# How would you grade your new HR24-500?



## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

For all those now with new HR24-500s, how would you grade it?

You may want to wait until after a few days of use.

*Please, only vote if you've used an HR24-500.*

For DirecTV's benefit, for those with a grade of B or lower, please post any comments as to why not A.

For those with a grade of A, comments welcome as well. 

This thread should also give us a good count of members with at least one HR24-500.

HR24-500 First Look: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=172657


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## FHSPSU67 (Jan 12, 2007)

I'll be sure to let you know in 2-3 weeks if Solid Signal delivers on time, and my SWM/DECA install goes as planned
I can say this, I ordered both yesterday and already, I'm anticipatin!
[EDIT] HR24-500 installed today and SWM16 and DECA also installed.
I'm Lov'n the HR24-500 and DECA


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## jasonki32 (Jan 29, 2008)

I gave the HR24 a B, don't get me wrong it is by far the best receiver I have used with D* in terms of speed and remote keypresses. There is, however, occasional hiccups when hitting guide I will have audio skips. I think with a little more time the software updates will get rid of these hiccups.


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## dwcolvin (Oct 4, 2007)

I would actually give it a B++, but gave it an A.

My only 'complaint' is that the front panel lights look, well, _unbalanced._

'_____*D*_____*o*_*o*_*o*_*O*_*o*____*.*________' just looks weird 

I'll get used to it. 

I suppose I should also add that I've had some HDMI audio weirdness (but that could have something to do with the HDMI Matrix Switch), and miss the extra analog audio outputs (turns out I don't really need them... I no longer have a need to record to SVHS or play the analog audio through the surround sound processor... I really need to tear everything apart and remove all the unnecessary analog audio and S-Video cables).


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## barryb (Aug 27, 2007)

A+ for mine.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

Love mine. Very solid and very fast.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I love mine. Everything is smooth. Gave it an A. If it had come with a >1 TB hard drive, it would have gotten an A+. I was going to open it (I bought it), and put a 2TB drive inside, but already had a 1TB drive I wasnt using from a WD external USB2 case, so I removed the drive from that (WD10EAVS) and put it in a Rosewill case for the HR24.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Mine gets a B for now as we still need to tweak the firmware a bit.
30skips aren't 100%
any DD5.1 coming through the network or off the drive has problems.
These have been around since the start and I'm sure will get sorted out.


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

Love the speed and it has a very high WAF.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

I love everything about my HR24-500. Everything I use on a daily basis gets an A+.

If I need another receiver it will definitely be an HR24. 

Mike


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

I love it but still have minor issues with Media Share:

16:9 videos are recognized as 4:3 (setting format to stretched allows them to be viewed properly.
Landscape photos (W>H) do not display. My H24, HR20 and HR21 do not have these issues.

I recently added a Samsung Blu-ray player which performs the Media Share function better than any of my Directv boxes, so it's not a big deal.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

I just Love My HR24-500 and couldn't be Happier!!!

I would rate it an A.

Very Fast and Responsive!!!

This is what the DVR should have been like 2 years ago but Directv went the Cheap Route on their CPU Chipset and paid the price. This Puppy has the CPU Power and Speed with More RAM so Way To Go Directv!!! FINALLY!!!


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## dbronstein (Oct 21, 2002)

I gave mine an A. I don't have any complaints so far.


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

My only problem is that it sets the other DVRs seem so slow now.


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

Love it, I hate using any other receiver now.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

I give it an A, love it. 


The question is who gave the C's and the D? I'd love to know why they don't like their HR24.


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## dogbreath (Apr 26, 2006)

A+, I love mine!


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## Blurayfan (Nov 16, 2005)

A+, Love my HR24. The speed of this DVR is amazing.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

I'm interested in the 3 people that gave it a C and D. What issues are they having that they were disappointed in the HR24? I figured after giving a grade of C or D there would definitely be a post explaining their thought process.

- Merg


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

The Merg said:


> I'm interested in the 3 people that gave it a C and D. What issues are they having that they were disappointed in the HR24? I figured after giving a grade of C or D there would definitely be a post explaining their thought process.
> 
> - Merg


I don't have a HR24-500 so I did not vote, the ones who did give it a C and D probably don't have one either. I think you are correct, if there was someone who really believed it was that bad they woud have explained why.


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## azarby (Dec 15, 2006)

I love mine and except for the fact that my HR21-700 and HR23-700 are owned, I wouild swap them both for additional HR24-500s.

Bob


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

I gave it an A, but am sort of grading on a curve. That is, compared to everything else I have, it is certainly superior. But, it is not perfect and if the grading were absolute rather than relative, I'm not sure it would truly deserve an A. There is in fact room for improvement (larger drive for example), and some minor corrections to issues as others have noted.


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## jimn9879 (Mar 10, 2007)

A++ I have three HR24s and love them all. They're very fast & solid in just about everything when compared to my HR20s. I was using Media Share just now and it too seems to be more responsive and doesn't get hung up. MRV over DECA preforms much better than the HR20s when they were on my home Cat5e network. Great job DirecTV!


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## paco1986 (Mar 26, 2007)

I give it an A. Very fast, very quiet hard drive, and love the stylish look!


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## ndole (Aug 26, 2009)

Mine both get a B. I love the speed! The responsiveness is like no other DVR I've ever used.
However they seem to still have some software tweaking to do yet. My HR24's have ghost remote signals being sent to them, setting up recordings and changing channels right in front of me. I thought I was just sitting on the remote at first, but it's happened more than once. I've also had some series links dissapearing kind of randomly. Strange.


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## MadManNBama (Jan 31, 2008)

If this new HD-DVR is as fast as everyone says, I want one! However, is there a guarantee that if I order a new reciever, that it will indeed be the HR24 That is even featured on the website?

If not, how can I make sure that this new reciever is the one I get? Go to a retailer?


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## say-what (Dec 14, 2006)

MadManNBama said:


> If this new HD-DVR is as fast as everyone says, I want one! However, is there a guarantee that if I order a new reciever, that it will indeed be the HR24 That is even featured on the website?
> 
> If not, how can I make sure that this new reciever is the one I get? Go to a retailer?


Only way to guarantee an HR24 is to order one from a retailer like SolidSignal.com - and yes, they are fast.


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## bwclark (Nov 10, 2005)

I replaced my HR20-100 with a HR24-500 and am very pleased!

1. My HR20-100 would record a program on a specific OTA channel but I could not completely play it back with a end of recording save or delete poping up randomly. My HR24-500 solved this issue. DTV said it was the station that was causing the issue...no replacement HD receiver.

2. I had to reboot receiver at least 3 times a week to get the OTA tuners to operate well. Often getting drop outs in video/audio. HR24-500 has solved this issue.

3. I had very slow response from the HR20-100 when usng the remote most often when on a specific OTA channel. The HR24-500 has solved this issue.

Bottom Line:

HR24-500 - "cadillac" of HD Receivers
HR20-100 - "POS" HD Receiver

With my new HR24-500 I have zero issue and it works flawlessly.

So, DTV would you like to reimburse me ($278..needed a AM21 also) for my costs to fix these issues?
Oh, the CSR said with my new HR24-500 I would be subject to a new 24 month contract!

Did I bend over enough DTV?


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## mikeny (Aug 21, 2006)

I just added 2 of them. They are undoubtedly providing a brighter crispier picture as compared to the HR20s. Definitely more pop. Definitely more responsiveness. 

Seems great.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

I like it very much . . . a few ragged 30skips, but it seems to have settled in. In today's market, it should have had a TB drive.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

I installed and activated yesterday. Where has this thing been?? Sharper, crisper, clearer and best of all outstanding response and speed. Channel number entry issue seems (so far) to be fixed.


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## djrobx (Jan 27, 2009)

I chose B. I'd give it an A-.

The built in DECA is great, but it seems silly that I have a perfectly good ethernet port on the HR24, and a perfectly good internet connection next to one of my boxes, but can't bring VOD into the cloud without a separate adapter and lots of messy connections.

On the plus side, the performance is great. The speed is finally up to the level it should be. MRV is an order of magnitude faster than my former HR22s on either Ethernet or DECA (I've tried both, and they work about the same on my setup). These seem like boxes I will be able to enjoy for years to come.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

djrobx said:


> The built in DECA is great, but it seems silly that I have a perfectly good ethernet port on the HR24, and a perfectly good internet connection next to one of my boxes, but can't bring VOD into the cloud without a separate adapter and lots of messy connections.


IMHO DirecTV wanted to do this just to try to keep the two networks as seperate from each other as possible and to try to keep your ethernet networks traffic as far away from their receivers as possible. Basically they want to keep any chance of getting service calls about MRV down to the absolute minimum.

Yes, the broadband DECA connection adds some cables but I wouldn't call it "lots". At the most it would add a splitter for a coax feed to the broadband, power cord to the power inserter, there is also then the ethernet cable which you'd have if you used the ethernet port on the HR24.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

djrobx said:


> I chose B. I'd give it an A-.
> 
> The built in DECA is great, but it seems silly that I have a perfectly good ethernet port on the HR24, and a perfectly good internet connection next to one of my boxes, but can't bring VOD into the cloud without a separate adapter and lots of messy connections.
> 
> On the plus side, the performance is great. The speed is finally up to the level it should be. MRV is an order of magnitude faster than my former HR22s on either Ethernet or DECA (I've tried both, and they work about the same on my setup). These seem like boxes I will be able to enjoy for years to come.


My DECA to Broadband adapter it attached by a short cable from the back of my H24 and directly into my Ethernet.

The only extra wires are a one foot coax, and the power to the DECA BB adapter. Not too bad. Once I have DECA on all my receivers, then I'm down to only the Ethernet cable on the BB adapter. The three other Cat5 patch cables go away. I'm actually reducing the wire clutter behind my equipment. 

Mike


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

C
still not up to the reliability of my HR20-700s but it's getting there..


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## blusgtone (Feb 4, 2007)

Gave it an A, Love the speed!


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## HDJulie (Aug 10, 2008)

I love mine. I just got it Friday so haven't had a chance to do alot with it yet but I am so relieved that I can change channels, scroll through the guide, & traverse the menus in real-time . I'm most pleased though that it makes the tickplay seamless. My HR22 had a horrible lag when using trickplay. The HR24 makes it so that trickplay is smooth -- mostly. There are still a few issues when fast-forwarding through show recorded on another DVR but it is leaps & bounds better than the HR22 was at it.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

houskamp said:


> C
> still not up to the reliability of my HR20-700s but it's getting there..


Interesting. I find it no more or less reliable then any of my other receivers. Including my HR20-700. :shrug:

Mike


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## Ken984 (Jan 1, 2006)

I really like it, want to love it. But the software needs a little more massaging at this point. It is FAST, immediate response. Makes me want to replace the other 2 DVR's with 24's. Just waiting on the software to catch up.


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## say-what (Dec 14, 2006)

MicroBeta said:


> Interesting. I find it no more or less reliable then any of my other receivers. Including my HR20-700. :shrug:
> 
> Mike


Same here - to the point that I'm going to replace my last HR20 with an HR24.


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## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

Gave it an A. Don't like using the other HR's but I have seen some increase in speed on those boxes lately, weird. But NOTHING compared to the HR24.


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## CHAS 3613 (Mar 15, 2010)

I rate it a B, the remote is still in Beta stage and will not allow me to control the volume on my Denon 2808CI rec. I spent two hours on phone with three Directv techs, and they are sending me a older model remote they claim will work.


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## bones boy (Aug 25, 2007)

I was on the fence purchasing two HR24s for 199.00 each - even though I had working HR21 and HR22 - but it was such a worthy purchase. The upgraded CPU in the receiver makes key presses almost instantaneous. I was so full of angst every time I needed to change a channel with the double and triple key presses needed to do anything, and searching for shows and retrieving cast information took minutes instead of seconds. 

The on-screen picture even looks better! 

Now I enjoy using the STB - something I haven't enjoyed since the HR10-250.


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## Sirluckyj (Sep 19, 2007)

Got mine yesterday. Ran a system test and had one failure, phone was not found. I tested the line and changed cable. Unit still will not find the signal. D* no help.

Jim


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## camo (Apr 15, 2010)

The HR24 is 
fast and great, too bad it does not change the HD audio cut outs. I've only been with direct a couple months and this is getting old and very annoying. I'm afraid this could actually become more than a annoyance. You name it from psychological problems derived from cutouts to class action suits its coming if they don't address and fix it. They really need to fix the problem before it bites them in the butt. I can see it coming . 
Soon Dish will pick up on it and use it in their advertising. It's not a isolated problem it envolves everyone .


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

camo said:


> The HR24 is fast and great, too bad it does not change the HD audio cut outs. Soon Dish will pick up on it and use it in their advertising. It's not a isolated problem it involves everyone .


It does not happen to everyone so it does not involve everyone. I do not have the Audio Drop Outs so I must have something different in my Setup than those who are experiencing these Audio Drop Outs.


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## ktm250 (May 22, 2010)

I gave it an F. It has a terrible picture compared to the HR21 it replaced. This along with D TV's poor tech support.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

ktm250 said:


> I gave it an F. It has a terrible picture compared to the HR21 it replaced. This along with D TV's poor tech support.


Strange. There has to be something else going on. Did you reinstall the BBCs on the back of the receiver? Still needed on the 24.


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## upgrade lately? (Dec 17, 2006)

Here are some of my thoughts:

I give it a B. Everybody claims how fast this DVR is and gives it praise. This is expected behavior in my opinion, not a feature. Yes it is faster than the previous generation of HRX, but those were built with insufficient hardware from the beginning. This box has the necessary hardware to support basic DVR functionality.


Channel changes are still far to slow even with native off. Channel surfing is still not an opiton like it used to be with the old hughs receivers from way back. They could do it then, why not now???

The software platform is based on code from well over three years ago. This needs a serious overhaul IMO

Same old GUI...

MRV operation is greatly improved over prior HRX boxes

Less energy consumption and smaller footprint is nice

Hard drive should be 1TB

Hard drive noise is much less than prior gen boxes

Picture seems a little brighter and crisper

HDMI port is not version 1.4, yet D* claims this box will do 3D

Those are my thoughts after a week and a half with my 2 HR24's. I'm sure they will keep getting better as the software continues to evolve.


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## ktm250 (May 22, 2010)

johnp37 said:


> Strange. There has to be something else going on. Did you reinstall the BBCs on the back of the receiver? Still needed on the 24.


Yes I did. Just moved all the cables to the new box, went through the setup in the menu and the picture is terrible compared to the HR21


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## Steve Robertson (Jun 7, 2005)

ktm250 said:


> Yes I did. Just moved all the cables to the new box, went through the setup in the menu and the picture is terrible compared to the HR21


I read on another post that the box defaults to 480 did you check that out as well


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## ktm250 (May 22, 2010)

Steve Robertson said:


> I rtead on a nother post that the box defaults to 480 did you check that out as well


Yes I did. Saw that when I first turned the box on. Went into the menu under resolution and set them all on (my tv will handle all). The front panel indicator lights change as the signal for different channels change. I also have tried manually selecting the resolution, all no help.


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## Steve Robertson (Jun 7, 2005)

ktm250 said:


> Yes I did. Saw that when I first turned the box on. Went into the menu under resolution and set them all on (my tv will handle all). The front panel indicator lights change as the signal for different channels change. I also have tried manually selecting the resolution, all no help.


This is strange because I am reading the the PQ is better than some of the older boxes and the same to others. How about the tv settings did they somehow get messed up? I know my wife hits buttons once in a while that I have to correct


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

I'm always curious about these "overhaul" type comments.

Man, I think the HR24 is a perfect mainstream DVR. Daily use is a joy, for most everyone.

Yes, an HD GUI would be nice, and yes, there are some more bells and whistles that would be nice, and some still need more then 50 series links.

But really, seriously, when taking a true objective view, you put an HR24 in the hands of a regular user, the unit just plain performs (A+).

They record (hit "R"), watch (hit LIST), surf the GUIDE, manage the TODO list ...

Whatever it is, screen-to-screen, it's rapid, it does the exact job required.


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## ktm250 (May 22, 2010)

Steve Robertson said:


> This is strange because I am reading the the PQ is better than some of the older boxes and the same to others. How about the tv settings did they somehow get messed up? I know my wife hits buttons once in a while that I have to correct


I checked all the settings, the same as before (I have them in a spread sheet). Picture was fantastic before I changed to the new box. I have even tried to adjust the tv but still can not get the same PQ. Faces look like they are out of focus or distorted. This is even on the HD stuff.


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## Steve Robertson (Jun 7, 2005)

Are you using HDMI? If so do you have another cable to try?


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

ktm250 said:


> I checked all the settings, the same as before (I have them in a spread sheet). Picture was fantastic before I changed to the new box. I have even tried to adjust the tv but still can not get the same PQ. Faces look like they are out of focus or distorted. This is even on the HD stuff.


Sorry, don't know what your problem is. I can say I replaced a HR23 on a Mits 1080p 73" DLP set with the HR24 and while I had to make some picture setting adjustments it looks just as good as the HR23 did. If you still have your old STB active maybe it would be worth a call to DirecTV to have them send a tech out to see what's happening, maybe you just have a bad HR24.


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## ktm250 (May 22, 2010)

RAD said:


> Sorry, don't know what your problem is. I can say I replaced a HR23 on a Mits 1080p 73" DLP set with the HR24 and while I had to make some picture setting adjustments it looks just as good as the HR23 did. If you still have your old STB active maybe it would be worth a call to DirecTV to have them send a tech out to see what's happening, maybe you just have a bad HR24.


I am assuming that you mean small adjustments. That was one of the first things I noticed, the brighness level was way up. Had to turn it from 44 down to 31 to get a black background, this is way to much of an adjustment. I also have been trying to make adjustment but still the picture looks out of focus. I also call D Tv support and as normal what a joke. They won't send me another receiver because this one is replacing my HR21 that was having problems with picture freeze when I watched something that was recorded. So now I have to wait for over a week for one of there so called techs to come out. Like normal he won't listen to me and will go out and cut the connectors off and put new ones on and then mess with the dish which means I will have to go back out when he is done and tweak it in so that it doesn't fade out with a little shower. When he is all done screwing around it will probably come down to like you said a bad receiver.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

I would tend to agree that given everything ktm250 tried to correct his PQ, in the end it may be a bad receiver. My 2 HR24s right out of the box after activation needed no tweaking/adjusting at all- spectacular PQ. Hope he gets it resolved. Let us know.


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## paco1986 (Mar 26, 2007)

ktm250 said:


> I checked all the settings, the same as before (I have them in a spread sheet). Picture was fantastic before I changed to the new box. I have even tried to adjust the tv but still can not get the same PQ. Faces look like they are out of focus or distorted. This is even on the HD stuff.


Have you tried to reboot the HR24? Sometimes problems get fixed by simply rebooting the box.


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## fdglsg (Jul 21, 2008)

fdglsg: I lovethe HR24 I have two got one from overstock and the other from amazon....


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## ntwrkd (Apr 19, 2006)

I've had 2 HR21-100's for 3 years now and after adding a HR24-500, it is clearly obvious that DirecTV chose a painfully underpowered processor in the previous HR series. I must say, the HR24 is truly a world class HD DVR now!


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## Aztec Pilot (Oct 11, 2007)

Just spent the weekend with two new HR24's. I gave them A's. They have a much cooler form factor. They are much much FASTER. The RF is Way Stronger than the HR23. The HR23 was almost unusable on RF in the gym about 60' from the A/V Closet ( which was my excuse for not using it!). Works perfect now with the HR24(probably some other reason not to use it now!). These are great. Thanks D* for the two free one's. Send more at your convenience!


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