Hughes DirectTV HD Receiver/DVR with Tivo (HR10-250) @ Circuit City - $699.99

[50]

Can someone explain what the mpeg4 problem is? I have a Directv HD box (Samsung SIR-TS360), will my box be obsolete when they change over to mpeg4? Why are they doing this?

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: 50
Can someone explain what the mpeg4 problem is? I have a Directv HD box (Samsung SIR-TS360), will my box be obsolete when they change over to mpeg4? Why are they doing this?

They are doing it so they can offer more channels. As far as your SIR-TS360 goes, you will be able to get what you are getting now, but you won't be able to get the new channels. Once they go totally go mpeg4 though your box will be obsolete.

 

[aj58]

That's a lot for HD DTV Receiver... But $700 seems like a low price for now...

 

[50]

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: 50
Can someone explain what the mpeg4 problem is? I have a Directv HD box (Samsung SIR-TS360), will my box be obsolete when they change over to mpeg4? Why are they doing this?

They are doing it so they can offer more channels. As far as your SIR-TS360 goes, you will be able to get what you are getting now, but you won't be able to get the new channels. Once they go totally go mpeg4 though your box will be obsolete.

WOW THAT SUCKS!!!!!! Will this only affect DIRECTV HD channels or will it also affect OTA channels?

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: 50

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: 50
Can someone explain what the mpeg4 problem is? I have a Directv HD box (Samsung SIR-TS360), will my box be obsolete when they change over to mpeg4? Why are they doing this?

They are doing it so they can offer more channels. As far as your SIR-TS360 goes, you will be able to get what you are getting now, but you won't be able to get the new channels. Once they go totally go mpeg4 though your box will be obsolete.

WOW THAT SUCKS!!!!!! Will this only affect DIRECTV HD channels or will it also affect OTA channels?

Just DIRECTV. OTA is just that, Over the Air. You just need an antenna for that.

 

[Bowfinger]

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: magnux
Is this B&M? The site is showing $999.

It looks like they haven't updated the site, but if you check the weekly ad, you will see they have a sale on satellite receivers. Best Buy also has it for $699.99 now, but you have to check their weekly ad to see it.

Looks like YMMV with Best Buy. I went there today, and it was still $999.99. I told the girl that it was in the latest ad, but she didn't believe me, and they were out of the ads, and their online system was down. I didn't feel like driving to the CC that has one in stock.

As I said above, the Best Buy sale does not start until 5/17 (Tuesday). Until then, it is regular price.

One other warning -- besides the looming MPEG4 (possible) issue -- this is a quirky box. While we wouldn't do HDTV without it, it is not as well-designed as other Tivos. They screwed up the remote badly, putting key buttons (e.g. TV Power) in bad places. The HDTivo is also painfully slow at random times, and randomly neglects to ask before changing channels. The HDMI port may or may not work out of the box, and seems to have a high failure rate. Last I heard, DirecTV still does not have a reliable fix for this. Finally, DirecTV has so far declined to update any of their DirecTivos with the new Series II features like Home Media Option. Many people are disappointed to learn this ... after they buy them.

Not show-stoppers for Tivo fans who also want HDTV, but certainly frustrating.

 

[Muadib]

I totally overlooked your post, Bowfinger. Back to BB I go tommorrow!!
I don't used the remote, I have a Pronto.
The HDMI port 99% of the time is just a loose cable. It's a very easy fix, but I won't be using HDMI anyway. I only have 1 HDMI port on my projector, and I'd rather use it for DVD's. HDMI and component are said to be the same on the HR10-250 anyway.
Directv is updating the software to DirecTivos now. I'm not sure if this gives you the Home Media Option though.

 

[CyBuys]

CC just updated the site the price shows $699

 

[labgeek]

Well trying to research this box a little more. I ran across it at this site: http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HD-DVR250 for $648.99 with free ground shipping. Very few (read 5) resellerratings though: here but a 10.00 rating for what that's worth.

My particular question I was trying to find the answer to, is that it says it's 30 hours of HD recording. What about SD? And can you choose (my guess is probably not)? There's a lot of stuff I don't care about being in HD but not wasting the space (and getting additional recording time would be nice... This is making me think hard about taking the plunge on HD.

Edit -

I just went and checked... If you were a Voom subscriber, the $200 rebate's still on until June 30th. That would make this a REALLY hot deal for them I would think. Link to Rebate on DTV site for Voom subscribers

 

[bzo]

solidsignal is a tivocommunity sponser and seems like a reputable dealer. ValueElectronics is another sponsor of that forum, and people seem to like them better. They have the same price and free shipping. I haven't dealt with either.

WholeSale Connection has the lowest price I've seen at $599 + ship, but I've never heard of them.

 

[bzo]

Originally posted by: labgeek

My particular question I was trying to find the answer to, is that it says it's 30 hours of HD recording. What about SD? And can you choose (my guess is probably not)? There's a lot of stuff I don't care about being in HD but not wasting the space (and getting additional recording time would be nice... This is making me think hard about taking the plunge on HD.

Should be greater than 200 hours in SD, my 120gb standard directivo reports somewhere greater than 100 hours of capacity. You can't downconvert HD down to SD to save space, but I would think that almost everything is available in SD transmitted on a different channel. It would be a nice problem to have if there were more programs available in HD than SD! Right now, you can only get about half a dozen HD channels + local HD channels.

 

[labgeek]

I hadn't thought about that... I could just record off the non-HD channel for much of it. I don't think my locals are going to be avilable in HD (so I'd have to go OTA anyway). And many of the channels we watch (BBC America) aren't. Hmm, this is looking better and better. Thanks.

 

[Muadib]

You can record HD channel from OTA too! I picked one up last night, and it works great.
DirectTV isn't giving the $250 credit anymore though.

 

[Bowfinger]

Originally posted by: bzo

Originally posted by: labgeek

My particular question I was trying to find the answer to, is that it says it's 30 hours of HD recording. What about SD? And can you choose (my guess is probably not)? There's a lot of stuff I don't care about being in HD but not wasting the space (and getting additional recording time would be nice... This is making me think hard about taking the plunge on HD.

Should be greater than 200 hours in SD, my 120gb standard directivo reports somewhere greater than 100 hours of capacity. You can't downconvert HD down to SD to save space, but I would think that almost everything is available in SD transmitted on a different channel. It would be a nice problem to have if there were more programs available in HD than SD! Right now, you can only get about half a dozen HD channels + local HD channels.

Yep, I can confirm you are correct on all counts. IIRC, it's about an 8-to-1 ratio of SD capacity to HD.

 

[labgeek]

An interesting side find maybe for someone...

While looking for a TV to go with this, Best Buy has a promotion that you get another $100 off instantly ($599) if you buy a 26" or larger LCD, Plasma or Projection TV.

Most of the prices are up there though...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=pcmcat57300050005