So far it looks to be 1:5 shot that that you will get a bad/troubled unit. I hated mine so much I sent it back. But 80% are loving it.
Actually the problem units/customers make up a much smaller % of the customer base. That said, the squeaky-wheel syndrome is reflected in problem posts on various message boards. I've seen one poster alone who has over 100 posts saying virtually the same thing over and over on his problem, yet after 3 months of these posts, he still says the same thing as back in the beginning, apparently still is using his HR20, and must just like having an audience who responds to his whines.
There's no doubt that there are some folks who have HR20 issues, and while I am not one, I empathise that they should get things resolved. That said, I also know for a fact (from 3 people I've helped get past their problems directly) that
some of these problems are due to self-inflicted problems, poor hardware setups, and questionable cabling and power sources. After that, there are less than 1% of the install base with legitimate hardware/firmware issues. If you want to break that part down further, some of the firmware issues are due to local HD transmissions which they do not control, but get magnified in the MPEG4 world by the HR20.
The fact that so few people have responded to (yet another) poll on this topic validates that the general sentiment for those with issues are (and should be) interested in getting things corrected as opposed to repeatedly complaining. Whining solves nothing. Even therapists hate whiners. I commend those folks.
My guess is that between the 119 release coming down this week, along with the next one in the hopper soon, the attention will soon turn to "new feature requests' as opposed to redundant posts on problems.
It will be great to have everyone enjoying the HR20 like those of us who already have this opportunity today. We hope for the best as soon as possible for those remaining cases of "issues".