# The Dying Forum - I feel like one of the last dinosaurs



## catocony (Nov 14, 2006)

Man, I guess it's down to a hardcore few of us these days. I wonder how many households are still using SD DirecTivo units? I'm planning on upgrading my TVs to HD LEDs sometime in 2010 - my mistake in upgrading to "high-end" Trinitrons back in 2003, right before flat-screens became mainstream. 

Still, I assume a lot of folks are still using tube TVs, or haven't bothered to upgrade their dish and equipment to Hi-Def. I do wonder how many of us are left these days? This forum seems to get a little less busy month-by-month. With the giant thread on the other forum about how Tivo has lost hundreds of thousands of customers over the last year and change, I would assume a lot of those customers are guys like us who upgraded to HD and with no other option went for private-label gear. Or, customers who don't know any better or don't really care and when their DirecTivos started having problems, DirecTV got them to give them up for the latest private-label box.


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## dcstager (Feb 16, 2002)

Anything and everything in SD resolution is going to fade away, not just DirecTivo units. However, if you are satisfied with the picture quality, it's still a nice machine and as long as it still works, keep using it. By the time it actually dies, imagine what great hardware will be available because technology keeps getting better and better and cheaper.

As soon as the HD Directivo comes out -- it's probably time to retire the old DTivo and start some new discussions on current topics. Not much Betamax, VHS and Laserdisc talk here either.

Your high end Trinitrons are still worth something. Plenty of demand for these on Craigslist or E-Bay.


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## sbourgeo (Nov 10, 2000)

I'm still happily using my two DSR6000's with grandfathered lifetime service.


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

Some of us will still be here as long as SD DirecTV/Tivos are still out there. My Sony SAT-T60 and R10 SD Tivos are still going strong.


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## kaszeta (Jun 11, 2004)

Depends on what you mean by "using". I have one with quite a bit of content on it that I occasionally fire up to watch an old archived TV show on it.

It hasn't had DirecTV service for a few years, however, so you have to put up with it complaining about no signal.


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## Oneota (Jan 1, 2005)

My R10 is still running. Occasionally it'll show signs of a dying hard drive, though, so I'm starting the process of burning the important stuff to DVD before I lose it for good.

I'm hanging on for the new HD DirecTiVo, then I'll make the switch (assuming my R10 lives that long...).


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## John T Smith (Jun 17, 2004)

>show signs of a dying hard drive

With 2 USB connections on your computer, a couple of inexpensive adapters to connect IDE drives to USB, and http://mfslive.org/winmfs/ for free... allows you to clone your dying drive (before it is dead) to another, even larger drive

I've cloned 4 80Gig drives in 4 SD DTivo boxes to new 320Gig drives


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## Oneota (Jan 1, 2005)

I may do that - not sure if it's worth the effort, though, since I'd really rather have the content on DVD anyway. That way, once I'm all HD on every set and I no longer need the R10, it can be recycled or whatever and I can access its content forever. At the moment, I've got the R10 hooked up to my Panasonic DVD-R deck via S-video, so I'm getting as good a transfer as I can that way.

If there was a way to extract the recordings and burn them directly, I'd be interested in hearing about that (fewer D/A conversions = better-quality recording).

At this point, it's really just some ST:TNG episodes that I need to save, anyway.


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## rayik (Feb 4, 2006)

Still using a Samsung SR4080 (with 500 gb hdd) on an old 27" picture tube. While we have a HR23-700 (with external 1.5 TB hdd) on a hdd flat panel, still like using the DTivo because of the suggestions feature.

DTV is planning on MRV with their HR series (in CE now). That will make it tempting to go with only HR boxes.


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## allan (Oct 14, 2002)

My old DTivo works fine with my old SD TV. I don't particularly care about picture quality; the content will still be as bad.  Until the TV and/or Tivo go plooey, I'll stick with what I have.


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## marrone (Oct 11, 2001)

I have no interest in going hi def. SD works just fine for me.
I'll switch eventually, of course. But for now, the money just isn't worth it.

-Mike


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## tigercat74 (Aug 7, 2004)

marrone said:


> I have no interest in going hi def. SD works just fine for me.
> I'll switch eventually, of course. But for now, the money just isn't worth it.
> 
> -Mike


I am with you. Three DTivos and no hi def tvs.


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## jasoncarr (May 3, 2002)

SD is fine by me. What's not fine with me is $67/mo DirecTV bill. My MythTV box with HDHR OTA tuner is just dying to take the Tivo's place.

I can play HD on the mythtv but for most things it's overkill. 6GB+/hr is ludicrous.


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## jmace57 (Nov 30, 2002)

I will continue to have a reason to use SD - I copy programs from there on my Creative Zen Vision! So, LONG LIVE SD!


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## Rainy Dave (Nov 11, 2001)

I have an R10 and DVR40 alongside an HR21-700. The SD units get the most use right now. Until I drop a big drive in the HD DVR.


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## DreadPirateRob (Nov 12, 2002)

Two R10s, still going strong. I'll probably jump to HD sometime next year. Ideally, I'd wait until the DirecTV HD Tivo is ready, but we'll see.


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## hefe (Dec 5, 2000)

I have a DSR6000 that will be in use until it dies.


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## Daniel (Feb 25, 2001)

My last DTiVo died a few months ago. Waiting for the new HD DTivos to arrive. I miss my TiVos...


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

Daniel said:


> My last DTiVo died a few months ago. Waiting for the new HD DTivos to arrive. I miss my TiVos...


Always, always, always have a spare (non-RID) series 2 DTivo handy. That way, you are never down for long and activation isn't a problem.


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## paracelsus (Jun 23, 2002)

I'm holding on till the HD Directivo comes out, then switching and retiring my old friend...


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## D Bone (May 4, 2005)

Same here. I keep reading that the new HD/DTV/TiVo unit is coming soon, but I'll believe it when I see it.


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## shanew1289 (May 7, 2004)

3 DirecTivo HDVR2's chugging along, year after year....


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

My Dtivos still work but I dropped DTV for Fios and Tivo HD. I still need to buy the HDTV, but now I don't have to deal with centercut programming anymore. 

Both of parents are still on SD on DTV with Dtivos. My father keeps asking about HD but since I refuse to help him if he gets the DTV DVR mainly because I know he will hate them and I am not familiar enough to tech support them over the phone. My mom may be switching to Fios though since one of her Dtivos is dying and she already also pays for local basic cable because her DTV goes out so often.

I don't think it is just this forum though. It also feels like Tivo Coffee House is dying. With no new Tivos and no new news, there is less and less reason to really talk about the actual Tivo except for the occasional question or comparison to newer products.


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## John T Smith (Jun 17, 2004)

I will soon (12-24) have a DirecTV HD DVR in one room (so I'm reading over in Dbstalk) but will still have 3 DTivo boxes connected to non-HD TVs so will still check in here

Wife is interested in On Demand movies, which not available with DTivo boxes, and DTV gave me a free upgrade since I'm replacing a legacy HR10-250, so it just seemed like a good time

I'm not too concerned about the HD DVR interface, since this will be in our theater room and I'm the only one who does anything there... I will do as know with the HR10... record movies and watch when we feel like doing so


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

I just found the HD picture quality too addictive. Once you get use to it looking at SD just makes you strain your eyes and wonder what's wrong with the picture. Too each his own but I can't understand how anyone could say HD isn't worth it. I bought two of the original HR10's the day they came off the assembly line and I haven't wanted to watch SD since.


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## Scott Atkinson (Jan 19, 2004)

Ah, sweet irony.

This is a little bit OT since it doesn't deal directly with DTivos, but as an employee of a tv station, I think it's hilarious that we just went through the forced march to digital + HDTV, only to have the FCC now consider cutting all the bandwidth for broadcasters except (maybe) one SD channel per market as a 'lifeline.'

Scott Atkinson
Watertown NY


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## ProfessorGuy (Dec 17, 2009)

I am using the Directivo unit I got 6 years ago. But it has a problem: many of the programs do not correctly render (the edges are cut off) because they are in HD but I think my receiver throws out anything outside of the 4:3 rectangle.

If I want to see the entire program, I need a new receiver.

HOWEVER, my unit only calls home once every 120 days. I plug it into a phone line and initiate the call, then unplug it and enjoy for the next 4 months. But it seems many new units require broadband which is unavailable here.

Will the new units do (manual) dial-up? If broadband is required, I cannot use it. Anyone have some info?

><gts


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## the_scotsman (Jul 28, 2005)

I still have several DTIVOs. 2 Active with the others as storage or extenders. My HR23 sits there powered down since the free HD period ended. Nothing so far has equaled the MRV and upgraded recording capacity of the DTIVO.

I am however looking into FIOS with some HTPC solutions. If I could live without BBCA, SPEED, SyFy, and the kids channels then I'd go to OTA only but the family would not be a happy one.

Any new solution must have:

MRV
TONS of recording space. 
Cheap(ish) upfront costs
Cheap or Zero recurring fees

Paul


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## Wil (Sep 27, 2002)

the_scotsman said:


> If I could live without [fill in the blanks] then I'd go to OTA only


That's where most people who can get OTA are right now.

The Tivo HR10-250 (modified) is still the miracle home device, with the Plus level of DTV service.

But to maximize the MRV and to-go-and-back features you have to hack the unit, and to supplement programming you have to look to sources where legal/ethical/moral issues must be decided personally.

EDITED TO ADD: Even without DTV service for just OTA. But fair is fair. And the DTV Plus level is not a bad value, and gives you quite a lot of variety. Of course you still have to consider other sources for a few things, like HiDef non-OTA. And if you need HiDef live sports 24/7 this is not the way to go (and is the main reason I still have a crap-ish DTV 21/700 in the mix).


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

ProfessorGuy said:


> Will the new units do (manual) dial-up? If broadband is required, I cannot use it. Anyone have some info?
> 
> ><gts


I haven't seen any units that require broadband. The new ones support broadband but I don't believe any require it.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

HiDefGator said:


> I just found the HD picture quality too addictive. Once you get use to it looking at SD just makes you strain your eyes and wonder what's wrong with the picture. Too each his own but I can't understand how anyone could say HD isn't worth it. I bought two of the original HR10's the day they came off the assembly line and I haven't wanted to watch SD since.


I'm the opposite. I can't see how anyone thinks all that extra money for a new TV and HD programming is worth it. To me, its all about the quality of the programming. The picture quality has always taken a back seat to program quality. When my main television finally dies, I'll take the plunge because i have to. Until then, there is no compelling reason to spend the cash on a prettier picture.


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## Wil (Sep 27, 2002)

bengalfreak said:


> picture quality has always taken a back seat to program quality


75% of my viewing is TCM, FMC, classic films when they turn up elsewhere. I've seen some rarities turn up on WHT that are a joy to behold, even though the picture quality is like an old analog station 50 miles away with a coat hanger for an antenna.

When I see the occasional classic movie on the premium channels in HiDef, I don't see much difference (except for digital artifact variances), even though theoretically film should inherently have more than HiDef resolution.

I'm looking forward to classic films from TCM et al. in HiDef, but not really expecting much.

Quality films 1980+ do look a little sharper when they turn up in HiDef, but the over-processing makes it a mixed blessing.


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## David Scavo (Dec 14, 1999)

I had 3 DirecTIVOs and 1 HDDirecTIVO, but recently 2 of the units became unusable due to issues with the power supplies.

Both units were on UPSs and have been working fine for many years.

I have seen numerous posts from other DirecTIVO users who are also seeing power supply issues. 

I hope everyone else has better luck with their hardware than I have been having.


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## samo (Oct 7, 1999)

bengalfreak said:


> I'm the opposite. I can't see how anyone thinks all that extra money for a new TV and HD programming is worth it. To me, its all about the quality of the programming. The picture quality has always taken a back seat to program quality. When my main television finally dies, I'll take the plunge because i have to. Until then, there is no compelling reason to spend the cash on a prettier picture.


By your logic watching B&W TV is fine as long as you get the same programming.  Get better glasses and you will be amazed how much better your entertainment experience will be.


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## samo (Oct 7, 1999)

There are about a million or so SD DirecTivo users. I'm one of them - still have 2 R10s and one SD TV. No reason to get rid of them and I'll keep them till they die (36 inch SONY WEGA is about 240 Lbs and is not going anywhere until it will RIP at the curb one day and R10s are patiently waiting for hard drives or power supplies to die)


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## jasoncarr (May 3, 2002)

HiDefGator said:


> Too each his own but I can't understand how anyone could say HD isn't worth it. I bought two of the original HR10's the day they came off the assembly line and I haven't wanted to watch SD since.


Watching a talking head news show in HD reminds me of Dr. Johnson's observations about seeing a dog walk on its hind legs.

The existence of a ton of pirated non-HD video and lossy mp3 music indicates the content producers _vastly_ underestimate the public appetite for inexpensive media with "just good enough" quality.

My MythTV box captures OTA HD content just fine. There are some things I'll record in HD, but for 90% most of my consumption SD is fine.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

samo said:


> By your logic watching B&W TV is fine as long as you get the same programming.  Get better glasses and you will be amazed how much better your entertainment experience will be.


Nope, IMHO the difference between watching HD and SD is much less than the difference in B&W and color television.

Right now, I have a DTivo at every television in the house with MRV capabilities between them all. That's 8 tuners I have available at any one time. Not only would replacing that with new equipment everywhere be prohibitively expensive, DirecTV still does not offer MRV on their DVR line despite numerous posts that it would be ready by the end of LAST year. So its not even possible to duplicate what I have with HD at the moment. And I'm not giving up any of that for "just a prettier picture".


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## jasoncarr (May 3, 2002)

samo said:


> By your logic watching B&W TV is fine as long as you get the same programming.  Get better glasses and you will be amazed how much better your entertainment experience will be.


Yes, good programming in B/W is better than crap in HD.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

jasoncarr said:


> There are some things I'll record in HD, but for 90% most of my consumption SD is fine.





samo said:


> Get better glasses and you will be amazed how much better your entertainment experience will be.


What Samo said!! :up::up::up:

I have a 65 inch HDTV set. Differences between HD and SD are dramatic.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

I'm sure D* has figures on how many are still in use. My parents are still on a Hughes HDVR2 that I got free from a coworker in conjunction w/a somewhat high end (for its day) 27" CRT TV.

I'd still probably be using my RCA DVR80 if I hadn't relocated to WA state and to an apartment where I couldn't get line of sight. My DVR80 was unhacked other than adding a hard drive so I had no USB and networking support.

Now I'm using TiVo HD w/broadband and Verizon FiOS and OMG, I feel like I came out of the stone ages. I'm using a 61" Samsung DLP RPTV (HL61A750) and before TiVo HD, I had no HD sources other than my Xbox 360 and PS3. 

The amount and quality of the HD content available thru FiOS is incredible such as ScyFy HD, Smithsonian Channel HD, the big 3 networks in HD, HDNet, Science Channel HD, NGC in HD, Speed Channel HD, etc.

I also really like many of the features that were just unavailable on the old software DirecTiVos were on like the beta search and swivel search and some of the downloadable content.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

bengalfreak said:


> I'm the opposite. I can't see how anyone thinks all that extra money for a new TV and HD programming is worth it. To me, its all about the quality of the programming. The picture quality has always taken a back seat to program quality. When my main television finally dies, I'll take the plunge because i have to. Until then, there is no compelling reason to spend the cash on a prettier picture.


Are you still using an EGA computer monitor?


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

HiDefGator said:


> Are you still using an EGA computer monitor?


Nope, but only because flat screen LCD monitors got to be so cheap, it was ridiculous not to have one. LCD televisions are a far cry from that point. When I can find a 50" LCD for around $500 I might take the plunge, but probably not since DirecTV's DVR's still do not have MRV capability (and there is no way to get it since it has been removed as a cutting edge feature). MRV is a deal breaker for me.

In fact, I can't even go to cable and get TivoHD's for MRV purposes because Time Warner Cable here in southwest Ohio sets the no copy flag for just about everything.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

bengalfreak said:


> Nope, but only because flat screen LCD monitors got to be so cheap, it was ridiculous not to have one. LCD televisions are a far cry from that point. When I can find a 50" LCD for around $500 I might take the plunge, but probably not since DirecTV's DVR's still do not have MRV capability (and there is no way to get it since it has been *temporarily* removed as a cutting edge feature). MRV is a deal breaker for me.
> 
> In fact, I can't even go to cable and get TivoHD's for MRV purposes because Time Warner Cable here in southwest Ohio sets the no copy flag for just about everything.


FYP.

In the interim, I run my HD-DVR over coax to a remote TV with an RF Modulator.  Dish DVR's can do this automatically.


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## cthomp21 (Jul 15, 2007)

bengalfreak said:


> When I can find a 50" LCD for around $500 I might take the plunge
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## Phaka2 (Oct 14, 2004)

I really love my Directivos even though they are all pretty ancient now. One died two years back and I got the Directv brand and hated it. Bought a used Directivo on Ebay and have been happy for the last couple of years. I like Tivo so much, that I haven't gotten into the HD TV game yet. I am starting to become jealous of all the friends with HD TV. Sadly, I may soon be leaving Tivo behind.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

bengalfreak said:


> ..., but probably not since DirecTV's DVR's still do not have MRV capability (and there is no way to get it since it has been removed as a cutting edge feature). MRV is a deal breaker for me.


I've never found a need for MRV myself. But if you put a 1 or 2 terabyte drive in a new Directv DVR wouldn't it end the need for MRV? And you can always stack a second HR on top of the first for only $5 a month extra.


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## KathyLee (Mar 2, 2001)

I found this thread interesting - I hadn't visited this forum in half a year or so. Thought I'd pop in to see if there was any news on DirecTV and Tivo getting back together.

I, too, have my 2 original 1st-gen Phillips DirecTiVo's. I was hoping for an HD Tivo for DTV, but 2 years ago finally bought a Plasma HDTV, since a friend said that the HD DVR that DTV provided was OK. However, due to too many trees, they can't position the new dish well enough to get a signal! So, I'm resigned to just watching SD. We love the tivos and they're holding up. Like someone said on this thread, we only watch a few channels and a lot of B&W films! Comcast is way too expensive for what you get. I've had no problems with DirecTV all these 10 years. Once the trees are too tall for the standard dish to receive, I'm hoping for some sort of IP TV to be a practical reality!


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

KathyLee said:


> .... However, due to too many trees, they can't position the new dish well enough to get a signal! So, I'm resigned to just watching SD. ...


Get another opinion. Or check your own line-of-sights to the 99, 101 and 103ºW satellites. HD no longer requires reception from the 110 and 119ºW satellites. So if you have clear line-of-sight to the 101ºW SD satellite, then most likely you also have clear shot at the 99 and 103ºW HD satellites because they're very close together in the sky.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

HiDefGator said:


> I've never found a need for MRV myself. But if you put a 1 or 2 terabyte drive in a new Directv DVR wouldn't it end the need for MRV? And you can always stack a second HR on top of the first for only $5 a month extra.


To me, MRV is not so much a function of space as it is tuners. I have 8 tuners available to me at any time. On thursday nights in season, five have all been recording simultaneously. We can record what we want on any of the four DirecTivos in the house and watch it on any other. If I happen to miss a show, I can download it to my computer online and uploadto any of the four Tivos. If I wanted to do that with an HR, it would cost me $200 each for 4 HI-def DVR's. $800 on top of money for a new television, just to get what I have now, isn't a very good deal for better picture quality.

And I'll say this, if you've never had MRV, you don't know what you are missing.


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## sven_kirk (Sep 11, 2005)

bengalfreak said:


> To me, MRV is not so much a function of space as it is tuners. I have 8 tuners available to me at any time. On thursday nights in season, five have all been recording simultaneously.
> And I'll say this, if you've never had MRV, you don't know what you are missing.


I totally agree. Many times I have had to use all DTVs to record the my wifes shows. When done recording, I shove them off to her box.

I want to upgrade to a HD set, but worried aboput losing all my MRV stuff. Granted, I really don't watch that much tv now. But it is VERY nice to have.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

bengalfreak said:


> ...to do that with an HR, it would cost me $200 each for 4 HI-def DVR's. $800 on top of money for a new television...


I have 4 HR20's and I can assure you I didn't pay anywhere near $200 for any of them.


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## John T Smith (Jun 17, 2004)

I am now Half-n-Half... 2 DTivo units connected to older TVs and 2 HD units with newer equipment

The HD screen IS great... and so is VOD (Video On Demand) where I have a half dozen movies I missed in my download list (1st one should be done by now)

I of course find the DTivo interface better... but it is what I'm used to using, so I'm sure I'll get used to the DTV brand after I've used it awhile


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## Dkerr24 (Oct 29, 2004)

Just happened to log back in here to see if anything was still going on. I still use my Samsung and RCA DTivo's everyday. Still using standard def 27" Sanyo and a 27" Sony TV. I do have a HD USB tuner for my PC, and agree HD looks beautiful. 

I'm a little surprised about how little true HD broadcasts are done over-the-air. Other than our 3 major stations, everything else seems to be nothing more than SD programming broadcast digitally. 

I may go HD later this year, but only if finances permit. A lot of other things I'd rather do with my money than fork out for HD sets.


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## dcstager (Feb 16, 2002)

All the DTivo people can go to that other forum and turn their units into media servers when they eventually cut off service. The HDTV conversion is pretty nice and once you go there you can't go back. I'm also awaiting the HD-DTivo. I'm sure it will be a nice Tivo HD version with dual tuners that operates as we expect and hopefully with an over the air receiver integrated. At that point, there is just no point whatever sticking with the SD stuff. The HD content available is too good.

The unreliable kludge involving a tuning adapter and cable cards for the Series 3 units and cable is going to push more and more people to Satellite. If Tivo's Directv Series 3 works as I expect, then satellite is the way to go.


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## SCBURR (Sep 7, 2008)

Couldn't help but to weigh in. While I agree that true HD beats the pants off SD, the problem still comes to content. With TV prices dropping and most people keeping their sets for "many" years, it is still over priced for what you get (IMHO). Those who took the plunge- congrats, but for those of us like me- life time TIVO, basic pkg, netflik, ROKU- Life is good. When content improves and/or equipment fails OR if retention department offers me a deal I can't refuse... then...
By the probably way FIOS is the way to go but cost is through the roof


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## Ilovetorecord2 (Mar 21, 2000)

bengalfreak said:


> Always, always, always have a spare (non-RID) series 2 DTivo handy. That way, you are never down for long and activation isn't a problem.


That is the way I see it also. I have some spare units as I had to replace a unit a couple of times as one of the tuner connections short circuited.

Picture quality is how someone feels about it and perceives it. When I put shows from my directivos on my dvd recorders which both have hard drives, I record them in the lowest quality picture available so I get up to 8 hours on a dvd and the quality of the picture is not a problem for me.

To upgrade to high definition tv, you have to buy the tv, get a new dvr, pay for extra for the hd channels which raises the costs alot overall.


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## meschubert (Nov 28, 2005)

I have six DTivos and recently picked up two spares cheaply on ebay. The Z***** and declining interest has made it very easy to replace dying old units. With the new HD DTivos delayed again, I may break down and replace two of them with new HD boxes soon, but the TVs in four of the rooms are small enough and MRV convenient enough to live with SD TiVos for another year in at least four of the rooms.

I may look into buying a used HD TiVo or two after I look into whether it can do what I need. Unless I can be set up for MRV and pull SD programs from the non-HD DTivos, I don't see a big advantage versus the DIRECTV/NDS/Humax boxes. I seem to remember that the HD DTivos only handle MPEG2 and not MPEG4 so I believe they are limited from a channel standpoint, but then again maybe DIRECTV delayed switching to MPEG4 on all the HD slots.

BTW - I have disagree with one of the earlier posts. Capacity doesn't trump MRV to me until DIRECTV (FIOS or others) develop a true "gateway server" type of device that can record at least four channels at a time while being able to distribute live content to at least six rooms at the same time.

My home stays "happy" because all four members of my family can record what they want on the DTivos in their bedrooms and then watch what they recorded in any room in the house. Pure capacity on a single DVR doesn't deliver that capability.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

HiDefGator said:


> I have 4 HR20's and I can assure you I didn't pay anywhere near $200 for any of them.


Really? Do tell. I thought the only way to get exactly the model of Hi-Def DVR you wanted was to get it at Best Buy or other retailer and they all seem to charge $200 for them.


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## Enrique (May 15, 2006)

bengalfreak said:


> Really? Do tell. I thought the only way to get exactly the model of Hi-Def DVR you wanted was to get it at Best Buy or other retailer and they all seem to charge $200 for them.


From DirecTV, most of the time if your a good customer DirecTV would give you them for free or at great price reduction.

Some have said DirecTV is cutting back on these types of offers to save money, but I've still seen people get good deals.


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## Noland (Jan 28, 2005)

I have 4 Series 2 Directivos and I have been very happy with them. All of them were bought before the lease only garbage started and I will never use a product that I do not own.

I have been a customer for nearly 12 years, but if/when D* makes these units unusable then they will lose my business.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

Noland said:


> I have 4 Series 2 Directivos and I have been very happy with them. All of them were bought before the lease only garbage started and I will never use a product that I do not own.
> 
> I have been a customer for nearly 12 years, but if/when D* makes these units unusable then they will lose my business.


why would they ever be unusable?

at one time I had an issue with the idea of the lease model. But like you I've been with DTV for more than a decade. I've never sold any of the old equipment I owned. It always collected dust for two years then went in the trash can at some point.

i've had leased dvrs for 2+ years now and frankly I haven't noticed any difference.


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

Still using three SD DirecTiVos here. One is a HR10-250, but I don't get any HD stuff on it (except for the OTA and I don't watch that in HD). I only have one HDTV and it's only 20", so no plans to upgrade at the moment.


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## jasoncarr (May 3, 2002)

HiDefGator said:


> why would they ever be unusable?


You have more confidence in business folk than I do.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

jasoncarr said:


> You have more confidence in business folk than I do.


as long as you want to keep using outdated, long ago paid for hardware it saves Directv money. until everything goes mpeg4, which won't be anytime soon, I think you're safe.


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## yy4u (Nov 22, 2004)

Well my fellow vidiots been long time since I have posted but that's because all has worked until few days ago. 
My RCA40 Dtivo unit that i put a 80gig drive in years ago has started to have problems I keep getting message to activate my dvr service & service seems to blink out for split second at random times (flashing) So must be the drive dying or as I read could be the PS. 
Called Dave said I could get a HD but I hate the DTV unit I played with one & could not stand the lack of real 30sec skip & never could find how to switch from one tuner to the other. So then he says well Tivo is going to make a DTV box again but not out yet. I have had a HD TV for 2yrs now & SD is ok just loved the Tivo interface never wanted Daves lame version.
Also as most of you have said no MRV (multi room viewing) on newer units but I use my Tivo with the coax cable out to the bedroom & a RF remote. I never watch live TV & paying for 2 boxes would suck as I only watch about 30min in bed. I get like 40 HD over the air but I never watch them because its not TIVO & no 5.1 sound. 
SO now I am stuck do I go through the hassles to fix my tivo Or upgrade.
It would be easy if HD/DTV tivo was out now HEY DTV from what I read here you might have dropped the ball when you dumped Tivo O YA thanks for killing Versus channel not that I blame you but it will bite you in the a#@ in the long run also.


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

yy4u said:


> Well my fellow vidiots been long time since I have posted but that's because all has worked until few days ago.
> My RCA40 Dtivo unit that i put a 80gig drive in years ago has started to have problems I keep getting message to activate my dvr service & service seems to blink out for split second at random times (flashing) So must be the drive dying or as I read could be the PS.
> Called Dave said I could get a HD but I hate the DTV unit I played with one & could not stand the lack of real 30sec skip & never could find how to switch from one tuner to the other. So then he says well Tivo is going to make a DTV box again but not out yet. I have had a HD TV for 2yrs now & SD is ok just loved the Tivo interface never wanted Daves lame version.
> Also as most of you have said no MRV (multi room viewing) on newer units but I use my Tivo with the coax cable out to the bedroom & a RF remote. I never watch live TV & paying for 2 boxes would suck as I only watch about 30min in bed. I get like 40 HD over the air but I never watch them because its not TIVO & no 5.1 sound.
> ...


This is a bit off topic for this thread, but ....

1. The newer DirecTV HD DVRs have "real 30sec skip". Just requires a keyword search on "30SKIP" to enable it. "30SLIP" sets it back again.

2. DoublePlay is DirecTV's version of dual buffers. Just press the remote's DOWN ARROW key to activate it. Provides dual 90-min buffers vs. Tivo's 30-min buffers.

3. MRV is coming soon. Some of us are testing it now. Will likely be in the next national software update.


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## Adam1115 (Dec 15, 2003)

I just discovered an absurd limit on the directv DVR's. 50 season links. Just thought I'd mention it, might be a deal breaker for some.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

HiDefGator said:


> why would they ever be unusable?
> 
> at one time I had an issue with the idea of the lease model. But like you I've been with DTV for more than a decade. I've never sold any of the old equipment I owned. It always collected dust for two years then went in the trash can at some point.


Then you have wasted some money. I usually get 25-50% of what I have paid for the DirecTV equipment when I sold them on eBay and more recently Craigslist. I even got more than what I paid when I sold my UltimateTV receivers they were in such demand. Maybe you have money to burn but I don't.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

litzdog911 said:


> 3. MRV is coming soon. Some of us are testing it now. Will likely be in the next national software update.


If it is, then DirecTV is making a big mistake. Way too many people claim MRV playback has problems. When DirecTV releases MRV, it better be just about perfect. They gave a lot of customers a bad taste when they introduced their own DVR's and they weren't even close to ready for prime time.


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## yy4u (Nov 22, 2004)

Almost had a sad day my 6yr old RCA DTV tivo would not power up no light on the front nothing. I called dtv to get replacement and got the run around sent me to tech support what a joke that was I just ended up hanging up. Messed with the box found out it was the power supply 1 of the capacitors had gone I removed it & was going to solider in a new one but the place I went had an old box for $10 so I just got that & swapped out the PS. Works great now So I guess I am still here with the dinosaurs until DTV HD Tivo


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## meschubert (Nov 28, 2005)

bengalfreak said:


> If it is, then DirecTV is making a big mistake. Way too many people claim MRV playback has problems. When DirecTV releases MRV, it better be just about perfect. They gave a lot of customers a bad taste when they introduced their own DVR's and they weren't even close to ready for prime time.


When you mentioned MRV playback problems, are you talking about the existing SD Series 2 Tivo DVRs that have been around since 2003 or the new HD models currently being developed? I have been using MRV between three to six Series 2 units since 2004 and never had a a single problem. If you do have problems they are more than likely caused by your home network setup.

All my Tivos are on a single gigabit switch which is linked to another gigabit switch with my computers on it. This keeps the program transfer loads away from the computers unless I am transferring a program between one of the computers and one of the Tivos.

I've never tried testing more, but I know I can transfer at least two programs at once between the various boxes and the transfers will be fast enough to watch both programs during the transfers without any pausing. With the100BaseT limits of the Tivo Ethernet adapters, I should be able to add at least a couple more transfers without saturating the gigabit switch.

Of course, I'm using all CAT6 cabling and not trying to feed any of the units using WiFi. Fortunately or unfortunately, I know the crawl space under my house like the back of my hand. Even with the best of today's WiFi equipment, it doesn't have the bandwidth to support what I am looking for.

That leads me to a question for the person who mentioned s/he was testing new MRV units. With the increased load of transferring HD programs, WiFi limitations, and peoples home networks varying greatly in capacity, reliability and existing loading from other uses, I believe DIRECTV will go the way of MOCA (Multimedia over Coax) like FIOS and the cable companies. Can this be confirmed?

This gives the provider their "own" network in peoples' homes so they don't wind up having to troubleshoot a subscriber's home Ethernet based network when MRV problems occur.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

He's talking about MRV problems in the Directv non-Tivo units. It is a feature that has not shipped yet and is in beta testing currently.


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## meschubert (Nov 28, 2005)

HiDefGator said:


> He's talking about MRV problems in the Directv non-Tivo units. It is a feature that has not shipped yet and is in beta testing currently.


Thank you for the clarification. Like the potential (at the time) sale to News Corp. slowed down and eventually killed introducing new DIRECTV TiVo Series 2 features to DIRECTV subscribers, I am worried that the new sale rumors (to AT&T or whoever) will do the same to the new HD DIRECTV TiVo box. The fact that they have pushed it off for a year isn't a good sign.


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## mfryd (Nov 8, 2005)

meschubert said:


> Thank you for the clarification. Like the potential (at the time) sale to News Corp. slowed down and eventually killed introducing new DIRECTV TiVo Series 2 features to DIRECTV subscribers, I am worried that the new sale rumors (to AT&T or whoever) will do the same to the new HD DIRECTV TiVo box. The fact that they have pushed it off for a year isn't a good sign.


A DirecTV rep told me today that DirecTV's contract with TIVO starts Feb 15, 2010. Of course, there's no official announcement as to when the new DirecTV unit will ship, it would seem silly for the contract to start without any associated product.


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

mfryd said:


> A DirecTV rep told me today that DirecTV's contract with TIVO starts Feb 15, 2010. Of course, there's no official announcement as to when the new DirecTV unit will ship, it would seem silly for the contract to start without any associated product.


I would take anything that a "DirecTV rep" tells you with a grain of salt. We should find out more official information at CES in a few weeks.


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

mfryd said:


> A DirecTV rep told me today that DirecTV's contract with TIVO starts Feb 15, 2010. Of course, there's no official announcement as to when the new DirecTV unit will ship, it would seem silly for the contract to start without any associated product.


That sounds correct. I believe Directv agreed to start paying Tivo a minimum payment in Feb 2010 even if they hadn't leased any DirecTivo's yet. It was Tivo's way of preventing another Comcast situation. The minimum (which was never made public) escalates with time. I don't see Directv rushing not ready hardware out the door just to keep from having to pay Tivo minimum payments for a few months.


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## DirecTiVo Jon (Jan 24, 2002)

We ditched our 2 Directivo units 2 years ago when we got our HDTV. My Father, however is a die hard Tivo fan, despite buyinga new 52" HDTV he is holding out for the new Directivo unit. We are very interested in the new unit and are currently not under any contract so it would be easy to jump ship again.


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## brettcoon (Jul 17, 2002)

waynomo said:


> What Samo said!! :up::up::up:
> 
> I have a 65 inch HDTV set. Differences between HD and SD are dramatic.


I also have a 65" HDTV (1080P Panasonic plasma). I went whole hog upgrading to HD a couple years ago when my SD TV died: screen, 1080p receiver, PS3 for Bluray, and all HDMI interconnect. The only reason I didn't upgrade my DirecTV subscription to HD was because I didn't want to give up Tivo. But after watching HD movies for a few months, I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. So I switched my Netflix back to plain DVDs, and continue watching SD shows on my SD DirecTivo. The only HD video source I use with any regularity is my Roku box. I no longer have any plans to upgrade to HD DirecTV.

HD is vastly overrated. It does look pretty nice, but not enough to be compelling. I'm not willing to give up DVR capacity for it, for example.

-Brett


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## appleye1 (Jan 26, 2002)

I have one SD DirecTivo running still (down from 5) that I record news and old shows on. And now I've got 4 HD DirecTv receivers, but I probably watch that old SD DirecTivo the most.

I also have a couple of SD series 1 standalones with lifetime (non-DirecTv) in bedrooms that I keep running. I don't know why - I guess for nostalgia's sake. Both are over 10 years old and one is still running fine with all original equipment. (The other one has a replaced HD.)


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## Wil (Sep 27, 2002)

appleye1 said:


> I also have a couple of SD series 1 standalones with lifetime (non-DirecTv) in bedrooms that I keep running. I don't know why - I guess for nostalgia's sake. Both are over 10 years old and one is still running fine with all original equipment.


I have one in my home office, where I shouldn't even be watching TV. But my baseball team's channel is still analog cable, and the news. And sometimes I like to take a break, so I have mfs_ftp.tcl running on it to pick up much of my media library.

Probably be running long after I'm not. I have replaced the hard drive a few times over the years, not because of failure but as bigger drives became cheaper. And I've got a couple of junked SA's I picked up cheap for parts if I ever need a power supply or something. Even a motherboard, since I have a friend who can handle the soldering to maintain the continuity of the lifetime.

I have a couple of other old Tivos, no longer subscribed, that I load up with shows to lend to family members, e.g. a whole previous year season of a show they suddenly express interest in, or a bunch of films by a particular director or with a particular actor they like. They take them home and plug in the s-video to their TVs; when they bring the Tivo back I wipe and recycle with other content for the next person. The business model for these Tivos is just horrible: they're flexible, dependable and durable. You can't make a profit selling stuff like that.


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## spudly (Sep 19, 2001)

I'm mildly suprised this thread has devolved the way it has from the OP. This forum certainly doesn't have nearly the same content as it did years ago and suppose that is natural given that nothing from a hardware perpsective has changed in many a moon (other than the speculation/tease of a TiVo based DVR for DirecTV in '10).

It's bascially the same Q/A that existed 5 years ago (bad tuner, how to copy shows to another unit/DVD, etc.)

Everyone has a personal preference as to what is more important (HD with generic DVR or SD with DTivo; the costs of migrating) and there is no right or wrong so to argue about it is silly. It's lilke choosing a favorite color, hobby (collectin stamps or parachuting) or any other diverse activity.

Personally, I would love to be able to upgrade HD and I've been awed when I've seen it. However I love my DTivo's functionality, my grandfathered lifetime (I realize that this would still apply to DirectTV DVR service), the current cost of my service that I'm still holding out hope that a TiVo powered unit will come. But I have two young kids whose entire library of shows are stored on the units and I have no time or inclination to offload them. Until then I am keeping my SD units as is until/unless I have hardware failures that forces my hand.

-Glenn


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## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

spudly said:


> Personally, I would love to be able to upgrade HD but I love my DTivo's functionality,...


I had DTivo's for years, then I had HR20's for 2 years. There just isn't any significant difference that I can see.


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## snickerrrrs (Mar 31, 2006)

With the economy the way it is many of us are holding on to our disposable income (what little there is of that) till things improve... I bought big "glass" tv's just before the flat screen prices started to come down so I'm not in a hurry to buy new ones. The other thing that keeps me from moving to HD is the sucky dvrs (non-Tivo) out there (I used a Motorola DVR on FIOS and it was just terrible). Until Tivo releases their HD software for Directv, my R10 and DVR80 are staying active. After that happens, the SD dvr will move from the living room to the kids room. So I'm one of the Dinosaurs that was sold on Directv with Tivo (I hate multiple box TV setups ie: cable box and Tivo, Tivo recorded but cable box was on the wrong channel). If it wasn't for Directivo I'd still be on Time-Warner.


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## ronsch (Sep 7, 2001)

spudly said:


> I'm mildly suprised this thread has devolved the way it has from the OP. This forum certainly doesn't have nearly the same content as it did years ago and suppose that is natural given that nothing from a hardware perpsective has changed in many a moon (other than the speculation/tease of a TiVo based DVR for DirecTV in '10).
> 
> It's bascially the same Q/A that existed 5 years ago (bad tuner, how to copy shows to another unit/DVD, etc.)
> 
> ...


+1


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## mistrblistr (Mar 16, 2010)

saw this thread while looking for info on remotes.
just ordered new blue with dvr 1/2

have black remote (DirecTivo) that will do smooth volume on Samsung TV.
have gray remote that will not even work samsung code 0305. 

Black one works great (with sam code 0305). Hope new Blue does too.

I have 2 SD-DVR 40/80's with 320 gigs. Couldn't live without them or DirecTV.

Series 2 NOT Dead! (,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yet)


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## Gojira69 (Mar 1, 2004)

My two modded Series-2, SD DirectTiVos are great. If I move to a new TiVo, are they modifiable?


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## khooke (Jan 20, 2007)

I only browse here every few months just to see if there's any new HD DirecTivo rumours 

We've got an 8 maybe 9 yr old T60 still going strong, and still waiting for the HD DirecTivo. We upgraded from a big Sony tube to a 46" Sony 1080p LCD, but our only HD source is BluRay from our PS3, connected via HDMI. The picture quality from BluRay really is amazing. It's so sharp it makes my eyes bleed 

I keep pinging DirecTV on Facebook and Twitter asking them when the HD DirecTivo is going to be available - they reply on Twitter and just say 'no news yet - will let you know when we have more information' - too vague if you ask me.

Beginning to wonder if it's really going to arrive. Not sure what we'd do if our T60 dies before the HD DirecTivo arrives, but I think we'd most likely switch to cable so we can get another Tivo box. Listen up DirecTv... there's a whole bunch of your oldest customers hanging on and just waiting to jump ship if you don't come though on your promise...


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## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

Gojira69 said:


> My two modded Series-2, SD DirectTiVos are great. If I move to a new TiVo, are they modifiable?


We don't know any real details on the upcoming new HD DirecTivo yet.


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## restart88 (Mar 9, 2002)

My old R10 is sitting up at mom's and ready for action any time I'm up there long enough to bother to reactivate it. And at home I use my S2DT to record from sat, which is one reason SD Tivos aren't toast just yet.

Personally I had so much trouble with Dish over trying to pull in just 3 sat positions that I don't think I would ever buy a HD DTivo and try to pull from 5 positions but the signal of DBS is a bit stronger than it was years ago and I assume the built in multi switch is better than some of the switches I went through with Dish.

Still, I like the single position dish so that limits me to SD. Virtually no issues in years. 

I now enjoy OTA HD in the living room along with basic cable and I can live with that. MRV lets me shift the SD content back & forth easily or to my PC that runs constantly for archiving.

I often have a lost signal issue on HD Tivo with both OTA & cable that kills all programming until I do a signal test, so if it's something I REALLY want recorded it's nice to have the more dependable SD unit also record it - just in case.

So SD isn't quite a brick yet. But for my usage I admit going to another option such as a PC setup for $0 a month is beginning to make more sense. A dedicated Media PC is now competitively priced to a single HD Tivo and I have a PC running 24/ 7 to stream my home security cameras already but it's an older PC. When it gives up the ghost I might give the Media PC a shot and see how I like it.


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## scottt (Sep 6, 2002)

brettcoon said:


> I also have a 65" HDTV (1080P Panasonic plasma). I went whole hog upgrading to HD a couple years ago when my SD TV died: screen, 1080p receiver, PS3 for Bluray, and all HDMI interconnect. The only reason I didn't upgrade my DirecTV subscription to HD was because I didn't want to give up Tivo. But after watching HD movies for a few months, I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. So I switched my Netflix back to plain DVDs, and continue watching SD shows on my SD DirecTivo. The only HD video source I use with any regularity is my Roku box. I no longer have any plans to upgrade to HD DirecTV.
> 
> HD is vastly overrated. It does look pretty nice, but not enough to be compelling. I'm not willing to give up DVR capacity for it, for example.
> 
> -Brett


Finally coughed up the dough (although getting it on CL for $1000 certainly helped) and got a 73" Mitsubishi. I can't go back to SD. HD is WONDERFUL.


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