OK, here's my dilemma... My DirecTivo had been dying and finally kicked the bucket... So here I am, a DirecTV subscriber (who just got a freebie a couple months ago) and I'm without a DirecTivo? So, I call in and they tell me they can get me the DirecTV DVR for $5 a month and I have to promise I'll stay for 2 years... There's also the option to go for the HD DVR, but there's a waiting list (no idea how long) and I'm not sure how big a deal it is to install the HD dish? Can it just take the place of my current dish or will my landlords kill me for putting another set of holes in their roof? And is it worth it?

Someone tell me what I should do here. Any kind of special deal you think I can get from them? Is the DirectV DVR ok or should i look for a used DirecTivo? Is HD worth it and how much trouble will it cause me getting it installed?

Tivo is a hell of a lot better than DVR. Many features in it that plain old DVRs just don't have... if you don't use wishlists or any of the other Tivo only features, but instead just like to record the occasional show right from the guide, a DVR is ok.

I have 4 directivo's installed. I love all of them and would never part with them. I am disappointed though that the regular standalone Tivo's now have better service options. Come on DTv, turn on my internet access.

Anyway, I have a high def tv set, and subscribed to the high def channels for a little bit. I can say that it wasn't worth the price for how few channels you get on directv. Maybe if the entire lineup was high def on every channel, but spending any money right now on a HD DVR just wouldn't be worth it to me.

But when you say it is flaking out, do you mean the hard drive? Because you can replace the hard drive with a huge one and end up with a great unit. I upgraded all of mine to 250gb hard drives recently. Piece of cake.

I would suggest going to http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/ for answers to all your tivo related questions. In the Tivo Ugrade Center they walk through how to upgrade a hard drive in a tivo. The tools have gotten way better.

They also post a lot of different deals going on in the tivo world. Great website, check it out.

To each his own, I guess. I have a HD DirecTivo and absolutely love it (other than the sluggish guide). Watching shows and sports in HD is so much better and has actually spoiled me a bit in that I find myself very distracted when having to watch equivalent shows in SD.

The HD DirecTivo has dual tuners, so makes use of two LNB's. If the current dish doesn't have two lines coming in, then that additional line would need to be run. But I don't think it would be a problem to replace your current dish with another dish.

All of that being said, none of this matters unless you have a HDTV. It's not worth it to get the HD DirecTivo unless you were going to subscribe to the HD package.

I have both a D*Tivo and HD DVR (HR20-700) from them, and I will try to answer a few of your questions.

You didn't really ask, but I figure I will answer anyway I was put on the waiting list on Nov 5th, and I had the installation done on the 17th, so I waited about 12 days, now, over at dbstalk.com people are saying 4 months, so YMMV. Also, read, read, read that forum about D*, it saved me over $300 dollars and I now have HBO for $2 a month, Starz and Showtime free for three months, and HD channels free for 4 months. Once again, YMMV.

You can use the holes you already have drilled, however, depending on the dish you need (3 LNB or 5 LNB) they will drill two additional holes for support rods.

It really depends. I got mine because I just got a projector that can throw HD images, so I wanted for that. As for the DVR part of it, time will tell, but from playing with it some this weekend, I can tell you that the R10 (D*Tivo) unit is more user friendly, and has several features I wish the HR20 had.

Hope that helps you out!

The Dish is also at least 2 times the size of the old triple lnb dish..
It's a monster..