I recommend this unit for anyone who needs a new DirecTV High Definition DVR. I wanted a second DVR and did not want to play DirecTV "Which unit do I get". By going to an outside source I get to choose exactly what I want. The HR-24 it has functioned perfectly since it was installed. This is the latest HR unit with full availability for DirecTV customers. It has a 500 MB internal hard drive with the option to use an external SATA hard drive of up to 2 GB. The current limitation of the internal or external hard drive is that only one can be used at a time. The units can be switched from internal to external or from external to internal with a restart of the HR-24. The front panel is a touch panel variety with a blue lit display that can be dimmed or even turned off completely and also turned back on. As with all technology newer units will come on the market in the future (HR-34 DVR) but for me I am satisfied with this one and hope that I can use it for a long time.
Just received this item and it has definitely been used and repacked. We handle over 300 Directv receivers a year and know what a new in box receiver looks like. This was not new. BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!