Ah, the HR34 Genie. Hey, when this baby hit the market in late 2011 it was a masterpiece, a revelation, a herculean super DVR beyond compare. But, you know, things change. The world moved forward and today we’re talking about the HR34’s grandson, the HR54 Genie DVR. It’s smaller, faster, takes up less space and less power, and it’s the one you’ll want when live 4K TV comes around. But let’s not worry about that right now.
There are still a lot of HR34 Genies out there and each one shipped with an RF remote that lets you aim through walls and doors. Unlike the HR54, it also ships with a full set of outputs on the back, including component and composite, that let you run more than one TV from the DVR. (The HR54 does the same trick, but you need one of these cables.)
One trick the HR44 and HR54 Genies do fairly well, though, is let you use an IR remote and an RF remote at the same time. This lets you use the RF remote in one room while using the IR remote in another. You can also use multiple RF remotes with those newer Genies. Unfortunately, neither of those tricks work with an HR34. You are limited to one RF remote -or- one IR remote, making it a little harder to use multiple TVs. It’s still possible if you use remotes in IR mode and use something like a NextGen remote extender.
Personally, if you want to have TV in multiple rooms, there’s nothing like the convenience of using individual Genie clients, each with their own remote. Sure, it’s a little more expensive but it works oh, so much better.
