[perilous]

This has nothing to do with Tivo vs. NDS, etc; however, based on reading about the HR-20 here for weeks, D*TV really blew it on this one! It is clear to any UNBIASED observer that this box was NOT ready to be released to the general public; the key question is WHY??? To me its all about bad publicity -- this box has been delayed REPEATEDLY, high-end customers are leaving and they had to stop the bleeding, etc., etc.

But to release THIS box and have the public be the beta testers???? Ridiculous!!! I was one of the TIVO community that happily VOLUNTEERED to be a beta tester for the D*TV Tivo DVR's. The key is I VOLUNTEERED to be subject to glitches, bugs, etc. to be on the cutting edge of the new toys. No one is volunteering for this set of headaches, bugs, and INTENTIONAL non-delivery of basic functionality (non-activation of OTA tuners? Are you kidding me????). Ask yourselves, why no private, comprehensive beta testing by REAL users of this box??? Its clear this was RUSHED out there for some stupid corporate "delivery date" to be met.

Bless all of you out there "volunteers" for this charade; Earl, bless you too for putting up with this. I hope in the end, this box will be what we all hoped it would be; but to come out with LESS features (no OTA; no dual buffers, HDMI glitches) than 2-3 year-old technology (HR10) is FRANKLY SAD

SHAME ON YOU D*TV!!!! :nono2:

 

[bonscott87]

No charade here. I've been enjoying recording HD for weeks now with the HR20. I'll happily "beta" test the box so that it's rock solid for years. I still have my Tivo recording anything critical just in case, as should you and anyone else.

 

[Doug Brott]

There have definitely been problems, but since my price was so good (zero) its ok. If I'd spent $1000 on this (ala the HD DirecTivo's), I'd be mad. Now, I'm just frustrated from time-to-time, but I get over it quickly.

 

[bboucher790]

The HR20, like most boxes, have bugs in the initial software version. The key to the box is not having bugs, but how FAST D** fixes them. D** has already issued multiple updates and based on the latest update, I have yet to run into any major problems or freezings. I'm not saying I won't in the future, but I ran a Comca$$! box for 2 years and all it did was freeze and lock up. This was their ONLY choice of HDDVR. The CSR's said they were working on the bugs, however, never got them fixed. EVERY company and EVERY box I've ever used has it's downfalls. The reality is: most people will love the HR20. I have been using TIVO for the last year. Tivo is really well made, however, the H10-250 was a HORRRRRRRRRRIBLLLLLEEEEEE box. I cannot understand why you guys aren't jumping for joy? That box was a ripoff, slow as hell, no folders, favorite drop outs on HD channels, I can go on for a while here guys. It was only recently that they fixed their problems and made it a solid box.

I am not biased in any way. I like Tivo's interface, but I'm not partial to it. In fact, I like the actual interface in the HR20 more (believe it or not). It's straight and to the point. It looks good, without being flashy and it it's extremely easy to see and operate. What's not to love? People just are biased AGAINST d** because of their previous experiences with the company. People complain so much about dual buffers, just f'n record 2 shows! It's not that big a deal. Alright, enough of my ranting, I'l let the Tivo'ers stay in Tivoland, while I'm happy in the real world.

 

[Alvin Nuckleglazer]

Bless all of you out there "volunteers" for this charade; Earl, bless you too for putting up with this. I hope in the end, this box will be what we all hoped it would be; but to come out with LESS features (no OTA; no dual buffers, HDMI glitches) than 2-3 year-old technology (HR10) is FRANKLY SAD

SHAME ON YOU D*TV!!!! :nono2:

wow man its not like this box controls a heart lung bypass machine. its just television and i dont think anyone forced you to get one now did they?

 

[bidger]

This has nothing to do with Tivo vs. NDS, etc;

but to come out with LESS features (no OTA; no dual buffers, HDMI glitches) than 2-3 year-old technology (HR10) is FRANKLY SAD

I thought you said it has nothing do with TiVo vs. NDS?

IIRC, it's not NDS on the HR20 anyway. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, I've had a couple of issues with the HR20, but, as brott says, for a unit that was free, I definitely see promise. It's far faster than the HR10 even at 6.3a, I like the ability to view the Guide in recorded shows, and the Free Space Indicator is something I've been wanting from TiVo for years. Oh, and native resolution, too.

I kept the HR10 for stability and for the fact that I don't mind having 2 HD DVRs, There's only one HD OTA station in my area, so it's not a huge consideration for me.

I just feel we're only beginning to see the potential of the HR20 and D* is launching sats on Friday *fingers crossed*, so I'm looking forward to the future.

 

[Marcia_Brady]

We just got the box, so I've yet to experience any problems (fingers crossed), I DO NOT want to be an HR20 beta tester.. We've used the R15 so the GUI wasn't a surprise, although as far as being intuitive it fails miserably IMHO.

As long as it records consistantly I'll have no complaints. A DVR that is not dependable has no business being on the market as far as I'm concerned, but thus far it's been dependable (less than 24 hours).

 

[Capmeister]

My HR10, during the Michigan/Michigan State game last week, with my livingroom full of people, rebooted itself twice while watching the game, causing lengthy outages where we had to watch ugly cable (non HD) as we waited for it too boot back up. The second time it took forever. I guess it, also, has no business being on the market?

 

[Sport73]

I think it's a bit harsh to consider this a public BETA test at the expense of users. For one thing, most of the people with the HR20 are EARLY ADOPTER personalities, and would gladly sign up for a BETA; DTV hasn't aggressively begun marketing the HR20, so it's a little hard to imagine that there are that many people with one that didn't know what they were getting into.

Furthermore, the box is great. Sure, it has issues, but so does every other device I've ever owned. It's got a lot of features/performance gains over my Tivo H10-250, so I'm happy with it despite its short-term glitches.

Has it all been sunshine and roses? No, I've had an occasional hiccup, but for the most part my 2 HR20's are performing very well. My only 'surprise' thus far is the quality of SOME MPEG4 broadcasts, which has nothing to do with the box.

 

[jgrade]

But to release THIS box and have the public be the beta testers???? Ridiculous!!! I was one of the TIVO community that happily VOLUNTEERED to be a beta tester for the D*TV Tivo DVR's. The key is I VOLUNTEERED to be subject to glitches, bugs, etc. to be on the cutting edge of the new toys. No one is volunteering for this set of headaches, bugs, and INTENTIONAL non-delivery of basic functionality (non-activation of OTA tuners? Are you kidding me????). Ask yourselves, why no private, comprehensive beta testing by REAL users of this box??? Its clear this was RUSHED out there for some stupid corporate "delivery date" to be met.

Since you were a beta tester for TiVo (as I was) you must have had a similar reaction when you found out there were no dual tuners even though it was advertised on the box. No one volunteered to not have dual tuners, yet the product was delivered without it (just like the OTA). Beta testing or not, everyone had to wait many moths for the feature to be activated. I agree this is a very buggy product, but take a deep breath and relax. Have some patience, just like you had with the TiVo, and let D correct the issues.

 

[g4jedi]

The HR20, like most boxes, have bugs in the initial software version. The key to the box is not having bugs, but how FAST D** fixes them. D** has already issued multiple updates and based on the latest update, I have yet to run into any major problems or freezings. I'm not saying I won't in the future, but I ran a Comca$$! box for 2 years and all it did was freeze and lock up. This was their ONLY choice of HDDVR. The CSR's said they were working on the bugs, however, never got them fixed. EVERY company and EVERY box I've ever used has it's downfalls. The reality is: most people will love the HR20. I have been using TIVO for the last year. Tivo is really well made, however, the H10-250 was a HORRRRRRRRRRIBLLLLLEEEEEE box. I cannot understand why you guys aren't jumping for joy? That box was a ripoff, slow as hell, no folders, favorite drop outs on HD channels, I can go on for a while here guys. It was only recently that they fixed their problems and made it a solid box.

I couldn't agree with you more! In fact, the only reason I switched to the new HR20 so soon was because I had completely HAD IT with our HR10-250. I paid over $750 for that POS clunky box a little over a year ago. I had issues since day one. Constant hiccups on live and recorded shows. Then, a week after the warranty expired, it totally started locking up all the time and rebooting itself. The last straw was when it started losing the satellite signal completely (none of the other receivers had a problem). The thing was S L O W too! Change any season pass settings for a show... wait about 5 minutes!

Overall, we are happy with the HR20. We've had good luck with ours. It is FAST and reliable so far (knock on wood). Real dual buffers would be nice, but it's not the end of the world. As far as no OTA... we get all the local HD signals off the dish now....

 

[Ed Campbell]

There have definitely been problems, but since my price was so good (zero) its ok. If I'd spent $1000 on this (ala the HD DirecTivo's), I'd be mad. Now, I'm just frustrated from time-to-time, but I get over it quickly.

Having been one of those who busted his social security check piggy bank for the HR10-250, I'm impressed with how many folks have paid the same non-price for the HR20. Certainly less buggy than, say, Windows ME!

 

[rrbhokies]

I've been enjoying HD Local MPEG-4 recordings for several weeks now, and while there have been issues, it works correctly most of the time, and given that I'm on the bleeding edge of technology and didn't pay anything for the HR20, I'm practically in heaven.

Plus, after only a few weeks of learning the new interface, I must say that I much prefer the HR20 over TIVO (caveat: 30 sec. skip).

 

[Scribo-san]

I think it's a bit harsh to consider this a public BETA test at the expense of users. For one thing, most of the people with the HR20 are EARLY ADOPTER personalities, and would gladly sign up for a BETA; DTV hasn't aggressively begun marketing the HR20, so it's a little hard to imagine that there are that many people with one that didn't know what they were getting into.

Actually, I had no choice at all in my DVR selection. I wanted a 10-250 (based on what I was seeing here), but when I placed my order in late September, I was told my only choice was the HR20. I got to Best Buy TWO DAYS after D* had them pull all their 10-250s off the sales floor and ship them back (and I even offered a bribe to be able to buy their display model).

Yes, I'm an early adopter ... but I prefer the opportuity to choose.

 

[bidger]

Yes, I'm an early adopter ... but I prefer the opportuity to choose.

If you were going after the HR10-250, I'd hardly call you an early adopter.

 

[Twosted]

Yes, I'm an early adopter ... but I prefer the opportuity to choose.

You can still choose. Cable or the other satellite provider. No one is forcing you to use D* services.

 

[upnorth]

Going on a month now with my HR20 and zero problems.
Nearly 75% full of recordings mix of mpeg2 and mpeg4 have deleted many that were already watched and yes that's right zero problems.

Now I will probably be jinxed

 

[Marcia_Brady]

My HR10, during the Michigan/Michigan State game last week, with my livingroom full of people, rebooted itself twice while watching the game, causing lengthy outages where we had to watch ugly cable (non HD) as we waited for it too boot back up. The second time it took forever. I guess it, also, has no business being on the market?

Oh, don't be stupid. We're talking apples and oranges here, a new DVR that some are complaining should've been amply (beta) tested for BUGS before launch.

I don't understand the problem with their voicing that opinion here?

Why do some people take this so personally, and immediately turn it into a Tivo vs D* debate? Get over it for goodness sake.:nono2:

Going on a month now with my HR20 and zero problems.
Nearly 75% full of recordings mix of mpeg2 and mpeg4 have deleted many that were already watched and yes that's right zero problems.

Now I will probably be jinxed

Glad to ehar this, I hope we are in for the same experience with our unit. I'll find out soon enough!

 

[cybrsurfer]

This has nothing to do with Tivo vs. NDS, etc; however, based on reading about the HR-20 here for weeks, D*TV really blew it on this one! It is clear to any UNBIASED observer that this box was NOT ready to be released to the general public; the key question is WHY??? To me its all about bad publicity -- this box has been delayed REPEATEDLY, high-end customers are leaving and they had to stop the bleeding, etc., etc.

But to release THIS box and have the public be the beta testers???? Ridiculous!!! I was one of the TIVO community that happily VOLUNTEERED to be a beta tester for the D*TV Tivo DVR's. The key is I VOLUNTEERED to be subject to glitches, bugs, etc. to be on the cutting edge of the new toys. No one is volunteering for this set of headaches, bugs, and INTENTIONAL non-delivery of basic functionality (non-activation of OTA tuners? Are you kidding me????). Ask yourselves, why no private, comprehensive beta testing by REAL users of this box??? Its clear this was RUSHED out there for some stupid corporate "delivery date" to be met.

Bless all of you out there "volunteers" for this charade; Earl, bless you too for putting up with this. I hope in the end, this box will be what we all hoped it would be; but to come out with LESS features (no OTA; no dual buffers, HDMI glitches) than 2-3 year-old technology (HR10) is FRANKLY SAD

SHAME ON YOU D*TV!!!! :nono2:

I hear your pain, but DirecTV will fix the bugs in the software. I think Tivo had the same headaches with some of the models they released, and eventually fixed the problems.

 

[Howie]

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! No point to this post - just wanted to say that!