Just to amuse myself, I went and pulled a box out of my van, that has an HR21NC-200 in it. It's marked on the box and in the owners manual that comes with it, that it records 200 hours of Standard Def programming or 50 hours of HD programming.
If a residential technician is doing your install, which is what 99.9% of us are, this is what he will have with him. Or possibly an HR20 if it's a refurb. I don't know what the capacity on the HR23 is, but even if it was higher, our warehouses won't issue them until the current stock is depleted. First in, First out.
Understand, like someone else said, when you call up D*, the first CSR you talk to is reading down a script. They may or may not know the in's and outs of every single nook and cranny of each piece of equipment. They're simply following their script of what-to-do for each call. You can request a different model reciever all you want, til you're blue in the face, but until that tech actually shows up there is NO GUARANTEE of what you will get. Plain and simple. You MAY get lucky and that tech has an HR23 or HR21, whatever with him that day. He may not.
I understand you feel like you were lied to, I really do. Even if the CSR was misinformed on something I can see how that would make you feel misled. But don't blame them entirely. Some of them simply don't know any better, ESPECIALLY someone new or someone being trained. On that note, you're not entitled to anything, be it an add-on hard-drive or w/e just because someone was misinformed. It happens, that's life. That's somebody wanting something for nothing and it's one of the things that pisses me off more than anything with customers.
"Oh I didn't know there was a charge for wall-fishing, I still want you to do it but I'm not going to pay for it..." I will turn around and walk out the door. Had that happen a few times.
Or someone wants a polemount because it would "look better behind this bush, where I can't see it 100ft from the house, but I'm not paying for it" when it would be easier and faster and more efficient to mount it on the roof, a wall, a deckpost, w/e.
They see/hear/read "FREE INSTALL" and they get this idea that the tech is at their mercy to do exactly what they want, whatever they want, at no extra cost to them.