View Full Version : HR20-700 Inconsistent & Unreliable
I have three HR2x in my home set to record the series "Chuck" each week. It's a good thing too, because on any given week one of them is going to give me "Not Recorded" with the detail "The showing is over".
Perhaps they should just give each customer two DVRs for each one they order and have them duplicate all record commands...it would give them a far better chance of capturing the show they want.
tcusta00
04-30-09, 08:20 PM
Perhaps they should just give each customer two DVRs for each one they order and have them duplicate all record commands...it would give them a far better chance of capturing the show they want.
Good idea.
RobertE
04-30-09, 08:29 PM
Don't know what to tell you Ken. Mine have been pretty darn good here.
2x HR20-700
1x HR20-100
1x HR21-700
I don't recall the last time I've had a missed recording on any of them.
I can say that my entire setup is "to spec" end to end.
My main unit is one I got 2.5 years ago, still going strong.
Maybe it's luck, or karma, or who knows, but mine works.
Sorry your not so fortunate.
<cue the fanboy/apologist mudslingers in 3...2...1...>
armophob
04-30-09, 08:57 PM
I have three HR2x in my home set to record the series "Chuck" each week. It's a good thing too, because on any given week one of them is going to give me "Not Recorded" with the detail "The showing is over".
Perhaps they should just give each customer two DVRs for each one they order and have them duplicate all record commands...it would give them a far better chance of capturing the show they want.
I haven't had any real recording issues for quite some time, but I am on board 100% with any 2 for one dvr deals.:)
spartanstew
04-30-09, 09:00 PM
Other than the constant rebooting during last weeks CE, my HR20-700 has worked flawlessly. Granted, its mainly a back up unit so it only has about 15 SL's, but it hasn't missed any of them in the 18 months I've had it.
I'm frustrated...it may be I hadn't rebooted the units that had problems for about a month. But the "Showing is Over" error message is really nonsensical. Oh, and none of the machines are on CE releases.
calidelphia
04-30-09, 09:30 PM
I would welcome missed recordings if they could fix the issue with my glacial 21-100.
I would welcome missed recordings if they could fix the issue with my glacial 21-100.
I dunno...if a DVR won't record what it's programmed to do on a very, very consistent basis nothing else about it really matters.
I always wonder why some people have a perfect error-free experience and others have these issues (described above).
I have two HR20-700's from late 2006 that are always on the national release (used by the wife and kids), and another HR20-700 and a HR21-200 that are always running CE software (see CE Forum).
Honestly ... candidly ... the HR2x's have been rock solid. Did have some issues in early 2007, and did have a blip a few months ago for a day, when we had that firmware in the middle of the day, but other then that I can not remember any family member having any issue nor missing a recording.
I wonder ... I have a perfectly aligned dish here (DirecTV came out to fine tune when D10 was launched) ... have SWM-8's providing power to the LNB's ... have fairly new RG6 quad shield cable with compression connectors ... is it because the infrastructure is all fairly perfect here?
Not only has everything been functioning fine, but rain fade is also a very distant memory.
Really wonder why some locations are 100% fine and others have repetitive issues.
And it's not like these boxes are lightly utilized, especially the HR20's for the rest of the family (they record every show imaginable and consistently have only <5% free on 750GB eSATA drives).
Would be interesting to have an in depth case study analysis done to really dig into the root cause.
David MacLeod
05-01-09, 04:53 AM
I wonder if the showing is over error might point to corrupt guide data being cached or something.
I have had a few (3 iirc) of those last month (March to 2nd week April) but it happened on shows that were listed as repeats.
that is odd.
Mike Bertelson
05-01-09, 05:14 AM
I wonder if the showing is over error might point to corrupt guide data being cached or something.
I have had a few (3 iirc) of those last month (March to 2nd week April) but it happened on shows that were listed as repeats.
that is odd.IIUC, the has been an on going issue for Ken so I don't think it's guide data.
I can't remember the last time I've had a missed recording that wasn't due to a conflict or user error.
An on going issue like this is abnormal.
Signal strengths?
Power issues?
Mike
ImBack234
05-01-09, 06:02 AM
Perhaps they should just give each customer two DVRs for each one they order and have them duplicate all record commands...it would give them a far better chance of capturing the show they want.
Now thats funny.:D
bonscott87
05-01-09, 08:56 AM
I always wonder why some people have a perfect error-free experience and others have these issues (described above).
I'm always curious as well. I have an HR20-700 from the first week it was available in fall of 2006 and HR21-200 from mid 2007 or so.
Last time I missed a recording that wasn't due to user error or a conflict I didn't take care of was over 2 years ago and in grand total I only lost 2 recordings in those very early months. They have both been rock solid. Mostly on national release lately although I've been getting back into doing CE's here and there.
I like you have a perfectly aligned dish, quad shielded RG6, properly installed SWM and WB68 and so forth.
So I dunno. :(
say-what
05-01-09, 09:04 AM
I'm always curious as well. I have an HR20-700 from the first week it was available in fall of 2006 and HR21-200 from mid 2007 or so.
Last time I missed a recording that wasn't due to user error or a conflict I didn't take care of was over 2 years ago and in grand total I only lost 2 recordings in those very early months. They have both been rock solid. Mostly on national release lately although I've been getting back into doing CE's here and there.
I like you have a perfectly aligned dish, quad shielded RG6, properly installed SWM and WB68 and so forth.
So I dunno. :(Add me to the list of the curious. I have 2 HR20s, 1st since 11/2006 and 2nd since 3/2007. Now my 2nd HR20 had to be replaced when it's drive failed, but other than that, the HR20 has been very reliable for me.
dennisj00
05-01-09, 09:13 AM
I also wonder about the variations of problems. . . I'm using cable that was installed in 2000 or so and barrel spliced 10' away from the new dish - 19 months ago. Rain fade is worse on the HDs but tolerable, since we need the rain!!
My 3 HR2xs have been somewhat flawless, always on CE except for the last week and a half.
The only recording issue is 9 of 10 times I try to record 'InFocus' on HDNet, I get error message something to the effect "Program ID ### expected, Program ID ### found" and no recording. That's either selecting SL or indivual programs to record.
It did record last Tuesday's 10AM showing so something may have changed.
I haven't had any real recording issues for quite some time, but I am on board 100% with any 2 for one dvr deals.:)
Got the new NR last night and the first thing I saw was the message about how to get to the ToDo list. Thought about you immediately and wondered if you felt the knife slip in a little more. :lol:
Rich
I always wonder why some people have a perfect error-free experience and others have these issues (described above).
Me too and I think the difference has to be mostly the feed. Dish to HR. Something out of whack (dare I say "awry"?).
I have two HR20-700's from late 2006 that are always on the national release (used by the wife and kids), and another HR20-700 and a HR21-200 that are always running CE software (see CE Forum).
Honestly ... candidly ... the HR2x's have been rock solid. Did have some issues in early 2007, and did have a blip a few months ago for a day, when we had that firmware in the middle of the day, but other then that I can not remember any family member having any issue nor missing a recording.
That's my experience too. But I don't use the CE software. I don't miss recordings or anything like that.
I wonder ... I have a perfectly aligned dish here (DirecTV came out to fine tune when D10 was launched) ... have SWM-8's providing power to the LNB's ... have fairly new RG6 quad shield cable with compression connectors ... is it because the infrastructure is all fairly perfect here?
Not only has everything been functioning fine, but rain fade is also a very distant memory.
Me too. I don't have a SWM, but I have no problems.
Really wonder why some locations are 100% fine and others have repetitive issues.
And it's not like these boxes are lightly utilized, especially the HR20's for the rest of the family (they record every show imaginable and consistently have only <5% free on 750GB eSATA drives).
Would be interesting to have an in depth case study analysis done to really dig into the root cause.
I think you've answered your own questions. Feed the HRs correctly and they work well.
Rich
Don't know what to tell you Ken. Mine have been pretty darn good here.
2x HR20-700
1x HR20-100
1x HR21-700
I don't recall the last time I've had a missed recording on any of them.
I can say that my entire setup is "to spec" end to end.
My main unit is one I got 2.5 years ago, still going strong.
Maybe it's luck, or karma, or who knows, but mine works.
Sorry your not so fortunate.
<cue the fanboy/apologist mudslingers in 3...2...1...>
I'm running nine HRs and the only problems I have are with a new 22-100 that insists on jumping to the end of programs when I hit the 30 second slip. That's got nothing to do with the feed, that's the 22, and I bought it with expectations of problems and I got them.
I think it's all about the feed.
Rich
I have three HR2x in my home set to record the series "Chuck" each week. It's a good thing too, because on any given week one of them is going to give me "Not Recorded" with the detail "The showing is over".
Perhaps they should just give each customer two DVRs for each one they order and have them duplicate all record commands...it would give them a far better chance of capturing the show they want.
I notice that you've got that BRIING thing in your sig. I was watching a Battles BC the other day and it was showing several arrows that showed how cavalry and ground forces were moving. Just as I got a BRIING, the arrows moved back and then moved in the correct direction. It's not just a sound thing, the recording is moving in reverse too. First time I've seen that clearly.
Rich
Okay, I can give a variety of reasons (and I'm sure there are more) why some people "have" problems and others don't.
1. Memory leaks - Their effect can vary widely based on use.. People that do CEs or reboot often won't see the same problems. Amount of use, type of use, number of channel changes, etc. etc. can all play a role in this. I would venture a guess that no two forum members have machines doing the same thing as another forum member all the time.
2. Corrupted/Different Guide Data - This latest problem occurred on a local channel. That guide data is going to be different than most of thee other people in this forum.
3. Hardware differences - Even the models with the same numbers HR20-700 for instance can be different inside. Some of the 700s had 300GB drives others had 320GBs. It wouldn't surprise me if there were other changes as well...anything from different RAM chips to component consolidation.
4. Hardware failures - Heat, vibration, power issues, etc. can cause problems that start to show up over time. Faulty power supplies, HDs...etc.
5. Dish/Line/LNB issues - We know all these.
6. This is a biggie - Not noticing the problem. Many people just don't notice the problem because they don't recall what should have been recorded, don't check, don't care, etc. I've seen more than a few examples of this both with the national "Blue's Clues" issue and if some of you remember with the Friday Night Light's issue from two seasons back. More than once I've traded PMs with people who claimed their machine wasn't missing anything only to have them mirror some shows I was recording and see the same issue.
With Friday Night Lights the guide data got screwed up and it broke everyone's SL two seasons ago. I posted a notice and over the course of a couple weeks...I must have received 50 PMs from folks telling me "I never noticed...thanks."
Frankly, if I hadn't switched watching Chuck from one set to another the other day I wouldn't have noticed either. So...if you're not looking for the issues you very well may not see them. I'd venture that very few of us watch every show we set to record and far, far fewer ever look in the history file.
I'm guilty of this as well..I couldn't tell you if my son's shows are recording properly anymore. Why? I don't track it...there are some shows there for him to watch and I don't look in history. The HR2x has been pretty good on the national weekly shows lately for me, but I just don't watch that many of them.
In some ways this is similar to the Brrriiiiipppp issue. It's a systemwide problem but unless you're paying attention and watching the channel that has the issue at that exact time you're not going to see it.
Oh, and for the record, I'm sure my Tivo experience was also "made better" because I wasn't looking for problems. Was it "rock solid", "bullet proof" , etc? To me it was, but that was probably because I didn't notice the issues.
I would also suggest that some people are less than honest, but that's a small minority on both sides of the issue and not worthwhile discussing here.
So...all that being said. I have four HR2x DVRs. Three had SLs for Chuck. Of the three. One recorded all three showings, one recorded two of the three and one recorded one episode. There were no priority issues involved although on one of them (the one with only one show recorded) the other tuner was in use at the time Chuck came on.
To get back to the thread title. The HR2x series has been inconsistent and unreliable for me. I'm not all that upset because my expectations have been lowered considerably over the years. When we leave on vacation we kind of cross our fingers that one of the four will capture the shows we want to see. Last October one of the nationwide lockups even prevented that from happening. Just about everything on TV can be viewed through another source so I'm not really upset. The Brriiiippp issue is actually more frustrating to me.
tds4182
05-02-09, 09:41 AM
I'm always curious as well. I have an HR20-700 from the first week it was available in fall of 2006 and HR21-200 from mid 2007 or so.
Last time I missed a recording that wasn't due to user error or a conflict I didn't take care of was over 2 years ago and in grand total I only lost 2 recordings in those very early months. They have both been rock solid. Mostly on national release lately although I've been getting back into doing CE's here and there.
I like you have a perfectly aligned dish, quad shielded RG6, properly installed SWM and WB68 and so forth.
So I dunno. :(
Bonscott, I'd echo your sentiments. I've had both an HR10-250 and an HR20-700. For me, at least, the HR20-700 has been a really good unit. It's more trouble free than the HR10-250 ever was.
Bonscott, I'd echo your sentiments. I've had both an HR10-250 and an HR20-700. For me, at least, the HR20-700 has been a really good unit. It's more trouble free than the HR10-250 ever was.
I disagree. My HR20-700s are _mostly_ reliable thesedays. The only big problem I have is the issue with one tuner not recovering (persistent 771) after rain fade, which forces me to reboot every time there is a decent rain in order to get both tuners working again.
That being said, I never gave my HR10-250 a second thought. It just did what it was supposed to do. I'm forced to wonder and check nearly every day to make sure that the HR20s are up and running properly.
I no longer duplicate most recordings, but if I want to be sure I catch something, I still set it to record on both the HR20 and a backup on the HR10.
JerseyBoy
05-02-09, 11:27 AM
I disagree. My HR20-700s are _mostly_ reliable thesedays. The only big problem I have is the issue with one tuner not recovering (persistent 771) after rain fade, which forces me to reboot every time there is a decent rain in order to get both tuners working again.
That being said, I never gave my HR10-250 a second thought. It just did what it was supposed to do. I'm forced to wonder and check nearly every day to make sure that the HR20s are up and running properly.
I no longer duplicate most recordings, but if I want to be sure I catch something, I still set it to record on both the HR20 and a backup on the HR10.
I had the complete opposite experience. My HR10-250 frequently missed recording shows that I had set to first run only. And the ones it missed were first runs. I finally gave up and set all season passes to record all. Recordings were still missed after that but not as frequent. I think the message in the history when it didn't record was something like "not recorded because show was no longer available" Since getting the HR2x I can set the series link to first run only and I never miss a recording.
rsblaski
05-02-09, 11:51 AM
I have three HR2x in my home set to record the series "Chuck" each week. It's a good thing too, because on any given week one of them is going to give me "Not Recorded" with the detail "The showing is over".
Perhaps they should just give each customer two DVRs for each one they order and have them duplicate all record commands...it would give them a far better chance of capturing the show they want.
I had to check when your post was written. This is a problem that a lot of us had in the early days of the HR series. I had it so bad I would duplicate recordings on my two HR's. I remember how frustrating this was and feel really bad for you that this problem is still around.
Good luck on finding a solution. Apparently this was solved for most uf us with the various software updates that addressed it.
bonscott87
05-02-09, 01:19 PM
My HR20-700s are _mostly_ reliable thesedays. The only big problem I have is the issue with one tuner not recovering (persistent 771) after rain fade, which forces me to reboot every time there is a decent rain in order to get both tuners working again.
Sounds like you need to get a replacement receiver and that problem should go away. :)
I had to check when your post was written. This is a problem that a lot of us had in the early days of the HR series. I had it so bad I would duplicate recordings on my two HR's. I remember how frustrating this was and feel really bad for you that this problem is still around.
Good luck on finding a solution. Apparently this was solved for most uf us with the various software updates that addressed it.
I have had the units for over two years now...I'm used to it. I don't think the problems have ever been solved. They're better in some respects but some old problems continue on.
I don't believe the problem will be solved with this series of DVRs and maybe not by any DVR that works on the current model of reading guide data and blindly trying to capture what's shown on a given channel.
As for my solution...I just don't care that much anymore. I posted to report to DirecTV that the problem still exists and to let others know what issues I'm having.
finaldiet
05-04-09, 06:18 AM
My 2 HR 20's have never given me any problems except when they had a national glitch a while back. Have 750 external hard-drive on one and internet connections on both. Both are VERY stable.:D
My 2 HR 20's have never given me any problems except when they had a national glitch a while back. Have 750 external hard-drive on one and internet connections on both. Both are VERY stable.:D
Mine is very stable too...but the pixellation/audio drops on recordings has become quite problematic. I've been very involved with OTA on the HR20-700 since day 1. Something has changed. (at least for me). In all other aspects, the HR20-700 is "normal", and had been for OTA as well. A few months ago, this problem started and has remained consistent, if not gotten worse. As I said before, signals are strong and stable (quality wise).
Once I had gotten signal levels set properly, the HR20-700 was just as good as my Sammy HL-R5667W HDTV tuner (and that is very, very good)...then ...over time, the HR20-700 started to develop the OTA issues noted. There are only two possibilities:
1. The box has developed its own problem. (I doubt this)
2. Software
Just for the record I'm not suggesting the HR2x series is unstable (it's gotten much better in that regards). It just believe them to be unreliable/inconsistent in fulfilling their primary job (recording TV content).
This time around none of the machines locked up...two of them just didn't record a show or two that the third one did record.
I believe there is a flaw in the way the HR2x series goes about following a schedule and interacting with the guide data it receives and it appears to be an issue that isn't going away anytime soon.
Just for the record I'm not suggesting the HR2x series is unstable (it's gotten much better in that regards). It just believe them to be unreliable/inconsistent in fulfilling their primary job (recording TV content).
This time around none of the machines locked up...two of them just didn't record a show or two that the third one did record.
I believe there is a flaw in the way the HR2x series goes about following a schedule and interacting with the guide data it receives and it appears to be an issue that isn't going away anytime soon.Ken, Haven't read through all the posts, so forgive me if this is redundant, or if you've already tried what I'm going to suggest.
One possibility is that the databases on the two offending DVR's are somehow corrupted, and a RESET ALL or a REFORMAT might be in order. PITA to rebuild all your SL's, I know, but OTOH, there may be a problem with the SL"s, so couldn't hurt.
Another possibility is that the particular sequence of shows in your PRIORITIZER has exposed some logic flaw in the SCHEDULER or the pre-recording "housekeeping" routine. In that case, if DirecTV is inclined to look into this, it would probably help for them to try to recreate it in the lab. I'm not sure if the regular DX report sends a copy of the PRIORITIZER to DirecTV, tho, so you may have to post it.
I'd try a reformat first, if you haven't already. No one has been a bigger critic than me of "DVR 101" issues, as I like to call them... missed recordings, "black" recordings, late recording starts, erratic TO DO list population, et al. I have to say that during this prime-time viewing season, tho, after 100's of show recordings, I can't recall us missing one that wasn't a result of a network playing games with a :59 or :01 start or stop time. That's why I'm thinking that some critical file may be corrupted somewhere.
Just my .02. /steve
PS: If you haven't tried a format in a while, I discovered that you can wait until after the "diagnostic" message comes on screen to hold DOWN ARROW and RECORD simultaneously. As you're holding the buttons, you'll see an on-screen "formatting" message about 15 seconds after the diags screen changes to a screen with a D)) logo.
Steve,
Thanks for your suggestion and the time it took to post it.
One of the machines had been reformatted about a month ago. The other hadn't for quite some time. I had also tried the reformatting way back with the Blue's Clues issues and had no better experience. The machine that missed two shows had it's guide data flushed a couple of weeks back when I did a double restart. The machine that captured all three shows hasn't been reformatted since 3/2007.
The best experience I've had is when I make sure to do a restart on machines once every two to three weeks. While that doesn't ensure reliability we haven't seen nearly as many problems when we keep to the schedule.
BTW, if you had a database running wouldn't you also be running regular integrity checks of some sort?
[...]BTW, if you had a database running wouldn't you also be running regular integrity checks of some sort?I suppose. Just trying to find an explanation that fits your facts. :)
Like I said, we routinely record about 20 hours/week of prime-time on our main HR20. They're spread pretty equally across the four major networks, so there's very little auto-padding and a lot of tuner swapping going on.
I don't want to jinx myself, but so far this season, we honestly haven't missed a recording yet that I couldn't explain by an ":01-like" scheduling conflict. I couldn't say the same for last season. I'll bet if I searched, I'd find at least a half-dozen "missed recording" posts I made in late '07, earlly '08.
You're talking about missing shows like Chuck, right? Not shows with funky GUIDE data, like The Daily Show? /steve
I suppose. Just trying to find an explanation that fits your facts. :)
Like I said, we routinely record about 20 hours/week of prime-time on our main HR20. They're spread pretty equally across the four major networks, so there's very little auto-padding and a lot of tuner swapping going on.
I don't want to jinx myself, but so far this season, we honestly haven't missed a recording yet that I couldn't explain by an ":01-like" scheduling conflict. I couldn't say the same for last season. I'll bet if I searched, I'd find at least a half-dozen "missed recording" posts I made in late '07, earlly '08.
You're talking about missing shows like Chuck, right? Not shows with funky GUIDE data, like The Daily Show? /steve
Yes, it was Chuck over the last three weeks of the season. As I said I don't bother to track the kids shows anymore. This is the first time since the Friday Nights Lights screwup that I've seen primetime programming missed, but as I said I really don't track things that well. There was an episode of Fringe that cutoff early, but that may have been pushed by some other show...I wasn't sure.
I do appreciate your suggestion...just not sure it's the fix in this case.
redram38
05-04-09, 04:15 PM
I had an episode of Chuck not record as well, the one before the season Final. Other than that I have not had one miss in quite some time. The biggest issue I have is with the H21's. They seem to get slower and slower with every release. At times I cannot even use the numbers on the remote to change channels, I have to go to the guide and do it from there. Remote response is terrible. This has been going on for about 2 months now.
dreadlk
05-04-09, 07:08 PM
Ken I did a post about that last week :)
I just purchased an HR23-700 for that exact reason. Now with two DVR's I should at least capture 99% of my shows.
BTW since x02F5 Firmware came out 3 days ago the HR23 has been on the fritz with daily reboots. I think Directv needs to recall all these units and go back to the drawing board, it feels like they are making no headway, they fix one group of receivers and then another set has problems. This is feeling more and more like a Microsoft type operation.
I have three HR2x in my home set to record the series "Chuck" each week.
Perhaps they should just give each customer two DVRs for each one they order and have them duplicate all record commands...it would give them a far better chance of capturing the show they want.
Ken I did a post about that last week :)
I just purchased an HR23-700 for that exact reason. Now with two DVR's I should at least capture 99% of my shows.
BTW since x02F5 Firmware came out 3 days ago the HR23 has been on the fritz with daily reboots. I think Directv needs to recall all these units and go back to the drawing board, it feels like they are making no headway, they fix one group of receivers and then another set has problems. This is feeling more and more like a Microsoft type operation.
I think they've done that in the past. Fixing one model at a time I mean. That seemed to work well, but they quickly went to dumping the same NR on every HR. I'm really disappointed in the 23-700, from the "First Look", that unit seemed to be a big step up, but so many complaints such as yours kinda put the lie to that.
People keep commenting on my nine HRs, but I don't see how anyone could trust one or two HRs to reliably record valued programs. Five of my HRs are dedicated to backing each other up. Overkill? Perhaps, but I never miss any programs.
Rich
This last version upgrade was a killer.
Please - Please - Please . . . Go back to the version before. This is getting old fast.
This last version upgrade was a killer.
Please - Please - Please . . . Go back to the version before. This is getting old fast.
Won't happen. Have to wait for a new NR.
Rich
Tsk tsk tsk. . .
Somebody should be strung up.
Tsk tsk tsk. . .
Somebody should be strung up.
And replace the programmers (if that's who you are talking about) with who?
Rich
Yes, it was Chuck over the last three weeks of the season. [...]One last thought. Any chance you have one Chuck SL set for "First Run" and the other two for "Both"? If there was anything wrong with the GUIDE data, it might explain why one or more HR got it and the other didn't. Just another thought. /steve
One last thought. Any chance you have one Chuck SL set for "First Run" and the other two for "Both"? If there was anything wrong with the GUIDE data, it might explain why one or more HR got it and the other didn't. Just another thought. /steve
I checked...they're all set for First Run, Keep 5. All had more than 50% disk space available.
dreadlk
05-05-09, 05:25 PM
Five units backing up each other :lol: Even with that you never know when they might send another Killer clock command and send all five of them into a reboot.:D
This latest update is just another nail in the coffin, Directv is taking soo many hits on this receiver, lucky for them they have some pretty loyal mods on this forum, but even they cannot keep there fingers in all the Holes in the Dam.
My take is that this problem shows that, either the programmers are complete idiots or the Hardware is Flawed! Nobody in the History of software writting (except for Microsoft) has had so many Beta testers yet failed to fix a product after this length of time:mad:
I think they've done that in the past. Fixing one model at a time I mean. That seemed to work well, but they quickly went to dumping the same NR on every HR. I'm really disappointed in the 23-700, from the "First Look", that unit seemed to be a big step up, but so many complaints such as yours kinda put the lie to that.
People keep commenting on my nine HRs, but I don't see how anyone could trust one or two HRs to reliably record valued programs. Five of my HRs are dedicated to backing each other up. Overkill? Perhaps, but I never miss any programs.
Rich
Five units backing up each other :lol: Even with that you never know when they might send another Killer clock command and send all five of them into a reboot.:D
Before I switched to DVRs I had at least 12 VCRs running every day. Seems like a lot, no? But it's only 12 tuners and I didn't trust them. When I switched to TiVos, I kept having problems and ended up with 12 of them running. Didn't trust them at all. Then I switched to HRs and, well, you know. The HRs are, by far, the best recording device I've used so far and I still don't trust them. Now I'm getting at least one random reboot a day without any pattern.
This latest update is just another nail in the coffin, Directv is taking soo many hits on this receiver, lucky for them they have some pretty loyal mods on this forum, but even they cannot keep there fingers in all the Holes in the Dam.
I've had a lot of training that is akin to what a moderator should do and they are doing the correct thing. Moderators or facilitators are like baseball umpires, the best ones are the ones you rarely notice. We were called "facilitators" and our primary function was to keep meetings on track. We were usually briefed before the meetings and usually were privy to information that no one in the meetings had. We were supposed to "gently steer" the arguments in the direction our bosses wanted to go without divulging any knowledge. Difficult position to be in.
My take is that this problem shows that, either the programmers are complete idiots or the Hardware is Flawed! Nobody in the History of software writting (except for Microsoft) has had so many Beta testers yet failed to fix a product after this length of time:mad:
Obviously, D*'s programmers are not the cream of the crop. They probably contract the programming out and do little to oversee the operation. Much like their refurbishing operation. The hardware is probably a bit flawed too, that doesn't help. I've often wondered if they have a quality control department altho they'd probably contract that out too. :lol:
Rich
RunnerFL
05-06-09, 01:19 PM
Another thing to try is reboot the boxes twice each within 30 minutes. This flushes the guide data and any problems with the guide data.
say-what
05-06-09, 02:50 PM
I think they've done that in the past. Fixing one model at a time I mean. That seemed to work well, but they quickly went to dumping the same NR on every HR. I'm really disappointed in the 23-700, from the "First Look", that unit seemed to be a big step up, but so many complaints such as yours kinda put the lie to that.
People keep commenting on my nine HRs, but I don't see how anyone could trust one or two HRs to reliably record valued programs. Five of my HRs are dedicated to backing each other up. Overkill? Perhaps, but I never miss any programs.
RichI have 4 HR2x's, none with duplicate SL's, and all record what I tell them to record.
Bonscott, I'd echo your sentiments. I've had both an HR10-250 and an HR20-700. For me, at least, the HR20-700 has been a really good unit. It's more trouble free than the HR10-250 ever was.
That's been my experience as well. Frequent, sometimes daily, reboots with HR10-250. I retired/deactivated it last month. A new hard drive might have remedied it since I bought it Aug. 2005, but investing that much in a 500GB IDE drive for a unit that can't pick up MPEG 4 wasn't something I wanted to do. The large capacity IDE drives are starting to get scarce too.
I had issues with the HR20-700 I initially was shipped, actually went belly up within the 30 days return window. DIRECTV sent out techs who tweaked the dish and the replacement has been rock solid. The HR21-100...not so much. It has a delayed response to remote commands, will sometimes skip to the end of a recording when FFing or 30 sec. slip, and doesn't have the ATSC-integrated tuner the HR20 has. Still, no missed recordings, which is the most crucial thing.
I have 4 HR2x's, none with duplicate SL's, and all record what I tell them to record.
Obviously, you don't suffer from paranoia, as I do. :lol:
But seriously, I have only lost one 2TB eSATA during this year's TV season and that was only half full, no loss of programming because of backups. Not bad. All my recordings are made just as I program them, too, but I just don't trust the HRs that much, especially with the eSATAs thrown into the equation. Believe me, I want to trust them. Haven't had an HR go south in a long time tho.
Rich
I have 4 HR2x's, none with duplicate SL's, and all record what I tell them to record.
I see that all your HRs are 700s. Smart. Very smart.
Rich
That's been my experience as well. Frequent, sometimes daily, reboots with HR10-250. I retired/deactivated it last month. A new hard drive might have remedied it since I bought it Aug. 2005, but investing that much in a 500GB IDE drive for a unit that can't pick up MPEG 4 wasn't something I wanted to do. The large capacity IDE drives are starting to get scarce too.
I had issues with the HR20-700 I initially was shipped, actually went belly up within the 30 days return window. DIRECTV sent out techs who tweaked the dish and the replacement has been rock solid. The HR21-100...not so much. It has a delayed response to remote commands, will sometimes skip to the end of a recording when FFing or 30 sec. slip, and doesn't have the ATSC-integrated tuner the HR20 has. Still, no missed recordings, which is the most crucial thing.
The almost daily reboots were what made me want to get rid of the TiVos. With this latest NR, I'm getting almost daily random reboots. No where near as bad as the TiVos running 6.3 (I think), but annoying. At least I haven't had them all reboot at once yet.
Rich
islesfan
05-07-09, 03:55 PM
Mine has been solid for SL's for years now. Autorecords are another issues altogether, but that's the lousy search/CIG problem that DirecTV won't fix. As for missing episodes, you don't need a second DVR, just Hulu. I think they made Hulu as an answer to the HR2x DVR's.
Sounds like you need to get a replacement receiver and that problem should go away. :)
I would agree with you, except that
* this happens on two HR20-700s
* it only happens after rain fade
* a menu reset always fixes it until the next rain fade event
* it started with a software update several months ago
* a number of other people here have reported the exact same problem.
I believe that this is a software issue. I'm actually cautiously optimistic that the last NR may have fixed it, but not convinced of that yet.
I would agree with you, except that
* this happens on two HR20-700s
* it only happens after rain fade
* a menu reset always fixes it until the next rain fade event
* it started with a software update several months ago
* a number of other people here have reported the exact same problem.
I believe that this is a software issue. I'm actually cautiously optimistic that the last NR may have fixed it, but not convinced of that yet.
Don't forget that:
* if you tell them about the isssue they won't replace it without a service call (I tried - was even told the issue was "normal")
* it will cost you at least $19.99 even if you make a story up about it being another issue and convince them to ship you one
* you have a good chance of getting hit with a new two-year commitment (even though you are not suppose to)
On top of that, I would lose a lot of recorded programming I've saved up. And there is a good chance I would not get an HR20 back - and I want my OTA tuners.
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