I am a 12 year + customer of Directv and presently have a H24, HR24, and a HR34. That gives me a total of 8 tuners and a GB and a half of hard drive space.. It is my understanding that the two new boxes/receivers from Directv will be the HR44 rumored to be with 3 tuners and the C31 with no tuner/hard drive. In fact the C31 uses/steals a tuner from the HR34 or HR44. I am confused as to how that is considered to be an improvement? Just why would I want to consider trading any of my receivers for a tunerless/hard drive less C31? I understand the purpose of the C31 is to match Dish's "Joey" but is it really necessary? If you get a HR44 with a C31 you are right back to the two tuners of the HR24. Help me to understand the advantages of this more clearly because right now the only ones I see gaining from this are Directv saving the cost of the tuners/hard drives in the new boxes/receivers. Many of us would like to be able to activate more than one HR34 on our accounts but Directv won't presently let us. We want DVRs with more tuners and hard drive space not less of each. Sounds like Directv is not paying attention to their customers again and listening to the bean counters. I am not trying to start a flame war over who is better Dish or Directv but If I thought the Hopper/Joey system was superior I would get it. I do not want a Directv clone of the Dish system. Personally, I feel my intelligence a bit insulted by the Genie stuff and see it as trying to keep up with Dish.
Confused About Directv's Upcoming Plans
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I was hoping the HR44 would have 8 tuners to take advantage of the SWiM 8 thus having more tuners available for the C31 clients. But now I hear rumors that the HR44 will only have 3 tuners, which to me sounds like it might be an add on the the HR34 thus giving you 8 tuners total, but I still don't understand how all of these would work together.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
I hadn't thought about the 8 tuners between a HR34 and HR44, that is a good point. I was talking with a Directv representative at Wally World last Saturday night and he wonders what is going to happen when the C31s that are built into the Samsung Flat panels go bad how it will be handled? Right now when you have a receiver go bad Directv will either ship you a replacement or have a sub contractor bring you a replacement. Are they going to replace your whole TV when a C31 goes bad inside of one? Could this be what is behind their new expanded protection plan?
The Samsung TVs don't have a "C31 inside". Samsung is a member of the RVU alliance and has built its own DirecTV-compatible electronics. If it goes wrong, it's just like any other problem with the TV electronics.
And no-one is asking you to swap out your receiver for a C31.
And no-one is asking you to swap out your receiver for a C31.
Makes no difference if you call it a RVU or a C31 it serves the same purpose. My point was if the built in client malfunctions you are out the whole TV whereas if a receiver malfunctions the TV still works and all you have to do is exchange the receiver. Please read my post more carefully and you will see I never said I was being asked to swap out my receiver for a C31. I asked why I would want to do that as it seemed like a downgrade to me.
The C31 gives you "trick play" options whereas an add on receiver won't unless you hit record.
I wouldnt mind being able to have a HR34 and a HR44 on an account for 8 tuners
I guess the companies now-a-days think that 5 tuners is enough for a family...and it may be during the day when nothing is being recorded. But at night there are times I have 4 or even 5 things recording. So if I had a family they couldnt watch stuff in their rooms on a C31 because all the tuners are taken. Thinking of my family my dad could get by with a HR34/2 C31's because the C31's would only be used sparingly.
I've said it a few times...on Saturdays I have to manipulate the timers so I don't go over the 5 tuner issue with college football games (especially at the 2:30 CDT time) when one batch ends and a new batch begins
I wouldnt mind being able to have a HR34 and a HR44 on an account for 8 tuners
I guess the companies now-a-days think that 5 tuners is enough for a family...and it may be during the day when nothing is being recorded. But at night there are times I have 4 or even 5 things recording. So if I had a family they couldnt watch stuff in their rooms on a C31 because all the tuners are taken. Thinking of my family my dad could get by with a HR34/2 C31's because the C31's would only be used sparingly.
I've said it a few times...on Saturdays I have to manipulate the timers so I don't go over the 5 tuner issue with college football games (especially at the 2:30 CDT time) when one batch ends and a new batch begins
The C31 gives you "trick play" options whereas an add on receiver won't unless you hit record.
I wouldnt mind being able to have a HR34 and a HR44 on an account for 8 tuners
I guess the companies now-a-days think that 5 tuners is enough for a family...and it may be during the day when nothing is being recorded. But at night there are times I have 4 or even 5 things recording. So if I had a family they couldnt watch stuff in their rooms on a C31 because all the tuners are taken. Thinking of my family my dad could get by with a HR34/2 C31's because the C31's would only be used sparingly.
I've said it a few times...on Saturdays I have to manipulate the timers so I don't go over the 5 tuner issue with college football games (especially at the 2:30 CDT time) when one batch ends and a new batch begins
I think you are exactly right in that the Directv bean counters are aiming things for the average "Ma and Pa Kettle family" and not at the people like us who are into technology. This is my biggest gripe about Directv now days. I got into Directv back in the days when you had no choice but to purchase and install your own equipment. Only the geeks and hobbyists did that back then. Now days satellite TV has become main stream and a business based on profit. One of the reasons I came over to this site form DBS is that Directv has pretty much issued a gag order on what their employees can say over there. It used to be that anyone who worked for Directv was eager to share any information they knew or had discovered as it was sort of a hobby. Now Directv bean counters see it strictly as a profit making business. I would like to know the real reason they presently won't let you activate more than one HR34 on your account. I am sure it is just a matter of time before someone in the underground figures out a way to get a HR34 to appear to be a HR24 so two of them can be activated on one account. I am not a part of it, but there is still an active underground Directv card cloning group in my area. I am not condoning it, but there will always be hobbyists that will figure out a way around the system not so much to steal as for the challenge. The whole "2600" thing is based on that. Laughs, I am old enough that I remember the days of "blue/black boxes" and "whistles".
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I guess what I don't get is why would they take away tuners when the clients depend on the HMC's tuners to watch live programming? I think it would make more sense to make an HMC with at least 8 tuners to take advantage of the SWiM 8's, allowing for more tuners for the clients and the HMC for recording.
I don't think it is reasonable to assume that the technology is mature enough to handle that kind of data load with a conventional hard drive. 8 incoming and four or more outgoing streams is probably well into RAID territory at this point.
I'll see your blue box and raise you a Captain Crunch whistle
but that has nothing to do with how many tuners you need.Every financially responsible company SHOULD seek to create a box with only as many tuners as needed which meets the average Joe requirements.. and the indications are that both Dish and DTV feel that # is 3. With a house FULL of gadgets... 3 happens to be a # which is more than plenty for me.. frankly we got along pretty well with 2 for quite a while, and can barely keep up with the shows we record just with those tuners.
Now certainly these companies ALSO need to have a path to support those who want more tuners, but I personally don't know ANYONE (other than the reports here) who needs 5+ tuners... I really really don't. And I work with 400+ other engineers at a VERY tech company.
I dunno what the marginal savings are per box (HR44 vs. HR34), but while I find the Genie branding very meh, the functional direction is exactly offering what I wish had been available when I signed up... I'd happily trade my 6th and 7th tuners (in the H25s) for trick-play in the C31 and to be able to manage the upcoming recordings from the C31s.
I'll see your blue box and raise you a Captain Crunch whistle
Every financially responsible company SHOULD seek to create a box with only as many tuners as needed which meets the average Joe requirements.. and the indications are that both Dish and DTV feel that # is 3. With a house FULL of gadgets... 3 happens to be a # which is more than plenty for me.. frankly we got along pretty well with 2 for quite a while, and can barely keep up with the shows we record just with those tuners.
Now certainly these companies ALSO need to have a path to support those who want more tuners, but I personally don't know ANYONE (other than the reports here) who needs 5+ tuners... I really really don't. And I work with 400+ other engineers at a VERY tech company.
I dunno what the marginal savings are per box (HR44 vs. HR34), but while I find the Genie branding very meh, the functional direction is exactly offering what I wish had been available when I signed up... I'd happily trade my 6th and 7th tuners (in the H25s) for trick-play in the C31 and to be able to manage the upcoming recordings from the C31s.
This is why they make both chocolate and vanilla. I think there is another thing playing into this too. I use my HR34 in my Home Theater, overhead projector room as a video server. I have lots of movies stored on my entire Directv Whole House System but mostly on my HR34. Directv makes lots of money selling/renting movies and doesn't really want you storing/downloading movies and stocking up. By limiting your amount of tuners and hard drive space the Directv bean counters think they are forcing you to purchase more movies, more often. For the average person that might be true but for those of us into technology we know there are ways around that. I have a Black Magic capture card installed in my Mac Pro Tower and I own a DVD burner/VCR comb unit. I know this site has a no hacking rule but I am not doing anything illegal nor am I advocating doing so. Everything I have and am using you can buy easily on the open market. As far as the so called "trick play", the record button on any Directv remote is your friend for pretty much the same features. I manage my entire Directv system from my Mac Pro Tower but may start using one of my Android tablets to do that as well. I realize I am not the typical Directv user and that is why I keep referring to the days when Directv was more of a hobby for geeks and technology enthusiasts. Whenever I have a Directv subcontractor/tech visit my condo they just stare in amazement at my setup. They have no idea how I have things wired up/set up and that you can get Directv to do the things I have. I have actually had my local Directv subcontractor stop by and ask me how to solve problem installs especially if they involve the internet. LOL, my IT closet just boggles their minds too.
Actually the C31 has hardware inside it that allows it to work as an RVU client. RVU is an alliance of manufacturers that came up with a protocol, that as adopted, will allow separate hardware built by different companies to interact with each other.
Again RVU is not hardware but a protocol that can be used by different manufacturers in different devices. So a C31 is a stand alone STB RVU client, a Samsung TV with an RVU Client built-in has multiple functions in addition to RVU functionality.
Samsung is one of the founding members of the alliance and is the first TV manufacturer that has released a TV receiver to have the RVU hardware incorporated into the TV. The C-31 is a stand alone STB that is manufactured for DirecTV to allow it to work with a HR34 connected to a network to offer the same experience at a remote TV that is available at the TV connected directly to the HR34.
If you have a Samsung TV that malfunctions and loses its ability to work as an RVU client, you are NOT out of a TV, as a Samsung TV with said client still functions as a stand alone TV with a OTA tuner that also has multiple inputs to work with any connected device including but not limited to, (DVD, Blu-Ray, Cable STB, or Satellite STB).
If you have a C31 client STB and it stops functioning you have a doorstop, as it has no other function other than being able to work as a client on your home network.
Having a C-31 RVU client or a TV that has a built-in RVU client can be a more streamlined installation. For instanced you have multiple DirecTV receivers in your home, and you decide to put in another TV say in your garage or say a back porch and you want full DVR functionality and access to all of your recordings its a perfect solution. Another reason you might want a Samsung TV with RVU functionality is you don't want multiple remotes and or you don't want a STB at said TV, its a more streamlined or slick installation. One wire to the TV no STB and viola you have a fully functional DVR at your disposal.
John
Again RVU is not hardware but a protocol that can be used by different manufacturers in different devices. So a C31 is a stand alone STB RVU client, a Samsung TV with an RVU Client built-in has multiple functions in addition to RVU functionality.
Samsung is one of the founding members of the alliance and is the first TV manufacturer that has released a TV receiver to have the RVU hardware incorporated into the TV. The C-31 is a stand alone STB that is manufactured for DirecTV to allow it to work with a HR34 connected to a network to offer the same experience at a remote TV that is available at the TV connected directly to the HR34.
If you have a Samsung TV that malfunctions and loses its ability to work as an RVU client, you are NOT out of a TV, as a Samsung TV with said client still functions as a stand alone TV with a OTA tuner that also has multiple inputs to work with any connected device including but not limited to, (DVD, Blu-Ray, Cable STB, or Satellite STB).
If you have a C31 client STB and it stops functioning you have a doorstop, as it has no other function other than being able to work as a client on your home network.
Having a C-31 RVU client or a TV that has a built-in RVU client can be a more streamlined installation. For instanced you have multiple DirecTV receivers in your home, and you decide to put in another TV say in your garage or say a back porch and you want full DVR functionality and access to all of your recordings its a perfect solution. Another reason you might want a Samsung TV with RVU functionality is you don't want multiple remotes and or you don't want a STB at said TV, its a more streamlined or slick installation. One wire to the TV no STB and viola you have a fully functional DVR at your disposal.
John
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John:
I have to respectfully ask: What is your connection to Samsung or to selling Samsung TVs? You are pushing the RVU thing just a little too much.
First off you are the person that mentioned Samsung TV's and the C31 RVU client. You tried to equate the two is the same because of RVU, which they are certain NOT.
Third you confused what RVU is, as it is NOT a Device at all, but a term for describing a Protocol. BTW all of the founding members are; Broadcom, Cisco Systems, DIRECTV, Samsung Electronics (Ooops I mentioned the dreaded manufacturer again) and Verizon.
Lastly I enjoy reading about and understanding everything I can about Electronics. I don't sell electronics, or own electronic stocks, I don't even own a Samsung Television.
John
Third you confused what RVU is, as it is NOT a Device at all, but a term for describing a Protocol. BTW all of the founding members are; Broadcom, Cisco Systems, DIRECTV, Samsung Electronics (Ooops I mentioned the dreaded manufacturer again) and Verizon.
Lastly I enjoy reading about and understanding everything I can about Electronics. I don't sell electronics, or own electronic stocks, I don't even own a Samsung Television.
John
I didn't mean to upset you. It just seemed odd you were pushing this so hard. I personally don't see the C31/RVU as an improvement and won't be getting a C31 or a TV with RVU until I do. The RVU idea is nothing more than the cable card reborn and we all know how well that worked out. BTW, there was a manufacture who at one time made TVs with built in Directv receivers in them and that didn't work out so well either.
Could that be RCA? I had one of those heavy monstrosities and I can tell you that 5 HD channels was the limit unless I added another separate HD tuner.
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