Directv HR21700

Pros: A very capable and complex large black satellite and internet capable DVR box.

Cons: The program guide is a bit weak.

The Bottom Line: This is a complex and capable DVR offering from DirecTV. It'll take a bit of time to learn, but once mastered you'll get many hours of enjoyment from this DVR.

Review: An HR21 is a digital video recorder (DVR). This means television is recorded onto an internal hard drive in a proprietary format for playback immediately (live) or for recorded playback later (recorded play).

The HR21 is a large black box,...

Pros: Great HD picture on Samsung Plasma 63" for Live Programming. Couple cool new remote features.

Cons: Hardware FREEZE frames so often, it renders any non-live programs unwatchable.

The Bottom Line: Wait for the new software upgrade. 0x255 is still bug ridden with FREEZE lock ups on non-LIVE tv and false positive recorded programs.

Review: In the past 11 months, I have had 7 HD DVRs from DirecTV...most of them involved the HR21. I will speak directly to this current box.
The pro of this box, is that it provides me the most beautiful picture of LIVE HD TV programming on my 63"...

Pros: Beautiful HD video, passable standard quality.

Cons: Slow skip and search. Little else.

The Bottom Line: Great HD picture, fair non HD. Good value and better than cable.

Review: Since the start, I've enjoyed the mini dish revolution since day one. Like mac vs. windows, Dish VS. DirecTV brings HD DVR in to a whole new technology with the familiarity of Directv's DVR features. When Direct's installers came out, they brought a...

Pros: Terrific picture.

Cons: Missed appointments, shoddy equipment, snippy representatives, hidden charges, etc.

The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a quality product (or even an average one), keep looking; DirecTV is quite possibly the worst satellite/cable provider on the planet.

Review: I have two HD DVRs and one standard receiver and here's what I've discovered...

Reasons to Buy DirecTV

1. Terrific picture.

Reasons Not to Buy DirecTV

1. All too frequently the DVR must be...

Pros: Look, service, Storage amount

Cons: Quality

Review: I've had this for approximately 5 months, and I've just gotten my third one. All have died due to poor quality, or other problems (none of which include poor wiring or electrical storms). I guess the nice thing has to be the service, each time it...

Pros: Modern Design, DVR, HD

Cons: Does not function correctly, requires resetting the power cycle often.

The Bottom Line: Although the picture and sound quality are superb, I can not recommend it because it just does not function properly for more than a day.

Review: After just recently moving into a new house, we were excited to learn that we had all the necessary wiring for our HD flat screen to be hung on the wall. Naturally, since we were happy DirecTV customers at our previous residence, we decided to...

Pros: Decent video/audio quality, ample connections, reasonable remote.

Cons: Buggy software, freezes, sluggish, unfriendly interface, requires frequent resets. No OTA HD channels.

Review:

Designing, testing and delivering a quality consumer product is not a trivial task and Directv has proven so very well. This unit has decent features and video/audio quality, but the software is very buggy - plus the user interface and overall...