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G4 Tech TV Reviews Three New HDTV DVRs

Posted by timothy on from the causing-an-acronym-shortage-worldwide dept.

Thomas Hawk writes "G4techTV does a review of three of the new HDTV recorders. Noticeably absent is Microsoft's Media Center 2005. The Hughes HD 10-250 gets the highest marks and is the 'G4tech TV Lab Pick.' Although I haven't used the other two HDTV recorders I have to say I would concur on their opinion of TiVo's DirecTV box."

6 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. Hughes by apoplectic · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've owned one of these for the past two months, and I have to say that I love the box. Video from the HDMI port is impeccable. The Tivo friendliness factor is high as usual. I've not blinked over the high cost of the unit since I fired it up.

    Only complaint? The usual slow Guide rendering.

    1. Re:Hughes by rufo · · Score: 4, Informative

      The guide is set in Grid mode by default, which is horrifically slow. Bring up the guide and press the Enter key on the remote to bring up the Guide options, and set it from Grid mode to whatever the other option is - this is what standalone TiVos default to and it is light-years faster. It may take a little getting used to but most TiVo owners tend to prefer the TiVo style as opposed to the grid (I know I do).

      --
      My English teacher once told me that two positives don't make a negative. Two words for her: Yeah, right.
  2. Re:MCE 2005 by doormat · · Score: 4, Informative

    MCE 2k5 can support 3 tuners, including HD tuners. The problem is that the only tuners out there are ones that get the signals over-the-air. IE not your HD digital cable or satellite box (and no it doesnt support 5c/hdcp over firewire, but there are ways to set that up with WinXP and some third party software).

    http://www.anandtech.com/multimedia/showdoc.aspx ?i =2240&p=9

    --
    The Doormat

    If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
  3. OTA on Hughes as well by RedX · · Score: 4, Informative

    The reviewer mentioned the $10.99 fee for DirecTV's HD package but didn't mention that this box is also fully capable of recording OTA HD programs with no monthly charge. I've had this box since the week it was released and only carried the HD package for about a week but still have plenty of HD recordings each week via OTA channels that I don't pay a dime for.

  4. HDTiVo can output to non-HDCP sets by Radak · · Score: 4, Informative

    The reviewer is wrong. The Hughes HR10-250 most certainly can output to non-HDCP-compliant sets. In fact, it even comes with a HDMI-to-DVI cable in the box. Just last night I was watching HD stuff on my 20" Dell LCD, using the (non-HDCP) DVI input.

    However, if the broadcast flag is ever flipped on (no one's done it yet), then those people using non-HDCP sets will get downres output on DVI.

  5. Service Fees by tji · · Score: 4, Informative

    The DirecTV service fees listed in the article are a bit misleading..

    The $10.99/month is for a package of HDTV channels (ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Bravo-HD.) You are not required to purchase this package.

    For no additional charge, you can record all of your local off-the-air channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, etc.). And, if you have HBO or Showtime, those you automatically get their HD channels as part of your existing package.