Couple of quick Direct TV DVR questions!..?

[Slyster]

OK.. we have DISH TV but we want to move to Direct TV to save money through Qwest etc.. and get better/newer hardware.

1- Do Direct TV units have the 30 second commercial skip button like DISH DVR's?

2- What is the the current model they are giving out? I can see pictures of it but they sure don't give you much tech info.. I need to know the unit model so I can download the manual.

3- Overall is the SD image quality of DirectTV as good as DISH?

 

[bonscott87]

1) The old Tivo based units can be programed to have a 30 second skip. Unsure if the current DVR (R15) has it or not. The new HD DVR (HR20) has a 30 second "slip" which is similar.

2) R15 is the current DVR model. HR20 is the current HD DVR model that will roll out nationwide in about a month or less.

3) Honestly this question is all in the eyes of the beholder. Only you will be able to answer that question as you'll get just as many answers saying DirecTV is better as you'll get saying Dish is better.

 

[Slyster]

Thanks! Downloading the R15 manual now..

BUT... most would agree the image quality is roughly comprable? No glaring difference.

 

[Slyster]

Also.. I assume it has the equivalent of "DISH PASS" where I can tell it to record all shows with the word 'mars' in the title or description..etc..

 

[GoHogsAR]

OK.. we have DISH TV but we want to move to Direct TV to save money through Qwest etc.. and get better/newer hardware.

1- Do Direct TV units have the 30 second commercial skip button like DISH DVR's?

The R15 has a 30-second "fast-forward" button. It's stackable, so if you press it two times it tells you and skips ahead 1 minute, 3 times = 1:30, etc. I've only had DirecTV for two days now so that's all I can answer. I did like the 30-second skip on my Dish receiver better, as well as the timer programming. I am looking for an answer to a question that is driving me crazy right now but will post in a separate thread if I don't find an answer.

 

[noneroy]

The 30 second slip is okay. I use it, the girl doesn't. It's not as nice as the 30 second tivo skip, but I find it better than not having it.

Honestly, the Direct DVR feels a lot like TiVo. Coming from the Motorola 6220 DVR anything feels better, but I kinda like my D* DVR. It does a good job and is pretty slick. There isn't the thumbs up/down thing like with TiVo (copywritten) but it's nice.

As far as picture quality goes, I think D* and E* are probably about the same for SD.

The thing that puts D* way over the top is the Customer Service. I never really liked E* and always felt like I was taking up too much of Charlie's time by calling about something. D* always seems to make things right.

 

[iafirebuff]

Are there any Directv DVR's to avoid?