Full Review of the R-15 DirecTV DVR

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Full Review of the R-15 DirecTV DVR

Over at the TiVo Community, user ebonovic has posted a very lengthy, comprehensive review of DirecTV's R-15 NDS based 'DTiVo killer' DVR. There are loads of screenshots and details of the signup process (no phone required, it uses the satellite!), along with testing of all the ports and even the hard drive. One amusing thing is the "TiVo Central" screen with your recordings is called "My VOD".

by Matt Haughey November 10, 2005 in DirecTV, News

Comments

Thanks for the link... hopefully everyone will find the review fair, and as unbiased as I could make it.

At least for the "record"... I don't call it the "TiVo Killer"... :)

Posted by: Earl at Nov 11, 2005 7:24:38 AM

Why is "My VOD" amusing? Because it is like "My Computer"?

Posted by: Matt at Nov 13, 2005 4:42:07 PM

This review is a great read for any interested.

Todd Lokken

Posted by: Todd Lokken at Nov 18, 2005 12:08:13 PM

So I went out and bought this device and overall it has some nice features...but one that I miss is the toggle between the two tuners. In order to do this, you have to begin recording the other channel and then have to go back to MyVOD to view the other tuner. Kind of an annoyance and one that may force me to take the device back.

Posted by: Michael K at Nov 26, 2005 8:22:53 AM

a few questions..

1. DVI or better connection?
2. HD recording?
3. PC Neworking (via usb)?

Thanks

Posted by: ingrowntoenails at Nov 26, 2005 11:46:07 PM

The R15 is a standard definition unit. Therefore, no HD output. Wait till they release the HD DVR. it does have a front side USB port.

Posted by: SwedishCancerBoi at Nov 29, 2005 2:39:16 PM

HR10-250 is DTV's HD-DVR

SPecs here. (9mb PDF BEWARE!)

http://www.solidsignal.com/manuals/www_solidsignal_com_hr10_250_manual.pdf

Posted by: The Beaf at Jan 15, 2006 10:25:46 PM

I'm taking my time with this before I decide if I'm a fan. Some things I really liked about my old dvr, and I miss them on this unit. However, it may be that I just haven't used it enough yet.

Posted by: Todd Lokken at Feb 26, 2006 12:15:20 PM

Directv's new DVR is terrible when you compare it to Tivo. The menu system is lousy. When you tell it to record first run only it still records everything. This unit is hard to use even after you figure out how to use it. Directv needs to scrap this unit and provide Tivo with all it's features. The only thing wrong with Tivo is the lack of memory and processing power, But Directv's DVR isn't any better in this respect.

Posted by: Steve Peterson at Apr 13, 2006 7:21:58 AM

Worst unit I've ever used. I don't think TIVO has anything to worry about. Returning my R15 and going back to an old Hughes DirecTV/TIVO unit temporarily, until I decide what to do long term.

Totally agree with Steve Peterson's comments in spades!!

Posted by: Skulker at Apr 28, 2006 7:46:01 AM

I completely agree with Steve Peterson and Skulker. This is not a good unit.

Todd Lokken

Posted by: Todd Lokken at Apr 30, 2006 5:13:56 PM

I have agree the software is poor, why don't they re-write the software, the hardware is fine. Rumor was that new software would be available to use some of the hardware not presently in use.

Posted by: John at May 1, 2006 11:37:53 AM

This unit is awful. I bought it for greater recording capacity and am paying for my misake. The software is buggy, it needs manual reset frequently, and if you like watching sporting events a bit after the start to cut thru commercials you have to shield your eyes to miss the current score when you turn on the device. All in all a bad buy and a disappointing product.

Posted by: Dave Abel at Jul 5, 2006 9:46:51 AM

What a disaster.

I originally got 2 of these in an attempt to upgrade my capacity and it goes back tomorrow. I have never had such a hunk of junk in my life. This upgrade from to TIVO to this DVR is in essence like going from a digital Cell phone back to an analog one what a regression in technology.

The fast forward and rewind features are, in my opinion broken. Nothing was put in to make up for the human reaction time. When you fast forward or rewind you find yourself several minutes farther ahead or behind then you want.

Switching from one tuner to another is rather a pain and a couple of steps more then my old beloved TIVO. The remote is white and much more complicated. Whoever thought of a white remote does not have kids.

I was told that this was not going to be fixed and that it is working as intended. Cable here I come.

Posted by: Wirthit at Jul 22, 2006 11:27:18 PM

Had three of these, first one locked up every time two shows recorded at once.. had to continually reset, second one didn't send power to the dish, third one same as first.

Directv customer service admitted that they are flawed after the third one kept having problems.

Stay with tivo units.

Posted by: Doug at Aug 25, 2006 11:03:08 AM

tivo obsolete and junk. where do you people get off
getting rid of tivo best thing dtv ever did.Brag about your 30 gig junk, I just got my mpeg 4- 250 gig HD dvr. Good luck competition nothing will ever compare to this.

Posted by: Eric at Sep 3, 2006 2:08:10 PM

I agree with all the posted comments about how this DVR is a POS. Tivo is obviously superior in every aspect. After 2 months of using the DirecTV unit, I still can't get a handle on the fast forward and rewind speeds. The DirecTV Plus DVR is un-reliable at best when compared to Tivo.

Posted by: Marwan at Sep 27, 2006 10:44:27 AM

Please google "Directv DVR won't change channels" before you even think about buying this and then dealing with Directv customer service Hell.

Posted by: Ben Rice at Oct 10, 2006 12:20:31 PM

OMG. I feel so robbed by this unit. I had Ultimate TV for 5 years, and after it gave out had no choice but to DOWNGRADE to this unit. I went from 300x Fast Forward to 4X. I lost 30 second skip and traded it for 30 sec fast forward. I also lost the greatest part of Ultimate TV the auto search. Not to mention the start over feature. I have called and complained an I am currently looking for a solution to getting UTV back.

Tiffany Robinson

Posted by: Tiffany Robinson at Oct 13, 2006 7:55:00 PM

i hate this new directv dvr. i've had it after five months of trying to be tolerable!! i'm calling tomorrow and staying on hold through the all the waiting until i get a better dvr. why did i ever let go of my old direct tivo unit? done. done. done... even if i have to go buy a new tivo, separate of direct tv.

Posted by: Sommiekay at Oct 28, 2006 12:09:08 AM

I agree with all of the negative comments. First it completely ignores the record first run only option, and records every airing.

Second, I had to setup all of my series records because after 2 weeks it stopped recording new shows, even though it said the episode would record.

Third, the lack of a swap function is just stupid.

Fourth, the fast forward allows for no reaction time. Helpful tip for those who having problems with this function, once it's fast forwarding, just hid the replay button to stop the fast forward. That will bring you back a couple seconds. You usually need to hit it a few time. Makes it better, but still annoying.

I miss my cable DVR more and more every day.

Posted by: Marc at Nov 1, 2006 4:14:20 PM

This unit is horrible compared to TIVO. I'd rather use a VCR. I find the most annoying thing to be the lack of fast forward/rewind reaction time (although we found out if you quickly tap the Play button while FFing it seems to stop quicker - but maybe it's just my imagination). We're on our second unit because the first kept locking up and sometimes refused to power on. Our current unit now locks up about half the time after fast forwarding. My TIVO box (Toshiba SDH400 w/ free TIVO Basic) puts this to shame. I'll be ditching this service soon enough.

Posted by: Gary Bly at Nov 2, 2006 12:06:07 PM

I am on my 2ND and it now is locking up and will not record. I am getting ready to call dtv and I know I will have to stay on hold for who knows how long. I feel like one person said, I think I might go back to a vcr.

Posted by: Dan at Nov 10, 2006 7:49:57 AM

I received a DirecTV DVR to replace a RCA unit that I have had many years of service from that finally failed. I had to reset the RCA unit twice in all those years. The DirecTV DVR gets reset just about every day.

It will record a show that will be just a black screen when you watch it. It will stop responding to the buttons but you can see by the light on the front that it is receiving commands from the remote. No PIP. Fails to record shows previously set up. Clumsy to use. You never know if the show you want to watch will be there.

Sometimes when you hit the back button while watching a show it will go to the "Do you want to delete this show" When you say NO! it will start the show from the beginning.

Just one failure after another. My old DVR was great! The DirecTV DVR is a frustrating, unstable, pile of junk.

Posted by: Unhappy at Nov 27, 2006 10:02:57 AM

Wow,
I guess someone has to step and up and defend Direct TV, at least a little. I have had the new DVR since August 1st O6 and have not had ANY of the above mentioned problems. I do hate how it rewinds and fast forwards but you get used to it. And yes, the white remote is nuts. Besides that, no complaints. I would deal with my DVR from Direct TV dying once a week before I went back to Comcast.

Posted by: Jay at Dec 2, 2006 6:17:06 PM

Wish I had read these comments before getting the R15. We have had the same problems as many of you had mentioned. Even worse, I got this for the USB port so I could load video into my IPOD (Which I purchased just for this feature). What do you know....USB port is extraneous. Useless. I wan't my Tivo back.

Posted by: Phil at Dec 5, 2006 7:36:04 PM

In response to phils comment. So you got a system, for a specific reason, but didnt do the research about that particular feature before purchasing ?

Posted by: Bobby at Dec 6, 2006 1:01:43 AM

My old Samsung dtv tivo dvr quit working and I replaced it with a r15 the new unit had recording add lockup problems they sent me another unit and it was worse I called to cancel the NFL package and was transfered to advanced tec. support and they sent me a R10 tivo dvr it's a better unit and easier to operate but still has problems it locks up and has to be reset about three to four times a week.The R10 is built in Mexico and the R15 is built in China that could be the problem.directv is not going to cure the problems until they loose a lot of customers. Ed

Posted by: Ed Kush at Dec 9, 2006 7:40:44 AM

Is the software upgradeable so that we can get a better user interface? How do you block delete a collection of programs?

Posted by: Rich at Dec 10, 2006 8:16:20 PM

We have one Hughes DVR and this one from Directv. There is absolutely no comparison. I really don't care to ever own anything but a Hughes. It is so unbelievably user friendly. The Directv DVR just plain old doesn't work correctly. We try to record a particular show on a particular channel (season pass, or whatever it is on this system). It records that same show, but not on the channel we tell it to record on. However, it doesn't record on the channel we select????

Anyway, the reason I commenting is because I have noticed that I am no longer able to buy a Hughes DVR for Directv from Best Buy, Circuit City or any of those other places. Does Hughes still make a DVR for Directv? Please say it is so!

Posted by: Craig at Dec 19, 2006 6:37:09 PM

we all need to get used to it folks. DTV and DISH broke up there contracts with tivo over year ago. as fantastic as tivo was, it's a dieing breed. you can still buy it. the monthly fee is 13 bucks a month last i checked. but unless you have basic cable. it's useless now. as every cable company has there own version of DVR. i did try the tivo once and all it did was mimick what i already had. and some of the bugs have been worked out. my first receive quit receiving both tuners. i did get a replacement and one week later tuner 2 quit working again. but other then that. lot of the bugs were worked out. i can't complain about it now. unfortunately where i live i'm not allowed 2 cables anyways. i did run across a websight that sells DTV tivos. refurbished and $300 was the cost. but it also seems like i seen somewhere where customer service for tivo will be discontinued in the not too distant future.

Posted by: dave at Dec 20, 2006 10:38:53 PM

contracts were broken because tivo wanted more money. thus they charge 13 a month now. on there own service. it also allows DTV and DISH to up the price and pocket all the money now as before they were only getting 1 dollar while the rest of the fee went to tivo.

Posted by: dave at Dec 20, 2006 10:48:17 PM

Hey guys, i have the same problem with my r15, i bought it when it first came out (dumb me) expecting it to be everything my hughes SD dvr40 is + more, hence the name "DirecTv PLUS"

it should be called DirecTV minus, cuz it does not even compare to the tivo dvr directv sold me when i first signed up....

either way, i might have some information that will help you guys with your problem,,, but before you get too excited, it will not fix the POS R15... it will only get you some free credit on your bill

wait till your service gets suspended due to non payment, then call in and bitch at them telling them how could they turn off your service with no warnings you guys caused me a huge inconvience, (i allready paid my bill online as soon as the service was shut off)

tehn when they apoligize, and blah blah blah you tell them, since you guys did this to me and i now have you on the phone, i am not happy with my r15, and be very stubborn, and do not let them take over the conversation, complain about everything that it does not do right, about 3 times over and over... then you have to be very firm(this method worked for me) and tell them that you either want one or two things a brand new dvr plus, that WORKS!, and to send the one you got back, if they do not want to replace it or do not want to do that, then you want to disconnect your service... 1 or 2 things, other then that they are going to want to redirect you to the tech support, you say YOU KNOW WHAT, no, i talked to them before, and they act like know it alls

and tell me the things i am complaning about are like "apples and oranges" and basicly shoe me off... (one rep did tell me that) when i told them that the damn season pass does not work... they said who cares.. big deal record it manually.. that i was compaling about apples and oranges..
then say how u pay this much a month... blah blah blah be very firm, they will still want to transfer you to a service tech, say no.... I WANT TO TALK TO YOUR MANAGER!,, then there you have it, talk to the manager explain him the same thing, be very firm and demand 1 or 2 things, a brand new dvr plus that WORKS, and you will send this one back... or to get your service disconnected.... ask for the address to write a letter to complain, and the reps id and name.... ask for the day you got your dvr plus in the mail, and how much it costed you.... then ask them to disconnect your service, by that time , they will be saying "mr dtv customer at this time i woudl like to extened to you a credit of 100$ on your service to show you that we do want to take care of you aND KEEP YOu AS A CUSTOMER.... blah blah blha, would that be allright? sure take the credit and run, but make sure you still get the tech guys to re add the season pass, because it rurns off every 2 weeks,.

i got 100 dollar credit, so now i am "plus" 60$ on my account, so i guess it did end up being a DVR PLUS eh?

Posted by: Matt Trevino at Jan 1, 2007 9:58:38 AM

After reading the comments on this board, I hope I won’t regret buying 3 R-15’s!
I’ve already had quite the runaround just getting the service installed.
Once the installer left, one of the R-15’s began restarting spontaneously; a replacement should be here tomorrow.
Here are a couple of tips from the new guy. I should point out, DrievTv does not recommend performing these steps unless directed by a senior technician. That being said, here’s what I learned...

Download Software: To force the R-15 to re-download it’s internal Linux application software, restart the unit by pressing the red reset button. When the second startup screen (almost there...) appears press 0,2,4,6,8 on the remote. After a few seconds the downloading thermometer will appear. After the download is complete, you can check the old and new software in the Menu -> Settings -> Setup -> Info&Test -> You must select Info&Test to change the screen! !!!!Note, all R-15’s are NOT created equal! I received two manufacturer 500 boxes and one manufacturer 100 box. You manufacturer code should be located on a label near the red reset button. Different manufactures allegedly run different software versions – my 500 boxes are currently running v0X-10E8. I’m not sure what the 100 box was trying to run!

Format Hard Drive: To reformat the hard drive (and erase all your recorded programs) without having to go through dish setup again, restart the unit by pressing the red reset button. When the second startup screen (almost there...) appears press and HOLD the record and down arrow buttons on the face of the unit at the same time. When the record light turns on, release both buttons (note: you’ll need to hold the record button on the side otherwise you can’t see the light ;o) In less than a minute, the HDD will be erased and reformatted, and best of all, you won’t need to repeat the setup process! You will, however loose all recorded programs, all guide data, all timers, and search information. So, you won’t want to do this regularly! But, if you’re having chronic problems, don’t mind loosing everything, and your next step is to drive over the box, you might want to try this first :o)

In DirecTv’s defense, and God knows they need one, there are many departments and 3 levels of Technical Support! If you’ve called Technical Support before, and not received the help you need, keep asking to be transferred to ‘Advanced’ technical support. Here’s 2 tips to speed up the process:

Tip 1. To bypass the nagging automated nightmare and get transferred with less button pushing, call the main number 1-800-DIRECTV. When the computer asks for information about why you’re calling, reply ‘Technical Support’ the computer will ask you for more information. Stand your ground and reply again ‘Technical Support’; the first automated system will then transfer you. If you’re really lucky and level 3 queue’s are empty, you’ll go straight to an advanced tech (you might want to play the lottery as well). If you’re like the rest of us, you’ll get a second automated system wanting you to run a few tests first. Basically the system will hold your hand through pressing the red reset button, or unplugging the receiver. When you get the second computer telling you “you’ll need to be in front of your TV” then asking what the problem is, press ‘0’. You are now in queue for a real live person. Good luck!

Tip 2. As hard as it is to remember, especially if you’re talking to someone as useful as a sliced bread slicer, keep in mind they didn’t do it, they didn’t make it, and they don’t have a magic button to make your DVR malfunction! They are just a person like you and me who have emotions and feelings too. Let them know you’re frustrated, irritated, and regret getting it- but remember human nature; people are more likely to help someone they like and respect. Again, Good Luck!

Tip 3. Yes, this tip is a bonus! If you can’t get the help you need from technical support, try installation support at 1-888-355-7530. Only a short automated system here! It verifies your phone number, and then there are only two options! 1 to activate a system or 0 to speak with a representative! Now, that was easy! If they can’t help either, ask for the Retention department. They may need to get a supervisor to do the transfer, but it’s worth the trouble! If all else fails, thank them, hang up, take a deep breath, and start again. You may get someone who knows more the next time! I’ve talked to a few Great People who really know their stuff. I’ve also talked to my share of the bread slicers!

One last thing! Just being mad about something that doesn’t work right won’t fix the problem for anyone! Bashing them on a forum like this one won’t do much good either.
We all need to keep calling in every few weeks to report the problem over and over. Even if it doesn’t get fixed right away, DirecTv works on numbers. If enough of us keep reporting the same problem, they’ll up the priority for the next software fix. Worst case, your problems will be well documented when you call in to ask for something!

Hopefully I’ve found a community where we can share tips and ideas on how to enjoy what we have get the most out of what we’ve got.
Also, I hope I’m still this optimistic in a few months. If you want a DVR that’ll really aggravate you, try the Motorola duel tuner DVR from Comcast or Time-Warner Cable! That’ll make you want to kiss this box even with the quirks!
Cheers! -Tim

Posted by: Tim Zitko at Jan 10, 2007 1:03:04 AM

Had my Tivo replaced with the Direct Tv R15 and was told by them that this "was the DVR of the future." What a scam. I was duped. After of 10 years of Direct Tv service, once this hunk of junk came thru the front door, I was never so aggravated! I paid for this? I have to reset? I have to do a full reset? What now, the recorded show is a black screen. Then the picture freezes up. I said no no no to the potential 4th unit they were to send out. Told them they could keep it. Good thing I kept my trusty Tivo unit in the basement and will be re-hooking that up! Also, I got a full refund on the price for this DVR Plus, Plus..., huh...should be negative!

Posted by: louwho at Jan 22, 2007 7:59:01 AM

Join the online petition against DirecTV's DVR problems!

http://www.petitiononline.com/02142007/petition.html

Posted by: Cory at Feb 22, 2007 11:09:49 AM

We have had our Direct TV R15-500 for a year and a half and we have had several black out problems. This is followed by a restart which means we lose the television listing programming. This has happened while recording something which ruins the recording, of course. Calling DTV is practically worthless. They go through the same spiel and "testing." Finally I got them to offer to replace the R15 - providing that I re sign the agreement for another twenty four months which I refused to do. They also automatically billed me $19.95 for the replacement unit, a refurbished R15. This I heard about on another call and I had to request that they reverse this.

This week we are cancelling and are going over to Comcast. Even that was screwed up untill I made a few more calls.
John - Albany, Oregon

Posted by: John Osterhlom at Apr 30, 2007 8:40:42 AM

Same problems,getting another in mail,if this does not work properly,comcast comcast comcast...............

Posted by: damian mc nulty at May 12, 2007 6:21:44 PM

Is their a petition for Directv's INCREDIBLY POOR SERVICE? I, and MANY I know, would waste no time in signing it.

PS - I would not allow them to pawn off their DVRs on me when I had used their Mover's Package. If your Direct Tivo dies (99% of the time it's the hard drive) you can repair it. Here is a couple of links that will get you started:

http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm

http://www.9thtee.com/tivoupgrades.htm

http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hinsdale-how-to/

Posted by: JB at May 15, 2007 11:40:49 AM

It all began around June 16th. 2007. I was having a problem with my DirecTV dvr. It would restart itself in the middle of programs. So I made a call to DirecTV to try and fix this issue. After spending over 3 minutes just to get to an actual REAL person, an on hold for another couple of minutes a rep answered. They instructed me that the system would need to be reformatted which would erase everything I had saved on the system. I told them I did not want to do that unless it was my only option. I said I would call back if the receiver continued to mess up.

On June 17th. 2007 I made second call to DirecTV this time to get re-boot instruction, due to the fact that the DVR continued to malfunction. We reformatted the hard drive and the rep assured me that the problem would not happen again.

That turned out to be a lie. I had the same problems. I called for the third time and the rep decided that I needed a replacement receiver and said it would come via Fed-Ex in a couple of days.

The receiver arrived on the 20th and I made my fourth call to DirecTV. This was for the activation of the new receiver.

A new issue raised soon after I began to use the new receiver. The remote was very unresponsive, having to be pressed several time to get anything to happen. Also the fast forward and rewind did not work properly. So on June 28 at 10:00 AM I made my Fifth call to DirecTV. The Rep said she had the same problem with her DVR, that it is a software issue that DirecTV is trying to fix, we re booted system and she noted that on my account.

On June 30th. at 5:15PM I made a sixth call to DirecTV. The Rep told me he would place a request for R15- 500 receiver because it did not have the software glitch that my new receiver did.

July 3rd at 11:00 a.m. My second replacement receiver came, I called DirecTV for the seventh time. I was put on hold for 10 min. Once the rep came on the line I had a hard time understanding what he was saying. He spoke very broken English. He placed on hold again for two minutes. He could not figure out how to activate my receiver so he placed me on hod again twice for a total of seven minutes. Finally he transferred me to tech support. The Tech support rep had to re do the activation since the previous rep messed it up. This entire call took over thirty minutes.

On July 4th. I sent the following e mail to DirecTV:

I'm not sure who will end up reading this, but I just wanted to let it be know of the terrible ordeal I have had to go through over the past couple of weeks.

First of all I have been a DirecTV customer for over three years. I always pay on time and subscribe to one of the most expensive packages. I also have the DVR service.

About the middle of June I called DirecTV customer service to report an issue with my DirecTV Plus DVR. The receiver was restarting itself in the middle of programs. The rep said we could re-boot it but it would erase all my recorded programs. I decided to wait on that hoping the receiver would not continue to malfunction.

One June 18th. I decided to call to get the steps needed to re-boot as the receiver continued to mess up. The rep went through the steps and I lost all my recordings. He assured me that this would fix my problem.

That turned out not to be true. So I called back the next day. The rep ordered a replacement receiver for me and it was delivered on June 20th.

I called on the 20th. to have the new receiver activated. The rep took care of that and told me I had to extend my contract. I was not happy with that but it seemed to be my only option so I decided to go ahead and go with it.

The new receiver was terrible. The remote was unresponsive even after I changed the batteries. It also malfunctioned during rewind and fast forward, as well as skipping parts of the recorded programs.

I called DirecTV for the 5th. time on June 28th. She told me that she had the same problems with her receiver and it was a software issue. Basically there was nothing we could do to fix it.

After researching the DirecTV DVR online I found that MANY people had the same problems dating back as far as August of 2006. It obviously should not take anyone a year to fix a software issue.

On June 30th I made my 6th. call to DirecTV, ready to just forget the whole DVR deal and send the receiver back in. The rep told me he could request that I be sent another replacement receiver of the previous model that did not have the software glitch. I accepted that and on July 3rd I had my second replacement.

Making my 7th call to customer service to activate my receiver proved to be one of the most frustrating calls I have ever made. After being on hold for over 10 minutes I finally made it to a rep. His spoke such broken English that I could barely understand what he said. I had to repeat to him over and over what I was calling about. He placed me on hold several times and finally gave up and transfered me to technical support. The tech support rep had my receiver up and running in no time.

As you can tell this has been an enormous inconvenience as well as a total disappointment that a loyal DirecTV customer would have to go through. I have always spoke well of DirecTV to friends and family. I also got my neighbor to switch to DirecTV. At this point I doubt I would ever do that again. I defiantly feel let down and have a bad taste in my mouth as to the lack of service DirecTV provides.

I appreciate whoever has read this and I just hope it serves as a wake up call to how DirecTV treats its customers.

July 4th at 6:49 PM I received a phone call from the DirecTV e mail response team. She was very apologetic and wanted to make sure I knew my contract was not extended. It will expire January of 2008.

My eight call to DirecTV was place on July 9 12:38PM. I had resized that my DirecTV.com account page showed that I had four receivers when I only have three. I called and was disconnected - called back at 12:42- disconnected again-called back at 12:52 placed on hold. The Rep finally answered after a long hold time. Rep took receiver off and gave account a credit. When I asked about canceling my service she gave me the same lie about how my contract had been recently extended. After 25 minutes of on hold and the time taken by rep I finally asked for a supervisor. She came on the line after more hold time and explained again what I had been told before that my contract WAS NOT extended and that it ends in January of 2008. I told her I would most likely terminate my account and go back to cable. She made not attempt to try and keep me as a customer other than to say she would hate to see me go.

My ninth and final call to DirecTV came on July 10th at 3:30 p.m. I called to cancel my service and spoke with Lloyd. He put in for service to terminate on Tuesday, 7/17/07. DirecTV will send a recovery kit via Fed-Ex for my DVR to be returned. The other two standard receivers are ours and do not need to be returned to DirecTV. My final bill will arrive in the mail.

As you can see I have been through quiet an ordeal with DirecTV. Their lack of care, customer service, and faulty equipment gave me only one choice, switch back to cable.

Posted by: Rich at Jul 11, 2007 12:46:21 PM

Poor Rich. I guess I don't feel so bad after reading about your experience. However, I finally canceled my DVR service with DirecTV today after months and months of crappy service and equipment failure, very similar to what I've read on this forum. After all of the replacements and reboots, I asked myself: Why am I paying for a service to record shows that I want to keep (sometimes indefinitely) and watch later, when every few months they are all erased anyway? And no way to transfer them to another medium the last time I asked DirecTV. I mean, I'm a Colts fan, and I just lost my Superbowl recording. Grrrrrr.

We have been excellent DirecTV customers for 3 years, and subscribe to Sunday Ticket. Apparently, when I cancel everything, it will be no loss to them, so I'll give my money to a service who appreciates my patronage.

Posted by: Bobbie at Jul 19, 2007 11:40:23 AM

I have been a DTV customer for 12 years. I too purchased the new R15 unit (4 of them) as a family Christmas gift in 2006. It's been 19 months and 3 of the four units have died and had to be replaced with new R15's. The new ones have not expired as of yet. I have no problem with the DTV programming, pricing or the R-15 units themselves, except for the fact that they quit working. I really did not have to reset them all that much during the time they were functioning appropriately. If they would fix the supposed software glitch that causes the units to lock up, I would continue to use them. Even though they are not TIVO units, they do give you additional recording space. I never lost a single recording.

Posted by: Sam at Jul 23, 2007 7:50:13 PM

My Direct TV Tivo unit stopped working so they sent me an R-15 about 4 months ago. I didn't like it from the beginning. Very poor search menus for programming. When I search for an actor I know is the lead in the movie many times it does not find the movie. No wishlist searches. I found a source for a new power supply for my older TiVo unit. I got working again and the repair was very easy. However, I continued to use the newer DVR because of the increased recording space. Today I called DTV because almost all of the channels showed nothing but "Title Not Available" While speaking with the tech support person I could clearly hear someone in her office talking about farting and belching and other bodily functions. I commented to the tech that this was very unprofessional and they should tell the person to be quiet. Anyway, the tech told me to hit 02468 at the hello screen to download software. At 97% I got the message, "Good Box Gone Bad". Your receiver needs to be replaced. I have about 60 hours of recordings that are now lost. They're sending me another piece of crap receiver and they're giving me $10 off my NFL package. Wow. I'm a lucky guy. I lose countless hours of programming and I get a whole $10. Anyway, I'm going to upgrade my hard drive in the older TiVo unit and keep using it. I would not recommend anyone get the Direct TV DVR unit. TiVo rocks. DTV's unit is terrible. They're going to lose a lot of customers if they don't get their act together! They admit over the phone that the R-15 units are crap. Believe it!

Posted by: Richard at Aug 2, 2007 12:24:34 AM

Well hopefully things will turn around soon.
Rupert got tired of running DTV into the ground and has sold the company to Liberty Media. This week it was announced that new features will be coming to Directv with TiVo receivers. The CEO at TiVo recently said he expects a positive relationship with the Liberty Media owned DTV and we can only hope that means new TiVo based DTV recievers. Perhaps even series 3 units for DTV :)
Meanwhile I'll keep my 3 units running and keep my 2 spares in the closet.

Posted by: Gunther Wallen at Aug 3, 2007 7:17:00 PM

I had to replace a faulty Tivo and they sent me 2 piece of crap directv dvrs. I'm setting my season passes and then I can't record anything else because my To Do list is full with 100 scheduled recording. I try to delete individual recordings which is a lengthy process and after they are deleted the stupid DVR decides to record more on its own. And it does not know the difference between a first run and a repeat.
And I agree with all the rest of the complaints.
I'm switching back to my faulty TIVO(a faulty TIVO is better than that stupid DVR!) until switching to CABLE!!!

Posted by: Rachelle at Aug 8, 2007 10:41:56 AM

I finally upgraded from regular old satellite service to DirecTV DVR with 100 hours of storage. I find it annoying, it is my first DVR so I can't really compare. Flipping through the menu guide is slow, I often have to hit buttons two or three times for a response.

BUT by FAR to me the MOST annoying thing, is that I want it to record ALL episodes of a certain show. Not just ALL episodes on a CERTAIN channel! So I want a whole series, but I can only get it via a certain channel. So EVERYDAY I have to manually search the SLOW guide for all instances of the show. And then manually set each to record.
WHAT IS THE POINT?
I'm certain I had those same basic features on my VCR 20 years ago!

I just wanted to know if I'm the only one. I've been lucky otherwise.. reading these comments.. no black screen, no lost recordings, no glitches in the shows.. .HOWEVER.. it does shut itself off quite frequently and must be unplugged to reset. ANNOYING to say the least.

Posted by: Dawn at Aug 24, 2007 7:34:09 AM

Wow I see I am not alone in my hatred toward direct tv. I was a dish network dvr customer for 7 years, NO problems, I assumed they were both equal so I decided to switch to direct, basically to upgrade my 7 year old system with no charges.....well This Direct tv dvr unit is trash I CANNOT record the whole series on some shows, the shows that let me record series after a few weeks they as well stop showing up in my to- do list! I have called SEVERAL times, had my unit replaced by a tech that was AT my house, SAME problem.... I have LOST countless hours of programs that I have recorded due to their constant resetting, and changing back to factory defaults. I just got off the phone with them a tech is coming to my house again to reset everything and make me loose my shows again. I am in a contract, but do not want to keep this service if it is not working as it should, any advice? I assume since they have not held their end of the bargain, I can probably fight the contract with the better business bureau, and by going straight to the top, meaning swarming their corporate office with complaints. Please someone help me I want to go back to DISH. Dish is by far a better product and service, my shows ALWAYS recorded on dish never missed one, of course in the 7 years I was with dish I had some minor issues but nothing compared to this crappy direct tv. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Angela at Aug 24, 2007 9:06:15 AM

HELP! Just got the R-15 and thank you all for your comments. I thought I was just an idiot who did not know how to work a remote.

Can anyone tell me how to switch between tuners without having to record a channel just to watch another.

I want my old Direct-Tivo back.

Lou

Posted by: Lou at Aug 29, 2007 8:51:06 AM

My Email to DirecTV:

This letter is to file a complaint with DirecTV. Please direct this to corporate manager ASAP.

Approximately 10 months ago, in October of 2006, I signed-up for DirecTV service. I had a R15 DVR installed in my family room, and a regular receiver installed in my office and in a secondary bedroom.

I immediately had problems with the R15 DVR. The DVR would frequently record programs that I did not set to record, such as recording all programs in a series instead of just the “new” programs, missing programs that were set to record, etc. I called customer service and was told there are several known issues with the record feature on the R15 and the only way to fix the problem was to do a software upgrade. This would require me to erase the hard drive on the receiver and reinstall the software. In doing so, I would lose all of my previously recorded programming.

Not happy with this prospect, I asked if there was a way around this issue. The tech told me he could just send me a new receiver and I would need to return the old one within 14 days or pay an additional rental fee. I told the tech I wasn’t sure I could watch all of my programming within 14 days and asked if there was a way that could be extended. The tech said “let me check” and placed me on hold.

After awhile, the tech returned to the call and gave me the following resolution:
• 3 months of free Showtime for my inconvenience
• A new DVR with upgraded software would be mailed-out to me to install
• I had 6 months to return the old receiver and I would not be charged for it
• A credit of $5.00 a month for 6 months for the extra receiver

At this point, this all sounded acceptable and I was a happy customer.

A few days later, I received the new receiver. Within a few days, it was obvious it was having the same recording issues were present on the old receiver. I called customer service and I was instructed to reformat the hard drive and reinstall the software again. I was told there was a big “oops” and somehow the latest software wasn’t installed on the new receiver, even though I was promised it would be.

At this point, I’m still OK but a bit irritated as in the meantime I already had a few shows recorded on the new receiver that I lost when I reformatted to hard drive, but it would be worth it if I could just get my system to work. After the reinstall, the new receiver temporarily seemed to work OK.

Fast forward to December, about a month later. I received a bill for over $120 which didn’t look right. I discovered I was being charged an extra $55.00 in equipment fees for the old DVR I still had my possession. I called customer service to have the fee removed (see list of “promises” above). I was told there was no way to remove the fee until I actually returned the receiver. I explained I wasn’t supposed to be charged this fee in the first place, but got nowhere with customer service. I was told that any credit would have to be handled by the tech support department as they were who I was working with when I was told I wouldn’t be charged for the additional receiver. I was then transferred.

I explained the situation to a rep. in tech support. He told me they didn’t issue these kinds of credits and I would need to speak to a supervisor. So, for a third time, I recanted the entire story explaining that I was told I could keep my old receiver for up to six months at no charge. The supervisor replied with “I don’t see that in my notes so I assume you were not told that information”. I was taken aback. I was essentially being accused of lying. I asked to then speak to her supervisor and she told me she had final say on account credits, and she would not be issuing a credit on this account. I replied “so basically what you’re telling me is that your company, DirecTV, is not going to do what they said they would do” and she tersely reply “Sir, I don’t see that in my notes so I cannot help you with this matter.”

At that moment, I was so furious – not over the $55.00, but over the principle of this and the whole situation – I asked to be transferred to cancel my account. I waited on hold for about 10 minutes and after growing impatient I just hung-up.

I just have to ask – if I was “never” told we could keep the receiver for 6 months at no charge, then why is there a 6 month $5.00 equipment credit on my bill?? It’s there! I’m telling you people I’m not making this up, regardless of what your notes say!!

Anyway, after some months we mailed the receiver back and finally I was issued a $55 credit. We had an infant in the hospital for 2 months so we never did get around to watching anything on it, but it was approaching the 6-month time limit on the credit. To this day, I’ve never had such an experience where a company blatantly promised something to me and then 2 months later say it never existed.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, the receiver in my office stopped working. I called tech support and they got all the information from my receivers’ ID cards, etc. They were unable to get the receiver working over the phone, so they sent out a tech to make sure everything was OK. A tech came out and we were able to get my receivers working again.

The DVR still seemed quirky but it seemed to record most of what we wanted. Occasionally I would have to clear-out shows that were not set to record. One time I got pretty frustrated with it and called tech support (this was maybe March/April time frame). The technician told me there were STILL software problems with the R15 and they were still working to fix it. Basically, there was nothing that could be done at that time.

Now, in the last several weeks, the DVR has started acting-up again. I’ll set a single program to record and it will record the whole series. On top of that, it will often pick-up the adjacent program (in the next or previous time slot) and record the whole series for that too. Basically, my hard drive and to-do list has to be cleared on a weekly basis of shows I never set to record in the first place.

Secondly, to add insult to injury, my office receiver won’t work again now. I just get a blue screen saying my access card is invalid.

So, in less than a year of service, I’ve had two bad DVRs sent to me, the second one has had multiple software upgrades and none of them have yet worked. I’ve had to live with this receiver that would drive almost any normal person insane. I have a second receiver that has gone out again. I’ve had a tech at my house and have been on the phone with tech support at least half a dozen times. And on top of all that, I was made promises that were not kept and essentially called a liar by your tech supervisor.

So, what should we do?? We’ve been through the ringer with you over the last year and all I want, all I have wanted since day one, is a system THAT WORKS. At this point, I think I should either be allowed to cancel my contract without penalty or you need to at least fix my existing system and do something extra – actually a LOT extra- considering what we have been through this past year. It has been nothing less than one letdown after another with DirecTV since the day we switched our service.

I will give your company one last chance to make this right.

Posted by: Jason S at Aug 29, 2007 12:01:58 PM

Here's my nightmare...

I'm out of town during the week, got my DVR on 8/16, tried to activate it, but it was too late at night so I had to wait until 8/17.

On 8/24, there was a problem with the system and I no longer had any video feed at all. After 1 hour on phone with techs, said they would send me a refurbished unit...

On 8/31, arrived home and tried to install new unit. Got stuck at step 6 of 9 of the installation. Spent 3 hours on phone (lots of hold time) and was bounced from tech to tech. Finally was told I would have to have an installer come out and install it. Told them I wasn't in town during the week until late October, was told I'd have to wait, keep the broken box and if the installer felt it was broken I could then request a swap.

In the meantime I'm stuck paying for the service I'm not getting.

Posted by: Staci at Aug 31, 2007 8:52:23 PM

I used to have a Tivo box and never had one issue. Unfortunately I moved and decided to use direcTV in my new house. What a mistake they sent me the horrid r15. I curse the day they set this unit up. It does not tape the shows I want, and I have reformatted the drive several times, losing the few shows it did tape. This is just the major problems, believe me there are many other issues with this DVR. I have called direcTV several times but they do not have a solution. I have been patient waiting for a solution but I am canceling my service and going back to cable. I hate this machine.

Posted by: Ryan Pratt at Sep 6, 2007 4:32:21 PM

Wow, my story has already been told by numerous other individuals here! I got a DVR in June, and was so disgusted with how cumbersome the menus and features are, the lack of obvious features, and REALLY poor performance. The system takes about 2 seconds to respond to any remote control command. The forward and back buttons are aggravating, to say the least. I'm always trying to guess when the commercials might end because stopping the forward commend responds so slowly that I have to watch 1 or 2 minutes in reverse to get back to where the commercial ended. On the other hand, forwarding in slow speed so you can stop at the right time is equally annoying. Forwarding through a long movie? 2-minute forwarding increments are the best you can do. ALL programs of a series are recorded even if you select first-run. Any new recordings are assumed to be top priority, so you constantly have to adjust priorites or your favorite shows won't record. And why on earth should I have to press Guide TWICE to get to my favorite channels? That's why I made them my favorite channels - to get to them quickly!!

Aside from the poor design overall, the DVR itself requires manual resets, my recordings have blank spots and the picture freezes, and the end of many of my recordings is cut off. My remote stopped working less than 60 days of receipt.

I was told my choices are the DirecTv DVR, or no DVR. I'm locked into a 2-year contract just because I agreed to take this piece of crap. I finally got a replacement DVR today, which (surprise!) they cannot active for 24 hours hours "because their system is updating". However, I'm not hopeful that a new DVR will solve ANY problems based on what I've read here.

I'm SO thoroughly disgusted with DirecTV right now. Oh yeah, and the person that posted the about getting charged for an additional receiver that he didn't have? Same here! For 4 YEARS! But I got 90 day credit ($15), that's supposed to make me feel better.

I just hope some people will read these reviews before they get the DVR, and save themselves a lot of grief, time and money.

Posted by: kthomas at Sep 12, 2007 10:51:32 PM

At least you got a free replacement. Mine was 5 months old when it went out and wont even come on. I have to pay $99 to get a new one, even though I've been with them for 4 years! They said if I had equipment protection at $6 month I could get it repaired.

Posted by: sbk at Jan 16, 2008 3:09:02 PM

Had Dish, loved it put wanted new HD DVR. Went to DirectTV signed a 2 yr contract. Unable to get HD DVR receiver to work with VOIP, so unable to download schedules, pay per views... Had to downgrade to Standard Def R15-500 receiver. Put up with Direct for 2 years. Had many of the same issues posted here, went back to Dish and had a big party.

Things I like about DISH:
DVR works
Warns you BEFORE going to live TV
Can record bits of programming is easy (Start / Stop)
Remote is laid out VERY well.
More programming for less money.
Easy to find number for techsupport.
Able to watch DVR recorded shows even when service is no longer on.
Pay per View DOESN'T have a time bomb (even when recorded to DVR)
I could go on for hours...

Hope this helps someone, I wouldn't wish DirectTV on my worst enemy!

Posted by: jjason89 at Mar 11, 2008 6:48:24 PM

Hi all,

Don't know if anybody is still reading this board but I would like to pose a question. I used to have a Tivo and after several years the unit stopped working. I read these reviews and decided to try the DIRECTV R15 unit if it was free. They went thru customer retention and gave me the DVR for free (no shipping, contract, purchase price..) I dont like the interface nearly as much as the tivo for the same reasons as the above posters but what I miss most is...

The ability to switch from tuner to tuner even when not recording anything. One poster above mentioned it was several more steps than Tivo, but didn't explain them. I cant figure them out. Thanks in advance.

Posted by: Ed at Mar 27, 2008 7:36:06 AM

don't get the dvr...BE WARNED. KEEP TIVO..this is the worst recording device...totally inferior to tivo..call directv and ask them point blank, if you will lose your HD channels..that's what it's all about...getting you to sign on for HD channels and charging you that extra fee to have them....keep your tivo and wait for the next generation of this dvr and wait even then...

Posted by: jason at Apr 7, 2008 6:34:36 AM

Don't get it. It's terrible..and the fact that a new dvr can't record from two tuners at the same time totally sucks...why update to Mpeg4, when you can't even record from two tuners? makes not sense to update something major while not updating such a basic feature....SAY NO TO DIRECTV... KEEP YOUR TIVO.....

Posted by: juno at Apr 7, 2008 6:41:23 AM

I have to agree with the last couple of posts. The directv DVR still doesn't match the Tivo features, and they do nickel-and-dime you for HD service. I'm not such a fan of that scam.

Posted by: Todd Lokken at Apr 10, 2008 10:43:03 AM

I've been able to keep my R15 from constantly resetting itself by installing additional fans. It seems the unit is very sensitive to heat and the single fan that it comes with does not have the capacity to keep the unit cool. It still resets itself occasionally, but not nearly as much. It went from 3+ times a day to about once a month.

Posted by: Stobal at Jul 29, 2008 6:09:09 PM

Full Review of the R-15 DirecTV DVR

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