R15......I like it!.

[Jhon69]

Well it's been over a week now that I'm a new R15 customer thought I would do a review on the R15.Since the R15 is my first DVR this is an unbiased report.
When I first starting using the R15 the guide was slow,but I reformatted the DVR and that eliminated that problem.I really like the 90 minute live buffer it helps me avoid recording stuff I don't want.I really like that this DVR has dual tuners,100 hour recording capacity,picture in the guide,hard drive space remaining meter and a temperature controlled fan which helps to keep it quiet.:)
This DVR has done all I have asked it to in over a week and I am totally satisfied with it's performance.I also love the light show that goes on in the front panel when you give it a command with the remote control.The R15-500 has become a valued addition to my DirecTV service and in viewing the programs on my Premier package.I strongly can recommend this DVR.:)

[dodge boy]

I like mine better since i took it apart and painted the case black......

[Jhon69]

I like mine better since i took it apart and painted the case black......

Sounds interesting.Maybe you can post some pictures?.:)

[Mark20]

I've got to agree, that silver would not have been my first choice.

[Jhon69]

Yea guess they thought silver was the color of the future,but just look at all the rave about the HR20-100(which has the black case).Think they need to go back to black on all of them.So far the HR20-100 and D12-300 have went back.Hope to see more.:)

[morbid_fun]

Sounds interesting.Maybe you can post some pictures?.:)

I would like to see some pictures as well. I have been wanting to make my 15-500 jet black. I am not fond of the silver that most electronics seem to have.

[LameLefty]

I have two R15-500's and like them a great deal in general. What I DON'T like is how slow the GUI is in responding to some commands, like displaying the Playlist and scrolling through the recordings available. My HR20 (and heck, even my 1 old DSR6000 TiVo still in service) is MUCH faster.

[irmolars]

Their gonna fix it all soon. If you believe that I have some swamp land in Florida I would like to sale.

Been hearing that for a year and a half now. Getting really old

[Jhon69]

Their gonna fix it all soon. If you believe that I have some swamp land in Florida I would like to sale.

Been hearing that for a year and a half now. Getting really old



Sorry to hear your having problems,So far after a reformat my R15-500 is still working great.No problems.:)

[raott]

[QUOTE=Jhon69;926920]Since the R15 is my first DVR this is an unbiased report.
QUOTE]


IMO, it being your first DVR, you don't have anything to compare the R15 to, so you won't have an understanding of how its features stack up against others.

Having used other DVR's, ie the R10, the R15 has some great strengths, but also some obvious flaws - ie no Dual Live Buffers, No skip to tick, hard limits on the to-do-list and hard limits on series links among others - basic features that are on just about every other dual tuner DVR out there. The fact that I have to continue to fast forward to get to the middle of a two hour movie is silly.

[Jhon69]

[QUOTE=Jhon69;926920]Since the R15 is my first DVR this is an unbiased report.
QUOTE]


IMO, it being your first DVR, you don't have anything to compare the R15 to, so you won't have an understanding of how its features stack up against others.

Having used other DVR's, ie the R10, the R15 has some great strengths, but also some obvious flaws - ie no Dual Live Buffers, No skip to tick, hard limits on the to-do-list and hard limits on series links among others - basic features that are on just about every other dual tuner DVR out there. The fact that I have to continue to fast forward to get to the middle of a two hour movie is silly.


I would guess you don't know how to set "bookmarks"?.;)

At the weaknees website they do an interesting comparison between the R10&R15.Based on that comparison alone I would pick the R15 over the R10 because I like the extras on the R15 that the R10 doesn't have.My daughter has both and her preference is the R15.;)

[jpl]

[QUOTE=raott;938462]


I would guess you don't know how to set "bookmarks"?.;)

At the weaknees website they do an interesting comparison between the R10&R15.Based on that comparison alone I would pick the R15 over the R10 because I like the extras on the R15 that the R10 doesn't have.My daughter has both and her preference is the R15.;)

Bookmarks are an excellent feature that I just started using... just before leaving DirecTV :) I had both the tivo and the R15, and I too prefer the R15. Yeah, there are limitations, and yeah it's missing some functionality, but I still preferred it. I've posted elsewhere that I think it really comes down to how you watch TV. If you JUST watch recorded stuff off your DVR, well then I think TiVo has the better box. If you like to flip between live tv and recorded content, then the R15 has the nicer functionality (that integration between live TV and the dvr functionality is one really nice feature of the R15).

I also think people oversell the concept that every other DVR on the market has things like dual live buffer. While many do, alot still do not. I switched to FiOS, and I use the motorola multi-room DVR, and it most definitely does not have dual live buffer. It does the job, but if there's anything that I miss with my DirecTV service it's the functionality of the R15. The moto DVR is fast and has none of the goofy limitations of the R15 (e.g. I can set up a dozen series links for the same series if I wanted to), but it's very pared down functionally. The search capability is really limited... there is nothing approximating hash marks in the progress bar, never mind being able to jump to one, bookmarks don't exist, it has some integration between live TV and DVR functionality but not to the same extent that the R15 does. For example, I can hit the guide and scroll through live TV while watching something recorded (video gets minimized), but the trick play doesn't work in that state (can't pause that live TV while the guide is up, like you can on the R15), and if I do something like search, the integration largely goes away - instead of minimizing the picture for that piece of functionality, the search screen gets plastered over the picture - I get sound from TV, but no picture.

Even little things - like the mark and delete, which I loved - I thought that was a very creative feature, or how it handles setting up things like your favorites list. With the R15, you check one of the channels, and the cursor moves down to the next box for you (nice touch) - not so with the moto dvr. Or if you want to jump to channel 600, e.g., while setting up your favorites list - just enter 600 on the R15 while in that screen, and the list automatically jumps to that channel. Again, not so with the moto dvr.

[Upstream]

Jhon -- So how do I do bookmarks?

Let's say I go to a basketball game and record the game on my R15. In the second half of the game, about one hour and 20 minutes after the game started, there is a fantastic dunk that I want to watch again. So after the game, I go home and find the recorded game on my playlist. I hit play, and it starts at the beginning as expected.

I press FF and it advances through the game. There are tickmarks every 15 minutes on the status bar. Ideally I would want to skip to the 5th tick mark (1 hour and 15 minutes into the game) and then fast forward about 5 minutes to the dunk I want to see.

But I don't know how to skip to a tickmark. So instead, I have to fast forward through 80 minutes.

How do I use bookmarks so I don't have to fast forward through 80 minutes of the game?

[raott]

[QUOTE=raott;938462]


I would guess you don't know how to set "bookmarks"?.;)

At the weaknees website they do an interesting comparison between the R10&R15.Based on that comparison alone I would pick the R15 over the R10 because I like the extras on the R15 that the R10 doesn't have.My daughter has both and her preference is the R15.;)


Bookmarks are not the same as skip to tick. Like I said, the R15 has strengths, but it also has some obvious weaknesses and basic missing features (skip to tick, no DLB's, hard limits on to-do and series links) that have been covered ad nauseum on this website.

[morbid_fun]

Jhon -- So how do I do bookmarks?

Let's say I go to a basketball game and record the game on my R15. In the second half of the game, about one hour and 20 minutes after the game started, there is a fantastic dunk that I want to watch again. So after the game, I go home and find the recorded game on my playlist. I hit play, and it starts at the beginning as expected.

I press FF and it advances through the game. There are tickmarks every 15 minutes on the status bar. Ideally I would want to skip to the 5th tick mark (1 hour and 15 minutes into the game) and then fast forward about 5 minutes to the dunk I want to see.

But I don't know how to skip to a tickmark. So instead, I have to fast forward through 80 minutes.

How do I use bookmarks so I don't have to fast forward through 80 minutes of the game?

You can set a bookmark by pausing at the point where you want the bookmark to be, then select the green button. Later, when you play the program, you can skip to the bookmark by holding down the ffwd button, or rewind button if you need to move back.

[Upstream]

morbid -- so to set a bookmark, I first have to fast forward 80 minutes to the point I want to see. then I can set a bookmark. That doesn't do what I asked for. That isn't even close to the skip-to-tick feature which Raott is looking for and which Jhon said was met by the bookmark feature.

[morbid_fun]

morbid -- so to set a bookmark, I first have to fast forward 80 minutes to the point I want to see. then I can set a bookmark. That doesn't do what I asked for. That isn't even close to the skip-to-tick feature which Raott is looking for and which Jhon said was met by the bookmark feature.


[/QUOTE]Jhon -- So how do I do bookmarks?

Let's say I go to a basketball game and record the game on my R15. In the second half of the game, about one hour and 20 minutes after the game started, there is a fantastic dunk that I want to watch again.[/QUOTE]

I was responding to this part of your question. If you see a nice dunk on another game, do the steps and you would not have to worry about forwarding through 80 minutes of programming. I do not know what the skip to tick specifically is that you are referring to, but setting a bookmark does set a tick mark, if you will, that you can jump to. This may be what Jhon is referring to as well. I apologize if this does not answer your question.

[Upstream]

Morbid -- You may notice on the status bar as you fast forward, there are pre-set tick-marks every 15 minutes. But these tick marks serve no function other than decoration. Skip-to-tick would allow you to jump to the next pre-set tickmark.

(Better yet, would be a function that both my DVD player and my old VCR had: move forward a specific amount of time. With this feature, if I want to jump ahead 27 minutes, I tell the machine I want to jump ahead 27 minutes. My DVD player then jumps ahead 27 minutes. (The VCR, obviously had to fast forward the tape by 27 minutes.)


There are many simple features which would make the R15 much better. But at this point, I am happy that the basic DVR record and playback features have mostly stabilized, that I no longer worry about the extra features I'd like to see.

[jpl]

Jhon -- So how do I do bookmarks?

Let's say I go to a basketball game and record the game on my R15. In the second half of the game, about one hour and 20 minutes after the game started, there is a fantastic dunk that I want to watch again.[/QUOTE]

I was responding to this part of your question. If you see a nice dunk on another game, do the steps and you would not have to worry about forwarding through 80 minutes of programming. I do not know what the skip to tick specifically is that you are referring to, but setting a bookmark does set a tick mark, if you will, that you can jump to. This may be what Jhon is referring to as well. I apologize if this does not answer your question.[/QUOTE]

No, the skip to tick is a tivo feature. Play back a show, and you get hash marks every 15 minutes (I think they're every 15) - you see them on the progress bar, and the r15 has them too. But with tivo I can hit the jump forward button, and the playback automatically skips to the next hash mark. So you can jump forward in 15-minute increments with tivo.

[Jhon69]

Basically the idea of bookmarks is a good idea if you are watching a program and recording it.But to be at the game and to be able to set it to a"certain dunk"?.See I missed that part(my bad) is there even a DVR made that would allow you to do that?.Must be one heck of a RF remote control.It would seem to me you would have to FF to find it anyways and then mark it for future use.:rolleyes:

For example: I was at the game and there was this fantastic "dunk".So I set the bookmark on the DVR at home with my new Directv online wrist remote control so I could see it again on my DVR at home.;)

Definately think this a technology that needs to be invented.:D

[morbid_fun]

Basically the idea of bookmarks is a good idea if you are watching a program and recording it.But to be at the game and to be able to set it to a"certain dunk"?.See I missed that part(my bad) is there even a DVR made that would allow you to do that?.Must be one heck of a RF remote control.It would seem to me you would have to FF to find it anyways and then mark it for future use.:rolleyes:

For example: I was at the game and there was this fantastic "dunk".So I set the bookmark on the DVR at home with my new Directv online wrist remote control so I could see it again on my DVR at home.;)

Definately think this a technology that needs to be invented.:D

Thank you for the explanation of the skip to tick. That would be great feature to use. I used to have a R10 and honestly never knew that was available.

[jpl]

Basically the idea of bookmarks is a good idea if you are watching a program and recording it.But to be at the game and to be able to set it to a"certain dunk"?.See I missed that part(my bad) is there even a DVR made that would allow you to do that?.Must be one heck of a RF remote control.It would seem to me you would have to FF to find it anyways and then mark it for future use.:rolleyes:

For example: I was at the game and there was this fantastic "dunk".So I set the bookmark on the DVR at home with my new Directv online wrist remote control so I could see it again on my DVR at home.;)

Definately think this a technology that needs to be invented.:D

Bookmarks, ala the R15, are really nice for certain situations. Say my wife and I are watching a recorded show. I need to go off and do something else before the playback is done. I set the bookmark at that point, and my wife keeps watching. When I go back to watch the rest of the show I can pick it right up from where I left off.

[Upstream]

Basically the idea of bookmarks is a good idea if you are watching a program and recording it.But to be at the game and to be able to set it to a"certain dunk"?.See I missed that part(my bad) is there even a DVR made that would allow you to do that?.Must be one heck of a RF remote control.It would seem to me you would have to FF to find it anyways and then mark it for future use.:rolleyes:

For example: I was at the game and there was this fantastic "dunk".So I set the bookmark on the DVR at home with my new Directv online wrist remote control so I could see it again on my DVR at home.;)

Definately think this a technology that needs to be invented.:D

No. It is really easy. The technology has been around for years (my 15 year old VCR has it, as does my 2 year old DVD recorder).

Here is how it works:

I see the dunk. I look at my special magic wrist device (made by Timex) and see that it is 8:20 pm. I know my TV recording was scheduled to start at 7:00 pm, so I know the dunk occurred 1 hour and 20 minutes after the start of my recording.

I go home. Depending on which machine I used to record the game, I have different options.

With my VCR or DVD recorder, I say I want to skip ahead 1 hour and 20 minutes, and my recording automatically skips ahead and I watch the dunk.

With Tivo, I can use the skip to tick feature, and skip five 15 minute ticks. I then have to manually fast forward 5 minutes to get to the dunk. Not as good as my VCR or DVD recorder, but better than the R15.

With the R15, I have to manually fast forward 80 minutes, watching the progress bar as I slowly advance, hoping my reflexes are fast enough to hit play as the progress bar approaches 1:20.

[TigersFanJJ]

No, the skip to tick is a tivo feature. Play back a show, and you get hash marks every 15 minutes (I think they're every 15) - you see them on the progress bar, and the r15 has them too. But with tivo I can hit the jump forward button, and the playback automatically skips to the next hash mark. So you can jump forward in 15-minute increments with tivo.

My Directivo jumps to the end when I press the jump forward button. :whatdidid