# Can the HR10 be modified to work with MPEG4/Ka?



## cybrsurfer (Sep 17, 2006)

Does anyone know if it is possible for customers who own their HR10-250 to modify it to work with the new Ka/MPEG4 satellites? In other words can you take it to a licensed master technician or qualified person to update it?


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

No. The HR10-250 cannot be modified to support reception of the new 99 & 103-deg Ka-band satellites. And even if you could modify its tuners to receive those satellites, it does not have the MPEG4 decoders necessary to process/record/display those MPEG4 signals. Sure would be nice, though!


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## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

The modification, if possible, would cost you more than a new HR20-700 HD-DVR so why bother?


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

captain_video said:


> The modification, if possible, would cost you more than a new HR20-700 HD-DVR so why bother?


I seriously doubt it could be done, it would require both hard and software mod's to accomplish this. Even if by some miracle you got the hardware to function then you don't have the code to fix the software end of things.


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## ApK (Mar 6, 2006)

There's a big difference between building a time machine INTO a Delorian, and building a time machine OUT OF a Delorian, of you get my drift.

"Modifying" the box to do this would really amount to "using the case, the drive and some parts of the box in building something totally new."


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## wkearney99 (Nov 30, 2006)

captain_video said:


> The modification, if possible, would cost you more than a new HR20-700 HD-DVR so why bother?


Because the software in the HR20 units is so g*damned awful that we'd rather have Tivo or switch to another provider entirely.

But I agree, there's no way to graft the necessary MPEG4 decoding chips into an existing unit. That and the onboard software has no facility for handling it. The combined effort of trying to solder in some sort of chipset and reprogram the core part of the drivers (bearing in mind there's encryption here too) makes is completely unlikely it'd ever be possible to do this in the field. Nothing's "impossible" but you'd have just as much luck turning your toaster oven into a blender.


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## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

It would be sort of like trying to convert a Beta VCR into VHS, only harder.


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