HR20-700 Guide problems...

[ncxcstud]

Hello all, this is my first post, if it's been asked/answered before...please forgive me :).

Anyways...

I just recently had the DirecTV HR20-700 shipped to me from D*. Everything works fine except for one very annoying problem...

Every now and then, while switching between a HD channel to a SD channel (for example, going from DiscoveryHD to a MLBEI game), the info portion of the previous channel freezes and appears to lock up the receiver interface graphics...

I can still technically 'get' to the guide, but I cannot see the guide. I am able to blindly press the arrow buttons and select a channel, but I have no idea what channel I selected until I get there.

I also can manually enter a channel, but since the info bar from the first channel I was on is permanently 'stuck' on whatever channel I'm viewing, I cannot see any 'info' for any channel after that. And, again...the info bar is stuck on every channel, pressing exit doesn't remove it, it's always there getting in the way, lol.

Turning the receiver on and off does nothing to alleviate this problem. The only way I've found to fix it is to 'reset' the receiver by pressing the red button or by unplugging it and plugging it back in.

I've done a 'test' on the receiver (through the menu) and the operating temperature is 125 degrees Fahrenheit, which I've discovered appears to be 'normal.'

My question is, is this something that could be fixed with a simple phone call or will I have to replace this unit? It gets very annoying...

I also can't seem to pick up one of my local HD channels through the receiver (PBSHD, WRLK in Columbia), but my TV tuner can pick it up fine. But, it's only PBS-HD so I could really care less about that, lol.

Any answers would be very helpful! Thanks!

[ncxcstud]

Same day...new problem...

It seems my receiver no longer wants to pick up local HD channels besides CBSHD.

Having the antenna connected to the TV shows a perfect picture with good-great signal strength.

However, the HR20 receiver says there is no signal whatsoever...

absolutely frustrating :(.

[veryoldschool]

:welcome_s to the forum.
Your PBS problem is most likely an antenna problem, as the tuner [OTA] doesn't seem to be as good as the ones in new TVs.
As for your bigger problem, I think you should try the reset everything option from the setup menu/ reset/ last option-- reset everything.
This will flush out all of the memory chips & format the drive, wiping out everything recorded but saving the software. After doing this it will walk you back through the setup guide & give you a "fresh start". If this doesn't get your unit to behave, then replacement would be my next option.

[ncxcstud]

Thanks veryoldschool for the advice. if it does it again I'll try that... it hasn't happened yet since I made this thread (maybe it knows I'm on to it...hmmm ;))

The channels not coming through I seemed to have fixed...I have a powered antenna (a radio shack one that looks like a spaceship, I'd post a link, but i'm not 'cool' enough yet, lol) , coupled with an amplifier (I live about 30+ miles from the towers and my wife won't let me put a huge antenna on the roof, lol). And I discovered that if I have the amp all the way up, and the antenna set to a gain level of 3...no channels would come in at all... If I knock the gain on the antenna down to 1 or 'normal' every UHF channel comes in at 70-80%.

Now, the only station I have trouble getting is ABC-HD, only because it's on a VHF signal (WOLO channel 8 in Columbia, SC). Any tips or tricks for getting a VHF signal in without compromising my UHF stations, lol?

[veryoldschool]

Now, the only station I have trouble getting is ABC-HD, only because it's on a VHF signal (WOLO channel 8 in Columbia, SC). Any tips or tricks for getting a VHF signal in without compromising my UHF stations, lol?
VHF needs a larger antenna than UHF as the antenna is function of wavelength, so the longer the wavelength, the larger the elements of the antenna.
Do you have an attic where you could put it?

[texasbrit]

Thanks veryoldschool for the advice. if it does it again I'll try that... it hasn't happened yet since I made this thread (maybe it knows I'm on to it...hmmm ;))

The channels not coming through I seemed to have fixed...I have a powered antenna (a radio shack one that looks like a spaceship, I'd post a link, but i'm not 'cool' enough yet, lol) , coupled with an amplifier (I live about 30+ miles from the towers and my wife won't let me put a huge antenna on the roof, lol). And I discovered that if I have the amp all the way up, and the antenna set to a gain level of 3...no channels would come in at all... If I knock the gain on the antenna down to 1 or 'normal' every UHF channel comes in at 70-80%.

Now, the only station I have trouble getting is ABC-HD, only because it's on a VHF signal (WOLO channel 8 in Columbia, SC). Any tips or tricks for getting a VHF signal in without compromising my UHF stations, lol?


Your signal is being massively overamplified - you have two amplifiers amplifying your signal, and this not only can overload the tuner (which is why you are getting better results turning the amplification down) but also exaggerate the effects of multipath, which is a killer for digital signals. You would probably be better off using an unamplified antenna like the Philips Silver Sensor, or the Terk HDTVi (not any of the other Terks) which has "rabbit ears" for VHF.

But you would be better off in general getting away from indoor antennas completely. The words "good" and "indoor antenna" really don't go together. As suggested, why don't you look at an attic installation? Still nowhere near as good as outdoors, but.....

What's your zip code? That will help us understand what sort of antenna might be best for you...