Direct/HR10-250 Questions?

[Nolzman]

Well… I have been lurker for some time now. I too have been comtemplating switching from Dish to Direct, mainly because of the HD TIVO, but also because it currently appears that Direct will be the leader in HD content for the next few years. I have had a Dish PVR508 and 6000 HD Receiver hooked up to the same TV for some time now.

Before making the switch and investing over $1000 in hard-earned money I have a few questions.

Noise: How loud are both the HD and SD TIVO’s? I currently have a Dish 6000 and the fan in that machine never stops (unless it is unplugged), and you can hear it immediately when you walk into the run. It is loud. Does the HR10-250 have notocable fan/drive noise? The same question applies to the SD TIVO, since one of these will be going in the bedroom?

OTA Tuner: How sensitive is the OTA tuner in the HR10-250? Again, I use the Dish 6000 and I have a couple of channels that are right at 50%. This means they come in and out. If my OTA receiver can improve just a little, it can make a difference whether I get these channels or not.

Hard Drive upgrade: I am still trying to decide whether I should buy the regular HR10-250 (250GB), or go ahead and shell out a few extra dollars to buy one that has the extra drive (total 500GB) off Ebay. Has anyone had any experience with buying a new upgraded HR10-250 off Ebay? After using the unit for a while, does it seem like you need more space/hours? Should I just wait and upgrade myself at a later date. I am very technical in nature, and work in IT?

A related hard drive question. Does having dual drives effect performance in any way? Is hard drive failure, even after additions, included in Direct’s Protection plan?

Thanks in advance.

 

[slacker9876]

Right from the top you can get the HR10-250 from Value Electronics for $899 and no tax, providing you do no live in NY.

Noise: They run very quiet. They are not silent but I only have an HDVR2 and the HR10-250 now in my home and I am not able to hear the HR10-250 in the living room at all, even with my equipment off. I can hear the HDVR2, but that it my fault it has a 7200RPM 120GB hard disk ... I should have bought a 5400 RPM drive.

OTA: This is largely a function on your antenna. Not to say the tuners do not matter, I am just saying you also need to have selected the correct antenna. My HR10-250, out performs the Voom Box and is par for the course with my HTL-HD, which I was very happy with. I am 42 Miles from my stations transmitters and use the ChannelMaster 4228 8-bay antenna.

I have read that the upgrade kits from weakness.com are a piece of cake. I plan to do mine on my own but I am a systems engineer too. I would be careful if purchasing a unit on eBay. Not to say don't do it but I personally did not like many of the "return policies" that those vendors offered. I feel comfortable that if my unit fails, Robert at VE.com (site sponsor) will help me out.

DirecTV will not "warranty" and modified equipment.

I hope this helps!