# best buy sold out of directv r15



## shaun-ohio (Aug 24, 2002)

just checked the website for my home town, best buy is sold out of the dvr, must be something good about them


----------



## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

Well I kinda feel sorry for those people who get them for christmas and have issues with them. NOT going to be pretty.


----------



## cmtar (Nov 16, 2005)

Kanyon71 said:


> Well I kinda feel sorry for those people who get them for christmas and have issues with them. NOT going to be pretty.


Ive had mine for about a month with no issues,crashes, lockups, etc. Works perfect. My Dtivo aka Dcrapo as been in on the shelf ever since.


----------



## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

cmtar said:


> Ive had mine for about a month with no issues,crashes, lockups, etc. Works perfect. My Dtivo aka Dcrapo as been in on the shelf ever since.


How are those dual buffers working out for you?


----------



## byron (Nov 15, 2004)

raott said:


> How are those dual buffers working out for you?


different people place value in different features... just because some people like things like 30sec skip and dual buffers doesn't mean that everyone lives by them. heck, my parents have 3 DTiVos and I bet they have no clue what dual buffers are or how to use them to their advantage. i have 4 DTiVos and an R15 and I like features of both of them... although if i had to pick one unit to live by (as it is right now) I would certainly take the DTiVo unit. But the R15 is certainly a nice unit and has a lot of potential to be a very very nice DVR. i don't understand why everyone is taking the R15 so personally and bashing it. if someone likes their R15, what's it to you?


----------



## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

the-sloth said:


> different people place value in different features... just because some people like things like 30sec skip and dual buffers doesn't mean that everyone lives by them. QUOTE]
> 
> dual buffers are a standard feature on almost all DVR's including cable.
> 
> Just keeping it real so that some innocent future purchaser knows what he's getting.


----------



## mphare (Nov 15, 2005)

So, if the R15 gets dual buffer, then you'll consider it near perfect (except for that 30 second skip thingy)?


----------



## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

mphare said:


> So, if the R15 gets dual buffer, then you'll consider it near perfect (except for that 30 second skip thingy)?


dual buffer and get the caller-id and recording bugs fixed and yes, I personally will be happy and promise to never post again.

The 50/100 limit should be fixed as well in my opinion but most of what I watch are weekly series and those limits do not affect me personally. Others will have a legitimate gripe with those limits.


----------



## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Considering the older DTivo's dont have callerid, I'd say thats not really an issue, and I'm sure they'll get it fixed soon. ITs a brand new box, give it time to mature. The DTivos were far from perfect when they came out.

Just keeping it real so not everyone gets suckered into your rants....


----------



## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

CCarncross said:


> Considering the older DTivo's dont have callerid, I'd say thats not really an issue, and I'm sure they'll get it fixed soon. ITs a brand new box, give it time to mature. The DTivos were far from perfect when they came out.
> 
> Just keeping it real so not everyone gets suckered into your rants....


It's almost Christmas so I'm not going to argue with you. But, most are tired of the "it's a brand new box" theory.

The platform is not a new platform, look at the sky forums and they have been seeing the exact same problems which have fallen on deaf ears. Plus directv has had several years of the directivo box to learn what people want.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

raott said:


> It's almost Christmas so I'm not going to argue with you. But, most are tired of the "it's a brand new box" theory.
> 
> The platform is not a new platform, look at the sky forums and they have been seeing the exact same problems which have fallen on deaf ears. Plus directv has had several years of the directivo box to learn what people want.


Some folks view the world through Rose Colored glasses.

I hope DTV does work on these problems. But I wouldn't bet my need for a DVR on it.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

CCarncross said:


> Considering the older DTivo's dont have callerid, I'd say thats not really an issue, and I'm sure they'll get it fixed soon. ITs a brand new box, give it time to mature. The DTivos were far from perfect when they came out.
> 
> Just keeping it real so not everyone gets suckered into your rants....


Can someone explain this need for Caller ID on your TV? I just don't get it? If I want to see who's calling I look at my phone. It's right next to me. I had caller ID on my nonDVR units from DTV and turned those off ASAP. Do you really need to see who's calling on your TV? Also, doesn't it just show the phone #? Does it show the name of who's calling?


----------



## joecool1964 (Nov 20, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> Can someone explain this need for Caller ID on your TV? I just don't get it? If I want to see who's calling I look at my phone. It's right next to me. I had caller ID on my nonDVR units from DTV and turned those off ASAP. Do you really need to see who's calling on your TV? Also, doesn't it just show the phone #? Does it show the name of who's calling?


It shows both the name and the number of who is calling, just like a 'regular' caller ID. The caller ID on my original R-15 (I've already had to have mine replaced) worked very infrequently. I think the idea is, if you're going to put caller ID in the unit, it should work. I've got a $.99 caller ID unit that I got at Walmart that works more reliably than the one in the R-15. Having said that, my new unit has worked flawlessly...for 1 day. All the calls have been logged, and Series Links appear (so far) to be appearing appropriately on the 'to do' list.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Thanks Joe, that makes more sense. Although I find it quite funny that many of the complaints about the DTivo are that CSR's say a phone line must be connected and folks don't have them. Yet the NDS software is coded as such to enable caller ID, hense a phone line is connected.

Why devote any programming resources to code caller ID or fix caller ID when those resources could be spent on some of the other items mentioned on this forum? So DTivo's don't have caller ID but do have a 30 second skip. R15's now have caller ID but no 30 second skip.

Go figure.


----------



## mphare (Nov 15, 2005)

I thought Caller ID on the TV was a bit strange myself, until UTV had it enabled with their last service update. When we had to move to DTiVo it's one of the first things my wife complained about - no caller id.

Myself, I can take it or leave it. But if mama's not happy... nobody's happy.


----------



## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

I don't have a phone line on mine nor can I say I ever will again. I just don't see the need to know who's calling on my TV, I have phones all over the house and the cordless usually sitting right next to me. I honestly think it would annoy the heck out of me if it popped up while I was really into a show.


----------



## dbronstein (Oct 21, 2002)

I like it. I don't keep the phone next to me so it's nice to be able to see it on the TV without have to get up and look at the phone.


----------



## tall1 (Aug 9, 2005)

Kanyon71 said:


> I don't have a phone line on mine nor can I say I ever will again. I just don't see the need to know who's calling on my TV, I have phones all over the house and the cordless usually sitting right next to me. I honestly think it would annoy the heck out of me if it popped up while I was really into a show.


I agree. This would have been a "wow" feature 10 years ago but I could care less now that I have a wireless caller ID capable phone sitting nearby.


----------



## majortom (Oct 31, 2004)

shaun-ohio said:


> just checked the website for my home town, best buy is sold out of the dvr, must be something good about them


Actually, it is just that they built very few, but needed to get them in stores before for holiday purchase. This box was supposed to be released last year and did not ship to retail until October or November. That they ran out means only that there will be fewer people stuck with this inferior product.

/carmi


----------



## fwebb (Dec 17, 2005)

I just got a new R15 to replace one of my 2 DTivos whose modem went belly up. Even though I have had DTivo for 3 years I was willing to give the R15 a chance, unfortunately its list of short comings are far too numerous to make this unit anything other than a disappointment, and the mantra “Its Brand New” doesn’t cut it, this is not new technology and as raott pointed out D** has had plenty of time to understand their customers requirements. D** will eventually, I hope, fix the issues that plague this “Box” but in the mean time those of us who are stuck with this inferior product have essentially become Beta testers. With all the chatter about the R15’s problems D** would do well to listen to those concerns and acknowledge that there are problems. I have spoken with tech support on a couple of occasions to give them my 2 cents and both times I have gotten the same pat response “Gee you’re the first one to complain” pure hog wash. They need to correct these problems as quickly as possible. I know that there are some that claim we DTivo users are just whining and resistant to change but it really boils down to usability and reliability, yes DTivo had and has some issues but it is a mature technology and for the most part functions extremely well, but in effect D** is forcing us into a product that by comparison is inferior and as one poster here said “if you didn’t have a DTivo you wouldn’t know the difference”, exactly, we do know the difference and that as they say, is the fly in the ointment.


----------



## Igor (Jan 3, 2005)

raott said:


> It's almost Christmas so I'm not going to argue with you. But, most are tired of the "it's a brand new box" theory.
> 
> The platform is not a new platform, look at the sky forums and they have been seeing the exact same problems which have fallen on deaf ears. Plus directv has had several years of the directivo box to learn what people want.


I will respect the Christmas  but your theory that R15 is a version of the product used in UK seems pretty weak. As you can see in the www.sky.com, the box looks different, has different features and has different user interface.


----------



## tall1 (Aug 9, 2005)

Vitor said:


> I will respect the Christmas  but your theory that R15 is a version of the product used in UK seems pretty weak. As you can see in the www.sky.com, the box looks different, has different features and has different user interface.


Meh, I never cared for Christmas so I will argue. The sky remote uses the same 4 color coded buttons and the sky DVR has series link which is a DirecTV trademark. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck...


----------



## johnzim63 (Oct 8, 2005)

_"Well I'm Brian and so's my wife!"_ 

I love the R15 so far. I'm a new DVR user, so maybe I don't know what I'm missing from the Tivo's. My R15 is VERY stable, and the menu's are much faster than with my D10's. Maybe I'll be more objective after the wife and I come through the _"Holy-crap-we-can-pause-live-TV!"_ phase.

At any rate, compared to E*'s buggy-a$$ equipment, this thing is a ROCK of stability.


----------



## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

tall1 said:


> The sky remote uses the same 4 color coded buttons and the sky DVR has series link which is a DirecTV trademark. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck...


-
Assuming it was designed and produced by the same company still does not mean it was an extension of an existing product with regard to software. The fact is, no one that is posting here knows if the software was developed from the ground up, or if not, what portions were retained from a prior product, and what parts were developed new.
-
Speculating accomplishes nothing.
-
Carl


----------



## tall1 (Aug 9, 2005)

carl6 said:


> The fact is, no one that is posting here knows if the software was developed from the ground up, or if not, what portions were retained from a prior product, and what parts were developed new.


So you have conclusive evidence to back up this _fact_? Seems to me you are speculating and calling it a fact.


----------



## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

tall1 said:


> So you have conclusive evidence to back up this _fact_? Seems to me you are speculating and calling it a fact.


Easy way to do this, ANYONE here work on the R15 Development team?

If so what portion is new vs old code?

If not then I guess we will never know.

Oh and btw if someone says yes then I will still take that with a grain of salt seeing as this is the internet and lots of people like to pose.


----------



## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

Okay, your point.
-
No one has provided any credible information as to what the software development process was, and to speculate that it evolved from some other product is no more valid than to speculate that it was designed brand new from the gound up.
-
Carl


----------



## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

carl6 said:


> Okay, your point.
> -
> No one has provided any credible information as to what the software development process was, and to speculate that it evolved from some other product is no more valid than to speculate that it was designed brand new from the gound up.
> -
> Carl


I'm sure it reuses some code from the other product. Though I would think much of it had to be replaced such as the guide data portions the way they handle signals and so forth. This would have to be changed to fit the system it's going to be used in as I would think that the different companies handle these things differently. I would guess (thats all any of us can do) that it's a mixture of old and new.


----------



## jfalkingham (Dec 6, 2005)

of course if they are using an OS derived from another means (Linux for TiVO & ucentric) then it is not 'built from the ground up'.

From a software development point of view, I am most certain NDS took the sky base code and created the necessary changes in security, features, hooks for the american market. 

My company makes custom software applications for certain industries. We create a common base and then tailor to the specific customer giving them a 'unique' software package.

Reuse of good base code is a great idea and is more efficient. The assumed hole is in the QA/QE branch at NDS. A lot of reported issues are duplicates, like missing episodes, and they should have been caught before shipping the device. But, they were already delayed as it was and probably felt they could release and market and then provide a lot of fixes along the way, like another well known software company does.

Either way, we can make a very safe assumption that NDS recycled code in the R15.


----------



## rkkeller (Dec 27, 2005)

I would agree and thats why the old DirecTiVo code SPS9S and maybe even some others work on the non TiVo R-15.


Rich


----------

