Coming back from a power hit

[jpl]

We've been getting some insane storms coming through the northeast over the last few weeks. I noticed an issue a couple weeks ago, and I was wondering if anyone else had the same problem. We lose power, for whatever reason, and when the DVR comes back up online, it gets stuck on the "Searching for Satellite Signal" screen. The progress bar never gets past 0%. Doing a reset (hitting the red button) does the trick. This isn't really a problem for the most part. However, we just came back from vacation. Talking with a neighbor, we lost power twice while away. When I turned on the TV, sure enough my DVR was stuck on the same screen. Again, doing a reset seemed to take care of the problem. However, because we were away, many shows that were set to record, never did. Again, this isn't generally a problem - when we lose power, we're usually at home, but I do find this a pretty annoying issue. Anyone have the same problem? If so, any suggestions?

[morgantown]

Not necessarily a specific suggestion to your issue (not restarting correctly) with the R15 but a great suggestion for any DVR is a battery backup -- a UPS like you'd get for your PC. For short interruptions it keeps the DVR running for a period of time that the power usually resumes before the battery runs out.

As long as the power is not out for an extended period the restart issue on your box could becom a moot issue. Check out your local OfficeMax, Office Depot, online, etc., as you can get a decent UPS for a very resonable cost.

[d0ug]

UPS is a very good investment for a DVR, besides just protecting it, it will allow an already in progress recording to finish, or one that might be upcoming to record all the way though.

I have measured the DVR's power usage at 25-26watt on, and 23-24watt in standby, which of course begs the question of why even bother with standby. But in any case, even the cheapest of UPSes should keep the DVR going for atleast an hour or more

Going back to the standby, im convinced all it does it turn off the video output of the unit, the unit otherwise seems to be just as active in standby mode as it is in full on mode.

[jcwest]

What I've noticed on my R15 is when the power blinks it boots right back up with no problem.

However when there's a huge thunderstorm that blocks satellite signal and the power blinks it tries ONE TIME to reload and stops trying. Every time this happens I have to wait until there is a good signal then red button it.

J C

[walters]

Going back to the standby, im convinced all it does it turn off the video output of the unit, the unit otherwise seems to be just as active in standby mode as it is in full on mode.

Possibly true for TiVo, but the fairly well-informed word on the R15 is that it triggers a slightly different mode of operation. Putting it in standby tells it you're not using it and that it should feel free to do any of the more compute-intensive housekeeping processes related to guide data, todo list, etc. Some who have relatively reliable units swear by the use of standby for their success.

[jpl]

What I've noticed on my R15 is when the power blinks it boots right back up with no problem.

However when there's a huge thunderstorm that blocks satellite signal and the power blinks it tries ONE TIME to reload and stops trying. Every time this happens I have to wait until there is a good signal then red button it.

J C

Yeah, I should say that that's the behavior I'm seeing. At least that's what I noticed the first time this happened. We lost power due to a storm. When the power came back on, our signal was still very much blocked. I'm guessing that, since the last two times it happened (both of which while I was on vacation) were due to severe thunderstorms, we hit the same situation. When I unplug and replug the DVR (which I've done a few times already), it comes back fine. Thanks for all the reco's on getting a UPS. I've been thinking about it for some time - anyone have a recommended brand?

[walters]

I finally broke down and got three bottom-end (325VA) APCs from Circuit City for $30 each (I don't think it was a sale or anything).

[ApK]

Possibly true for TiVo, but the fairly well-informed word on the R15 is that it triggers a slightly different mode of operation. Putting it in standby tells it you're not using it and that it should feel free to do any of the more compute-intensive housekeeping processes related to guide data, todo list, etc. Some who have relatively reliable units swear by the use of standby for their success.

Here's what it does on Tivo:

http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv1530.htm

On the R15, my fear (based on nothing but reports here) is that it not so much puts it into another mode of operation, which would be ok, if, IMO, an inferior design choice, but that it simply CAN'T handle all that it needs to do, and only when video decoding and such is turned off can it do it's housekeeping job properly...sort of like having to shut down some apps on a Windoze box.

[Clint Lamor]

Here's what it does on Tivo:

http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv1530.htm

On the R15, my fear (based on nothing but reports here) is that it not so much puts it into another mode of operation, which would be ok, if, IMO, an inferior design choice, but that it simply CAN'T handle all that it needs to do, and only when video decoding and such is turned off can it do it's housekeeping job properly...sort of like having to shut down some apps on a Windoze box.

What it is doing is telling it that it's now ok to do all the housekeeping chores and use more system resources as you are no longer using the unit. This is the same thing it does after it doesn't detect any remote control usage for 4 hours (I think thats the number) TiVo just waits for the timeout to do the same thing. So not sure how thats an inferior design, to me it's just a signal to say it's ok to do it now.

[ApK]

This is the same thing it does after it doesn't detect any remote control usage for 4 hours (I think thats the number) TiVo just waits for the timeout to do the same thing. So not sure how thats an inferior design, to me it's just a signal to say it's ok to do it now.

If it does the same thing as Tivo does in doing housekeeping after a timeout period, then why all the posts here about putting the unit into standby to fix issues?

If it worked like Tivo, then there'd be no advantage to putting into standby manually. It would take care of all that over night or when we're not home.

As I said, I'm basing this on posts from these forums here. Posts here suggest manually putting into standby does help. Tivo does not need that help. Therefore this is an inferior design.

QED, Ipso facto, ergo and towit, rama lama ding dong,

ApK

[Clint Lamor]

Tivo starts it housekeeping after a period of no remote useage. The R15 does the same thing but i do think the timeout on the R15 may be longer. To test that along with the auto record I never put my R15 into standby for 6 weeks while I was out of town and didn't run into any issues with it. Yes I was still watching TV on it every night (Slingbox) and it recorded many things. I often wonder if some of the issues are not heat issues after reading some posts here about people redoing their fans and having more luck. My R15 sits in the same place my Tivo did which is a very well ventilated area in my cabinet which is open in the front and the back.