Is the HR20-700s that bad??? Please answer!!

[sirius_minded]

I just purchased the HR20-700s at Best Buy and now after reading about all the problems people are having I am scared to have it installed. Should I be??? I record a lot of programs and having them erased is not an option, so should I roll the dice and have it installed. The manufacture date of the unit is 12/13/2006 so it is not even a month old are the new ones any better?

 

[bonscott87]

I've had mine since early Sept with very little in the way of problems. Obviously others have.

I plan to replace at least 1 of my 2 Directivo's this year with another HR20.

 

[grydlok]

HUH?

 

[rad]

Is it perfect, nope, but it's OK. Let's put it this way, the wife isn't yelling at me about the HR20's, can't say the same thing for the R15.

 

[pro96]

I own 3 so far, and these babies are the best thing I purchased in 2006 besides the Wii..

Zero problems, just kick a$$ HDTV watching. :

 

[Jimbo]

The manufacture date of the unit is 12/13/2006 so it is not even a month old are the new ones any better?

New ones ? They are all new, 4 months old at most.
If your wondering .... every one gets all the updates, they are downloaded automatically and usually the updates improve things.

I have had a few minor problems in 4 months, no big deal.

If you record things that you cannot do without, why not invest in a recorder so you can put them to DVD... I think you are reading the percentage of people that are having trouble and they are continuing to express thier displeasure, some will complain regardless with ANYTHING regardless .... Take everything with a grain of salt.
Of course there are plenty of negative things being said, IF you are happy, why would you chime in, unless asked ?

These same people say the DISH 622 is the awesome and lightyears better than the HR20-700 or that the HR10-250 is so much better.

Now , if you move over to the DISH forum you will see huge threads with trouble with the 622 and it's a year older than the D* version.

For those that love the HR10-250, it extremely slow, has a poor OTA tuner... and a software program that is old (Tivo) but there are people that are hooked on it and find the HR20-700 poor, just because some of the features are different... Many of those features are TIVO patent protected, therefore, unless you want to deal with a lawsuit, you are required to change.

Jimbo

 

[texasbrit]

I'm one of the lucky ones who has had virtually no problems with the HR20. Obviously the majority of the people who have posted in these and other forums are ones with problems, people without issues usually don't post.
The HR20 was released without being tested properly, I am sure sales and marketing at DirecTV put forward a very strong commercial case for taking the risk. I think the product is starting to stabilize although there still seem to be many problems for some people. At least it seems that most of the problems are software-related which means they can be fixed by a download.

I also have an HR10-250, the DirecTiVo. That had some real issues at the beginning but is now very reliable, except for the latest season pass issues which appear to be guide-related, but we'll see. The problem with the HR10 is that it cannot receive any signals from the 99 and 103 satellite positions, and that is where all the new HD is going. Even the existing HD channels will probably migrate from their current satellites to the 99 and 103 slots during 2008, so the HR10 will then only receive SD channels and digital OTA channels.

Going to Dish, digital cable or FIOS (where available) are obviously options but that will be your personal choice. My cable company is still delivering mainly analog signals which are very poor in my area. Their DVR is OK but has some reliability issues also. I have had too many bad experiences with Dish to want to go there again. I don't know about the 622 but all my dish receivers were unreliable for one reason or another.
FIOS from Verizon would be the only other service I would consider. PQ is excellent, and their DVR has some good features although has its own issues. A friend of mine works for Verizon and I have been very impressed with his service. Of course most people can't get FIOS so it's not a choice for them.

When the installers put up your 5-lnb dish it is critical that it is aligned correctly, also that the installer uses the "monopoles" to stabilize the dish particularly if the dish is on the roof. And if you need a multiswitch (more than eight outputs) make sure they install the Zinwell WB68 not any other one.

 

[Seabow]

Your polll is confusing. You title is "Is the HR20 that bad?" but the poll question is "Do you like the HR20" Initially, when I saw your poll results, I thought most people didn't like their HR20. You should change the title of your post.

Anyway, I answered 'Yes' I've only had a couple of bad recordings (in the 4 months I've been using it) And everyone once in awhile, I've had to do the RBR. But overall, I am very satisfied with the product. HD rocks and the ability to record HD is just awesome. I'll put up with the minor bugs, because I can never go back to SD.

 

[sirius_minded]

Thanks for the responses I am going to try my luck with this unit as it seems like the firmware updates have fixed most issues. The only bad thing now is that DirecTv has no install appointments for at least 2-3 weeks which sucks.

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks for the responses I am going to try my luck with this unit as it seems like the firmware updates have fixed most issues. The only bad thing now is that DirecTv has no install appointments for at least 2-3 weeks which sucks.

Call D* back and have them get your local installers on the line and tell them if they have any cancellations to give you a call, in advance would be nice of course.

Jimbo

 

[Satmeister]

I've had 2 HR20's since they came out in my area...over 4 months....no problems whatsoever. While some folks have had some issues (I suspect mostly due to localized equipment, configuration, HDMI cabling, or other issues for the most part), most folks have enjoyed the new HR20 HD DVR with little or no problems.

There are still some firmware issues that need to be resolved, but they have not effected the main HR20 install base. Nonetheless, this unit is about 120 days old, and going through some normal growing pains. Despite all this, demand is extremely high, and I'll bet the majority of any remaining problems are nominal by Easter or sooner.

 

[PowerMax]

So far it looks to be 1:5 shot that that you will get a bad/troubled unit. I hated mine so much I sent it back. But 80% are loving it. Weird. Hopefully it is not that same 80% that do not know they need an HD provider with an HDTV!:devil: JK!

The technologies represented in the HR20 are truly awesome when you look at the Viiv and whatnot, so if your able to watch your recordings (80% say yes) it looks like D* may almost be to gold code in just 4 months, pretty good. I know this thing will be stabilized by the start of the next football season, and I look forward to getting a new unit.

 

[sirius_minded]

Call D* back and have them get your local installers on the line and tell them if they have any cancellations to give you a call, in advance would be nice of course.

Jimbo

Thanks I will try that and report back on what they say. I was crying this weekend looking at the HR20 box and then at my TV with the football games not in HD.

 

[RIRWIN1983]

Thanks for the responses I am going to try my luck with this unit as it seems like the firmware updates have fixed most issues. The only bad thing now is that DirecTv has no install appointments for at least 2-3 weeks which sucks.

ask to speak to retention, and see if you can get it setup for them to reimburse you for the hr20 if you purchase it at like a best buy or circuit city, its possable, i was offered the hr20 for 49.00 (after 250 rebate) but they couldent get it installed till the 1 of the yr, i needed it befoe that for family comming in round xmas, and they notated my act as such, and i was able to get one at circut city and they issued the credit no prob, but of course i allready have the at-9 dish. just depends if you need the dish or not and if you have the funds to buy it this way, you get the money back or aka free month or 2 of service depending on your packages and stuff.

 

[sirius_minded]

ask to speak to retention, and see if you can get it setup for them to reimburse you for the hr20 if you purchase it at like a best buy or circuit city, its possable, i was offered the hr20 for 49.00 (after 250 rebate) but they couldent get it installed till the 1 of the yr, i needed it befoe that for family comming in round xmas, and they notated my act as such, and i was able to get one at circut city and they issued the credit no prob, but of course i allready have the at-9 dish. just depends if you need the dish or not and if you have the funds to buy it this way, you get the money back or aka free month or 2 of service depending on your packages and stuff.

Well I already bought the box at Best Buy and I do need a new dish installed as mine is only a dual LNB.

 

[tech007]

Anybody having problems with units from Circuit City/Cosco/Best Buy?

 

[tech007]

Can anybody clarify exactly is Directv Leasing or Selling those HR20 units? Very confusing because customers get absolutely mad when asked to sign a lease agreement yet DTV is supposedly leasing all new receivers. If its a lease what are the exact terms?

 

[Satmeister]

So far it looks to be 1:5 shot that that you will get a bad/troubled unit. I hated mine so much I sent it back. But 80% are loving it.

Actually the problem units/customers make up a much smaller % of the customer base. That said, the squeaky-wheel syndrome is reflected in problem posts on various message boards. I've seen one poster alone who has over 100 posts saying virtually the same thing over and over on his problem, yet after 3 months of these posts, he still says the same thing as back in the beginning, apparently still is using his HR20, and must just like having an audience who responds to his whines.

There's no doubt that there are some folks who have HR20 issues, and while I am not one, I empathise that they should get things resolved. That said, I also know for a fact (from 3 people I've helped get past their problems directly) that some of these problems are due to self-inflicted problems, poor hardware setups, and questionable cabling and power sources. After that, there are less than 1% of the install base with legitimate hardware/firmware issues. If you want to break that part down further, some of the firmware issues are due to local HD transmissions which they do not control, but get magnified in the MPEG4 world by the HR20.

The fact that so few people have responded to (yet another) poll on this topic validates that the general sentiment for those with issues are (and should be) interested in getting things corrected as opposed to repeatedly complaining. Whining solves nothing. Even therapists hate whiners. I commend those folks.

My guess is that between the 119 release coming down this week, along with the next one in the hopper soon, the attention will soon turn to "new feature requests' as opposed to redundant posts on problems.

It will be great to have everyone enjoying the HR20 like those of us who already have this opportunity today. We hope for the best as soon as possible for those remaining cases of "issues".

 

[Jimbo]

Can anybody clarify exactly is Directv Leasing or Selling those HR20 units? Very confusing because customers get absolutely mad when asked to sign a lease agreement yet DTV is supposedly leasing all new receivers. If its a lease what are the exact terms?

Tech,
You are definatly buying a LEASED unit, I doubt that D* will ever SELL a receiver again. It's to thier benifit to lease them, look at all the money they make by selling you a product that the customer doesn't own ....

Youn can probably find the terms and agreements on the D* website somewhere

Jimbo

 

[kds64]

they are so 2006
i hope they come out with a multi-media directv
like pay your bill on the receiver, play games , watch movies online, order movies
online, change your account on the receiver, talk to, or chat with customer service(online)