I am only giving it 2 stars because the TiVo software is so good. Be advised that future DirecTV PVRs will not be TiVo.
Rating: 2 / 5

These units are poorly made.

During playback of recorded programs I have experienced stuttering and eventual freezing up of the video & audio. The only way [& the way DIRECTV told me to correct this problem] to correct this problem is to unplug the unit and restart everythingm, which works but thne it starts up again in a couple of hours. Also the only other way to fix the problem I was told by DIRECTV technical support was to erase and reformat the hard drive, which I did [and lost all recorded programs doing] only to receive the same results as unplugging the machine.

Aside from the above also I have experienced shows that recorded but no sound on the recording would play. The only way to fix this was to reboot the whole system again same as above.

Also I have experineced shows that say they are recording in my to do list and even on the guide but they don’t show up as recorded on my playlist. Same thing as above on how to correct this.

Programing wise it is inferior to Tivo which is much simpler to use & has better “Wish List”, “Date Programing”, “Season Pass” features that make finding and recording shows much easier. It is especially poor in finding your favorite sports teams and recording sports events.

Besides being much easier to use in recording, Tivo is also more accurate in it’s recordings. With Tivo you could search ahead 3 to 4 weeks in a calender to record shows whereas DIRECTV’s unit in many cases is only good a week out.

When I put in a Series to Record sports event like UEFA Cup it records many soccer events that have nothing to do with the UEFA Cup etc.

I love my DIRECTV but I hate their HD DVR unit, it is a terrible product. I’m canceling my serivce and switching to Cable with a TIVO unit.

Rating: 1 / 5

It’s impossible to fully describe why this product is so mediocre. The best way to do it would be that the menus and functions are all laid out poorly. Nothing is ever as easy or fast as it should be. Do you want examples? Let me give you a small handful.

1. With this box, you cannot watch TV while scheduling a program. To schedule a recording, the box completely switches to menu screens. With Ultimate TV, you can watch TV in a small box in the corner while setting up another recording. This applies all over the Tivo box. You can’t navigate any menus at all while watching TV.

2. The remote control that comes with it is a lousy design. It’s almost perfectly symmetric so that you can’t feel which buttons are which. Add that to a poor sensor on the box that won’t detect the remote from any kind of sharp angle, and you have a very annoying experience.

3. There are only three fast forward speeds with this box, vs. Ultimate TV’s four speeds. In addition, there’s an annoying half second delay between when you press the fast forward button and when the box actually starts fast forwarding.

4. There is no one touch recording with this box. A glaring omission, to say the least. To record something on TV, you have to go through three or four menus to finally get a recording started.

5. If you have a recording conflict, Ultimate TV gives you the option of immediately resolving it. This box does not. It only gives you the option to cancel a recording that you just set up.

6. Tivo has really stupid brand names for all sorts of functions that should have simple names. Your recorded shows are called “My Now Playing List” instead of “Recorded Shows”, or something like that.

7. There’s a delay before every menu comes up. This box just works very slowly.

8. THERE IS NO FUNCTION THAT TELLS YOU HOW MUCH SPACE YOU HAVE LEFT. You have no idea if you have five hours left or two hours left. This is an incredibly stupid ommission. Every recording medium ever made except for Tivo shows easily and clearly how much space you have left. Ultimate TV certainly does. Tivo does not.

Nothing, by itself, is a big problem. It’s all of the little annoyances that give you the impression that this is, overall, an inefficiently designed product without the user’s convenience given much consideration. I highly recommend only buying this receiver if it is your last resort. I’ll probably never buy another Tivo product again. There are a lot of recorders better than this one.

Rating: 2 / 5