Telus TV mini - such a downgrade

Had our 3 old Telus Optik boxes replaced with the minis.  What a downgrade:

1. The feed often freezes or just goes blank, particularly when pausing live TV
2. Periodic notifications that the remote has "disconnected" and the whole system becomes non-responsive
3. Severe lag when using the skip forward or backward feature - just feels unstable
4. Cannot extend recordings beyond the pre-determined time (make recording sporting events almost useless)

Any suggestions for work arounds - or can we just request that our old (but functional) boxes get returned?