[Stuart Sweet]

Ed Milbourn's review of the HR20 has been posted at HDTV Magazine's web site. It seems he got a bad HR20 the first time out and although he got a replacement, he's still pretty down on it. He doesn't really "review" the unit, certainly not in the Earl Bonovich sense, but instead uses the space to complain, complain, complain. He goes on to pronounce the HR20 fit for early adopters only.

We in this forum seem to agree that there are still some issues, I for one am a lot more optimistic. I also don't see what Mr. Milbourn gains from such an uninformative and bitter review.

Read for yourself:

http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2006/10/eds_view_the_di.php

 

[nFavor]

As most any HR20 user will tell you, you have to set aside time to learn the UI. Granted it could be intuitive, but once you get past the rather steep learning curve, the unit is pretty easy to use.

 

[Slip Jigs]

The BBC's are "dongles"? I think not. He's just trying to sound high-tech.

 

[stuart628]

I would agree with his overall accessment.

For the amount of time they have spent on this unit, I would have expected a more polished bug free unit (not to mention working OTA compatabilities)

 

[Capmeister]

I've been enjoying my HR20 for the most part, but with video/audio dropouts happening every 10 to 15 minutes, no OTA, problem Closed Captioning, and a weak/glitchy scanning/30second slip utility, I think this is for early adopters too, and I'm happy to be one and help give recommendations to D* on how to fix it, which I'm confident they will.

 

[spunkyvision]

I have never read anything by him other than this and it sounds like has more issues than "learning the ui"

 

[Marty B]

I dunno... Seemed like a fair assessment to me.

 

[hdtvfan0001]

As most any HR20 user will tell you, you have to set aside time to learn the UI. Granted it could be intuitive, but once you get past the rather steep learning curve, the unit is pretty easy to use.

Yeah...my wife's 5-minute "steep learning curve" was really a problem...

She uses it daily with no problems, no reference manual - nothing. Sure is tough to use allright. :sure:

 

[jschuman]

I think the assessment that we customers are being asked to beta test the HR20 is accurate, but only up until the recent software update (0xE3). With this newest software version, I feel that the box is now reliable/bug-free enough to be considered ready for primetime (well, assuming you don't consider OTA-enabled as a "key" feature).

So given his experience - which I presume is prior to 0xE3 - I'd say he's being somewhat fair.

 

[Stuart Sweet]

My point is that there's a difference between a review and a ***** session. If this guy got paid to write that stuff, I would hope that several prominent members of this forum (you know who you are) plan to submit writing samples to HDTV magazine. Part one of the "review" had a little more meat to it, but part two was just a rant, and not even as entertaining as most of those I've read here.

 

[dark0ps]

Having experienced quite a few problems myself, I can identify with the reviewer's frustrations and see how they may have impacted his review. It certainly can't be called comprehensive, but it's not inaccurate. I think the B-Band Converters are a pretty good solution to future-proofing the upcoming signal and I'm not miffed in the slightest that they're external to the box. As for the rest of the problems, they seems pretty indicative of what I've seen experienced in this forum and from what my installer(s) have experienced.

 

[mssturgeon]

My point is that there's a difference between a review and a ***** session. If this guy got paid to write that stuff, I would hope that several prominent members of this forum (you know who you are) plan to submit writing samples to HDTV magazine. Part one of the "review" had a little more meat to it, but part two was just a rant, and not even as entertaining as most of those I've read here.

I'll gladly take any writing samples anyone wants to submit ;-)

Reviews, by nature, are highly subjective. I have not yet looked at the DVR version, but I have tested out their non-DVR MPEG-4 receiver ... it was crap compared to the Samsung (SIR-TS360) that I have been using the past few years. So I am not surprised that Ed had such problems with the HR20.

I'll publish my findings with each as soon as I've given them a fair shake.

- Shane Sturgeon

 

[Earl Bonovich]

Welcome to the Forums Shane...

 

[tstarn]

My point is that there's a difference between a review and a ***** session. If this guy got paid to write that stuff, I would hope that several prominent members of this forum (you know who you are) plan to submit writing samples to HDTV magazine. Part one of the "review" had a little more meat to it, but part two was just a rant, and not even as entertaining as most of those I've read here.

Hey, the guy got two HR20s, and one was DOA and the other works poorly. What was he supposed to do, heap praise on it? Reviewers are supposed to review based on their experience, what else can they do? If he had gotten one of HDTVfan's HR20s, Ed would be singing the HR20's praises, much like the guys at CNET did (read the user reviews for a different perspective).

Anyway, he got the box, tried it, and found it lacking. That's fair. As was his assessment of his experience, plain and simple.

 

[tstarn]

I'll gladly take any writing samples anyone wants to submit ;-)

Reviews, by nature, are highly subjective. I have not yet looked at the DVR version, but I have tested out their non-DVR MPEG-4 receiver ... it was crap compared to the Samsung (SIR-TS360) that I have been using the past few years. So I am not surprised that Ed had such problems with the HR20.

I'll publish my findings with each as soon as I've given them a fair shake.

- Shane Sturgeon

Careful Shane, the HR20 coolaid drinkers around here don't cotton too well to anyone criticizing their beloved box. You'd think someone said something nasty about their mothers. But welcome. Guess you understand my HR20 experience was more in line with Ed's.

 

[bwaldron]

Hey, the guy got two HR20s, and one was DOA and the other works poorly. What was he supposed to do, heap praise on it? Reviewers are supposed to review based on their experience, what else can they do? If he had gotten one of HDTVfan's HR20s, Ed would be singing the HR20's praises, much like the guys at CNET did (read the user reviews for a different perspective).

Anyway, he got the box, tried it, and found it lacking. That's fair. As was his assessment of his experience, plain and simple.

Agreed.

The comment that "consumers should not be asked to be 'beta' testers without their knowledge" rings pretty true.

Glad it looks like the bugs are being shaken out of the HR20, but seemed like a fair article to me.

 

[Stuart Sweet]

I'll gladly take any writing samples anyone wants to submit ;-)

Reviews, by nature, are highly subjective. I have not yet looked at the DVR version, but I have tested out their non-DVR MPEG-4 receiver ... it was crap compared to the Samsung (SIR-TS360) that I have been using the past few years. So I am not surprised that Ed had such problems with the HR20.

I'll publish my findings with each as soon as I've given them a fair shake.

- Shane Sturgeon

I'd be looking forward to a review that fairly showed the good and the bad, in detail. The folks here have done an excellent job of reviewing thus far and the point of view of a professional journalist (and paid gadget freak -- my dream job) would be great.

 

[Marcia_Brady]

I too find the article to be spot-on. Nothing is more frustrating than to buy a brand new piece of technology only to either have it not work at all, or work part of the time.
I've never purchased something new that was this bad.......ever. And trying to get it fixed/replaced is like pulling teeth!

Oy vey.

 

[tstarn]

I'd be looking forward to a review that fairly showed the good and the bad, in detail. The folks here have done an excellent job of reviewing thus far and the point of view of a professional journalist (and paid gadget freak -- my dream job) would be great.

In Ed's case, apparently, the bad far outweighed the good, in detail.

 

[iceman2a]

I'll gladly take any writing samples anyone wants to submit ;-)

Reviews, by nature, are highly subjective. I have not yet looked at the DVR version, but I have tested out their non-DVR MPEG-4 receiver ... it was crap compared to the Samsung (SIR-TS360) that I have been using the past few years. So I am not surprised that Ed had such problems with the HR20.

I'll publish my findings with each as soon as I've given them a fair shake.

- Shane Sturgeon

This is completely opposite than the experiance I had! IMHO the H20 kicked the sh*t out of the Samsung, the only problem I have with it is that the MPEG4 locals s^ck.
So, just like the HR20, people have had differing experiences with H20. Why do some work better/differently than others?

That's why there is such diversity of opinion here!!