Directv R15 (120 GB) DTV Receiver / 100-Hours DVR
- Type: TV Receiver Video Recorder (DVR)
- Broadcast Type: Satellite Terrestrial
- Compatible Service: DirecTV
- Audio Support: Dolby Digital
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Run away!
Pros
It's a DVR, still better than watching commercials or live TV.
Cons
Unit performance is so incredibly poor and inconsistent, you'll find yourself begging for mercy.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
If you must buy it, be prepared to be disappointed.
I used to have a DirecTV Tivo unit, the R10. Unfortunately, it crapped out one day, so I went to the store to pick up this unit to replace it. The R15 is the first DVR offered by DirecTV that isn't based on Tivo, it is based on their own software, and boy has been a nightmare dealing with it.
The R15 has a number of glitches/bugs. I'll highlight the more severe ones here:
1) Deletes shows while you are watching them
2) Once, about 10 shows I regularly record, were simply removed. Nowhere to be found. I had to re-add them.
3) Unit regularly crashes and reboots. Occasionally, a show becomes corrupted, so it cannot be watched past a certain point.
4) Response time varies considerably. Sometimes you can press buttons on the remote, and you can visibly see the unit received the signal (a light on the r10 lets you know) but you can sometimes wait 3-5 seconds before anything happens. Sometimes bring up the list of prerecorded shows takes over 5 seconds.
5) Often just flipping through the channels is a chore. The player will take several seconds each time you change a channel before the display tells you what you are watching.
6) The instant replay button has pretty poor response time, so if you overshoot commercials, it is a pain backing up. Navigating backwards and forwards in general is often unpleasant, because the response time of the unit from remote commands is so poor, you find yourself over/under shooting your target A LOT.
7) If you try watching a prerecored show while it's still taping, sometimes the unit will just dump you into the show running live. This is extremely annoying when I pretape sporting events and start watching 30-40 minutes late in order to zap the commercials. Once you know the score, it doesn't make much sense to rewind.
8) Setting the unit to tape a show is not easy. It took me at least 30 minutes of intense searching to discover how it is done. However, DirecTV recently updated the software to make this a bit easier. I haven't had a chance to try out the new setup yet.
All is not lost and the unit isn't a total door stop.
It does allow you to watch TV while you are doing other things, such as prioritizing your shows, or browsing for something to record. So while you are cussing at the machine for taking so long, at least you can watch something in the meantime.
It has a 30 second ahead feature, but it doesn't instantly skip ahead 30 seconds like the Tivo used to. It does a FF for exactly 30 seconds, so you are forced to watch the commercials a bit. It takes about 4 seconds to zap 30 seconds of commercials.
The r15 has two tuners, which is nice. So you can tape a show and watch live tv, or watch a prerecorded show and tape two others. It also has 100 hours of capacity and the unit tells you how much space is taken up by recorded shows.
I've called DirecTV twice to complain about this unit. Both times they seemed so surprised, but at least they listened to me complain about it. On my last call, I begged and pleaded for them to send me a Tivo, but they aren't providing them anymore. They are phasing out Tivo for their own brand of DVR. Only problem is their DVR is a piece of crap, and I told them that on the phone.
I've had the unit for about 8 months, and it's been the most painful 8 months of television I've ever endured. If I wasn't addicted to DVR crack, I would have chucked this unit out the window long ago.
In all honesty, I think casual users might find the unit acceptable. If everyone was having the nightmare I was having, DirectTV wouldn't be selling the unit at all. I am a power user, and I probably do things that many users might not. DirecTV will probably get all these glitches worked out in a year or two, but for now, they don't have a clue.
The R15 has a number of glitches/bugs. I'll highlight the more severe ones here:
1) Deletes shows while you are watching them
2) Once, about 10 shows I regularly record, were simply removed. Nowhere to be found. I had to re-add them.
3) Unit regularly crashes and reboots. Occasionally, a show becomes corrupted, so it cannot be watched past a certain point.
4) Response time varies considerably. Sometimes you can press buttons on the remote, and you can visibly see the unit received the signal (a light on the r10 lets you know) but you can sometimes wait 3-5 seconds before anything happens. Sometimes bring up the list of prerecorded shows takes over 5 seconds.
5) Often just flipping through the channels is a chore. The player will take several seconds each time you change a channel before the display tells you what you are watching.
6) The instant replay button has pretty poor response time, so if you overshoot commercials, it is a pain backing up. Navigating backwards and forwards in general is often unpleasant, because the response time of the unit from remote commands is so poor, you find yourself over/under shooting your target A LOT.
7) If you try watching a prerecored show while it's still taping, sometimes the unit will just dump you into the show running live. This is extremely annoying when I pretape sporting events and start watching 30-40 minutes late in order to zap the commercials. Once you know the score, it doesn't make much sense to rewind.
8) Setting the unit to tape a show is not easy. It took me at least 30 minutes of intense searching to discover how it is done. However, DirecTV recently updated the software to make this a bit easier. I haven't had a chance to try out the new setup yet.
All is not lost and the unit isn't a total door stop.
It does allow you to watch TV while you are doing other things, such as prioritizing your shows, or browsing for something to record. So while you are cussing at the machine for taking so long, at least you can watch something in the meantime.
It has a 30 second ahead feature, but it doesn't instantly skip ahead 30 seconds like the Tivo used to. It does a FF for exactly 30 seconds, so you are forced to watch the commercials a bit. It takes about 4 seconds to zap 30 seconds of commercials.
The r15 has two tuners, which is nice. So you can tape a show and watch live tv, or watch a prerecorded show and tape two others. It also has 100 hours of capacity and the unit tells you how much space is taken up by recorded shows.
I've called DirecTV twice to complain about this unit. Both times they seemed so surprised, but at least they listened to me complain about it. On my last call, I begged and pleaded for them to send me a Tivo, but they aren't providing them anymore. They are phasing out Tivo for their own brand of DVR. Only problem is their DVR is a piece of crap, and I told them that on the phone.
I've had the unit for about 8 months, and it's been the most painful 8 months of television I've ever endured. If I wasn't addicted to DVR crack, I would have chucked this unit out the window long ago.
In all honesty, I think casual users might find the unit acceptable. If everyone was having the nightmare I was having, DirectTV wouldn't be selling the unit at all. I am a power user, and I probably do things that many users might not. DirecTV will probably get all these glitches worked out in a year or two, but for now, they don't have a clue.
