An audience of two

Friday March 28, 2008

DirecTV HD DVR: A review. Part 1: Introduction
Last October I won a really cool Epson 1080P Home Theatre projector. It really is an awesome piece of kit. The problem was that I didn't have any HD sources - I have a bunch of DVD players and TiVos, all standard def. Given that I can't justify the cost of a PlayStation 3 right now (the only game in town really; HDDVD is dead and standalone BluRay players don't get regular firmware updates like the PS3 does) I was faced with a pretty simple choice: Satellite HD or Cable HD.

Now I've been a DirecTV subscriber for a few years, and a TiVo owner for much longer. I actually have three TiVos; a Sony standalone with lifetime subscription (though currently non functional), plus a Sony and a Hughes DirecTiVo units. The Hughes is used just for Zoë's programmes, the Sony for ours. It's a bit flaky for various reasons, but I can't fault the software and user interface.

The problem is, the relationship between TiVo and DirecTV soured. These days TiVo makes HD units, but they don't work with DirecTV. So I'd have to switch back to Cable (Comcast), buy a new box and give up on my two DirecTiVos. On the other hand if you threaten to leave DirecTV they will give (ok, lend) you a HD unit for free, provided you sign a new 2 year contract. So I went for it.

Now installation is supposed to be free, but the installers are subcontractors who don't work for DirecTV and they always find a way to make you pay something. When my first dish was installed the "gotcha" was a $40 charge for hooking up the second LNB; DirecTV install supposedly only covers you for a single wire. This time it was a $75 charge for a custom mounting bracket. Yes it's a scam, but what the hell.

So on to the actual DVR. The good news: Picture quality is excellent. I bought a cheap 40' HDMI cable off the net and was amazed - the picture quality of standard definition broadcasts, particularly the Bolton Wanderers Premier League games on Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta, is way better than on TV or over a S-Video cable. On HD broadcasts the clarity is excellent. There are some problems with certain channels such as TBS HD who don't seem to set the aspect ratio correctly, but overall the quality is a major leap forward.

The bad news is with the software and ergonomics. Frankly DirecTV learned absolutely nothing from TiVo. The user interface is horrible, the remote is badly designed and the feature set leaves much to be desired. I will elaborate in the next posts.

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