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 enlarge | Brand: DirectTV
Category: CE
New (5) Used (10) from $38.00
Rating:  53 reviews
MPN: R15
UPC: 185463000054
EAN: 0185463000054
ASIN: B000ERD6HS
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| Customer Reviews:
 Screen saver from hell March 27, 2008
Reading the other reviews, I guess I got lucky. I never had any issues at all with the R15 not functioning as it should. My biggest pet peeve is the screen saver that comes on ALL THE TIME and you have to find the remote and hit a button to make it go away. I'll be in the middle of watching something and up pops the screen saver and I have to scramble to find my remote. Very annoying. I live alone and like to leave my TV on when I'm at work (I work nights) so that it looks like someone is home, but thanks to the screen saver, it might as well be turned off. DirecTV says there's no way of turning it off.
I'm switching to Verizon Fios and back to my beloved TiVO, to which the R15 does not compare.
 Titantic, the Hindenburg, and the R15 March 8, 2008
Possibly one of the worst consumer products ever. To call the software subpar would mean to insult 90% of the buggy software out there. The UI was designed with a blind person in mind. The user experience they were shooting for must have be "frustration, anger and hate".
Problem include, but are not limited to:
* frequent lock ups
* not recording show you set to record
* not being able to set shows to be recorded
* listing all channels, including the ones you can't use
* slow to respond
* badly designed remote control
* poorly designed ff, rw, and play controls
* poor customer service (boy they must be really over worked too!)
* cannot replace the harddrive on your own if it dies
* only able to recieve 2 signals
* slow boot up time
* poorly organized menus
* crappy search
* bad navigation commands
Don't Go With DirecTV... wait for new management/ equipment March 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
EDIT: almost a year later, and I'm not quite as angry so I toned this down a bit. Still, it's all true. I don't know why they would choose to operate in this fashion, but I guess they don't need the customers.
I just terminated my service until they get their act together.
In addition, they will lock you into a new contract without telling you, even if you just upgrade to new equipment. YOU go buy the equipment. YOU install it. Then, when its garbage, YOU find out you're stuck in a new contract for the next year.
I gave one star because they wouldn't let me give zero.
Not worth even 1 star December 28, 2007
To provide context for this review, some history: my wife and I got tired of price-creep from our local cable company, so we switched to Direct TV. We originally signed up with a TiVo box and loved the service. Customer support was terrific!
Then, though, after several years, when the TiVo box gave out, we contacted Direct TV, who replaced the TiVo unit with this one. In only a few months, we went from being delighted customers of Direct TV to being pretty darned unhappy for only this reason. Among other problems, the R15:
1) freezes periodically, causing a hard restart (unplugging the box and replugging it);
2) is very very very very slow to respond to almost every single input via the remote. This happens even after we replace batteries and even if we're standing right in front of it--and even though absolutely we programmed the remote properly. Then:
3) once it does respond, if we've gotten impatient and pushed the button(s) several times, it'll flip through everything at once;
4) often doesn't record when it's been programmed to;
5) has a horrible white UI that lights up the room if we want to check the guide. This isn't so good if we want to change channels while a spouse is sleeping (if, say, we use the box in our bedroom).
6) isn't nearly as intuitive as the Tivo machine was in terms of scheduling programs to record. Since this may be more of a personal preference I'll won't dwell on this one.
But the first 4 were so bad that they frustrated us to the point where we considered going back to cable. [Edited so as not to bash Direct TV: though it told us that this was the only model available, the company did resolve our complaints satisfactorily--as always.]
At any rate, I don't mean to sound like a commercial for TiVo or cable, but, if you ask me, this machine is the only reason I can come up with NOT to be a customer of Direct TV. That's how bad it is.
I would give it 0 stars if I could.
And I still have to say: shame on Direct TV for foisting on its customers this horrible piece of equipment. It's the one black mark from an otherwise exemplary company.
 OK if you never used TIVO December 11, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The unit is ok if you never have had a Tivo DVR. If like me you can't live without Tivo then you have to scour ebay for used Directv tivos. Why Directv broke up with Tivo I will never understand. When I wanted to add another DVR to my existing Tivo I let myself be talked into a R15 by a tech who had both and told me the r15 was better. I had it for 2 days and hated it. The most important button for me is the pause button. On Tivo its the 2nd biggest button on the remote, is dead center, and is the only yellow one as well. On the R15 its a tiny button to the left of middle. I returned it and asked for a refurbished Tivo. Two days later a new r15 arrived FedEx. I asked again for a refurb tivo and two days later another r15 came. This happened 4 times before they admitted to me that they can request a Refurb tivo but if the warehouse doesn't have one they send the r15. I went on ebay and bought a used tivo.
I have no idea why Directv tried to reinvent the wheel but I hear the new heads of Directv are looking to rekindle their relationship. One could only hope. I now have 4 receivers in the house. My kids both have the r15 for the last year without any problems.
Bottom line if you never had a Tivo you will probably like the r15. If you have used Tivo you probably will be using ebay.
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Copyright 2006 - CD Shopper | |
