Disappointed with Directv

[fsornson]

I have read this forum for a while, and because of the overwhelming support for Directv with Tivo I decided to switch from Dish PVR to Directv. My wife and I have been very disappointed with this switch, and I was wondering if I could get some feedback on my issues:
1. Guide EXTREMELY SLOW! I have switched to the Tivo view, but sometimes this view can be annoying.
2. Can only pause live TV for a half an hour.
3. Can only have one favorites lists. (used to have one for me and one for the wife, and one for the kid on Dish)
4. The all subscribed list, is not a list of the channels you have subscribed to, but another favorites lists you have to populate manually.
5. When your watching a recorded program and you hit the 30 second skip button at the end of the program, it starts all over. (minor annoyance)

People complain on how much Dish PVR's reboot, or have to be rebooted, but I had a Dish PVR, and usually something happened once a month. Since switching to Directv, I have had issues just as often, like all the program guide information going away.

Some other things that annoy me, are things that are just different from DISH, I can re-learn. I really love the two tuners, this is the main reason for the switch. Most likely when my year is up I will be switching back to Dish, unless I can find some answers.

Any help is appreciated.

[scottchez]

My Dish 501 now gets a Signal not found error every once in a while when watching tv.

others have reported this in the forums.

This is a show stopper error.

I will trade my Dish DVR issue for your Tivo Guide problem.

At least you can watch TV with out missing stuff.

[Chris Blount]

I have read this forum for a while, and because of the overwhelming support for Directv with Tivo I decided to switch from Dish PVR to Directv. My wife and I have been very disappointed with this switch, and I was wondering if I could get some feedback on my issues:
1. Guide EXTREMELY SLOW! I have switched to the Tivo view, but sometimes this view can be annoying.
2. Can only pause live TV for a half an hour.
3. Can only have one favorites lists. (used to have one for me and one for the wife, and one for the kid on Dish)
4. The all subscribed list, is not a list of the channels you have subscribed to, but another favorites lists you have to populate manually.
5. When your watching a recorded program and you hit the 30 second skip button at the end of the program, it starts all over. (minor annoyance)

People complain on how much Dish PVR's reboot, or have to be rebooted, but I had a Dish PVR, and usually something happened once a month. Since switching to Directv, I have had issues just as often, like all the program guide information going away.

Some other things that annoy me, are things that are just different from DISH, I can re-learn. I really love the two tuners, this is the main reason for the switch. Most likely when my year is up I will be switching back to Dish, unless I can find some answers.

Any help is appreciated.

Hi fsornson and welcome to DBSTalk! :welcome_s

You make some very valid complaints.

1. Yes, the grid style guide is slow. I agree with you on that. The Tivo guide is much quicker but I think its still very useful and has benefits that out weight the grid guide.

2. Yes, you can only pause live TV for 30 minutes but remember, it's buffering on BOTH tuners. That's something the Dish 721 and 921 do not do.

3. I don't use the favorites list so I can't say anything about that.

4. I agree with you on the subscription list issue. It is a feature that most Tivo owners hate. I just ignore it because I consider it a minor inconvenience.

5. The 30 second skip taking you back to the start of the show is a known issue and hopefully will be fixed soon.

Switching from a Dish PVR to DirecTivo is a culture shock especially if you have been a Dish customer for a long time. It took me a few weeks to really get into the groove of using my DirecTivo.

Apart from interface differences and features, consider these factors:

1. You will probably never lose another recording again
2. Your DirecTivo will not spontaneously reboot for any reason.
3. Any programming changes that occur will automatically be adjusted thanks to name base recording.
4. Recorded programs will not suddenly disappear.
5. You can do a searches for shows that aren't even scheduled yet (wishlist) and have the Tivo record them.

These are just a few of the things you have to look forward to when using the Tivo. Yes, the DirecTivo is not perfect, but it beats the hell out of having to "babysit" your box whenever there are changes in the schedule or if there are software problems.

[boba]

Fsornson I have a 501 and a 508 and two DirecTiVos and agree with you that a TiVo and a DVR are two different receivers. Build yourself a list of programs on the TiVo and forget about using the programming guide. I think I have 14 programs that record on Saturday plus several that record daily. Most of the time I have several hours of programming ready to be watched when I get home so I don't need to use the guide. Even when I do use the guide I don't find it so slow that I have a problem using it. I use my 501&508 still and I have found it has miss recorded programs because it is not name based and the programmer changed their schedule. If you are new to Directv, Directv has a TiVo program called "Truth or Dare" under which they will buy back your TiVo upto $99 and give you a base model receiver free. That is confidence in their product.

[fsornson]

I don't mind the Tivo style guide, but if it is 5 minutes to the top of the hour and I want to find out what is comming up, I have to look at every channel, instead of taking a quick glance. I really like the guide on the non-tivo receiver that I have. It is fast, and I like the TV picture up in the corner while looking at the guide.

As for the issues that you listed as problems:
I have never had a recording disappear in the 1 1/2 years I had my 508. And the reboots that I had would either happen right when I turned the receiver on, or when I accidently hit the Dish button, and tried to cancel it.
I do like the Tivo features, like the name based recording.
But I am wondering if it is worth the extra $12 per month for Directv vs. Dish that I am paying.

[Neutron]

Which DISH package do you have? I have noticed and did some calculations, that the Top 120 with my set up is about the same as Direct's Total Choice Plus and you get the majority of the channels that you can get with the Top 180 at the Top 120's price.

[fsornson]

Dish 508: Top 150 (which includes Encore movie channels) $43
HBO&Cinemax $17
Locals $6
2nd receiver $5
Total $71
Directivo: Total Choice plus $38
HBO&Cinemax&Encore $33 (includes starz)
Locals $2
2nd receiver $5
Tivo service $5
Total $83
Difference $12, but I guess if I added Starz to my Dish the price would have come out the same.

[jm9]

I But I am wondering if it is worth the extra $12 per month for Directv vs. Dish that I am paying.

Wow! I switched and my bill went from $56 to maybe $58 a month, and that is with the $5 for tivo. Do you have more features than you had with dish.

Another thing that you did not mention is the remotes. The remotes and screen displays were the same on the 301 and 500 series. You could feel your way around the remote without looking at it. I'm thinking about upgrading to another Tivo just to have the same environment.

I'm overall happy with the switch. I'm not there yet, but you should not be watching live tv. You should be recording the shows that you want to watch and then selecting from those shows.

I doubt you will switch back to Dish, It will be very expensive to replace your equipment now that you are not a new subscriber. I think in 6 months your answer might be different.

[Phil T]

I switched a week before Chris did. I got 2 Directivos to replace a 7100 and a 501. The only thing I miss is the caller ID function from the 501. I must be the only person who had a DirecTivo lock up once. I lost about 6 minutes of a show I was recording at the time and it hasn't happened since.

Since I have two 16 year old daughters, so the DirecTivos get quite a workout. The family acceptance factor has been very high, especially since I got $100.00 in free Pizza coupons from Circuit City with my purchase. :)

[Mark Holtz]

I got video capture working again, and should be finishing up a review of the DirecTiVo.

[bonscott87]

I don't mind the Tivo style guide, but if it is 5 minutes to the top of the hour and I want to find out what is comming up, I have to look at every channel, instead of taking a quick glance.

When you are in the guide, hit the fast forward button once and it will advance the guide up to the next half hour block. You can use fast forward or rewind to go ahead or back in the guide for it's full 12-14 days. Nice little trick. :)

[cnsf]

Let's not forget the Tivos can also be upgraded. I have YET to fill up any of mine.

I also don't like how the Tivo's are super-slow when readjusting priorities in Season Pass Manager. And during some deletions, the "Please Wait" stays up for a "really" long time....sometimes more than a minute, sometimes two.

[geneb11]

This is what I suggest.Give that Tivo to your wife and buy one for yourself and set it up the way you like it and have her set hers up the way she likes it.Trust me you will not watch live tv. I have so much programming in the now playing list that I don't have time to watch live tv. As for the 30 minute pause,just hit record if you need it longer. This works well for us and they are only $99. I don't miss my dish equipment,but I do understand what you are saying. I liked the customized dish guides too,but after getting used to Tivo I don't need guides anymore(well sometimes) :)

[dishrich]

When you are in the guide, hit the fast forward button once and it will advance the guide up to the next half hour block. You can use fast forward or rewind to go ahead or back in the guide for it's full 12-14 days. Nice little trick. :)

Thank you - guess I learned something new about my Tivo's today... :) :)

[cnsf]

All the little tricks are listed at http://www.tivocommunity.com

[No 30 Second]

I have read this forum for a while, and because of the overwhelming support for Directv with Tivo I decided to switch from Dish PVR to Directv. My wife and I have been very disappointed with this switch, and I was wondering if I could get some feedback on my issues:
5. When your watching a recorded program and you hit the 30 second skip button at the end of the program, it starts all over. (minor annoyance)


Don't forget that the 30 second skip feature is an undocumented backdoor feature. You can't really complain that it doesn't work, but you could complain that they don't offer the feature..

[jdspencer]

As for having the 30s skip button taking you back to the beginning. Some think this is a feature, to allow you to get back to the beginning quickly.

[bonscott87]

Yea, I never though of it as a bug. Always though it was a feature and like it actually. I *think* it's been that way for a long time, since the 2.0 software, but I don't remember exactly.