# Getting a free upgrade



## rsblaski (Jul 6, 2003)

I am getting ready to order a "free" upgrade as offered from D*. I am first draining programs from my HR20-700 (actually from an external HDD) and once that is done, I will submit the order.
My question is this: Are we far enough along that I can reasonably expect an HR24 or are there still older models being sent out, such as HR21, HR22 or HR23? I've read that D* is not even asking for 20's to be returned, so I surely wouldn't expect one of those.
Just to add a complaint/gripe (I've been through all the topics regarding this so no response is needed); why oh why won't D* change to a marriage between HDD and accounts instead of to an individual dvr? It would make what I am doing sooooo much easier.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

rsblaski said:


> My question is this:


If you have this DVR professionally install by DirecTV, then your chances are better on getting an HR24


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

And I'd request a morning appointment.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

dpeters11 said:


> And I'd request a morning appointment.


but let's be clear, appointment window does not increases the chances of getting an HR24, what it does is it increases the chances of the tech showing up!


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

rsblaski said:


> I am getting ready to order a "free" upgrade as offered from D*. I am first draining programs from my HR20-700 (actually from an external HDD) and once that is done, I will submit the order.
> 
> My question is this: Are we far enough along that I *can reasonably expect an HR24* or are there still older models being sent out, such as HR21, HR22 or HR23? I've read that D* is not even asking for 20's to be returned, so I surely wouldn't expect one of those.
> 
> Just to add a complaint/gripe (I've been through all the topics regarding this so no response is needed); why oh why won't D* change to a marriage between HDD and accounts instead of to an individual dvr? It would make what I am doing sooooo much easier.


Forget the HR2x. Get the Genie HR44.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

rsblaski said:


> I am getting ready to order a "free" upgrade as offered from D*. I am first draining programs from my HR20-700 (actually from an external HDD) and once that is done, I will submit the order.
> My question is this: Are we far enough along that I can reasonably expect an HR24 or are there still older models being sent out, such as HR21, HR22 or HR23? I've read that D* is not even asking for 20's to be returned, so I surely wouldn't expect one of those.
> Just to add a complaint/gripe (I've been through all the topics regarding this so no response is needed); why oh why won't D* change to a marriage between HDD and accounts instead of to an individual dvr? It would make what I am doing sooooo much easier.


You would be better off upgrading to a HR44. It has features the HR24 doesn't (1 terabyte hard drive, faster processor, internal Wi-Fi, Genie Recommends, 200+ hrs of HD recording, 800+ hrs of SD recording, optical audio out, external, user-replaceable power supply, RF compatibility with RC71 remote). Why settle for less?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

He'd have to get a Genie in a free upgrade offer actually, since DirecTV doesn't consider 20-24 an upgrade.


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

MysteryMan said:


> You would be better off upgrading to a HR44. It has features the HR24 doesn't (1 terabyte hard drive, faster processor, internal Wi-Fi, Genie Recommends, 200+ hrs of HD recording, 800+ hrs of SD recording, optical audio out, external, user-replaceable power supply, RF compatibility with RC71 remote). Why settle for less?


And 5 tuners!


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## Bronxiniowa (Apr 14, 2013)

I'm out of contract and considering requesting an upgrade to a Gene, if they upgrade me for free. (I have one H22 and two H21s, both in decent working order.) But with whole-home I actually have 6 tuners, and plenty of storage space, shared among three receivers. What would be the advantage of upgrading to Genie and actually losing a tuner, in addition to re-enlisting with D* for two years?


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

Bronxiniowa said:


> I'm out of contract and considering requesting an upgrade to a Gene, if they upgrade me for free. (I have one H22 and two H21s, both in decent working order.) But with whole-home I actually have 6 tuners, and plenty of storage space, shared among three receivers. What would be the advantage of upgrading to Genie and actually losing a tuner, in addition to re-enlisting with D* for two years?


You dont have to give up any other receivers if you dont want to just to get the Genie. You could keep them all and have even more tuners. There are picture in picture options, more storage space, I think the Genie holds more series links, works alot better then the older HD DVRs, etc.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

dpeters11 said:


> He'd have to get a Genie in a free upgrade offer actually, since DirecTV doesn't consider 20-24 an upgrade.


You'll be graced with a fresh programming commitment if you make such a change, so I'm betting they consider it an upgrade. The only time it isn't considered an upgrade is when a leased HR20 must be replaced.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

harsh said:


> You'll be graced with a fresh programming commitment if you make such a change, so I'm betting they consider it an upgrade. The only time it isn't considered an upgrade is when a leased HR20 must be replaced.


Or owned right?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

joed32 said:


> And 5 tuners!


Which is cause for running out and spending a couple hundred (or less) dollars on an external drive, because if you record a lot, you're gonna use those 5 tuners and fill that little HDD up pretty quickly.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Bronxiniowa said:


> I'm out of contract and considering requesting an upgrade to a Gene, if they upgrade me for free. (I have one H22 and two H21s, both in decent working order.) But with whole-home I actually have 6 tuners, and plenty of storage space, shared among three receivers. What would be the advantage of upgrading to Genie and actually losing a tuner, in addition to re-enlisting with D* for two years?


Let's see, you lose a tuner, but you gain...the thrill of losing the Genie and all it's programming if the Genie fails. With the 3 HRs you'd have more flexibility and with a 2TB drive on each one you'd be able to back up your recordings. With only a Genie in the house you're at the mercy of the Genie and they will fail at some time or other and then what are you going to do?

Rich


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

harsh said:


> You'll be graced with a fresh programming commitment if you make such a change, so I'm betting they consider it an upgrade. The only time it isn't considered an upgrade is when a leased HR20 must be replaced.


Not quite. it all has to do how the receiver is replaced. under what policy


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

joshjr said:


> You dont have to give up any other receivers if you dont want to just to get the Genie. You could keep them all and have even more tuners. There are picture in picture options, more storage space, I think the Genie holds more series links, works alot better then the older HD DVRs, etc.


That's the way to go. Costs more, but your content is safer.

Rich


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

joshjr said:


> Or owned right?


unless you have the protection plan, the replacement will be leased but no commitment, with PP the receiver is own and no commitment


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

Rich said:


> Which is cause for running out and spending a couple hundred (or less) dollars on an external drive, because if you record a lot, you're gonna use those 5 tuners and fill that little HDD up pretty quickly.
> 
> Rich


Not really, I record a lot but at the same time I delete a lot. I DON"T keep anything that I record, once watched is gone.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

Rich said:


> That's the way to go. Costs more, but your content is safer.
> 
> Rich


Why should it cost more?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

joshjr said:


> Or owned right?


Correct. What I am not getting is why I can't swap one of my owned HRs for a Genie. The price of the Genies has dropped radically since their inception and I might take a flyer at a Genie if I could swap one of my owned HRs for it. Or, D* could finally allow us to use any HDD on any HR within our accounts and then I could see taking the "free" Genie they keep offering me.

Rich


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Rich said:


> That's the way to go. Costs more, but your content is safer.
> 
> Rich


True, but really if you want to upgrade to a Genie, replace your oldest or worst one with the Genie.....monthly costs really dont change unless you werent a Whole Home user.


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## rsblaski (Jul 6, 2003)

Drucifer said:


> Forget the HR2x. Get the Genie HR44.


I already have an HR34


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

Is it even possible to replace the HR34 for the 44? I would think so since your replacing not adding, Only thing is there's no guarantees in getting a HR44 unless by tech install, if they carry it, but if you're fine with your HR34 then try a HR24 or mini client if you don't mind if that client takes 1 tuner from the HR34.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

peds48 said:


> Not quite. it all has to do how the receiver is replaced. under what policy


What policies are there that you could go from a HR20 to an HR24 without a commitment?


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

harsh said:


> What policies are there that you could go from a HR20 to an HR24 without a commitment?


If its owned or defective lol.


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## Bronxiniowa (Apr 14, 2013)

Rich said:


> Let's see, you lose a tuner, but you gain...the thrill of losing the Genie and all it's programming if the Genie fails. With the 3 HRs you'd have more flexibility and with a 2TB drive on each one you'd be able to back up your recordings. With only a Genie in the house you're at the mercy of the Genie and they will fail at some time or other and then what are you going to do?
> 
> Rich


Excellent point, Rich!


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

harsh said:


> What policies are there that you could go from a HR20 to an HR24 without a commitment?


off is replaced under the "defective" umbrella then there is no commitment. if is replaced under the "upgrade" umbrella then there is a commitment

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

Rich said:


> Let's see, you lose a tuner, but you gain...the thrill of losing the Genie and all it's programming if the Genie fails. With the 3 HRs you'd have more flexibility and with a 2TB drive on each one you'd be able to back up your recordings. With only a Genie in the house you're at the mercy of the Genie and they will fail at some time or other and then what are you going to do?
> 
> Rich


Lose a few recordings and be without TV for a day or two. Not exactly the end of the world. Only difference if you had seperate DVRs is you wouldn't be without TV for a day or two, and you would only lose some recordings instead of all of them. It still hurts either way and isn't the end of the world either way. Not very many people record the same thing on multiple DVRs just so they have a back up recording, I think you are in the very tiny minority there. I know I have 3 DVRs and don't double up my recordings on any of them. In 6 years I don't think I've lost more than a dozen shows if even that many, and I record a lot of TV (which is why I have 3 DVRs).

In my opinion, the biggest thing to remember is that DVRs aren't for long time archiving, they are meant to record stuff so you can watch it when you have time instead of on the channels schedule. My advice is record stuff, watch it and delete. Don't mess with huge add on hard drives, that just means more stuff that you aren't going to watch and be upset about if you lose it. If you like it that much it most likely won't be on your DVR for more than a couple of weeks unless you like to save stuff up and binge watch after a season is over, and even then it's only like 3 or 4 months. If your DVR gets close to full and the stuff is important to you, you will usually make time to watch it.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

harsh said:


> What policies are there that you could go from a HR20 to an HR24 without a commitment?


All my 20-700s except one have been replaced by 24s without a commitment. When my last working 20-700 finally dies, I fully expect to remain out of commitment and get a 24 as a replacement. Nothing new or different about this.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Beerstalker said:


> Lose a few recordings and be without TV for a day or two. Not exactly the end of the world. Only difference if you had seperate DVRs is you wouldn't be without TV for a day or two, and you would only lose some recordings instead of all of them. It still hurts either way and isn't the end of the world either way. Not very many people record the same thing on multiple DVRs just so they have a back up recording, I think you are in the very tiny minority there. I know I have 3 DVRs and don't double up my recordings on any of them. In 6 years I don't think I've lost more than a dozen shows if even that many, and I record a lot of TV (which is why I have 3 DVRs).
> 
> In my opinion, the biggest thing to remember is that DVRs aren't for long time archiving, they are meant to record stuff so you can watch it when you have time instead of on the channels schedule. My advice is record stuff, watch it and delete. Don't mess with huge add on hard drives, that just means more stuff that you aren't going to watch and be upset about if you lose it. If you like it that much it most likely won't be on your DVR for more than a couple of weeks unless you like to save stuff up and binge watch after a season is over, and even then it's only like 3 or 4 months. If your DVR gets close to full and the stuff is important to you, you will usually make time to watch it.


You'd have to go thru what I did back in 06 and 07 to appreciate how little faith I have in these DVRs. They're a lot more stable now, but the bad taste is still there and I just don't have much faith in them. I don't archive anything, I just back up recordings. I now have about 14 or 15 HRs that work well and 12 of them are activated. I don't send working HRs back to D*, I keep them until I need a replacement. D* really let me down as far as replacements go for years so I bought a bunch of them that I own.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

CCarncross said:


> True, but really if you want to upgrade to a Genie, replace your oldest or worst one with the Genie.....monthly costs really dont change unless you werent a Whole Home user.


At the rate things are going, I figure I'll be ready for a Genie in about five years. Maybe. I really don't need one.

Rich


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## rsblaski (Jul 6, 2003)

Beerstalker said:


> ...In my opinion, the biggest thing to remember is that DVRs aren't for long time archiving, they are meant to record stuff so you can watch it when you have time instead of on the channels schedule...


You are correct as long as D* keeps an external HDD married to an individual dvr. But if D* ever changed their encryption policy and married an external HDD to an individual account, things would be somewhat different. Although there would be the danger of losing everything if an external drive crashed, some people, like me, could do backup recordings of things they wanted to archive, such as a favorite movie or series. IOW, if I wanted to archive movies, I would record them on two dvrs with external HDDs. That way, if one external failed, I would still have another copy of the movie(s). One could even keep a separate external HDD and only use that when recording something for archiving, thus reducing the wear and tear on the disk.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

rsblaski said:


> I already have an HR34


Well then, you're in the same boat as I'm in. Don't fall for any upgrade bull, because they wont guarantee the HR you will receive.


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## rsblaski (Jul 6, 2003)

Drucifer said:


> Well then, you're in the same boat as I'm in. Don't fall for any upgrade bull, because they wont guarantee the HR you will receive.


Well, my ancient HR20-700 seems to be slowing down, especially when pulling recordings from my other dvrs. It keeps taking longer and longer before a recording from another dvr will start to play. I figure whatever I would get can't be any worse than that.
BTW, the upgrade is due to having the equipment protection racket, er, I mean plan. Yeah, that's the ticket.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

rsblaski said:


> You are correct as long as D* keeps an external HDD married to an individual dvr. But if D* ever changed their encryption policy and married an external HDD to an individual account, things would be somewhat different. Although there would be the danger of losing everything if an external drive crashed, some people, like me, could do backup recordings of things they wanted to archive, such as a favorite movie or series. IOW, if I wanted to archive movies, I would record them on two dvrs with external HDDs. That way, if one external failed, I would still have another copy of the movie(s). One could even keep a separate external HDD and only use that when recording something for archiving, thus reducing the wear and tear on the disk.


In a world with Netflix and a million tv channels how necessary is it to archive movies though?


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

rsblaski said:


> Well, my ancient HR20-700 seems to be slowing down, especially when pulling recordings from my other dvrs. It keeps taking longer and longer before a recording from another dvr will start to play. I figure whatever I would get can't be any worse than that.
> BTW, the upgrade is due to having the equipment protection racket, er, I mean plan. Yeah, that's the ticket.


Three times I have gotten my HR21 replaced. Each time I got another HR21. My HR24s came from eBay auctions.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> In a world with Netflix and a million tv channels how necessary is it to archive movies though?


My thoughts exactly. Why archive at all? I have the ability to do it but I'd rather get the content from Netflix when it becomes available.

Rich


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

I can see keeping a few movies on there for general purposes and in case you just want to find something to play, but if you need it always, buy it on blu ray, there is no better format that will never let you down. Everything else, well... netflix or temporary.


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

I have at least 4 WD EHD's stored somewhere, which I already used for the HR24 I have, but I don't mind erasing most of the past recordings on 1 of those since I have back up recordings on the others, Or if the internal drive goes out(in rare situation).


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