Review: DirecTV HR21-PRO HD DVR

The DirecTV HR21-Pro boasts a whopping 500GB internal hard drive. This equates to a recording capacity of up to 100 hours of MPEG4 HD content or 65 hours of MPEG2 HD. MPEG4 video utilizes a newer and more efficient compression algorithm which means lower bandwidth requirements on the satellite end and reduced disk space needed on the DVR end. There is some debate surrounding the quality differences between MPEG2 and MPEG4, but on a modestly-sized screen, most viewers would be hard-pressed to tell which is which.

The DVR lacks an off-air broadcast tuner, but $60 get you the AM21 for broadcast fans. The AM21 add-on tuner is a slim box that stacks neatly atop your HR21 or HR21-Pro. A simple USB connection is all that is necessary to integrate the AM21’s dual ATSC tuners with the HR21’s dual satellite tuners. DirecTV presumably figures on most viewers abandoning off-air reception once satellite-based locals are available everywhere. That’s probably a safe bet.

Comparing the HR21-Pro to the HR21, the most notable difference is its larger storage capacity—up to 100 hours of HD versus 50 hours on the HR21. Also worthy of note is the unique HDMI delivery option on the HR21-Pro. On the rear of the HR21-Pro you’ll find a switch that governs how HDMI is output – either through the standard HDMI output or via the fiber optic DLI output. By default, the switch is in the “HDMI out” position and this lets you connect the HR21-Pro directly to your display or to a nearby A/V receiver with a standard HDMI cable. The fiber optic option deactivates the standard HDMI port and outputs instead using the port labeled “HDMI Optical/DLI Out.” DLI, short for Digital Light Interface, is a new fiber optic technology developed by OWLink which allows you to send an HDCP-protected digital signal to a display up to 300 feet away where it’s then converted back to standard HDMI.

As you might expect, the DLI kit (manufactured for DirecTV by OWLink) is not included with the HR21-Pro and costs a steep $399. However, the DLI option does present some interesting wiring possibilities and should be of interest to custom installers or anyone looking to drive two televisions from the same HR21-Pro. For Example, in my installation, I put the HR21-Pro in my family room A/V cabinet and connected it locally to my 30-inch LG display using component video cables. I then used the OWLink kit to run the thin, lightweight DLI cable down to my basement theater’s A/V rack for connection to my front projector. Since the component video output is always active, I was able to watch the HR21-Pro’s DVR recordings simultaneously in the family room and the basement theater.