# Comp USA DVR R10



## bcslas (Jan 9, 2007)

I was walking though Comp USA today and noticed a DVR R10 (80 gig) in the Direct TV section. They had it marked as a R15 for $70 bucks. I asked the sales associate what the price was since this was a R10 and not a R15. Sales associate was suprised it was a R10 and said they don't stock these anymore. Told me there is no box or remote but would sell it to me for $39 bucks. So I bought it. Main reason I bought it was because I know these are sometimes hard to find (or are they???)

I have 2 D*Tivo receivers and don't really need this one. Although my 2 receivers are both only 40gig receivers. Would like to have a larger hard drive.

So I came here to ask what everyone's thoughts were. Sell it on ebay? Can I swap the hard drive with one of my other receivers? (samsung and Hughes) Shoudl I Zipper mod this one? Bring it back to Comp USA? Anyone need a receiver?


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

Keep it. Having two more tuners is not a bad thing. 

The R10 is not as hackable as the other models, Zipper may work, do a search.

Great buy.


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## Finnstang (Sep 11, 2003)

You have to do the PROM mod before you can hack it.


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## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

An unhacked/unhackable TiVo is 200% better than a DirecTV+ DVR.

NOTE: I have an R15...and while it IS getting "better", it has a long way to go before replacing any of my Tivo's as the primary DVR.


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## dshinnick (Jun 6, 2003)

I have three R10 Dtivo's working in the house, and two more in boxes in the garage. I've activated them to get them on the account, then cancelled them. They're my fall-back in case anything happens to the others. They cost me almost nothing after rebates, and I'm glad I have them. I have NO interest in the R15, and these guys insure that i won't be forced to move to it if one of my in-house boxes dies.


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## bcslas (Jan 9, 2007)

Thanks everyone. Great suggestions. I have heard rumors that there will come a time (in the near future) that one will no longer be able to activate these D*Tivo units. Is that true? Do I need to get this one on the account before that dreadful day occurs?

dshinnick - why would you activate and then cancel? Don't they come off the account once you have cancelled them? I too have no interest in the R15. Been there, done that.


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## JohnUSNSD (Jul 27, 2006)

There are still R10s at CompUSAs across the country. I got mine 3 weeks ago for $25 bucks, and it works great. Usually the R10s are stuck in a corner---in the back of the store. I've heard the rumore (about activation restrictions) before...but, it is just that...a rumor. You can do as one of the threads above stated.....activate---then store it.

John


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

bcslas said:


> why would you activate and then cancel? Don't they come off the account once you have cancelled them?


Doing it this way 'locks it in' as your receiver, in case there are any activation restrictions in the future. Deactivating it will keep you from having to pay for it each month, but it will continue to be linked to you as the owner.


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## tigersfanjj (Oct 23, 2005)

I'm pretty sure it would be activated as leased. So if you turn around and deactivate it, you may be forced to return it to Dtv.


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## or270 (Feb 4, 2006)

tigersfanjj said:


> I'm pretty sure it would be activated as leased. So if you turn around and deactivate it, you may be forced to return it to Dtv.


I activated my spare tivo's before the leasing started.
I have a couple of R15's that are leased and deactivated a couple of months ago.
They have not asking for them back(Maybe they don't want them back ), The way the lease is worded it reads like you only return the equipment when you leave directv.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

tigersfanjj said:


> I'm pretty sure it would be activated as leased. So if you turn around and deactivate it, you may be forced to return it to Dtv.


I don't think so. Remember that you are even still able to purchase equipment from D* (their DVR, receivers, etc.) - just at a higher, non-discounted rate - so the concept of owing your own equipment did not disappear when their leasing model rolled out.

Having said that, there is no guarantee that D* won't accidentally list your 'owned' equipment as 'leased', so you need to be vigilant.


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## bcslas (Jan 9, 2007)

Thanks guys. I went ahead and added the receiver to my account. The rep was actually very friendly. I explained that I wanted the receiver on my account but didn't want to pay the mirror fee yet since I don't have an extra room to put the receiver in. So she added the receiver to the account and put the receiver as "pending" (i guess this is the state it is in until you give them the access card number you will use with the receiver). I asked her how long it will stay as "pending" on my account and she said forever until I add a card. Glad to have a backup on the account. Thanks for the help.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

bcslas said:


> Thanks guys. I went ahead and added the receiver to my account. The rep was actually very friendly. I explained that I wanted the receiver on my account but didn't want to pay the mirror fee yet since I don't have an extra room to put the receiver in. So she added the receiver to the account and put the receiver as "pending" (i guess this is the state it is in until you give them the access card number you will use with the receiver). I asked her how long it will stay as "pending" on my account and she said forever until I add a card. Glad to have a backup on the account. Thanks for the help.


Nice find - I never knew about the 'pending' status. Thanks for reporting back!


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## dshinnick (Jun 6, 2003)

When I called in to activate my garage units, I was told that I had already done so (short memory). I had previously activated and deactivated them, and they were still on the account, which is what I wanted. I don't think anyone really knows about this issue of Directv not activating used boxes anymore, but I didn't want to risk it. And, it was so easy to do, I thought, "why not"?


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

dshinnick said:


> I don't think anyone really knows about this issue of Directv not activating used boxes anymore, but I didn't want to risk it. And, it was so easy to do, I thought, "why not"?


Definitely the best policy!


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## tammyinmi (Jun 4, 2005)

I also picked up one of these clearenced R10 models at CompUSA and I tried to swap out a very old hughes receiver in a spare bedroom. I was not able to find any signal on any transponders. I tried using the old card from my old hughes and the new card that came in the box. I did not call DirecTV yet. Shouldn't I be able to just get the signal to come in and at least to see channel 101. I am wondering if I have a non-working receiver? or am I assuming too much that I don't need to call CS to get this box working? I wanted to make sure that the box worked since it was a clearence item before I called customer service.

Thanks for any input you may have.
TammyInMi


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## juanian (Oct 2, 2002)

I'll be going to D* soon -- is there an expected timeframe that the R10 will continue to be supported (for non HD content)? I'm looking at putting one (or more?) into the spare rooms, and providing 'cheap' DVR abilities would be a plus.


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## goony (Nov 20, 2003)

juanian said:


> I'll be going to D* soon -- is there an expected timeframe that the R10 will continue to be supported (for non HD content)?


It would seem at least through April, 2009 and I would expect it to run a few years beyond that.


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## juanian (Oct 2, 2002)

Thanks for the info goony. If I can get the R10s cheap enough (like under $50 on those clearance closeouts), I think they should work fine for the next few years (until HD is more prevalent, when I would want newer boxes). Does anyone have any other information to add that would help me?

I know that the R10s support recording two shows at once, as long as there are two feeds coming into the box. My question is this: If only one coax line goes into the box, can it be set to record only one show at a time, or will it occasionally try to use the second (unconnected) line and cause some recordings to fail?

Will the R10s require a phone line (for those monthly call backs)? At one time (over a year ago), it looked like they didn't require a monthly call (and I haven't seen anything to contradict that yet, but I've got much more reading to do!).

Thanks to all.


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## ForrestB (Apr 8, 2004)

When you setup the R10 (or any Tivo), you'll specify how many satellite feeds are connected. If you specify 1, then you'll be able to record 1 show and playback a different show at the same time. If you specify 2, then you'll be able to record 2 shows and playback a 3rd at the same time.

DirecTivo's get all guide/programming data from the satellite. If you don't order PPV thru the Tivo, then you can leave the phone line disconnected.


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## Mashdoc (Jan 23, 2002)

tammyinmi said:


> I also picked up one of these clearenced R10 models at CompUSA and I tried to swap out a very old hughes receiver in a spare bedroom. I was not able to find any signal on any transponders. I tried using the old card from my old hughes and the new card that came in the box. I did not call DirecTV yet. Shouldn't I be able to just get the signal to come in and at least to see channel 101. I am wondering if I have a non-working receiver? or am I assuming too much that I don't need to call CS to get this box working? I wanted to make sure that the box worked since it was a clearence item before I called customer service.
> 
> Thanks for any input you may have.
> TammyInMi


Tammy try channel 100 rather than 101. Y


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## tammyinmi (Jun 4, 2005)

Thanks for the advice, I think I wanted to say channel 201. I ended up returning the box to CompUSA and exchanging it out for another. Had no problems with the replacement. Works great. I was glad they had another since these were on clearance for $39.99.


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## dshinnick (Jun 6, 2003)

Which Compusa was that? I'm in southern California looking for an r10 for my brother.

dave


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## juanian (Oct 2, 2002)

ForrestB said:


> When you setup the R10 (or any Tivo), you'll specify how many satellite feeds are connected. If you specify 1, then you'll be able to record 1 show and playback a different show at the same time. If you specify 2, then you'll be able to record 2 shows and playback a 3rd at the same time.
> 
> DirecTivo's get all guide/programming data from the satellite. If you don't order PPV thru the Tivo, then you can leave the phone line disconnected.


Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure if the R10 was different than the standard receivers (which need to 'phone home' occasionally to prove that all receivers on the same account are at the same location).


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## John T Smith (Jun 17, 2004)

>Which Compusa was that? I'm in southern California 

Since the R10 has not been made in about a year, finding one is based on how many the store had in the first place -vs- how many they sold

You may find one at "store X" or you may not... keep looking!!!

CompUSA, Walmart, Best Buy... just about any store that EVER sold DirecTv Tivo boxes MAY still have one sitting on a shelf gathering dust


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