[LI-SVT]

Thinking out loud here...

I wonder if some of the HR20 bugs are due to error or corruption of the guide data. I am mainley refering to black screens and no records. Look at it this way, the R15 and HR20 are built on two different platforms yet they both exhibit some simmilar bugs. I have had no records and black screens on both units. Some of the HR20 bugs have existed over serveral, or even all, versions. People are reporting issues with guide data dropping out, then comming back. For example you press R in the guide to record a hockey game on channel 732. The next day that game is removed from the guide and so is the recording removed from the To Do list. If a recording does happen but the guide data is wrong the box may record a channel that is dark for your package. I believe that Tivos will not record channels you don't revieve and D* boxes will. Tivos and D* boxes also handle guide updates differently.

 

[Stuart Sweet]

I agree that there's a strong possibility that guide data is one of the problems. People with Tivo's are having problems with guide data right now, that's confirmed, and people are having OTA guide data problems with HR20s. I think you're on to something.

 

[Tom Robertson]

Yes, both the R15 and HR20 seem to be sensitive to guide fluctuations, causing untold problems. Many of us contend that no matter what is in the guide, the R15 and HR20 should never lockup, crash, get stuck on a black screen. The software needs to be more robust at handling invalid situations in general.

Now, something we can not blame the HR20 for is missed recordings due to bad guide data from the network or station being propegated thru the system. And we expect the other DVRs, the HR10-250, the R10s, and Tivos to all fail to record in similar ways to incorrect guide data. (Has happened for me where the Tivos and the HR20s all failed to record because the broadcast network messed up the guide data somehow.)

Cheers,
Tom

 

[islesfan]

I have been wondering about this since the HR20 was released. I can look ahead almost two whole weeks and get NHL Center Ice channels on my TiVo (Yes, even now after the "problems" were reported). With my HR20, I can get a couple of days out at best, and the guide jumps from "Title not available" to "Islanders v. Devils" and back again right before my eyes. Where does D* get their guide data, and is there any hope of improvement?

 

[Earl Bonovich]

Where does D* get their guide data, and is there any hope of improvement?

The Guide data comes from TMS... same source as the TiVo.

 

[Vinny]

Thinking out loud here...

I wonder if some of the HR20 bugs are due to error or corruption of the guide data. I am mainley refering to black screens and no records. Look at it this way, the R15 and HR20 are built on two different platforms yet they both exhibit some simmilar bugs. I have had no records and black screens on both units. Some of the HR20 bugs have existed over serveral, or even all, versions. People are reporting issues with guide data dropping out, then comming back. For example you press R in the guide to record a hockey game on channel 732. The next day that game is removed from the guide and so is the recording removed from the To Do list. If a recording does happen but the guide data is wrong the box may record a channel that is dark for your package. I believe that Tivos will not record channels you don't revieve and D* boxes will. Tivos and D* boxes also handle guide updates differently.

I have thought that this was a possibility since the HR20 was released. I still do for at least some of the Not Recorded or Cancelled (for no apparent reason) recordings.

 

[ouijal]

I have always thought the horrible way in which the HR20 handles the guide is the root to many of its problems.

 

[islesfan]

The Guide data comes from TMS... same source as the TiVo.

So the problem is in the HR20, not the source of the guide data?

 

[hasan]

So the problem is in the HR20, not the source of the guide data?

It may be the way the HR20 responds to bad, inaccurate or unexpected variations in the Guide data.

 

[LI-SVT]

It may be the way the HR20 responds to bad, inaccurate or unexpected variations in the Guide data.

Thats kind of my point. There is no excuse for poor performance with this DVR. The difficulty for the programmers is finding where the errors are comming from and coding for error handling.

 

[hasan]

Thats kind of my point. There is no excuse for poor performance with this DVR. The difficulty for the programmers is finding where the errors are comming from and coding for error handling.

I've had the same error handling theory since I started reading this forum months ago. I've be most fortunate, very few and only minor problems, but that sure isn't the case for some people.

Excuse or no excuse aside, you certainly have identified the "difficulty". Knowing this, either patience or termination are the only two alternatives that make any sense. It's going to be a fairly lengthy process, from the looks of it. (months not weeks)

Of course, that's pure speculation on my part, but I might as well fit in.

 

[mocciat]

The Guide data comes from TMS... same source as the TiVo.

Yes but correct me if I'm wrong. Tivo gets the guide data from a phone call and uploads the data that is stored on the drive whereas the R15 and HR20 get the guide data from a sat signal and is not stored on the drive? Therefore everytime there is an issue with the transmission the guide data is reset.

Now that I think about it, I set up the Sopranos to record off A&E channel 265 on 1/10/07 as a SL. I went to check the to do list and there were no episodes set to record.

I check the guide data as well as the desription and all the Sopranos that day had changed programming info. I then went to my old tivo to set up a backup season pass. Whebn I looked at the episode info it was different from the HR20.

Originally the HR20 said the 9pm episode was the "pilot" and the 10pm episode was "46 Long" but now they are some generic description on the HR20 but the tivo still has the specifics of "pilot" and "46 Long".

Anyway is both are pulling the same guide data what is to account for the difference in guide info between the tivo and hr20?

Sorry for being long winded!!!

 

[btmoore]

Yes but correct me if I'm wrong. Tivo gets the guide data from a phone call and uploads the data that is stored on the drive whereas the R15 and HR20 get the guide data from a sat signal and is not stored on the drive? Therefore everytime there is an issue with the transmission the guide data is reset.

On my sat-t60 DTiVo it has be unplugged from the phone line for some 800 days, so I think you are wrong.

 

[Tom Robertson]

IIRC, the Tivos get the bulk of their data via a channel broadcast. DTivos normally channel 100 late at night, standalone via a paid advertisement. (Both carry the data hidden from view.)

If the Tivo can't get the program to process the data, then they can get some or all the data via phone call.

I also think the Directivos utilize some of the regular guide stream that all D* receivers process; they just don't get the extended Tivo data.

Cheers,
Tom