[Hodaka]

I would just guess that DirecTV has only worked out a "maintenance" type agreement to keep guide data arriving and maybe fix any major flaws. I seriously doubt they've signed any agreement that will give them access to new software upgrades, features, etc. since they're probably going to be pushing their own boxes pretty hard..

 

[Hodaka]

yeah, I'm one of those longtime DirecTV subscribers that got a DirecTivo because it was what DirecTV offered, not because I necessarily wanted a Tivo.. I just wanted a DVR..

don't get me wrong, I like Tivo, but I'll stay with DirecTV as long as they offer a decent DVR.. if for some reason DirecTV starts only offering complete crap, Il could always go back to a standard receiver and try some standalone dvrs..

 

[Hodaka]

Of course it makes sense to judge the R15 from the manual. It clearly doesn't have two buffers, which is a serious drawback.

I'm guessing there are plenty of us (like me), who never use the 2 buffers and really don't care. I don't switch back and forth between live TV, I record and watch things on my Tivo..

I think too many of us make the mistake in thinking that if we love a feature and use it, that everyone else must use it too. I for one rarely if ever use the dual buffers. I also tried and found the Thumbs up/down to be worthless (except for scheduling a recording or getting info on one of those rare commercial I see that has the thumb's up displayed). I think it's pretty simple. If you use a feature and it's not offered in the R15, don't buy it and let DirecTV know why. Maybe in their next release they'll offer that feature since they will control the box now, not Tivo..

 

[Hodaka]

I would be willing to bet the opposite: that most DirecTV Tivo users find that 2 buffers one of the most important features. I also find the thumbs up/down feature handy...it tends to find old movies I like based upon those ratings.

Not from what I usually read here. Anytime "live" tv is brought up, almost everyone chimes in to "just record it" and "why would you want to watch live tv"...
even the majority of the people on these forums don't seem to use the dual "live" buffers that much and I'm sure it's used even less by the majority of those out there that have never even heard of this forum..

truthfully, I'm more upset that I'll probably lose my 30second skip than dual tuner buffers. Now that's something I use ALL of the time..

As for thumbs up/down.. I gave up on suggestions after about 3months of having them on and using those buttons constantly.. the suggestions were mostly whacked. Any that were good were usually those that I already had season passes for..

Whether you find them useful, if the R15 lacks them, it's a lesser product. Explain the logic of dropping a better product in favor of a lesser product.

that's easy.. if you're talking about directv, it's production costs. If you're talking about us, I'm not saying drop anything. I'll have my R10 and my R15.. and as Directv stops adding features to the Tivo products and slowly makes their NDS products better, I'll be able to receive those new features that will never make it to the old boxes..

I'm not saying everyone has to love the box. I'm not even saying I'll love the box. What I'm saying is give it a chance. There's absolutely no reason to go off half-cocked on a unit that hasn't even been released and not a one of us has used or seen a review on.. I'm not taking much of a chance by getting a free unit, so I'm willing to be a guinea pig, as are many others since valueelectronics has filled all their preorders AND a waiting list..

 

[Hodaka]

Best reason for dual buffers?
FOOTBALL!!

two buffers?? Baaah! I bet they taste sour anyway.....

heh, yeah.. not my thing.. but I agree that some people use it this way. I wonder if you'll be able to get the same functionality by recording one and playing one live.. 1 buffer for the live feed and 1 show recording.. of course it would then depend on how easy it would be to switch back and forth..

I rarely watch anything live anymore since I discovered tivo, so it makes no diff to me..

the R15 does have one potential buffer advantage for me. Several times I've turned on the TV and saw something on the channel that was active and wished I'd taped it. I can catch around 30+ minutes if I record, but sometimes miss parts of shows. With the larger buffer, if I see something when I turn on the TV, there's a much better chance that I'll hit record and get it all..