Is it "good enough"?

[wismile]

I made the mistake of recommending DirecTV to a friend just as they stopped shipping TIVO units. His experience with the R-15 was awful. Now my nephew is deciding between Comcast or DirecTV. Before I offer an opinion, I'd like to know if the R-15 is substantially better than it was and if the issues have been reduced to a less stressful level.

[Earl Bonovich]

I moved this post from the software release thread...

1) Had nothing to do with the software release.
2) It would get lost in there, and deserves to be it's own thread.

[wismile]

Thanks Earl...

[walters]

Here's a recent thread with a similar question:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=68809

[ApK]

We left Comcast to go to DirectTV and could not be happier.

With the money we are saving over Comcast, we were able to afford a used DTivo unit and could not be happier with it as well. The R15 was frustrating but easy enough to replace and certainly not enough to send us back to Comcast.

After a few more updates, we'll try plugging the R-15 in again as a second DVR, but no rush on that.

Would not go back to Comcast if you paid me. Well, not unless you paid me A LOT!

ApK

[wismile]

That's what happened with my friend. We were able to hunt down a couple R10 units from Walmart, now they love DirecTV. I was hoping the latest update fixed enough of the R15 issues, so you can plug yours back in and my nephew can keep his savings!

[Bobman]

I am planning to get my parents a DVR for Christmas as they are always calling me when their Hughes GCEBOA receiver messes up the VCR and I have to go over and fix it.

I can get them an R-15 for free or give them my old R-10 which I deactivated a few weeks back.

I still have not made up my mind yet. :confused: I would like to get them an R-15 as I really like mine but worry some about if they would be calling me all the time about the R-15 problems.:(

[ApK]

The Tivo interface is a success, especially among non-techies, for a reason.

Why not show your parents both and let them choose.

BTW, as has been discussed here previously, unless you're paying for the service, a R-15 makes for a lousey gift. They are free for the asking, what do they need you for?

[mikewolf13]

I am planning to get my parents a DVR for Christmas as they are always calling me when their Hughes GCEBOA receiver messes up the VCR and I have to go over and fix it.

I can get them an R-15 for free or give them my old R-10 which I deactivated a few weeks back.

I still have not made up my mind yet. :confused: I would like to get them an R-15 as I really like mine but worry some about if they would be calling me all the time about the R-15 problems.:(

Why would you not want to give your parents a DVR you know works reliably and consistently?

Unless you think having PIG, and active functions will make the 1st, 2nd and 9th time you have to explain to then the NEXT upgrade will make things better and that they shouldn't expect much as an early adopter.

You may personally prefer the additional "features" of the R15, but as any issues with their current receiver and VCR results in a call to you, I would go for the product which works more reliably.