# R15 vs R16



## crkeehn (Apr 23, 2002)

Is there any difference in speed between the R15 and the R16? My son had an R15 in his bedroom and it died. DirecTV replaced it with an R16-500 and he is complaining that it's "retarded." When I ask him what kind of problem he's having, he says that the receiver is slow.

I was under the impression that the two receivers were fairly similar and that the only significant difference was the ability to use SWM on the R16. 

I did notice that the 0x136b firmware was downloaded within a few hours of the receiver being installed.

TIA


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

I've used both but it's been a couple of years. I don't recall their being a significant difference between them.

I would wait a day or two and see if there is any difference (give the unit time to download all guide data, etc.). If it is still sluggish after 48 hours, try a reset (push red button by access card). If still sluggish after that, try a ten minute power removal (unplug the AC power cord).


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## JosephF (Apr 23, 2002)

The R16 is definitely the newer design of the two and if anything should perform better.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

JosephF said:


> The R16 is definitely the newer design of the two and if anything should perform better.


Newer does not always mean better.

In this case I'm betting that after a day it will be back to normal.


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## kevinturcotte (Dec 19, 2006)

JosephF said:


> The R16 is definitely the newer design of the two and if anything should perform better.


I wouldn't go THAT far. Look at how "well" the HR21, 22, and 23 worked compared to the 20 lol
It's probably sluggish because of what Carl6 suggested-it's so bogged down because it's downloading & processing so much guide data and other stuff all at once. Should be fine in 24-48 hours.


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## hallrk (Apr 15, 2010)

I have had both R15 and 16. I could tell no difference in performance. The tech told me the only difference was the SWM capabilty for the R16 and the looks. An R15 was silver and a R16 is dark/black.


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## crkeehn (Apr 23, 2002)

During dinner last night, I asked my son whether the R16 had improved. He said it's running faster but "it's still lame." I guess the problem is just that it's different.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

crkeehn said:


> During dinner last night, I asked my son whether the R16 had improved. He said it's running faster but "it's still lame." I guess the problem is just that it's different.


I'd try going to the menu/system setup/reset and choose "reset everything". It's possible that there are some corrupted files on the HDD since you don't know what the box has been through before you got it. REMEMBER this will delete all recordings and settings.

Another thing I would do is reset the box and when the message "running receiver diagnostics" appears press the SELECT button on the remote. This reveals an extensive diagnostic and test menu. Run all of the diagnostics to determine if there are any problems with the box. If there are, call in and request another replacement.


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## Jacob Braun (Oct 6, 2011)

Try turning scrolling effects off...


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## Sea bass (Jun 10, 2005)

I have an R15-500 & R16-300, both leatest software, the R15 is a lot more responsive from booting up to scrolling through the menus. Nature of the beast? 

I did change the R15 HDD a couple years back due to constant rebooting, unit speed seems the same as before and the reboot issue is history!.


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## crkeehn (Apr 23, 2002)

I have a feeling that I'll be finding out the answer myself. My R15 just died and Directv is shipping a replacement. I expect to get an R16 also.


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## west99999 (May 12, 2007)

You might just get an R22 actually.


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## crkeehn (Apr 23, 2002)

west99999 said:


> You might just get an R22 actually.


That would be cool, but my luck is generally not that good.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

What went wrong with your R15? I have TWO R15-300's and I love them. I have an R22 and I HATE it!! The R15-300 is fast, pretty much bug-free, and doesn't have all the useless "frills" the HD DVR's have. Unlike the other DVR's, the three different models of R15 and the R16 are quite different. People have complained of problems with the R15-500 that do not show up in the R15-300. The R16 is indeed the last version and the only one that supports SWM but it is by no means the "best".

Let us know what version DVR you get and how it works!!


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## crkeehn (Apr 23, 2002)

My prior DVR was a R15-100. I was very happy with it, it seemed to work just fine for my purposes. it also died suddenly on Saturday. Although the receiver was getting power and the fan was operating, the receiver would not power up. There were no lights and no video output. 

I got the new DVR yesterday and it was an R15-300. It really is smaller than the 100 and 500 model. Interestingly enough, it apparently came with the current firmware and didn't have to download and update itself. It seems to be fine, working just as my R15-100 used to. There is a difference in the way the receiver handles drop down menus. I suspect that the difference is just a matter of changing a setting, I really haven't had the receiver long enough to figure everything out.

The difference that I'm talking about? When I'm setting a season pass, selecting the number of episodes to retain or whether to record first run or repeats. With my old receiver, I would click on the dropdown menu, the selections would appear and I would make my choice. With the new R15-300, I click the dropdown menu and the selections appeeeeeeaarrrrrrrr. Rather than just having the choices just snap out, the menu kind of rolls out. When I have a bit more time I'll take a look and see if I can find a setting to change.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

crkeehn said:


> My prior DVR was a R15-100. I was very happy with it, it seemed to work just fine for my purposes. it also died suddenly on Saturday. Although the receiver was getting power and the fan was operating, the receiver would not power up. There were no lights and no video output.
> 
> I got the new DVR yesterday and it was an R15-300. It really is smaller than the 100 and 500 model. Interestingly enough, it apparently came with the current firmware and didn't have to download and update itself. It seems to be fine, working just as my R15-100 used to. There is a difference in the way the receiver handles drop down menus. I suspect that the difference is just a matter of changing a setting, I really haven't had the receiver long enough to figure everything out.
> 
> The difference that I'm talking about? When I'm setting a season pass, selecting the number of episodes to retain or whether to record first run or repeats. With my old receiver, I would click on the dropdown menu, the selections would appear and I would make my choice. With the new R15-300, I click the dropdown menu and the selections appeeeeeeaarrrrrrrr. Rather than just having the choices just snap out, the menu kind of rolls out. When I have a bit more time I'll take a look and see if I can find a setting to change.


Actually, it's still called the Prioritizer on the SD DVR's. On the R15-300 you either select a show from the guide and press MORE INFO followed by RECORD SERIES or select the show from the Prioritizer itself to change the specific options. New additions to the Prioritizer appear with the HIGHEST PRIORITY (the top of the listing)-just the opposite of the HD DVR's. You can also pre-set the default options if you want to schedule a series recording by clicking the record key twice while displaying it in the guide.

The only issue I've ever found with changing options is when you schedule a MANUAL recording. After you move the highlighted selection to the specific options it takes about 5-10 seconds before the unit responds to your first change. But then it moves along quite smoothly.

There is no selection to change how the unit responds to option changes to series recordings. The only options that change the way the display behaves are to show or not show "recording tips", scrolling (on or off), and the timeout (2, 4, or 6 seconds). You can also select if you want the grid guide first or the categories first.


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