I have the SD DVR.
Your right, the sat companies are keeping people in limbo, and D* probably has the most on the horizon but to get D* was buying into a product that may require replacement soon.
E* was the best deal considering that I'm buying nothing and its open ended, so once all the dust settles I can move into what we want.
I expect a merger of some kind...and I'd never buy a 921 DVR, thats just throwing money away IMO. I'd think about leasing one but not buying one. The E* lease really is decent but I wish I could do the Brighthouse deal my neighbors get.
The E* people did really try to push me into a 1 year, in fact had I not noticed the paper they had me sign was for a 1 year. They seemed a bit miffed when I told them I wanted open ended. They told me I would not get the Digital Home Protection for free on an open ended. When I asked about warranty and they told me if it broke I'd be stuck unless I wanted to pay for a warranty, if there stuff breaks in the first 12 months they can come pick it up.
I've been lucky so far, the 811 has been problem free, their DVR fixes the biggest problem I've had with Tivo and that is the speed at which things happen. I hate the pause with Tivo when you hit a button. The E* DVR is much more speed friendly.
They aren't the best but for nearly 1/3 the cost of V* I get 100 percent of what we normally watch which is the important part.