# Question about a used HR10-250



## Ruf (Jan 30, 2007)

I presently have a R10 that is of course SD.
Lately it's been giving me problems so I'm looking at used HR10-250's on Ebay.

Question: If I buy a HR10-250, will DirecTv charge me more for HD service and will I have to agree to a two year commitment?


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

HD service yes
Committment - shouldn't, but...


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

Make sure any used HR10 is free of any outstanding balance. DirecTV will also require you to buy a new access card.


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## hiker (Mar 1, 2006)

Ruf said:


> ...
> Question: If I buy a HR10-250, will DirecTv charge me more for HD service and will I have to agree to a two year commitment?


They should not charge you the $9.99 HD access fee, at least that is the experience of some (see thread here). And there should be no commitment if you are replacing a defective R10.


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## jodyguercio (Aug 16, 2007)

hiker said:



> They should not charge you the $9.99 HD access fee, at least that is the experience of some (see thread here). And there should be no commitment if you are replacing a defective R10.


YMMV on the HD charge, some have been and some haven't been charged as you pointed out. Best bet make sure it is clean and good to go and call directv. Who knows, they might upgrade the HR10 for you for free to one of the new HR2x dvrs; as they are trying to get everyone onboard with the newer MPEG-4 equipment.


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## boba (May 23, 2003)

I have 2 HR10-250s off eBay and no HD fees and love the large hard drive and ATSC tuner for OTA.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I'm moving this to the Legacy Receiver forum.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

Ruf said:


> I presently have a R10 that is of course SD.
> Lately it's been giving me problems so I'm looking at used HR10-250's on Ebay.
> 
> Question: If I buy a HR10-250, will DirecTv charge me more for HD service and will I have to agree to a two year commitment?


When I bought mine off Ebay DirecTV charged me $20. for a new access card(had to send old access card to card department).I was also told by DirecTV always check out the Receiver ID# and access card # with DirecTV first before purchase to make sure they can activate it for you(I didn't and was fortunate there was no problem).:sure:

When I activated it DirecTV added on the HD access fee $9.99.Which to me wasn't a problem(I have the Premier package) so I am receiving several HD channels until they move them.After DirecTV moves the HD channels I figure to cancel HD access and then save some money on my bill.

So it matters which package you have what you will get with the HD access fee.So in closing I just want to say I like the HR10-250(hooked up 480i component)but I also like my R22-100(hooked up S-Video).Also make sure and double check your bill that DirecTV puts it down as owned,if not it will say leased receiver on your bill and you will have a 24 month commitment.Good Luck!


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## OwnersEdge (Apr 13, 2002)

Jhon69 said:


> When I bought mine off Ebay DirecTV charged me $20. for a new access card(had to send old access card to card department).I was also told by DirecTV always check out the Receiver ID# and access card # with DirecTV first before purchase to make sure they can activate it for you(I didn't and was fortunate there was no problem).:sure:
> 
> When I activated it DirecTV added on the HD access fee $9.99.Which to me wasn't a problem(I have the Premier package) so I am receiving several HD channels until they move them.After DirecTV moves the HD channels I figure to cancel HD access and then save some money on my bill.
> 
> So it matters which package you have what you will get with the HD access fee.So in closing I just want to say I like the HR10-250(hooked up 480i component)but I also like my R22-100(hooked up S-Video).Also make sure and double check your bill that DirecTV puts it down as owned,if not it will say leased receiver on your bill and you will have a 24 month commitment.Good Luck!


What is the story please, for this HD newbie, about "moving the channels" ... are you going to lose your HD feed, paid up or not? Do you now receive all HD that you subscribed for?
-- hear the panic in my voice ?


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

OwnersEdge said:


> What is the story please, for this HD newbie, about "moving the channels" ... are you going to lose your HD feed, paid up or not? Do you now receive all HD that you subscribed for?
> -- hear the panic in my voice ?


If you have an HD DirecTivo then it is receiving HD channels that are MPEG2.These channels are supposed to be moved to the MPEG4 format(sometime in 2009).To receive these channels(MPEG4) you will need DirecTV's HD DVR+(HR20/21/22/23 and the 5LNB Slimline Dish.

Also I believe if you call DirecTV to switch be sure to mention you have the HD DirecTivo now.DirecTV should give you a decent deal to changeover.

If you don't have the MPEG2/ MPEG4 HD DVR now you are not receiving all the HD channels that you could be.:sure:

Also thought it worth mentioning DirecTV is supposed to come out with a new MPEG2/MPEG4 HD DirecTivo sometime in the last half of 2009.


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## PokerJoker (Apr 12, 2008)

OwnersEdge said:


> What is the story please, for this HD newbie, about "moving the channels" ... are you going to lose your HD feed, paid up or not? Do you now receive all HD that you subscribed for?
> -- hear the panic in my voice ?


He just means that soon (like, 60 days or less), the only HD programs that the old DirecTV HR10-250 TiVo will be able to receive, will be your local digital off-the-air channels (if any), using an antenna. DirecTV will no longer carry any satellite HD channels that the HR10 can receive. (It will continue to receive the SD satellite channels.)

Judging from your signature, you don't have HD recording right now anyway - so I don't quite understand your panic. (Geez, I didn't think there were any UTV receivers still in use! :eek2: )

If you want Satellite HDTV, you open an account with either DirecTV or Dish, and you usually lease (not buy) their respective proprietary DVRs (which are not TiVo), or non-DVR receivers. Generally there is a two year commitment involved. In your case it sounds like you would require an all new installation, from the dish to the cables to the boxes.

If you specifically want HD Satellite with TiVo, like the old HR10, well, right now that combination does not exist. DirecTV and TiVo have announced that a new model will be out, probably about a year from now. I eagerly await that box, but I'm not holding my breath.

But I think the main point to understand is that you should NOT buy a used HR10-250 with the expectation of using it to receive HD Satellite channels. I think some less-than-scrupulous people are selling them on ebay and craigslist and not making that point clear. If you already have an HR10, hey, I feel your pain; I'm stuck with four of them. But they're old, and retirement is at hand. 

Keith
sunless in Seattle


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## OwnersEdge (Apr 13, 2002)

Hey thanks Jhon9 and PokerJoker. There are a lot of UTVers out here yet because the GUI interface is sooo good compared to D* HD. After all, they will not supply our 4 local PBS stations in HD, so no subchannels. That's where I live ! So I need OTA.

I wonder, will the HR10-250 record them all in HD OTA? And what program guide is available to me ... from where?

btw, what does the HR2x do today with an MPEG-2 HD channel? Today.

And where does D* post these upcoming changes/warnings? Their website never seems very informative to my needs.

Bob in San Jose


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## OwnersEdge (Apr 13, 2002)

To Keith,
I get your message on D* HD setup. The 10-250 would have value for me to record HD OTA, but will the locals be also moving to MPEG-4? Satellite HD would be ok, less than ideal, in my living room for ESPN and Discover. But I must have my 4 PBSes and subchannels, which requires me to go OTA for a lonnng time to come.

My concerns are:

Traveling in my RV I now record D* SD UTV with my round dish, and I will not have a HiDef display there any time in the future. If I retire my UTVs in order to get Sat HD for my living room and I use the 10-250 in my RV, will it pull in the SD channels on my old round dish at the RV, as the UTV now does? [I swap it from my bedroom.] 
A 5LNB dish would be difficult to store in the RV, plus painstaking to aim with its 3-dimensional setup every 3-12 days as we move about the country. [I sometimes pull in after dark.]

With my small dish would I have the SD EPG for my SD display; it seems so.

Keith [or anyone], have you recorded HD OTA? If so, from where did you get your EPG guide, especially that could reference channels and sub-channels that D* does not provide?? The DTpal converter box gets its EPG from terrestial stations via TVGOS or some such. I wonder if HR10-250 can work TVGOS off OTA?

Summing up, I won't worry too much if the HR10-250 only pulls in SD from the satellite as long as it is fully functional. I mostly want it to record the OTA stuff that DIRECTV cannot supply. Other stations here are also multicasting, in addition to the PBSes.

If we quit using the RV, I would likely go to Comcast cable or ATT fiber U-Verse to overcome D*'s content limitations and the weaknesses of its DVRs as compared to UTV. It seems UTV, Microsoft, and Tivo must have had a lot of cross-fertilization. I know zero about Replay, and not much about PC Home Theater.

I certainly depend on the actual experiences of you all, not the promises out of CES, etc.

Please ...

Bob in San Jose


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## PokerJoker (Apr 12, 2008)

OwnersEdge said:


> To Keith,
> I get your message on D* HD setup. The 10-250 would have value for me to record HD OTA, but will the locals be also moving to MPEG-4? Satellite HD would be ok, less than ideal, in my living room for ESPN and Discover. But I must have my 4 PBSes and subchannels, which requires me to go OTA for a lonnng time to come.
> 
> My concerns are:
> ...


Aha, now I see the problem more clearly.

The HR10-250 is a TiVo. It gets its guide data, both OTA and satellite, from Tivo, via the D* satellite connection, assuming an active account. (In this case the Tivo account is handled by D*.) It cannot get guide data anywhere else. And Tivos don't really function well without guide data.

I am a fellow RVer, at times. In fact, there is an HR10 in my RV right now, although not for long. An HR10 will receive and record most standard D* SD channels if you hook it to your single-sat dish aimed at 101. (And if the dish has dual LNB output, and you use two cables, you can use both tuners. That's how mine is hooked up.) However, all D* HD signals are, or shortly will be, MPEG-4, and that includes the local channel feeds. The HR10 cannot receive MPEG-4. (SD local-channel feeds still work, but they aren't on the 101 sat.)

The HR10 will receive and record all ATSC (digital) OTA signals, SD and HD, including all sub-channels, for the foreseeable future. It does NOT receive analog NTSC channels, which is a problem for RV use. (Yes, SD analog broadcast OTA is going away, but a lot of RV parks will still have old SD cable systems that need an analog tuner, not to mention all the low power analog repeaters that will still be out there.)

A good option for an RV is to file the forms and jump through the hoops to get DNS activated on your account, using the "RV Exemption". You can at least then see the LA/NY national network feeds via the satellite, no matter where you are. (Keep in mind that the normal local-channel satellite feeds are on spot-beams and don't work very far outside your home area.)

For OTA reception, use a good roof antenna (the Winegard crank-up wing is about the best). But getting new OTA guide data, when changing locations, is always going to be an issue. TiVos, used for OTA, present a problem in RVs, since they are not designed to be moved to new locations constantly. The only way to change to a new location's channel lineup & guide data is to run Guided Setup again, which takes time, is a giant hassle, and worst of all, requires a land phone line to make the call. It's not a good match at all to the mobile RV lifestyle. Without guide data, you can still scan for new OTA channels, and tune them manually, but that's not fun at all.

As to RV dish antennas - I have an older KVH roof dome right now. Its use is limited to one satellite at a time, making it fairly worthless in a modern HD system. (And I do have HD in my RV.  ) At the present time, for a roof dish, you have to choose between 1) in-motion, but only one satellite at a time; or 2) a folding slimline (eg Winegard Traveler) that deploys (automatically) after you park the rig. (I will soon be changing to option 2.) Right now there are no dome-type units that receive multiple sats at once. (That MAY be theoretically possible at some time in the future, but nothing like that has been announced or even hinted at AFAIK.)

I believe there are also slimline ground-tripod dishes available. Alignment is then up to you, as you said. (If you were to use the current HR2x (MPEG-4) DVR, you would really only have to hit 99-101-103 which are quite close together. )

Hope this helps.

Keith
heading back to Vegas - soon


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