DirecTV Releasing Dual-HD Tuner For HR21

[Jer]

For those of you that have DTV and were "upgraded" to their newer receiver that doesn't have ATSC tuners for local HD channels - good news! A leak of a product pamplet has been released showing the dual-tuner addon that is coming out at the end of Feburary for a rumored price of $59.

 

[ISUFan22]

A wise choice...hopefully this also means they'll continue producing the HR20...

 

[isuno1fan]

While this is nice to see...it will be a way for DTV to charge and "extra fee" for the ATSC capability. I'll be shocked if the combination of the HR21 and this item isn't $100 more than the HR20 alone.

 

[Jer]

They're still charging $299 for the HR21 but it's supposedly going to drop to $199 tomorrow.

 

[ISUFan22]

Are they even selling the HR20 still or is it out of production at the moment?

 

[BryceC]

Since it doesn't have the tuner, does it get locals regularly in HD? I mean that would kind of be crappy if that wasn't the case.

 

[brianhos]

If they have this, it means the final end of the HR20, there is no reason at all to keep producting the HR20.

 

[brianhos]

Are they even selling the HR20 still or is it out of production at the moment?

It has been out of production for a while. They just need to add DSM locals over Sat and then no one will care about this.

 

[ISUFan22]

The HR21 does not have an OTA tuner - meaning you can't get OTA local HD channels via the HR21 and would not be able to DVR them. To get them, you would need to hook up your HD antenna directly do your TV and switch between inputs each time you wanted to view channels via the cable box or antenna.

Hence the reason many are upset with the HR21 being shoved down their throats - especially in areas like DSM where HD locals are not available via DirecTV yet.

 

[ISUFan22]

I hope it means they realized the error of their ways and will continue producing the HR20.

Better signal and in the event weather knocks out the satellite - you've always got your HD locals via the antenna.

We have one HR20 and when we upgrade the bedroom and finish the basement - I'll certainly want another. But at that time, there will be a new fancy box out and I hope it will have an OTA tuner. Otherwise I'll just scour Ebay to get one.

 

[Jer]

This in essence makes the HR21 the actual upgrade that it was meant to be. It doesn't have much different on the inside from the HR20, except that they didn't put ATSC tuners in it to keep costs low since they'd have to pay licensing fees per box. By adding the upgrade box, you get the dual ATSC tuners back, integrated programming guide and you don't have to use the TV's ATSC tuners with the annoyance of switching inputs, etc. We really like our HR21 except for the fact that we don't get the local channels in HD so therefore have to switch to the TV antenna input and it makes it difficult to keep track of two games at once.

Supposedly this will also work with the H21 after a while when all the software/firmware upgrades get finalized and pushed out.

I'm not a big fan of having the additional box since the HR20 had the tuners built in but at least they were smart enough to make it stackable so it's easier to keep things looking good.

 

[taco2000]

Thanks for the info. This is great news even for those in areas where locals are available, imho. Now how about dlb?!?!?!

 

[taco2000]

Wait, what's this? They are going to use the USB port. Isn't that a first?

 

[mkcrawford]

Uhm, I'm not sure what all the HR20 & HR21 talk is about but I have DTV and recently had the technician out to replace our receiver. We currently do not have HD :sad:, although our Sony TV is HD ready, but we may be looking at upgrading in the future. Does this news affect what I might be doing?

 

[ISUFan22]

Is your TV and HD TV or is it just HD ready? Significant difference...

 

[jtd9046]

I have the HR20 and an OTA here in MI. If they are dropping the price on the HR21 I might consider it. What is the new dish called that I would need to get the additional HD programming?

 

[ISUFan22]

Why would you get rid of your HR20 for an HR21? To the best of my knowledge, they're the same exact box, except the HR21 does not have the OTA tuner.

 

[isuno1fan]

I have the HR20 and an OTA here in MI. If they are dropping the price on the HR21 I might consider it. What is the new dish called that I would need to get the additional HD programming?

5lnb Slimline

 

[isuno1fan]

Why would you get rid of your HR20 for an HR21? To the best of my knowledge, they're the same exact box, except the HR21 does not have the OTA tuner.

You wouldn't unless your HR20 craps out.

 

[jtd9046]

I thought I needed the HR21 to get the newly added HD programming. Is this incorrect? Right now I only receive channels 70-79 in HD, plus my local OTA.