HDTV

[SeanB]

Samsung 30" widescreen slmfit tube set with HD with HD tivo here> love it! Can't wait for Direct TV to add all its stations.

Bad news on that. I also have the HDTiVo but in order to get all the new HD channels, you'll have to have one of the DTV DVR's (non-TiVo). I think it has to do with the mpeg 4 compression.

I'm a big TiVo fan so I'll probably stick with what I have for now.

What really ticks me off is that I left cable and went to DirecTV because, at the time, they were the only option if you wanted HD TiVo. Not long after I bought the HD TiVo, they decided not to offer TiVo anymore! If my equipment breaks, under their protection plan, it will be replaced with the non-TiVo HD dvr.

Aside from that annoyance, I like DirecTV quite well - much better picture than I had with digital cable on most channels.

 

[waterbug]

Well #$^%*&() I wasn't aware of that and not sure I understand all of your post either Sean. My direct TV HD DVR with Tivo is not going to let me see all the HD programming? I get the current HD stuff in HD now - channel 70's and a few others?

Will this be a box you just add to the tivo setup to receive channels?

 

[TripleB4me]

Firmware updates for the Toshiba players to 1080p/24fps will be out later this summer. You'll be able to update via the internet or with a disk. Since the price difference is so huge right now, HD-DVD players being so much cheaper than Blu-ray, once this discriminator is eliminated there is no good reason for the major studios backing BR only not to support HD-DVD as well. Time will tell.....

 

[nocaster]

Well #$^%*&() I wasn't aware of that and not sure I understand all of your post either Sean. My direct TV HD DVR with Tivo is not going to let me see all the HD programming? I get the current HD stuff in HD now - channel 70's and a few others?

Will this be a box you just add to the tivo setup to receive channels?

You need the new HR-20 DVR to see the new channels. They will be using MPEG-4 compression and the older HR10-250 Tivo has no way to decode MPEG-4. I think the stuff in the 70's will remain as it is, but all the new channels coming from the satellite launched two weeks ago will be MPEG-4.

Oh, and you also need the new 5 LNB Ka/Ku dish. The new satellites only have Ka band transponders.

 

[waterbug]

AAAh well will Direct TV be making offers to folks to upgrade - or have I missed seeing that on their website......last I spoke to them they could not figure out how to run a device to my tv tuner in my new Dell computer so that we could use the HD widescreen in the bedroom!

 

[KurtV]

Firmware updates for the Toshiba players to 1080p/24fps will be out later this summer. You'll be able to update via the internet or with a disk. Since the price difference is so huge right now, HD-DVD players being so much cheaper than Blu-ray, once this discriminator is eliminated there is no good reason for the major studios backing BR only not to support HD-DVD as well. Time will tell.....

I did not know that. (I haven't been following the DVD wars for a couple of months and things change very quickly in the tech world.) That completely changes the calculus I was basing my prediction on. This may be betamax redux.

 

[KurtV]

Well #$^%*&() I wasn't aware of that and not sure I understand all of your post either Sean. My direct TV HD DVR with Tivo is not going to let me see all the HD programming? I get the current HD stuff in HD now - channel 70's and a few others?

Will this be a box you just add to the tivo setup to receive channels?

You need the new HR-20 DVR to see the new channels. They will be using MPEG-4 compression and the older HR10-250 Tivo has no way to decode MPEG-4. I think the stuff in the 70's will remain as it is, but all the new channels coming from the satellite launched two weeks ago will be MPEG-4.

Oh, and you also need the new 5 LNB Ka/Ku dish. The new satellites only have Ka band transponders.

I've had an HR-20 since last fall and after a short transition period, I like it better that the DirecTiVO it replaced. It has a better GUI, is much faster, handles different picture formats better, supports expanded recording capacity, etc. The lack of dual live buffers is a con, but a small one for which there's a very good workaround.

 

[nocaster]

AAAh well will Direct TV be making offers to folks to upgrade - or have I missed seeing that on their website......last I spoke to them they could not figure out how to run a device to my tv tuner in my new Dell computer so that we could use the HD widescreen in the bedroom!

I got my HR-20 earlier this year for $299 with a $100 credit on my next bill and $10/month for 12 months. I would call them soon if you want one because the demand is going to be high. The HR-20 might feel like a step backwards from the TiVo at first. I got used to it after a while and like it for the most part.

 

[waterbug]

Mnnn well I just called Direct TV and they said my HD TIvo should be fine, it should have a broadband converter between the machine and the wall plugin to make it compatible. My dish should also already be 5lan from the changes we made last year. Also they are coming out to install a new hd dvr to hook up the computer tuner.....hopefully this will take care of it......mama likes her hdtv!

 

[SeanB]

I won't do it until it's free. I paid around $400 for my HR-250. I'm not going to pay another $200 on top of that. Also, I have the equipment protection plan so when my 250 does Crud out, they'll replace it with the HR-20.

Glad to hear the HR-20 is a decent dvr. The couple that we had with the cable company, a motorola and a scientific atlanta, were both junk.

 

[waterbug]

Exactly - I believe we paid nearly $700 for our Tivo at Best Buy to get that HD feature.......my current order will be free with $20 shipping and handling and free installation.

 

[nocaster]

Here is the HR-20 forum at dbstalk.

HR-20 Forum

 

[waterbug]

Thanks for all the info. I called Direct TV again last night after reading some of the posts in the other forum, and this time, the person told me that the broadband converter thing would have no bearing on getting the new channels as the older machines don't have the proper software to bring in the new channels.....arg
So, we revamped the order so that our living room machine which is an HD10 -250 could be moved to the computer and the new machine could be placed in the living room. She said, one new machine per customer per six months, so in six months I could have the other machine upgraded free of charge.
thanks again for all the info - :-D

 

[bluenoise]

I went HD a couple of months ago and am very happy. I was a long-time DirecTV customer with a couple of TiVo receivers, but their initial "retention" offer wasn't very good compared to what AT&T/Dish offered me to switch. When I went to cancel the DTV, they then made a very compelling offer, but it still didn't match the combined offer I got from AT&T: $97/mon for unlimited phone, "Top250" programming + HD, HD-DVR (VIP-622), 3 MBit DSL. We were paying closer to $145/mon before and we didn't have as many channels or the unlimited phone plan. We're also getting HBO for a few months as part of the initial package, but we'll let it expire as we don't watch enough of it to bother paying for it long-term.

As for equipment, my set is a Sony 52" BRAVIA LCD (KDL-52XBR3). I use a Marantz SR-8000 receiver and a Harmony 880 universal remote.

If you're with DTV and want to upgrade to HD, make sure they understand you have options. The first retention agent didn't take me seriously. When I called back to cancel the service, that agent did. If I recall their final offer, it was something like this:

- Free HR-20
- The same package I had (Total Choice Plus Locals) with added HD
- Free HBO and Showtime for "as long as it takes to get me to stay"
- $40/mon for 24 months with contract

Of course, I just learned yesterday that my wife and her husband just kicked DTV to the curb because they aren't honoring the retention package they offered them when they upgraded to HD a few months ago. Their monthly bill has been about $30/month higher than what they said they'd be if they stayed as customers and they're not budging on that. My BIL figured out that it was going to be worth any charges he might face due to ditching the contract. It's a shame as we've always been happy DTV customers.

 

[Guest]

All this discusion makes Dish Network sound better and better. They are going to MPEG4 on the Voom channels in Aug. and the current HD recievers and DVRs are all MPEG4 ready (so I don't have to worry about equipment upgrades!)

 

[bluenoise]

I absolutely love the Voom channels. I find myself watching things I never thought I'd enjoy.

 

[KurtV]

All this discusion makes Dish Network sound better and better. They are going to MPEG4 on the Voom channels in Aug. and the current HD recievers and DVRs are all MPEG4 ready (so I don't have to worry about equipment upgrades!)

Except that you won't be able to get locals in HD over the satellite (not a big deal if you're getting them OTA) and that come September you'll have much less national programming than will be available on DirecTV. The other big advantage that DirecTV has is sports (if you're a sports fan). Nobody else-- any cable company, Dish, or any of the FIOS variants-- is even close in this area.

 

[Guest]

All this discusion makes Dish Network sound better and better. They are going to MPEG4 on the Voom channels in Aug. and the current HD recievers and DVRs are all MPEG4 ready (so I don't have to worry about equipment upgrades!)

Except that you won't be able to get locals in HD over the satellite (not a big deal if you're getting them OTA) and that come September you'll have much less national programming than will be available on DirecTV. The other big advantage that DirecTV has is sports (if you're a sports fan). Nobody else-- any cable company, Dish, or any of the FIOS variants-- is even close in this area.

NOt a sports fan so the comcast owned sports networks are not a concern. Anyway their contract with DTV is suposed to be up at the ned of the year (or next, I forgot which) so that might change. As far as national HD programming I think you need to look that list over again. DTV has fewer nationals now compared to Dish and Dish is expanding their lineup also. Combined with the Voom channels Dish still will have a better variety HD programming. I do get my local OTA without a problem and they are integrated right into my Dish VIP-622 DVR channel lineup so it'a really a moot point for me.

 

[KurtV]

NOt a sports fan so the comcast owned sports networks are not a concern. Anyway their contract with DTV is suposed to be up at the ned of the year (or next, I forgot which) so that might change.
I wasn't referring just to the RSNs but to packages like NFL Sunday Ticket and NCAA March Madness as well. Some of those will be exclusive to DirecTV for some years to come. May be moot for you but very important to others; especially Sunday Ticket.

As far as national HD programming I think you need to look that list over again. DTV has fewer nationals now compared to Dish and Dish is expanding their lineup also. Combined with the Voom channels Dish still will have a better variety HD programming.
I was referring to September when the new DirecTV satellite goes live. Then, and in the few months that follow, DirecTV's HD lineup will far surpass Dish's. Dish won't be able to respond until sometime in late '08 when their new bird is launched and brought online. Most of the Voom stuff is pretty low rent and will probably be, at most, an afterthought once the majority of the big national channels are up in HD.

I do get my local OTA without a problem and they are integrated right into my Dish VIP-622 DVR channel lineup so it'a really a moot point for me.
The downside to getting the locals OTA is that recordings take up much more space on your DVR than the MPEG-4 data you get from the satellite. The upside is that the quality is slightly better. If I watch something on a big 4 network live I usually do it OTA while if I record something from them I do it off the satellite.

There's nothing wrong with Dish and it does have an advantage in national HD programming for the next 6 weeks or so. After that DirecTV will surpass them in almost every way for at least the next year or so. After that, who knows?

 

[crabboy]

I've got a 45" Sharp LCD downstairs and I rarely watch it. We've gotten so use to watching TV from the Tivo (upstairs) that I don't watch live tv anymore.

That reminds me never to use the words Tivo and DVR synonymously. Our Directv Tivo was acting up, so my wife ordered me to get a new one from DirecTv. I was reluctant since it was not a Tivo and what a piece of Crud it is. I can't stand it!! The menu navigation stinks, the scheduling stinks, newly added shows go to the top of the todo list. Oh, the list goes on. And what about that $&#$&# remote, what the heck were they thinking.

Tivo was on my home network, I could schedule shows from the webpage, stream shows to the MythTV box, it was perfect and I miss it.