Replacing hr22 with hr34??

It's a good option because you'd know what you get. You can get an HR24 from a reseller, but if it every develops issues, there's no guarantee what you'd end up with for a free replacement.

The HR34 requires SWM, so you'd need to upgrade whether you wanted to or not.

I have the HR24 and HR34. So far the HR34 has been a major disappointment. It is very unstable so far. I know D* will fix it eventually, but it is pretty shaky right now.

I have had my HR 34 over a month now and love it. Maybe I am not a power user like some but I have over 300 shows recorded and deleted. I had one occasion where I had to reboot, one instance when it lost connection to the HR 24 and one case of bad guide data where it missed a recording. I don't think that is bad for a new state of the art receiver. Hardly what I would call a doorstop! I don't think DirecTV is forcing any one to get one, so if you feel it is unreliable, send it back. I think you have 30 days to return any receiver.