DIRECTV R15 Receiver/Digital Video Recorder--Up to 100 Hours- may require 2 YEAR extension of contract,monthly fees will apply by DirectTV, may also require to be activated as a "Leased Receiver" as per DirecTV policy change"
A pleasant surprise
I recently received an R15 to replace my DirecTV Tivo (HDVR2) whose hard drive dies a horrible death. <br />After reading the reviews here, it was with more than a little trepidation that I faced the new receiver. I ever installed a spare hard drive in the Tivo box to bring it back to life, figuring I could return the R15 if I didn't like it. <br /> <br />I'm keeping the R15. <br /> <br />The Tivo did have some advantages. I liked its season pass better than the R15 series link - it was a bit better at not picking up duplicates. <br /> <br />The Tivo's dual buffers was nice, but to be honest, I find the single longer 90 minute buffer much more useful - I often found myself running out of buffer time when something (like a long phone call) interrupted a show. <br /> <br />The Tivo had a slightly more responsive user interface, with some tasks taking fewer key presses. <br /> <br />On the other hand, the R15 has significant advantages: <br /> <br />It's dead silent. My Tivo box in particular was very loud (and I'd heard complaints from others on this score). <br /> <br />The guide is MUCH faster for scrolling - and I love the +-12 hour horizontal scroll. <br /> <br />The ability to set up all sorts of searches and record everything that matches the search is very nice - and can overcome limitations in the Series Link. <br /> <br />The folders and grouping on the recorded shows list makes organizing recordings simple. <br /> <br />The screen saver is great (no more worrying about long pauses on a plasma screen). <br /> <br />Unlike the Tivo, where the show you were watching vanished while performing many programming tasks, with the R15 your current show appears in a small window while you're doing pretty much everything (guide, setting up new recordings, etc.). Very nice. <br /> <br />The R15 remote also did a better job handling my TV (even supporting change of the display format - something I previously had to switch remotes to do). <br /> <br />There were a few other features that impressed me that I don't recall offhand. Of course, I may have been lucky - I've had no mysterious crashes or reboots. But in terms of functionality, while the menu system did take some getting used to, overall I've been very pleasantly surprised by this unit.