  AlpinePremium
join:2000-01-11
Atlanta, GA | Good stuff... We were all glad to see the new HD channels show up this morning after some snags last week. They're all MPEG4, too, and look great. Most can't tell the difference between them and the OTA equivalents.
Many of us have been testing the new On-Demand service, and it's "pretty good." Lots of choices, even though it's still only in beta. The drawback, of course, is that you have to download over your broadband connection. With Standard-Def stuff you can easily watch in real-time as it downloads with my 6 meg connection. HD content takes a bit longer.
Regardless - good stuff for D*.
Adam | |
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| | Concerns My main concern is the need to upgrade my box. I'm using the HD-Tivo box which I rather like and paid decent money for. Now I have to upgrade to their box in order to receive these new channels. I'll have to get in touch with them about this but it's really a nuisance and yet more money i'll have to shell out. | |
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 |  ieolusSupport The Clecs
join:2001-06-19
Duluth, GA | Re: Concerns I'm in the same position Dmoralize, and I'd rather stick with the HD-Tivo then receive new HD channels. I sure hope DirecTv gets the message and establishes a new relationship with Tivo.
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"Speak for yourself "Chadmaster" - lesopp | |
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| | | You're not alone. I may not upgrade if I can't convince them to upgrade me for free.... | |
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| | compPremium
join:2001-08-16
Cranberry Twp, PA | Re: Concerns UPGRADE. Ditch that horrible Tivo Software and enjoy HD channels no longer in HD LITE!!!!!!!!!!! | |
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| | | | | Re: Concerns While I think calling the Tivo Software "horrible" is a bit insane, I do have to agree that the upgrade is worth it. I loved my HR10-250, upgrading only because I had to have the dual output option of the HR20. And sure it took awhile for me to like it, mostly due to the buggy software at first, but they've worked all (atleast most) of those issues out, and have a pretty solid receiver now.
After a week or two of playing with the HR20, you'll never want to go back to the HR10.
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Intel Quad Core QX6700 @3500Mhz/Asus P5N32-E SLI/4x 1024Mb Corsair/WD 74Gb Raptor/PNY 7800GTs SLI/Antec 550 True Control/Custom water cooler | |
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| | | | | | Re: Concerns I agree with Camelot One; the HR20 is now very comarible to Tivo. Most recent updates have fixed a lot of bugs (IMO) I liked the feature on Tivo of when you go 3-4 speed in FF/RWD the software would automatically back up when you hit play knowing that you over shot you stop point. Now the HR20 does this. I still miss a lot of the Tivo interface though. | |
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| | | | | | I "upgraded" to the HR-20 6 months ago when I got my HD set and I absolutely HATE this piece of junk. It's not at all intuitive and there are some basic functions that I still haven't figured out how to do yet. Not to mention the software bugs that have plagued this unit and they're just now ironing out. My wife and daughter hate it so much that they go up to the bedroom to watch SD on our old Tivo. | |
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| | | | | | | Re: Concerns said by Jeffro58 :
I "upgraded" to the HR-20 6 months ago when I got my HD set and I absolutely HATE this piece of junk. It's not at all intuitive and there are some basic functions that I still haven't figured out how to do yet. Not to mention the software bugs that have plagued this unit and they're just now ironing out. My wife and daughter hate it so much that they go up to the bedroom to watch SD on our old Tivo.
As far as I know, all of the bugs that existed when the unit first launched have been fixed. There have been a few minor issues introduced as they add new features, but even those have work arounds.
What are you having trouble with? What do you need help setting up?
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Intel Quad Core QX6700 @3500Mhz/Asus P5N32-E SLI/4x 1024Mb Corsair/WD 74Gb Raptor/PNY 7800GTs SLI/Antec 550 True Control/Custom water cooler | |
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| | | | | Re: Concerns Yeah I think all I had to pay was the shipping fee. But I've had mine awhile now, I'm sure offers/deals/options have changed. | |
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| | | | | I read something about some people needing a new dish as well? Is that true? | |
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| | | | | | Re: Concerns Yes, the new channels are on a different satellite. They had to come out and install a new dish and installed an HR20 at our place a few weeks back (I already had HD service via two HR10-250 receivers.)
Check out this FAQ. It includes the hardware requirements for the new channels:
»www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99528 | |
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| | | |  fireflierCoffee. . .Need CoffeePremium
join:2001-05-25
Limbo | Yup. We're up to a big honking 5-LNB dish. From the looks of the mounting hardware, I think it could probably stay lined up after a direct strike from an F-3 tornado. . . | |
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| | | | |  PolarBear03The bear formerly known as aaron8301Premium
join:2005-01-03 | Re: Concerns I've mounted several... so long as the lag bolts are in good solid wood, I can hang from the mast, and I'm over 200 pounds! | |
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| | | | PolarBear03The bear formerly known as aaron8301Premium
join:2005-01-03 | You'll need this bad boy, which direcTV will come out and install for free. | |
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| | | | | fireflierCoffee. . .Need CoffeePremium
join:2001-05-25
Limbo | Re: Concerns And if they're replacing an existing dish where the cabling is already run and the receivers are already active, they can do it in no time! Took my installer about 10 minutes to mount it and align it.  | |
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| | Finally! I was happy to see the channels this morning too. I never watch TV in the morning, but I had some time to burn today. I guess its now time to upgrade our receiver upstairs to HD. | |
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guppy_fishPremium
join:2003-12-09
Lakeland, FL
kudos:1 Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
| H20's run hot I did a commercial install last year, a total of quantity 16 of the H20 mpeg4 receivers and a pair of the new 5 lnb dishes.
In the last year, the site has had about 7 of the H20 fails as they run VERY VERY hot, even in an air conditioned location.
I have no idea what the warranty is for regular home owners, just thought I'd mention this if you considering upgrading ( and paying for it ) to verify what DTV will do if H20 dies before committing to a contract or upfront payment for the upgraded H20 system. | |
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|  InterceptorWe want... A ShrubberyPremium
join:2000-07-24
Birmingham, AL | Re: H20's run hot Yes, that has been an issue with the H20-600. However, the H20-100 does not seem to have that problem. Another note in case some are not aware. The H20 is not the DVR. The HR20 is. | |
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|  dbmavenThere's no shortagePremium,Mod
join:1999-10-26
Sty in Sky
kudos:2
1 edit | *already explained - content removed | |
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| fireflierCoffee. . .Need CoffeePremium
join:2001-05-25
Limbo | From what I've been able to ascertain, if you walk into some place like Circuit City you're going to get an H20-600 (I bought two originally with months between and both were 600s though this may differ between regions). If you have a DTV installer out, you may well get a 100. My installer told me all he gets on his truck are 100s. Both my 600s died and DTV replaced them. I requested 100 series for both and they somehow managed to work that out for me.
I can vouch that 100s run MUCH cooler and respond much quicker to remote commands and menuing. If you can find a way, get the 100 series.
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Wishes: When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor. --despair.com | |
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|  dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | Re: Just got 'em said by Network Guy:I will be real happy when USA Network comes in HD. I'm a Law & Order junkie. Guess what? when you get USA-HD those old law & order eps are going to be... yep you guessed it: STANDARD DEF!
if they aren't shot in HD, the best they're going to be is "Stretch - o - vision" and depending on the agreements with NBC, the newer ones shot in HD could possibly be presented in standard def too(on USA-HD).
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You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth | |
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| | | | Re: Just got 'em No up-converting?
I know TNT up-converts their Law & Order stuff. It's not stretched AFAIK. | |
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| | | dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | Re: Just got 'em said by Network Guy:No up-converting? I know TNT up-converts their Law & Order stuff. It's not stretched AFAIK. Upconverted or whatever its not going to be as good as being shot in native HD.
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upconverting is like taking a 128kbps mp3 and re-encoding it to 192kbps. sure you have a 192kbps file but the quality isn't any better than what you started with.
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Wait til dadkins shows up on this thread
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You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth | |
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| | | | Reviews:
 ·Optimum Online
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: Just got 'em Meh, I think your analogy is flawed.
When I watch Law & Order in TNTHD it looks slightly pixelated at worst depending on what you're looking at. Native HD provides awesome detail, yes, but upconverting is nothing like taking an already inferior-quality song and re-ripping it at higher quality. There truly is some enhancement, albeit the extent of such is subjective at worst. | |
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| | | | you do know that NBC owns USA network and NBC Universal HD right? | |
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dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | HD-LITE is this more hd-lite garbage or true HD? | |
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See 6 replies to this post |
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| | I Wish I could Get A New HD Box I have my third appointment scheduled for thsi Saturday for the new HD box. After Waiting 12 hours two weeks ago they never showed. Also spent about two hours on the phone.
Two days later waited for four hours and agian nobody showed. Another hour plus on the phone.
They are supposedly coming this Saturday, but I will see.
Looking farward to the HD, but will definitely miss the TIVO. | |
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| | Dish Network C'mon Dish! Don't let DirecTV run away with the torch! | |
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|  CjaicemanPremium,MVM
join:2004-10-12
Parker, CO
kudos:2 | Re: Dish Network Screw dish, come on COMCAST!!!! lol  | |
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 TechieZeroTools Are Using MePremium
join:2002-01-25
Gibsonton, FL |  To The Right Of Science HD
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| dbmavenThere's no shortagePremium,Mod
join:1999-10-26
Sty in Sky
kudos:2 | Re: To The Right Of Science HD The Weather Channel | |
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Tim618
join:2003-10-14
Garrettsville, OH |  good deal
As for those of you who are worrying about the upgrade... i called on a whim, in the end of feb, beginning of march, wanting to find out if i could finally get local hd channels, because i couldn't without an off air antenna which i did not want. They said i could, but would need to upgrade my dish. They said because i was an "A-List" customer they could do this for free. Then i enquired about DVR, they set me up with the hr-20, thats right when it came out, so i was all set for the b-band launch. They also ended up installing the new satellite, receiver, moving my old hd receiver to another room, running new wire to 2 rooms, and setting up everything for free. I was quite happy about that! Plus they gave me free dvr service for 6 months! I'm liking the a-list thing. So call and see what they can do for you. . . I also ended up saving some extra money a month off of my bill because i forgot to terminate a receiver i wasn't using , so i did then and i also got rid of starz. | |
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fireflierCoffee. . .Need CoffeePremium
join:2001-05-25
Limbo | Oh, WTF?
I've got two H20s, with the 5-LNB and BBCs on both receivers. Neither one is showing any of the new HD content, even after re-setting the receivers. I even went back through the setup on one and no dice.
Channel 77, all I get is searching for signal. Channel 498, searching for signal. Directly entering numbers for the other HD channels yields searching for signal.
Called DTV, they confirmed the satellite/transponder numbers are fine to be picking up the new HD streams and their only explanation is that "it's possible the new HD material hasn't been properly rolled out yet."
Obviously others in the forum are getting the streams so what's up?
--
Wishes: When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor. --despair.com | |
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| | fireflierCoffee. . .Need CoffeePremium
join:2001-05-25
Limbo | Re: Oh, WTF? Not until now!
Looks like I'm going to have to do this. . . I'm OK on the other criteria listed.
Tip #2 right off the bat: If the only problem is a error x721 on the new channels, your account has not been authorized for the new HD channels yet OR the channel being tested is not available to your programming level. You have 2 options: 1) Call DIRECTV (more on this later), 2) try the DIRECTV.com website.
But, if you want to call NOW, you can try a very polite: "Please drop the old HD Access and re-add the new HD Access Tier". Some CSRs will understand and be able to help. Remember, at this point in this cycle you likely know more than them on this topic and are putting them in an awkward position, so be extra patient and polite.
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Wishes: When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor. --despair.com | |
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| | | check your signal strength on the 99 and 103 sats in the setup menu.....most likely you do not have good strength.....hows the strength on the 101? if its low you will most likely not get 99 and 103....your dish needs to be peaked....if the 101 is off by a little, the 99 and 103 suffer 2fold. also make sure you have at least 2 monopoles that are supporting the dish and that there are no obstructions in it's line of sight. | |
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| | fireflierCoffee. . .Need CoffeePremium
join:2001-05-25
Limbo
1 edit | Re: Oh, WTF? Nah, signal levels are fine. 103 was showing in the 96-100 range. 99 was all 0 but I'm told it will be unless you have HD locals and they're not available in my area yet (of course I've been told wrong by their CSRs before).
I'm beginning to think it's an account issue--I asked them if there was any way it could be my account settings and they assured me not but the above thread seems to confirm it CAN be account settings.
Had an installer put the new 5-LNB dish up and watched him mount it and test the signal levels. I think he used every brace in the box.  From looking at the dish, I don't think a nuke strike would mis-align it. | |
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| fireflierCoffee. . .Need CoffeePremium
join:2001-05-25
Limbo | Both receivers working great now. Thanks for the advice guys!
Turns out I was dealing with multiple problems. | |
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| | Which ABC, NBC, FOX? I notice that ABC HD, NBC HD, and FOX HD are listed as national HD channels. Is this in all markets or only where locals are rebroadcast in HD? If it is national which ABC/NBC/FOX would I be getting?
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DSLr Mafia Member. | |
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