DirecTV's HR20 / HR21 HD DVRs drop to $199.99

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 11th 2008 at 8:07PM

The title pretty much says it all here -- DirecTV's HR20 / HR21 are now available at a number of places for just $199.99. For new customers, there's even a $99 rebate that will bring your up-front costs down even further, and we all know there are deals to be had if you fling the word "cable" or "fiber" around while on the phone with a CSR. So, any of you DirecTV users springing for the upgrade?

Filed under: DVRs, Satellite

Tags: directv, dvr, hd dvr, HdDvr, HR21, price, price drop, PriceDrop, prices, satellite

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

shawnmos @ Jan 11th 2008 8:47PM

My dad got his for free a few months back by signing a 2 year contract.

Neutral

Xyzzy @ Jan 11th 2008 8:50PM

I really want to upgrade... But I love my HD TiVo. :( In addition, if I upgrade to get the MPEG-4 stuff, I'll need a new dish... And that means I won't be able to diplex my OTA signal on the same cable (stupid me only ran 4 cables to the roof. Dumb... :( ). So if I upgrade, I'll be losing TiVo + OTA, but gaining more HD channels...

I'll have to find out if the HR20 is upgradable -- my standard def DirecTiVo has 250 hours of recording -- I'd like to add an extra drive to the HR20 because I record a lot of stuff since I don't have time to watch TV every week (or even every month...)

Decisions, decisions....

Neutral

Eric @ Jan 11th 2008 9:53PM

Remember that DirecTV has MPEG-4 HD locals in a lot of places. I can't tell a difference between OTA and MPEG-4.

I have both an HR10-250 and an HR20 connected to the same TV. I thought I would hate the HR20 interface, but it has grown on me and I now like it better for most things. I've been a Tivo user since 2002, for reference.

You can upgrade the HR20 as well. I haven't done it yet myself, but it's as easy as popping off the cover and replacing the drive and powering up. Alternatively, just plug in an eSATA drive to the port on the back and you are done. The software is not stored on the disk, so no messing with MFS tools and all that garbage you have to do to upgrade Tivos.

Highly Ranked

Fuse @ Jan 11th 2008 9:57PM

The HR20/21 is upgradable by replacing the internal drive (voiding your lease) or getting a External eSATA drive. The eSATA drive will replace the internal so you don't get the combined space.

Neutral

Shawn @ Jan 15th 2008 12:48PM

That is the one thing that I took into effect when deciding on which one I may switch to. (directtv has the edge BTW)

The 350gig in the units are good and all but I want the piece of mind knowing I can hook up a large one and be able to use BOTH! I can imaging all it would take is a firmware update. Also the adapter for an OTA reciever is dumb on the HR21 unlike the HR20 where it was built in. I also hear they have fazed out the HR20 and you read on some forums that some people swear by those.

My buddy just switched to Direct from Charter and couldn't be happier so here comes another one soon.

Neutral

Joel @ Jan 11th 2008 10:36PM

I already have one but I got my parents to upgrade their receiver tonight. My dad told them that if he switched to Dish Network he would get 6 months of free HD so DirecTV gave him the same plus some other discounts.

Neutral

Xyzzy @ Jan 11th 2008 10:37PM

Eric/Fuse, thanks for the info!

I hate to lose the OTA, even though I rarely use it.... I keep hoping that they'll have a single cable solution - it's in beta, but has been for a long time and I'm guessing won't ever be released in production. :(

Highly Ranked

Xyzzy @ Jan 11th 2008 10:48PM

Update on the single wire solution - looks like it might be an option afterall; I need to read this thread!

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=380541

Neutral

Paulie Walnuts @ Jan 11th 2008 11:33PM

I recently got one of these for free...Dish was giving away a free HD DVR to new customers, so I called up the DirecTV and asked for the retention department and mentioned this. They matched the deal and a week later...yippie...free HD DVR from DirecTV. Very good unit too, although it has crashed on me once...nothing a reboot cant solve. But yeah a bunch of guys have done this that I know. Just complain and you'll get it for free.

Neutral

gfkinsey @ Jan 12th 2008 12:34AM

I will be getting one in a few weeks with tax refund. I'm glad I waited and will save $100.

Neutral

GhostDoggy @ Jan 12th 2008 2:08PM

I have been holding on two orders for HR21 HD DVRs since December 31st. I deliberately went online to push their installations until the end of January because someone told me something would happen after January 10th in terms of HD DVRs. I was getting one at no up-front cost and the other at full-cost ($300).

Ok, so the usual up-front costs has come down, but I am wondering if DirecTV will renegotiate that deal from end of the year. I was told I could cancel at anytime prior to actual installation, which as I said has not yet occurred. I'm thinking they should knock a $100 off that second unit. BTW, I've been a DirecTV customer for seven years, never missed a bill, and had HD with them for four years.

Neutral

Dan @ Jan 18th 2008 4:46PM

Dumb (and unrelated) question: Do any/all DirecTV HD DVRs have Picture-in-Picture?

Neutral

bigbandjohn @ Apr 8th 2008 2:51PM

I called for an upgrade to my HR10-250 (the old Tivo HD) - all they offered was $50 off the price of a HR21... for that price I'll keep my old unit and give my non-HD unit to a family member.

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