thinking of updating my current (6 yrs old HD DVR)
to the genie, it wont cost me anymore money but does lock me into a 24 month contract w them, any better picture or resolution?? my new flat screen is a 4K model

We haven't noticed a better picture/resolution on the regular HD programming. Can't offer any experience on the 4D.

Be sure and ask for a list of all the monthly fees associated with the Genie, such as the Whole Home service fee.

We had it for a couple years. Performed well with no problems and good picture. Just got tired of my Directv bill creeping up every month. Finally cut them loose. Got Amazon Fire with my Prime membership and Directv Now streaming service. Get 100 plus live streaming channels with Directv Now for $37 a month and plenty of streaming options with Amazon Prime.
Couldn't be happier.

We got one about a month ago after I called to reduce the price of the package we had.

We got 2 Genies, a $20 per month reduction for 2 years plus the lower price package. We save about $35 per month. The Genie can record and watch up to 5 channels at the same time and I can watch programming anytime on my I-pad.

I had to install a bunch of them when they first came out. At the time we had to do some wacky things to make them work on the existing cabling.

Check to see what's the status on 4K content. The last I had to check, it was just a few on demand channels, and their 4K only worked on Samsung TV's with current firmware. Hopefully changed, but needs to be checked.

I have it and love it. Records more channels at once, has a larger hard drive (1TB I believe), and offers 4k content capability (three channels I believe). It works perfectly with my Vizio 4k TV.

It is also much faster as far as displaying and scrolling through the guide and the list of recorded shows.

thanks fellas !