# Directv needs to make a dvr like X1 now



## mkdtv21 (May 27, 2007)

I was just at my local state fair and there was a Comcast exhibit showing off their X1 service and while I have seen demonstrations on the internet for it, it just isn't the same as seeing it in person and using it. It is just incredible. It is extremely fast and responsive and looks graphically beautiful and has so many features. And yes I am starting this thread to express my jealousy and that I could switch to Comcast in my area and get X1 immediately. But I can't because there's one channel Comcast doesn't have and probably will never have and that is Boomerang. Directv has had it since the beginning and when my family switched to Directv ten years ago Comcast's service was pathetic compared to Directv and was far more expensive. But now that has all changed and my family is stuck with something we are frustrated with. My dad gets so annoyed when he has to wait ten seconds sometimes for a channel to change on the HR34 or how he can't get good local weather coverage. He is old and would never use a cell phone to look up weather or use the guide to get to channels. But my parents love Boomerang and watch that channel more than any other channel so we won't be switching to Comcast anytime soon but I myself would love to switch to Comcast. I'm not trying to insult Directv, they still have a lot of things that are better than Comcast but I don't think Directv is intending to be the highest tech pay tv provider anymore. I'm not concerned about hd channels, I know once Directv launches their new satellites they'll have just as much or more than the competition but what they really need to work on is their hardware and software. They don't need to have anymore bandwidth to offer a dvr as good as X1. I hope in five years I will be wrong about everything I said and Directv will be the best pay tv service in everything they offer so I'm just going to sit and wait and be patient.


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

The HR34 is definitely not the flagship DVR of Direct TV. The HR44, on the other hand, is AMAZING (IMO). The HR44 is super fast and responsive. You might look into getting rid of the 34 in favor of the 44. You would probably have to buy it from Solid Signal or perhaps by registering enough complaints about the 44 and getting a truck roll to replace it (and not taking the replacement unless it is a 44).

As far as local weather, if your 34 is hooked up to the internet, then you can use the TV APPS and get local weather very easily!


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

I don't know what the X1 is like, but having seen a HR44 in action all I have to say is that if you think it is "super fast and responsive" your standards must have been lowered through years of using even more sluggish Directv hardware. The HR44 is faster than Directv's other DVRs, but that's not saying much!

I used to complain about my Tivo Premiere until I saw the HR44 and found out how good I have it by comparison. And my Premiere is actually pretty slow as Tivos go since the Premiere 4 came out like three years ago and the Roamio replaced the Premiere line a year ago.

The main reason I haven't upgraded to Roamio is Tivo doesn't provide a way to copy all your settings over (i.e. including stuff like thumb ratings) Unfortunately every option has its strong and weak points, but performance is definitely a weak point for Directv IMHO.


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## Supramom2000 (Jun 21, 2007)

No lowered standards. I've had Dish, Comcast and DTV. My HR44 is extremely fast and very responsive. I'm sorry yours doesn't perform that way.


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

I hope it doesn't happen but down the line when 4k becomes reality for broadcasting, 
And make a 4k compatible Genie HR54, software would probably hamper the HR44, making everyone want the HR54 if it ever happens, 
Wild theory but look what happen to previous dvr's especially the HR34 and HR24.


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

It's like cellphones they want you to get greatest and latest and get rid of old technology

Until new updates comes around and lags the phones
and then newer phones come around


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

Everything works Very Well at a Demo Site :sleeping: However when installed at your Home you may find out it works a little different :rotfl: Things you can do-
1. Change providers (Won't do to for one channel)
2. Schedule a D* service call - (may not be Free) also a problem
3. Order a HR44 from Solid Signal replace it yourself (again not free)
4.Wait for D* Software Change (HR34) Complain on the internet about service (will do it's free)


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Isn't the X1 cloud based? I don't see DirecTV going with a full cloud system as that would become a major issue with ISPs. Also would be useless in a rural installation.

They have been putting together an HTML5 interface at least as proof of concept. Whether it will ever be released is a different story.


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## woj027 (Sep 3, 2007)

Comparing DVR's
I was at my parents house the other day, they have dish, and i was using their Hopper(?) and responsiveness compared to my HR44 was similar, but I was impressed by the GUI and especially the way you could look at programs and know what Season and Episode a show was in the Recorded shows list on the Hopper. On DirecTV you have to hit INFO for each show and then remember the original air date then remember and compare it to the other shows on the list.
I have only seen the X1 at demos and it seemed nice, but I'd have to see it connected to a TV.

Lots of Pro's and Cons with each DVR, I like DirecTV, but just like any software running something (Windows 7 or 8, OSX, iOS, Genie Software) there are always improvements the users want to see.

Good thing we get updates though, anyone own a newer car with in dash lcd screen? they never update the software that you interact with there, maps, radio, etc.


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## dualsub2006 (Aug 29, 2007)

I've seen X1 one time in Pittsburgh, but only briefly. It was really nice. 

I wouldn't declare a speed winner between X1 and HR44 because I didn't see enough of it. I will say my HR44 is fast enough for me. 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## iceman2a (Dec 30, 2005)

X1? Really? I think Comcrap sux all around! I recently moved into an apartment bldg where D* is not and option(temp move until I retire and move to FL within the next month).
I am paying as much for 1 DVR and less chnls than I did for 3 DVR's and 2 add rcvrs with DirectTV.
I had D* installed in the FL house a few weeks ago and though I was only there for a few days they were the best days since I moved out of my old house!
D* DVR's are not perfect but the overall exp beats Comcrap everyday!

Just my opinoin!!!


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## RD in Fla (Aug 26, 2007)

The problem is those of us that were early adopters of the Genie are stuck with HR34s. Would love an HR44 but not at full price.


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## rsonnens (Nov 8, 2006)

Having used the X1 I can say that it is a crappy UI. The could have designed a much better UI but Comcast feels compelled to to restrict many aspects of their UI on the X1 so that there help instructions work across all their DVRs even if the have different 'UI's. 

As far as speed, be warning that Comcast is migrating to diskless HDRs were everything you 'record' resides on a central server and I can guarantee that it will not perform as well as a local device.

The Genie is heads and tails a better DVR. Don't confuse UI chrome with being a good DVR.

I was only stuck with the X1 for 6 months (which my house was being remodeled.) It was actually a trial run also to see if I was going to go with Comcast when I moved back into my house. Now that I moved back home, and while I use Comcast for my internet, I stuck with DTV.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

RD in Fla said:


> The problem is those of us that were early adopters of the Genie are stuck with HR34s. Would love an HR44 but not at full price.


What do you expect Directv to do, upgrade everyone with a HR34 because there's a newer model? What are they supposed to do with all those HR34s if they do that? What happens when they release a HR54?


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## Araxen (Dec 18, 2005)

The X1 is a really nice system but it has a fatal flaw in that you can't pause/rewind live tv on the remote boxes and only on the DVR can you do that.


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## RD in Fla (Aug 26, 2007)

slice1900 said:


> What do you expect Directv to do, upgrade everyone with a HR34 because there's a newer model? What are they supposed to do with all those HR34s if they do that? What happens when they release a HR54?


I'd be happy if they would simply permit two Genies on an account. I'd probably bite the bullet and add an HR44 if that were the case.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

slice1900 said:


> What do you expect Directv to do, upgrade everyone with a HR34 because there's a newer model? What are they supposed to do with all those HR34s if they do that? What happens when they release a HR54?


Yes, I do expect that.
When they give you a poc, and expect you to pay the same as everyone else with the new revised equipment. 
Yeah , I expect the most up-to-date equipment, or at least a properly functioning stable machine. 
Not one that every time Directv screws up a software update, we suffer again with crap that we dealt with in 2012.

I'll tell you what Directv can do with these Hr34s, they can throw them off a cliff.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

damondlt said:


> Yes, I do expect that.


So if you were running this company, would you do the same?


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

RD in Fla said:


> I'd be happy if they would simply permit two Genies on an account. I'd probably bite the bullet and add an HR44 if that were the case.


If they did, but the only way to get the second Genie is by paying FULL price. Would you still consider that idea?


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## RD in Fla (Aug 26, 2007)

peds48 said:


> If they did, but the only way to get the second Genie is by paying FULL price. Would you still consider that idea?


I would use Solid Signal and pay their price. Yes. The leased price. If you mean full price that isn't leased, no.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

RD in Fla said:


> I would use Solid Signal and pay their price. Yes. The leased price. If you mean full price that isn't leased, no.


Yes, I meant full leased price


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

peds48 said:


> So if you were running this company, would you do the same?


I wouldn't have multiple versions of the same equipment. That is Directv's biggest downfall. Always has been.
No reason to have 4 versions of the same receivers, with vastly no improvement in function in any of them.
I would take one model, and profect it . 
So not the case with Directv.
There are plenty of threads right here to back that up, even that clunky HR44 that still has problems in these very threads.

But hey have at it.
Some of us are at our limits with Directv software department.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

damondlt said:


> I wouldn't have multiple versions of the same equipment. That is Directv's biggest downfall. Always has been.
> No reason to have 4 versions of the same receivers, with vastly no improvement in function in any of them.


so how would you upgrade equipment?

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

peds48 said:


> so how would you upgrade equipment?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk


You tell me peds , how do you upgrade now?
You 
Go from SD, to HD
You Go from NON DVR to DVR
You go from No Genie to Genie. 
So what the difference?
There are no upgrades now past a Genie.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

damondlt said:


> You tell me peds , how do you upgrade now?


No, you are the owner of the company, not the customer. How you would upgrade your hardware without getting in to this

*I wouldn't have multiple versions of the same equipment. That is Directv's biggest downfall.*


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

RD in Fla said:


> The problem is those of us that were early adopters of the Genie are stuck with HR34s. Would love an HR44 but not at full price.


I've seen HR44's going for regular HD DVR prices, some even lower on Ebay, whether they're trustworthy or not you'll have find out yourself, leased btw if you want it owned it'll be in the $400 range.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

damondlt said:


> I wouldn't have multiple versions of the same equipment. That is Directv's biggest downfall. Always has been.
> No reason to have 4 versions of the same receivers, with vastly no improvement in function in any of them.
> I would take one model, and profect it .
> So not the case with Directv.
> There are plenty of threads right here to back that up, even that clunky HR44 that still has problems in these very threads.


So since the HR34 was the first Genie, they should have never introduced the HR44? Just keep working on improving the HR34? What if they find hardware issues, or find a way to make them for $30 less? Make the fixes but still call it a HR34? Or stick with the original even though it could be improved, to avoid the perceived unfairness of some customers getting a "better" Genie than others?

Or should they have never released the HR34, and just kept working on it internally, until they built the HR44 and kept working on that, too - and maybe still would not have released it yet, since you say it "still has problems" it clearly isn't perfected yet!

If Directv didn't offer the Genie because they were still perfecting it, would you even be a Directv customer at this point? Or would you have abandoned them for Dish or cable, who might not have a perfect multi-room DVR either, but could at least offer you one?

It gets down to which do you think is worse, offering a product that doesn't have all the bugs out of it yet, or not offering the product at all? I think for most consumers it would be the latter, that's why companies are more concerned with "time to market" than driving the defect list down to zero. That's why you see programmer time being allocated toward new features rather than fixing bugs in the existing features. It sucks - especially if you have no interest in the new features - but that's the way it is.


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

I would rather see they spent a good amount of time testing before releasing publicly, sort of like they did with HR44 and C41W


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

slice1900 said:


> So since the HR34 was the first Genie, they should have never introduced the HR44? Just keep working on improving the HR34? What if they find hardware issues, or find a way to make them for $30 less? Make the fixes but still call it a HR34? Or stick with the original even though it could be improved, to avoid the perceived unfairness of some customers getting a "better" Genie than others?
> 
> Or should they have never released the HR34, and just kept working on it internally, until they built the HR44 and kept working on that, too - and maybe still would not have released it yet, since you say it "still has problems" it clearly isn't perfected yet!
> 
> ...


HR 34 is a poc.
End of story.
10 years of HR2*s, and what do we have?
I'll take a 722k over anything directv has to offer when it comes to operation.

For the life of me I can't understand why working hand and hand with tivo for all them years, and this what we still end up with.
Roamio works fantastic, Even the Hoppers work circles around the HR's. 
And Dish has been convicted of stealing Tivo technology. 
That's sad.

Over 3 years time HR34 should be a top running box.
Since its not, than Directv should be replacing them to a properly functioning box. 
And Directv can only say sorry.
Unacceptable!!

Over a month and still no new software version, knowing these machines are not functioning properly.
Unacceptable!!


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Make sure it stays civil people. I'm just sayin'.

Mike


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

damondlt said:


> I'll take a 722k over anything directv has to offer when it comes to operation.


I suspect there would be a lot of people who would disagree with that perspective, especially those comparing an HR44 to a 722....or a Hopper...or a Roamio. A Google search of "problems with x1 platform" exposes plenty of "issues".

There are plenty of pros and cons to _*any*_ HD DVR available today. It comes down to what does the job best (in terms of capabilities, not just features) for a user's needs.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

damondlt said:


> Yes, I do expect that.
> When they give you a poc, and expect you to pay the same as everyone else with the new revised equipment.
> Yeah , I expect the most up-to-date equipment, or at least a properly functioning stable machine.
> Not one that every time Directv screws up a software update, we suffer again with crap that we dealt with in 2012.
> ...


Interesting. AFAIK, no TV service provider does this. The hardware you have is the hardware you keep unless it breaks.

Am I wrong about this? Who keeps all their subs on the latest equipment all the time?

Mike


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

damondlt said:


> HR 34 is a poc.
> End of story.
> 10 years of HR2*s, and what do we have?
> I'll take a 722k over anything directv has to offer when it comes to operation.
> ...


What you are talking about goes in cycles. Maybe (maybe) the Romaio is all it is cracked up to be, but Tivo languished for YEARS with slow, clunky DVRs with mixed HD and SD interfaces and tons of bugs. And Tivo NEVER got the clunky boxes to work well. They designed a new one. Exactly what you are saying DirecTV should not do.

The problem with trying to improve an existing box is that there are limits to what can be done. Do you think Roku is deliberately holding back on some upgrades but not others on their older models? No, they just cannot support the older models for all upgrades. There are limits to the hardware itself.

It is just the way electronics work. You design as best you can and you improve what you can. Then at some point, you have to redesign. You cannot continue to make improvements in software alone.


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## dualsub2006 (Aug 29, 2007)

tonyd79 said:


> What you are talking about goes in cycles. Maybe (maybe) the Romaio is all it is cracked up to be, but Tivo languished for YEARS with slow, clunky DVRs with mixed HD and SD interfaces and tons of bugs.


I'm not sure about bugs, but the Roamio still languishes in the mixed HD/SD UI.

The settings are all in SD.

I'd happily pay $299 to have a 2nd HR44, and if it meant that I had to go from C41's back to H25's to make it all work right, I'd do that.

I wouldn't even contemplate switching to cable, FiOptics or Dish over equipment. If I were switching, I'd only switch to a provider that I could use TiVo with.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

That'll definitely make it so much better for me with a second HR44 and have 12 tuners to record
with so much prime time shows and football, it'll be a life saver.


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## fudpucker (Jul 23, 2007)

I just switched from a 722k to a Genie HR44. I would really, really not want to go back to the 722k.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

dualsub2006 said:


> I'm not sure about bugs, but the Roamio still languishes in the mixed HD/SD UI.
> 
> The settings are all in SD.


I don't think very many people care that the settings menu is still in SD. It isn't something you use frequently, so I wouldn't be surprised if they never update it. I'd rather they worked on fixing actual issues rather than devote engineering time to revamping the settings menu.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

tonyd79 said:


> What you are talking about goes in cycles. Maybe (maybe) the Romaio is all it is cracked up to be, but Tivo languished for YEARS with slow, clunky DVRs with mixed HD and SD interfaces and tons of bugs. And Tivo NEVER got the clunky boxes to work well. They designed a new one. Exactly what you are saying DirecTV should not do.


With Tivo it is different though since you own the boxes. I can't complain about my Premiere not being as good as the Roamio, because I bought a Premiere at launch and have been using it for 4 1/2 years. The Roamio has only been out a year. If I really wanted one, I could buy one and sell my Premiere.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

damondlt said:


> HR 34 is a poc.
> End of story.
> 10 years of HR2*s, and what do we have?
> I'll take a 722k over anything directv has to offer when it comes to operation.
> ...


So as a company owner of DirecTV® (or Dish or Cable CO) please explain

you are the owner of the company, not the customer. How you would upgrade your hardware without getting in to this

*I wouldn't have multiple versions of the same equipment. That is Directv's biggest downfall.*

Please don't dismiss&#8230;.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

acostapimps said:


> I would rather see they spent a good amount of time testing before releasing publicly, sort of like they did with HR44 and C41W


What makes you think they spent longer testing that than other things?


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

tonyd79 said:


> What you are talking about goes in cycles. Maybe (maybe) the Romaio is all it is cracked up to be, but Tivo languished for YEARS with slow, clunky DVRs with mixed HD and SD interfaces and tons of bugs. And Tivo NEVER got the clunky boxes to work well. They designed a new one. Exactly what you are saying DirecTV should not do....


Well....

The Roamio does still have an SD UI for settings, but so what? Once you have the system setup, you never use those menus again (btw, DirecTV doesn't even surface some of the equivalent screens in their UI, you have to boot into diagnostic mode to reach them). All of the screens used to operate the DVR are HD (and quite nicely designed too).

As for the "old clunky boxes" - the Premiere DVRs are running the same software as the Roamios. In fact, the UI was just rewritten in Haxe (it used to be Flash) and all the reports say it has considerably improved the performance of the Premiere. AS it stands, the differences between a Roamio and Premiere are limited to tuner count, disk space and a faster CPU (most clearly an advantage in the OTT apps like Netflix).

Though, as Slice1900 points out, TiVo has an entirely different business model. You OWN your TiVo. If you buy lifetime service for it, you can generally recoup a large portion of the purchase price even years later. If you had bought a TiVo Premiere three years ago, with lifetime service, you can sell it today and have a net cost for the use of that DVR over the past 2 or 3 years of about $200. Over the same time period, you will have paid DirecTV $216 in monthly fees, plus whatever you paid up front, and still have to send the DVR back to DirecTV.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

Diana C said:


> Over the same time period, you will have paid DirecTV $216 in monthly fees, plus whatever you paid up front, and still have to send the DVR back to DirecTV.


Since you "sent back" the TiVO to its rightful new owner, wouldn't that be a wash? A better offer for DirecTV® since they did not have to spent $1000? At front to begin with? (assuming customer got DirecTV® equipment at not cost, {new customer })


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Let's not go down that road again. Suffice it to say that even with the "come back" offers DirecTV keeps sending me, my monthly bill for DirecTV would still be as much as my monthly cost for FiOS TV, FIOS Internet, and phone. In other words, I'm still more than $90/month ahead of the game. In 2 years, I'll be ahead by several hundred dollars even if I trash the 2 Roamios and 5 Minis.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

Diana C said:


> Let's not go down that road again. Suffice it to say that even with the "come back" offers DirecTV keeps sending me, my monthly bill for DirecTV would still be as much as my monthly cost for FiOS TV, FIOS Internet, and phone. In other words, I'm still more than $90/month ahead of the game. In 2 years, I'll be ahead by several hundred dollars even if I trash the 2 Roamios and 5 Minis.


 no I was only referring to hardware cost only since that was what your post was about

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

I'm with Diana. Almost a year now and Roamio w/FiOS is the ultimate setup currently. Genie for Sunday Ticket also a nice match. And it's not just the DVR when evaluating the customer experience, the mobile app and web access, Amazon/Netflix access, and keyboard slider remote all contribute to enhancing the experience as well.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

My Genie is now Deactivated. BYE BYE!


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

My biggest gripe: I've been a very good D* customer since 1997. I currently have no commitment.

I called and asked for an HR44. I was told "No. You'll get what we send you".

I immediately started researching the TiVo line for FiOS. What horrible customer service!


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

peds48 said:


> no I was only referring to hardware cost only since that was what your post was about
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk


Well strictly talking about hardware cost....

While the the monthly use fee that DirecTV charges is almost a wash with the net cost of a TiVo, that assumes that you got the DirecTV DVR for free. If you are an existing customer and don't want to play "dialing for discounts" and DVR model roulette, you paid $199 for a "regular" DVR and $299 for Genie.

Even if you pay for a Roamio today with a credit card and you pay list price (something quite easy to avoid) the end of life cost, including credit card interest, of a Roamio and a Genie is a wash. So there is no particular advantage, from a strictly hardware cost point of view, between the purchase price of a TiVo and the upfront plus monthly cost of a Genie.

Obviously, if you are lucky enough to get the Genie at reduced or no cost then there is an advantage, cost wise. But as Sixto points out, there are a number of use advantages to TiVo Roamios, including easy archival of recordings off the DVR, built in streaming and transcoding, remote controls with full function QWERTY keyboards, built in streaming apps, 3x the storage capacity and 1 more tuner.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

Diana C said:


> As for the "old clunky boxes" - the Premiere DVRs are running the same software as the Roamios. In fact, the UI was just rewritten in Haxe (it used to be Flash) and all the reports say it has considerably improved the performance of the Premiere. AS it stands, the differences between a Roamio and Premiere are limited to tuner count, disk space and a faster CPU (most clearly an advantage in the OTT apps like Netflix).


I was talking more historically than the Premiere. And I was talking about very slow UIs that Tivo had with mixed and messy interfaces. Some of us have a longer view of the industry than a couple of years.

Tivo lost me a long time ago.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

tonyd79 said:


> I was talking more historically than the Premiere. And I was talking about very slow UIs that Tivo had with mixed and messy interfaces. Some of us have a longer view of the industry than a couple of years.
> 
> Tivo lost me a long time ago.


So back before the Premieres were the TiVoHDs (which use a similar software build to the current DirecTV TiVo). Lots of those are still in use, but you are going back about 8 years. Neither DirecTV nor Dish had particularly good HD DVRs back then. Earlier than that you are into the Series 2 SD only DVRs which worked great both in their DirecTV incarnations and standalone. Honestly, I've never seen a TiVo that was as slow as a DirecTV HR21.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Directv has the slowest receivers I've ever used.
Still does!


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

damondlt said:


> Directv has the slowest receivers I've ever used.
> Still does!


Which, apparently, won't be a problem for you anymore. I hope you like your new service provider.

Mike


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

Mike Bertelson said:


> Which, apparently, won't be a problem for you anymore. I hope you like your new service provider.
> 
> Mike


Thanks, I'm sure I will.


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## HaterSlayer (Mar 24, 2010)

I had the X1 and now have a 44 and the 44 is better IMO. I find it faster than the X1. I do think the way Comcast does their on demand is WAY better though. I also like how you can type out a show's name and just find it.

The thing I HATED was that if your internet went down then you can't change channels so the receivers become basically useless.


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## AMike (Nov 21, 2005)

I had X1 while I was at my work apartment in NJ just outside of Philly. The X1 is a slick device especially with the On Demand menus, and the ability to auto tune to HD channels. In the area where I was, the cloud was not fully in place just yet, so the hard drive had limited space for HD recordings. The guide is pretty good and responsive, but has one little bitty issue: you can't see live programming while viewing the guide. The guide covers the entire screen. As the installer told me, you'll have to look around the guide to see your program (I think that was his own shot against the box). 

I've also had the Roamio when I had cable and I thought it was the superior DVR over those that I have used for both cable and satellite. The Roamio certainly is not perfect, but if there were a D* version of this, I'd jump all over it.


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## Rtm (Oct 18, 2011)

I have an HR44 and I agree the experience of the X1 is better I tried it out in there xfinity Experience Showroom. I just decided to stay with directv and upgrade to the HR44 at the time and I'm fine with it for the time being but I will be switching to Comcast in a year or so.


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## cypherx (Aug 27, 2010)

I've never used the X1, but all the demo video's and online pictures make it look real slick. I really like the modern design and look of it. Not to mention the fluidity of its interface as seen in the YouTube videos on it. It really does remind me something akin to an xbox 360 or xbox one.

Tivo is testing it's free hardware model again. The catch is that you are under a contract with Tivo and committed to the $20 a month service fee if you decide to go with the $0 up front 4 tuner Roamio. See here: http://zatznotfunny.com/2014-09/tivo-tests-free-hardware-again/

Seems Tivo Roamio users are very committed to that platform, and they seem to enjoy that user experience. I would love to try it but it would mean switching from DirecTV. I really do wish that the DirecTV's Tivo solution would be like an HR44 with the 5 tuners running Tivo Roamio software. Not the HR22 with the old Tivo interface from the early 2000's.

What if DirecTV rewrote their UI in HAXE? Maybe the performance would improve then? I'm on an HR24-200 and the performance is abysmal. The remote lag is horrible and it constantly scrolls past the channel you want in the guide. Also it skips to the end of the recording (or beginning) a lot if your too quick with the 30 sec skip. I honestly don't remember it being this bad, but hey, this is many software versions later. Just like IOS 7 killed the iPhone 4 and IOS 8 really slows down the iPhone 5... I think these companies slow down older equipment on purpose to get you to upgrade to a newer model.


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## Aridon (Mar 13, 2007)

TiVo has been losing sub's for a long time. Their retail business is hurting badly.

The hr44 isn't as fast as the roamio but it is pretty darn close in my experience as i have both right now.

I do like a couple things from the TiVo like the guide having the extra half hour but DirecTV also has great features like better tuner utilization. Really they are tit for tat for most.


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