DirecTV HR2x Migration Update

[DocTauri]

Hello again all, I was just lurking and decided to post.

Back in August of 2007, I submitted this post detailing my experiences with the DirecTV HR20 HD-DVR receiver. I'm bored at work today, so figured I'd give a status update.

It's been nearly 2 years now since I made that post, and I will admit, the HR20 has grown on me. Actually, now there are several models, HR20/HR21/HR22, collectively known as the HR2x. I now have 7 HD-DVR units, and just turned off my last DirecTivo.

The software has come a long way. It is MUCH more stable than it was in my last post. Dual live buffers are a reality now, remote scheduling, and the biggie... MRV is finally here! Well, it's in beta, but it's coming very soon to the masses. I have to say too, I like the way MRV works on the new units better (streaming vs. syncing). Once the playlist organization gets worked out, it should be pretty impressive.

I think the only thing that I can't do with the unit (aside from extraction) is TivoWeb. It was nice to be able to web in and delete a bunch of shows, but I can actually delete entire folders now, so that works out.

There still aren't any hacks, but I haven't really needed any.

Oh, and another cool feature of the new OS is the MediaShare stuff. As I mentioned before, I bought an AppleTV (3 now) and rebuilt my media server. I'm using MediaTomb on my linux box to share out via UPnP. Every DirecTV HD DVR in my house can now see this server and play it's video content. Additionally, I have loaded PlayOn on one of my Windows boxes. This allows my HD-DVR's to play content from Amazon, Youtube, and even my Netflix account. This too is in beta, so the fast forward and rewind aren't yet functional, but again, it's in the works.

All in all, it was a little bumpy at the beginning, but I'm happy that I stuck with it. My only complaint is that the unit seems to be a little slow. I believe this is probably due to debug code in the load I'm running, so hopefully when this code goes mainstream, that will get stripped and speed the unit up.

Finally, I keep talking about beta software. They're beta program is open to anyone, all you have to do is download the software at the appropriate time and start testing.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Doc

[Thinkdiff]

Sounds like they've made a lot of improvements. MRV would be amazing.

I'm still a DirecTiVo hold out. I'm running 2 HDVR2s, 1 SD-DVR40 and 1 DSR708. They all work great, after years of use... I really have no complaints other than I can't upgrade to 6.4 without losing MRV.

The DirecTV DVRs are very tempting (the interactive content they're doing now), but I really like being able to pop open my TiVo or login over telnet and do basically whatever I want.

[DocTauri]

I agree, it was very nice to be able to log in and do whatever I wanted to the box, but I'll admit that, if I had to give in to something, the HD-DVR's were definately worth it and much better than any other alternative.

Doc

[SteveT]

.....
Oh, and another cool feature of the new OS is the MediaShare stuff. As I mentioned before, I bought an AppleTV (3 now) and rebuilt my media server. I'm using MediaTomb on my linux box to share out via UPnP. Every DirecTV HD DVR in my house can now see this server and play it's video content. Additionally, I have loaded PlayOn on one of my Windows boxes. This allows my HD-DVR's to play content from Amazon, Youtube, and even my Netflix account. This too is in beta, so the fast forward and rewind aren't yet functional, but again, it's in the works......

That sounds very interesting! I took a glance at the MediaShare stuff but was scared off by all the VIIV talk. I'll give it another look as soon as I get back home.

[DocTauri]

Let me know if I can help.

Doc

[donny_rules2008]

Excuse my ignorance, but where and when do I go to get the beta software update?

[DocTauri]

You can download the currently available software anytime by resetting the receiver (I prefer to press the red reset button next to the card), then when the blue ring lights come back on, press 0 2 4 6 8 on the remote. Nothing more. If you did it in time, you'll get the normal first 2 screens (Please wait, and Almost there), but instead of flipping to the DirecTV screen on the 3rd blink, you'll get a software download window.

Every Friday and Saturday night, between 11pm and 2am they make the beta available in the download stream. Now, it's not always every Fri and Sat, sometimes there's not an update available, or if they have probs with it on Fri, they pull it on Sat. The best place to find out if it's going to happen, and what changes are in the release is the dbstalk dot com forum in the Cutting Edge sub-forum.

Doc

[stevel]

Note that you have to join dbstalk as a member AND sign up for the free Cutting Edge group, by which you signify that you agree to the CE rules. Only then do you get to see the CE sections.

[donny_rules2008]

Thank You, I will be sure to try it this Friday
-db

[BAHitman]

I'll have to admint, I was afraid that the HDDVR's they got now would be trash... but you know what... there's alot of things I like about it better. I'm down to 2 Tivo's on my account now, and am scournig e-bay for owned units now to replace them... (nice thing about an owned unit is you can open it up and put a 2TB drive in them instead of relying on the dodgy eSata port)

I will urge caution when using ebay as alot of people are posting that they own units that they don't, and directv won't activate a reciever that is supposed to be returned to them...

[AlphaWolf]

Is there ultimately anything you can do with a hacked tivo that you can't do with these? Conversely is there anything you can do with these that you can't do with a hacked tivo? And why can't you put your own hard disk in a leased unit (and remove it when they want it back?)

[jwciv]

you can certainly replaced the internal hard drive, you just void the warranty (I'm sure close to 100% of the people on this board have voided their warranty and never blinked an eye, never looked back!)
I do miss having a couple unsubbed MRV terminals that feed off a subbed unit.
I'm pretty sure PlainBill will weigh in here too...

[SteveT]

Is there ultimately anything you can do with a hacked tivo that you can't do with these? Conversely is there anything you can do with these that you can't do with a hacked tivo? And why can't you put your own hard disk in a leased unit (and remove it when they want it back?)

After having an HR22 for 6 months or so, here's my take:

Things I can't do at all with the HR22:
1) Control the NoReRecord list
2) View/manage NPL and ToDo list remotely
3) Extract video to my PC/kids' iPods for travel
4) Watch shows sitting on my Tivo's (MRV)

Things I can do, but not nearly as well:
5) View/manage NPL and ToDo list (I also use HiGuide for this)
6) Watch shows sitting on my PC (does not support skip or fast-forward)
7) Manage the channel list and remove D*s weekly additions

The only thing I can do with the HR22 that I can't with my hacked Tivo's is watch all of the HD channels. Of course, this is a biggie.

There are of course lots of minor differences, but these are the ones I actively bump into.

[PlainBill]

Is there ultimately anything you can do with a hacked tivo that you can't do with these? Conversely is there anything you can do with these that you can't do with a hacked tivo? And why can't you put your own hard disk in a leased unit (and remove it when they want it back?)

From my point of view, there is little that cannot be done with the HR2x units that I want to do. TVersity allows listening to mp3s and viewing video and picture files on the big screen TV. DirecTV2PC allows viewing shows recorded on the HR2x on my computer. Caller ID is already available. MRV is in beta; I tried it through the DirecTV cutting edge program andit worked very well. (Only fiscal prudence prevented the purchase of several more HDTVs and HR2x ). Recordings can be scheduled remotely.

Some features others would like don't really interest me. In 5+ years with an HDVR2 I extracted 1 show and inserted 1. My son, the software whiz assures me that with DirecTV2PC as a working base, extraction would be possible. Insertion is another matter; it should be possible if someone comes up with software that emulates an AM21. Manipulating the 'now playing list' - why?

On the issue on adding a larger drive, I opted for copying the existing recordings to a new 1 Tbyte drive and replacing the original drive. The original drive is in a resealed and labeled box in a 'secure location'.

PlainBill

[BAHitman]

if you break the seal on a leased unit, when you return it, I'm told they will charge you $499. it's much worse than voiding the warranty...

I guess if you can get the warranty sticker off without exposing the VOID across it you would be OK replacing the drive w/o issues... it ain't easy though... real pain in the rear...