720p video will not play (FF fine), 1080i okay. Whats up?

[kjnorman]

I have this really strange problem on our HR21 box.

My wife recorded 20/20 tonight on channel 7 (ABC) here in Chicago. When she went to play it, the show started to play, then the picture froze up but the sound continued. If I FF or REW all the picture is there so it recorded okay. Trying to play at any point caused the picture to play and stutter for about a second or two, and then it would freeze but the sound would continue.

I happened to notice that the box was on SpeedHD at the time and this channel (which was live) was also frozen. Again I could REW on the buffer and FF, but if I tried to play it would freeze like the recorded program. With a bit of investigation I found that any recorded show or live channel that was 1080i (and I assume 480i) played fine. Channels that where 720p like ABC or SpeedHD had the playback problem. We also found that shows recorded 3 weeks ago on ABC suffered this problem.

I can only assume that the programs are recording fine, but somehow the box's ability to playback 720p content has suddenly got messed up. I have not rebooted yet (as the box is recording something else) so I do not know if this will fix it but I will try that as soon as I can.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before?

[kjnorman]

I should also add that the output is sent via a Sony DG910 amp to a Philips LCD panel that are all 1080p capable via HDMI. My HR20 plays fine though the set up so I do not believe it to be a HDMI issue in the supply chain.

I also tried forcing my HR21 to output only 1080i to bypass 720p output but that did not work - it still froze.

[kjnorman]

Okay a reboot fixed the issue. That was a weird one!

On a side note, while the feature set on the HR2x are nice, I wish Directv would work on fixing some of their bugs before they push any new "features" on us.

I still prefer my HR10!

[texasbrit]

This is a known side-effect of the Speed HD problems. Once you have had a freeze on Speed HD, many HR21s will not play ANY 720p recordings until you have rebooted the DVR.

[btmoore]

This is a known side-effect of the Speed HD problems. Once you have had a freeze on Speed HD, many HR21s will not play ANY 720p recordings until you have rebooted the DVR.

Sweet, no box does bugs like the HR2X does.

[Jeremy W]

Sweet, no box does bugs like the HR2X does.
Yeah, all of those other DVRs out there receiving Speed HD handle it flawlessly. Oh, wait, no other DVR can receive Speed HD. Troll.

[btmoore]

Yeah, all of those other DVRs out there receiving Speed HD handle it flawlessly. Oh, wait, no other DVR can receive Speed HD. Troll.

So your point is the bug is ok, because no other DVR can record Speed HD I guess?

My point is the HR20 gets weird bugs. Which is true, it has a long history of odd bugs that impact the usability and stability of the box.

Troll? Based on your need to defend, well, a product bug, and name call, you must be a very angry and frustrated person. Perhaps you need some fresh air and a hug from someone that likes you, good luck with that.

[Jeremy W]

So your point is the bug is ok, because no other DVR can record Speed HD I guess?
I never said that. What I was saying is that I believe it's unfair to bash one product for failing under a certain condition that no other products have ever had to endure. The bug is not OK, and it needs to be fixed. But pointless bashing like you love to do is, well, pointless. You added nothing to the conversation.

[btmoore]

I never said that. What I was saying is that I believe it's unfair to bash one product for failing under a certain condition that no other products have ever had to endure. The bug is not OK, and it needs to be fixed. But pointless bashing like you love to do is, well, pointless. You added nothing to the conversation.

Well I don't think it is unfair to bash a digital video recorder that cant record correctly with out breaking regardless, so we will have to dissagree, particulary when it is the core function of that product and what it is enduring is recording and playing hd programming.

[Jeremy W]

Well I don't think it is unfair to bash a digital video recorder that cant record correctly with out breaking regardless
This problem has nothing to do with recording.

[kjnorman]

I agree the problem has nothing to do with recording as the recordings where fine. However if this is a repeatable bug then to my mind it is a fairly serious bug. How often does SpeedHD freeze? My HR21 is not normally on SpeedHD (usually I record this channel on my HR20) so for us it was a fluke. Still it is not good.

Does this bug also effect the HR20, or is it just a HR21 issue?

[texasbrit]

I agree the problem has nothing to do with recording as the recordings where fine. However if this is a repeatable bug then to my mind it is a fairly serious bug. How often does SpeedHD freeze? My HR21 is not normally on SpeedHD (usually I record this channel on my HR20) so for us it was a fluke. Still it is not good.

Does this bug also effect the HR20, or is it just a HR21 issue?
It is a problem with the RF cameras used by Nascar so it can happen on any of the channels showing Nascar. The HR21 and the H21 receiver are seriously affected by the problem, the HR20 seems to be OK. DirecTV is changing the software so the HR21/H21 will not be as affected by the problem, the latest CE release for the Hr21 is supposed to include the fixes so we should not have to wait for the cameras to be fixed (indeed it might not be easy to get the camera problem fixed, IMHO).

[btmoore]

This problem has nothing to do with recording.

Wow, you really want to pick nits, ok 2 core functions play and record, and one could say that you are technically wrong, the HR20 only plays recorded content, when watching "live TV" you are actually watching the live buffer which is recorded on the hard drive, it playing of that buffer is what causes the bug to present. So there. :P

[Jeremy W]

when watching "live TV" you are actually watching the live buffer which is recorded on the hard drive
Wrong again. Live is live, straight from the tuner. This isn't a Tivo, when you're watching live you're not watching the buffer.