Here’s my take…
skirge01Since you wrote out a lengthy, well-thought-out post, I’ll take the time to write something similar in return. While I never used the DirecTV whole home DVR, I am intimately familiar with the DVR itself. So, let’s tackle this one at a time:
1. My 2 HD-PVRs refuse to be stable.
Are you on DTV now or cable? The reason I ask is because most people with DirecTV have significantly fewer problems than cable users. Once you lock the DTV box at 1080 or 720, you can rule out the STB as the source of your lockups.
Have you done extensive troubleshooting with them? Have you tried recording for a day using TME? Have you swapped ALL your cables? Checked their length to ensure they aren’t too long? No “extensions” in the middle of the cables? Done all of this? Have you tried narrowing it down to a channel, time, or show? (Keep a log!) Have you contacted Hauppauge about it? Also, get one stable before throwing a second one into the mix.
2. I’m now at the point where I don’t watch that much recorded TV anymore.
I reboot them once every 2 weeks or so and I lose a whole day of recording on that HD-PVR.
These seem to contradict each other, IMHO. If you aren’t watching much anymore, then a problem once every two weeks doesn’t seem like a big deal and you shouldn’t be losing much, if anything; certainly not an entire day. I do sense some frustration and that’s certainly understandable, but I want to make sure we have everything straight.
3. there are times when my server takes a dump and firewire channel changing refuses to work
Not sure what you really mean by that. Are you having hardware issues on the server itself or just firewire issues? If it’s the server, I’d rebuild with some newer, higher quality parts (no offense on your current choice of parts, which I have no clue about). If it’s just firewire, try switching (lightbulb turns on)… so, you’re NOT on DTV yet, since they don’t have firewire. I can tell you that serial channel changing is flawless on DTV and now you can even have ethernet channel changing.
4. or sageTV crashes and needs to reboot
When you say SageTV crashes, do you mean the client or the server? If it’s the server, again, rebuild. If it’s the client, I’d reinstall Windows (7, if you aren’t already on it) and/or rebuild with better parts. On the client, ensure you aren’t installing anything more than you actually need to. Codecs are the deathknell for SageTV.
5. It seems to happen most when I am out of town for a week and I lose a whole week.
Okay, let’s get a little humour in here: It’s not you or your hardware. It’s someone else in the house causing all your issues. 😉 I think your hardware might be jealous or someone else in the house.
6. I can hook up a SATA 2TB drive and match my current TV storage space.
I did this and it was horrible. It worked, but if the drive fails, you lose all your recordings, all your settings, all your favorites you set up… everything. If the STB fails, you also lose all your recordings and everything else. Ahh, wonderful DRM. If you’re upset about a day’s worth of recordings being lost, imagine how you’re going to feel when you lose everything. They also use part of that 2TB to store commercials and other data, which didn’t exactly thrill me.
7. I haven’t been able to play with them enough to get a feel for the UI speed and usability
The speed was extremely frustrating when I had them a few years ago. Maybe they’ve gotten better with newer hardware and more streamlined software. I also recall that the interface was cumbersome. I go into it every once in a while to delete system messages and such and it’s such a dated system… much worse than SageTV v6. 😉
Another thing that ticked me off about their software was the limitation of options. First, you can’t skip commercials. Second, you were limited to 50 “favorites” at the time I had it. Third, the guide was slow and couldn’t be customized at all. Fourth, if you order PPV, you only have 24 hours from the time you record it to actually watch it. After that point, the recording stays on your drive, but it won’t play. I’m not sure if this limitation has made it’s way into any other areas. Fifth, forget about pretty much any customizations. I hope your favorite colors are white and blue and that you enjoy retro, 8-bit-looking graphics and text.
8. You didn’t mention this, but don’t forget that you’ll also have monthly charges for having each DVR, in addition to the STB rental fee.
I think that’s about it. 😀