HR10-250 Installed on Feb 18 - Can I still Return it?

[gimletmaker]

I searched the forum and all I could find on this was that I could return a unit within 30 days, but only if I bought it from a retailer.

I just had an HR10-250 installed on Feb. 18 along with a new 3LNB dish. Prior to my install, I was an existing customer with no commitment, and now have a 2 year committment. With the performance of this DVR (slow) and PQ, I'm starting to regret my purchase.

Can I still send the box back and get a refund and erase the 2 year committment without any penalty? Do I have to cancel my entire account to do this? What about the new dish they installed?

What I really want to do is send back the HR10-250 and get a refund, then have C* installed, but keep D* until it C* is installed so that I don't have any time without service.

What should I do?

[Guindalf]

So you want to have your cake and eat it, right?

If you return the equipment, there is no commitment or penalty anyway. I don't know what happens about the dish itself. I assume you are trying to be clever with C* meaning ComCrap? If so, it is not a correct abbreviation, but never mind.

If this is what you want to do - and I'm not saying it's the right or wrong thing - then get the ComCrap installed and call D* the same day to cancel. Apart from the cost of shipping and having to pay for services used, I doubt you'll be too much out of pocket.

[gimletmaker]

No, I don't want my cake and eat it too.

However, I do want a DVR that loads its program guide in less time than it takes me walk my dog around the block. Timing a switch of service providers such that there is no interuption in service is not, in my opinion, unreasonable. I also don't think that it is too much to ask to get a refund for a product if I'm not satisfied, if the product is returned within a reasonable amount of time. I called DirecTV after I posted and was told that I can turn in the DVR and be free of the contract, but I won't get any of the upfront cost of the DVR refunded, so yes there appears to be a penalty anyway. Oh, and sorry if I offended with my abbreviation of Comcast, but I was in a hurry.

[Andrew_S]

The guide shouldn't be that slow if you switch to the Tivo style guide.

[Guindalf]

No, I don't want my cake and eat it too.

However, I do want a DVR that loads its program guide in less time than it takes me walk my dog around the block. Timing a switch of service providers such that there is no interuption in service is not, in my opinion, unreasonable. I also don't think that it is too much to ask to get a refund for a product if I'm not satisfied, if the product is returned within a reasonable amount of time. I called DirecTV after I posted and was told that I can turn in the DVR and be free of the contract, but I won't get any of the upfront cost of the DVR refunded, so yes there appears to be a penalty anyway. Oh, and sorry if I offended with my abbreviation of Comcast, but I was in a hurry.

Woah, do I detect some hostility here?

There was no offense intended in my post - or criticism. Please don't read anything into it. Remember that any inflection you put on my words are yours, not mine. Obviously, some people do not understand or "get" sarcasm (I'm a Brit, we invented it!). I'm sorry if you took it any other way than intended.

Anyway....

I'm sorry you're not satisfied with D*. The program guide does NOT take the time of a long walk to populate. Initially, it can take several hours to retrieve the guide when you first set it up, but it is not a problem after that. Usually after a day or so of connection, the guide is fully populated and available (almost) instantly as has been stated.

I do agree that you should be able to get a refund if you're not satisfied with the service. Even cellphone providers have worked that one out finally! I wonder who you spoke to when you called? Was it a regular CSR (when you first call) or did you speak to someone in retention? The latter are empowered to try and keep you as a customer and can be VERY accomodating in comparison to the first line of attack. The regular CSRs are known on this board for being generally uninformed, uneducated and very often, unhelpful. Retention, on the other hand, can be a little more flexible in their offers and have more power to give you stuff like free movie channels, package discounts and more to keep you. Worth a shot.

[gimletmaker]

Woah, do I detect some hostility here?

Yes, you do detect some hostility, but it is not directed towards you. If it seemed that way, I apologize. My anger is with DirecTV. You are correct, it doesn't take *that* long to display and navigate the guide as I described (that was also sarcasm). It does perform poorly however, and that is not arguable. See the thread "Will the HR10-250 EVER get the 6.2 Update ??" (484 replies at last count), whose predominant topic is guide speed and lack of folders), and the petitions to get 6.2, etc. It is also terribly slow just changing channels.

Also, I did speak with a retention CSR (called the ret# directly) and got what sounded like a seasoned CSR. His bottom line, "if you activate it, no refunds". I suppose I ciould press the issue but according to him it a refund is rare. This is ultimately my own fault as I should have done my homework better. I guess i can just live with it until the new HR20 comes out and hope it's better (fat chance), or just wait enough time until my penalty is low enough to get out relatively cheaply.

[Guindalf]

I feel your pain, Gim. I hate contracts that do not allow you any evaluation period. I bought a car once, and when I realized I had been taken (four days later), I tried to return it. I was redirected the the dealer's lawyer. When I spoke to a lawyer, I was told to suck it up and forget it - no recourse at all. I ended up selling the car (took about nine months) at a loss just to get rid. I'll be much more careful in future!!

It's true the HR10 has its problems, but I find they are really not that bad - especially if you read about the other DVRs out there! It's still an emerging technology - not that I'm making excuses for them - but there is little or no excuse to not update the software, apart from giving more reason to switch to the HR20 when it's available. Especially if it's true that it would cost little or nothing to do so.

We can only hope for better treatment in the future. I think I would still be tempted to call retention an see if you can get some freebies out of them if you really are stuck with it for a while. We have an HR10, a Philips 704 (80 Hr SD) and an R15, and for the most part, we're happy with it all. Certainly compared to some of the horror stories I've read on this forum and others!

[Andrew_S]

See the thread "Will the HR10-250 EVER get the 6.2 Update ??" (484 replies at last count), whose predominant topic is guide speed and lack of folders), and the petitions to get 6.2, etc. It is also terribly slow just changing channels.

Were you not aware of that thread prior to purchasing the HR10-250? All receivers that decode digital channels will be slow changing channels. The receiver must buffer enough of the stream so that it can produce a full picture. The DirecTV receivers are not any different than the Comcast digital cable boxes in that regard. It's on the slow side, but with the inclusion of the guide you really should be doing much less channel surfing and more guide surfing. This is a lifestyle change but one you'll quickly get used to.

[convbcuda]

There's no reason why the HR10-250's guide can't be as fast as the guide on my much older UltimateTVs.

That isn't the only time you have to deal with this slow pig. If you have a few season passes, any time you try to set a recording you get to see "Please Wait.... Please Wait" for a nice long time.

On my UltimateTV receivers, you hit record on the guide and 1 or 2 seconds later it's done.

The Tivo guide isn't as nice as the DirecTV guide either. With the DirecTV guide, you can see 7 or 8 channels across 2 hours. With the Tivo guide, you can't have many channels shown across 2 hours.

I sometimes like to surf for what is on right now. Many people do this (see my signature). Most of our recorded shows are ones that we watch together, so if my wife isn't around, I'll watch Live TV like sporting events.

[peterbilt]

While I understand your frustration, you might be in for a rude surprise if you expect the Comcast DVR to be any better. I recently test drove the latest and greatest that Comcast has to offer (Motorola 6412 PIII) and it's...well...not that great.

Of the three that I had, the least annoying problem was the one that would just have a blank screen. The guide and menus worked, but there was no picture or sound, that is until you started playing something that was already recorded. Then you could switch back to live TV and everything would be fine.

If the speed of the guide is a concern, you may not get much relief from Comcast. First, it takes much longer to populate the guide initially than D* does. You're thinking that that's no big deal since you only have to do that once, and you're right. The problem is that you are likely to have to reset your box on a semi-regular basis, causing you to lose all of your guide data each time. Or, if your lucky like me, you'll get a box that just resets itself, no user intervention required. It's loads of fun to be watching some TV on Saturday afternoon and have the box just reboot itself, loosing all the listings and interupting any recording you may have been doing at the moment. This happened to one of the boxes on an almost daily basis. The third box didn't reboot itself, but I had to unplug it regularly to clear error messages, which had the same effect.

The point is: don't assume that Comcast is going to be so great just because you can navigate through the menus a little more quickly (and they don't have folders either). There's lot of discussion on the Comcast DVR's at dslreports and also avsforums. That would be a good place to do some homework.

While the DirecTiVo really set the standard for an SD DVR, admittedly the HD version is a little lacking, but so are all the alternatives. No one has yet to create a really kick-a** HD DVR. Maybe one will emerge within the next year, but as of right now, today, they all have problems. It really becomes a question of which problems bother you most (or least).

[Andrew_S]

There's no reason why the HR10-250's guide can't be as fast as the guide on my much older UltimateTVs.

True, but it's not fast and it's a known problem.

That isn't the only time you have to deal with this slow pig. If you have a few season passes, any time you try to set a recording you get to see "Please Wait.... Please Wait" for a nice long time.

On my UltimateTV receivers, you hit record on the guide and 1 or 2 seconds later it's done.

This isn't guide related, and you're right it's deathly slow.

The Tivo guide isn't as nice as the DirecTV guide either. With the DirecTV guide, you can see 7 or 8 channels across 2 hours. With the Tivo guide, you can't have many channels shown across 2 hours.

To each his own. Although at one point I preferred the DirecTV style guide, I no longer do.

I sometimes like to surf for what is on right now. Many people do this (see my signature). Most of our recorded shows are ones that we watch together, so if my wife isn't around, I'll watch Live TV like sporting events.

If you like to surf, then a digital box isn't really for you. This includes OTA high def broadcasts. They all have a 1 to 2 second pause while they buffer data. You can't get around it.

[convbcuda]

If you like to surf, then a digital box isn't really for you. This includes OTA high def broadcasts. They all have a 1 to 2 second pause while they buffer data. You can't get around it.

Better hardware can get around the problem. My point about the Please Wait is that it also shows that the hardware in this box is lacking.

I'm not a big channel surfer, but when I do, I'd like my very expensive Tivo to be as fast as my much older box.

[tall1]

Better hardware can get around the problem. My point about the Please Wait is that it also shows that the hardware in this box is lacking.

I'm not a big channel surfer, but when I do, I'd like my very expensive Tivo to be as fast as my much older box.I'd like it too but it is a small price to pay for the conflict resolution and dependability that the HDTivo gives me. To follow up on peterbilt's comments, I still have a 6412 Phase II (been over a year) and although it never gave me nearly as many problems as it did for peterbilt, it really didn't offer much more than a fancy VCR from a functionality standpoint. Plus, I was losing shows because the puny HDD was always full and I had 2 6412s! I loved the firewire port and archiving to DVHS but that fun ended when 5C appeared months ago. There are other workarounds for the slow HDTivo guide and folders which I don't mind at all because I can record everything so easily and I never have to worry about HDD space (both HDTivos have 500GB).

[joetoronto]

whenever i have a "problem" like this, i throw money at it and it always goes away.

i'd keep directv AND get comcast. :)

[Skankboy]

I assume you are trying to be clever with C* meaning ComCrap? If so, it is not a correct abbreviation, but never mind.


You are trying to be equally as clever by calling it ComCrap. You have both failed, but you moreso.