I have had this product for just a little over 2 years now. Overall, the DirecTV DVR is decent, but it has many flaws. It is advertised that 100 hours are available, but it tends to "fill up" with only 16-20 hours recorded. When it tends to "fill up", it gets very "choppy" with digital image break up. The recordings tend to lag and does not work approximately 25% of the time. This is convenient for live TV recording, but when it gets choppy. The user interface has been updated 3 times in just two years. The interface is now a bright white which when on the TV for a period of time, it tends to hinder the screen of the TV. The remote is very user friendly as well as the menus. DirecTV's customer service is friendly, but when calling for technical assistance, you have to go through the exact same trouble shooting steps with every problem...but no matter the problem, I have always had to wind up resetting the DVR to factory settings - BOOM...you lose all recorded programs as well as all your future recordings; you have to go back in a reset all of your settings again as well as what you want to record in the future! I like to record at the push of a button, but it seems to be a bigger headache than it is worth most of the time.

mgkidw0

Brodhead, KY

Before hailing this box as the best thing sinced sliced bread, I would strongly encourage you try a real DVR...one from TIVO. But be sure that it has DIRECTV built in. DIRECTV and TIVO together = heaven!

steveharrington

Mammoth Lakes, CA

The Directv R15 is an okay maybe even decent model...when it is working.  I do not appreciate it when my shows do not record because the machine has to be re-set and it takes at least five minutes to get it to re-set and then up to thirty minutes to get it to get back "online" again.  It frustrates me because I have zero patience for things like that especially when it comes to my shows.  I am not sure if it is a function of my machine or Directv's programming but when I record a show on MTV for instance... I not only end up with every single episode of the show that I recorded, I also end up with numerous episodes of three other shows that occasionally play in the same time slot and they end up taking precendence over shows that I actually want to watch. I shouldn't have to deal with that, I wouldn't return the device to get another one because of this but I will be looking for a free upgrade once I get an HDTV.

Battfox

Mount Pleasant, MI

The Directv Dvr model r15 is the receiver I used with my Directv service. This model has caused me a lot of problems within a the short period of time I actually used it. The model served it's purpose for a small fraction of the time, but rarely when I really needed it. The receiver would freeze/lock up uncontrollably when I played the recorded program back off the internal hard drive. Sometimes it would freeze up so bad and none of the functions on the receiver or remote would work. I constantly had to unplug the receiver from the wall outlet and reset it when ever I tried to watch a recorded program. I decided to check around on the internet to see if any one had any issues with this model receiver. I was amazed when I saw multiple threads on Directv's very own website message board about these same problems that caused me fits during viewing sessions. Apparently the hard drive was the culprit to all my problems. I called Directv's Technical Support Line and explained theproblem and they exchanged the device with no problem. I asked them why was this problem occurring with my device. They told me that the hard drive was probably just too old and burnt out to operate at a high level anymore on a consistent basis. I thought nothing of it at the moment, but I realized I had hard drives in my computer for years and never experienced a hard drive crash more then twice in 7 years. I guess Directv was aware of this problem too and I assume that's why there wasn't an hassle or a long drawn out process to solve my problem. Now I am wondering why were the hard drives in this device crashing and my hard drive in my computer purchased over a decade ago still going strong. I guess they didn't work out all the kinks before releasing this model, but the newer ones seemed to have rectified this issue. As far as this product goes I would steer clear of it and do some research on the newer models before picking a receiver.

kingoftheink

Westchester, IL

          I have a Directv Plus DVR receiver and I love it, don't know how I survived without it. I watch soap opers, and also work 7 hours a day; the dvr is perfect for recording any kind of series. You don't have to reset it every day, just set it to record the series; so it records every time it airs. I also love movies; so I record alot of movies that air late at night. I an a horror movie freak, so I record alot of them. The dvr also lets you keep them recorded as long as you like. You can watch as soon as you want, or keep them recorded as long as you like. It has 100 hours of recording time. That's alot of movies or series that can be recorded. You can search for movies by name or search an actors name to find any movies that he/she are starring in for at least 2 weeks ahead.You can search by catorgory or interest. I love my dvr and would recommend it to anyone. It's better then using a vcr.

prindall

Mc Intosh, AL

Granted I recieved this product free from direct tv when my old Tivo box went caput. I should have said thanks but no thanks. It's very unreliable. The menu is slow and sluggish to respond. Series episodes may or may not record. Series recordings are limited to 50 total shows. Shows may not continue to record from season to season. Recording options are very limited. Search and sort options are not accurate. These are just the ongoing issues there are also glitches  such as sound skips, black screen on recorded programs and much more. This is not my exclusive experience, a short search on tech support for Direct TV will confirm that this product is inferior.

shymom

Alamogordo, NM

The DIRECTV R15 DTV Receiver / 100-Hours Video Recorder is a piece of crap. It records pretty well for about 1/3 of the space allowed.  After that you start getting distorted picture's, recordings that pause a lot and when it finally starts to going again you have missed parts of your picture.  Sometimes you think that a program has been recorded and when you go to your list of recordings some are missing from the list. At other times you go to your list to start playing your recordings and they are there but you cannot access them.  I'm very unhappy with DirecTV's equipment.  For the money that people pay to watch and enjoy television, you would think that they could fix this problem.  If you think of your receiver as a computer, its hard drive can be fixed.  Within a hard drive there are sectors that hold information such as the recordings.  If a sector becomes damaged your computer knows to cordon off that bad sector and to move any information it can to a good sector on the hard drive.  This can be done with the hard drive on these receivers but DirecTV will not invest in this technology.  Instead they charge you every month this insurance and when you call them to get this problem taken care of, you are aggravated with all the things they have you to do to the receiver in order to try and fix the problem instead of sending you a new receiver.  And usually you have programs saved on your receiver that you will loose and in most cases never be able to get back.  As you can see I am a direct TV customer and in my opinion the TiVo's worked better and last longer for your money. 

Merleg43

Louisburg, NC