# HR21P-200



## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

The HR21P-200 or HR21 pro will be available in March, but:
It will be sold only, not leased/ 
Not sold by Directv, not offered by CSRS


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## Drewg5 (Dec 15, 2006)

Some stuff is owned some leased :scratchin oh well... Makes sense..


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

If DirecTV's not selling it directly, who will be?


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## beavis (Jun 9, 2005)

Maybe HT installation companies. Don't know if we'd ever see it at Best Buy or other retailers.


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

litzdog911 said:


> If DirecTV's not selling it directly, who will be?


I would assume Custom HT installers and Professional Commercial Installers.


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## lwilli201 (Dec 22, 2006)

Dave29 probably knows where to get one.  

I know it will be way out of my price range. :sure:


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## beavis (Jun 9, 2005)

Original price is $599, before $100 rebate.


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

beavis said:


> Original price is $599, before $100 rebate.


Source?

Not a bad deal at all if that is the truth...considering they want like $799 for the HR20 and HR21 normal versions...


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## convem24 (Mar 11, 2007)

It sounds like Best Buy might not carry it. I would think custom HT install companies and independent dealers will sell them. I am a little confused about the ownership piece since D* has been pushing lease for a long time but I guess they feel the depreciation amount from all HR21P customers will be very small. Maybe Magnolia AV or Magnolia HT might be able to order HR21Ps. 

This is not so much OT but I heard retailers who deal in D* equipment are seeing a shortage of HR21-700 line. I wonder if retailers are moving to the HR21-200 line? Anyone heard anything? I have not heard if HSPs or independents are seeing a stock shortage or not on the HR21 series but I am a little curious if demand is very high again or not (even though I think with the fact that my upcoming movers connection install dates were very limited that might give me a decent idea).


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

It's designed to be a higher end Home Theater edition, so I wouldn't suspect wide pr mainstream distribution.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Robert at Valueelectronics will be selling the unit. So far that is the only source I know of, tho I'm expecting more based on the installer interest I saw at CES.

Cheers,
Tom


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## stephenC (Jul 18, 2007)

Isn't this pro model supposed to have a 1080p output format? I seem to remember that being discussed when the Pro model first was revealed.


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## lwilli201 (Dec 22, 2006)

Tom Robertson said:


> Robert at Valueelectronics will be selling the unit. So far that is the only source I know of, tho I'm expecting more based on the installer interest I saw at CES.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


Except for increase recording capacity and two cooling fans, rack mountable, I do not see much difference between it and the HR21. If you use eSATA drive, that extra capacity is not very useful. It appears that it has no front panel controls. In some cases those are necessary. Not sure how they get around that. Pre release, advanced orders are $599 with shipping included.

EDIT: It has Optical HDMI output.

http://valueelectronics.com/images/pdf/HR21 pro_SpecSheet.pdf


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

lwilli201 said:


> Except for increase recording capacity and two cooling fans, rack mountable, I do not see much difference between it and the HR21. If you use eSATA drive, that extra capacity is not very useful. It appears that it has no front panel controls. In some cases those are necessary. Not sure how they get around that. Pre release, advanced orders are $599 with shipping included.
> 
> EDIT: It has Optical HDMI output.
> 
> http://valueelectronics.com/images/pdf/HR21 pro_SpecSheet.pdf


Ya, the differences seem very minor. Seems like it would be easy enough to just put an HR21 on a rack shelf w/ an external HDD unit rack mounted and you would have pretty much the same thing but with more capacity.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

stephenC said:


> Isn't this pro model supposed to have a 1080p output format? I seem to remember that being discussed when the Pro model first was revealed.


That was an incorrect piece of information about the unit, when it was first talked about/listed.

The HR21P will not do 1080p


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## stephenC (Jul 18, 2007)

The rack mount ears appear to be removable. The picture is not very clear and no side pics are shown. Removing the ears would make the unit more stackable in a non-rack environment. I like the slick front panel appearance.


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

stephenC said:


> Isn't this pro model supposed to have a 1080p output format? I seem to remember that being discussed when the Pro model first was revealed.


Please remember, DIRECTV is a distribution service. They pass on the signals they get from the broadcasters and they do not modify them.

Currently *NO BROADCASTER* is broadcasting in 1080p. The main reason? Bandwidth.



> HD - 720p, 1080i and 1080p
> 
> Bandwidth for HD
> You might know my interest in bandwidth, so what do these HD standards translate in? I'm not taking any compression into account:
> ...


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

stephenC said:


> The rack mount ears appear to be removable. The picture is not very clear and no side pics are shown. Removing the ears would make the unit more stackable in a non-rack environment. I like the slick front panel appearance.


They are removable... as are the feet.


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

I know that these have been uploaded before but I thought that they are relevent to the thread.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

The key differences on the hardware side:
1) removable rackmounts
2) removable feet (for better rack fitting)
3) two rear fans to pull air thru and out
4) larger hard disk
5) IR input port for direct connection to a IR blaster or to a IR sensor
6) RS-232 port for direct connection to High-end remote control systems
7) Optical HDMI extender builtin! Allows a full HDCP compliant HDMI extension up to 1,200' away from the unit. (The DLI dongle for conversion back to HDMI is not included and will be a separate kit.) This looked way, way cool at CES in the Samsung and DIRECTV booths.

Cheers,
Tom


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## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

RS-232 control on the P. That is huge in the home automation world.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

ssmith10pn said:


> RS-232 control on the P. That is huge in the home automation world.


All current receivers have RS-232 control.
You need a serial to USB adapter though.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

So...what do you think two weeks before it shows up on eBay?


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

That could be about right.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Ken S said:


> So...what do you think two weeks before it shows up on eBay?


Say it isn't so......... :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

lwilli201 said:


> Dave29 probably knows where to get one.
> 
> :sure:


i bet youre right


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## stephenC (Jul 18, 2007)

Ratara said:


> Please remember, DIRECTV is a distribution service. They pass on the signals they get from the broadcasters and they do not modify them.
> 
> Currently *NO BROADCASTER* is broadcasting in 1080p. The main reason? Bandwidth.


DirecTV PPV channels are broadcast by DirecTV. I don't believe that those channels come from another service provider. I'm only picking nits here because if D* wanted to provide a 1080p PPV channel that they could. I would hate to imagine what they would charge for the movies. But, if you think about it a 1080p PPV channel would be a direct competitor for Blu-Ray discs.


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## Newshawk (Sep 3, 2004)

Grentz said:


> Source?
> 
> Not a bad deal at all if that is the truth...considering they want like $799 for the HR20 and HR21 normal versions...


No, the "owned" price of an HR20/21 went down to $499, so the HR21P is actually $100 more. Earl confirmed it here.


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## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

> All current receivers have RS-232 control.
> You need a serial to USB adapter though.


Huh?

I program Elan and Control4 and haven't heard of RS232 to USB except on the PC side. Not the other way around.

The P model has a DB9 (RS232) port right on the back. I wouldn't even attempt to monkey around with a RS232 to USB adapter.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

ssmith10pn said:


> Huh?
> 
> I program Elan and Control4 and haven't heard of RS232 to USB except on the PC side. Not the other way around.
> 
> The P model has a DB9 (RS232) port right on the back. I wouldn't even attempt to monkey around with a RS232 to USB adapter.


All I can say is the USB to RS232 adapters do work well.


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

Newshawk said:


> No, the "owned" price of an HR20/21 went down to $499, so the HR21P is actually $100 more. Earl confirmed it here.


Glad the CSR lied to me 2 days ago then. I believe you guys over them though...they were just trying to justify the $199 lease over the $99 



ssmith10pn said:


> Huh?
> 
> I program Elan and Control4 and haven't heard of RS232 to USB except on the PC side. Not the other way around.
> 
> The P model has a DB9 (RS232) port right on the back. I wouldn't even attempt to monkey around with a RS232 to USB adapter.


He was meaning for the non-P model that does not have it right on the back. The adapters work fine and do the exact same thing...just you have one extra adapter in the mix (but they are very dumb adapters and thus are pretty reliable and such).


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

ssmith10pn said:


> Huh?
> 
> I program Elan and Control4 and haven't heard of RS232 to USB except on the PC side. Not the other way around.
> 
> The P model has a DB9 (RS232) port right on the back. I wouldn't even attempt to monkey around with a RS232 to USB adapter.


Minor nit: It is a DE9 (the second letter is the shell size; DB is used for the 25 pin types as in parallel ports).


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Learn something new every day. I've used RS-232 connectors for 25 years and never heard of that distinction. Thanks for the education.


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## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

> Minor nit: It is a DE9 (the second letter is the shell size; DB is used for the 25 pin types as in parallel ports).


That is very interesting. The entire industry refers to them as DB9


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Here ya go...


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

ssmith10pn said:


> Huh?
> 
> I program Elan and Control4 and haven't heard of RS232 to USB except on the PC side. Not the other way around.
> 
> The P model has a DB9 (RS232) port right on the back. I wouldn't even attempt to monkey around with a RS232 to USB adapter.


There are some other high end installers up here on the forums, that have been using that feature for the better part of a year....
I can't remember the login of the users though so I can link the threads, but it does work


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## rshelton (Sep 16, 2007)

I just purchased a RTI XP8 processor from our distributor for use in our showroom. I am using RS232 to control the DirecTV HR21-700 through a USB to serial adapter. It works flawlessly. I assume the HR21 Pro will behave the exact same, it just won't require the use of a USB to serial adapter.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

I bet when Earl posts First Look pictures, we see a belkin USB to RS-232 adapter inside.


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

If you want more information on controlling a receiver through the serial / USB port this is a good source of information.

They even have a Serial Command Test Tool

http://www.sbcatest.com/Techupdates.htm

Another usefull link

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Controlling_DirectTV_D11_via_USB


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## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

Ken S said:


> Here ya go...


Check this out.  
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=919&sku=25211


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

Tom Robertson said:


> I bet when Earl posts First Look pictures, we see a belkin USB to RS-232 adapter inside.


tom must already have the hr21p :eek2: from the sound of that post he has already had one opened up


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Well, it was on display at CES...

And security at CES wasn't too tight, security torx sets are easy to find...

And if I just happened to take out a few screws when everyone was watching the 140" TV in the booth...



Besides, we all know Earl gets all the good stuff first. He does an excellent job with his First Looks.


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## jveloza2 (Sep 10, 2007)

I am looking to buy a HR21P-200. Do you know of anyone taking orders?


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

jveloza2 said:


> I am looking to buy a HR21P-200. Do you know of anyone taking orders?


Check Solid Signal here: http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=HR21PRO

Enjoy!


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