OT: DirecTivo vs. 'New Direct TV DVR'?

[Richard Soule]

My 11 year old TV crapped out yesterday so I ended up picking up a 50" 
1080p Plasma (Panasonic TH50PZ700U).

Wow! HDTV is really good. Blu-ray through the PS3 is pretty amazing. The 
BBC version of Planet Earth on Blu-ray is one of the most amazing things 
I have ever seen on a TV.

That said when I called DirecTV to get HD channels (old TV wasn't HD) I 
was informed that DirecTV no longer has an agreement with TiVo and no 
longer offers DirecTivo. DirecTiVo is a combo box that combines all of 
the features of DirecTV with TiVo in one box. The UI rocks.

I'm really worried about switching to a new DVR as I'm terrified that 
the UI is going to suck.

Apparently DirecTV is moving from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or something and the 
HD DirecTiVo DVR that I purchased just a few years ago isn't compatible 
with the new MPEG-4 compression or something...

I've got the dude coming out tomorrow to set me up with the new box for 
$99. It's supposed to be $299, but apparently my long time subscription 
status is getting me a discount.

Here are the questions:

Has anyone on the list gone through this switch? Anyone using the 
DirecTV DVR? Any feedback on the system?

Anyone know if I'm getting ripped off? Should I really be paying for a 
new DVR when my old DVR is only 2 years old?

Thanks,

Rich