New DirecTV Customer - HR21 Sadness

[StealthMonkey]

So, after having cable my whole life, I was enticed away by NFL Sunday Ticket. I pulled the trigger and left Time Warner (who I was otherwise happy with -- they actually had more HD) for DirecTV.

I've never had satellite. Didn't know exactly what I was getting myself into. I had never been to this website before. And most importantly, I had never heard of the HR21 or HR24.

I got the Choice Xtra + HD + Whole-Home DVR + NFL Sunday Ticket + HD DVR Reciever + HD Receiver + SD Receiver + SD Receiver.

Installer showed up on Saturday got everything up and running. I started to play around with everything. The SD Receivers work well, as does the HD Receiver (turns out is H24). However, the HD DVR, the receiver that we use FAR more than any other receiver is slow and unresponsive (and I thought my Scientific Atlantic 8300HD was junky). I started to search online to figure out what the deal was. That's when I discovered the different receiver models. To my horror, I found that my HD DVR is a HR21-700.

I called DirecTV and complained about speed. They had me try a reset -- no help. They told me about the full reset -- I may try this, but I'll need to watch some recorded stuff and jot down favorite channels. I asked about getting an HR24. I talked to 3 different people (one clueless, one seemingly nice but unable to do anything, and one quite rude). They don't guarantee hardware -- warehouse something or other -- blah blah. Nothing helpful.

I guess at this point I have two questions.

1. Is what I am experiencing expected with the HR21-700? Specifically: When tuning channels, sometimes the info at the top changes quickly; other times, the screen goes completely black (no info) for 3-4 seconds before it comes back on the new channel. Is this normal?

2. Any suggestions about what I can do? Is there any point in trying a full reset? It doesn't seem like calling back is going to get me anywhere. I could say it is still slow and have them replace it and hope to get a HR24, but that seems like a shot in a dark.

Thanks for reading. Any other feedback would be a appreciated. Also, a shoulder to cry on would help. I miss my cable so much.

 

[ryotgz]

The tech that came to my house brought a refurbished HR21 and I told him I didn't want it. You can try to keep complaining to get a replacement, but it could be another HR21. Someone else on the forums said they filed something with the BBB after receiving an older model and got them all replaced, but that is a bit extreme.

 

[Jimbo]

Check you Native control in the System Set up, HDTV tab.
Change it and see if it helps or not.

If not, I doubt that D* will swap out a different model recvr for you as it is working ...

IF you want you could order one from an online vendor (Solid Signal for example) and after you get it and set up, turn off the other recvr and send it back.
Just tell them that you don't need it.

 

[Zellio2008]

Yeah, the hr21s suck, but the hr22 and the hr23 suck even worse. I either complain until they replace, or look online for an hr20 or hr24.

 

[StealthMonkey]

Thanks for the tips. Keep 'em coming if anyone has any other ideas. I might look into the BBB. I'm not trying to screw anyone here, I just want the hardware I thought I was getting -- the stuff in the pictures on the website -- not two year old stuff.

So, it sounds like the screen going solid black for 3-4 seconds sometimes when changing channels is normal? No one jumped out and said, "No, that shouldn't be happening." Figures.

 

[StealthMonkey]

I guess the one thing that surprises -- well maybe it doesn't surprise, but at least disappoints -- me is that they wouldn't want to make customers who complain loudly happy. I mean, 99/100 customers probably have no idea their receiver is slow. I mean, how many people think they are watching HD because their tv is widescreen? The minority of us who notice the speed and care... it would go a long way if they made us happy. I mean, word of mouth is the strongest form of advertising and right now I am going to tell people to stay away from DirecTV. I guess they don't care.

 

[peano]

Do whatever it takes to get an HR24. The HR21 will drive you crazy and have you cursing at DirecTV every time you use it. What you are experiencing is "normal". A full reset will make no difference.

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks for the tips. Keep 'em coming if anyone has any other ideas. I might look into the BBB. I'm not trying to screw anyone here, I just want the hardware I thought I was getting -- the stuff in the pictures on the website -- not two year old stuff.

So, it sounds like the screen going solid black for 3-4 seconds sometimes when changing channels is normal? No one jumped out and said, "No, that shouldn't be happening." Figures.

Did you make the change I mentioned ?

 

[Jimbo]

I guess the one thing that surprises -- well maybe it doesn't surprise, but at least disappoints -- me is that they wouldn't want to make customers who complain loudly happy. I mean, 99/100 customers probably have no idea their receiver is slow. I mean, how many people think they are watching HD because their tv is widescreen? The minority of us who notice the speed and care... it would go a long way if they made us happy. I mean, word of mouth is the strongest form of advertising and right now I am going to tell people to stay away from DirecTV. I guess they don't care.

You answered your own thought.

The majority of people that sub have no idea that the recvr may be slower than others.
So you come to a site like this and find this out, had you never went to a sat site, you would have no issues as you would expect it to be normal.

Don't bother with the BBB ... D* is fulfilling thier obligation already, as mentioned plenty of times it's been mentioned that you get what you order, you ordered a HD DVR and you got one, thats all D* is required to do.

I bought a very nice TV, when the newer model came out that was faster, were they obligated to send me a NEW TV so I could keep the newest equipment, NO.

IF the company was going to upgrade every person with the new equipment they would never MAKE any MONEY as all thier resources would be going to existing subs.

 

[joed32]

All 21s aren't like that I have 3 HR20s and 2 21s and they're all pretty quick.

 

[swzine]

Jimbo. Some of you people are a little too loyal. It's pretty simple issue - Allow people to cancel their service in the first 30 days. Don't advertise "cutting edge techbology" with pictures of a particular model and send an older model. If you make us buy equipment don't also try to charge a lease fee on top of it. Allow options with no contracts/ETFs (I realize that might mean you have to buy some of your equipment or pay some install charges). Just treat your customers right. This is the way they used to be when they had high customer satisfaction. I love this quote I had read: "Why would a company want to ruin customer relationships with lousy, stinking contracts?!"

DirecTV racks up the consumer complaints on clarkhoward.com


And yes, i do feel that a new customer shoudl be getting the best equipment that's available - the equipment that they advertise to make the sale.

 

[Jimbo]

Jimbo. Some of you people are a little too loyal. It's pretty simple issue - Allow people to cancel their service in the first 30 days. Don't advertise "cutting edge techbology" with pictures of a particular model and send an older model. If you make us buy equipment don't also try to charge a lease fee on top of it. Allow options with no contracts/ETFs (I realize that might mean you have to buy some of your equipment or pay some install charges). Just treat your customers right. This is the way they used to be when they had high customer satisfaction. I love this quote I had read: "Why would a company want to ruin customer relationships with lousy, stinking contracts?!"

DirecTV racks up the consumer complaints on clarkhoward.com


And yes, i do feel that a new customer shoudl be getting the best equipment that's available - the equipment that they advertise to make the sale.

OK, lets say they go back to where you BUY your recvrs.

Lets look at TODAY for a minute:
Many people have 2 HD DVR's, and a HD recvr .....
OK, now lets jump back to how things were 10 years ago.

When I started, the TIVO's were the big thing.
The TIVO was $ 1000 to BUY.

How many TIVO's do you think I could afford to have in my household ?

The HR20-700's went for about $ 850 if you wanted to BUY one,that was the point when they started to do the lease thing.

Lets move to TODAY.
Lets say they SELL the HR24's for $ 499.
OK, I currently have 4 HD DVR's , 2 HR20's and 2 HR24's.

Quick math says that would be $ 1700 for the HR20's and $ 1000 for the 2 HR24's.

Do you REALLY think anyone would have more than 1 HD DVR if they had to BUY them ?

I would have 1 HD DVR if I had to BUY them and thats IT.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

You answered your own thought.

The majority of people that sub have no idea that the recvr may be slower than others.
.

When I got my First HR20, I knew something was not normal with the function.
I've used enough receivers in my time before the HR's to base this off of, Long before I knew of DBS TAlk and Satellite guys.
I'm sure Hundreds of Thousands of others also.

There are far more complaints around then just here.

H20-600 was a flatout POS and this was faster the the HR20-700 when it was first released.
D* CSR's admitted they had thousands of complaints.

People are not as dumb as we think.

 

[harshness]

I'm of a mind that the combination of their NFLST exclusive and a 24 month commitment has made DIRECTV more than a little arrogant.

There are at least two drivers that make re-deploying old equipment imperative:

1. The CSRs have swapped a lot of equipment that didn't technically have anything wrong with it. Their lack of training and thoughtful scripts continue to haunt.

2. DIRECTV is chronically overoptimistic about their ability to command production and launch dates with their manufacturing partners. This is exacerbated by a marketing department that apparently can't adjust to revised schedules.

It isn't just the marketing department though. Even the financial conference calls present a much more ambitious schedule than the people that have to make things happen can meet.

 

[peano]

All 21s aren't like that I have 3 HR20s and 2 21s and they're all pretty quick.

Compared to what?

 

[Mike0616]

I guess the one thing that surprises -- well maybe it doesn't surprise, but at least disappoints -- me is that they wouldn't want to make customers who complain loudly happy.

Why not be really different and try to make all customers happy? That would be really novel and a new approach for not only D*, but lots of others as well. Delivering as advertised would be a good place to start, wouldn't it?

I mean, 99/100 customers probably have no idea their receiver is slow. I mean, how many people think they are watching HD because their tv is widescreen? The minority of us who notice the speed and care... it would go a long way if they made us happy. I mean, word of mouth is the strongest form of advertising and right now I am going to tell people to stay away from DirecTV. I guess they don't care.

Only a blind person would not notice how slowly the channels change on the HR2x series. The real shame is that it was slow, then they fixed that, then they slowed it down again. The D* software development is about as poor as I have ever seen.

 

[cfb]

Hey Jimbo, tivo manages to sell a box thats got nearly the same parts content as the directv boxes for $199 with frequent sales and refurb deals for as low as $99 and you own it.

I already mentioned in another thread that directv's build cost for the receivers is well under $200.

So throwing around huge strawman numbers isnt really that legitimate.

The HR's except for the 24, if used fully (lots of series links, lots of recordings, mrv, etc) get pretty slow. Mine sometimes wont respond to the remote until I hit the same button 2-3 times or it'll respond but not until 3-5 seconds later. Thats not cool. Its not the remote or box either, because sometimes its quite sprightly, and if I delete a lot of the recordings, remove a lot of series links, and its just sitting there recording the 90 minute buffer, it runs just fine.

They did make the 24 with a much faster processor for a reason...

For the OP, the full reset probably wont do a dang thing for you. Well, it'll remove all of the dvr's work that it has to do as far as managing your recordings and whatnot, so that might speed things up a bit. But its sort of like throwing the motor out of the car to make it lighter so it'll go faster. I think the 'reset all' is just a way for customer service to make the customer go away. Most customers wont do it, because they dont want to lose all their recordings and series links and the ones that do and find it doesnt help may not bother calling back again.

 

[Jimbo]

When I got my First HR20, I knew something was not normal with the function.
I've used enough receivers in my time before the HR's to base this off of, Long before I knew of DBS TAlk and Satellite guys.
I'm sure Hundreds of Thousands of others also.

There are far more complaints around then just here.

H20-600 was a flatout POS and this was faster the the HR20-700 when it was first released.
D* CSR's admitted they had thousands of complaints.

People are not as dumb as we think.

I never had a HR20-600, actually I think they were -100's , but anyways, I've always had the -700's and still to this day have several and they have been GREAT.

Never had the slowness of the newer ones (24's excluded) ,
Always enjoyed the 20-700's, I'm sure others have had trouble, I haven't been one of them.

 

[Jimbo]

Hey Jimbo, tivo manages to sell a box thats got nearly the same parts content as the directv boxes for $199 with frequent sales and refurb deals for as low as $99 and you own it.

I already mentioned in another thread that directv's build cost for the receivers is well under $200.

So throwing around huge strawman numbers isnt really that legitimate.

The HR's except for the 24, if used fully (lots of series links, lots of recordings, mrv, etc) get pretty slow. Mine sometimes wont respond to the remote until I hit the same button 2-3 times or it'll respond but not until 3-5 seconds later. Thats not cool. Its not the remote or box either, because sometimes its quite sprightly, and if I delete a lot of the recordings, remove a lot of series links, and its just sitting there recording the 90 minute buffer, it runs just fine.

They did make the 24 with a much faster processor for a reason...

The numbers I quoted were accurate at the time of the boxes coming out... if you wanted a TIVO it was $ 1000, I almost got one for $ 750 when the prices came down.
I have a Sony HD -100 that I paid $ 750 for.
Just because they can BUILD them cheaper, doesn't mean you can BUY them cheaper.

IF we could BUY items for COST, the companies would obviously go OUT of BUSINESS.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I never had a HR20-600, actually I think they were -100's , but anyways, I've always had the -700's and still to this day have several and they have been GREAT.

.

Jimbo, Read my posts I SAID H20-600