. It is no slower than my HR10. The HR24 is supposedly much faster to respond. I like the features DirecTV provides for the HR2x line, not to mention all the HD I can watch!


Me too. And since I record almost everything that we watch, I rarely do any channel surfing, so slow channel changing isn't a big deal at all to me.

I am looking forward to a true HD gui, which will hopefully let us see more guide data at one time.


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## CuriousMark (Jan 13, 2005)

Trick play from a remote DVR with whole home is sluggish compared with trick playing from the local DVR. It is not so bad you can't live with it and is very consistent.

The whole DirecTV interface "encourages" you to watch more live TV, it is a subtle but real bias that I am forced to accept.

The guide and search leave a bit to be desired, especially when compared with the TiVo versions on a series 2, 3 or 4 standalone.

I use a harmony remote, so the clunky DTV remote is not a problem for me, but I agree it is no peanut which I would prefer.

Because DTV uses MP4 for HD, you get a lot of HD capacity for a given drive size. That is one feature I really like when comparing to a standalone TiVo.

The HR series offers a media share feature to get music and photos and video from a home computer. It has been listed as beta forever and does not work well at all. It makes doing the same using TiVo Desktop on a standalone TiVo DVR look really good in comparison. I keep a series 2 TiVo connected for network based features. Even in SD they are better than what the HR can or can't do.


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

stevel said:


> I have an HR21 (and an HR20) and have no problems with it whatsoever. It is no slower than my HR10. The HR24 is supposedly much faster to respond. I like the features DirecTV provides for the HR2x line, not to mention all the HD I can watch!


Me three. My HR24 is a bit faster, but all of my HD DVRs, including my oldest HR20, are perfectly snappy.


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## Rainy Dave (Nov 11, 2001)

stevel said:


> I have an HR21 (and an HR20) and have no problems with it whatsoever. It is no slower than my HR10. The HR24 is supposedly much faster to respond. I like the features DirecTV provides for the HR2x line, not to mention all the HD I can watch!


Me four. Two Hr21s in our house.

I kick myself for holding on to my SD DirecTiVos so long.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

I have HR20's and one HR24. The one thing I have noticed about both is that when they are recording shows they are far more prone to delays. Occasionally I'll press a key and the thing ignores me for 5-10 seconds and then suddenly catchs up with my all my key presses at once. This may be what some people are calling slow.


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