# HR44 is dying, go to HR54 or HS17?



## riprecked (Oct 11, 2009)

My HR44 is turning into a pixelated mess and appears to be dying a slow death. I already have two 4K TVs so the HR54 or HS17 seem to be the solutions available. My entire system will be wired and I currently have two H25 boxes. I’m out of contract. 

While I’m not thrilled with the HS17 I’m not sure I have a better choice since my DVR is located by my largest 4K TV and apparently the HR54 cannot output 4K (really?) and a spec-me box is needed for that. 

Does the HS17 sound like the best solution. How do I get D* to help me with the cost of switching? I’ve been a customer a long time and everything I have is from Solid Signal. I have considered buying my own hardware again but the install sounds a little tougher. 

Thanks


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

I would try first read a few threads where members asked same question and got a ton of useful info.
Search for "hr54 or hs17" keyphrase
here is of many Should I upgrade to the Genie 2?


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

How many total tvs do you have?

I’d probably call and ask for a genie 2 hs17 and three 4K minis. (it sounds like you have 3 tvs)


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

riprecked said:


> My HR44 is turning into a pixelated mess and appears to be dying a slow death. I already have two 4K TVs so the HR54 or HS17 seem to be the solutions available. My entire system will be wired and I currently have two H25 boxes. I'm out of contract.
> 
> While I'm not thrilled with the HS17 I'm not sure I have a better choice since my DVR is located by my largest 4K TV and apparently the HR54 cannot output 4K (really?) and a spec-me box is needed for that.
> 
> ...


The HR54 can be connected to a TV. It will work with receivers, DVRs and clients. It needs a 4K client (RVU HDTV or C61K-700) for 4K service and can only work with one 4K client at once. The HS17 is a headless server and cannot be connected to a TV. It only works with clients. The HS17 can work with two 4K clients at once. Seeing how you are out of contract AT&T/DIRECTV will most likely upgrade you for free providing your account is in good standing. Upgrading will trigger another contract commitment.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

With two 4K televisions, the Genie 2 is your preferred option. It can support two simultaneous 4K streams whereas the HR54 can only do one.


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

riprecked said:


> My HR44 is turning into a pixelated mess and appears to be dying a slow death. I already have two 4K TVs so the HR54 or HS17 seem to be the solutions available. My entire system will be wired and I currently have two H25 boxes. I'm out of contract.
> 
> While I'm not thrilled with the HS17 I'm not sure I have a better choice since my DVR is located by my largest 4K TV and apparently the HR54 cannot output 4K (really?) and a spec-me box is needed for that.
> 
> ...


How long since you looked at any RG6 Connectors that live outside? That could be part of the cause of your pixelated problem - or even a damaged LNB - SINCE you mentioned your out of contract - I would suggest

1. If your able to do things you self
2. Check you outside connections first for any damage 
3. call for service if you can't reach your dish and change the LNB to a new one that supports 21 swim channels
4. then you can remove and Swim8 or Swim16 external hardware that may be connected (if you have any)
DO that will NOT cause a contract extension.
5. make sure all RG6 connections are tight at each receiver input as well.

Try easy stuff first before jumping on UPGRADE band wagon - D* still has only 3 4K Channels that run in a loop (remember) 3D - so 4k can wait.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

I'd call and see if you can get the HS17 for free or little. Let them install it, along with three C61K's. They'll change out the LNB, do the whole thing, including getting the power inserter on the Genie on the right path.

The picture on most 4K broadcasts is stunning, esp with HDR. 

Good luck, and enjoy!


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

I would verify that the pixelation issues are due to the HR44 and not the wiring or LNB before swapping equipment unless you have other reasons why you want to do so. Next time you see the HR44 pixelate, check one of the H25s and see if it has the same issue. You might also want to swap the HR44's location with one of the H25's temporarily if that's feasible to insure it isn't wiring related.

If you want to upgrade / take on a new commitment then this is less important, but whether you upgrade to HR54 or HS17 if the issue is wiring or LNB related the new hardware won't fix it and you'll need to have someone back. They won't undo your upgrade / commitment if it turns out the HR44 was not the issue.


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## FarNorth (Nov 27, 2003)

Laxguy said:


> I'd call and see if you can get the HS17 for free or little. Let them install it, along with three C61K's. They'll change out the LNB, do the whole thing, including getting the power inserter on the Genie on the right path.
> 
> The picture on most 4K broadcasts is stunning, esp with HDR.
> 
> Good luck, and enjoy!


FWIW, I have a pretty nice Sony 940D that upconverts really well. I have run A/B testing with 4K vs 1080 on Roku and Amazon Fire HD and I cannot tell the difference. 'Bosch' and 'The Grand Tour' look exactly the same. Maybe HDR would have an edge, haven't seen much programming.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

FarNorth said:


> FWIW, I have a pretty nice Sony 940D that upconverts really well. I have run A/B testing with 4K vs 1080 on Roku and Amazon Fire HD and I cannot tell the difference. 'Bosch' and 'The Grand Tour' look exactly the same. Maybe HDR would have an edge, haven't seen much programming.


I agree. I don't even look for 4K content anymore. Damn near everything looks good on the 4K sets. I have done the side by side tests too and see little, if any, difference.

Rich


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## Rob Dawn (Jan 11, 2006)

Rich said:


> I agree. I don't even look for 4K content anymore. Damn near everything looks good on the 4K sets. I have done the side by side tests too and see little, if any, difference.


That's weird, because the World Cup games in 4K/HDR look WAYYY better than they do in 720p on my Vizio P65.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

Rob Dawn said:


> That's weird, because the World Cup games in 4K/HDR look WAYYY better than they do in 720p on my Vizio P65.


720 to 2160 is a bigger step than from 1080, plus Directv is using 30+ Mbps for their 4K while most of their HD channels are about 6 Mbps (and using a worse codec) so basically you're getting almost 10x the bit rate with the 4K version.

If there was a 720p channel encoded with 30 Mbps of HEVC, or even MPEG4, it would look a LOT better than the 720p World Cup games you watched...


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Some of the HD broadcasts of the World Cup were utter crap. Some were fine. Thanks, Fox. But I had the 4K going, and it was good, though some games looked better than the others (also WC).


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Rob Dawn said:


> That's weird, because the World Cup games in 4K/HDR look WAYYY better than they do in 720p on my Vizio P65.


Weird? Just what I see. Does that Vizio have better PQ than a similar Vizio 1080p set? Of course it does (just a guess, I have never had a Vizio). That was my point. I have no interest in soccer, just in sports I played. I wasn't gonna dive into D*'s 4K mess just to watch a few soccer games. Put the Yankees and Mets in 4K, put the NFL games in 4K, put boxing matches in 4K and I might...might take a chance on D* 4K. Aside from that I have absolutely no interest in D* 4K content...what there is of it. If PS Vue or D* NOW would give me WPIX in NYC (about 20 Yankee games a year) I'd dump D* in January.

Rich


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## Grafixguy (Mar 15, 2008)

4K MESS? How can you make that assessment while at the same time saying you don't have it?

I disagree vehemently with it. The 4K sports are stunning. There's no extra charge for it so I fail to see where the complaints are coming from.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Grafixguy said:


> 4K MESS? How can you make that assessment while at the same time saying you don't have it?
> 
> I disagree vehemently with it. The 4K sports are stunning. There's no extra charge for it so I fail to see where the complaints are coming from.


By reading lots of posts about the "mess". Same reason I don't want a 17. How do the MLB games and NFL games look in 4K?

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Grafixguy said:


> 4K MESS? How can you make that assessment while at the same time saying you don't have it?
> 
> I disagree vehemently with it. The 4K sports are stunning. There's no extra charge for it so I fail to see where the complaints are coming from.


By the way, in no way did I mean the 4K broadcasts were a "mess". I meant the equipment. You seem to have centered on the PQ, did not mean that.

Rich


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Dunno, Rich. You are opining about something you state you don't have.


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## Grafixguy (Mar 15, 2008)

4K sports are all stunning. As far as the "mess," if you're waiting for perfect you're going to grow old and die before it arrives.

NFL is the only league without any 4K coverage.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Laxguy said:


> Dunno, Rich. You are opining about something you state you don't have.


You don't think reading posts is a valid way of forming an opinion? I never had a 34 but I'm pretty sure it's junk. But, by all means, let's have some happy owners of 17s chip in here...

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Grafixguy said:


> 4K sports are all stunning. As far as the "mess," if you're waiting for perfect you're going to grow old and die before it arrives.
> 
> NFL is the only league without any 4K coverage.


Show me where I said 4K is anything but stunning. I was referring to the 17s and this is the second time I've said it. Where were you a couple years ago when we were arguing about how "fake" 4K is and some of us that actually had 4K sets were struggling to make our opinions heard and comprehended. I've got four 4K sets, I know how "stunning" 4K is.

Here's some text from that post: 
_Weird? Just what I see. Does that Vizio have better PQ than a similar Vizio 1080p set? Of course it does (just a guess, I have never had a Vizio). That was my point. I have no interest in soccer, just in sports I played. I wasn't gonna dive into D*'s 4K mess just to watch a few soccer games. Put the Yankees and Mets in 4K, put the NFL games in 4K, put boxing matches in 4K and I might...might take a chance on D* 4K. Aside from that I have absolutely no interest in D* 4K content...what there is of it. 
_
Have you reread that? Does that make it sound like I think 4K is a mess or does it point to the D* equipment? Sounds to me like if I can get MLB and NFL games in 4K I might take the leap and get the 4K boxes. I have plenty of 4K content and plenty of 4K streaming devices, give me something to watch in 4K that I'm interested in and I might...might go for the 4K equipment.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Laxguy said:


> Dunno, Rich. You are opining about something you state you don't have.


Surely you don't think I've never seen 4K content. Did not expect you to twist my words.

Rich


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Rich said:


> Surely you don't think I've never seen 4K content. Did not expect you to twist my words.


He is referring to the DIRECTV 4K content and equipment that you do not have.

And while you may believe that you are accurately summarizing or reflecting what you have read it does come across as if you are adding your personal experience with DIRECTV 4K into the mix.

(And no, people should not need to read your signature or otherwise investigate whether you own the equipment that is the subject of the opinion.)


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

James Long said:


> He is referring to the DIRECTV 4K content and equipment that you do not have.
> 
> And while you may believe that you are accurately summarizing or reflecting what you have read it does come across as if you are adding your personal experience with DIRECTV 4K into the mix.
> 
> (And no, people should not need to read your signature or otherwise investigate whether you own the equipment that is the subject of the opinion.)


One more time, it's just the equipment and lack of content that bothers me. After over 3 years of raving about how much I like 4K content I don't see how this started. I have absolutely no personal experience viewing D* 4K content, without the equipment how could I form an opinion other than basing it on what others say? And what others say is it's great, just as I would expect it to be. I've got plenty of 4K content available to me, I know how good it is.

Rich


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## samthegam (Dec 11, 2011)

My HR 44/500 after the latest software update to 1011 started to give me a warning about issue with storage device. I thought it was software related so I went back to 1088 and the warning still appears sometime. There is an issue with the hard drive as shows I have previously recorded won't let me watch till the end. Every show I have tried watching at some point stops in the middle of the recording and prompts me to delete or keep. If I keep it then restart it and forward past where the delete prompt appear some programming I can get to the end but not all. On DEMAND seems to work fine and so does viewing live tv. Just viewing recordings which I had tons to catch up on. I have quite a few options at this point. I am on the Premier package which is heavily discounted for being a loyal customer. I got a Sony 4K tv last year and was planning on upgrading to 4k after I have caught up on my recordings. But alas the hard drive is failed so I don't get to do that. At least Netflix has the shows I need to catch up on streaming. One option is do the warranty exchange and get another HR 44. DirecTv always sends a tech out for box exchanges because I have the protection plan so I am hoping he / she would swap me for an HR 54. I have 3 tvs currently one Genie, DVR, HD receiver. I don/t watch tv in the other rooms like I had been previously as I do most of my tv viewing on the 4k tv now. The HR 24/500 DVR I use as backup which I recorded a ton of movies on from HBO that I watch through whole home on the family room 4k tv. The other option is do the 4K upgrade and request the HR 54 and C61K for the 4K tv. I would replace the HD Receiver in the bedroom with HR54 and put the C61K on 4K TV. This way I can keep my HR 24/500 receiver. But, can I schedule series recordings from the client and use it just like I have the HR54 in front of me? The other option is going down to 1 tv and get the Genie 2 and C61K client. I believe the Genie 2 has a larger HD 2 TB as opposed to 1 TB and offers more tuners? Or one other final option is to just switch to Dish Network and get a Hopper 3 and have one tv. I am not in contract with DirecTV at the moment.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

samthegam said:


> a warning about issue with storage device.


which one ?
there is INTERNAL storage aka NVRAM/EEPROM/NAND and HDD as another storage (using internal Diag during boot hold Select button on front panel) which you could test there


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

Samthegam: I would do the 4K upgrade. If you will keep two televisions (one 4K), you could go either way (HR54 or HS17). If you are going to drop to one TV, then the HS17 is the way to go otherwise you would still be paying for a second tv location with an HR54. However, if you get an HS17, the HR24 has to go. If you want to keep the HR24, then an HR54 is the only option.

You schedule recordings, manage series links, etc., on a client the same as if you are sitting in front of the HR54 - you are managing the HR54, the client itself doesn't do any of that.


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## samthegam (Dec 11, 2011)

I decided to go with one tv and have an 4k upgrade scheduled this Friday with GENIE 2 and GENIE MINI 4K.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

samthegam said:


> I decided to go with one tv and have an 4k upgrade scheduled this Friday with GENIE 2 and GENIE MINI 4K.


For you and others with similar setups...a good choice.

Rich


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## samthegam (Dec 11, 2011)

I had my HS17 and C61K installed this past Friday and found this setup seems to work well. Just amazed at how small the c61k is compared to the hr44 that it replaced.


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## ericknolls (Aug 18, 2013)

For the record: Is the Genie 2 referred to the HS17? In another post the OP said the installer told him they didn't have Genie 2's. Or did the installer think he was referring to the Genie Go which was part of the old MobileDVR? 

Sent from my XT1609 using Tapatalk


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## samthegam (Dec 11, 2011)

ericknolls said:


> For the record: Is the Genie 2 referred to the HS17? In another post the OP said the installer told him they didn't have Genie 2's. Or did the installer think he was referring to the Genie Go which was part of the old MobileDVR?
> 
> Sent from my XT1609 using Tapatalk


On my work order it listed Genie 2. My installer referred it as Genie 2 as well


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## ericknolls (Aug 18, 2013)

I can't get who is telling these poor souls that such and such equipment isn't available. They need to power up their tablets or computers and do a search of their stock on hand before they make such a claim to their customer. I would never sell a service to a customer and not have the stock on hand. Equals: Bad business practices!

Sent from my XT1609 using Tapatalk


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

The HS17 is the same thing as a Genie 2. Genie (without the 2) refers to an HR44 or an HR54.


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