# Got "MY" HR20



## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

Got my HR20 installed this afternoon. I'm a 6+ year ReplayTV user and have been reluctant to switch to anything else, but finally wanted to go HD. My only brushes with Tivo have been brief and left me unimpressed. 

My first impression of the HR20 is that compared to a Replay this thing is a navigational straight jacket. 30 Second slip is very slow, and I don't remember the last time I used a FF button. The lack of navigational features alone will keep me recording my 1st tier SD programming on Replay. HD programming along with 2nd and below tier SD programming will record on the HR20. I realize that the aim here is not to provide complete control in the hands of the user, but to make sure that you "see" all of the commercials whether you watch them or not. IMO content providers shouldn't be in the DVR business.

I'm still trying to get used to the menu system, it doesn't seem very intuitive. I'm sure I'll get used to it though. I have yet to look at the manual. When I first started the machine up I set it to record tonight's new episode of Stargate SG-1 and it immediately started recording a rerun that was on, which I didn't want. I need to figure out how to keep it from doing that.

The installer told me that this was the first time he was installing an HR20. One thing that caused trouble during the installation was the software update. The box was hooked up to my projector (still waiting for my new HDTV to ship out from Costco.com) via HDMI, and the box seemed to take forever to pop up. I now realize that it was outputing a 480i signal, that my projector probably doesn't recognize over HDMI, during the initial setup. I only realized this later when the projector lost the signal from the box. I hooked up an S-Video cable and found that it was downloading new software.

The other problem I have is that when I enable dolby digital the DD channels go silent, no DD, but when I switch to a non-DD channel I get sound. Turning off DD I get PCM for every channel just fine.

Off to read the manual and try to figure out these issues.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

joekun said:


> Got my HR20 installed this afternoon. I'm a 6+ year ReplayTV user and have been reluctant to switch to anything else, but finally wanted to go HD. My only brushes with Tivo have been brief and left me unimpressed.
> 
> My first impression of the HR20 is that compared to a Replay this thing is a navigational straight jacket. 30 Second slip is very slow, and I don't remember the last time I used a FF button. The lack of navigational features alone will keep me recording my 1st tier SD programming on Replay. HD programming along with 2nd and below tier SD programming will record on the HR20. I realize that the aim here is not to provide complete control in the hands of the user, but to make sure that you "see" all of the commercials whether you watch them or not. IMO content providers shouldn't be in the DVR business.
> 
> ...


Your Stargate Issue.... what happens there is this:
When you first setup a Series Link, it will immediately schedule the program you brought up to get to the Record Screen (or hit the R))) ) on.

then a little while later (could be a few hours in some cases), a background process goes through and properly processes your request.

Also be sure that you did set the program to be FIRST RUN only, the default out of the box is "BOTH".

The DD issue... was that before or after the software update? Either way, DD got better on my system after the latest update (0xac I believe).... and supposidly in the next release they are continuing to correct some issue on the DD that effected other people that have been working with the system.

The navigation system will take time to get used to....
Especially if you where used to anything else...

Congrats...on I think being the 2nd person outside the DirecTV payrol to get an HR20


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## VeniceDre (Aug 16, 2006)

joekun said:


> Got my HR20 installed this afternoon. I'm a 6+ year ReplayTV user and have been reluctant to switch to anything else, but finally wanted to go HD. My only brushes with Tivo have been brief and left me unimpressed.
> 
> My first impression of the HR20 is that compared to a Replay this thing is a navigational straight jacket. 30 Second slip is very slow, and I don't remember the last time I used a FF button. The lack of navigational features alone will keep me recording my 1st tier SD programming on Replay. HD programming along with 2nd and below tier SD programming will record on the HR20. I realize that the aim here is not to provide complete control in the hands of the user, but to make sure that you "see" all of the commercials whether you watch them or not. IMO content providers shouldn't be in the DVR business.
> 
> ...


What company did your install? (Connect/Ironwood/DirecSat)


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> Also be sure that you did set the program to be FIRST RUN only, the default out of the box is "BOTH".


Aah, okay, haven't found that option yet, just pressed the record button twice.



> The DD issue... was that before or after the software update?


Both



> Congrats...on I think being the 2nd person outside the DirecTV payrol to get an HR20


Thanks. I appreciate all the info that you've been posting here. It really prepared me for what I was getting. I think there are probably a few others out there who have it already (I think I saw one AVS poster who was getting an install yesterday), and more to join us over the weekend.



> What company did your install? (Connect/Ironwood/DirecSat)


Not sure, the paperwork doesn't say. The guy was wearing a DirecTV shirt and his van also said DirecTV on the side. I know they don't do their own installs, but I didn't see a name anywhere. The guy said his office was out of The City of Industry.

Woah, just had a referee blow a whistle in my ear! I guess that's what happens when you're sitting next to the front right speaker


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

I moved these threads here....

So they don't get lost in the Review thread....


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Also be sure that you did set the program to be FIRST RUN only, the default out of the box is "BOTH".


Did that default change from the R15? If I REC-REC a show in the guide I get First Run on the R15.


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## lovswr (Jan 13, 2004)

joekun, if you don't mind. How much? Free swap, $19.99 (shipping) $399 (seems to be the full list price) or something else?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> Did that default change from the R15? If I REC-REC a show in the guide I get First Run on the R15.


It is configurable...

When you are in the Record-Series Link Tab... Hit Menu
There is an option to set your recording defaults...

Out of the box it is defaulted to both.

Now....

With regards to Stargate....
I actually had it record a repeat.... but not just any repeat.
It was the "prequal" to tonights 200th episode... kinda the episode they based the character and theme of the show off of....

This was the first "repeat" that has recorded on my HR20. This was the only "repeat" that recorded out of the massive marathon they have had this week (let alone the other parts of the regular schedule)... So I am curious if they "tweaked" the data for that episode someone that made it pick up....


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> joekun, if you don't mind. How much? Free swap, $19.99 (shipping) $399 (seems to be the full list price) or something else?


$19.99. No swap...well, I guess they did take my old receiver, but that's fine.

As for DD, I got it backwards, when I turn on DD, the DD channels go silent, but everything else works. With DD off I get PCM for everything. I'm going to edit my first post to set things straight for those who read it in the future.


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## pappys (Jul 27, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> It is configurable...
> 
> When you are in the Record-Series Link Tab... Hit Menu
> There is an option to set your recording defaults...
> ...


Earl, sometimes even with TIVO, if it doesn't say "Rerun" it may record. I know TIVO's was a bit better, but I have had instances where LOST has recorded some shows that were shown in the past. Maybe they were recap shows, but still reruns. My wife also tapes a show on Food Net called Road Tasted, TIVO records them all because there is no description for the shows.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

pappys said:


> Earl, sometimes even with TIVO, if it doesn't say "Rerun" it may record. I know TIVO's was a bit better, but I have had instances where LOST has recorded some shows that were shown in the past. Maybe they were recap shows, but still reruns. My wife also tapes a show on Food Net called Road Tasted, TIVO records them all because there is no description for the shows.


Oh... I know... (regarding TiVo not being perfect)
It was just up till now it hasn't recorded a repeat... 
Not a big deal as out of all the Stargate episodes airing this week... this is the only one... and it directly tied to tonights 200th episode... so I am thinking the guide data was tweaked just enough, and the HR20 picked up....

Compared to the R15.... the HR20 is SIGNIFICANTLY more accurate with determining first run vs re-run...


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## batguano (Aug 17, 2006)

joekun said:


> Got my HR20 installed this afternoon. I'm a 6+ year ReplayTV user and have been reluctant to switch to anything else, but finally wanted to go HD. My only brushes with Tivo have been brief and left me unimpressed.
> 
> My first impression of the HR20 is that compared to a Replay this thing is a navigational straight jacket. 30 Second slip is very slow, and I don't remember the last time I used a FF button. The lack of navigational features alone will keep me recording my 1st tier SD programming on Replay..


Thanks for the comparison, joekun. I'm also a ReplayTV user, and their 30-sec skip feature is something I really like. What are the other navigational features that you miss?

How does the speed/responsiveness of the interface compare? I use my RTV with an IR blaster and channel surfing is way slow.

How does the overall ease-of-use compare? Will my technically disinclined wife be able to use it without handholding?

Thnx!


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## marcello696 (Aug 16, 2006)

If the installer was from The City of Industry then it was Ironwood who is doing my install on Sunday.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Earl Bonovich said:


> It is configurable...
> 
> When you are in the Record-Series Link Tab... Hit Menu
> There is an option to set your recording defaults...
> ...


I've never changed the default and my SLs on the R15 have an episode type of First Run.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> What are the other navigational features that you miss?


I love the "jump to any minute" and "jump forward any # of minutes" features on Replay and use them constantly. I miss them a lot. I also miss the display banner showing me exactly how much time has elapsed in a show to the second. The nav bar at the bottom is very imprecise, but when you can't navigate precisely I guess it isn't as important.

Of course I miss Commercial Advance and/or Show Nav. Even though they are imperfect. Replay just has so many ways to get to where you want to go. If they find a reliable way to control a sat box from a PC I may eventually build a new ReplayPC with the software they are about to release. The HR20 should hold me over until then.



> How does the speed/responsiveness of the interface compare? I use my RTV with an IR blaster and channel surfing is way slow.


I'd say comparable to the Replay 3000 series, it tends to think for a second before doing what you want. Can't speak to channel surfing, as I'm a guide surfer, don't get much use out of the channel up and down buttons. I do have the box set to "Native" mode which will switch to the native res of the channel you are watching as you go, so it does take a few seconds to tune in a new channel, and then my projector takes a few seconds to switch res. Doesn't bother me though as I'm using the guide and deliberately choosing what I am going to watch.

I am impressed with the picture quality though, even on SD channels. As Earl stated in the other thread, it makes Stargate look pretty good. Even cropping the bars off the top and bottom and blowing it up to 106" it looked a lot better than I'm used to from the Scifi channel.



> How does the overall ease-of-use compare? Will my technically disinclined wife be able to use it without handholding?


I've always found replay's system to be very intuitive, but MY technically disinclined wife still needs some hand-holding with it. I don't really find the HR20's layout to be intuitive at all. I often think "when I push select it will bring up a menu" or something and instead it jumps to the channel. It is going to take some getting used to. When all is said and done I think my wife will be extremely pleased that she can still watch live TV while something is recording, before she had to switch to another replaytv (just a few button presses on the remote, but she found it cumbersome to remember).

Speaking of remotes, I LOVE the RF remote that comes with this thing. The newer replays have their eye in a recess and you have to point the remote VERY precisely to get it to work at certain angles (like from my couch). With the RF remote sometimes I just point it in the opposite direction of the HR20, just because I can 

The HR20 doesn't seem to have a way to remove unwanted channels from your guide either. I usually take out all the PPV channels and Spanish channels, etc. Not to mention all the premium channels I don't get. You can designate favorite channels, but only up to 250 so I can't set that up just to eliminate the channels I don't want. It does also have a feature called "channels I get" but it includes all sorts of channels I DON'T get. Maybe after a day or so it will start to figure that out.

Having said all of that, I don't want to sound too negative, it's no replaytv, but it does record in HD, and that's nice. I would say it makes a nice compliment to my replaytv. You Tivo users should feel lucky that at least the interface is based off of the Tivo DVR.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

joekun said:


> The HR20 doesn't seem to have a way to remove unwanted channels from your guide either. I usually take out all the PPV channels and Spanish channels, etc. Not to mention all the premium channels I don't get. You can designate favorite channels, but only up to 250 so I can't set that up just to eliminate the channels I don't want. It does also have a feature called "channels I get" but it includes all sorts of channels I DON'T get. Maybe after a day or so it will start to figure that out.


Take a look at page 32 of the manual.
"Favorites"

While in your Guide: Hit menu... there will be an option for favorites.
The first option is Edit Settings... when it there you can setup two different favorite lists (and name them what ever you want).
You can then set your default favorite list.

After that, when in the Guide, hit menu again... and favorites, and you can select one of the three options "Channels I Get", Favorite 1 or Favorite 2.
That will limit the number of channels you see in your guide.

As for Channels I Get... right now that feature is disabled... not just on the HR20, but on the R15 and other units as well. There are to be some updates in the data stream soon, that will re-enable that feature.... R15 users from way back at the begin it did work.. but then certain scerious it failed... so DirecTV removed it till they could identify the issue.



joekun said:


> You Tivo users should feel lucky that at least the interface is based off of the Tivo DVR.


Ooooooo don't go there...


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Earl Bonovich said:


> With regards to Stargate....
> I actually had it record a repeat.... but not just any repeat.
> It was the "prequal" to tonights 200th episode... kinda the episode they based the character and theme of the show off of....
> 
> This was the first "repeat" that has recorded on my HR20. This was the only "repeat" that recorded out of the massive marathon they have had this week (let alone the other parts of the regular schedule)... So I am curious if they "tweaked" the data for that episode someone that made it pick up....


If you're talking about the "special" at 8pm, that was a new show. It was a special for the 200th episode and hasn't aired before. It wasn't the same as the "tech of Stargate" or whatever it was they ran in July. I'm impressed it picked it up at all since it's not actually part of the Stargate series. My Tivo didn't pick it up, I had to set it up to record on it's own.


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## khajath (Feb 18, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> If you're talking about the "special" at 8pm, that was a new show. It was a special for the 200th episode and hasn't aired before. It wasn't the same as the "tech of Stargate" or whatever it was they ran in July. I'm impressed it picked it up at all since it's not actually part of the Stargate series. My Tivo didn't pick it up, I had to set it up to record on it's own.


 My holy, an ability to pick out and record like this is definitely fantastic. Why can't DIRECTV apply the recording logic from this HR20 (from what I read so far, sound like near perfect) to R15 ? I kind of understand why Earl is unloading his HD Tivo now. I would do the same if I was him.

When I first got my R15, it records all over the place: miss, hit, extra (show I don't want). Still does that every once in a while now.

If all work out well with the HR20, lot of people would forgive DIRECTV for being a year late with this product. We all rather get it late, but perfect, rather than early (or late too ??), but buggy.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

bonscott87 said:


> If you're talking about the "special" at 8pm, that was a new show. It was a special for the 200th episode and hasn't aired before. It wasn't the same as the "tech of Stargate" or whatever it was they ran in July. I'm impressed it picked it up at all since it's not actually part of the Stargate series. My Tivo didn't pick it up, I had to set it up to record on it's own.


Nah... I am referring to the replay of Wormhole-X earlier in the day (the 100th episode)

It didn't pick up the SCI-Fi special... I had to manually schedule that one.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Ahhhh, darn.

Yea, the 100th episode is pretty old (a few years) so the data coulda been off just enough it thought it was new. Still pretty good. I can't tell you how many times my season pass to Monk wants to record all repeats. Still much to be done in the DVR world with guide data.


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## lovswr (Jan 13, 2004)

joekun said:


> $19.99. No swap...well, I guess they did take my old receiver, but that's fine.
> 
> As for DD, I got it backwards, when I turn on DD, the DD channels go silent, but everything else works. With DD off I get PCM for everything. I'm going to edit my first post to set things straight for those who read it in the future.


Thanks for that quick reply joekun. As to your DD issue, you may want to check the settings on your receiver. I have a lesser end Sony but it "remembers" every setting for each imput. So for example, using your receiver & your DVD player DD/DTS may work just fine, but when you switch to the HR20 that *physical* input may be set to PCM only or somthing similar.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> Take a look at page 32 of the manual.
> "Favorites"
> 
> While in your Guide: Hit menu... there will be an option for favorites.
> ...


I did that already, problem is it limits you to 250 channels. I hit the "add all" button and I was way over the limit. Of course once I remove all the PPV and stuff I might be able to make it work. But I also want the DVR not to try and record episodes of shows that are on channels I don't get, this is a MAJOR pain!

They should just make the "channels I get" a user interactive setting. Sure it's a pain to go through and mark off the channels that you don't get by checking each one manually, but it's better than getting all sorts of recordings popping up for channels you don't get.

Yesterday I set up a recording for "Special Report with Brit Hume" and told it I only wanted first runs. It recorded at least 3 times yesterday the same show. I hope it will figure this out by Monday. If not I'm just going to shut off the recording, as I also have it recording on Replay.



> As to your DD issue, you may want to check the settings on your receiver.


Thanks, I was able to get Dolby Digital to work for a few minutes. It sounded fantastic! Then it stopped working again


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

joekun said:


> I did that already, problem is it limits you to 250 channels.


The 250 limit is going to be fixed in next software release...


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Earl Bonovich said:


> The 250 limit is going to be fixed in next software release...


Is there a limit on the R15 for that? If there is I'm suprised that some hasn't *****ed.... I mean mentioned it.


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## cpinla41 (Aug 19, 2006)

installers are here at my apt. as i type, installing my HR20. they were here a few hours ago and needed to leave, to get a flat roof mount, as they couldnt put the hew dish on the same pole that my 3 lnb dish was on....the new one is simply too big.

all is good now...can't wait to get this puppy up and running.....

fyi: the installers said they just started putting these things up yesterday and have appointments set up round the clock all week. they are from direct satellite USA (not Ironwood, who I had all of my previous installations with).

so far, these guys know what they are doing.

also...major kudos to everyone on this board. I wouldnt have even KNOWN that these things were ready to be installed if not for lurking on here for a while.

CP


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

cabanaboy1977 said:


> Is there a limit on the R15 for that? If there is I'm suprised that some hasn't *****ed.... I mean mentioned it.


I don't think that limit is there on teh R15's


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## pmathys (Jul 13, 2005)

I received my HR20 today. Everything seems to work fine except you cannot intregrate your off-air antenna into the receiver yet. The antenna selection on the set-up menu is shaded and cannot be selected. The installer and I called DirecTV and the guy on the phone did not know why is wasn't activated. I'm supposed to call back next week to find out what's going on. 

Does everyone else have this problem or know why you this feature is not yet available?

The picture is great, the response seems a bit more sluggish compared to the H20. and the DVR works great.

Paul


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

In the review, you will see I talked about the OTA...

They are currently deactivated right now... no exact time frame on when... but "soon"... as for why... I don't know the exact reasoning for it.

There is actually an entire thread talking about the OTA tuners.


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## pmathys (Jul 13, 2005)

Thanks Earl. Now back to the manual.

Paul


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## toy4two (Aug 18, 2006)

joekun said:


> $19.99. No swap...well, I guess they did take my old receiver, but that's fine.
> 
> As for DD, I got it backwards, when I turn on DD, the DD channels go silent, but everything else works. With DD off I get PCM for everything. I'm going to edit my first post to set things straight for those who read it in the future.


They TOOK your old reciever? I assume you were leasing the old one?

I have an old SAMSUNG SIR-TS160 and I want to keep it (I bought it on Ebay, no lease) just because it has an OTA tuner that doesn't require a subscrition to Directv to watch TV if I decide to cancel (something the new box doesn't allow).


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## toy4two (Aug 18, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> The 250 limit is going to be fixed in next software release...


On my old box I notice after I get the guide all setup to my liking, D* inserts new "spam" channels I don't get like "Order NFL Sunday Ticket etc". Will the HR20 prevent these unwanted additions, it seems every week some new channels show up, its frustrating to say the least.

One undocumented feature I thought I would share is that if you do a channel list and do a REMOVE ALL, then go in and add your channels one by one, you can stop the spam channels from ever showing up. Most people just delete what they don't get, instead of adding one by one. I hope this feature is still present in the HR20.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

toy4two said:


> On my old box I notice after I get the guide all setup to my liking, D* inserts new "spam" channels I don't get like "Order NFL Sunday Ticket etc". Will the HR20 prevent these unwanted additions, it seems every week some new channels show up, its frustrating to say the least.
> 
> One undocumented feature I thought I would share is that if you do a channel list and do a REMOVE ALL, then go in and add your channels one by one, you can stop the spam channels from ever showing up. Most people just delete what they don't get, instead of adding one by one. I hope this feature is still present in the HR20.


I don't know...... I will have to see over time.
What happens with those channels, is DirecTV drops them from the lineup.. .then re-adds them... so the units treat it like a new channel...


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## squawk (Mar 5, 2006)

joekun said:


> My first impression of the HR20 is that compared to a Replay this thing is a navigational straight jacket. 30 Second slip is very slow, and I don't remember the last time I used a FF button. The lack of navigational features alone will keep me recording my 1st tier SD programming on Replay. HD programming along with 2nd and below tier SD programming will record on the HR20. I realize that the aim here is not to provide complete control in the hands of the user, but to make sure that you "see" all of the commercials whether you watch them or not. IMO content providers shouldn't be in the DVR business.


Hah, didn't know there were "tiers" to SD progamming.  Yup, the GUI of the HR20 is no Replay. At least the HR20 comes with a 30-second skip. That's a surprise. U got it right re: content providers, let alone carriers, providing the DVR. Say goodbye to control to u'r TV. I just dunno why Replay does not come out with an HD box. A stand alone HD Replay, IMHO, would be a plus over anything provide by DTV. Maybe someone will build a better Replay box some day . . . & they will come.



joekun said:


> I'm still trying to get used to the menu system, it doesn't seem very intuitive. I'm sure I'll get used to it though. I have yet to look at the manual.


I have to think the UI is not much different from the H20. It's a bit different than Replay, but u do get used to it. The only feature that I presentl have complaints about is the necessity to hit the guide button 2X to get past the filters, which don't work well anyway. Hoping next software upgrade will remove filters altogether.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

The UI is nearly identical to that of the H20.... and the R15... and the D10.. and D11... That is DirecTV's goal, is to get a very common interface accross all their recievers.

Yah... the having to hit Guide twice is a bit annoying... hopefully some day they will change it to allow it to default to a certain filter.



A quick comment about the Carriers providing the DVRs... especially DIGITAL DVRs.... 

Two things come into play:
1) The companies providing all the programming are TERRIFIED of pirating of the HD quality content they are creating... TERRIFIED, as that is their number one issue... thus they want tight security on it. Hence Digital Copy protection is included all over the place.

2) With that Digital Copy production... each one of these carriers have pretty much designed their own transmission methods... and none of those transmission methods conform to a constant standard.

THUS... There is no real market for a third party independent DVR company.... It is REALLY difficult for them...

Pretty much "EVERY" carrier has their own DVR now...

TiVo's future depends on the Series 3... if they want to stay in the hardware business... if that fails... IMHO, TiVo isn't going to last much longer as an independent company....

And the Future of the series 3 relies 95% on the future of Cable-Card technology... and that is heavily dependent on the Cable-Co's respecting the order to make them available and work with their units... but Cable Card 1.0 is already behind the times... (It is only one way, so no interactive, no vod. no a lot of things)

That is why Replay can't make an HD box... why? It will only be able to pickup the HD from over the air... which is signficant right now... but in the next year or so, there are probably 2 dozen cable networks that are going to launch HD networks... let alone the 2 dozen or so that are allready out there...

TiVo made a spalsh with their software on the integrated DirecTivo box.... 
90% of people who know what a DVR, probably don't know who or what Replay is... and those that do.. I think most may think they are out of business.... "TiVo" is this centuries "Xerox"... it is the catch phrase to refer to the technology...


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## squawk (Mar 5, 2006)

joekun said:


> I love the "jump to any minute" and "jump forward any # of minutes" features on Replay and use them constantly. I miss them a lot. I also miss the display banner showing me exactly how much time has elapsed in a show to the second. The nav bar at the bottom is very imprecise, but when you can't navigate precisely I guess it isn't as important.


I hear ya. It's a good reason to record u'r 1st tier SD programs on the Replay. I'm not looking forward to giving it mine up for an HR20, which is why I'm not jumping out of my pants to give DTV $400 for a DVR that gives much less control. While I try to watch my HD programming live, I usually can't, & record the HD feed onto my Replay via its analog connections. Honestly, while the pic quality is certainly NOT HD, it's a helluva lot closer to HD than watching live SD programming. It's something I can live with if the HR20 proposition is not that attractive. The only missing piece is to install the patch that includes the IFR code to control the H20 receiver.



joekun said:


> I've always found replay's system to be very intuitive, but MY technically disinclined wife still needs some hand-holding with it. I don't really find the HR20's layout to be intuitive at all. I often think "when I push select it will bring up a menu" or something and instead it jumps to the channel. It is going to take some getting used to. When all is said and done I think my wife will be extremely pleased that she can still watch live TV while something is recording, before she had to switch to another replaytv (just a few button presses on the remote, but she found it cumbersome to remember).


Same here. Wife was able to figure enough qbout how the Replay worked, but presently, with 4 sources of video input: OTA TV, DVD, DVR & Satellite, the wife cannot, & refuses to, work the remotes to watch what she wants to watch. In this respect, I would expect the HR20 to be "an improvement" for my wife, & the ability to watch whatever when recording a different channel off the sat is a push.



joekun said:


> Speaking of remotes, I LOVE the RF remote that comes with this thing. The newer replays have their eye in a recess and you have to point the remote VERY precisely to get it to work at certain angles (like from my couch). With the RF remote sometimes I just point it in the opposite direction of the HR20, just because I can


OK, so the HR20 does offer an RF remote. I recall Earl's review saying there was no RF function with his machine. Guess u'rs is an "upgrade."



joekun said:


> The HR20 doesn't seem to have a way to remove unwanted channels from your guide either. I usually take out all the PPV channels and Spanish channels, etc. Not to mention all the premium channels I don't get. You can designate favorite channels, but only up to 250 so I can't set that up just to eliminate the channels I don't want. It does also have a feature called "channels I get" but it includes all sorts of channels I DON'T get. Maybe after a day or so it will start to figure that out.


Think this was covered elsewhere. If UI same or similar to H20, then one way to accomplish what u want is to NOT REMOVE channels, but create u'r own Favorites by removing all & adding them back from scratch. The downside of this approach is the possibility of not being apprised of new channels as DTV adds them.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

squawk said:


> OK, so the HR20 does offer an RF remote. I recall Earl's review saying there was no RF function with his machine. Guess u'rs is an "upgrade."


If you can recall where I said that... I need to correct it, as it was probably a typo or something.

The HR20 most certain does support RF comes with the RC24 RF remote and has a built in RF antenna.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> They TOOK your old reciever?


Sorry, this was my mistake, the installer put it in the HD DVR box and I had not opened it (though I did wonder why it was so heavy  ) I had also bought mine on ebay, but now that ReplayTV supports the APG (I think it's called) serial control I can use newer boxes (though not the latest ones that lack low speed data ports), so the boxes aren't as important to me as they used to be.



> The companies providing all the programming are TERRIFIED of pirating of the HD quality content they are creating... TERRIFIED


Yes, I understand, they want to take away all the power that we gained with ReplayTV. Replay was the only company that ever offered a box tailored to what the user would want and not what the content creators want. Tivo had too many content creators as stock holders to ever add features like commercial advance, internet sharing, or even a 30 second skip button out of the box (I still have to tell Tivo users about the fact that it exists).



> That is why Replay can't make an HD box...


They are making PC software and from what I've read the USB port on the HR20 can be used to control the box. If you had component inputs that could accept an HD signal and software that could control the sat box over USB, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. I'm sure the digital output has all sorts of copy protection on it, but I wouldn't think that component does (isn't that why there was the big deal about Blu-Ray and HD-DVD possibly restricting HD output over component?).



> 90% of people who know what a DVR, probably don't know who or what Replay is...


Most people I know don't even know what a DVR is, and, as you pointed out, refer to everything as a "tivo". But sure, Replay didn't have the marketing that Tivo did and that is unfortunate.

I don't really want to dwell on the Replay issue too much though. I only wanted to point out my opinions on the HR20 as a long-time ReplayTV user.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

One thing I noticed about the HR20 (and this is probably the same as other dual tuner DVRs) is that when programs are set to record back-to-back it begins recording the next show on the 2nd tuner so you get a bit of overlap with the previous show. This is really nice when recording Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis because you actually get to see the full preview for next week's show. Before (on a single tuner ReplayTV) I would always miss part of it as the tuner reset for the recording of the next show.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

joekun said:


> I don't really want to dwell on the Replay issue too much though. I only wanted to point out my opinions on the HR20 as a long-time ReplayTV user.


And they are very valid, and I am not trying to minimize them at all...

Replay IS out there, and IS used by people...
And those of us that have followed DVRs for a long time, know what Replay was and is today...


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## squawk (Mar 5, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> If you can recall where I said that... I need to correct it, as it was probably a typo or something.
> 
> The HR20 most certain does support RF comes with the RC24 RF remote and has a built in RF antenna.


My misread, Earl. I was referencing u'r comment "There is no RF output for this unit" in post #8 of u'r folder entitled "The Review." In a post I came across somewhere subsequent to posting, I came across the distinction b/w "output" & incorporated into the box. It never made sense to me in the 1st place why the HR20 would not have RF capabilities while the H20 does. Please accept my apologies for the mistatement.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

squawk said:


> My misread, Earl. I was referencing u'r comment "There is no RF output for this unit" in post #8 of u'r folder entitled "The Review." In a post I came across somewhere subsequent to posting, I came across the distinction b/w "output" & incorporated into the box. It never made sense to me in the 1st place why the HR20 would not have RF capabilities while the H20 does. Please accept my apologies for the mistatement.


Not a problem... just want to make sure we are on the same page...

What I ment in that part was that it didn't have an RF output, as in... coax channel 3/4


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## Jesse (Aug 21, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Not a problem... just want to make sure we are on the same page...
> 
> What I ment in that part was that it didn't have an RF output, as in... coax channel 3/4


Hey Earl I've been researching a lot of info with the hd-dvr, i did want to ask if you know. As far as the IR/RF for the remote. Are you able to program remote to be RF? Also when i purchased my hd-dvr (HR10-250) it did come with all of the connections for hdmi and hdmi/dvi. Did the HR20 includes these products to not require outside purchase?


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> Also when i purchased my hd-dvr (HR10-250) it did come with all of the connections for hdmi and hdmi/dvi. Did the HR20 includes these products to not require outside purchase?


It does not have those accessories. Mine came with:

Composite cables
Component cables
Phone cable


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

In the manual it says you can autorecord a search by selecting "auto record" from the menu on the left side of the screen when search results are displayed. My HR20 doesn't show this option. Am I doing something wrong?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Jesse said:


> Hey Earl I've been researching a lot of info with the hd-dvr, i did want to ask if you know. As far as the IR/RF for the remote. Are you able to program remote to be RF? Also when i purchased my hd-dvr (HR10-250) it did come with all of the connections for hdmi and hdmi/dvi. Did the HR20 includes these products to not require outside purchase?


Yes... you can program the remote to be RF



joekun said:


> In the manual it says you can autorecord a search by selecting "auto record" from the menu on the left side of the screen when search results are displayed. My HR20 doesn't show this option. Am I doing something wrong?


I will have to check that when I get home


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## Jesse (Aug 21, 2006)

ok thats good. Because the r15 has the ability but they dont have the download to the receiver to make it possible.


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## Jesse (Aug 21, 2006)

Hey Earl, do you think the new hd-dvr is better than the old one? Would you recommend it to customers?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Jesse said:


> Hey Earl, do you think the new hd-dvr is better than the old one? Would you recommend it to customers?


Better then the HR10-250?
or
Better then the R15?

Hands down, no question about it... better then the R15.
Compared to the HR10-250...

There are so many pieces to that....
The HR20 can do MPEG-4, the HR10 can't.
The HR10 has suggestions and wishlists, and dual 30-minute buffers... the HR20 doesn't

The HR20 has caller ID, PIG (Picture in Guide) and folders
The HR10 doesn't (at least not yet till 6.3 for the folders)

So..... Ultimately... yes, I would recommend the HR20 for the long run (based on announced features, and the MPEG-4 compatibility, and at least to me... it is a "beefier" box)....

So if you are shopping "today" but can wait another 6-8 weeks to get the receiver... hold off and consider the HR20 when it is available in your area.

If you have the HR10, and enjoy it...... no reason to get rid of it right now. (other then the resale value may be dropping over time)....


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Jesse said:


> ok thats good. Because the r15 has the ability but they dont have the download to the receiver to make it possible.


Do you mean "Autorecord" or "AutoTune" ?


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## walters (Nov 18, 2005)

I think Jesse's talking about RF remote (I'm a bit surprised it's active out of the box on the HR20 and still pending on the R15).


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

walters said:


> I think Jesse's talking about RF remote (I'm a bit surprised it's active out of the box on the HR20 and still pending on the R15).


Ahh... duh... silly me... sorry about that.

RF definently is included in the HR20


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

joekun said:


> One thing I noticed about the HR20 (and this is probably the same as other dual tuner DVRs) is that when programs are set to record back-to-back it begins recording the next show on the 2nd tuner so you get a bit of overlap with the previous show. This is really nice when recording Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis because you actually get to see the full preview for next week's show. Before (on a single tuner ReplayTV) I would always miss part of it as the tuner reset for the recording of the next show.


So the HR20 does have some sort of autopadding (at least at the start of the show). I hope they inprove that and get it more inline with the UTV with the 5 mins of autopadding at the end (if it can). At least that explains why Earl got the padding on his SG1 and SGA.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

Just finished watching Prison Break in HD on the HR20 and boy is this thing ever buggy! First I couldn't get the show to play, it would just show a black screen every time I selected Play from the menu. After a few times trying to start and stop it I tried hitting the slip button and it went forward 30 seconds and started playing.

After the show I decided to check on my to do list and see if it still had tons of stuff in there that I didn't want to record, but everything was gone save 2 items!!! One thing it showed was a Stargate SG-1 episode set to record on 9/1, but not the new episode coming up on 8/25. Prison Break isn't set to record next Monday either. I don't know what is wrong with this thing. I didn't reset it or anything.

Last night I started to watch Angel on TNT HD before realizing that it was a crappy upconvert, this was at 3am. Then in the afternoon when I turned on the box around 3:30pm it still had the meter at the bottom that said it was 3am and I was watching Angel. I had to change channels and then change back to get it to display properly. Buggy, buggy, buggy!


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

joekun said:


> Just finished watching Prison Break in HD on the HR20 and boy is this thing ever buggy! First I couldn't get the show to play, it would just show a black screen every time I selected Play from the menu. After a few times trying to start and stop it I tried hitting the slip button and it went forward 30 seconds and started playing.
> 
> After the show I decided to check on my to do list and see if it still had tons of stuff in there that I didn't want to record, but everything was gone save 2 items!!! One thing it showed was a Stargate SG-1 episode set to record on 9/1, but not the new episode coming up on 8/25. Prison Break isn't set to record next Monday either. I don't know what is wrong with this thing. I didn't reset it or anything.
> 
> Last night I started to watch Angel on TNT HD before realizing that it was a crappy upconvert, this was at 3am. Then in the afternoon when I turned on the box around 3:30pm it still had the meter at the bottom that said it was 3am and I was watching Angel. I had to change channels and then change back to get it to display properly. Buggy, buggy, buggy!


I really think ever DirecTV unit should come through my house and let me hook them up first... as with the R15, it just seems that my house is magic or something...

Do reboot the system when you have the opportunity... It should clear up some of those issues you have had.


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> as with the R15, it just seems that my house is magic or something...


IMO you never seem to actually use the things as much as someone should before offering a review. The R-15 you hardly used at all before the review and rarely even used it for many months after, only as a secondary unit. This HR20 you used a few hours over two weeks and gave the review.

I am willing to bet that after the HR20 gets to the masses, a lot of issues will be discovered.


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

Bobman said:


> IMO you never seem to actually use the things as much as someone should before offering a review. The R-15 you hardly used at all before the review and rarely even used it for many months after, only as a secondary unit. This HR20 you used a few hours over two weeks and gave the review.
> 
> I am willing to bet that after the HR20 gets to the masses, a lot of issues will be discovered.


Where did you get that he only used it over a couple hours?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Bobman said:


> IMO you never seem to actually use the things as much as someone should before offering a review. The R-15 you hardly used at all before the review and rarely even used it for many months after, only as a secondary unit. This HR20 you used a few hours over two weeks and gave the review.
> 
> I am willing to bet that after the HR20 gets to the masses, a lot of issues will be discovered.


That is definently not the case with the HR20...

The HR20 has become my primary unit in my main living room.
(I have disconnected my HR10).

It is now responsible for ALL of my main living room recording, and on average, I have used it for 3-4 hours every evening.... and on the weekends, more like 8-10 hours (heck last saturday I didn't leave the couch for about 12 hours, ect for food/water/ and other things)

I have nearly 370 items in my todo list (as of last night), accross 35 Series Links...
The unit is probably recording something every half hour if not two things (when you mix in all my son's and wifes shows)

So yes... with the R15's those where in the bedroom and the spare room, so I only used it for like an hour to two hours on average.... but the HR20... I decided to through it right into the fire, and put it into to primary use.

I probably put around 100 hours into the box before even starting the review... to make sure I didn't make the same mistakes as last time.


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## DaveC56 (Aug 17, 2006)

For those of you who had the HR20-700 installed along with upgrading your D* satellite dish to the AT9, did D* also replace your multi-switch, assuming you needed more than 4 output feeds??? Did you have to purchase the Zinwell WB68 multiswitch in advance of your upgrade installation?

Dave


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

If you need an multiswitch for your setup... it SHOULD be included as part of the install process... You should have to buy or pay extra for a component that you need.


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## DaveC56 (Aug 17, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> If you need an multiswitch for your setup... it SHOULD be included as part of the install process... You should have to buy or pay extra for a component that you need.


Earl,

I agree 100%. When the HR20-700 becomes available in the Metro DC area, I wanted to be prepared.

Again, thanks for all of your contributions to this forum!

Dave


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

DaveC56 said:


> Earl,
> 
> I agree 100%. When the HR20-700 becomes available in the Metro DC area, I wanted to be prepared.
> 
> ...


Not a problem.

Thanks for your contributions as well.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

I don't understand why when you set up a recording on the HR20 it wants to record everything with the same name no matter what time it's on. I'm used to the way ReplayTV sets up a series recording, by timeslot. So if you tell it to record, say, every episode of South Park and you set up the recording based on an episode that is on 7pm on Wednesday, it will only attempt to record episodes that are on in the 7pm timeslot throughout the week and will completely ignore episodes that are on at 11pm. It is forgiving of timeslot shifts, and so if the episode is on at 6:30 or 7:30 it will still record. Then you can tweek it further by telling it what days of the week it should or should not record. But if you do want it to record every episode regardless of time or channel you can setup a theme channel which will do that for you. 

This theme channel type setup seems to be the default for the HR20,though only for a single channel. It will set up recordings for the same episode over and over and over again, which creates a lot of conflicts. This is especially annoying for cable news programs that are on 3 times a day. While I'm sure it's great on the off chance that your favorite prime time show happens to be moved to a 2am timeslot it just doesn't make sense for realistic situations.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

joekun said:


> I don't understand why when you set up a recording on the HR20 it wants to record everything with the same name no matter what time it's on. I'm used to the way ReplayTV sets up a series recording, by timeslot. So if you tell it to record, say, every episode of South Park and you set up the recording based on an episode that is on 7pm on Wednesday, it will only attempt to record episodes that are on in the 7pm timeslot throughout the week and will completely ignore episodes that are on at 11pm. It is forgiving of timeslot shifts, and so if the episode is on at 6:30 or 7:30 it will still record. Then you can tweek it further by telling it what days of the week it should or should not record.
> 
> With the HR20 it will set up recordings for the same episode over and over and over again, which creates a lot of conflicts. This is especially annoying for cable news programs that are on 3 times a day. While I'm sure it's great on the off chance that your favorite prime time show happens to be moved to a 2am timeslot it just doesn't make sense for realistic situations.


I have shows (such as Stargate for example), that only record once per day.... 
The HR20 doesn't re-record the 2nd airing.

I am no expert on the Replay, so I can't phatom how they are locking it into one timeslot, but then also let's the timeslot slide a bit...

The HR20 (and R15) do pay attention to what you have on your hard drive already. It should not re-record anything that you already have saved on your hard drive.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

Earl, did you have a chance to check the Autorecord and see if it shows up as an option on the left-hand side when you do a search?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

joekun said:


> Earl, did you have a chance to check the Autorecord and see if it shows up as an option on the left-hand side when you do a search?


Crap... no... I will do it tonight... my family is out of the house tonight, so after I am done with the lawn...


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> It should not re-record anything that you already have saved on your hard drive.


So it will show up in the to do list but it won't record if you haven't deleted the previous episode? Not all shows have guide data, so I don't know if it would be smart enough to understand the difference between a rerun and a new episode of, say, a news program.



> I am no expert on the Replay, so I can't phatom how they are locking it into one timeslot, but then also let's the timeslot slide a bit...


It seems simple enough logic to tell the recording to check the guide data for your show at the proper time, but if it is not there to check one or two timeslots before and after. This does sometimes cause problems when the networks decide to have a special 1 hour block of some show and you only end up with one of the episodes, but those occassions are rare. I would prefer to have the thing work right most of the time rather than record everything in sight just to make sure you get the odd show on that rare occassion. It's also great for managing your recording times (in the feature request thread I saw some others talking about this). I have some shows that are of lesser importance to me that run several times a day or week. One of them I set to record during its 6am rerun when nothing else is going on and I am asleep.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> Crap... no... I will do it tonight... my family is out of the house tonight, so after I am done with the lawn...


Thanks! I really appreciate all the help you've given me and everyone else.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> Last night I started to watch Angel on TNT HD before realizing that it was a crappy upconvert, this was at 3am. Then in the afternoon when I turned on the box around 3:30pm it still had the meter at the bottom that said it was 3am and I was watching Angel. I had to change channels and then change back to get it to display properly. Buggy, buggy, buggy!


It's doing this again, only this time it says it's 12:49am and I'm watching X-Files when actually it's 12:15pm and what's on the screen is Law & Order. It shows that I'm buffered about 5 minutes, but I can't FF (because It's actually live). I was going to take a picture, but the digital camera is in use elsewhere. This bug seems easy to recreate though. I will probably try reseting the box today.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

I did a little more testing on autorecord. It seems that the option is not available when you do a search based on a title. It does appear when you do a search based on a person. This needs to be fixed!


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

joekun said:


> I did a little more testing on autorecord. It seems that the option is not available when you do a search based on a title. It does appear when you do a search based on a person. This needs to be fixed!


When you search on Title and want to record it's expecting you to create a SL on that series. Go to the right and select a show and press SELECT. You can then record just that show or setup a SL. Autorecord does only showup with keyword or person searches where specific series are not identified. Yet I believe if you select one of the shows from the search results you can still create a SL.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> Yet I believe if you select one of the shows from the search results you can still create a SL.


You can...sometimes. I had trouble doing this with Antiques Roadshow, though I was able to set a single record and then go in to the show options in the to do list and tell it to record all episodes. This is such a bass ackwards way of doing recordings. D* really ought to take a look at other DVRs.


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## leo81948 (Aug 11, 2006)

joekun said:


> I don't understand why when you set up a recording on the HR20 it wants to record everything with the same name no matter what time it's on. I'm used to the way ReplayTV sets up a series recording, by timeslot. So if you tell it to record, say, every episode of South Park and you set up the recording based on an episode that is on 7pm on Wednesday, it will only attempt to record episodes that are on in the 7pm timeslot throughout the week and will completely ignore episodes that are on at 11pm. It is forgiving of timeslot shifts, and so if the episode is on at 6:30 or 7:30 it will still record. Then you can tweek it further by telling it what days of the week it should or should not record. But if you do want it to record every episode regardless of time or channel you can setup a theme channel which will do that for you.
> 
> This theme channel type setup seems to be the default for the HR20,though only for a single channel. It will set up recordings for the same episode over and over and over again, which creates a lot of conflicts. This is especially annoying for cable news programs that are on 3 times a day. While I'm sure it's great on the off chance that your favorite prime time show happens to be moved to a 2am timeslot it just doesn't make sense for realistic situations.


Can't you use Manual Recording for the cable news shows? I have an R15 and use manual recording for several cable shows for the reason you stated above. I want it to record only one time a day, and I want that time to be the one I choose. So I have mine set up to record every day at midnight "Countdown" so I have the 8:00 first run slot available for recording other shows.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> Can't you use Manual Recording for the cable news shows?


Thanks, I actually didn't think of that until this afternoon, at which point I did set them up that way. I don't think that manual recording should be necessary for this kind of setup, but I am glad that the option is available, and that it actually labels your manual recording with the name of the show that is on at the time you set.

Found another little bug. On Monday I manually deleted a bunch of Stargate SG-1 reruns from the to do list that were scheduled to record on 9/1. On Tuesday they all came back.


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## khajath (Feb 18, 2006)

joekun said:


> Found another little bug. On Monday I manually deleted a bunch of Stargate SG-1 reruns from the to do list that were scheduled to record on 9/1. On Tuesday they all came back.


 I think you need to remove them from the prioritizer (what I did on my R15).


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> I think you need to remove them from the prioritizer (what I did on my R15).


Thanks, that worked...for now


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> Can't you use Manual Recording for the cable news shows?


I set up manual recordings for two shows on Tuesday. They both recorded fine. Wednesday afternoon I noticed it wasn't recording one of the shows and so I checked the to do list, both had completely disappeared. I had set each one to record mon-fri and they showed up just fine in the to do list on Tuesday, showing all future recordings.


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

Has anyone tried to dim the blue light ring? Holding in the FF and RW does't seem to work.


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## KaliChondra (May 17, 2006)

joekun said:


> Not sure, the paperwork doesn't say. The guy was wearing a DirecTV shirt and his van also said DirecTV on the side. I know they don't do their own installs, but I didn't see a name anywhere. The guy said his office was out of The City of Industry.


Not sure if this has been answered yet, but the installer for the Los Angeles Market is either Connectv or Ironwood, depending on the area. Any of those sound familiar?


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## judson_west (Jun 15, 2006)

Let's say you are guide surfing and see that a program you'd like to watch is coming up on channel 256 at 9:00. It is now 8:55 and you select that channel and begin watching the tail end of whatever is on before the program you're interesting in comes on. Now it's 9:10 and you have to leave the house for some reason, so you hit the RECORD button to record the show so you can continue with it when you return. Does the HR20 create a saved program starting at 8:55, 9:00 or 9:10? I assume that it will stop the recording at the end of the program and not like some DVR's just continue to record until you stop it.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

judson_west said:


> Let's say you are guide surfing and see that a program you'd like to watch is coming up on channel 256 at 9:00. It is now 8:55 and you select that channel and begin watching the tail end of whatever is on before the program you're interesting in comes on. Now it's 9:10 and you have to leave the house for some reason, so you hit the RECORD button to record the show so you can continue with it when you return. Does the HR20 create a saved program starting at 8:55, 9:00 or 9:10? I assume that it will stop the recording at the end of the program and not like some DVR's just continue to record until you stop it.


9pm


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## davidrumm (Dec 2, 2005)

joed32 said:


> Has anyone tried to dim the blue light ring? Holding in the FF and RW does't seem to work.


I believe it is the right and left buttons on the front of the receiver not the remote.


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

Thanks David that's what I was trying, but I will try again.


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## vikingguy (Aug 1, 2005)

Joekun not to start trouble but would you trust the HR20 for your most important recordings yet?


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## smb3d (Aug 24, 2006)

davidrumm said:


> I believe it is the right and left buttons on the front of the receiver not the remote.


Thank you, Thank you, for that tip about the blue ring. I have so many bright blue LEDs in one area, I was going crazy.

scott


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> Joekun not to start trouble but would you trust the HR20 for your most important recordings yet?


For weekly shows I would trust it. For shows that are on many times a week I do not. Recurring manual recordings don't appear to work either.


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## khajath (Feb 18, 2006)

joekun said:


> For weekly shows I would trust it. For shows that are on many times a week I do not. Recurring manual recordings don't appear to work either.


 There's no such thing as recurring manual recording


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> There's no such thing as recurring manual recording


I don't know where you got that info because when I go to manual it has the options of "once" or "recurring". I can then choose what day(s) I want to record, so I chose "mon-fri". My recordings each record once and never again. But when I go to the prioritizer it shows "Manual: Mon-Fri (recurring record icon) None Scheduled".

Has anyone else tried to setup a recurring manual recording? Did it work?


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## leo81948 (Aug 11, 2006)

khajath said:


> There's no such thing as recurring manual recording


I don't know about the HR20, but on my 2 R15s, I have several manual recurring shows, some are daily (m-f), others are once a week. They work fine.


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## leo81948 (Aug 11, 2006)

joed32 said:


> Thanks David that's what I was trying, but I will try again.


Contrary to what the manual says, I found out that on my R15-300s I have to press both the left and right buttons at the same time and then lift up, then press the two buttons again and lift up. Each time this will dim the blue eye one level. I think it takes four of these to completely turn off the blue eye. Again, this is on the receiver itself, not the remote.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

I was just in the middle of watching a recorded show when the HR20 decided to reboot itself and download new software. What a load of crap! The box should NOT be able to boot me off my own TV to download software!! I wonder what it would do if I were recording something.


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## khajath (Feb 18, 2006)

joekun said:


> I was just in the middle of watching a recorded show when the HR20 decided to reboot itself and download new software. What a load of crap! The box should NOT be able to boot me off my own TV to download software!! I wonder what it would do if I were recording something.


 Okey, it's a bug, and you posted it in a thread. Definitely the software should have some sort on screen message to warn viewer, even when this is a forced download.

You post this issue in several thread, however, this might make it sounds more like whining, and lose its effectiveness.

My installation is postponed until early next week. I hope that it already have latest software, so thing like this will not happen.


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

That's right leo. I was just holding them in. Thanks for the info.


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## VeniceDre (Aug 16, 2006)

Got my box yesterday finally. Scheduled from 10-12 but actually up and running at 4:00. Came with no Dolby Digital but it updated itself about an hour later. Dolby working now but constantly dropping from MPEG4 channels. Only fix that seems to work for me is tuning to one of the MPEG2 HD channels then back. MPEG4 Picture quality on the Angels/Yankees game looked good last night on 96. There are things that I like (PIP, speed), things that I hate (single buffer).

I'm going to play with it through the weekend but the HR10 goes back in the rack on Monday since the OTA is not active yet on the HR20.


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## rrr22777 (Aug 26, 2006)

I had an installation scheduled today for the HR10-250.(LA area). guess what the installer showed up with .. The HR20.. I hope the hard drive is upgradable on this thing!


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> You post this issue in several thread, however, this might make it sounds more like whining, and lose its effectiveness.


Okay, you showed me. Now go tell the Dual Buffer people.


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## DeanS (Aug 23, 2006)

Just an update.....

The installers have left about an hour ago and I have a new AT9 dish and the HR20 up and running. No problems to report. 

At first I thought my sat signal strength would not be adequate but this is not the case. I also had the installers un-diplex my OTA antenna and run it directly into the back of the HR 20, even though these inputs are not active yet. But before we connected the OTA, we tested the OTA signal strength on the older DTV receiver and now have a lock on at least 3 additional transmitters on Mt. Wilson that I didn't have before!

I'm new to the DVR world but have managed so far to (a) pause and re-wind live T.V., (b) set up two recordings (one just finished) and talior My Favorites list. If you have the HD20, the interface is basically identical, except now you have built-in recording features. Have not noticed great improvement in PQ, but I have an older tube-based HDTV set. Dolby Digital has worked fine, right out of the box.

That's it for now. I walked the wife through the remote etc. Was truly amazed that you could pause and rewind live T.V. Phew!!!


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## dvrblogger (Jan 11, 2005)

rrr22777 said:


> I had an installation scheduled today for the HR10-250.(LA area). guess what the installer showed up with .. The HR20.. I hope the hard drive is upgradable on this thing!


There is already a post in another thread about upgrading internal hard drive (works) !! downside is you need to do it quick as you will have to manually swap to see any recordings


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## Gotchaa (Jan 25, 2006)

joekun said:


> <snip..>
> 
> Yes, I understand, they want to take away all the power that we gained with ReplayTV. Replay was the only company that ever offered a box tailored to what the user would want and not what the content creators want.
> 
> ...


You know I tend to be the early adopter, have two HR10's upgraded, tivoweb, etc..., and it never ceases to amaze me how my buddies ReplayTV can just skip commercials. Sure I can macro program a jump with the TiVo, but damn, ReplayTV has the best feature I've seen in a DVR to date "." with the commercial skip. I'd love to see that feature in the HR20.


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## DeanS (Aug 23, 2006)

A Quick Question:

What are the currently available MPEG 4 channels in the L.A. Area and what are their channel numbers?

Thanks.


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## Gotchaa (Jan 25, 2006)

2,4,7,11
Listed in guide next to locals on MPEG4 capable receivers/recorders:
2 KCBS
4 KNBC
7 KABC
11 KTTV

Channels list LA2,LA4,LA7, etc...are Mpeg2


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## DeanS (Aug 23, 2006)

Gotchaa.....

Thanks for the information....of course I deleted the MPEG 4 channels in my Custom Guide1, wouldn't you know, and kept the other MPEG 2 locals active. I did tune yesterday to a program on KNBC and saw it in HD (MPEG 4). The installer was trying to explain the difference to me between LA 4 and KNBC in the channel lineup. I should have recognized then that this was a local MPEG 4 HD channel. 

I find it somewhat ironic that for each of these four stations we have three choices of reception!! Add in OTA in October and it could be four!! Right!?!


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## Spinner (Aug 24, 2006)

joekun said:


> Okay, you showed me. Now go tell the Dual Buffer people.


joekun:

I appreciate your feedback on the problems you're having. I see you haven't posted in a few day and I'm just curious as to how things are going now?

I'm schedule to have the HR20 installed in a couple of weeks and I'm still not 100% convinced I shouldn't get the HR10.

Please continue to keep us posted, good or bad.


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## Slyster (May 17, 2005)

GREAT thread... getting an HR20 when they are available in Mpls, MN (anyone know when that is?)... I have the R15 and it stinks in my opinion but I'm learning it fast.


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## joekun (Aug 18, 2006)

> I see you haven't posted in a few day and I'm just curious as to how things are going now?


Things are the same. I'm loving the video quality, but not so hot on the bugs. I'm definitely willing to stick it out until they can fix some things.

Mostly I haven't been posting because I've been having some trouble with getting a new TV and have been spending most of my free time dealing with TV problems or trying to properly calibrate one! Just dropped by to see if anything is new here before going back to TV issues.


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