Who do I listen to?

[destarr]

I was totally on my way to get a "new" tivo receiver, when I got to talking with the Tech that installed my dishes today. He said that the new R15 is much faster than the R10 and the slugishness will definitely make me want the new non-tivo R15. He is correct that a slow response time from pressing FF to actually getting a response will drive me nuts, but I have one small problem. My friend has an R15 and I cannot stand how sluggish it is, the tech swears that my friend must have a defective unit (something great to say about the quality of the player, huh :p )

What should I do, If I go with the R15 I get it for free but will have to sign up for a 2 year contract instead of the 1 year I'm on. If I go with the R10 (or other Directivo unit ) apparently I will have to install it all myself as well as pay the cost of the unit and a new card (apparently the one in my brand new unit cannot be transfered over.

[destarr]

Oh Yeah, forgot to add- Which one of the Direct Tivo units should I be looking to get. I loved my Motorola DVR from Mediacom, and would love to have something similar. I constantly use the Swap feature, and I love the fact that when you're in the menu you can still see the TV in the upper corner.

[litzdog911]

Welcome to TivoCommunity!

If you really "love the fact that when you're in the menu you can still the TV in the upper corner", then you'll want to get the non-Tivo R15 DVR or HR20 HD DVR. None of the Tivo-based DVRs provide that feature.

Otherwise, any of the modern Series 2-based DirecTV/Tivos all have the same features. The R10 is harder to modify, though, if that's something you're in to.

[Want1394]

So, let's see what info you have. A tech that says the R15 is "faster" but you have seen it to be slow. You have to install an R10 yourself. Ok that's connecting the cables to the rear of the unit and doing guided setup. DirecTv is happy to move an active card to another receiver or a deactivated card that is on your account to active status in a new reciever, so more bad info you got. Any new receiver you activate causes a 2-year contract, but only if you don't return the offending equipment to them if you cancel early. BTW, only the R10 can be upgraded with a 250GB, 400GB, whatever, drive - not an R15. Any of the series 2 DirecTiVo's are pretty much the same, except what was said above about hacking on the R10.

Go with whichever you prefer.

[or270]

My Tivo's have a quicker response than the R15's I have.

Have the R15 installed for free and try it out, you can send it back if you do not like it and then you would already have the cables in place for an R10 or other DirecTivo.

[bonscott87]

If you plan to stay with DirecTV (in other words a commitment just doesn't matter) then give it a try if you'd like. Send it back if you don't like it. The R15 certainly has more issues then the HR20 has as it hasn't had as much development done on it but that's starting to change to hopefully it will pick up some of the HR20 stuff that would really make it better.

In either case, the DirecTivo's are more then capable receivers and the R15 really doesn't gain you much over them so if you're happy with an R10 then I'd say keep it.

[wolflord11]

My R15 is the fastest of my DVR's.

It beats my SA Tivo, and DSR6000.

If only it had the Tivo interface.

Try the R15, if you do not like it, send it back.

As for Directv/Tivo units, any Series 2 unit would be fine.

[snickerrrrs]

I was totally on my way to get a "new" tivo receiver, when I got to talking with the Tech that installed my dishes today. He said that the new R15 is much faster than the R10 and the slugishness will definitely make me want the new non-tivo R15. He is correct that a slow response time from pressing FF to actually getting a response will drive me nuts, but I have one small problem. My friend has an R15 and I cannot stand how sluggish it is, the tech swears that my friend must have a defective unit (something great to say about the quality of the player, huh :p )

What should I do, If I go with the R15 I get it for free but will have to sign up for a 2 year contract instead of the 1 year I'm on. If I go with the R10 (or other Directivo unit ) apparently I will have to install it all myself as well as pay the cost of the unit and a new card (apparently the one in my brand new unit cannot be transfered over.

Go to http://forums.directv.com and read about all the problems R15 users are having before you make your decision. The R15 has been a total nightmare for many users. You might try your local walmarts to see if you can find a R10 Directivo first, I've seen them for $98.

PS: Make sure it says Directv dvr with Tivo on the box.

[DougF]

I don't have an R10 unit, but I used one a couple of times while visiting my sister. There was nothing slow or sluggish about it, IMO.

While on the phone with a DTV rep the other day, she told me that people who have had TiVo and then switch to their DVR *HATE* it. Those who start with their DVR have no problem with it.

[bearymore]

I was totally on my way to get a "new" tivo receiver, when I got to talking with the Tech that installed my dishes today. He said that the new R15 is much faster than the R10 and the slugishness will definitely make me want the new non-tivo R15. He is correct that a slow response time from pressing FF to actually getting a response will drive me nuts, but I have one small problem. My friend has an R15 and I cannot stand how sluggish it is, the tech swears that my friend must have a defective unit (something great to say about the quality of the player, huh :p

I was persuaded to get the R15 and it was precisely the slowness and unreliability of FF etc. that made me go back to DTivo. The thing would seem to randomly obey the remote and even then it would sometimes skip to the end of the program rather than stopping. Unless they did a lot of work on the software, you might find this unacceptable.

[destarr]

sorry my computer crashed so for now i'm only able to use my wii

[destarr]

i'll post again tomorrow at work

[destarr]

So, let's see what info you have. A tech that says the R15 is "faster" but you have seen it to be slow. You have to install an R10 yourself. Ok that's connecting the cables to the rear of the unit and doing guided setup. DirecTv is happy to move an active card to another receiver or a deactivated card that is on your account to active status in a new reciever, so more bad info you got. Any new receiver you activate causes a 2-year contract, but only if you don't return the offending equipment to them if you cancel early. BTW, only the R10 can be upgraded with a 250GB, 400GB, whatever, drive - not an R15. Any of the series 2 DirecTiVo's are pretty much the same, except what was said above about hacking on the R10.

Go with whichever you prefer.


o.k. i'm ready to get one from ebay but how do i know if it is series 2 or not. is there a list of directv tivo's somewhere on the net. also what do i need to say to the rep to move over the access card?

thanks

[classicsat]

Basically:
The Hughes GXCEBOT (or something like that), Philips DSR6000, and Sony SAT T-60 are Series 1.

The R10 is a Series 2.5, requiring a PROM mod to be hacked.

All others are Series 2s that may be easily hacked. I wouldn't worry about non-RID vs RID.

[jmoak]

My R15 is the fastest of my DVR's.

It beats my SA Tivo, and DSR6000. If you want to add a little speed to your old series 1 DSR6000, try one of these puppies and a 512meg ram module:

Tivo CacheCARDTM (http://www.9thtee.com/tivocachecard.htm)

especially if you've got a big drive in it!

just fyi