Hey You Gurus Please Help Me!

[EricHilton1987]

Thank you so much for viewing my thread. I appreciate you and if you can give me a solution I will be sooooooo happy!
* I KNOW THIS IS LONG, IM SORRY! I CUT ALOT OUT!

I have Directv r22-100 DVR. I hate it. With all my heart I hate it but thats not my point.

One of the reasons I hate it is becuase for example:
I have the show "Nancy Grace" series recording.
It comes on at 8:00 pm. The dvr records it.
At 10:00 pm and 1:00 pm and 4:00 am it comes on again THE SAME EPISODE and the freakin dvr records every one of them. Hogging my space and preventing me from recording other shows at those times.

I have it set to keep 3 episodes at most but I cant watch the show right away so I keep several days on there at once which would equal about 40 episodes!

NOW HERE IS MY MAIN PROBLEM: I see that you can set it to record first runs only but if I set that option with shows like Roseanne that are oldies wont that skip them?

Please give me advice!

Eric.:)

[litzdog911]

If the Guide Data provided by the station is incomplete or incorrect, the DVR will err on the side of caution and record every episode, even if the Series Link is set for "First Run Only". To get around this, set up a recurring Manual Recording on the desired channel at the desired time.

[The Merg]

Since litzdog is being a bad host :), :welcome_s to DBSTalk!

As he stated, the issue is actually with the Guide Data provided by the station/Tribune Media and not the DVR itself. There are two places that you can set up what types episodes to record. The first is the Default Recording Settings, which are listed on the main Prioritzer list. You can also set the record settings for each series itself from within that show's Series List. Select "Nancy Grace" in the Prioritizer and then select the Rec Series menu option. You can then change it to record First Run only. That will leave your "Roseanne" SL to record Both so that it records those older episodes for you.

- Merg

[rudeney]

Even though the guide data is the culprit here, I would think that the DVR should look to find that the exact same program (based on that guide data) is already in the saved list and then skip recoding duplicates. I am pretty sure this is how my old UltimateTV DVR's worked.

The reason I say this is because of some autorecords I have setup. I'm a Walt Disney World fan, so I like to record shows about the parks like those on TLC, Travel, etc. I setup autorecords for things like "DISNEY WORLD". Because some of the shows are reruns from years past, I record "both" to make sure I don't miss anything. I used to do the same thing on my UTV. On my HR20, I get multiple copies of the same shows, but I never had that on my UTV. I assumed it was because the UTV would see the show already recorded and not duplicate it.

[texasbrit]

Even though the guide data is the culprit here, I would think that the DVR should look to find that the exact same program (based on that guide data) is already in the saved list and then skip recoding duplicates. I am pretty sure this is how my old UltimateTV DVR's worked.

The reason I say this is because of some autorecords I have setup. I'm a Walt Disney World fan, so I like to record shows about the parks like those on TLC, Travel, etc. I setup autorecords for things like "DISNEY WORLD". Because some of the shows are reruns from years past, I record "both" to make sure I don't miss anything. I used to do the same thing on my UTV. On my HR20, I get multiple copies of the same shows, but I never had that on my UTV. I assumed it was because the UTV would see the show already recorded and not duplicate it.

Just a difference in philosophy. Your UTV checked to see if it already had the same episode in its recorded list and if it did, would not record it even if the channel had set the data to indicate "first run". The DirecTV box says "if the chnanel says it's first run, I will believe them" and so records it. Both approaches can cause problems if the guide data is incorrect!

[rudeney]

Just a difference in philosophy. Your UTV checked to see if it already had the same episode in its recorded list and if it did, would not record it even if the channel had set the data to indicate "first run". The DirecTV box says "if the chnanel says it's first run, I will believe them" and so records it. Both approaches can cause problems if the guide data is incorrect!

It's not just about the "first run" flag. Like I said, I have some of my autorecords setup for "both" because some of the program I want are reruns. I just really wish that the R/HR DVR's would act like the UTV did and not re-record something it already has saved. It seems liek it could just compare the guide data, and if it's an exact match, except fo rthe air date/time, then skip it. Every few days, I have to go through and delete the duplicates so my drive doesn't run out of space.

[Milkman]

I could be wrong here, but I thought that under normal circumstances the box would not record the identical show if:

You had it saved on your DVR
It recorded that same episode in the past 30 (?) days.
If what I am saying is indeed correct, then the fault probably does lie with the guide data.

[rudeney]

I could be wrong here, but I thought that under normal circumstances the box would not record the identical show if:

You had it saved on your DVR
It recorded that same episode in the past 30 (?) days.
If what I am saying is indeed correct, then the fault probably does lie with the guide data.

I am sure some of my duplicates are due to the 30-day rule, but some are happening within days or even on the same day. I'll have to check next time and see if I can find a pattern. Maybe the guide data is different.

[The Merg]

I am sure some of my duplicates are due to the 30-day rule, but some are happening within days or even on the same day. I'll have to check next time and see if I can find a pattern. Maybe the guide data is different.

Can you give an example of a show that this is happening with? One of the biggest issues is when the Guide Data shows "No information available" for the description of a show. While that is not the only criteria used to determine if a show has been recorded before or not, it definitely appears to cause issues when that is the case.

News shows that are repeated multiple times also cause havoc as the Guide Data appears to list the repeats as First Run and does not show them as a reshowing of the original First Run episode.

- Merg

[rudeney]

Dang, I just deleted some last night! I know one of them was "Disney on a Dime", I'll make sure next time I make noes and check the guide data for more details.

[Canis Lupus]

There are some pretty well-known examples. I haven't recorded it in a while, but The Daily Show is one.

Another one is NFL Total Access on NFL Network.

[kc1ih]

It does it for me with both The Daily Show and Countdown with Keith Olberman.

[senorgregster]

There are some pretty well-known examples. I haven't recorded it in a while, but The Daily Show is one.

Another one is NFL Total Access on NFL Network.

That one and The Colbert Report seem to do this but not everyday. Very strange.

[ThomasM]

There are two factors that determine if the DirecTV DVR will record a show:

The TMS guide data info.

Your HISTORY list (of all things!)

Each show (or episode of a series) is given a program number by TMS. It is also given an EPISODE NAME if one is provided by the program provider. Other flags are also added to the guide data like SERIES (if this isn't present, you can't set up a prioritizer entry for it). The FIRST RUN flag is also part of the guide data.

The way the DVR decides not to record the exact same show over if it's already in the playlist is by this program number (which is hidden from the subscriber). If the same show airs 3 hours later (as many networks that don't have East & West coast feeds do), it will not be recorded twice because it has the same program number. But sometimes, TMS screws up.

Now as for the HISTORY list, here's how it works. Lets say you have a show in your prioritizer set to record (doesn't matter if it's first run or all episodes). Now you notice another couple shows scheduled at the same time that you want to record instead of the one in the prioritizer BUT the exact same episode of the show in the prioritizer is going to be aired again later after your 2 preferred shows are recorded. You go into the TO DO list and delete the conflicting episode or you just schedule your new shows and answer CANCEL to the pop up screen question about the prioritizer entry show. Will the next instance of the show be recorded?

Answer tomorrow-just kidding! ;)

Actually, it WILL be recorded because the DVR logic examines the HISTORY file and sees that YOU canceled the proritizer show so you could record something else. So when the next showing of the same episode comes on, it will be recorded. But if you try experimenting, remember that it takes awhile for the prioritizer logic to add shows to the TO DO list.

If you are really nosy what data TMS supplies to DirecTV (and what show information they AREN'T letting you see), visit http://tmsdatadirect.com/docs/tv They have some really interesting files you can download and examine.

[brian461oia]

If the Guide Data provided by the station is incomplete or incorrect, the DVR will err on the side of caution and record every episode, even if the Series Link is set for "First Run Only". To get around this, set up a recurring Manual Recording on the desired channel at the desired time.

I think this is the correct answer because My R15-500 does the same thing with Glenn Beck. Usually the Friday episode repeats several times over the weekend and it records them all. Changing it to first run does not help. Oh and my HR22 does it as well the R10 or what ever my D* Tivo did before one of the tuners went.