[B.A.T.S]

I have a HR20 install scheduled for 10/31 but now I'm having second thoughts after reading mostly negative USER reviews (ex. C/Net, CCity). The overall user average for this unit is NOT good.

Assuming that all the bugs get worked out - is this a quality piece of equipment worthy of a 2yr. commitment? On a (1 to 10 scale) 10 being the highest how would you rate the HR20??

Just trying to make a well informed decision, thanks in advance!!

 

[thekochs]

I have a HR20 install scheduled for 10/31 but now I'm having second thoughts after reading mostly negative USER reviews (ex. C/Net, CCity). The overall user average for this unit is NOT good.

Assuming that all the bugs get worked out - is this a quality piece of equipment worthy of a 2yr. commitment? On a (1 to 10 scale) 10 being the highest how would you rate the HR20??

Just trying to make a well informed decision, thanks in advance!!

It's a VERY good unit.....lot of good features over the TIVO. Unforutnately, they did release a litte early but D* seems to be releasing firmware upgrades quickly to try to help. I'd say on a 1-10 the box in full operation is a 9 capable....my HR10-250 was about a 7. However, in current operation state the HR20 is about a 5 on average based on current issues. Course I'm winging an answer at your request...I'm sure others will say 0....some 10.

 

[iceman2a]

I have a HR20 install scheduled for 10/31 but now I'm having second thoughts after reading mostly negative USER reviews (ex. C/Net, CCity). The overall user average for this unit is NOT good.

Assuming that all the bugs get worked out - is this a quality piece of equipment worthy of a 2yr. commitment? On a (1 to 10 scale) 10 being the highest how would you rate the HR20??

Just trying to make a well informed decision, thanks in advance!!

Based on the overall performance of the box today, I can neither recomend for or agianst, you going thru with your install!

No, seriously. People have had dif experiances! It is not yet "ready for Prime Time" but it has potential!
My experiance:
about 5 weeks
1 canceled recording
2 deleted recordings
1 freeze during playback
1 system freeze requiring reset!

A lot of people have experienced more problems than this!

If you have HD and you want a DVR, sooner or later you will get this box!

Today it's a 5.5
I expect it to be an 8.5 someday!

 

[ITrot]

I would do it again. I've never had an DVR until recently (no TIVO experiences) b ut overall I would do it again, especially now that I know this forum exists and is monitored by D* engineers. Things are only going to improve.

 

[GNASHER]

I have had the H20 for a month, I am one of the lucky ones, I love it had the HD10 for a year prior this unit is far superior. In evey way. I would still go through with the install, thats if they have them in stock and not going to give you something different till the HR20 are in. Good Luck.

 

[hasan]

I have a HR20 install scheduled for 10/31 but now I'm having second thoughts after reading mostly negative USER reviews (ex. C/Net, CCity). The overall user average for this unit is NOT good.

Assuming that all the bugs get worked out - is this a quality piece of equipment worthy of a 2yr. commitment? On a (1 to 10 scale) 10 being the highest how would you rate the HR20??

Just trying to make a well informed decision, thanks in advance!!

1. If you are getting it because it is "mission critical" and cannot tolerate early adopter problems, then don't do it.

2. If you are getting it knowing there are some issues and you can live with them as they are worked out, take it...I love mine.

3. If you're paying good money (> $99.00) for it...wait.

I've had very few and very minor issues in the 4 weeks I've had mine.

Do you have MPEG-4/HD-Locals in your area? If you do, then the propensity for problems goes up. If you don't, go back to point #2 above.

D* is doing a good job working on the problems and updating frequently. The unit has quite a ways to go if you have MPEG-4/HD Locals in your area.

I don't regret getting mine at all...I am thrilled...but then again, I've had so few problems compared to others (especially those with MPEG-4/HD Locals), that I'm a bit spoiled. I, like you, come from no prior DVR (other than my stand alone Panasonic E80H DVD/HD setup, which is not a sat receiver, just a recorder).

I'm very pleased with the feature set, upgrades and performance to this point.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!

 

[fxguy]

As said before, if it's your only DVR don't do it.

I have a HR10 and 2 other Dtivos. They have worked flawlesly since I got them.
I was able to get 2 free HR20's out of Dtv to replace the old Dtivos.

One was dead on arrival, and the other one is now locking up, (I had to reset it during Lost tonight, the system wouldn't do anything. It was stuck like it was going to the guide screen with the picture in the corner but the guide never up. The remote wouldn't do anything, buttons on the front wouldn't, so I had to reset it after 5 minutes.)

This is all on the second day. I do still have my HR10 so I have that as a backup.
With two malfunctioning units by the 2nd day, unless you have another DVR,don't do it.

 

[NFLnut]

Not.

 

[Twosted]

As said before, if it's your only DVR don't do it.

It is my only DVR and I love it. As far as I am concerned the minor glitches I have had do not overshaddow how good this box is. If it wasn't a good box they would have stock up to the rafters. But they don't, so obviously there are a lot of people that agree. This is a forum, so it is a place to discuss issues. That being said, you will see a lot of more posts from people describing problems than people who do not.

 

[btmoore]

there are a lot of bugs in the code, lockups, things not recording, lost recordings, unplayable recordings, loss of the ability to control the unit, you even have to turn Dolby Digital off in the box in order for it to play the audio in Dolby digital. If you have a HD DVR I would hold off, if you feel you need a HD DVR and you want to stay D* you can get this unit but set your expectations low. My expectations are for a DVR to record, play, ff, rw, pause, not crash or lockup and support scheduling of events to be recorded, it needs to do this right all the time, the HR20 is not able to do this at this point in time. If you are ok with that get one, if not hold off. I say my unit works 95% of the time, but IMO that is not acceptable, a specially consumer electronics DVR needs to work 99.999% of the time in a 5 day sample window. I can not trust that the DVR is going to work or not, 95% of the time it will but I have now rebooted twice in this release, I have had unwatchable recordings, and it stopped responding to the navigation buttons for some reason.

 

[tstarn]

When it works, I'd give it an 8 (could use some added features).

When it doesn't (it's been unreliable, unpredictable and annoying so far for me), it gets a 2 (it still delivers HD PQ, for the most part. But you can get an H20 for that.).

 

[fpd917]

I love the HR20. Yes there are bugs, but just like every other software out there, you always need fixes. I am a die hard Mac/Apple user, and I have updates to correct software mistakes, its just part of it. The HD is great on my Sony TV, and the SD looks much better with this unit than it did with my other D* receiver. I would buy it if I was you

 

[LameLefty]

Mine's working great. Fantastic picture, no recording glitches (even with MPEG4 HD locals), no lost recordings to date. Do I know others have issues? Sure. But I don't and I'm quite happy. I also have my TV hooked up through component only (no HDMI) and optical audio through my Yamaha receiver; I think HDMI causes lots more problems than people realize.

 

[hasan]

Mine's working great. Fantastic picture, no recording glitches (even with MPEG4 HD locals), no lost recordings to date. Do I know others have issues? Sure. But I don't and I'm quite happy. I also have my TV hooked up through component only (no HDMI) and optical audio through my Yamaha receiver; I think HDMI causes lots more problems than people realize.

Another reasonable theory (that and MPEG-4/HD Locals). Even though HDMI works between the HR20 and the TV, there could be subtle incompatibilities causing all sorts of problems not intuitively related to HDMI.

I'm like you LameLefty, very few problems and quite happy (no HD-Locals to worry about though...at least not yet.)

I read a terrible rumor on avsforum local Des Moines section...we're supposed to have HD-Locals before the end of the year. I sure hope OTA beats them to my HR20!
I shudder at the thought of what HD-Local startup problems are going to be like here, based on the experiences of so many on the forums. Maybe I'll be super fortunate like you, one can only hope!

 

[Milominderbinder2]

I have not have one problem. The HR-20 works greats.

Read the Installation Forum nightmares. Look at how many complaints were totally preventable.

Before I had my install, I found every tip I could and compiled the Intallation Tips:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=67769

I followed those tips to the letter and coincidentially had a great install.

Every point is critical but here are some of the most important:

+ Make sure you have them install your 4 new RG-6 2GHz cables (up to 125 feet). Keep the old cables in place as backups. If you have a problem, you can always try the old cables.

+ This unit must be battery backed up with a UPS with very good surge suppression. During the day almost everyone has power dips. In an effort to make the HR-20 smaller and quieter, the HR-20's power supply was reduced. It is not big enough to have reserves for even a small flicker.

+ Hundreds of users have reported problems with HDMI that were solved when they switched to Component Video. No one has had problems with COmponent Video that were solved with HDMI. Avoid HDMI.

+ Dolby has to be manually turned on and needs the Optical Out. People complain that the audio does not work 5.1 when they never turned it on in the first place.

There are many other key things to note, but these are some of the most important to make your install go well. Also note the people most unhappy were not just on the leading edge, they were on the bleeding edge.

The HR-20 is working great for me.

-Craig

 

[brewer4]

Great unit. Mine is working flawlessly. I recommend. Just dont get one of the "bad" boxes.

 

[Marcia_Brady]

I would wait. After much reading here, we too made the decision to take the plunge amidst mixed reviews, and after a couple weeks we're on our 2nd unit and wish we had not.

Unless you have the time to continuously read the forums and keep up with work arounds and other tips, and don't mind missing some of the programming you want recorded, I would hold off until they have all the bugs worked out.

 

[glennb]

A lot of people just come here to whine and pick apart the HR20.

It's worked out great for me.

 

[cawgijoe]

It's worked great for me. I've had no problems with the unit. It's recorded everyhting I've asked it to. Since the last update, the FF and RW work fine. I'm using HDMI with no problem. The PQ is excellent. The MPEG4 locals are fantastic in the Wash DC area. It runs much cooler than my other H20.

I would do it again without question.

 

[mjm76]

Great unit! I would recommend it.

I love mine so far.