Home Media DVR Experience?

enthuzist

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Jan 10, 2005
110
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Virginia
I'm leaning heavily on getting the Home Media DVR. First I want to hear some real world experience with it. TIA
 
It's ok. I had it now since jan. Once I get married it's going bye bye.
The Hard drive is small.
It's two different models (6416,7100). One is prone to have issues, even though they claim to be fixed.
 
What type of issues have you seen and which model do you have/had?

I'm told that the you can't watch its content on another DVR. Is it true that it has to be a STB and only how many others? I'm trying to get my wish list down so I can make the best decision when I order online.
 
You can't yet watch from DVR to DVR.
Sometimes you will loose connection to the HM DVR if you watching something recorded on it from a stb.
 
I have it and I really like it. Here are the specifics of it. First, what you heard is correct - you can't feed DVR to DVR yet (although I understand that's coming). You need to have an STB on one of your other TVs to get the recordings (either the SD STB - the QIP2500, or the HD STB - the QIP7100). If you want to access HD recordings from your DVR, the other STB has to be the HD version. You can only access SD recordings from the SD STB.

In terms of how many - you can feed out to up to 7 STBs. You can even feed out more than one concurrently. You can access 2 SD recordings at the same time (you can even access the same recording from two TVs at the same time, independent of one another), and watch a third, either SD or HD, directly off the DVR. If you're accessing HD remotely, you can only access 1 recording from the remote STB at a time, plus a second off the DVR directly.

I have the HM DVR, with one SD STB on another TV. I don't have any connectivity issues - those with HD STBs have indicated that sometimes they lose connectivity from the STB to the DVR. I've only seen that issue once, and apparently there's a fix in the works for the issue to the HD boxes. From my perspective, the DVR works remarkably well. Yeah, the harddrive is small (they really need a bigger one), but the PQ on the remote TV is excellent.

There are a couple nits I hvae:

1) You can't manage recordings on the remote STBs. For example, from my SD STB, I can access recordings, but I can't set up new recordings, or delete one that I've watched. I can only do that from the DVR itself (or from the internet - you can do remote DVR access over the web).

2) The response on the remote STBs is laggy. If I hit pause, e.g., it takes a second or two for the command to register. The reason is because of how the feeds work. They go from DVR -> router -> STB. Commands to the DVR have to go back via the same path. Access from the DVR itself is really fast, but from the remote STBs it's laggy.

There are also a couple other features that are specific just to the HM DVR. You can access digital pictures and music from your PCs, and they just added video as well - both home video, and some internet video sources (YouTube, e.g.). Which leads to the next nit:

3) I can only access my digital media from the DVR itself. I can't access them from the other STBs.
 
Oh yeah, and one more nice feature - you can resume playback from another STB. Say I start watching a recording from my DVR directly. I can stop/pause it, and pick up right where I left off from one of my other STBs.
 
Good explanation. Thank you.

It seems that I should go with the HMDVR and SD STB while the issues are being worked out and upgrade later when I can convince DW we need a LEDTV for the bedroom.

The streaming limitations is okay, since I have the PS3 already setup to do that to the TV. As long as I can watch a recording in another room, then I'm happy.

I can understand the remote delay as you explained. That may require some getting used to and I can see DW complaining at first until it becomes second nature.

It can send to 7 STBs(?) I read in another forum that it was up to 3 STBs. If 7 is right then that is perfect.

Is the HMDVR DNLA?
 
The HMDVR is only a software upgrade you can add at any time and if you are not happy verizon can remove it with a phone call.I tried it but I already have 2 dvrs so I did not use it.
 
Good explanation. Thank you.

It seems that I should go with the HMDVR and SD STB while the issues are being worked out and upgrade later when I can convince DW we need a LEDTV for the bedroom.

The streaming limitations is okay, since I have the PS3 already setup to do that to the TV. As long as I can watch a recording in another room, then I'm happy.

I can understand the remote delay as you explained. That may require some getting used to and I can see DW complaining at first until it becomes second nature.

It can send to 7 STBs(?) I read in another forum that it was up to 3 STBs. If 7 is right then that is perfect.

Is the HMDVR DNLA?
It can feed up to 7 TVs total - including the one with the DVR. It can feed up to 3 (including the one with the DVR) at the same time. It's really only limited by the number of IP-addressable boxes you can have. Verizon's architecture allows for 7 of those (which is really a limitation of the router that they use - the newer router will allow for up to, I believe, 15). Don't know if its DLNA.
 
No Motorola DVRs are DLNA complaint. I believe Verizon is looking at that feature for a future DVR.
 
Thanks for the update.

I wonder if I can convince DW to get an XBOX360 to use as a Netflix stream box (yeah that is the only reason why)? Then I would have it covered on both ends of the house with the PS3 in the family room already. BTW my son loves how he can stream movies to his PSP from the PS3.
 

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