Well, I have just seen the new D20 HD DirecTV receiver, and it has its problems! These look like minor problems, but they would drive me up a wall.

Guide.

You want the guide? Push Guide. No matter what guide you were looking at before, you will get to choose what filter to use. EVERY TIME. If you always want to watch the guide with all channels, you only have to push Guide twice (it says push SELECT for the second button push, but GUIDE works for the second button push too).

Now, if you want to use the Children’s Program filter, you can’t just set the guide to use that filter, then go in and out of that guide. No, EVERY time you hit guide, you have to scroll down through the list of filters, choose one, and then hit Select. I didn’t try hitting Guide after scrolling down, but it presumably works, too.

Info

When you change channels, a small info banner comes up with the title and channel information. You can set this banner to stay up for two, four or six seconds. Be aware, though, that the time starts after the image appears, so if you are changing into or out of HD, the banner could be up for fifteen seconds. I believe there is no DISPLAY button to turn it off.

Channeling up or down, this little window appears, then goes away after the set time.

Then there is the INFO button. With its problems.

If you hit INFO, you want to leave your finger there, because the damn thing will not go away on its own. I counted about 25 seconds before turning away to call DirecTV, because it was ludicrous that this thing should stay so long.

But if you hit INFO, then channel up or down, the full info banner will stay up and will not go away even after you choose to stay on the channel by not hitting channel up or down again. You will have to hit INFO.

This is very irritating and makes me want to not use this receiver at all. I repeat, it sounds like I am being pretty picky, but if you use one, it will drive you nuts.

Where is that DSS Receiver designer that someone here knows? He has GOT to hear about this! Maybe, what the heck, this could be fixed with a software update!

I dont think your being picky at all.
D-TV's receivers have gone way down hill since the Sony (&Zenith) HD 200/300
Thats why I stick with & reccomend D-network

I am not very happy with the new format either, told them that right from the start at CEDIA. Was told they picked the font because the VP or his daughter like it. If I push the guide button I WANT to see the freakin guide dammit!! :)

I actually told someone to get cable the other day, I think my feelings are pretty well know about the other alternative.

Just gonna a be a freakin headache.

I should of bucked up and paid the extra cost to stick with Dish. I absolutely hate Tivo and most of D*TV's programing. The only thing I like D*tv for is their support. At least it's better then Dish. Dish beats D*tv hands down when it comes to functionality, ease of use, and features.

roddy-
Did I mention a font? You didn't mention what you are talking about...which font?

Oh, yeah, that's right -- I have also been telling people to get cable here and there, especially when they can't get HD OTA. We have a lot of canyons in Hollywood and Beverly Hills, and most of them run at right angles to the OTA signals, so cable is the only source of HD. DirecTV's HD channels are a joke. They might add a lot of HD channels, but if I won't touch their receivers, my customers won't care how many HD channels they have!

As for TiVo, the TiVos now are the HD receivers of choice, and I have one client whose Guide page takes about five seconds to load...a DirecTV operator who thinks she is giving me good news says that the spec for a page of the Guide to load is four seconds. Do you know how many times I can say bull$hit in four seconds, especially if I get to practice every time I try to pull up a guide screen? I can get pretty good at it!

Ernie,
No you didn't mention a font, I was just refering to their train of thought when putting this together. Ask the custom installer, hell no, VP's daughter's input is good enough. It was just one of several things that stuck out in my head when this was first presented to me, all I could keep thinking was What the f@#k!

These are the best jokes I've read all weekend. Thanks!


(you do realize that the programming is virtually identical, right? ESPN, comedy, bunches of shopping channels....)

Actually, I was referring to the way their boxes integrate with their programing. As mentioned before... 4 seconds to load the Guide, can't scroll through the channel listing without going through the guide and then you can't see what's behind the guide, etc...