Rent or Buy the Hi Def Sat Receiver DVR ?

[ed klein]

I noticed Direct TV lets you rent their latest version HR21 Hi Def Sat receiver and digital video recorder (DVR) for anywhere from $6 to $10 per month.

And Best Buy electronics sell the HR21 for $299.

If I rented the HR21 from Direct TV it would take 30 months or 2 1/2 years at $10 per month to break even with the purchase at Best Buy for $299.

Im I missing something here, or is it just a customer preference? What is the best way to go?

I know the latest HR21 DOES NOT have a built-in OTA (over the air tuner) like the older HR20 does. But in my case that is not a problem, the HDTV from Samsung that I own does have a built-in OTA tuner.

And like any HD DVR with a hard drive, sold in the USA today, does not have a HDMI INPUT AND HDMI OUTPUT. The HR21 (HD recorder/player) from Direct TV only plays HD video you your HDTV, but if you tried to record that HD signal to your personal DVR with a hard drive it would only record in SD (std def)

Should I rent the DVR or purchase the DVR?

[copyless]

I personally have always liked owning my equipment, I have 6 receivers in my home. Three are HD and three are SD, I own all but one. The last one I did the lease contract simply because they no longer sold the unit but did lease it.

I would say it is as you stated, a personal preference. I recommend leasing it, then it's a low monthly fee instead of the $300 up front. Then in two years you can upgrade it to whatever new/better device they have available at that time, and still save $70-80 with tax.

The leasing came about as a way to offer the cutomers satellite TV without all the upfront cost in setting it up. And with all the upgrades to receivers, with PVRs, then DVRs, and HD, I can see it is probably better to lease the equipment.