Q re HR10-250 Tivo menu vs. DirecTV menu

[MichaelB1969]

Maybe someone can clear up my confusion here, as I have never used Tivo. Peope complain about the slowness of the Tivo menu. Do you also have the option of using the standard DirecTV menu? Or is there only one? The slow menu on my DISH 6000HD box used to drive me batty, so I really want to investigate this before plunking down $500 on it.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[hiker]

I assume by menu you mean the guide. The HR10-250 guides (both types) are painfully slow. By comparison, the Dish 6000 is lightning fast, so I don't think you will be happy with the HR10-250. The TiVo style guide is slightly faster than the DirecTV grid style guide. There is a v6.2 software upgrade that might come some day that would speed up the guide, but since the HR10-250 will soon be obsolete, I don't think we will ever see it. I have the HR10-250 and like it but have learned to use the guide sparingly.

 

[MichaelB1969]

I assume by menu you mean the guide. The HR10-250 guides (both types) are painfully slow. By comparison, the Dish 6000 is lightning fast, so I don't think you will be happy with the HR10-250. The TiVo style guide is slightly faster than the DirecTV grid style guide. There is a v6.2 software upgrade that might come some day that would speed up the guide, but since the HR10-250 will soon be obsolete, I don't think we will ever see it. I have the HR10-250 and like it but have learned to use the guide sparingly.

Yes, I meant the guide. By the way, if you were in the market today as a new subscriber to D*, would you pay the $499 for the Tivo box, and hope that DirecTV will protect your investment if they completely change their technology, or would you be conservative and pay $199 for the H10 and wait for a next-gen DVR box? That is the situation I find myself in...

 

[hiker]

I would get the HR10-250, but I believe DirecTV will upgrade to a NDS DVR for free or low cost. I'm in one of the 12 areas that will benefit from mpeg4. If you're not in one of the 12 areas, the HR10-250 will probably be good for a while without worrying about needing the NDS DVR.

 

[MichaelB1969]

I would get the HR10-250, but I believe DirecTV will upgrade to a NDS DVR for free or low cost. I'm in one of the 12 areas that will benefit from mpeg4. If you're not in one of the 12 areas, the HR10-250 will probably be good for a while without worrying about needing the NDS DVR.

I'm in one of those areas as well (San Fran). However, I did come across some information that suggested that unless you wanted satellite supplied HD locals, the mpeg4 issue wouldn't matter much (as the standard DirecTV HD offerings would remain in mpeg2).

 

[The Stone Man]

Given the choice of an H10 for $300 or the HR10-250 for $500, if this will be your primary receiver--get the Tivo. I have both of these receivers and the features on the HR10-250 make it well worth $500 in my opinion. I thought it was well worth the $900 I paid for it in April. The guide on the HR10-250 is slow; no doubt about it. But since it will record whatever you want, and then you can watch the recorded material whenever you want, you don't have to use the guide all that much. As Clint Eastwood says in Heartbreak Ridge--'Improvise, Adapt, Overcome'.

 

[lou_do]

Given the choice of an H10 for $300 or the HR10-250 for $500, if this will be your primary receiver--get the Tivo.

The H10 is now only $199.00 with the new price change, of August 1.

I have both of these receivers and the features on the HR10-250 make it well worth $500 in my opinion. I thought it was well worth the $900 I paid for it in April. The guide on the HR10-250 is slow; no doubt about it. But since it will record whatever you want, and then you can watch the recorded material whenever you want, you don't have to use the guide all that much. As Clint Eastwood says in Heartbreak Ridge--'Improvise, Adapt, Overcome'.

When you say the guide on the HR10-250 is slow, is this the same guide (menu) you use to select programing for regular watching, or is it a different menu that is used for setting the DVR recordings.