Upgrade to new equipment

Our specialists can help you check for eligible equipment upgrades. Sending you DM now. Melchisedec, DIRECTV Community Team

If your HR44 is working fine there's really no reason to upgrade. The "newer" equipment isn't really better. 

HR44 is the 2nd generation Genie. That is top tier equipment already. Depends on your exact setup if anything might be an "upgrade" for you.

How many TVs do you have total?

What are the models of all other boxes you have?

Do you care about the limited 4K content?

Are you having any concerns with your setup (beside how many years)?

Satellite tech doesn't advance constantly/quickly like other things (i.e. smart phones). And newer doesn't always mean better (in fact for some there is newer that is worse for their setup).

Historically, if it has been over 2 years since your last upgrade, with account in good standing, you would qualify for a free upgrade regardless if you have the protection plan or not.

Protection plan covers service calls ($99), delivery of replacement boxes ($19.95), and replacement remotes ($15, though usually cheaper through mass retailers). You pay the monthly cost (solidly over $100 every year) whether you use it or not. As such, my view is you pay WAY more over time than it would be for the one time costs. And if you need those options enough to make the plan cheaper, than I say there is a major issue with your setup to begin with.

@jaspete 

If you post back with some answers than experienced customers can give more specific guidance for your exact setup.

Just want to be sure you get the upgrade that works for you and that you don't accidently downgrade by not having all the info.

So, a little comment:

As far as a DirecTV "receiver" the HR44 is about the same DirecTV function as the new stuff... (I believe the processor is a bit slower) Also the HR44 can record  streams, the new stuff I think 7. So, I think the statement The "newer" equipment isn't really better."

is a bit flippant.

But if you compare with "new stuff" like the Android TV functions in the Gemini, and all the streaming capability, the "new stuff" is way different.

Genie line (HR34, HR44, HR54) has 5 tuners and supports dedicated receivers/HDDVRs

Supports eSATA external drives

Picture in Picture (PiP)

Allows for a more flexible and capable setup.

Genie-2 has 7 tuners but forbids dedicated receiver/HDDVRs

Being a client-only setup they rely on a single box to work.

Tuners is a hard cap as clients have none of their own.

After initial run, eSATA port removed. Same with revised Genie (HR54R1).

This is an all-in-one (but you must like it) type of setup AT&T (during it's few years of owning DirecTV).

This is why newer equipment is not guaranteed to be better

The point was there isn't something that is an upgrade for all. With specifics, than what may be an upgrade for the OP can be suggested. There are too many bad agents (of any company) who will go for the most "upgrade" even if not good or best for the customer to pad their stats.

Gemini doesn't replace the HR44 as it is a Client. But, if they have dedicated receivers then they would sacrifice capability to swap one of them to a Gemini. For some that is a good trade-off, others it is not.

I wouldn't say the other comment was flippant, just understandable annoyance that key features were removed to design a more restrictive setup. My hope is that was only a (designed) failing of AT&T and the new owner will innovate to bring in those recent new features along with returning customer flexibility that was removed.

Unfortunately, the new owner is an asset management group, not viewed or operated as a technology company.

All we can do is hope for the best there.

I do predict that new feature will be of the "glossy" kind that raises stock prices... 

With the protection plan you should be able to upgrade at no charge but it will require a 2 year  commitment. Possible upgrades include a Genie 2 and Gemini.

The Genie 2 would give you twice as much recording space and seven available tuners versus the five you have now. It is a server and it's not connected to a TV so you would have a small client box that would connect to the TV in addition to the genie 2. You would also be able to get rid of your power inserter as has it built in.

The Gemini is a client that works with the Genie or Genie 2. It's advantages are: 1. It has built-in apps so you can do all your streaming apps from your DirecTV. You don't have to change remote controls or change inputs on your TV to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. 2. it has a voice remote so you can speak to the remote to search, change channels, or ask Google questions. it is also 4K capable. You can also Google cast from your laptop to your TV. It can work at the same location as your hr44 in what is called co-located mode, meaning your hr44 no longer puts out video and so you're only charged for one location even though the hr44 and Gemini are at the same location.

Free upgrades of equipment have followed the same guidelines, with or without Protection. Must be 24 months (2 years) of active service with account in good standing since last upgrade (adding a TV counts as an upgrade) to qualify for a free one. All upgrades come with a 24 month service agreement.

Genie and 2 HDDVRs is 9 tuners. That exceeds the Genie-2 because it forbids everything but Clients which have no tuners.

Genie (1TB) and 2 HDDVRs (500GB each since HR22) equals the 2TB of the Genie-2. In addition to not all on one drive (so spreads out for reliability), they support external hard drives. Though regular HDDVRs have a hard cap of external of 2TB, there is no official cap on the Genie which has allowed some to use 12TB or more (though for me that is overboard).

The Gemini (C71KW) is a Client like the Mini Genies before it. It is unique that it supports streaming apps (similar to a Roku, Firestick, etc.). It is a nice boon for some that it can co-locate with HR54 (required for a satellite 4K setup) so you don't get charged for an additional location (the 4K requirements changed when the HR54 was too far into development to update it). The HR44 does not support 4K (was used for some test 4K a while back but the hardware couldn't keep up so they came out with the HR54).

The Genie-2 and Gemini can be good options for some. But because of the restrictions of the Genie-2 and that the Gemini is not an HDDVR/receiver but only a client, too many would lose capability (downgrade) making such a change.

If we know the OP's full setup and why they are looking for an upgrade, then we can tailor the options to compare. But if the one and only reason is because equipment is about 8 years old, then there is no reason to upgrade.