latest version of Genie? thinking of turning in the old receiver (prior to Genie)

If you open the access card door on the front there will be a label. If you go into "Info and Test" in the menu it will show on screen.

Sounds like you might have an HR22 or HR23. If that is your only box, upgrading to a Genie would be going a bit overboard and increase your bill.

1. Warranty replace your HDDVR. Should receive an HR24 as last regular HDDVR made. It is $19.95 delivery.

2. Upgrade to Genie. Is a 5 tuner HDDVR with 1TB space, compared to your 2 tuner and 500GB. Would be HR44 or HR54 depending on stock. Even though you only have 1 TV it adds Whole Home DVR service which is $3 monthly as is DirecTV's Advance Whole Home HDDVR so requires the service. Upgrade comes with 24-month service agreement. Sounds like it might have beeen long enough for the upgrade itself to be free (or perhaps just delivery cost) but does require a tech install.

With either option, the recordings do not transfer. So be caught up first.

I would try clearing some space on the hard drive in case you are close to full. Then unplug power for at least a minute. See if that improves the responsiveness before deciding on either warranty replacement or upgrade.

Whole Home DVR does nothing for a single TV household. It is to share recordings of any DVR you have with other DVR/Clients/basic receivers you have on your other TVs.

HR44 like earlier boxes has the traditional red/white/yellow outputs.

HR54 uses a 10-pin dongle out. The cable you use is 10-pin on one side and red/white/yellow on the other.

I stand by that the Genie is more than you need. Unless you plan on connecting other boxes on your other TV so each viewer could watch something different (as designed), then just go with a warranty replacement. As a note, each additional TV is $7 regardless of if you have the Genie or not, in case you do consider that route.

If you don't have constant recording conflicts with your HDDVR, do not get the Genie if you stay with only 1 TV. Just do a warranty replacement.

If you add a 2nd TV on the service, as opposed to jury rigging your house where everybody must watch the same thing, then get a Genie. Though still warranty replace the problem box. And do NOT replace an HDDVR with a Mini Genie Client (which requires the Genie) or that is a downgrade.

There's no reason for a DM.

You probably won't get an HR24 replacement from Directv. In general they are not available. They will probably offer you a genie of some variety. As juniper says, that will probably not give you any additional features you will use and will cost you more per month than an Hr24. But only you can make that decision.

If you only have a single box (HR23) then I would not upgrade to the Genie. It is DirecTV's Advanced Whole Home HDDVR, so even with a single TV the $3 service is required. Only do that upgrade if you are having an issue with too many programs recording at the same time (Regular HDDVR has 2 tuners, Genie has 5).

Now if your HR23 becomes too slow or even non-responsive, even with clearing recording space, then I would consider a warranty upgrade. That is $19.95 delivery (covered if you have the protection plan). As HR23s should be well out of stock (non-returnable model for years), you should get an HR24 (last model made) as long as they haven't run out of them. Just be caught up on your recordings first as they do not transfer to a replacement box.