Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Upgraded my DirecTV HD box
DirecTV is offering a $200 rebate on their H10 and H20 HD boxes (which retail for $199), so I figured it was a great time to upgrade my 2 year old Hughes HIRD-E86 receiver.
I was able to get a DirecTV H20 which will decode both MPEG-2 (DirecTV's current standard) and MPEG-4 (DirecTV's future standard). It also has an HDMI output which I will connect to my TV's DVI port.
The Hughes I have now is not a great HD box. It has problems with overheating. Plus, it only supports component out, so I'm not getting the best possible HD picture. I purchased it before I got a TV that supports DVI, so it's overdue for the upgrade. I haven't decided if I will hook it up to the HDTV in my bedroom or just retire it altogether.
Both the H20 box, which I ordered from Circuit City, and the HDMI-to-DVI cable are scheduled to arrive on Friday. I should have a review of the new box by early next week.
DirecTV is offering a $200 rebate on their H10 and H20 HD boxes (which retail for $199), so I figured it was a great time to upgrade my 2 year old Hughes HIRD-E86 receiver.
I was able to get a DirecTV H20 which will decode both MPEG-2 (DirecTV's current standard) and MPEG-4 (DirecTV's future standard). It also has an HDMI output which I will connect to my TV's DVI port.
The Hughes I have now is not a great HD box. It has problems with overheating. Plus, it only supports component out, so I'm not getting the best possible HD picture. I purchased it before I got a TV that supports DVI, so it's overdue for the upgrade. I haven't decided if I will hook it up to the HDTV in my bedroom or just retire it altogether.
Both the H20 box, which I ordered from Circuit City, and the HDMI-to-DVI cable are scheduled to arrive on Friday. I should have a review of the new box by early next week.
¶ 2:05 PM 
About Shawn Morton
Married father of 4, social media specialist, consumer electronics enthusiast, hair metal aficionado.
View complete bio.
View complete bio.
Recent Blog Posts 
JC Penney scalping 360s I survived Black Friday Got to play around with a 360 No XBOX 360 for me today iWipe to be featured in Mac Creative Lines already forming at Wal-Marts Tips for waiting in line iWipe featured on Make blog Instructables.com is pretty cool XBOX 360 Zero Hour photosBlog Archive
June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008