I actually just upgraded from the HR54 to the HS17 (Genie 2) and actually am glad I did. Aside from the loss of the ablity to use my HR24 (I plan on using it in an RV) It actually works better than my HR54. Things seem to run alot better. Everything just works including VOD. Alot of times I had to wait 24 to 48 hours and I would get that the on demand content wasnt avaliable. Not with the genie 2. I was able to get to VOD content from the getgo including downloading the Lego Batman movie that I own. I also can now record every Simpsons episode ever and still have room for more content with my hard drive only half way full.
My wishlist is that they would get to working on a release a USB OTA Dongle sooner than later. I tried to plug in my AM21 and the genie ignores it. So I can confirm that It doesnt work. I knew full well going in that I would be loosing this capablity but it really wasnt that big of a deal as I have OTA to all of my TV"s. IT was just a matter of convienence to have it integrated into the DTV guide.
I also wish you could have separate recording lists for each room if desired, or have the ablility to show only certin programs at certin locations. The whole reason why I had a separate DVR in the master is so I could have adult content on it and not have the kids or guests in my home see it. This would be a welcomed feature.
My 3rd request would be the ablity to add an HR24 to an account if desired. There are technical setups where having an HR24 would work. IE: DSWM 30. Playlist sharing was not an issue with the HR54 so I dont get why it would be an issue with an HS17. I also dont share the playlist on the HR24 so it's not that big of a deal to me. For me the use would be the ablity to have it for an RV, but it seems like DirecTV wants you to put it on a separate account if you want to do that. No one has really said why they are doing this, and it's really irritating that you cant add it. I'm hoping this policy changes sooner than later as it's absolutly hurts the company more than it helps. I can also see CSR's getting confused with having two separate accounts at the same address. This policy really needs to change and I would have no problem with them limiting it to one additional legacy box per account. That would solve 99 percent of the conflicts out there.
If they could address these three issues, the HS17 is a really solid box. It works well and I have had no issues with it. All of my wireless clients work great. I have 8 client's connected. 2 wireless 2 RVU and 4 hard wired box's including a C61K.