HR20 Questions from an HR10-250 User

[sgupta]

Hey all,

So I just chanced a visit today after a long time to discover the HR20 is finally coming out. Now I have to decide whether I want to upgrade. I know it's a bit early, but I do have some questions for anyone with experience with these units, either beta testers or new users, so I can decide. I already briefly (though not thoroughly yet) looked over the online manual, but I had a few questions I haven't seen the answers to.

Here go the questions:

1.) This is just to make sure, but this is like the HR10 - it can record two SD OR two HD channels simultaneously; it doesn't matter which and you can mix and match, right? I'm pretty sure this is the case but want to make absolutely sure.

2.) This is an important feature for me - I like to have a buffer for ALL my programs. On my current unit, I set up the season passes for a 2 minute one at the beginning and end, and this works well. Does the HR20 do this for whole season passes (or even as a default option)?

3.) I bought the HR10 outright. There's no trade-in plan to get the HR20 cheaper than the close to $400, is there? (And yes, I know I have to get a different dish to use it, so I'll have to go through DirecTV since I know I can't do that myself.)

4.) Any known features the HR10 has which the HR20 lacks?

5.) Any known bugs? (I already know OTA doesn't yet work - I don't use any OTA, so that doesn't matter to me personally, but I'm sure it's frustrating to some).

6.) How does picture and sound quality compare to the HR10 - any differences there?

That's what I can think of at the moment. Thanks all!

 

[Mtnmike]

The most extensive review to date of the HR-20 can be found at:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=61862

 

[ncted]

One thing I was wondering about that I do not see mentioned anywhere is how the HR20 compares to the HR10 in terms of smoothness of the interface. My D*Tivos are pretty smooth, if a little slow sometimes during non-playback operations. The SA8000HD interface I have been testing is very fast, but not very smooth or responsive when fast forwarding, rewinding, pausing, etc. I wondered how the HR20 "feels" during playback operations.

Thanks,
Ted

 

[sgupta]

Thanks for the link! I checked it out and I like what I see so far, but I'm going to wait at least a week or two before ordering just to see how people are liking it. I love my HR10 except for some issues the last year or so with system reboots and an occasional messup of a program because of it.

Good question - I'd like to see this answered as well. I've heard the interface is fast, but I haven't heard much about the "smoothness" as you said. Though the review pointed out seems to indicate the person testing it was fairly happy.