I have had an HR34 for 18 months and from the beginning I've complained to DTV about slow menus, occasional 15-20 second delays on channel changes, terrible responsiveness on ff/rew/play/pause controls - anyone with an HR34 is experiencing these issues. This forum is full of similar reports.
I knew at the time I got the HR34 that there was an HR44 that was reportedly faster and it was available. I was told by DTV at the time that they had no way to ensure that I'd get an HR44, I'd have to roll the dice - and when I got the HR34 I was told that I could buy the "Equipment Protection Plan" for $8/mo and after 18 months I would be upgraded to an HR44 free of charge. So I waited, and when I was notified of upgrade ability, I called and was told "you can't upgrade an HR34 to an HR44 because they are identical in terms of speed and the HR44 is not considered an upgrade..." I was told this by not one, but eight separate DTV tech support staff and supervisors. I was told over and over that the only difference between HR34 and HR44 was wireless - I was even told that they were of similar size (in reality the HR44 is 1/3 the size).
Fast forward - I've purchased an HR44 and installed it. The HR44 is 300% faster at nearly all operations as compared to the HR34 - it's not even close to the same speed. So, one of two things is going on here - DTV staff are aware of this and are trained to lie about it, or they are intentionally being told a falsehood to keep customers from demanding the HR44 based on performance and response time.
Before the DTV fan boys respond with a bunch of mis-information or ask whether my HR34 is defective - this is not a debate at this point. I did finally reach someone at DTV retention who knew that the HR44 was faster and who helped me out. In his words: "it's a whole other ball game" when referring to the speed and responsiveness of the HR44 compared to the HR34. This video from solid signal from two years ago is accurate - I think the experience is even better now having the HR44:
Furthermore, it's clear from published specifications that the CPU used in the HR44 is a newer, faster, better Broadcom CPU than what is used in the HR34 - so how is it right or justifiable to have DTV personnel claim that the units are identical?
So - why is DTV lying to customers about the HR44? I think we all deserve an answer.
Also - my recommendation: either discontinue the HR34 or price it lower than the HR44 - admit to the difference between these units and give customers the option to get the better unit.