UTV vs R15?

[Thunder7]

I am currently a UTV customer (still going strong), but am interested in getting a new DVR as a secondary one in the event she finally decides to give up the ghost. I have no plans to use it as my primary DVR currently, just on my daughters TV.

Are there any longtime UTV users out there that have been using the R15? Opinions about the same as those R10 users with how it works?

[mphare]

I came from UTV to DTiVo a couple of years ago when my UTV died.
I was dissapointed to say the least with the DTiVo. No bulk delete, no caller id, no PIP in the guide, no programmed recording notification in the guide. And the biggest: UTV has a much more advanced method for setting up repeat recordings. If I recall it gives you two options: "Record this Program Any Time it Appears" or "Record this Program only at this Time". I don't remember the exact prompts. If a program is on multiple times a day and I only want the one that comes on at 5:30. With the UTV it was simple. With the DTiVo you have to do a manual recording and that's not the same thing.

The R15 gives you caller id and a PIP guide. They are supposidly fixing the dual-live buffer issue. You can set up recordings and see programmed recordings in the guide. It still doesn't have the options for repat recordings and doesn't have bulk delete.

Otherwise the R15 reminds me a lot like my old UTV.

If they fix a few issues and maybe bring in a few of the features I've mentioned, it will be a great replacement for my UTV and I would probably replace my 2 DTiVos with R15s.

[laxcoach]

I bought my first UTV about 3 months after it came out. There were so many bugs, and it was very slow. The last update was the one that really cleaned it up. I ended up with 3 of them as the price came down.

In the meantime, I ended up with a DTivo and HD Tivo, and I hate the interface.

The R15 is my migration point. 2 of my UTVs died, and the future is now. For my money, the R15 is much closer to the UTV than the Tivo. I see the potential. This interface is 3 months behind the first UTV interface. I think it will end up being very similar.

There are some caveats beyond the bugs. First, my wife *hates* it. She is being a real neophyte about it and just refuses to move on. She can use it, but she complains almost as much about the R15 as she does the Tivos.

Second, the transports suck. FF and RW are almost unmanageable. If you get past "3x" you might as well just throw a dart. The UTV was actually pretty similar at first. The lack of a 30 second skip + FF/RW issues is definitely a problem. Furthermore, the skip back only goes 8 seconds. It feels light compared to UTV.

The issues that mphare brought up about recording based on time are right-on. It's a pain. Dora records 10x a day, but that isn't a problem. The problem is anything in syndication. Ugh it's bad.

My finaly issue, but I think it will work out is readability. I can't define why, everything seems small. The funny thing is that I bet the "My Shows" and Guide have the same rows/columns. It is just small, and I think the color contrast is bad.

If your UTVs work, wait. If they died, you don't have much of a choice... Tivo or the future.

[Clint Lamor]

Can't you still buy and activate UTV's from like ebay?

[Mike770]

[QUOTE=mphare]doesn't have bulk delete.

QUOTE]


The R15 does have bulk delete.

[ISWIZ]

I am currently a UTV customer (still going strong), but am interested in getting a new DVR as a secondary one in the event she finally decides to give up the ghost. I have no plans to use it as my primary DVR currently, just on my daughters TV.

Are there any longtime UTV users out there that have been using the R15? Opinions about the same as those R10 users with how it works?


For a daughters room the R15 has a good parental lock setup. That includes a lock of recordings as well as program access. One caveat, it also allows locking of "unrated" shows, some of which are plain "vanillas" shows like sports and even some cartoons due to lack of rating.

[mphare]

[QUOTE=mphare]doesn't have bulk delete.

QUOTE]


The R15 does have bulk delete.

Really? I'll have to check it out. I didn't notice it.

[wishfull1]

Being a TiVo and UTV user, I find the R15 similar to the UTV. I really like the single button record in guide and the circle R to show it is/will record. Plus, I like the PIG (picture in guide) like UTV. I've had an TiVo for a few years now, but don't like it much when compared to the UTV. I think the R15 has real potential.

[01ds650]

the skip back only goes 8 seconds. It feels light compared to UTV.

actually it's only 6 seconds. I told Direct it needs to be 8 or 10. I'm shocked you guys like the R15. I think it seems slow & underpowered.

[tall1]

I think the R15 has real potential.I think your member name says it all. ;)

[JosephB]

For a daughters room the R15 has a good parental lock setup. That includes a lock of recordings as well as program access. One caveat, it also allows locking of "unrated" shows, some of which are plain "vanillas" shows like sports and even some cartoons due to lack of rating.

But on the flip side, most if not all shows that are 'objectionable' to some people are rated. Program providers are trying to keep the government out of regulating them, so ratings are being put on many many more programs. Some channels have ratings on ALL of their programs.

[ISWIZ]

Agreed, the only reason I mentioned it was when I had set up to record a basketball game (unrated) I didn't realize that it would be blocked and thought I'd mention it for others to consider if they ran into problems.