All - just a quick note I wanted to add in regards to ordering the HR34. There certainly remains quite a bit of confusion with the sales reps on what that actually is. It seems my conversation immediately took a turn for the worst when I specifically asked for an "HR34" to be installed. Apparently the reps understand "HMC" or "the device that allows you to record 5 shows at one time" - but NOT "HR34" - LOL. She immediately had to ask someone else for any info regarding the HR34, and then of course, said Samsung only.... which I knew not to be true. So I kindly persisted, waited on hold for 10 minutes, and spoke with a gentleman (apparently in tech troubleshooting dept. or something) that immediately agreed with what I was saying and said the order could proceed with an HR34. When getting back with the sales rep, she then admitted to not knowing the HMC and HR34 were the same thing. Just giving everyone a heads up on this, maybe it can save you 20 minutes like it could have saved me today.
Anyways, I have been a long, long time Dish customer. But the lack of 3D content (had my 3D tv for 2 years now), is too much for me to handle any more. I mean, my DAD has 3D content from DirecTV and won't stop talking about how mesmerizing 3D is on it! I *only* have 2 HDTV's in the house. Main room, and back bedroom. So it's going to be an HR34 (read HMC) on the main HDTV, and an HD receiver on the secondary HDTV. I am really looking forward to the capabilities of this HMC unit. 5 shows at once is an AWESOME game changer for me and the wife. It's been a delicate walk on the edge of the precipice of DOOM I tell you, to only have the capability of recording 2 shows at a time!
We are getting the HR34 (a.k.a. HMC ) for $99. Not bad at all. The DirecTV rep - although not fully familiar with the new gear (understandable) - was extremely courteous. I was simply calling for info, and she answered every single one of my questions. Ended up agreeing to a 2 year contract and an install on Wednesday! Also, I asked about the ETF I would have to pay Dish for leaving 6 months early. I was sent to retentions (funny b/c I was a DirecTV customer for all of 30 seconds when I was transferred to them) and they kindly offered a $5 discount for TWENTY FOUR MONTHS off my bill. That more than pays for the ETF and is an excellent pre-cursor of our new relationship with a Satellite TV provider. I also gave them the account number of my Dad who literally did refer me to them, and soon we will both enjoy $10/mo. off our bill for 10 months. That's awesome.
Question: what's this talk of eHDD's or what? external HDD's can be added to the HR34? We currently have a Dish ViP 722 with an external 750Gb hdd on it, but the external drive is just to dump movies and tons of old recorded shows onto. We never run out of room on the Dish DVR proper.... Any HDD info would be appreciated. Need to know now if I have to buy a good hard drive.