DirectTV - Alternatives to DTV PVR?

[litmus]

Greetings,

I am currently using DirectTV service and have recently purchased an HDTV. Naturally I am looking to upgrade my service to the HD one but I am not sure if I should get their PVR option or not. There seems to be a large amount of negative opinions out there on Direct TV's PVR unit. The question is though what other choice do I have?

Can anyone confirm if the output of the DirecTV HD receivers are HDCP encrypted? If so does that mean I am out of luck as far as PVR units currently available?

Would it be possible to turn my PC into a PVR unit? The HD capture cards I've seen seem to be geared towards over-the-air signals not HDMI.

It's a shame that TiVo and DirecTV had a falling out, I've been using the TiVo service for years and would hate to have to switch to something inferior just for the sake of the better picture.

I have contemplated canceling my DirectTV service and switching over to Comcast just for the sake of being able to use the TiVo, any opinions on this scenario? Which option is likely to have the best HD support over the long term, cable or satellite?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[litmus]

Anyone?

I've since confirmed that the DirecTV box is HDCP protected.

Does this mean I am stuck as to PVR options unless I use DirecTV's unit? Is it really as bad as these reviews make it out to be?

Is there anything out there that can PVR from an HDCP encrypted source?

[edDV]

Anyone?

I've since confirmed that the DirecTV box is HDCP protected.

Does this mean I am stuck as to PVR options unless I use DirecTV's unit? Is it really as bad as these reviews make it out to be?

Is there anything out there that can PVR from an HDCP encrypted source?

You are fairly much locked into their approved solutions at HD resolutions. Tapping the analog component connections is expensive and not practical for PVR.

[Krispy Kritter]

For DirecTV your options are only for their hardware. However, with that said, keep in mind that most people who post on review sites are the ones with bad experiences.

My brother has had DirecTV for years and he now has HD service with the DVR (I don't know which model). He has been very happy with his unit. He has had various issues in the past, and DirecTV has always been helpful and gone out of their way to assist.

If I had line of site, I'd definetly go back to DirecTV without a second thought.

[TBoneit]

Try visiting www.dbstalk.com

Their DirecTv HR20 forum, the HR20 is their new HD DVR.

http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=112 will take you their. There are issues, from my read it is getting better. My guess is that it was rushed into release to combat Dishnetworks VIP622 which has been out longer and had MP4 support. The VIP622 had issues at the start too. They both have some issues.

However the good thing is that both providers can update the firmware in their boxes via the satellite.

At this point in time Echostar has more HD and a more stable box. In the future DirecTv look to have a lot more HD poss. more than Echostar. They are waiting on a launch of their new satellite(s). You will need most likely a new dish,5 LNB, for HD.

The alternative is get a HR20 DVR or H20 NonDVR and feed the SD video to a Tivo or Windows MCE system and capture in SD.

I've been doing that as a trial and it doesn't look bad. Authoring the cap to DVD and then playing that and using the TV sets Fill function fills the screen and restores the proper AR. My VIP622 outputs everything on S-video squeezed. I believe that is beacuse the S-Video is on TV1 the HD only output and that is set to 16:9 in the setup as it is connected vbia HDMI to a 16:9 set. I could also use the TV1 & TV2 out and set it to dual mode that feeds to different feeds to to TVs and use the Capture devices tuner and have the proper AR.

The difference between the two providers Top HD DVRs are DirecTv two tuners. Can tune either two OTA digital or Two Satellite or 1 and 1 total. Feeds one TV.

Echostar VIP622 three tuners. 1 OTA digital only and two satellite. So it can record up to three things at once. can be set for single mode, 1 TV, or set to dual mode, feed one TV via HDMI/Component/Composite/S-Video/RF out (UHF) and a second TV via RF out (UHF second frequency) different content and has a UHF remote for second TV.

Bottom line both models are covered on dbstalk. Go do your research. Other difference is that DirecTV, IMHO, seems to hew more closely to the hollywood content protection.