TiVo: HR10-250 DirecTV DVR DTV reception and NTSC
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chuckken
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TiVo: HR10-250 DirecTV DVR DTV reception and NTSC
I've just noticed that I can pull in a few more local stations on this new TiVo than I could get before with my old DST-3000...!...Cooooooooooooool!
Last edited by chuckken on Wed Sep 01, 2004 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Happiness is a state of mind, not a place of existence.
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donshan
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I agree about the OTA sensitivity on the HR10-250.
I was using a Sony HD-200 DirecTV & OTA before. I had heard our Fox station had started testing their new digital station on channel 8, but I got no signal at all on the Sony. I attributed this to my having an UHF only antenna on the roof(corner reflector). However when I hooked the same UHF antenna up to the new HR 10-250 there it was-- a digital signal on channel 8 in the 10-25 range on the meter. I got a VHF/UHF combo antenna (described in my other post) and channel 8 locked in at 60-68. It is 66 miles away and my temporary antenna install is only 8 feet up in the air. My son-in-law is coming over to help move the new antenna up to replace the UHF only and I will report back. Antenna location can be tricky, so there is no guarantee it will be better up higher, but it should be.
For others reading this be advised the HR 10-250 has no NTSC tuner for analog or cable. Digital OTA ONLY, but it has two of them so you can record off one and watch another, or record two OTA channels at the same time. I think you have to subscribe to DirecTv to get OTA however
I was using a Sony HD-200 DirecTV & OTA before. I had heard our Fox station had started testing their new digital station on channel 8, but I got no signal at all on the Sony. I attributed this to my having an UHF only antenna on the roof(corner reflector). However when I hooked the same UHF antenna up to the new HR 10-250 there it was-- a digital signal on channel 8 in the 10-25 range on the meter. I got a VHF/UHF combo antenna (described in my other post) and channel 8 locked in at 60-68. It is 66 miles away and my temporary antenna install is only 8 feet up in the air. My son-in-law is coming over to help move the new antenna up to replace the UHF only and I will report back. Antenna location can be tricky, so there is no guarantee it will be better up higher, but it should be.
For others reading this be advised the HR 10-250 has no NTSC tuner for analog or cable. Digital OTA ONLY, but it has two of them so you can record off one and watch another, or record two OTA channels at the same time. I think you have to subscribe to DirecTv to get OTA however
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akirby
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You can always use your TV's analog tuner or worst case - a cheap VCR - if you just want to occasionally watch analog stations. You just won't be able to record an analog show on the Tivo.
Had Tivo included the mpeg encoder necessary to record analog broadcasts the cost would have been even higher. The satellite Tivos are much cheaper than the analog Tivos for that reason.
Had Tivo included the mpeg encoder necessary to record analog broadcasts the cost would have been even higher. The satellite Tivos are much cheaper than the analog Tivos for that reason.
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donshan
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I think the DirecTv decision to leave out analog in the HR 10-250 has more to do with marketing and sales than the 2006 deadline that looks more like a 2008 or 2009 cutoff date, if you read the recent proposals on how to solve the DTV transition problem.
DirecTv will soon have close to 100% "local channels" availability and they charge an extra 3 bucks a month for a SD feed of the local analog channels( 5 in my case) of the major networks in your market area. But DirecTV has ZERO local channels with HDTV and is unlikely to get them any time soon due to bandwidth problems. Thus they must include local HD OTA capability if they want to bill the HR10 -250 as a HDTV DVR. It records the DirecTV supplied local feeds just fine.
I am not happy with the DirecTV choice for my 5 "locals" as I have 4 network digital stations within antenna range that are not on the DirecTV "local" lineup. Thus I am going fully OTA as soon as possible. However I am still plagued with the digital channels not broadcasting a full day, and still no HDTV either.
Sigh! You guys keep my hopes up that I can fully join the party someday when the parent networks get serious that all their affiliates MUST pass on the parent's HDTV feeds .
DirecTv will soon have close to 100% "local channels" availability and they charge an extra 3 bucks a month for a SD feed of the local analog channels( 5 in my case) of the major networks in your market area. But DirecTV has ZERO local channels with HDTV and is unlikely to get them any time soon due to bandwidth problems. Thus they must include local HD OTA capability if they want to bill the HR10 -250 as a HDTV DVR. It records the DirecTV supplied local feeds just fine.
I am not happy with the DirecTV choice for my 5 "locals" as I have 4 network digital stations within antenna range that are not on the DirecTV "local" lineup. Thus I am going fully OTA as soon as possible. However I am still plagued with the digital channels not broadcasting a full day, and still no HDTV either.
Sigh! You guys keep my hopes up that I can fully join the party someday when the parent networks get serious that all their affiliates MUST pass on the parent's HDTV feeds .
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kq6qv
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donshan
- Major Contributor
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2004 1:23 am
To add a bit to what Ken provided. The HR 10-250 has two OTA digital tuners. Thus when you call up the signal strength meter you get two displays- one for each tuner. Each is a horizontal bar with numerical readouts on a 0 to 100 scale, plus a peak reading. A similar dual meter is used for the satellite signal levels. The readings on both tuners are always about the same, but I suppose this verifies both are working OK. There is tone that goes up in pitch so you can hear it outside if the window is open for antenna adjustments.
This system is more cumbersome to get to through the menus but gives a lot of info. The HR-10 250 is always recording about 30 minutes on one of the tuners last used even when you are not watching. Thus when you ask for signal strength I guess it must disconnect recording to read both tuners.
I had a FM overload using the Channel master 7777 cured with a Radio Shack FM trap. When I added the 7777 the signal went down on a distant VHF until I added the trap.
Because HD channels on DirecTV are running 24/7, the number I get to watch has gone up enormously. I rarely watch a program live now that we have TIVO. Also I see program promo ads and since the TIVO has two weeks listings ahead I can set it to record right then. More than once I have turned the HR 10 250 on and found a program recorded I had forgotten about there ready to be viewed. It becomes watching TV on your schedule rather than the clock and calendar and the station's schedule.
This system is more cumbersome to get to through the menus but gives a lot of info. The HR-10 250 is always recording about 30 minutes on one of the tuners last used even when you are not watching. Thus when you ask for signal strength I guess it must disconnect recording to read both tuners.
I had a FM overload using the Channel master 7777 cured with a Radio Shack FM trap. When I added the 7777 the signal went down on a distant VHF until I added the trap.
Because HD channels on DirecTV are running 24/7, the number I get to watch has gone up enormously. I rarely watch a program live now that we have TIVO. Also I see program promo ads and since the TIVO has two weeks listings ahead I can set it to record right then. More than once I have turned the HR 10 250 on and found a program recorded I had forgotten about there ready to be viewed. It becomes watching TV on your schedule rather than the clock and calendar and the station's schedule.