# Latest news from CEDIA: What I learned



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

I'd like to start off by sending a thank you out to the staff at the DirecTV booth at CEDIA. They were polite, helpful, and pointed me to the appropriate person to speak with on the different topics I covered. When it was mentioned that I am a DBSTalk member they directed me to a specific staff member with whom I should speak. That individual was very helpful and patient with me as I spent considerable time mining for info and I never got a sense that they were trying to hurry me along. Now, onto the news:

I'll break up the news items into individual posts by topic area to make for easier reading. First up: the HD GUI

*HD GUI NEWS*

I got some new details along confirming others with which have been speculated upon in the Anticipation thread:

Guide data will continue to be displayed in a 1.5 hr window only. Sorry, no option to display larger timeframes.

October / November release, though info later in this post suggests October release more than November

H20's will not get the HD GUI and never will as it does not have the required specs to allow for it.


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Next up is some news on the RVU front. I spoke with staff at both the DirecTV and Samsung booths on this topic. Interestingly the expert Samsung people on RVU were not sent to CEDIA, though I was assured by the folks there that Sammy continues to develop additional RVU products. The rest of the info I gathered from the folks at the DirecTV booth.

*RVU NEWS*


RVU compatibility of Samsung televisions is not limited to the 6000 series, though it is the only line with RVU enabled. Owners of other Samsung SMART TV's may see the RVU related menu options but are unable to access them at this time.
Enabling RVU on other Samsung SMART TV's only requires a firmware update yet to be released by Samsung. Decision on when to release such a firmware update for other models is up to Samsung, DirecTV is not a limiting factor here.
 RVU clients (think dumb terminals, and Sammy SMART TV's) will only be able to see DVR content from the HR34 with which they are registered. They will not be able to see DVR content from other networked HR boxes.
A maximum of 8 RVU clients can be registered per HR34.


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Plenty of good information regarding the "soon" :lol: to be released HR34. I was given a 4th quarter 2011 release date for the box, though the way it was said came off as the staff couldn't directly reveal a more specific date and that I should continue asking in other ways to get a better answer. So, I kept digging and was also told that the HR34 will not ship with the HD GUI at release, but that it will receive it via software update at the same time the existing models receive theirs. Put two and two together and that would suggest that the HR34 is already in production and on its way to release in time for installers to get at least some units in the hands of fortunate D* subs before the October/November release of the HD GUI. Topping my visit off, I got a nice demonstration and hands-on with what looked to be a finalized HR34 product in the booth.

*HR34 NEWS*


Now 5 PIP menu display options, additional option to show sources side-by-side
1TB hard drive
5 tuners - maximum of 3 simultaneous streams (live-tv or DVR content) among any combination of directly connected tv and RVU clients.
PIP is limited to the TV which the HR34 is directly connected
HR34 is MRV compatible - HR34 and tv directly connected to it will be able to see DVR content from other HR boxes.
3D capable and compatible
No fees based on number of tuners used, though it sounds like there will be some sort of fee structure. My guess is that fees will be tied to registered RVU clients (i.e. no escaping additonal leased box fees by having an RVU client instead of a set-top box).
Maximum of 8 RVU clients registered per HR34
100 Series List limit (corrected previous statement of 50 series limit)

On a side note I inquired as to why the D* boxes only have 1 HDMI output on them, explaining that this complicates setups for folks with A/V receivers connected to their tv systems which only want to have their A/V receiver turned on for certain content (i.e. movies, sporting events). I was told that the reason for this is that D* has to acquire a HDCP license per HDMI output on a box. Adding a 2nd HDMI output would require them to acquire and pay for an additional license on every box. D* doesn't see the demand from customers to justify going to this expense. Once again we get hosed by DRM, makes me long for the old days of analogue.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Thanks Vlad.

I can't wait for the HR34. I'll definitely get one when available.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Thanks for the info and posting, it is appreciated.

Based on what you found out about the HDGUI and the 1.5 hour window it will still show just like now, I'm no longer anticipating it so much. The HR24s that I have don't really need the performance boost that is supposedly there.

To be honest, I never saw the need and still don't, for an HDGUI to being with. Getting a 3 hour window to me is more important. All the rest is just fluff.


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Here are a few other D* tidbits I picked up info on:

*General News*

A company named Extra Vegetables developed a driver (SHEF) for D* to enable Home Automation/Control Systems to communicate with and control D* set-top boxes (including the HR34). So far AMX, Crestron, and Control4 have use the SHEF driver to create interfaces between their systems and D* boxes. There were LCD touchscreens from each company tied into boxes at the booth. They all were capable of acting as remote controls, displaying guide information, changing channels within the guide, and interacting with the systems' macros. 
No new info on coming HD channel additions
No Nomad box on display
Nomad details weren't available


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Nice job YakeVlad!

I'm really surprised the HR34 still has the 50 SL limit, especially if this is to be a single DVR solution for homes.


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

Nice job YakeVlad can't wait to see some pictures


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## JoeTheDragon (Jul 21, 2008)

YakeVlad said:


> *HR34 NEWS*
> 
> 
> Now 5 PIP menu display options, additional option to show sources side-by-side
> ...


D* better look out on that as if cable all vid plan drops the outlet / mirroring fees then D* will end likely losing subs over that.


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## Juanus (Jun 5, 2007)

YakeVlad said:


> *HR34 NEWS*
> 
> 5 tuners - maximum of 3 simultaneous streams (live-tv or DVR content) among any combination of directly connected tv and RVU clients.
> 
> Maximum of 8 RVU clients registered per HR34


Does anyone else see the discrepancy here or am I missing something? If you have 5 tuners, I would assume 5 TVs would be the max even with the max streams being 3. But why would you have a max of 8 RVU clients registered?

You can have 8 TVs, but only three of them can watch TV at any specific time?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Ack, the 50 limit really changes things for me...I was hoping for one DVR to manage. I actually was expecting a bigger hard drive.

On the HDGUI, so to confirm, it will be on HR20, just not H20? I'm good with that, I got rid of mine when MRV came out.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Juanus said:


> Does anyone else see the discrepancy here or am I missing something? If you have 5 tuners, I would assume 5 TVs would be the max even with the max streams being 3. But why would you have a max of 8 RVU clients registered?
> 
> You can have 8 TVs, but only three of them can watch TV at any specific time?


The _active_ client limitation is based upon the performance of the system as a whole, not the number of tuners. Three active clients plus the HR34 itself plus one recording in the background uses up all the tuners very nicely. And is about the maximum the hard drive technology likely can handle.

The model is based on the concept that you may have 9 TVs (8 clients plus the HR34) but only 4 active at any one time.

Of course, the big question mark is how all this is billed.

Cheers,
Tom


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Tom Robertson said:


> The _active_ client limitation is based upon the performance of the system as a whole, not the number of tuners. Three active clients plus the HR34 itself plus one recording in the background uses up all the tuners very nicely. And is about the maximum the hard drive technology likely can handle.
> 
> The model is based on the concept that you may have 9 TVs (8 clients plus the HR34) but only 4 active at any one time.
> 
> ...


Yep, the billing is a big question. 

I had considered waiting for the HR34 and/or Dish's upcoming MRV stuff, but went ahead and made the switch to D*. After reading this and watching comments made on a few other sites about both central units, I'm glad I didn't wait.

Frankly, if D* put a unified (or even remotely viewable) to-do list in the current HDDVR/MRV setup, it would be more than good enough, imo. I love the idea of controlling the non-viewable HDDVR with my iPad, but without being able to see the todo list and/or series manager for it, it isn't all that handy.


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## Juanus (Jun 5, 2007)

Tom Robertson said:


> The _active_ client limitation is based upon the performance of the system as a whole, not the number of tuners. Three active clients plus the HR34 itself plus one recording in the background uses up all the tuners very nicely. And is about the maximum the hard drive technology likely can handle.
> 
> The model is based on the concept that you may have 9 TVs (8 clients plus the HR34) but only 4 active at any one time.


I feel like I am being dense, but I swear that I am tech savvy.
So you can have three simultaneous streams of RVU PLUS a TV hooked up via HDMI? and that can watch something completely different than the three streams and one tuner dedicated to recording?

If you can have 9 TVs, Does anyone know what happens when the 7th or 8th TV turns on? does it just have to watch something that another TV is watching? is there an error message?


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

*HR34 News*



> ... HR34 is MRV compatible - HR34 and tv directly connected to it will be able to see DVR content from other HR boxes.


Any mention of how many simultaneous MRV streams are allowed between the HR34 and H/HR2X receivers over WHDVR service?

Very nice work though YakeVlad ...


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## Nighthawk68 (Oct 14, 2004)

I am very interested in one of these HR-34 boxes, cant wait.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

"YakeVlad" said:


> [*]Same 50 series limit as existing HR2x units. I was told this restriction is in place to ensure a level of performance for other features (i.e. program guide)


I do not believe this.

I'm not doubting you were told this, but I have to say, this would be a huge handicap with what is essentially a whole home DVR.

~Alan


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## Nighthawk68 (Oct 14, 2004)

Alan Gordon said:


> I do not believe this.
> 
> I'm not doubting you were told this, but I have to say, this would be a huge handicap with what is essentially a whole home DVR.
> 
> ~Alan


Yeah this would be a serious handicap


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## dvdmth (Jul 24, 2008)

Three active clients is the number I'd expect for five tuners. Bear in mind that, on the main TV, two tuners may be in use simultaneously if PIP is active. That would leave three tuners for use by the client devices. There is no PIP capability on the RVU clients.


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## hbkbiggestfan (May 25, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> Ack, the 50 limit really changes things for me...I was hoping for one DVR to manage. I actually was expecting a bigger hard drive.
> 
> On the HDGUI, so to confirm, it will be on HR20, just not H20? I'm good with that, I got rid of mine when MRV came out.


Yeah, I would like to know about this as well. Please confirm or deny HR20 HDGUI compatibility if you know.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

YakeVlad said:


> . . . .
> *RVU NEWS*
> 
> 
> ...


That's a killer.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

The amount of people that complain about the 50 SL limit is significantly smaller than those who don't.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Shades228 said:


> The amount of people that complain about the 50 SL limit is significantly smaller than those who don't.


The ones who complain are probably all dbstalk members. :lol:


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

"Shades228" said:


> The amount of people that complain about the 50 SL limit is significantly smaller than those who don't.


I may have questioned that in the past, but I'm sure that's true.

However, a central DVR feeding multiple clients for multiple people NEEDS more than 50. That's why I don't think it's true...

~Alan


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

I have 130+ series spread across six tuners. This 50 series limit leaves me going nuts if I try to retire two HR21s to get one HR34. 

So it is down to the HR34 PIP feature and cost.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"RunnerFL" said:


> The ones who complain are probably all dbstalk members. :lol:


Not all of them. I have a friend that complained about it less than two weeks after he switched, and e makes fun of me for hanging around here. I think the primary market for an HR34 are power users, not really casual users. I think they'll have more problems with the limit than the average DVR user.


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## Araxen (Dec 18, 2005)

hbkbiggestfan said:


> Yeah, I would like to know about this as well. Please confirm or deny HR20 HDGUI compatibility if you know.


I'd like to know too.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Drucifer said:


> I have 130+ series spread across six tuners. This 50 series limit leaves me going nuts if I try to retire two HR21s to get one HR34.
> 
> So it is down to the HR34 PIP feature and cost.


You can condense a lot of SLs with boolean auto record, especially shows on the same channels. There's some boolean gurus around here if you need help.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

"dpeters11" said:


> Not all of them. I have a friend that complained about it less than two weeks after he switched, and e makes fun of me for hanging around here. I think the primary market for an HR34 are power users, not really casual users. I think they'll have more problems with the limit than the average DVR user.


I think the idea of the HR34 is to eventually be THE DVR...

~Alan


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

"sigma1914" said:


> You can condense a lot of SLs with boolean auto record, especially shows on the same channels. There's some boolean gurus around here if you need help.


Booleans are for geeks...

~Alan


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Alan Gordon said:


> Booleans are for geeks...
> 
> ~Alan


Perfect for all of us at DBSTalk!


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

"sigma1914" said:


> Perfect for all of us at DBSTalk!


I refuse to do it on principle...

~Alan


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Alan Gordon said:


> I refuse to do it on principle...
> 
> ~Alan


I don't do it because I don't understand it. :lol:


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

sigma1914 said:


> I don't do it because I don't understand it. :lol:


I don't either, though if I wanted to use it, I'm sure I could apply myself and figure it out...

However, I want the simplicity I had when I first got a DVR (DirecTiVo), and DirecTV's current implementation is just as simple. "booleans" are crap though...

~Alan


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

sigma1914 said:


> You can condense a lot of SLs with boolean auto record, especially shows on the same channels. There's some boolean gurus around here if you need help.


Well that sounds like an excellent selling point. Please past it on to the DirecTV folks. So when they go to market the HR34. The CSR can tell potential customers that boolean knowledge is useful.

Of course with boolean, you probably would end up with a strange mix-match of shows in a few dozen folders.

So I'll pass on your help suggestion and keep my current setup.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Drucifer said:


> Well that sounds like an excellent selling point. Please past it to the DirecTV folks. So when they go to market the HR34. The CSR can tell potential customers that boolean knowledge is useful.
> 
> Of course with boolean, you probably would end up with a strange mix-match of shows in a few dozen folders.
> 
> So I'll pass on your help suggestion and keep my current setup.


Listen man, I was trying to help you with a suggestion that could get you to get one.  I'll refrain from ever helping you again.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

"sigma1914" said:


> You can condense a lot of SLs with boolean auto record, especially shows on the same channels. There's some boolean gurus around here if you need help.


While true that is a bad workaround considering that is probably the least known feature of the hr s, even though it is probably the thing that makes it the best dvr out there.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

I've done some checking and found CEDIA reps seem to be on par with what we hear from CSRs. [large grains of salt needed here]


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

I thought we heard at ces last year that the 50 limit would be only at the start, and they planned on eliminating it eventually. Of course, things change, btu you never know.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

"Alan Gordon" said:


> I refuse to do it on principle...
> 
> ~Alan


I do it for sports, and to catch all kinds of movies, but I'd never do it for series. I use group play for series.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

sigma1914 said:


> Listen man, I was trying to help you with a suggestion that could get you to get one.  I'll refrain from ever helping you again.


There are work-arounds, and there are work-arounds that are worst then the problem.

Boolean is great for searches, but terrible for organizing.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> I thought we heard at ces last year that the 50 limit would be only at the start, and they planned on eliminating it eventually. Of course, things change, btu you never know.


This is what I was remembering as well. But then what does eventually mean? Heck, I'm not sure if I should just wait for the second hardware revision. Of course that would have to be through a reseller since DirecTV will consider both equivalent.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

"dpeters11" said:


> Not all of them. I have a friend that complained about it less than two weeks after he switched, and e makes fun of me for hanging around here. I think the primary market for an HR34 are power users, not really casual users. I think they'll have more problems with the limit than the average DVR user.


It will absolutely be for the casual user. I expect it to be the only dvr currently built by the middle of next year, if the costs work out. ( remember, while that box may be more, the clients will be far less expensive to build because they won't have the sat tuners and such on them, vs the current method where all clients have a sat tuner as well). If not, within the next 18 months.

Everyone pushes the 4 tuner dvr, I am sure DirecTV wants to push the five tuners that no one else will be able to promote. The pip feature also hives it a huge advantage over other boxes form other companies, most don't do that either.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

"Drucifer" said:


> There are work-arounds, and there are work-arounds that are worst then the problem.
> 
> Boolean is great for searches, but terrible for organizing.


Yeah, I don't think it's at all except able to have to use booleans to record multiple tv series. Sports and random movies sure... That's what I use it for and I love it for that. But I don't have a single series set up for Boolean, except for when want to record something in the future and don't want to forget it when it airs in six months or something. And even then, I change it to a regular sl as soon as I see it recording an episode.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I think the only boolean I've used for a series is for things with guide data issues, like Daily Show or ones where the name changes like Survivor or Top Chef.

If we had a unified To Do list, I wouldn't mind a HR35 plus my HR22, getting rid of my HR20.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

inkahauts said:


> Yeah, I don't think it's at all except able to have to use booleans to record multiple tv series. Sports and random movies sure... That's what I use it for and I love it for that. But I don't have a single series set up for Boolean, except for when want to record something in the future and don't want to forget it when it airs in six months or something. And even then, I change it to a regular sl as soon as I see it recording an episode.


I could have swore we had a member here who did boolean records as a workaround. Here's an old one I found...

For example if you watch several shows on FX:

AANY RESCUE DAMAGES JUSTIFIED TTITLE CCHAN 248

set for 1st runs and keep all will record every new episode of Rescue Me, Damages, and Justified. 3 series taken care of by 1 SL, saves 2 SL's that way

Edit: found it... http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=2192313&highlight=boolean#post2192313


Syzygy said:


> We (the wife & I) record so many shows (on the big plasma attached to the HR21-200) that we'd easily overflow the 50-item limit D* has imposed on Series Links. Therefore we use compound Series Links based on complex Boolean searches (minding the arbitrary 50-character limit on search expressions) to greatly reduce the item count. Note that each of these autorecords is qualified with *& Show Types, Series *and *First Run Only*.
> 
> The following lists, for the 4 major broadcast networks, include many new shows. We'll undoubtedly drop some of those after the first few episodes. The lists also include shows starting in midseason.
> 
> ...


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

While discussion of boolean search, may interest some, I'm not sure it fits the topic and fairly sure it won't be needed with the HR34.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> While discussion of boolean search, may interest some, I'm not sure it fits the topic and fairly sure it won't be needed with the HR34.


I do hope you're right, but I'd think the people they sent to CEDIA would actually know what they're talking about. However, I'm sure it's possible.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> While discussion of boolean search, may interest some, I'm not sure it fits the topic and fairly sure it won't be needed with the HR34.


Sorry.

Mods...delete if needed.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> I do hope you're right, but *I'd think* the people they sent to CEDIA would actually know what they're talking about. However, I'm sure it's possible.


Well I did too, until I checked.


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## Malibu13 (Sep 12, 2004)

Let's not stray away from the "topic" too far


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

Much, much better info then a pseudo marketing piece. Thank you.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

inkahauts said:


> But I don't have a single series set up for Boolean,


I used a lot of them last Fall and probably will again. Had all the CSI's in one Boolean, and had groupings of three shows from the same Network in others (i.e. How I met your mother, two and a half men, hawaii 5-0)


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## frytzz (Sep 9, 2008)

Any idea on what the price will be for the hr34?
Brian


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## bosco10021 (Apr 17, 2006)

Can someone please explain to me what GUI is?


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## cforrest (Jan 20, 2007)

bosco10021 said:


> Can someone please explain to me what GUI is?


Graphical User Interface a/k/a the Guide for us D* subs


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

inkahauts said:


> Yeah, I don't think it's at all except able to have to use booleans to record multiple tv series. Sports and random movies sure... That's what I use it for and I love it for that. But I don't have a single series set up for Boolean, except for when want to record something in the future and don't want to forget it when it airs in six months or something. And even then, I change it to a regular sl as soon as I see it recording an episode.


I use Boolean too, but only for narrow topics.


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

You can have 8 TVs, but only three of them can watch TV at any specific time?[/QUOTE]

Yes, that is correct. It gives you the flexibility to have up to 8 RVU clients throughout your home connected to a single HR34 and watch content on up to 3 from any of the 8 clients.


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

dpeters11 said:


> On the HDGUI, so to confirm, it will be on HR20, just not H20? I'm good with that, I got rid of mine when MRV came out.


Yes, that is correct. The HR20 will be able to get the HDGUI update when it is released. There are differences in the innards between the HR20 and the H20, besides the HDD, which allow the HR20 to make the cut but not the H20.



Juanus said:


> I feel like I am being dense, but I swear that I am tech savvy.
> So you can have three simultaneous streams of RVU PLUS a TV hooked up via HDMI? and that can watch something completely different than the three streams and one tuner dedicated to recording?


There are no tuners dedicated or reserved for recording. There are 5 tuners which can be allotted from any combination of the available 3 RVU streams, 2 sources available to the TV directly connected to the HR34, and recordings. So you could have 4 shows recording and 1 RVU stream, or 3 RVU streams and 2 shows recording, or 5 shows recording, etc etc.



Juanus said:


> If you can have 9 TVs, Does anyone know what happens when the 7th or 8th TV turns on? does it just have to watch something that another TV is watching? is there an error message?


I can see there is confusion on this topic. Think of this the same way you are familiar with DVR recordings. In an HR24 for example there are 2 tuners. With those 2 tuners you can watch live tv and record another show, watch a recording and record another show, record 2 shows, or with MRV watch two recordings. If you turn on the tv and try to change the channel while 2 recordings are in progress, you get a message prompting you to cancel one of the recordings or cancel your request to change the channel. Likewise, if you are on a channel when another show is recording and it's time for a 2nd recording to start, you get a similar kind of prompt.

In the case of the RVU clients and the HR34, if all the 3 available streams are in use any additional devices will have an error msg displayed stating that there are no streams currently available (or something along those lines).

Don't feel bad if your confused by all of this. It's a rather complex system and even the people at the D* booth seemed a bit uncertain on some of the answers they gave me when I asked what constituted a stream and what did not. In some cases I received conflicting answers. Perhaps if there is anyone on the forums that was given an HR34 for testing purposes, they could clear some of this up better than I can.



HoTat2 said:


> Any mention of how many simultaneous MRV streams are allowed between the HR34 and H/HR2X receivers over WHDVR service?


A good question, but not one I asked. Based on what I've been told about the functioning of the HR34, I would imagine that the number of simultaneous streams allowed between it and HR2x receivers would be limited to 1) the number of available streams from the HR2x, 2) not exceeding the 3 available streams on the HR34, and 3) only the tv directly connected to the HR34 can access content on another HR2x. So, it could be possible under the right circumstances to be watching 2 recordings from and HR2x through an HR34 on the tv directly connected to it by using the PIP function.


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Alan Gordon said:


> I do not believe this.
> 
> I'm not doubting you were told this, but I have to say, this would be a huge handicap with what is essentially a whole home DVR.
> 
> ~Alan


No offense taken. I was disappointed by the continued 50 series limit as well. I'll try to provide my best explanation for it though. For each series you add to your managed recordings, the HRxx is constantly running a looping process to check and see if it is time for the recording to start. This takes up a percentage of the onboard processor's resources which compounds with each additional recording. So, if you have 50 series set to record, there are 50 processes constantly running (and consuming processor resources). The same processor is used for everything else on the HRxx box as well, including retrieving guide data, displaying the guide, guide scrolling, etc. The statement made to me by the D* staff was that increasing the limit beyond 50 would sacrifice more performance of other features than D* is willing. Could this be solved by replacing the processor with a more powerful one, I'm sure it could. But that opens a whole other can or worms (Energy Star requirements, cost, etc.)


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

veryoldschool said:


> I've done some checking and found CEDIA reps seem to be on par with what we hear from CSRs. [large grains of salt needed here]


I agree with you on that point for the mass majority of CEDIA reps. However, the person I got a lot of my information from is someone who has been a very reliable source of information to certain well connected, "in the know" members on these forums. But, no one is perfect :eek2:


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

I apologize for the delay in getting photos added to this thread. I'm amidst an epic battle with my phone to wrangle them free. Rest assured I will be victorious, it just may take a bit.


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

frytzz said:


> Any idea on what the price will be for the hr34?
> Brian


There was no pricing information available on the HR34 at the D* booth.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

bosco10021 said:


> Can someone please explain to me what GUI is?


http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+is+a+gui

Sorry, couldn't resist.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"YakeVlad" said:


> The statement made to me by the D* staff was that increasing the limit beyond 50 would sacrifice more performance of other features than D* is willing. Could this be solved by replacing the processor with a more powerful one, I'm sure it could. But that opens a whole other can or worms (Energy Star requirements, cost, etc.)


Or a more efficient process. If the TiVo box based on HR22 hardware will be able to do it, or an HR10, then the HR34 could. I know it will have features a DirecTV TiVo doesn't, but still.


----------



## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> I think the primary market for an HR34 are power users, not really casual users. I think they'll have more problems with the limit than the average DVR user.


Agreed, that's why I was surprised the HR34 still has the limit. I guess if you think about it we shouldn't be surprised. After all it is the same firmware and they aren't writing new code just for the HR34, other than device specific drivers and such.


----------



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

IIRC DIRECTV vision for the HR34 was to allow for new customers to be able to have one HD DVR and thin clients that would have all the same DVR functionality.


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

YakeVlad said:


> I agree with you on that point for the mass majority of CEDIA reps. However, the person I got a lot of my information from is someone who has been a very reliable source of information to certain well connected, "in the know" members on these forums. But, no one is perfect :eek2:


I'm sure they gave you the best information they knew. As can happen, one department may not be completely up to date with what another is doing.


----------



## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

YakeVlad said:


> Yes, that is correct. The HR20 will be able to get the HDGUI update when it is released. There are differences in the innards between the HR20 and the H20, besides the HDD, which allow the HR20 to make the cut but not the H20.
> ...


And the difference is .... RAM size only.

I can replace those RAM chips in my H20 - no problem take those from dead HR20.


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

dpeters11 said:


> Not all of them. I have a friend that complained about it less than two weeks after he switched, and e makes fun of me for hanging around here. *I think the primary market for an HR34 are power users, not really casual users.* I think they'll have more problems with the limit than the average DVR user.


Everyone in this generation wants to be a power-user. It's only a person budget that prevents them.

It's only the seniors, who do not prefer change, that are today's casual users.


----------



## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Drucifer said:


> Everyone in this generation wants to be a power-user. It's only a person budget that prevents them.


Not true. I know several people in my/our generation that do not care to be a power user and are quite happy with that fact.


----------



## usnret (Jan 16, 2009)

I'm a senior (70), Love change, am Not a casual user and my fixed income prevents me


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

RunnerFL said:


> Drucifer said:
> 
> 
> > Everyone in this generation wants to be a power-user. It's only a person budget that prevents them.
> ...


Ditto RunnerFL, DITTO!!

I also know many youngin's who go kicking and screaming into change as well...

~Alan


----------



## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

YakeVlad said:


> No offense taken. I was disappointed by the continued 50 series limit as well. I'll try to provide my best explanation for it though. For each series you add to your managed recordings, the HRxx is constantly running a looping process to check and see if it is time for the recording to start. This takes up a percentage of the onboard processor's resources which compounds with each additional recording. So, if you have 50 series set to record, there are 50 processes constantly running (and consuming processor resources). The same processor is used for everything else on the HRxx box as well, including retrieving guide data, displaying the guide, guide scrolling, etc. The statement made to me by the D* staff was that increasing the limit beyond 50 would sacrifice more performance of other features than D* is willing. Could this be solved by replacing the processor with a more powerful one, I'm sure it could. But that opens a whole other can or worms (Energy Star requirements, cost, etc.)


Since this part of the discussion has somewhat been moved, I'll keep my reply brief and simply say this. I don't always agree with everything DirecTV does, but I refuse to believe DirecTV is stupid enough to put a 50 Series Link limit on a what is essentially a Whole Home DVR.

Again, no offense intended, and I'm enjoying reading what your recap, but I'll believe it when I see it! 

~Alan


----------



## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

RunnerFL said:


> Nice job YakeVlad!
> 
> I'm really surprised the HR34 still has the 50 SL limit, especially if this is to be a single DVR solution for homes.


Oh come on that is overkill for the possible 9 people that could be setting SLs. 
OOPS dang sarcasm leaking through again.

I suspect it depends on whether or not they decided to use a lower power CPU and use that limit.


----------



## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

Drucifer said:


> Everyone in this generation wants to be a power-user. It's only a person budget that prevents them.
> 
> It's only the seniors, who do not prefer change, that are today's casual users.


I resemble that!

Everyone in this generation = what generation do you mean?

I'm a casual user by preference, When I go home after working 9 hours I want something that is simple to use and just plain works with no tweaking. Hence my PC, Intel I7, Win7, SSD boot drive for speed. Quick simple to use and reliable, Knock wood.

I do avoid change just for the purpose of change. Since I do not need one I have no cell phone. Plus the fact that a cell phone would cost me more money. Every time a salesman hits me with the you will save money every month, I haul out my phone bill and away they go.


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

Alan Gordon said:


> Since this part of the discussion has somewhat been moved, I'll keep my reply brief and simply say this. I don't always agree with everything DirecTV does, but I refuse to believe DirecTV is stupid enough to put a 50 Series Link limit on a what is essentially a Whole Home DVR.
> 
> Again, no offense intended, and I'm enjoying reading what your recap, but I'll believe it when I see it!
> 
> ~Alan


I'd like to agree with you however.....

The majority of HD additions this year are only added to entice subscribers to get additional money packages versus National HD.

Going back in time, the way they handled the USSB acquisition. I hate to try and remember how many days I spent trying to get through at that time.

Their ill thought out Primestar buyout.

The image quality drop when they started adding local channels.
I still can see the image in my mind of square red blocks coming off of a brakelight in a movie when it came on.


----------



## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

TBoneit said:


> I'd like to agree with you however.....


----------



## cwpomeroy (Aug 8, 2007)

Alan Gordon said:


> Booleans are for geeks...
> 
> ~Alan


Who is Leon and why are we boo'ing him?


----------



## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

I wonder if you'll be able to buffer all 5 tuners at once and switch between them like you can now with double play?


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

TheRatPatrol said:


> I wonder if you'll be able to buffer all 5 tuners at once and switch between them like you can now with double play?


Probably not, the general user interface doesn't really support a more than 2 way buffering and swap concept.

Cheers,
Tom


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

TheRatPatrol said:


> I wonder if you'll be able to buffer all 5 tuners at once and switch between them like you can now with double play?


Quintuple Play?


----------



## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

"Tom Robertson" said:


> Probably not, the general user interface doesn't really support a more than 2 way buffering and swap concept.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


No, but.. Record five shows and then use last four in the info bar to flip between them . Hey, why not?


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## markrogo (Sep 18, 2007)

I can't imagine 50 series lists being enough for >most< families of 4 (or my family of 2). It significantly lowers the value of this product, although I'd still dump 3 DVRs and get 1 HR34 and 1 thin client to replace them. It's just disappointing that it will still require manual management of multiple DVRs to keep everything in order. I'm seriously wondering whether it's not worth getting an old Tivo or Media Center to handle OTA stuff; DirecTV's feeds kind of suck anyway.


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

The sensible option in my case is to simply add an HR34 to my 3 HD DVR MRV set up. That way, by replacing my oldest HD DVR with the HR34, I will still have the ability to record up to 150 events in the Series Manager on the three DVRs, and record up to 8 channels while watching 'live' tv.

I really want D* to offer a shared 'To Be Recorded' list though. My notepad and pen is getting to be very boring! :lol:


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## bakerfall (Aug 23, 2006)

P Smith said:


> And the difference is .... RAM size only.
> 
> I can replace those RAM chips in my H20 - no problem take those from dead HR20.


What good is that going to do? If there is no H20 version, you won't get it despite whatever hardware modifications you might make.


----------



## bakerfall (Aug 23, 2006)

markrogo said:


> I can't imagine 50 series lists being enough for >most< families of 4 (or my family of 2). It significantly lowers the value of this product, although I'd still dump 3 DVRs and get 1 HR34 and 1 thin client to replace them. It's just disappointing that it will still require manual management of multiple DVRs to keep everything in order. I'm seriously wondering whether it's not worth getting an old Tivo or Media Center to handle OTA stuff; DirecTV's feeds kind of suck anyway.


I have 5 HD DVRs with an average of 20 SL per. Having one HR34 and then clients would never work for my family and I'm sure were not the only ones. 50 SL limit when you only have 2 tuners is one thing. With 9 tuners, it's a dealbreaker honestly.


----------



## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

bakerfall said:


> What good is that going to do? If there is no H20 version, you won't get it despite whatever hardware modifications you might make.


Make HW platform get ready for the GUI.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

TheRatPatrol said:


> I wonder if you'll be able to buffer all 5 tuners at once and switch between them like you can now with double play?


Not sure about buffering all 5 tuners, but the double play feature is how you will swap between the 2 tuners for PIP for controlling with tuner is displayed on the main screen.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Just got an update from my source regarding the HR34 Series List. Apparently the Series List was limited to 50 originally and at some point along the development path it received a boost, hence the confusion. *The latest specs for the retail product has the limit increased to 100 series*.

Good news for all, this changes things considerably when it comes to swapping out/consolidating existing boxes with an HR34.


----------



## Thaedron (Jun 29, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> I do hope you're right, but I'd think the people they sent to CEDIA would actually know what they're talking about. However, I'm sure it's possible.


I'm wishing someone would also suggest that the 1.5 hour limit in the new HD GUI would be expanded as well.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Thaedron said:


> I'm wishing someone would also suggest that the 1.5 hour limit in the new HD GUI would be expanded as well.


I brought that topic up at CEDIA and though it doesn't appear to be in the cards at this time, rest assured the folks at D* are aware of this desire from the DBStalk community.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Juanus said:


> If you can have 9 TVs, Does anyone know what happens when the 7th or 8th TV turns on? does it just have to watch something that another TV is watching? is there an error message?


Presumably any of the five clients checking in after the first three would get an error message.

I doubt that DIRECTV had envisioned setting up a video wall with the HR34.


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

YakeVlad said:


> Just got an update from my source regarding the HR34 Series List. Apparently the Series List was limited to 50 originally and at some point along the development path it received a boost, hence the confusion. *The latest specs for the retail product has the limit increased to 100 series*.
> 
> Good news for all, this changes things considerably when it comes to swapping out/consolidating existing boxes with an HR34.


While of course I'd like to see this increased more, it will at least work for me. I'm back on track to get down to one DVR and one H25!


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

YakeVlad said:


> Just got an update from my source regarding the HR34 Series List. Apparently the Series List was limited to 50 originally and at some point along the development path it received a boost, hence the confusion. *The latest specs for the retail product has the limit increased to 100 series*.
> 
> Good news for all, this changes things considerably when it comes to swapping out/consolidating existing boxes with an HR34.


This might even change again before it gets released.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Drucifer said:


> That's a killer.


Not being able to participate in external MRV sessions isn't a surprise if you think about it.

Without RVU support in the HR2x to do RVU transport controls and generate and send graphic overlays, the HR34 would have to regenerate MRV sessions for its clients You would fast tie up a DECA network with MRV sessions coming into the HR34 and being redirected out as RVU sessions to the clients. If a remote button was pressed on the client, the HR34 would have to relay the corresponding MRV command to the HR2x adding a layer of latency.

I suspect that RVU represents considerably more overhead than regular MRV.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

harsh said:


> Presumably any of the five clients checking in after the first three would get an error message.
> 
> I doubt that DIRECTV had envisioned setting up a video wall with the HR34.


That is correct. Any client checking in while the 3 streams are already allocated will receive an error message stating such.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

veryoldschool said:


> While discussion of boolean search, may interest some, I'm not sure it fits the topic and fairly sure it won't be needed with the HR34.


If, as reported, the limit remains at 50, figuring out ways to get everything to record on the HR34 will be 2-4 times more important than it is with the HR2x.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

harsh said:


> If, as reported, the limit remains at 50, figuring out ways to get everything to record on the HR34 will be 2-4 times more important than it is with the HR2x.


It's changed. Keep up since you love DirecTV so much.



YakeVlad said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I've posted this over in the What I learned at CEDIA thread, but it directly applies here as well. The Series List limit for the HR34 to be released will have a limit of *100 series*, not the 50 as previously stated.


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

harsh said:


> If, as reported, the limit remains at 50, figuring out ways to get everything to record on the HR34 will be 2-4 times more important than it is with the HR2x.


So let us know how any of this might effect you, not being a DirecTV customer, along with quoting old posts have have been disproved already in this thread. :nono:


----------



## David Ortiz (Aug 21, 2006)

harsh said:


> If, as reported, the limit remains at 50, figuring out ways to get everything to record on the HR34 will be 2-4 times more important than it is with the HR2x.


Wow. Even if you can't read between the lines (or at the end of the line) not every customer who has an HR34 instead of an HR24 is going to be recording 2 or 3 times more shows just because they have more tuners.

It may be that most people will record the same amount of shows regardless of how many tuners they have.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

P Smith said:


> Make HW platform get ready for the GUI.


Are you going to perform this upgrade on all remaining H20 receivers? Do you know that the MMU supports more RAM?


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

harsh said:


> Not being able to participate in external MRV sessions isn't a surprise if you think about it.
> 
> Without RVU support in the HR2x to do RVU transport controls and generate and send graphic overlays, the HR34 would have to regenerate MRV sessions for its clients You would fast tie up a DECA network with MRV sessions coming into the HR34 and being redirected out as RVU sessions to the clients. If a remote button was pressed on the client, the HR34 would have to relay the corresponding MRV command to the HR2x adding a layer of latency.
> 
> I suspect that RVU represents considerably more overhead than regular MRV.


Sounds more to me like an issue of applying the correct product with the intended use. If I'm understanding the HR34's MRV compatability properly, then any D* box connected to the same network as the HR34 would be able to access its DVR content. Therefore, if you're really concerned about being able to access DVR content from an HR34 and other HR2x boxes, why not just get an H24 or H25 instead of an RVU client box? I can't imagine that D* will charge less or nothing at all for an RVU client than the current additional leased box fees we have to pay now.

Or is the concern here specifically focused on TV's and other devices with an RVU client built-in?


----------



## hahler2 (Sep 19, 2006)

I'm a little confused about the RVU client box capability.

I understand that you will only be able to have 3 active clients at a time. And I get why because of the tuners. However, if all 5 tuners are recording something, will you still be able to watch recorded shows on the client boxes and would you be able to use more than 3 clients at a time for watching recordings?

I only have 3 TV's so not being able to use more than 3 at a time is not a big deal, but if you can't watch recordings if all 5 tuners are in use that would be a deal breaker for me.


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

hahler2 said:


> I'm a little confused about the RVU client box capability.


The client box doesn't have any tuners, so they will be much like a TV with RVU, where they're dependent on what the server is capable of offering.


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

YakeVlad said:


> Sounds more to me like an issue of applying the correct product with the intended use. If I'm understanding the HR34's MRV compatability properly, then any D* box connected to the same network as the HR34 would be able to access its DVR content.* Therefore, if you're really concerned *about being able to access DVR content from an HR34 and other HR2x boxes, why not just get an H24 or H25 instead of an RVU client box? I can't imagine that D* will charge less or nothing at all for an RVU client than the current additional leased box fees we have to pay now.
> 
> Or is the concern here specifically focused on TV's and other devices with an RVU client built-in?


For anyone to be concerned, wouldn't they either need to be a DirecTV customer, or have plans to become one? With this poster, he's proven he has neither.


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

It all sounds great, but 2 questions:

1) While it certainly sounds like other HR2X DVR's will be able to access the HR34's content, please tell it will work the other way as well, ie HR34 access an HR20-24's content.

2) Has anything been mentioned about how the rollout will happen? New Customers only, order from DirecTV or buy from retailer (SolidSignal etc)?

Thanks for the info. I wanted to go and it would have been easy as my in-laws live in Indy, but too many things going on here.


----------



## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

hahler2 said:


> I'm a little confused about the RVU client box capability.
> 
> I understand that you will only be able to have 3 active clients at a time. And I get why because of the tuners. However, if all 5 tuners are recording something, will you still be able to watch recorded shows on the client boxes and would you be able to use more than 3 clients at a time for watching recordings?
> 
> I only have 3 TV's so not being able to use more than 3 at a time is not a big deal, but if you can't watch recordings if all 5 tuners are in use that would be a deal breaker for me.


While we can only speculate until at least the "First Look" presentation here, it would seem that an RVU stream is an RVU stream wether it is for live or recorded content on the HR34.

Therefore logically it should allow up to any three registered RVU clients to access recorded content at a time if all live tuners are recording content I would think.


----------



## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

Herdfan said:


> It all sounds great, but 2 questions:
> 
> 1) While it certainly sounds like other HR2X DVR's will be able to access the HR34's content, please tell it will work the other way as well, ie HR34 access an HR20-24's content. ...


Again, calls for speculation at this point. But reasonably it should allow for MRV bidirectional function. Just one MRV stream per HR2X box to the HR34 of course, however possibly more (perhaps up to three?) MRV streams from the HR34 to multiple H/HR2X clients.



> 2) Has anything been mentioned about how the rollout will happen? New Customers only, order from DirecTV or buy from retailer (SolidSignal etc)?


If DIRECTV has already determined this, they haven't publicly released these details yet.


----------



## pfp (Apr 28, 2009)

Alan Gordon said:


> I do not believe this.
> 
> I'm not doubting you were told this, but I have to say, this would be a huge handicap with what is essentially a whole home DVR.
> 
> ~Alan


[strike]10[/strike] 20 Series links per tuner should be enough for anyone. :lol:


----------



## pfp (Apr 28, 2009)

sigma1914 said:


> You can condense a lot of SLs with boolean auto record, especially shows on the same channels. There's some boolean gurus around here if you need help.


One folder per show would be nice.


----------



## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

harsh said:


> Are you going to perform this upgrade on all remaining H20 receivers? Do you know that the MMU supports more RAM?


Do you know how the"mmu" (why invent your own ? can't read Broadcom specs ?) designed for BCM7038 ? Or the BCM7038 itself ?


----------



## kymikes (Jan 16, 2008)

harsh said:


> Not being able to participate in external MRV sessions isn't a surprise if you think about it.
> 
> Without RVU support in the HR2x to do RVU transport controls and generate and send graphic overlays, the HR34 would have to regenerate MRV sessions for its clients You would fast tie up a DECA network with MRV sessions coming into the HR34 and being redirected out as RVU sessions to the clients. If a remote button was pressed on the client, the HR34 would have to relay the corresponding MRV command to the HR2x adding a layer of latency.
> 
> I suspect that RVU represents considerably more overhead than regular MRV.


It been a while since I crawled through the RVU spec (so I may be all wet) but I don't recall anything in the transport protocol that would preclude an RVU stream from being directed to more than one client. Did I miss the point? While the 4th client may be limited to viewing one of the 3 current streams, I thought it could view an existing stream by just having the RVU server 'address' that stream to 2 active clients. Did I just have a brain spasm or did I miss something in the transport protocol?


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

hahler2 said:


> I'm a little confused about the RVU client box capability.
> 
> I understand that you will only be able to have 3 active clients at a time. And I get why because of the tuners. However, if all 5 tuners are recording something, will you still be able to watch recorded shows on the client boxes and would you be able to use more than 3 clients at a time for watching recordings?
> 
> I only have 3 TV's so not being able to use more than 3 at a time is not a big deal, but if you can't watch recordings if all 5 tuners are in use that would be a deal breaker for me.


The short answer is yes, you will be able to watch recorded content even when all 5 tuners are in use for recording.

The long answer is the HR34 has an allotment of 3 streams available for use. The important thing to understand, and where I think a lot of the confusion is coming from here, is what constitutes a stream. Here's a quick reference for that:

*Uses a Stream*
- Watching live TV via a RVU client
- Watching recorded DVR content via a RVU client
- Watching recorded DVR content via MRV

*Does NOT use a Stream*
- Watching live TV on the TV directly connected to the HR34
- Watching recorded DVR content, which is physically stored on the HR34, on the TV directly connected to the HR34

Hope that helps


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Herdfan said:


> It all sounds great, but 2 questions:
> 
> 1) While it certainly sounds like other HR2X DVR's will be able to access the HR34's content, please tell it will work the other way as well, ie HR34 access an HR20-24's content.


Here's how it was explained to me:
-HR34's will function on MRV just like the existing HR2x's do currently. So, HR2x's will be able to see the HR34's recordings and the HR34's will be able to see the HR2x's recordings.

-The RVU clients connected to the HR34 are a different story (I'm seeking verification on this atm). While the HR34's will be able to view the HR2x's recordings, only the TV directly connected to the HR34 will be able to view the HR2x's recordings. The RVU clients will only be able to view recordings stored on the HR34.



Herdfan said:


> 2) Has anything been mentioned about how the rollout will happen? New Customers only, order from DirecTV or buy from retailer (SolidSignal etc)?


Great question. Nothing has been mentioned so far as to how the rollout will work. The staff at CEDIA didn't have any information pertaining to sales and release. Though if history is any indication, I'm sure we'll find out before the HR34 is available.


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

YakeVlad said:


> Here's how it was explained to me:
> -HR34's will function on MRV just like the existing HR2x's do currently. So, HR2x's will be able to see the HR34's recordings and the HR34's will be able to see the HR2x's recordings.


Awesome. Thanks! 



YakeVlad said:


> *Does NOT use a Stream*
> - Watching live TV on the TV directly connected to the HR34
> - Watching recorded DVR content, which is physically stored on the HR34, on the TV directly connected to the HR34


Does the HR34 watching a show via MRV from an HR2x constitute a stream? I know that is incoming vs. outgoing, but if there are only 3 "pipes" so to speak, it could matter.


----------



## David Ortiz (Aug 21, 2006)

YakeVlad said:


> -The RVU clients connected to the HR34 are a different story (I'm seeking verification on this atm). While the HR34's will be able to view the HR2x's recordings, only the TV directly connected to the HR34 will be able to view the HR2x's recordings. The RVU clients will only be able to view recordings stored on the HR34.


This may be the reason that a mixed environment was not initially going to be "allowed".


----------



## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

From what I'm gathering, there are lots of ways to "count" to reach the limitations.

First, we know there are 5 tuners. So the total is 5 things buffering or recording.

Four active TVs (3 clients plus the server.) Those clients can be watching a tuner or a recording. The clients can be RVU or, from the sounds of it, at least one MRV client.

There can be a total of 8 registered RVU clients. The first 3 to actively request service get it--unless it is a tuner that is already taken. Then it gets a polite message offering the person options. The other 5 clients also get messages describing options. 

Some interesting situations will occur and we won't know how the unit will handle it until it happens.

Say you are on a ship and you cross the international dateline... Oops, sorry, that is George Carlin. 

Say you are watching ESPN on one tuner and you've rewound the live buffer. And another TV starts watching ESPN live. Does that take one or two tuners? (It does count as "streams" or "active clients", so likely no confusion there.) 

Cheers,
Tom


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Herdfan said:


> Does the HR34 watching a show via MRV from an HR2x constitute a stream? I know that is incoming vs. outgoing, but if there are only 3 "pipes" so to speak, it could matter.


Sure, but just like MRV between two HR2x, "the stream count" is only outgoing.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Tom Robertson said:


> Then it gets a polite message offering the person options. The other 5 clients also get messages describing options.


What options might there be for an RVU client that doesn't get a lease?


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Tom Robertson said:


> Say you are watching ESPN on one tuner and you've rewound the live buffer. And another TV starts watching ESPN live. Does that take one or two tuners? (It does count as "streams" or "active clients", so likely no confusion there.)
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


Anytime a RVU client connects with the HR34(server) it attempts to acquire one of the 3 "streams". With an RVU client it doesn't matter what content you are accessing (live TV or recorded content) it consumes 1 of the 3 streams, unless one is not available. Not sure where you're getting the term "active client" from, there is no allocation or reference in regards to that term from D* of which I'm aware.

In the scenario you described, the usage of tuners would be identical to the same circumstances being applied to a HR2x and the RVU client connecting to watch would require a tuner and a stream.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

harsh said:


> What options might there be for an RVU client that doesn't get a lease?


Turn off one of the 3 RVU clients using the 3 allotted streams to free one up or wait until one becomes available.


----------



## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

harsh said:


> What options might there be for an RVU client that doesn't get a lease?


That would depend on the RVU client and what else is available.

For instance an RVU ready Samsung TV would have all it's other apps, tuners, and inputs available.

A C30 might present you with an option to see if there are other RVU servers. Or tell you to deactivate another client so you can activate this one.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

YakeVlad said:


> Anytime a RVU client connects with the HR34(server) it attempts to acquire one of the 3 "streams". With an RVU client it doesn't matter what content you are accessing (live TV or recorded content) it consumes 1 of the 3 streams, unless one is not available. Not sure where you're getting the term "active client" from, there is no allocation or reference in regards to that term from D* of which I'm aware.
> 
> In the scenario you described, the usage of tuners would be identical to the same circumstances being applied to a HR2x and the RVU client connecting to watch would require a tuner and a stream.


Some of this will work out in the terminology. To me an active client is one that is both known to a server and currently actively using service (a stream). An inactive client is one that is known to a server but not currently requesting service (ie possibly off.)

My TV should be an RVU client (when Samsung releases its RVU app), but not all the time. If there were an RVU server, it would be known to the server, but not always requesting a stream even while on. It might be connected to the blue-ray player for instance. 

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Tom Robertson said:


> Some of this will work out in the terminology. To me an active client is one that is both known to a server and currently actively using service (a stream). An inactive client is one that is known to a server but not currently requesting service (ie possibly off.)
> 
> My TV should be an RVU client (when Samsung releases its RVU app), but not all the time. If there were an RVU server, it would be known to the server, but not always requesting a stream even while on. It might be connected to the blue-ray player for instance.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I follow you. The IT pro in me understands server-client architecture and the terms active client and inactive client. Just trying to limit terminology here to that I've heard D* using for simplicity sake and avoiding confusion.


----------



## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

YakeVlad said:


> Yeah, I follow you. The IT pro in me understands server-client architecture and the terms active client and inactive client. Just trying to limit terminology here to that I've heard D* using for simplicity sake and avoiding confusion.


So what term did DIRECTV use for a known but not streaming client?


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Tom Robertson said:


> So what term did DIRECTV use for a known but not streaming client?


Registered client


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

YakeVlad said:


> Just got an update from my source regarding the HR34 Series List. Apparently the Series List was limited to 50 originally and at some point along the development path it received a boost, hence the confusion. *The latest specs for the retail product has the limit increased to 100 series*.
> 
> Good news for all, this changes things considerably when it comes to swapping out/consolidating existing boxes with an HR34.


Well that's a right move.

That puts me back on goal to replace two HR21 with one HR34.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Tom Robertson said:


> To me an active client is one that is both known to a server and currently actively using service (a stream). An inactive client is one that is known to a server but not currently requesting service (ie possibly off.)


Perhaps the term "lease" (borrowed from DHCP terminology) would be useful to distinguish clients that have active server connections versus those that don't.

My other idea was to use the concept of teats but that seemed a little off-color.


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

pfp said:


> [strike]10[/strike] 20 Series links per tuner should be enough for anyone. :lol:


Only if you like to constantly change the SM list as the seasons in TVland go from Fall Preview to Mid-season Replacements and finally to Summer Shows.


----------



## Justin85 (Jun 16, 2010)

YakeVlad said:


> I apologize for the delay in getting photos added to this thread. I'm amidst an epic battle with my phone to wrangle them free...





YakeVlad said:


> Yeah, I follow you. The IT pro in me...


You are an "IT pro" but you haven't figured out to get the pics of your phone yet to post on here? Just an observation


----------



## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Hi is Yake IT Pro.


----------



## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

We do have pictures from two other threads. I wonder how much its changed since then, if any?

Thread 1

Thread 2


----------



## Justin85 (Jun 16, 2010)

poking fun was much more important than seeing the pictures.


----------



## bakerfall (Aug 23, 2006)

P Smith said:


> Do you know how the"mmu" (why invent your own ? can't read Broadcom specs ?) designed for BCM7038 ? Or the BCM7038 itself ?


I hope you are just saying it's possible to upgrade, and not considering doing it. DirecTV is not making a version of the guide for that box. You could upgrade every component in the box, and it's not going to get the HD GUI. A call to DirecTV customer retention with an explanation of your complaint would probably net you a new box free anyway.


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Tom Robertson said:


> For instance an RVU ready Samsung TV would have all it's other apps, tuners, and inputs available.
> 
> A C30 might present you with an option to see if there are other RVU servers. Or tell you to deactivate another client so you can activate this one.


Does anyone but me see a potential problem brewing? If I have a house and 1 HR34 and say 5 remote locations, how happy is someone going to be if their only access to TV is via either and RVU TV or C30 and no streams are available? They get no TV. Yes, they might be able to play a game on their TV, but what if they want to watch "the game"? Yeah, they can go kick someone off another TV, but......

With the current implementation or MRV, when a DVR is unavailable (which is actually rare) I can either watch a local recording or live TV. With the HR34 setup, the last person in is out of luck.

How happy is a customer going to be if they can't watch DirecTV on their TV? I know this can all be explained, but do you think it will completely register with the customer? I am not saying the concept is bad, but it could create some issues.


----------



## pbaran (May 24, 2006)

I do not have a swim system yet. How will the 5 tuners affect a swim based system? Will it use 5 of the 8 swim tuners? My plan is to use my 2 hr24s with a hr34. That would be a total of 9 tuners. If I sound confused it because I am. How would this setup work?


----------



## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

pbaran said:


> I do not have a swim system yet. How will the 5 tuners affect a swim based system? Will it use 5 of the 8 swim tuners? My plan is to use my 2 hr24s with a hr34. That would be a total of 9 tuners. If I sound confused it because I am. How would this setup work?


You can use a SWiM-16.


----------



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

pbaran said:


> I do not have a swim system yet. How will the 5 tuners affect a swim based system? Will it use 5 of the 8 swim tuners? My plan is to use my 2 hr24s with a hr34. That would be a total of 9 tuners. If I sound confused it because I am. How would this setup work?


Your LNB would need to be the non SWiM LNB, that has four outputs on it. Then four coax lines would run from the LNB to a SWiM16 switch, which is basically two SWiM8's that are in one case, that has two outputs on it. One coax line could go to the HR34 and the other to a two way splitted that feeds your two HR24's.


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Herdfan said:


> Does anyone but me see a potential problem brewing? If I have a house and 1 HR34 and say 5 remote locations...


I think we can always find "a potential problem" with any combination, but DirecTV's basic model is a 4 room setup, which must be "a reasonable" need for customers.
The HR34 still seems like a step forward over what we have now.
Maybe the C30 won't be the best option for someone with more than three remote locations, so MRV would work through H2x receivers. Three MRV streams would still offer more than a 2 DVR + 4 receiver setup.


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> I think we can always find "a potential problem" with any combination, but DirecTV's basic model is a 4 room setup, which must be "a reasonable" need for customers.


I agree with you, but with the current 4 room setup, you know going in that it is good for 4 rooms. When you start telling customers they can have 8 locations, that is what they are going to hear. Not that they get 8 but can only use 4.


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

RAD said:


> Your LNB would need to be the non SWiM LNB, that has four outputs on it. Then four coax lines would run from the LNB to a SWiM16 switch, which is basically two SWiM8's that are in one case, that has two outputs on it. One coax line could go to the HR34 and the other to a two way splitted that feeds your two HR24's.


So you're saying that someone like me, who has a SWIM (Slimline3) system with 3HD DVRs running with Whole Home DVR, would have to get a different LNB installed if I wanted to replace one of my DVRs with a new HR34?


----------



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

TDK1044 said:


> So you're saying that someone like me, who has a SWIM (Slimline3) system with 3HD DVRs running with Whole Home DVR, would have to get a different LNB installed if I wanted to replace one of my DVRs with a new HR34?


The SWiMLNB can support a max of 8 tuners, period. So replacing a HR2X with a HR34 would take your tuner count to 9, one over the max. So you'd either need to configure one of the DVR's to use one less tuner, get a second dish installed with another SWiMLNB for the HR34 (plus another BB-DECA to bridge the two DECA networks) or replace the SWiMLNB with a non-SWiMLNB and install a SWiM16 switch (and those aren't cheap, from dealers usually about $250, can usually find them on E-Bay cheaper). One thing I haven't seen yet is pricing info from DIRECTV on the HR34, if you order one for DIRECTV to install will they replace any hardware needed as part of the HR34 price or would there be extra charges involved?


----------



## spriebe (May 26, 2007)

Couple questions:

Will HR34 have OTA built in, require a separate OTA tuner(AM21?) or not have OTA at all.
I record all local station content via OTA.

Can we expand the 1TB capacity by adding drives to unit and if so will that space be added or replace the 1TB capacity.

Also, if HR34 fails and or it's hard drive fails you lose everything compared to having separate DVR's. 


I am moving to new house November/December and would be interesting decision to swap out my 3 HR20's and one HR21 for an HR34.


Regards,

Scott


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Herdfan said:


> I agree with you, but with the current 4 room setup, you know going in that it is good for 4 rooms. * When you start telling customers they can *have 8 locations, that is what they are going to hear. Not that they get 8 but can only use 4.


:lol: [sorry] 
Like the whole fiasco when MRV & the whole home DVR service was being rolled out, when a customer found out it only worked at one location at a time? :eek2:


----------



## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

bakerfall said:


> I hope you are just saying it's possible to upgrade, and not considering doing it. DirecTV is not making a version of the guide for that box. You could upgrade every component in the box, and it's not going to get the HD GUI. A call to DirecTV customer retention with an explanation of your complaint would probably net you a new box free anyway.


Probably just for test CE version, if they could allow to accept it on the modded H20. But it wouldn't be CE, but good EE CE.


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

RAD said:


> The SWiMLNB can support a max of 8 tuners, period. So replacing a HR2X with a HR34 would take your tuner count to 9, one over the max. So you'd either need to configure one of the DVR's to use one less tuner, get a second dish installed with another SWiMLNB for the HR34 (plus another BB-DECA to bridge the two DECA networks) or replace the SWiMLNB with a non-SWiMLNB and install a SWiM16 switch (and those aren't cheap, from dealers usually about $250, can usually find them on E-Bay cheaper). One thing I haven't seen yet is pricing info from DIRECTV on the HR34, if you order one for DIRECTV to install will they replace any hardware needed as part of the HR34 price or would there be extra charges involved?


I just decided to forget the HR34. Not worth the effort. Right now, with my three HD DVRs, I can watch one channel and record five other channels. That meets my needs perfectly. I was only thinking of replacing my oldest DVR with an HR34 to give me extra tuners. What you're describing fills me with horror.


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

TDK1044 said:


> What you're describing fills me with horror.


I think we've heard the same thing about the MRV upgrade, but nobody knows what the costs will be when this becomes available.
Some got the MRV upgrade free with new H/HR24s being installed.


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

veryoldschool said:


> I think we've heard the same thing about the MRV upgrade, but nobody knows what the costs will be when this becomes available.
> Some got the MRV upgrade free with new H/HR24s being installed.


Hi VOS,

Yeah, but DirecTV's policy has always been to never guarantee a specific HD DVR. If a customer is ordering the new Media Center, then they will get the HR34, but if I call and ask for an HR34 to replace an existing HD DVR in my MRV, I'll bet they won't sell me one.

That means going to the excellent Solid Signal. Ordinarily, I'd go that route anyway, but with the HR34, I'd also have to get D* out to install it and make the necessary technical changes to accommodate adding it into my existing system.

If that's not a recipe for disaster then I don't know what is.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

veryoldschool said:


> :lol: [sorry]
> Like the whole fiasco when MRV & the whole home DVR service was being rolled out, when a customer found out it only worked at one location at a time? :eek2:


People read only as far as they need to in order to see what they want to see. What appears in the light grey fine print is inconsequential and doesn't apply to them.

You can bet that DIRECTV gets dozens of callers a day asking why they can't have more than one MRV session per DVR.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Justin85 said:


> You are an "IT pro" but you haven't figured out to get the pics of your phone yet to post on here? Just an observation


lol, sounds ironic doesn't it? The problem is my phone is an old iPhone 3G, not a 3GS, just a 3G. Anyway, it's been the victim of one too many accidental gravity experiments I fear. When I connect it up to my PC to sync everything iTunes isn't able to pull everything off of my phone and finish up the sync. I'm employing all sorts of creative techniques in an attempt to find a way to get a sync to complete, but no success to this point. It's a real shame b/c the last time I plugged it into the PC it worked fine.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

TheRatPatrol said:


> We do have pictures from two other threads. I wonder how much its changed since then, if any?
> 
> Thread 1
> 
> Thread 2


Nothing has changed on the externals of the HR34 since CEDIA. What I did have though is pics of the PIP working, the LCD control screens for the Control4, AMX, and Crestron systems using SHEF, and a bunch of other odds and ends.


----------



## itzme (Jan 17, 2008)

TDK1044 said:


> I just decided to forget the HR34. Not worth the effort. Right now, with my three HD DVRs, I can watch one channel and record five other channels. That meets my needs perfectly. I was only thinking of replacing my oldest DVR with an HR34 to give me extra tuners. What you're describing fills me with horror.


After reading, and even though I have a Samsung D8000, I've just recently come to the same conclusion. I also have 3 HRs and MRV (over Cat5) with legacy wiring (non-SWM). I really don't see any advantage to the HR34's, except for maybe PIP? Are there other advantages?


----------



## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

YakeVlad said:


> Nothing has changed on the externals of the HR34 since CEDIA. What I did have though is pics of the PIP working, the LCD control screens for the Control4, AMX, and Crestron systems using SHEF, and a bunch of other odds and ends.


Many of us waiting for pictures of its guts too. CPU, RAM, other things like RVU chip, etc.


----------



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

itzme said:


> After reading, and even though I have a Samsung D8000, I've just recently come to the same conclusion. I also have 3 HRs and MRV (over Cat5) with legacy wiring (non-SWM). I really don't see any advantage to the HR34's, except for maybe PIP? Are there other advantages?


And you'd HAVE to upgrade to a SWiM setup since the HR34 requires SWiM, there's not 5 coax DBS coax connectors on the back


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

itzme said:


> After reading, and even though I have a Samsung D8000, I've just recently come to the same conclusion. I also have 3 HRs and MRV (over Cat5) with legacy wiring (non-SWM). I really don't see any advantage to the HR34's, except for maybe PIP? Are there other advantages?


I think the only thing that would make me consider getting an HR34, would be if D* didn't end up offering a shared 'To Be Recorded' list for MRV. Having to write down what is set to record on each DVR is really boring, and the HR34 with its five tuners would go a long way to negating that issue.


----------



## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

spriebe said:


> Couple questions:
> 
> Will HR34 have OTA built in, require a separate OTA tuner(AM21?) or not have OTA at all.
> I record all local station content via OTA. ...


Unknown for sure if OTA tuners will be integrated until the box makes its debut, but would be very unlikely since DIRECTV has gone away from this since the HR20s. So the need of the external AM21(N) is almost a certainty.



> Can we expand the 1TB capacity by adding drives to unit and if so will that space be added or replace the 1TB capacity.


Again U.K. for certain at this time, though if the past accidental publication of the HR34's User Guide info was any indication, there is an E-sata port in the rear like the other HR2X models, so I would guess it will.



> Also, if HR34 fails and or it's hard drive fails you lose everything compared to having separate DVR's.


Unfortunately yes, thus the main drawback to the centralized approach inherent in any Home Media Server. :sure:



> I am moving to new house November/December and would be interesting decision to swap out my 3 HR20's and one HR21 for an HR34.


OK, but don't be surprised if DIRECTV sets severe restrictions to curtail this. They full well know that when the HR34 is rolled out there is going to probably be a stampede of subscribers wanting to swap out some or all of their old boxes for HR34/C30 combos.

Rest assured they're not about the let the new HR34 system cut their own throats this way.


----------



## Justin85 (Jun 16, 2010)

YakeVlad, use this program.

http://www.macroplant.com/iphoneexplorer/


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> :lol: [sorry]
> Like the whole fiasco when MRV & the whole home DVR service was being rolled out, when a customer found out it only worked at one location at a time? :eek2:


Or *PAUSE* in one room and resume in another. :lol:


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

YakeVlad said:


> lol, sounds ironic doesn't it? The problem is my phone is an old iPhone 3G, not a 3GS, just a 3G.
> 
> When I connect it up to my PC to sync everything iTunes isn't able to pull everything off of my phone and finish up the sync.


Just email each photo to yourself.

And there is your problem, you have a PC.
I plug my iPhone into my Mac and iPhoto opens and imports all new photos.


----------



## Juanus (Jun 5, 2007)

YakeVlad said:


> lol, sounds ironic doesn't it? The problem is my phone is an old iPhone 3G, not a 3GS, just a 3G. Anyway, it's been the victim of one too many accidental gravity experiments I fear. When I connect it up to my PC to sync everything iTunes isn't able to pull everything off of my phone and finish up the sync. I'm employing all sorts of creative techniques in an attempt to find a way to get a sync to complete, but no success to this point. It's a real shame b/c the last time I plugged it into the PC it worked fine.





Justin85 said:


> YakeVlad, use this program.
> 
> http://www.macroplant.com/iphoneexplorer/


I am not familiar with the iphone, but can't you just email them to yourself and then access your email on your computer and download the pictures?

{edit} Herdfan beat me with the same suggestion


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

itzme said:


> I really don't see any advantage to the HR34's, except for maybe PIP? Are there other advantages?


Extra tuners on a TV.

For example, on Monday nights, my wife is recording DWTS and something else and I am recording CBS's lineup plus Castle. So at 10pm my DVR is full and I want to watch MNF. So I have 2 HR's on my media room TV. An HR34 will allow me to go to one. I know I could move recordings to other DVR's, but I have expanded mine and like to keep them all in one place.

I wonder if the HR34 will accept 3TB drives. 



spriebe said:


> Also, if HR34 fails and or it's hard drive fails you lose everything compared to having separate DVR's.





HoTat2 said:


> Unfortunately yes, thus the main drawback to the centralized approach inherent in any Home Media Server. :sure:


To which the solution is: Twin HR34's each backing the other one up.


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

YakeVlad said:


> Plenty of good information regarding the "soon" :lol: to be released HR34. I was given a 4th quarter 2011 release date for the box, though the way it was said came off as the staff couldn't directly reveal a more specific date and that I should continue asking in other ways to get a better answer. So, I kept digging and was also told that the HR34 will not ship with the HD GUI at release, but that it will receive it via software update at the same time the existing models receive theirs. Put two and two together and that would suggest that the HR34 is already in production and on its way to release in time for installers to get at least some units in the hands of fortunate D* subs before the October/November release of the HD GUI. Topping my visit off, I got a nice demonstration and hands-on with what looked to be a finalized HR34 product in the booth.
> 
> *HR34 NEWS*
> 
> ...


For DirecTV super users, did you ask or did they mention how multiple HR34s would work together?


----------



## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

Tom Robertson said:


> From what I'm gathering, there are lots of ways to "count" to reach the limitations.
> 
> First, we know there are 5 tuners. So the total is 5 things buffering or recording.
> 
> ...


From what I'm reading you lose a TV set hookup if you remote mount the Box?

However this box does sound interesting for someone like me that would like 4 or more tuners available in one box for one or two TV sets.

I can't see it working for users that have 8 TV sets for 8 people, I know people like that too. If they only have three people that would use it then that is different. I see CSR support problems from people that don't understand the limitations.


----------



## itzme (Jan 17, 2008)

Herdfan said:


> Extra tuners on a TV.
> 
> For example, on Monday nights...


But I have 3 HR2x? That's 6 tuners accessible anywhere with MRV vs 5 tuners on the HR34 (and not necessarily available anywhere).


----------



## bobcamp1 (Nov 8, 2007)

TBoneit said:


> From what I'm reading you lose a TV set hookup if you remote mount the Box?
> 
> However this box does sound interesting for someone like me that would like 4 or more tuners available in one box for one or two TV sets.
> 
> I can't see it working for users that have 8 TV sets for 8 people, I know people like that too. If they only have three people that would use it then that is different. I see CSR support problems from people that don't understand the limitations.


But I see it working well for houses with multiple TV sets but only 4 people. It'd be nice to know the prices.


----------



## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

bobcamp1 said:


> But I see it working well for houses with multiple TV sets but only 4 people. It'd be nice to know the prices.


Posted Above: 
5 tuners - maximum of 3 simultaneous streams (live-tv or DVR content) among any combination of directly connected tv and RVU clients.

That seems to indicate 3 TV sets max?


----------



## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

TBoneit said:


> Posted Above:
> 5 tuners - maximum of 3 simultaneous streams (live-tv or DVR content) among any combination of directly connected tv and RVU clients.
> 
> That seems to indicate 3 TV sets max?


You can have more than 3 TVs; it's only allowed 3 streams out at a time.


----------



## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

TBoneit said:


> Posted Above:
> 5 tuners - maximum of 3 simultaneous streams (live-tv or DVR content) among any combination of directly connected tv and RVU clients.
> 
> That seems to indicate 3 TV sets max?


4 TVs max. Don't forget the TV directly connected to the HR34. 

General comment:
We here think like the power users we generally are. Eight TVs, eight people is not the standard configuration that DIRECTV is solving with a single HR34. (Not sure if they will use multiple HR34s or use the existing HR/H equipment.)

An HR34 with 5 clients works if 2 of the clients are in rarely used locations or mutually excluded rooms. Think of guest rooms, workshops, etc.

And pricing will be very interesting.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

TBoneit said:


> From what I'm reading you lose a TV set hookup if you remote mount the Box?


That as well as PIP and the ability to view MRV content from HR2xs.


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

itzme said:


> After reading, and even though I have a Samsung D8000, I've just recently come to the same conclusion. I also have 3 HRs and MRV (over Cat5) with legacy wiring (non-SWM). I really don't see any advantage to the HR34's, except for maybe PIP? Are there other advantages?


The main reason I want it is to:

1. Gain one more tuner
2. Not have to deal with multiple ToDo lists. Maybe we'll get that on the regular DVRs.
3. My wife would like to get down to one box downstairs
4. I have not had any hard drive issues in years, so not really concerned about all my recordings in one basket.


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

dpeters11 said:


> The main reason I want it is to:
> 
> 1. Gain one more tuner
> 2. Not have to deal with *multiple ToDo lists*. Maybe we'll get that on the regular DVRs.
> ...


That depends on storage. Lots of tuners, larger SL and not enough HD space. Doesn't end the multi-DVR setups.

Unless a HR34 can add a Second External HD without disabling the Internal HD. Then we may have something.


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Drucifer said:


> That depends on storage. Lots of tuners, larger SL and not enough HD space. Doesn't end the multi-DVR setups.
> 
> Unless a HR34 can add a Second External HD without disabling the Internal HD. Then we may have something.


Depends on usage. I rarely come within 50% of filling up my HR20 and HR22.


----------



## mnassour (Apr 23, 2002)

Drucifer said:


> Unless a HR34 can add a Second External HD without disabling the Internal HD. Then we may have something.


Well, there IS a ESATA port on the back...and I don't think 2TB drives are terribly rate.... And 3 TB drives are coming, how important IS that internal drive with 2 or 3 TB available?


----------



## hbkbiggestfan (May 25, 2007)

All I know is, the HR34 seems like it's going to be an absolute BEAST!


----------



## broeddog (Sep 12, 2009)

What does SHEF stand for and do you enable it to work on a device.


----------



## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

SHEF is the IP control protocol used by things like the DIRECTV application for iPad. I don't know what it stands for, but as long as your receiver is connected to the internet, it's enabled.


----------



## 456521 (Jul 6, 2007)

Stuart Sweet said:


> SHEF is the IP control protocol used by things like the DIRECTV application for iPad. I don't know what it stands for, but as long as your receiver is connected to the internet, it's enabled.


Is SHEF an open protocol? I use CQC for home control/automation and would love to get a driver written for it.


----------



## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

Stuart Sweet said:


> SHEF is the IP control protocol used by things like the DIRECTV application for iPad. *I don't know what it stands for, but as long as your receiver is connected to the internet, it's enabled.*


Set-top Box HTTP Exported Functionality


----------



## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

pdxBeav said:


> Is SHEF an open protocol? I use CQC for home control/automation and would love to get a driver written for it.


No;

DIRECTV did release the protocol for awhile to permit developers of HD-DVR apps on the CE forum, but then slowly withdrew it, much to their anger and disdain by sending a lot of their hard work down the drain.


----------



## DodgerKing (Apr 28, 2008)

"YakeVlad" said:


> [*]H20's will not get the HD GUI and never will as it does not have the required specs to allow for it.
> 
> P.S. - Pictures coming...just have to pull them off my phone and upload them.


Does this include the HR20?


----------



## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

TDK1044 said:


> I just decided to forget the HR34. Not worth the effort. Right now, with my three HD DVRs, I can watch one channel and record five other channels. That meets my needs perfectly. I was only thinking of replacing my oldest DVR with an HR34 to give me extra tuners. What you're describing fills me with horror.





TDK1044 said:


> Hi VOS,
> 
> Yeah, but DirecTV's policy has always been to never guarantee a specific HD DVR. If a customer is ordering the new Media Center, then they will get the HR34, but if I call and ask for an HR34 to replace an existing HD DVR in my MRV, I'll bet they won't sell me one.
> 
> ...


I am sure that when you get an hr34 they will come out and install it if you need an upgraded dish. The question is going to be cost.

Also, they will definetly differentiate the HR34 from other dvrs they have, they are truly different, just as a hd unit is different from a sd unit. The current DVRS are all the same in their eyes, but the hr34 is not, and has an entirely differnt technology behind it in RVU, as well as being backward compatible.


----------



## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Ok, so here is a question. If I have two HR34's in my house, do the c30 clients only marry to one or the other, or can they marry to both and choose whichever one has a free stream available. Do you get to choose? Can they see both playlist from the hr34's at the same time?

I can see wanting three HR34's and a couple clients.


----------



## markrogo (Sep 18, 2007)

I can see wanting a couple of HR34s, as well. I can't see DirecTV necessarily approving that anytime soon though.

I'm wondering about this LNB business. I know they passed on putting in SWIM 16s earlier because of cost, but it feels like 9 tuner installs are not going to be exceptionally rare going forward. The part where they chopped the extra wires on my old dish, cutting off the old connectors, is going to seem stupid if they have to run a new LNB and then attach it to a new multiswitch. That lost inch of cable is something they are likely to regret mightily. 

I don't know about the rest of you, but it seems to me the first window I could possibly integrate one of these in will be around Christmas. Fall TV is starting now and I really don't want to mess with things much till the amount of new programming is awfully quiet. Seems like an unfortunate pain in the neck, but such is progress.

Bring it on already.


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"DodgerKing" said:


> Does this include the HR20?


According to YakeVlad, they said just the H20, less memory than the HR20.


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

I think that D* will initially offer the HR34 only to customers wanting the Media Center. Others will have to purchase an HR34 from Solid Signal and then arrange for D* to come out and make the necessary changes. About $400 later you should be good to go.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

inkahauts said:


> The current DVRS are all the same in their eyes, but the hr34 is not, and has an entirely differnt technology behind it in RVU, as well as being backward compatible.


Perhaps not so different that they require their own manual.

The client experience is a whole other can of worms, but for the HR34 itself, the only major functional difference would appear to be PIP. The impact of the extra tuners and a bump in the number of SLs for households with many TVs/viewer will be a win but the many viewers end of the scale may be a loss.

Thoughtful and fully functional adult content controls and supervision over what kinds of timers are set up are going to become VERY important. I still remember my first Spongebob Squarepants all episodes timer one my nieces gifted me with.


----------



## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Alan Gordon said:


> Booleans are for geeks...
> 
> ~Alan


Then I guess I am a TECHNOGEEK!!! And Proud To Be One!!! It is Empowering!!! :lol:


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

TDK1044 said:


> I think that D* will initially offer the HR34 only to customers wanting the Media Center. Others will have to purchase an HR34 from Solid Signal and then arrange for D* to come out and make the necessary changes. About $400 later you should be good to go.


If the household is already configured for SWM and DECA, and won't be going over their current systems limit on tuners, it should be a simple install without DirecTV coming out wouldn't it?


----------



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

dpeters11 said:


> If the household is already configured for SWM and DECA, and won't be going over their current systems limit on tuners, it should be a simple install without DirecTV coming out wouldn't it?


You would think so but maybe for the first few month DIRECTV would want to do the installs just to see how things are going themselves?


----------



## bobcamp1 (Nov 8, 2007)

Tom Robertson said:


> 4 TVs max. Don't forget the TV directly connected to the HR34.
> 
> General comment:
> We here think like the power users we generally are. Eight TVs, eight people is not the standard configuration that DIRECTV is solving with a single HR34. (Not sure if they will use multiple HR34s or use the existing HR/H equipment.)
> ...


Yes, and current pricing is what's keeping my parents from switching to D*. They have six cable outlets with just two people living in the house. Living room, kitchen, den, bedroom, garage, and guest room. Most of the TVs are SD, so they can just plug in the cable directly to the TVs and get analog channels at no extra charge. But at $6 per additional box with D*, that's an extra $31.20/month just in hardware. D* is prohibitively expensive for "empty nesters."

My parents want to switch to D*, because D* allows you to suspend your account and they spend 5 months/year down south. But even with the suspended account, it's still cheaper to go with TWC year round and just pay for cable service they're not using. That's the market D* is trying to capture with this product.


----------



## bobcamp1 (Nov 8, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> If the household is already configured for SWM and DECA, and won't be going over their current systems limit on tuners, it should be a simple install without DirecTV coming out wouldn't it?


I'm guessing the HR34 is for new customers only, at least at the start. For existing customers, it'll be like using Ethernet for MRV instead of DECA. DIY installation only, no support, etc.


----------



## TDK1044 (Apr 8, 2010)

dpeters11 said:


> If the household is already configured for SWM and DECA, and won't be going over their current systems limit on tuners, it should be a simple install without DirecTV coming out wouldn't it?


True, but in a lot of cases, a five tuner DVR will push them over the limit if they have the basic SWIM 8 as I do.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

dpeters11 said:


> If the household is already configured for SWM and DECA, and won't be going over their current systems limit on tuners, it should be a simple install without DirecTV coming out wouldn't it?


What existing installations wouldn't be going over their SWiM limit by adding five tuners?

Sure you can lose receivers but shedding DVRs is a different story.


----------



## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

An installation where people plan for expected capacity.


----------



## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

harsh said:


> What existing installations wouldn't be going over their SWiM limit by adding five tuners?
> 
> Sure you can lose receivers but shedding DVRs is a different story.


A 1 DVR 1 non-DVR install. That's 3 current tuners, then add 5 from the HR34 and you're at 8...which isn't over the limit.


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

harsh said:


> What existing installations wouldn't be going over their SWiM limit by adding five tuners?


Me! I have a SWM-16 and only using 12 total tuners.



Stuart Sweet said:


> An installation where people plan for expected capacity.


Capacity I have, configuration, I do not. :blush:

I split the tuners 6 and 6 on my SWM-16. So with one HD receiver going away, I will have to move some things around, but will still be OK capacity wise.


----------



## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Because my home was originally wired for the legacy dish, most of my rooms have two lines going in. So I split it up so each room has a line from SWM1 and one from SWM2. It helps when I move things around or add stuff.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Justin85 said:


> YakeVlad, use this program.
> 
> http://www.macroplant.com/iphoneexplorer/


Thanks man, that did the trick. Uploading the images now. They should show up in this thread shortly.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

I've uploaded all the images I snapped at CEDIA. Apologies for the blurry cam and poor lighting on some of them as I was using a mobile without any flash on it.

Images found on these posts:

DIRECTV Booth and Equipment Images

HR34 Images

SHEF and General Images


----------



## David Ortiz (Aug 21, 2006)

harsh said:


> What existing installations wouldn't be going over their SWiM limit by adding five tuners?
> 
> Sure you can lose receivers but shedding DVRs is a different story.


I'm using 11 channels right now, so I could add the HR34 easily. I also have 3 DVRs that are empty or close to it.


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

TDK1044 said:


> True, but in a lot of cases, *a five tuner DVR will push them over the limit if they have the basic SWIM 8* as I do.


I'm in that boat.


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

harsh said:


> What existing installations wouldn't be going over their SWiM limit by adding five tuners?
> 
> Sure you can lose receivers but shedding DVRs is a different story.


I could shed two DVRs and I would still be over the limit.


----------



## Groundhog45 (Nov 10, 2005)

YakeVlad said:


> I've uploaded all the images I snapped at CEDIA. Apologies for the blurry cam and poor lighting on some of them as I was using a mobile without any flash on it.
> 
> Images found on these posts:
> 
> ...


Thanks for the pictures. In #3 in the first group, what is the device below the SWM-32 that has five coax lines in and out?


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Groundhog45 said:


> Thanks for the pictures. In #3 in the first group, what is the device below the SWM-32 that has five coax lines in and out?


Five will get you ten that it is a variation on the PI-6S Power Interter/Polarity Locker that would be helpful when doubling up with the two-way splitter to its right.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Stuart Sweet said:


> An installation where people plan for expected capacity.


I was speaking of their pre-HR34 SWiM configurations. I suspect that most who add an HR34 to an existing SWiMline setup are going to have to swap out for a legacy LNB and make peace with a bunch more RG6 on the exterior of their home. This stems from the idea that someone that wants to add five tuners probably has more than three already.

I wonder what happened with the higher capacity SWiM idea VOS used to talk about. A ten channel SWiMline dish would cover a whole lot more territory in the HR34 era.

With the HR34, you could do four TVs with five tuners and still have more flexibility to watch all recordings versus the existing WHDS four TV setup with six tuners.


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

harsh said:


> I wonder what happened with the higher capacity SWiM idea VOS used to talk about.


:shrug: It was only talk about how it "could be done".
Maybe someday they'll offer a SWiM that isn't based on 8 tuners, but add another chip for 11 tuners.


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

Drucifer said:


> Everyone in this generation wants to be a power-user. It's only a person budget that prevents them.
> 
> It's only the seniors, who do not prefer change, that are today's casual users.


 A big HARUMPH to that!


----------



## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

TBlazer07 said:


> A big HARUMPH to that!


+1. I'm still in my 50's, but when it's my time to go, I want it to be while playing with the latest toys!


----------



## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

But it won't involve a remote control and a DVR / TV!

Well, maybe in the background. . .


----------



## Jeffro (Dec 24, 2006)

YakeVlad, do you have any pictures of the new HD GUI that is coming in October/November? I saw a picture with a close up of PIP. Is that the extent of the new HD GUI? Please post them if you do.


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"Jeffro" said:


> YakeVlad, do you have any pictures of the new HD GUI that is coming in October/November? I saw a picture with a close up of PIP. Is that the extent of the new HD GUI? Please post them if you do.


PIP is not a function of the HD GUI. While the HR34 will have the GUI, only the 34 will get PIP.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Jeffro said:


> YakeVlad, do you have any pictures of the new HD GUI that is coming in October/November? I saw a picture with a close up of PIP. Is that the extent of the new HD GUI? Please post them if you do.


No, the equipment in the booth didn't arrive pre-loaded with the HD GUI and the staff didn't get the time to load it themselves once the booth setup was completed.

As dpeters already mentioned the PIP and HD GUI are two separate and distinct features.


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Jeffro said:


> YakeVlad, do you have any pictures of the new HD GUI that is coming in October/November? I saw a picture with a close up of PIP. Is that the extent of the new HD GUI? Please post them if you do.


Perhaps you should check out and join the Cutting Edge section.


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## geoff_g (Sep 18, 2011)

I read most of this thread but did not see this answered.

Is the damn box faster than the current crop. The lag between pushing a button on the remote and having the box respond is beyond ridiculous.....


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

geoff_g said:


> Is the damn box faster than the current crop.


Define "current crop". The HR24 is quite speedy.


----------



## geoff_g (Sep 18, 2011)

Herdfan said:


> Define "current crop". The HR24 is quite speedy.


I don't have a 24...does anyone know if the 34 will be as fast, or faster than the 24?


----------



## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

geoff_g said:


> I don't have a 24...does anyone know if the 34 will be as fast, or faster than the 24?


It hasnt been released, so how would anyone know? If per chance, it is in beta test, the testers would not be allowed to answer anyway.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Herdfan said:


> Define "current crop". The HR24 is quite speedy.


Define "speedy". Speed is relative.


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

harsh said:


> Define "speedy". Speed is relative.


Have a H25. It can fly thru the Guide. Don't really see way this is so important to many. For me, I prefer the Guide jump feature.


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Davenlr said:


> It hasnt been released, so how would anyone know? If per chance, it is in beta test, the testers would not be allowed to answer anyway.


Given that the 34 is supposed to be a more advance receiver than the 24, I can't imagine it would be slower.


----------



## geoff_g (Sep 18, 2011)

Davenlr said:


> It hasnt been released, so how would anyone know? If per chance, it is in beta test, the testers would not be allowed to answer anyway.


There are always rumors. Some true some not. Then again someone might have asked a DTV rep at CEDIA.



Herdfan said:


> Given that the 34 is supposed to be a more advance receiver than the 24, I can't imagine it would be slower.


I hope it's even faster still - that would be progress.


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

Herdfan said:


> Given that the 34 is supposed to be a more advance receiver than the 24, I can't imagine it would be slower.


Well it like comparing the HR24 to the HR21. Newer HW equal better performance.

Will it be greatly faster than the HR24, I doubt it, but customers replacing older DVRs will probably thing it is a speed demon.


----------



## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

geoff_g said:


> There are always rumors. Some true some not. Then again someone might have asked a DTV rep at CEDIA.
> 
> I hope it's even faster still - that would be progress.


[rumor] We'll see thing improve across the broad before the HR34 comes out.[/rumor]


----------



## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Drucifer said:


> Newer HW equal better performance.


Tell that to HR20 owners that added a HR21


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Drucifer said:


> Have a H25. It can fly thru the Guide. Don't really see way this is so important to many. For me, I prefer the Guide jump feature.


It seems like there are at least three metrics of speed with respect to the DIRECTV Plus HD boxes:

1. Guide scroll speed

2. Remote keypress response

3. Channel change time

Keypress response was the metric that sparked the question.


----------



## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

harsh said:


> It seems like there are at least three metrics of speed with respect to the DIRECTV Plus HD boxes:
> 
> 1. Guide scroll speed
> 
> ...


4. Whether or not you have one or DirecTV service.


----------



## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

harsh said:


> It seems like there are at least three metrics of speed with respect to the DIRECTV Plus HD boxes:
> 
> 1. Guide scroll speed
> 
> ...


I think you are headed in the right direction. I would also have a few other performance characteristics:
1) Channel guide list mode
2) Exit back to full screen
3) simple searches
4) search results as you type in characters
5) ACTIVE 
6) Trickplay response

Most of these start with faster button press response. And that is one of the most important ones when it's off because then you get frustrations from "Did I hit it", "double hits", etc.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

harsh said:


> It seems like there are at least three metrics of speed with respect to the DIRECTV Plus HD boxes:
> 
> 1. Guide scroll speed
> 
> ...


I do wish there was an audible click sound somewhere when using the remote.

Those unintentional channel surfing events are the most annoying.

It is like the remote does not have the highest priority in the DVR processor.


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Yes, a click or bong would be nice. 

You press the buttons and nothing happens, so you press them again. Before long you have a dozen commands stacked and then it (slowly) executes them all at once.


----------



## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Herdfan said:


> Yes, a click or bong would be nice.
> 
> You press the buttons and nothing happens, so you press them again. Before long you have a dozen commands stacked and then it (slowly) executes them all at once.


That's what you get with the bong.....


----------



## PaceHD (Jan 10, 2010)

http://www.pace.com/universal/news-.../pace-enables-first-multiroom-dvr-experience/

Pace (LSE: PIC), a leading developer of technologies, products and services for global broadcast and broadband markets, announces today that the company's HR34 server is the central hub in the DIRECTV® Home Media Center, set to launch October 2011. With its unique multiple connectivity capabilities, the HR34 enables the satellite industry's first fully interconnected DVR experience.

Pace's HR34 is a cost-effective, large capacity server that delivers full DVR capabilities, including HD-DVR functionality, for each 'client' device, such as set-top boxes and connected TVs. The HR34 includes one-terabyte of storage in a single central hub, eliminating the need for hard drives within individual devices. The HR34 delivers on Pace's vision to develop flexible and scalable solutions that seamlessly evolve entertainment in the home.

"There is a strong and growing demand for interconnected capabilities in the home," says Mike Pulli, president of Pace Americas. "The HR34 is a game changing technology that demonstrates our strategic vision of the interconnected home-networking evolution. This is the future of home media centers in the payTV industry."

With the HR34, all connected devices within the home-network have access to stored recordings in the DIRECTV Home Media Center, and are able to pause live video, bookmark programs and resume playback in other rooms. The HR34 also allows users to set recordings from any connected device. It enables consumers to move content and interact with entertainment in line with how they move around their homes.

"The Home Media Center is another industry first for DIRECTV," said Romulo Pontual, executive vice president and CTO for DIRECTV. "With Pace, we can now offer unique capabilities that consistently optimize the TV viewing experience. Innovation and reliability are critical to us in this incredibly fast-paced market, and Pace is the long-term technology leader, delivering an entirely new, enhanced home entertainment experience to customers."

The HR34 server uses the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) standard to share content around the home over coaxial cable or Ethernet networks and has an e-SATA port for easy expansion. It incorporates multiple tuners to deliver up to five simultaneous high definition streams around the home with complete flexibility over the combination of viewing and concurrent recording and playback options on four televisions. The server is fully compliant with RVU, a client/server-based technology that allows the television viewer to experience a consistent, pixel accurate server generated user interface on various consumer electronics devices. The RVU specification uses widely implemented UPnP and DLNA technologies to enable a gateway device such as an advanced set-top box to work with non-proprietary client devices. The flexible RVU architecture allows client implementation on multiple devices, such as TVs, PCs, laptops, tablets and Blu-ray™ players.

DIRECTV plans to begin rolling out the Home Media Center to subscribers across the US in October 2011.


----------



## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

> It enables consumers to move content and interact with entertainment in line with how they move around their homes.


WHAT THE FRAK?!?! :eek2:

~Alan


----------



## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

So it sounds like we might see a first look soon.


----------



## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

I just hope that 1 TB Hard Drive doesn't Fail or Everyone in the House is Screwed and will be P!SSED!!!

Directv needs to come up with a way for us (those of us who desire to do so) to Archive or Backup our Recordings for Disaster Recovery Purposes of Restoration.


----------



## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

richierich said:


> I just hope that 1 TB Hard Drive doesn't Fail or Everyone in the House is Screwed and will be P!SSED!!!
> 
> Directv needs to come up with a way for us (those of us who desire to do so) to Archive or Backup our Recordings for Disaster Recovery Purposes of Restoration.


I guess NOMAD will kind of do that.


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

richierich said:


> I just hope that 1 TB Hard Drive doesn't Fail or Everyone in the House is Screwed and will be P!SSED!!!
> 
> Directv needs to come up with a way for us (those of us who desire to do so) to Archive or Backup our Recordings for Disaster Recovery Purposes of Restoration.


At a minimum let us plug an external drive to any box on our account. If I can put an external 2TB drive on it, I have more options of recovering the data than a box I can't open.

And there goes my perfect record of an all -100 home. Not waiting for that model, going to go HR34-700.


----------



## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

richierich said:


> I just hope that 1 TB Hard Drive doesn't Fail or Everyone in the House is Screwed and will be P!SSED!!!
> 
> Directv needs to come up with a way for us (those of us who desire to do so) to Archive or Backup our Recordings for Disaster Recovery Purposes of Restoration.


Rumor has it that the HR34 (though not necessarily at launch) will support eSATA drives.

~Alan


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Alan Gordon said:


> Rumor has it that the HR34 (though not necessarily at launch) will support eSATA drives.
> 
> ~Alan


Support with support, or support with no support? That is the question. We can use eSATA now, but if the box itself goes south, we're in the same situation as we are if it was on the internal drive.


----------



## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

dpeters11 said:


> Support with support, or support with no support? That is the question. We can use eSATA now, but if the box itself goes south, we're in the same situation as we are if it was on the internal drive.


Sorry... I meant that rumor has it that you will be able to use an eSATA in conjunction with the internal drive.

Hopefully, they will look at Dish Network's implementation, and NOT TiVo's... or come up with something even better.

~Alan


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

richierich said:


> I just hope that 1 TB Hard Drive doesn't Fail or Everyone in the House is Screwed and will be P!SSED!!!


Loos like we need to come up with a good RAID box. Or use externals and make a copy of it every month or so.



dpeters11 said:


> And there goes my perfect record of an all -100 home. Not waiting for that model, going to go HR34-700.


Once you go -700 you never go back. 



dpeters11 said:


> Support with support, or support with no support? That is the question. We can use eSATA now, but if the box itself goes south, we're in the same situation as we are if it was on the internal drive.


I am thinking dual HR34's with 2TB Externals each mirroring each other. 

Losing recordings now is not the issue it used to be. If I miss an episode of something, I can usually get it online from somewhere. Not convenient, but not like it used to be where you have to wait for reruns.


----------



## sipester (Nov 9, 2006)

Herdfan said:


> Loos like we need to come up with a good RAID box. Or use externals and make a copy of it every month or so.
> 
> Once you go -700 you never go back.
> 
> ...


You don't need dual HR34's, just one of these dual 2TB RAID storage devices from weeknees that already work with the HR21: https://www.weaknees.com/directv-hd-dvr.php#hr21pro


----------



## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

sipester said:


> You don't need dual HR34's, just one of these dual 2TB RAID storage devices from weeknees that already work with the HR21: https://www.weaknees.com/directv-hd-dvr.php#hr21pro


That just takes care of the drives. There are other things in the boxes that can break leaving your intact data useless.


----------



## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

sipester said:


> You don't need dual HR34's, just one of these dual 2TB RAID storage devices from weeknees that already work with the HR21: https://www.weaknees.com/directv-hd-dvr.php#hr21pro


Only $1,499.99!!! I'll order 2! :lol:


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

sigma1914 said:


> Only $1,499.99!!! I'll order 2! :lol:


Lease, please!


----------



## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Drucifer said:


> Lease, please!


:lol: You own the Pro version, so you can ebay it later to recoup part of tat "investment." :lol:


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Drucifer said:


> I do wish there was an audible click sound somewhere when using the remote.
> 
> Those unintentional channel surfing events are the most annoying.
> 
> It is like the remote does not have the highest priority in the DVR processor.


Yeah, it would be nice to have some sort of feedback from the system acknowledging it's received your request (button press)

On a funny note, if the feedback gets delayed too and you keep pressing the buttons until you get the first queue, you could have situations where it sounds like there's one epic game of pong being played. :lol:


----------



## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

YakeVlad said:


> Yeah, it would be nice to have some sort of feedback from the system acknowledging it's received your request (button press)
> 
> On a funny note, if the feedback gets delayed too and you keep pressing the buttons until you get the first queue, you could have situations where it sounds like there's one epic game of pong being played. :lol:


Thinking more along the lines of an audible click from the remote itself.

But you know there will be someone that thinks that would be annoying.


----------



## balboadave (Mar 3, 2010)

YakeVlad said:


> Yeah, it would be nice to have some sort of feedback from the system acknowledging it's received your request (button press)


You mean besides the blinking logo?


----------



## Sgt. Slaughter (Feb 20, 2009)

Drucifer said:


> Thinking more along the lines of an audible click from the remote itself.
> 
> But you know there will be someone that thinks that would be annoying.


an audio tone sent out whenever a command is registered would be the most annoying thing ever.

you already have the DirecTV logo flash on the box.


----------



## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

Yeah, I think I'd want to pass on the extra noises too.


----------



## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

balboadave said:


> You mean besides the blinking logo?


The blinking logo works great, assuming you have your receiver installed in a location that you can see it. With the IR/RF capability of the remote it allows people to install them in cabinets, Home Theater closets, centralized basement home distribution racks, etc. That little logo can blink all it wants, but if you can't see it how much good is it doing you?


----------



## Sgt. Slaughter (Feb 20, 2009)

YakeVlad said:


> The blinking logo works great, assuming you have your receiver installed in a location that you can see it. With the IR/RF capability of the remote it allows people to install them in cabinets, Home Theater closets, centralized basement home distribution racks, etc. That little logo can blink all it wants, but if you can't see it how much good is it doing you?


See your point but still you will be in the extreme minority of people that would want an audio response to tell you the unit received a command. You should only get a response if its an error. Otherwise it should be silent b/c its working perfectly.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Methinks better than a boop, bonk, or blip acknowledging a key press would be better confidence in the unit. If it responded every, single time within a reasonable amount of time, then we wouldn't need any other acknowledgement.

Cheers,
Tom


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Tom Robertson said:


> Methinks better than a boop, bonk, or blip acknowledging a key press would be better confidence in the unit. *If it responded every, single time within a reasonable amount of time*, then we wouldn't need any other acknowledgement.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


And without having a 'double' entry, aka only a single 2 when you press it once vs. two 2's showing up.


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## Sgt. Slaughter (Feb 20, 2009)

Tom Robertson said:


> Methinks better than a boop, bonk, or blip acknowledging a key press would be better confidence in the unit. If it responded every, single time within a reasonable amount of time, then we wouldn't need any other acknowledgement.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


basically what i was trying to get at as well. why have a audible tone to tell you the unit is working correctly? lol


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## bobcamp1 (Nov 8, 2007)

Sgt. Slaughter said:


> See your point but still you will be in the extreme minority of people that would want an audio response to tell you the unit received a command. You should only get a response if its an error. Otherwise it should be silent b/c its working perfectly.


No, the volume of noise should be adjustable and include an "off" level. Just like your cell phone. The majority of people do want a low-level noise to indicate a button was pressed. At least that's what market research says.


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## makaiguy (Sep 24, 2007)

Sgt. Slaughter said:


> See your point but still you will be in the extreme minority of people that would want an audio response to tell you the unit received a command. You should only get a response if its an error. Otherwise it should be silent b/c its working perfectly.


Think this through a bit. The error you want it to acknowledge is that the signal from the remote was not received. How is the receiver supposed to know that a signal was sent by the remote but not received?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Tom Robertson said:


> If it responded every, single time within a reasonable amount of time, then we wouldn't need any other acknowledgement.


Failing that, what do you recommend?


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

harsh said:


> Failing that, what do you recommend?


Not failing that.


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## Groundhog45 (Nov 10, 2005)

RAD said:


> And without having a 'double' entry, aka only a single 2 when you press it once vs. two 2's showing up.


I mostly only get the double entry when using the receiver in RF mode so I rarely set them up that way, unless that is the only workable solution based on location.


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## Sgt. Slaughter (Feb 20, 2009)

makaiguy said:


> Think this through a bit. The error you want it to acknowledge is that the signal from the remote was not received. How is the receiver supposed to know that a signal was sent by the remote but not received?


nonono im not saying it should beep when its not received, i dont think any audible tons should be associated with if a command was received or not by the box. When I ment error I ment as in the current practice where if you try to do something not allowed it gives you the "Bong" noise.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Um... what does this have to do with CEDIA? If there's nothing more to say about CEDIA I could close the thread, I guess.


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Um... what does this have to do with CEDIA? If there's nothing more to say about CEDIA I could close the thread, I guess.


Not sure, definitely strayed a bit. :backtotop

One of the things D* was trying to emphasize at CEDIA was SHEF and the home theater system tie-ins. Out of curiousity, do any of you have a Control4, AMX, or Creston system? If so, which one? and are you excited about the new integrated control capabilities it provides?


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## Sgt. Slaughter (Feb 20, 2009)

YakeVlad said:


> Not sure, definitely strayed a bit. :backtotop
> 
> One of the things D* was trying to emphasize at CEDIA was SHEF and the home theater system tie-ins. Out of curiousity, do any of you have a Control4, AMX, or Creston system? If so, which one? and are you excited about the new integrated control capabilities it provides?


How were they trying to emphasize SHEF tie-ins? jw seeing as last i herd a lot of the main "cool" features in it had been removed like "getPlayList". 
I just assumed many of those integrated controlers would go back to what they had been using from the start. though I guess SHEF just allows you to not need to get a RS232 cable and would make it easier to implement with that in mind, right?

just dont get how they were "emphasizing SHEF" asside from the advantage you can implement the integration without a rs232 cable now....

its early still here so i could be lil off on what i said, as the mind hasn't fully turned on yet. lol


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

Sgt. Slaughter said:


> How were they trying to emphasize SHEF tie-ins? jw seeing as last i herd a lot of the main "cool" features in it had been removed like "getPlayList".
> I just assumed many of those integrated controlers would go back to what they had been using from the start. though I guess SHEF just allows you to not need to get a RS232 cable and would make it easier to implement with that in mind, right?
> 
> just dont get how they were "emphasizing SHEF" asside from the advantage you can implement the integration without a rs232 cable now....
> ...


No, SHEF still exists and is improving, but the commands are private now (requires a special encryption key) and no longer open to the public for independent app developers and experimenters on the CE forum and elsewhere.

And, yes the main advantage of SHEF is multiple DVR receiver IP control over a local network via ethernet or WiFi instead of mere control of an individual receiver via a single cable connection using the RS-232 protocol.


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## Sgt. Slaughter (Feb 20, 2009)

HoTat2 said:


> No, SHEF still exists and is improving, but the commands are private now (requires a special encryption key) and no longer open to the public for independent app developers and experimenters on the CE forum and elsewhere.
> 
> And, yes the main advantage of SHEF is multiple DVR receiver IP control over a local network via ethernet or WiFi instead of mere control of an individual receiver via a single cable connection using the RS-232 protocol.


yeah didn't mean to word it like i did there as I know its still "there" just the better commands are not of use to any developers on the outside of DirecTV. Which is why I beg the question why they were emphasizing SHEF tie ins at CEDIA if they are the only ones developing and able to really fully use SHEF....


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

Sgt. Slaughter said:


> yeah didn't mean to word it like i did there as I know its still "there" just the better commands are not of use to any developers on the outside of DirecTV. Which is why I beg the question why they were emphasizing SHEF tie ins at CEDIA if they are the only ones developing and able to really fully use SHEF....


Perhaps the emphasis on SHEF at CEDIA refers to what is available to approved manufacturers like Control4, AMX, and Creston mentioned earlier who are granted access to the private command set for developing IP control devices of DIRECTV's receivers.


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## YakeVlad (Aug 12, 2011)

HoTat2 said:


> Perhaps the emphasis on SHEF at CEDIA refers to what is available to approved manufacturers like Control4, AMX, and Creston mentioned earlier who are granted access to the private command set for developing IP control devices of DIRECTV's receivers.


Correct. For any potential customers as well as home automation/theater professionals in attendance this was important to emphasize when trying to sell D* as a component of such systems. It also was a solid feature to market to existing subs with such systems in their homes. Plus it made for nice cross promotion of other vendors with booths at CEDIA.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

CEDIA is all about the value added vendors but what about the regular guy who doesn't want to pay $500-2000 for an alternative remote control?

Its kind of like trying to stuff the genie back into the bottle.


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## Sgt. Slaughter (Feb 20, 2009)

HoTat2 said:


> Perhaps the emphasis on SHEF at CEDIA refers to what is available to approved manufacturers like Control4, AMX, and Creston mentioned earlier who are granted access to the private command set for developing IP control devices of DIRECTV's receivers.


okay so they are going to license out the ability to provide the "full SHEF" command list then i take it? 
guess this deal with vendors would be a reason why they removed the ability for the regular folk to use some of the newer commands?....


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Sgt. Slaughter said:


> okay so they are going to license out the ability to provide the "full SHEF" command list then i take it?
> guess this deal with vendors would be a reason why they removed the ability for the regular folk to use some of the newer commands?....


Those companies has so much of financial hurdles .. (yeah, tell me that on shareholder's meetings !) so they're milking each cent from each small portion of those devices/services.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

YakeVlad said:


> client instead of a set-top box).
> *[*]Maximum of 8 RVU clients registered per HR34*
> [*]100 Series List limit (corrected previous statement of 50 series limit)
> [/LIST]


What does this mean if I want one but the only thing it will be used for is a DVR to 1 TV. I want one box that has multiple tuners. I have HD DVR's already for all the other TV's and I dont have or want MRV.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

"joshjr" said:


> What does this mean if I want one but the only thing it will be used for is a DVR to 1 TV. I want one box that has multiple tuners. I have HD DVR's already for all the other TV's and I dont have or want MRV.


Means nothing then, because won't be using any rvu clients. Not sure why you don't want mrv, three hrs can simulate an hr34, with each option having an extra advantage two.

Hr34 you gain pip,and rvu ability ( which housing use)

Multiple hrs with mrv, you gain more tuners,and more hard drive space.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

inkahauts said:


> Means nothing then, because won't be using any rvu clients. Not sure why you don't want mrv, three hrs can simulate an hr34, with each option having an extra advantage two.
> 
> Hr34 you gain pip,and rvu ability ( which housing use)
> 
> Multiple hrs with mrv, you gain more tuners,and more hard drive space.


The HR34 seems to have more space to right for one box anyways? I need more space and more tuners in one box. I want all of that for 1 tv and 1 tv only. The others can have their DVR's hooked to them. I dont like the idea of paying for MRV. I have DVR's. I will just record what ever I want to watch in the room I want to watch it in.


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## Sgt. Slaughter (Feb 20, 2009)

inkahauts said:


> Means nothing then, because won't be using any rvu clients. Not sure why you don't want mrv, three hrs can simulate an hr34, with each option having an extra advantage two.
> 
> Hr34 you gain pip,and rvu ability ( which housing use)
> 
> Multiple hrs with mrv, you gain more tuners,and more hard drive space.


multiple hr's you lose consolidated scheduling.....


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

joshjr said:


> The HR34 seems to have more space to right for one box anyways? I need more space and more tuners in one box. I want all of that for 1 tv and 1 tv only. The others can have their DVR's hooked to them. I dont like the idea of paying for MRV. I have DVR's. I will just record what ever I want to watch in the room I want to watch it in.


Then like I said, rvu means nothing to you. But the HR34 is something that I'd say go for too for you. More space (although with easta, it can actually have less space per tuner, so to speak) And PIP and record more at one tv is what you will gain, just like you expect.



Sgt. Slaughter said:


> multiple hr's you lose consolidated scheduling.....


Don't need it if you organize what you record where. I record certain channels on certain dvrs to avoid all conflicts as much as possible and make organizing my prioritizer easy.


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## Sgt. Slaughter (Feb 20, 2009)

inkahauts said:


> Then like I said, rvu means nothing to you. But the HR34 is something that I'd say go for too for you. More space (although with easta, it can actually have less space per tuner, so to speak) And PIP and record more at one tv is what you will gain, just like you expect.
> 
> Don't need it if you organize what you record where. I record certain channels on certain dvrs to avoid all conflicts as much as possible and make organizing my prioritizer easy.


ehh but you still have to go to a specific box to record a program.....Think your in the minority there and people would love to be able to have it all in one place and much easier for the end user.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

"Sgt. Slaughter" said:


> ehh but you still have to go to a specific box to record a program.....Think your in the minority there and people would love to be able to have it all in one place and much easier for the end user.


iPad app let's me do it from anywhere. 

No I agree, I think the hr34 will be awesome, and I want at least one. But there are some advantages of using multiple dvrs. Heck, there are advantages of using multiple hr34s with mrv. I just wonder how much they will want to charge me for them..


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## strangely (Nov 2, 2008)

YakeVlad said:


> Not sure, definitely strayed a bit. :backtotop
> 
> One of the things D* was trying to emphasize at CEDIA was SHEF and the home theater system tie-ins. Out of curiousity, do any of you have a Control4, AMX, or Creston system? If so, which one? and are you excited about the new integrated control capabilities it provides?


I don't have mine connected to a Control4 or a Creston system, but I am using SHEF (RS232 command set) for automation purposes with a MicasVerde home automation controller (which incidentally is only about $250) , and the excellent SQremote iPhone app which has a tie in to the controller in the form of a customizeable universal remote. The SQremote software can also be used with their own WiFi based blaster to control pretty much anything else.

Response time to operate the box via this solution is pretty awesome by the way and I have my box turn on and tune my DVR to certain channels in response to events or timers.

Its interesting hearing about these "extra vegetables" people by the way because at the same time they also announced a driver to interface C4 with MicasaVerde's box (brings Zwave to the C4 Zigbee party) and I'd never heard of them before!


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

Its October now, can we anticipate a first look for the HR34 "soon"?


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

TheRatPatrol said:


> Its October now, can we anticipate a first look for the HR34 "soon"?


According to Mike White, I guess so.


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