DirecTV HD TiVo

[grunger75]

Does anyone have any ideas regarding DirecTV, and their lack of intelligence in dropping TiVo receivers?
DirecTV's HD DVR receiver is a far cry from the flawless performance I have experienced in my TiVo unit, but I'm missing out on HD action.
I LOVE DirecTV, and my TiVo, but will not part ways with my TiVo for DirecTV's HD/DVR for ANYTHING.
Have acquaintences with DirecTV's version of the DVR, and it's shakey to say the least. Picture freeze, unable to delete DirecTV recommended recordings, etc. That's nothing compared to the HD DVR my B-I-L just got (and got rid of). One unit (yes he went through 2 units...) burned out 30 minutes after the installer left his house. Leaving him with no sound on any channels but local HD channels. They sent him unit #2 the following day, and unit #2 would re-boot itself every 5 minutes with the message of "acquiring program guide, please stand by". Then it would work for about 2 minutes and (poof) "acquiring program guide, please stand by". Over and over again.
He has since gone back to DVR from DirecTV sans HD, effectively eliminating the purpose of his new 42" plasma tv...
Any suggestions??

[WK-Michael]

Many of our customers are moving to cable for just this reason.

Also, there's certainly hope out there that DirecTV might re-engage with TiVo again now that Murdoch (who owns a controlling interest in the company that engineers DirecTV's current DVRs) is getting out of DirecTV.

[grunger75]

My bro-in-law got a new HD DVR, and a TiVo DVR (nonHD) from DirecTV last week.
He plugged the HD DVR in and it has worked successfully since 2-28...

[grunger75]

Seems as if DirecTV has given in and redeployed TiVo, unless it was a "reconditioned" model...

[WK-Michael]

We've been seeing reports of this in other places also, but only in SD.

[MitchPACA]

I got the Direct HDDVR last month (after waiting 3 months for it to be available). I Had a TIVO HDDVR from DirectTV but could not receive the local channels in HD on it (MPEG3 Versus MPEG4...). Anyway, their solution was to sell me a new box instead of fixing the TIVO so it would work with local channels.
Bottom line is, if you are a long time TIVO user like our family the DirectTV HDDVR interface blows:mad:. Fast forwarding is painfull. No easy way to get to the beginning of the show after commercials. No easy way to get to your ToDo list. Many controls are counter-intuitive or unmarked buttons on the remote. No easy way to delete a program in your recorded list. The interface has some clever innovation and the unit definitely "thinks" faster than a TIVO box, but overall it is painfull to work with and frustrating. I will live with it because the HD picture is worth the pain but I hope DirectTV gets a clue and brings bact the TIVO interface. I would consider cable but COMCAST is one of the worst companies I've ever dealt with and refuse to go back.

[WK-Michael]

We hear this from a lot of people. A lot of customers in your situation do, in fact, move to cable. It's true that customer service at cable companies is often spotty, but the TiVo Series3 (http://www.weaknees.com/3) is a pretty amazing machine.

[grunger75]

Count me out of cable. Cable in WI is taking one in the shorts soon. Between Dish network, and DirecTV. Cable (digital cable) is as expensive as Directv with only 2 HBO's.
HDDVR is horrible, but I am anticipating a TiVo return to DirecTV soon. They won't be able to afford their customers leaving when the next generation of widescreen tv's becomes available less expensively.

[WK-Michael]

I wouldn't hold your breath on the return of TiVo to DTV. DTV is really putting a lot of effort behind the HR20, and as many problems as the unit has, that's where they see their future.

[grunger75]

Well here it is, MAY, and my bro-in-laws DVR is still holding up..
Cross fingers...:)

[WK-Michael]

If it fails, we likely have something for it.

[grunger75]

No issues since original post date. NFL football season much better in HD, and DVR has worked flawlessly since initial issues he'd had.
:D

[WK-Michael]

Excellent. You can't argue with success.

[levytv]

they switched to the company nds because rupert owns them. they make the little access cards and they make bad receivers. but no license fee to tivo.

[WK-Michael]

Right - but now that Rupert doesn't own a big portion of DirecTV anymore, there's a chance things will change:

http://www.wkblog.com/2008/03/tivo_and_directv_the_cleaner_c.html

[Errol]

Have my HR 20 for about 3 months from Direct TV. They installed it a new dish, cables and a Multi Switch. Total cost $137. (correct $137.) My 2nd HR 20 will arrive this Tuesday. I do prefer the menu on TIVO and being able to see the time on the screen.

[Errol]

Not to happy now that I see PPV will only be kept for 24 Hours on a DVR Will it be the same for TIVO?

[WK-Michael]

We can only assume so. It's not so much the hardware at issue as the agreements with the content copyright owners.