My family has now been "cable and satellite free" for 5 months. My evil plan was that it would be so painful that a late summer or early fall upgrade to the DirecTV tuner would be a blessing.

The problem is that they are instead becoming increasingly used to not having 200 stations, and I have gotten a lot better at finding content on the internet that I can integrate.

By the time the DirecTV tuner shows up I very likely will no longer need it....

Sigh.

I just want all my Discovery and USA channels in HD....

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My VMC setup:
(2) Xbox360s
System 1 -
Dell XPS410 (2.6Ghz C2D, 2GB Ram,Nvidia 8600GT, Blu-ray internal, HD-DVD external (X360 drive), (2) Vboxx DTA150s (OTA HD), Adaptec Dual Tuner (fed a steady diet of DirecTV... sadly NOT in HD)

Well...there's a Win7 con call tomorrow (I think) ...maybe I should pop on and ask where DTV support is!? Not that I could share the answer (again...I think...need to read the info and see if you can even ask questions). :)

rgreenpc:

I just want all my Discovery and USA channels in HD....

Same goes for me.  I had USA HD via clear QAM but Comcast Houston decided to make it encrypted :(

OT: When did USA get to be so good? 

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.:: Vista Ultimate x64 :: Antec Fusion :: Corsair HX520w :: ASUS P5E-VM :: Core2 Duo E8400 3.0Ghz :: 4GB RAM :: 128GB SSD System\Apps :: 1TB\5TB Data :: LG GGC-H20L BD/HD DVD :: HDHomeRun x2 ::.

When they did less fluff... although my wife misses "The 4400"

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My VMC setup:
(2) Xbox360s
System 1 -
Dell XPS410 (2.6Ghz C2D, 2GB Ram,Nvidia 8600GT, Blu-ray internal, HD-DVD external (X360 drive), (2) Vboxx DTA150s (OTA HD), Adaptec Dual Tuner (fed a steady diet of DirecTV... sadly NOT in HD)

rgreenpc:

I just want all my Discovery and USA channels in HD....

Throw in a little HGTV and Science Channel and my wife and I are happy campers.   I really hate the fact that we have to pay so much for premium cable when we watch maybe 6 non-OTA channels.

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Just my $0.02.

Yeah... I forgot Eureka and BSG.

I ended up downloading a lot of them as MKVs.

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My VMC setup:
(2) Xbox360s
System 1 -
Dell XPS410 (2.6Ghz C2D, 2GB Ram,Nvidia 8600GT, Blu-ray internal, HD-DVD external (X360 drive), (2) Vboxx DTA150s (OTA HD), Adaptec Dual Tuner (fed a steady diet of DirecTV... sadly NOT in HD)

ryan.tollefson:

rgreenpc:

I just want all my Discovery and USA channels in HD....

Throw in a little HGTV and Science Channel and my wife and I are happy campers.   I really hate the fact that we have to pay so much for premium cable when we watch maybe 6 non-OTA channels.

There is always the option to just purchase episodes or series off of Amazon Unbox or iTunes for those shows you enjoy. Ends up costing a lot less overall than a full cable or satellite subscription. Of course, not everything is available.

We have recently started downloading various Discovery podcasts into TVTonic. Not full episodes, but can help to fill the voice -- and it is free.

Just upgraded from my Directivo HR10-250 to the HR21 Directv DVR.  OK, but interface is no where near as good as VMC IMHO. 

Someone give me hope that the external tuner will be out by year's end.  "Throw me a bone, here"

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Origen AE S21T, Vista Premium, Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3, Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo, 4GB Ram, EVGA 8600GT, 320GB HD, 500GB HD, 2-Vistaview tuners, WS-73411 73" Mitsubishi rptv

Growler:

Just upgraded from my Directivo HR10-250 to the HR21 Directv DVR.  OK, but interface is no where near as good as VMC IMHO. 

Someone give me hope that the external tuner will be out by year's end.  "Throw me a bone, here"

I'm in the same boat as you but I thought about going with an HR22.  Best Buy has it for $199 and Costco for $169 right now.  I believe it's the same as the HR21 but with a 500GB hard drive.  Would really like to go with the external tuner but I don't think that is happening anytime soon.

Growler:

Just upgraded from my Directivo HR10-250 to the HR21 Directv DVR.  OK, but interface is no where near as good as VMC IMHO. 

Someone give me hope that the external tuner will be out by year's end.  "Throw me a bone, here"

Well, the glorious"fiji" upgrade has dashed all hopes of support for H.264 and subscription based channels so don't hold you breath for the Directv tuner anytime soon. I think we will have to wait for Windows 7 before the Directv tuner sees the light of day and this is not going to be anytime sooner than 2010.

Rumour has it that Windows 7 is really Vista R2 and I'm hoping I can upgrade for free since I've already invested in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate.

 

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Silverstone LC-16M
Vista Home Premium (x64) SP1
Vista TV Pack 2008
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200
Gigabyte GA-EP45C-DS3R
4GB Memory
2 x Samsung 1TB Hard Disks
nVidia Geforce 8600GT

I know this is a dumb question, so bear with me.  What is H.264 support?  I see it in many posts.  I guess I need to know.

If it is going to be past the end of this year I simply can not wait further.  What other options does someone have to get Directv HD via media center?  Aren't there modifed Dtv receivers that connect via firewire?

 

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Origen AE S21T, Vista Premium, Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3, Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo, 4GB Ram, EVGA 8600GT, 320GB HD, 500GB HD, 2-Vistaview tuners, WS-73411 73" Mitsubishi rptv

Growler:

I know this is a dumb question, so bear with me.  What is H.264 support?  I see it in many posts.  I guess I need to know.

H.264 is a video compression standard, also known as MPEG4/AVC.  You may be familiar with MPEG2 video compression as used in DVDs and standard definition digital TV broadcasts.  H.264 is a more efficient, next generation standard that is part of MPEG4, and is typically used in HD-DVD/Blu-Ray DVD and European HDTV broadcasts.

 

Whatever comes out from DirecTV will be highly DRM'd. Bear in mind that Netflix and Amazon deliver content via DirecTV. If you don't want to use Mediacenter (and I don't, I much prefer XBMC which is much more powerful and actually geared towards the interests of the consumer) you *will* be left out.

I agree with the poster who is looking at Internet content instead, a path that I have begun to pursue myself. HDPC-20 two years ago would have been cool, now, linked to Vista, it's a dead duck.

rernst2:

Whatever comes out from DirecTV will be highly DRM'd. Bear in mind that Netflix and Amazon deliver content via DirecTV. If you don't want to use Mediacenter (and I don't, I much prefer XBMC which is much more powerful and actually geared towards the interests of the consumer) you *will* be left out.

I agree with the poster who is looking at Internet content instead, a path that I have begun to pursue myself. HDPC-20 two years ago would have been cool, now, linked to Vista, it's a dead duck.

This is the thread that will NEVER die...

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AMD Athlon 6400+ BE (watercooled)
Nvidia 8600GTS
Hauppauge HVR-1600
Razer Barracuda AC-1
2GB DDR2
1TB HDD
Vista Ultimate W/ TV Pack