# HR-20 Simultaneous Output via HDMI & Component?



## VTNomad (May 6, 2008)

I have the HR-20-700 DVR model.

I've read that all the outputs are active at the same time. Does this mean I can hook two TV's (one with component cables, and one with an HDMI cable) up at the same time?

I know I would have to watch the same channel.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Sure, I do it regularly.

The other thing is both TVs have to support the same resolutions. I normally have NATIVE off anyway, so I can control which resolution the HR20 sends.

Have fun,
Tom


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## bwaldron (Oct 24, 2005)

VTNomad said:


> Does this mean I can hook two TV's (one with component cables, and one with an HDMI cable) up at the same time?
> 
> I know I would have to watch the same channel.


Yes, as Tom noted. Plus you could have a third SD set connected as well via S-Video or composite


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

bwaldron said:


> Yes, as Tom noted. Plus you could have a third SD set connected as well via S-Video or composite


Of course no one watches SD anymore do they???? :lol:


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## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Of course no one watches SD anymore do they???? :lol:


I do with my Slingbox.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

(moved to the HD DVR forum)


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## tomc (Sep 18, 2007)

Does anyone know if the HR20-100 will also output display on both HDMI and component outputs? I assume it will, being so closely related to the 700.

Thanks!

-Tom


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Yes, Tom.


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## Barmat (Aug 27, 2006)

Does the all the audio work at the same time? I just set up a new reciever and it doesn't do HDMI passthrough( the stereo must be on to have video and audio on the TV).


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## bwaldron (Oct 24, 2005)

Barmat said:


> Does the all the audio work at the same time?


Yes.


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

Barmat said:


> Does the all the audio work at the same time? I just set up a new reciever and it doesn't do HDMI passthrough( the stereo must be on to have video and audio on the TV).


Somewhere in the menus of your audio receiver will be a setting for pass through. Mine was something like HDMI Yes or No. I had to read the manual to find it. I set the HDMI to go through to the TV and use optical to the DVR for when I want Surround Sound.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

tomc said:


> Does anyone know if the HR20-100 will also output display on both HDMI and component outputs? I assume it will, being so closely related to the 700.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> -Tom


Can't pass this up. About all they share from a user's viewpoint is the 20 in their model designation. I think the 20-700s are the best of ALL the HRs and the 20-100 is among the worst, right up there with the 21-100 and the wretched 22-100.

That said, if you actually have a working 20-100 (I've never seen one), it will output on both HDMI and component at the same time. All the HRs will do this.

The above is just my opinion, it's not gonna change. I've got eight 700s and one 200 and have nothing but good things to say about them. Read thru the threads and see how many negative posts there are about the 100s.

D* has tried to give me HRs without any cost to me and I have refused because I was certain it would be a 100. A few months ago, I got a great deal on a 1080p TV and bought it. When I got it home, I realized I didn't have a spare HR for it. All that was available anywhere were 22s. With great trepidation, I bought one. Lasted 3 months and the Case Management Group (who, by the way, have agreed with my opinion about the 100s time and time again) swapped the 22 for a 23-700 that does have a couple faults. Very minor, the record light is very bright and annoying and the RF sensor is not nearly as sensitive as the 20-700s (my personal benchmark). Aside from those two very minor things, the 23 is far superior to the 22.

Rich


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## EricRobins (Feb 9, 2005)

rich584 said:


> That said, if you actually have a working 20-100 (I've never seen one), it will output on both HDMI and component at the same time. All the HRs will do this.


I cannot speak for your experiences, but I am sure there are lots of people (myself included) that have had great experiences with their -100s. I have two and have had no hardware related problems...EVER.


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## bwaldron (Oct 24, 2005)

EricRobins said:


> I cannot speak for your experiences, but I am sure there are lots of people (myself included) that have had great experiences with their -100s.


Certainly there are lots. My own experience, though, leads me to agree with Rich. Our HR21-100 has always been more sluggish in operation and more prone to "glitches" than our two HR20-700s. A very small sample to be sure, so I don't want to overgeneralize...but If I were to add or replace a receiver today, I'd much prefer a -700 to a -100 model.


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

I agree, I have a H20-100 (replaced a H20-600) recalled and not one single issue running since mid 2006.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

EricRobins said:


> I am sure there are lots of people (myself included) that have had great experiences with their -100s. I have two and have had no hardware related problems...EVER.


I'm one of those, I have R22-100s (2) R22-200 (1) and an HR22-100, no problems at all from any of them. I also use an R15-100 in my garage in the summer, I haven't got it out yet, but I've never had trouble from it either...


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

joed32 said:


> Somewhere in the menus of your audio receiver will be a setting for pass through. Mine was something like HDMI Yes or No. I had to read the manual to find it. I set the HDMI to go through to the TV and use optical to the DVR for when I want Surround Sound.


Why not just run HDMI straight from the DVR to the TV and optical from the TV to the AV receiver?


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Tom Robertson said:


> .......
> 
> The other thing is both TVs have to support the same resolutions.


That's not entirely true. Regardless of what resolution the DVR is set to output, the S-video and composite outputs are always SD video. There is still a display issue if both TVs are not the same aspect ratio though. If you are outputting to a 16:9 HD set and a 4:3 SD set, the only way to get the correct aspect ratio on both is to set both the DVR and the HD TV to 4:3 mode, which would give the HD TV a picture that is both letterboxed and pillar bared when watching a program that is 16:9. With that setup 4:3 programming would display normally on both.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

bwaldron said:


> Certainly there are lots. My own experience, though, leads me to agree with Rich. Our HR21-100 has always been more sluggish in operation and more prone to "glitches" than our two HR20-700s. A very small sample to be sure, so I don't want to overgeneralize...but If I were to add or replace a receiver today, I'd much prefer a -700 to a -100 model.


I do know that thousands of 100s have been sold and that most of them must work. I did say it was an opinion, not a statement of fact. I've had all the HR 100s at one time or another and didn't treat them any differently than I treat the 700s and my 200. My bias is based on my experiences. If folks have 100s that work perfectly (I gotta admit I do find that hard to believe), good for them.

Also, only one of those 100s was new and it did last longer than the others, but 3 months? And I didn't use it for two of those 3 months. Again, it's just my opinion and nothings gonna change it and I won't have another one in my home. I can afford to buy HRs of my choice either at retail or on eBay if one of my HRs fails.

Oh, thanx for the support. Yaz would have made a great Yankee. I enjoyed watching him play. My kind of ballplayer.

Rich


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

spartanstew said:


> Why not just run HDMI straight from the DVR to the TV and optical from the TV to the AV receiver?


If you want DD sound this won't usually work. Very few tv's if any will pass the DD stream from the tv's HDMI input to it's optical output. That optical output is strictly for the on-board ATSC tuners sound output.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

CCarncross said:


> If you want DD sound this won't usually work. Very few tv's if any will pass the DD stream from the tv's HDMI input to it's optical output. That optical output is strictly for the on-board ATSC tuners sound output.


Is that what he's trying to do? I didn't realize that. All I got when I tried that, was PCM and then I read the manual and it said what you posted.

Rich


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## davidjplatt (Sep 22, 2007)

My two original HR DVRs are both HR20-100s. Never a problem in any way, shape or form. The next two HR DVRs are both HR20-700s. Never a problem in any way, shape or form.

With the problems that people have encountered adding eSata drives to HR DVRs that are not HR20-100s or HR20-700s, I'd rather stick with HR20-x00 boxes.

That's my opinion and you're not going to change mine either.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

davidjplatt said:


> My two original HR DVRs are both HR20-100s. Never a problem in any way, shape or form. The next two HR DVRs are both HR20-700s. Never a problem in any way, shape or form.
> 
> With the problems that people have encountered adding eSata drives to HR DVRs that are not HR20-100s or HR20-700s, I'd rather stick with HR20-x00 boxes.
> 
> That's my opinion and you're not going to change mine either.


Why would I try to change your opinion? I made that comment in that post in the hope that not many people would reply as you have. And not many have. I know that some people have 100s that work, I never said anything contrary to that.

About the eSATAs on the 21s, that's not a problem. We've been over what works so many times, and that info is easily found with a simple search. There is no problem putting an Antec MX-1 enclosure containing a SATA hard drive on any HR.

Given a choice, I would only have 20-700s. They would all be owned and would all have 2TB drives in them. Drawback being that the cost would be over $3000.

Rich


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## kkl (Feb 11, 2007)

CCarncross said:


> If you want DD sound this won't usually work. Very few tv's if any will pass the DD stream from the tv's HDMI input to it's optical output. That optical output is strictly for the on-board ATSC tuners sound output.


Surprisingly, my relatively inexpensive Vizio VO37L does pass the Dolby Digital signal from an HDMI input to its SPDIF optical output.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

kkl said:


> Surprisingly, my relatively inexpensive Vizio VO37L does pass the Dolby Digital signal from an HDMI input to its SPDIF optical output.


Aww, that's aggravating. Happy for you, but why doesn't Panasonic do that? I know it was explained to me, but if other TV makers can do it, why not mine?

Rich


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

rich584 said:


> Aww, that's aggravating. Happy for you, but why doesn't Panasonic do that? I know it was explained to me, but if other TV makers can do it, why not mine?
> 
> Rich


Why would that be better than running the optical from the STB to the AV receiver? Just asking.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

joed32 said:


> Why would that be better than running the optical from the STB to the AV receiver? Just asking.


Would allow the TV to do the audio switching rather than the optical switcher I use now. Just would make things a bit easier. Less wires, another component in the scrap heap, that sort of thing. Wouldn't do anything for the audio quality.

Rich


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

rich584 said:


> Would allow the TV to do the audio switching rather than the optical switcher I use now. Just would make things a bit easier. Less wires, another component in the scrap heap, that sort of thing. Wouldn't do anything for the audio quality.
> 
> Rich


Thanks.


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## Steveknj (Nov 14, 2006)

This is good stuff. Now I have to talk the wife into letting me buy a capture card for my laptop so I can use it for viewing live stuff


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## crohwer (Dec 22, 2010)

I have multiple DirecTV HD DVR receivers that our simultaneously outputting HDMI and Component signals to two different HDTVs. I am able to receive 1080i on both TVs. Both TVs, which are 1080p capable, will not let me receive 1080p with this configuration. I understand that I will not get 1080p on the TV with the component due to HDCP protection but I didn't expect the TV receiving the HDMI to be restricted to 1080i. Is the component output restricting the HDMI output?


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

crohwer said:


> I have multiple DirecTV HD DVR receivers that our simultaneously outputting HDMI and Component signals to two different HDTVs. I am able to receive 1080i on both TVs. Both TVs, which are 1080p capable, will not let me receive 1080p with this configuration. I understand that I will not get 1080p on the TV with the component due to HDCP protection but I didn't expect the TV receiving the HDMI to be restricted to 1080i. Is the component output restricting the HDMI output?


Yes...


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

spartanstew said:


> Why not just run HDMI straight from the DVR to the TV and optical from the TV to the AV receiver?


That's what I do, but on my Onkyo I can either have the HDMI pass the HDMI sound through to the TV or use the HDMI through the Onkyo only. In that case the Onkyo has to be on to get any sound at all. I prefer it to the TV so I can just use the TV speakers for news programs, etc., and the surround for programs that actually make use of it. The Onkyo also acts as a 3 port switch so I can send the HDMI video to 3 different HDTVs.


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