DIRECTV HD DVR DWO2-10020 SATELLITE TV RECEIVER

Review: On a good HDTV monitor with an HDMI connection, the video from this receiver is just stunning.

There are several things you should know:

1 – ‘30 hour’ refers to HDTV recording capacity. For normal, non-HDTV programming, you’ll get much, much more than 30 hours.

2 – For some reason, DirecTV has not upgraded the software to Tivo Series 2. That means no folders grouping together saved programs, no support for the USB ports (no broadband connection, you MUST use a modem), no Home Media Option or video sharing.

3 – There’s a bug in the digital audio output which causes digital audio to fail with some amplifiers. Fortunately, my amp was firmware-upgradeable to be more forgiving about the audio format. From what I’ve read, the receiver fails to send proper headers on the audio and sometimes (when you’re changing channels, going forward or backward) this causes audio to cut out completely. I found that I needed to restart my amp to get audio back. DirecTV does not acknowledge this problem.

4 – Over time we’ve seen more little audio and video glitches than I’ve ever seen with any other model Tivo or DirecTV receiver. Nothing serious, but kind of annoying.

5 – There is very little HDTV programming available on DirecTV at the moment. Unless you live in LA or NY or you’re rural enough to qualify to receive distant stations, you’re unlikely to be allowed to get the LA or NY HDTV feeds of local channels. This is a government restriction, not DirecTV’s fault. There’s one PPV channel in HD format, and there are HD feeds of HBO and Showtime plus a few other things. Definitely check with DirecTV to see what you’ll be able to receive before jumping on this.

6 – DirecTV is working on bringing out lot more HDTV programming, including local network stations, but the rumor is that in order to do this they’re going to switch to a new compression format that this receiver won’t support. It’s too early to say whether they’ll provide a graceful upgrade path or will stick you with a thousand dollar receiver/recorder that can’t receive the bulk of their programming, but consider yourself warned.
Rating: 3 / 5

Review: Like many, I had an HDTV that I watched little HDTV on. Not because of lack of programming available, but because having to watch commercials or watch TV on the network’s schedule prevented me from watching LIVE HDTV (we owned three low definition Tivos prior to this purchase).

Yes, DirecTV doesn’t office some of the home media options or folders on their Tivo boxes, but those are mostly peripheral offerings. Nothing does what this unit does as well as this unit does it period. This unit takes Tivo and HDTV to the next level! Two recording sources. Real-time conversion to all TV formats. Same Tivo interface we all love plus a more traditional satellite box guide view. Off-air and satellite reception. There’s a reason why this unit won best of show at CES. And something I wasn’t aware of, you don’t have to purchase the $300 lifetime subscription with DirecTV DVRS.

When I first purchased this unit, I thought I would have trouble justifying a $1000 spend. Now that I have it, even my frugal wife understands why I bought it and the HDTV I purchased last year.

Rating: 5 / 5

Review: I bought my first one a year ago. I spent close to a cool thousand on it. Ouch! However it was well worth it. I was watching HDTV on TiVo. I live in Orange County, CA and receive several HDTV programs plus DirecTV is getting good with the HDTV service as well with Fox, NBC, ABC, and CBS all in HD (I got in under the radar screen a few years ago and get both east and west coast feeds–they don’t allow that anymore though).

This unit allows you to record two HD programs at the same time. You can choose your output resolution as either 480i (for recording to DVD for example), 480p, 720p, and 1080i. I have it setup with my 70″ Grand Wega XBR Rear projection LCD and I love it. I have the second one hooked up to my 36″ 4:3 CRT Wega. As the price comes down I will get another for my Sony 21″ 16:9 LCD Panel.

If you own a nice HDTV, have DirecTV, and don’t have this unit. You are just an idiot. Suck it up son, by it. You will love yourself for doing it within minutes.

Note: The USB Ports are just holes in the back of the unit. So don’t expect to set it up to your network or use TiVo via the internet. That was the only let down but . . . who cares. I am watching Leno at 7pm, Smallville at 10pm, and CSI on the weekends–all in HDTV. CSI is the most beautiful experience in HD.
Rating: 5 / 5