Rating: 5 / 5

This receiver requires a 5LNB dish (which DirectTV will install.) It will not function effectively with the older 3LNB DirectTV dish. As advertised I have found that you can record up to about 200 hours of standard or 50 hours of HD programming.

Unlike the other review I have had absolutely no difficulties or problems with my unit which was installed in November. The picture quality is outstanding, the HD recording is flawless and programming is very easy.

The unit records up to about 90 minutes of active programming once you select a particular channel, so you can pause live broadcasts and then return to see what you otherwise would have missed, so long as you don’t change channels in the interim.

There are some caveats however. If you want to view local HD or other digital channels you must connect your local on air antenna directly to the unit and cannot use a single feed with combined on air and satellite signals.

When you first receive the unit and install it, it may not be fully functional. At first the unit had difficulty recognizing all of the local digital channels in my area. However I was told that the unit currently programs itself from the Direct TV satellite over a period of time so it took about two weeks before I was able to program all the local on air channels on the unit (wierd but true). I now get ALL the local on air digital channels without any problems with this receiver.

Like all new products there is some risk being first, and reliability may turn out to be an issue. The DirectTV warranty is only 90 days which is not consumer friendly. They offer a protection package for an extra fee each month (I think it is about $5.00.) So the question is do you feel lucky??

The bottom line is that based upon almost two months of use I am really enjoying this unit and would not hesitate to recommend it to others.

Rating: 5 / 5