# Using the R15 with an HD Television



## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

My old tube TV is giving out, and I am thinking of replacing it with a 32-inch LCD HDTV.

I am concerned if I will be disappointed with the picture quality from the R15 on an LCD HDTV. I know I won't be getting an HD picture. But will the picture be better or worse than the standard definition picture I'm seeing on my tube television?

But I'm not sure if I want to upgrade to the DirecTV HD-DVR package. I don't know if I want to pay the upfront fee, and I'm not sure if I want to pay the extra $10 per month for a handful of HD channels. But more importantly, I still have about a year left on my R15 2-year commitment, and I don't want to lock into an additional 2 years for the HD-DVR, especially if it has the same type of problems I've seen with the R15. If DTV can't quickly fix the R15 or HR20, I will probably switch to FIOS, so I don't want to extend by DTV commitment.

I'll have to get a new television soon. If I get an LCD HDTV, will the SD picture from the R15 be acceptable?


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## mocciat (Oct 17, 2006)

What size tv are you looking at?


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

mocciat said:


> What size tv are you looking at?


32-inch LCD


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## mocciat (Oct 17, 2006)

Upstream said:


> 32-inch LCD


Just have D* upgrade you to the hr20 with the at9 dish. They gave me mine free and installed it.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

Yes, lots of people get a very good deal (or free) when moving to HD. I would encourage you to check that out.

In my bedroom I have an H20 non-DVR HD receiver and an R15. I use them both until I can get a second HR20 for the bedroom. SD on the R15 looks good when viewed on my 32-inch Panny LCD while lying in bed--but that puts you 15 feet away from the TV. If you watch it up close, SD does not look nearly as good on the HD LCD. But SD looks a lot better on the 32-inch than it does my 52-inch!


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Fair enough about looking at DTV's HD package.

But right now I am not real happy with DTV (based on customer service and R15 reliability). I don't know that I want to add 2 years to my commitment.

If I don't extend my commitment and don't get the HD package, will SD on an HD television be worse than SD on a tube television?


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

I just bought a 42" plasma. I have both an HR20 and an R15 connected to it. The R15 is watchable as far as I'm concerned, but the HR20 does a much better job of displaying the standard def programming than does the R15.

Is it watchable, I think so. Is it the best choice? No. Will you be happy with it? I can't say.

Carl


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## mocciat (Oct 17, 2006)

carl6 said:


> I just bought a 42" plasma. I have both an HR20 and an R15 connected to it. The R15 is watchable as far as I'm concerned, but the HR20 does a much better job of displaying the standard def programming than does the R15.
> 
> Is it watchable, I think so. Is it the best choice? No. Will you be happy with it? I can't say.
> 
> Carl


I also have the HR20 and r15 hooked up to one tv; a 50 minch panasonic plasma and I totally agree with your assesment.


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## olegreydave (Mar 30, 2006)

My R15 is connected (S-video) to a 32" LG LCD and the SD picture is better than the 25" RCA CRT it replaced. We watch from 8 to 10 feet from the set. I don't think you would want to be much closer watching SD. The SD conversion in the HD TV matters. I tried a 27" CRT Samsung HD (trying to save some $) and the SD was totally unsatisfactory. I suggest getting your new set from a vendor that has a decent return policy. I dealt with Circuit City. The bad part was they couldn't set up an SD evaluation in the store. The good part was they took the Samsung back with full credit (I didn't buy the LG immediately).

Bottom line is I think you can get acceptable or better with most but not all LCD sets.


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## Sneezy (Dec 18, 2006)

mocciat said:


> Just have D* upgrade you to the hr20 with the at9 dish. They gave me mine free and installed it.


How did you manage that? I called to upgrade and was told it's $300. I told them to stick it where the sun doesn't shine.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

A few (very few) customers have managed a free upgrade. Some have gotten a $99 upgrade. Quite a few have gotten a $199 upgrade, and the rest have paid $299. I have no idea what criteria DirecTV used to differentiate.

Given that HR20's are in very short supply and demand is very high, the chance of getting a heavy discount is very small.

Carl


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## mocciat (Oct 17, 2006)

Sneezy said:


> How did you manage that? I called to upgrade and was told it's $300. I told them to stick it where the sun doesn't shine.


I have been a customer for 10 years and when they cameout in September I asked for one for free and they said sure.


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## mocciat (Oct 17, 2006)

just ask


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## Cerus (Feb 8, 2007)

Picture quality of SD channels on an HDTV really depends on the actual TV you have...some do better than others. Typically, SD looks better on an SD TV but you can have varying results. I have two R15's, one on a SDTV and the other on an HD LCD. Both pictures look great and I can't tell much difference between the two other than the typical difference between a tube and LCD. The HDTV's picture does look far better on DTV than it ever did on cable...the actual signal can make a huge difference.

As for the HR20, it does have far less annoying problems than the R15 and has received far more updates. I don't think you would be disappointed with the results as most people have nothing but good things to say about the HR20.

If you stick with the R15, just make sure you use the highest quality S-video cable you can afford. Cable quality matters and will make all the difference in PQ.


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Thanks for the advice. 

Obviously upgrading to an HD DVR with an HD TV will give me the most desirable results. Unfortunately I am not comfortable extending my commitment to DTV by another 2 years. Even though I have had DTV for almost 10 years, the problems I've had with the R15, and especially the extremely poor customer service response from DTV have soured me on my relationship with the company. I am likely to switch to FIOS when my R15 commitment ends.


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## Mindhaz (Sep 25, 2006)

Upstream said:


> Even though I have had DTV for almost 10 years, the problems I've had with the R15, and especially the extremely poor customer service response from DTV have soured me on my relationship with the company. I am likely to switch to FIOS when my R15 commitment ends.


If you're looking for better customer service, I wouldn't look to Verizon for an upgrade. Verizon CS is the worst I have ever experienced.


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Mindhaz said:


> If you're looking for better customer service, I wouldn't look to Verizon for an upgrade. Verizon CS is the worst I have ever experienced.


I have Verizon telephone, DSL, and cell phone.

I've only had one customer service problems with the cell phone at a Verizon retail location. But it was a problem caused by a particular rogue manager in the store (one of the associated told me to come back when the manager wasn't there to have my isssue resolved).

With Verizon DSL, I had problems which were more severe. My DSL service would periodically drop. The DSL techs couldn't find out the problem and told me to call the telephone company. The telephone division of Verizon couldn't find a problem with the line, and told me that I needed to call the DSL division. This went back and forth a few times, with each division passing the buck to the other division. I finally sent a letter telling Verizon to get their act together and fix the problem instead of playing ping pong. They fixed the problem within a week (it was a defective switch somewhere near my home), and I got a written apology from Verizon.

So I recognize that Verizon isn't perfect. But the big difference is they acknowledge the problems, and the customer service issues are infrequent.

Compare this to DTV, where everytime I call they tell me that all the problems with the R15 have been fixed, or the customer service reps tell me things that are flat-out wrong, or they tell me they will correct an error on my bill but the error never gets fixed. I've never considered the concept of "CSR Roulette" with Verizon, but it is standard procedure with DirecTV.

(To be fair to the people employed as CSRs by DTV, I don't think they are the problem. The problem is poor training, heavily scripted responses, and lack of authority to do anything to address a problem other than to offer programming credits or free Showtime/Starz.)


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## dtv757 (Jun 4, 2006)

^^ i don't know about the DSL support but i know the FIOS customer service center is very friendly.


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