Couple of comments:
You can disable popups in the menus.
What model dvr do you have? Quantum is newer and faster.
Not sure what you mean by favorites don't work? I have seen others post that they do work.
You can set guide to only show HD channels.
You can set box to auto tune to HD channels if an SD channel is chosen.
Keep in mind that if you go worth cable card, you lose on demand function.
Some people like TiVo interface, others like wmc and others stb.