[bluesman40220]

I'm not trying to be funny or sarcastic. I am honestly considering the upgrade to the DVR and need to know if it is worth it or not. I called and was offered the HR20 for $99. Sounds like a good deal, but after reading all the problems everyone has had I am starting to get second thoughts.

I understand the OTA is working now. I live in Louisville, KY and the local HD channels have not been activated yet. So this would be an important part of my decision.

I could probably do without the DVR, but my wife really wants one. We bought our first HD television about 15 months ago and she loves it. I thought that she would be unaccepting of the new technology, but she has proved me wrong. I have upgraded our surround sound system as well and she took to that too. Will the DVR put her over the edge? Thanks for any input here.

 

[houskamp]

I am happy with it.. it does what I ask it to...needs some cleanup in areas but has worked fine for me

 

[mgcsooner]

I'm not trying to be funny or sarcastic. I am honestly considering the upgrade to the DVR and need to know if it is worth it or not. I called and was offered the HR20 for $99. Sounds like a good deal, but after reading all the problems everyone has had I am starting to get second thoughts.

I understand the OTA is working now. I live in Louisville, KY and the local HD channels have not been activated yet. So this would be an important part of my decision.

I could probably do without the DVR, but my wife really wants one. We bought our first HD television about 15 months ago and she loves it. I thought that she would be unaccepting of the new technology, but she has proved me wrong. I have upgraded our surround sound system as well and she took to that too. Will the DVR put her over the edge? Thanks for any input here.

Yes, absolutely. You will however get a mixed review here as some people have had a lot of problems, while most have had a few as some claim not a single problem in months. Because this will be D* flagship DVR, you can count on it doing everything it should. Very likely it is the most successful initial HD DVR in any market. Even so, we delight as it not only gets better, but knocks off bugs one by one.

 

[Capmeister]

Other than the closed captioning being imperfect, I'm happy. Once they fix closed captioning, I'll be thrilled.

 

[baimo]

needs work but its great. dtv is constantly upgrading the box which is kind of fun to see if your that kind of person

 

[say-what]

I'm happy.... can't say I've had any more - or serious - problems than I've had with my H20, and that's not much.....

 

[eatswodo]

I'm pleased with mine. After all the hassles I had getting it installed (9 cancelled appointments!) it's performed very well. Bugs I've seen:

1) negative times on recordings - once
2) BSB - twice since 0x10b. Mine was the 'black screen but still responsive to the remote' variant, so I've never had to do a RBR.

I was a long-time TiVo user (back from Series 1 14hr version days) and still have a DVR40 upstairs in the bedroom. There are things I like about the TiVo interface over the HR20, and vice versa - none is enough to make me curse one or the other. The only things I'd really like are:

1) some further assurances that bugs I may eventually run into are being addressed. So far, I'm pretty confident that this is the case)
2) official support for external storage. I'm recording a lot more HD content than I expected to, and have to shuffle things around more than I'd like.

Now OTA is here, I appreciate it even more - with heavy snow this afternoon, the dish was out of action for a while, but I was still able to watch the Vikings game via the antenna. Yes, I know that an HR10 would have given me the same ability, but I don't have one of those.

Quite *why* I watched the Vikings game is another matter, entirely unrelated to the equipment being used

 

[trgonz]

I am happy...

I have had mine for 2 weeks and so far smooth sailing. No shows lost. Everything I asked it to record I, it did.

I will admit I am not all that picky. I just wanted a DVR that worked. And it does.

There is always room for improvement and any product, I downloaded 0x10b on the first night it was available (Santa night).

The only "bug" I have encountered so far is "pinky", and it is the only one I have looked for.

I have used a Tivo, and find this interface just as easy, and having the same look and feel as the other HD D* units (2x H20) is a plus for my household.

 

[Knon2000]

Our family is very happy with them. Our youngest, a 5 yr girl, is thoughly versed on it already, and is very confortable finding her shows on it now. It passed the ease of use test after showing them how to use it a few times. The kids were used to the tivo interface, but now, the actually preffer the HR20's due to the ease of setting up season passes, but they do not like the time it takes to change channels (5 to 6 seconds)
Simple answer, I highly recommend.

 

[Tyrod]

I like mine. It's not the rock solid performer as my TIVO DVR40, but it pretty much does what it's supposed to do. Most of the time. Kinda.

 

[Doug Brott]

I'm very happy with mine. I have two of these things and can record pretty much everything that I want to watch in High Def ..

 

[Tom Robertson]

I will be happy with the HR20. I've had several stability problems, missed recordings, and lockups. While they seem to be mostly gone, I'm still very gun shy after two week long trips had lockups on the first day, missing all the recordings those weeks.

My standing suggestion is to be aware you might have problems, call Directv until you get the offer you just can't pass up, and keep whatever system you are using today as a backup. Especially if you don't want to face spouse or kids should something they want get missed...

You might be lucky and have an environment that is stable right away.

So there it is in a nutshell. Yours is to decide how to manage the risk you might be facing. Someday, perhaps immediately, you will like the HR20. DVRs are fantastic and the HR20 has some nice features.

Either way, have a very Happy New Year,
Tom

 

[Cyrus]

I have been very happy with hr20 so far.

 

[shaun-ohio]

i am well pleased with the hr20, i have had mine since they came out

 

[bidger]

I enjoy my HR20 and have had very few issues.

 

[wyatt9696]

i'm relatively(93%) happy with mine. there are definitely a few bugs crawling around still, but all in all, it does what i ask it to do. i really can't complain, i paid nothing for it. it's worth it even though it messes up every now and then. i'm going to network it this week, we'll see how that goes. good luck.

 

[qlanus]

Yep, happiness abounds here. I even have two - so I'm twice as happy!

 

[bidger]

i'm going to network it this week, we'll see how that goes. good luck.

Just networked mine, worked fine. Didn't even have to restart the HR20. Did the slide show, have to add Music later.

 

[S. DiThomas]

bluesman:

I was happy until 0x10b.
Since then the random black screens of death and failures to boot have taken my happiness from 90% to 50%. Happy with one box, disappointed with the other. If it happens a third time to me I will be calling D* and seeking my black replacement. If that does not work I can tell you I will be returning both boxes to them and seeking a different provider for HD DVRs.

Compare others hardware with yours. If you have a known configuration problem - some DVI, some HDMI (search for your TV and see what you find here) avoid the box like the plague for at least a few more months if you can.

Put it on a UPS or good power filtration system.
Be sure your dish has a powered muti-switch.
Pray the next update fixes the BSOD issues.

That is all you can do should you chose to jump. :uglyhamme

 

[btmoore]

Happy I can do some time shifting of HD content.

Unhappy about the quality of the HR20.

IMO the box has issues, if you are ok dealing with issues and you need a way to time shift, the HR20 is sort of a DVR. That means I can't trust it to work to record what I tell it to.95- 98% of the time it will work, but it may lock up on you are just not successfully record a program. If you are ok with that, go for it.