[baseband]

Is it normal for the unit to be slow on channel changes?
The unit brings up the banner, the screen goes gray, the input display shows up for the TV and then the picture shows up. This takes what seems like forever.
For a channel surfer this is torture. The box has been reset and it did not help.

 

[priester68]

My HR-20 does that to a degree also. Especially when switching between HD channels. I choose not to mess with it because it might be worse. It is annoying but I have good service and that's not worth jeopardizing.

 

[Starchy77]

Is it normal for the unit to be slow on channel changes?
The unit brings up the banner, the screen goes gray, the input display shows up for the TV and then the picture shows up. This takes what seems like forever.
For a channel surfer this is torture. The box has been reset and it did not help.

This happens when the receiver changes the output method to the TV on the channel change (ie. changing between 480i, 720p, 1080i). If you change the receiver settings to always output in one of these formats instead of using native, you should no longer see this problem.

 

[HDinMA]

Is it normal for the unit to be slow on channel changes?
The unit brings up the banner, the screen goes gray, the input display shows up for the TV and then the picture shows up. This takes what seems like forever.
For a channel surfer this is torture. The box has been reset and it did not help.

The DVR buffer seems to slow things down and it seems to be that way for all DVRs in my experience. OTA channels are particularly slow.

My old H10-250 TiVo had a streamlined, opaque menu that was much faster. I wish D* would add that to a new software release instead of only having one view.

 

[dcowboy7]

1. i keep native off & only 1080i check marked....this way every channel doesnt have to adjust to something different & seems somewhat faster.
2. i only really channel surf with the program guide up....then go to the actual channel.

 

[rhambling]

iirc, this also occurs because channels are on different satellites. not all the channels are being sent to box at the same time. so the box has to wait for the lnb or multi switch to select the satellite and the odd or even tp and send the channels to the box.

this is what i was told while in an directv installation class for mastec.

 

[HDinMA]

iirc, this also occurs because channels are on different satellites. not all the channels are being sent to box at the same time. so the box has to wait for the lnb or multi switch to select the satellite and the odd or even tp and send the channels to the box.

this is what i was told while in an directv installation class for mastec.

Did they mention the DVR factor?

I have an H21 that's lightning fast...

 

[bakers12]

Selecting just one screen resolution and setting native off, just as Starchy77 said, should cut your channel change time in half. Beyond that, there's not much you can do to improve it. As others have said, there is a lot of switching going on to change a channel.

Use the menu to get into Setup, then HDTV for the resolution and native settings.

 

[paulman182]

I don't think much of it is because it is a DVR. My DirecTV R15-500 and R15-100 change channels a lot quicker than the HD DVRs.

It is true that it will speed up a little if you lock the resolution either to 1080i or 720p and leave it there.

 

[bonscott87]

DVRs by nature are certainly slower then a stand alone receiver, always have been because of the buffering.

An HR2x can be slow for a number of reasons:
1) How well does your TV handle HDMI handshaking? Some TV are bad at this and nothing you can do other then use component or hope there is a firmware update for your TV to address the issue
2) If you have Native set to on. Then it has to resync on the DVR to the stated resolution and most likely a resync on the TV side as well along with the HDMI handshaking.

My channel changes on either my HR21 or HR20 are around 2 seconds, maybe 3 if it's MPEG4 to non MPEG4. This is about the same as every SD DirecTivo I've ever owned over the past 7 years.

I have Native off, set to 1080i all the time (the native resolution of my TV) and as a bonus I use Component connections.

You will always slow down when you use HDMI, turn native on and so forth. Each of those adds more time. Basically play with the settings until you find a happy medium you like.

 

[bakers12]

DVRs by nature are certainly slower then a stand alone receiver, always have been because of the buffering.

An HR2x can be slow for a number of reasons:
1) How well does your TV handle HDMI handshaking? Some TV are bad at this and nothing you can do other then use component or hope there is a firmware update for your TV to address the issue
2) If you have Native set to on. Then it has to resync on the DVR to the stated resolution and most likely a resync on the TV side as well along with the HDMI handshaking.

My channel changes on either my HR21 or HR20 are around 2 seconds, maybe 3 if it's MPEG4 to non MPEG4. This is about the same as every SD DirecTivo I've ever owned over the past 7 years.

I have Native off, set to 1080i all the time (the native resolution of my TV) and as a bonus I use Component connections.

You will always slow down when you use HDMI, turn native on and so forth. Each of those adds more time. Basically play with the settings until you find a happy medium you like.

Those problems are because it is high def, not because it is a DVR.

 

[rudeney]

I timed channel changes with native on vs. off and I almost can’t tell a difference. I’d have to say native off is faster, but by much less than a second. My biggest complaint is with native on and changing between two channels of the same resolution, it still “resets” the resolution on the HDMI interface so the screen goes blank.

 

[Starchy77]

If you go back to the original post, I am positive that the delay the OP is talking about is due to the resolution settings. Mine does the exact same thing - changes in the resolution it was on for the previous channel and I see a banner - the screen then goes grey as the resolution changes on the receiver - then the channel reappears in the native resolution. Personally I like to use the native resolution and don't mind the delay. Changing from native to a fixed resolution should make the OP happy!

 

[HDinMA]

Those problems are because it is high def, not because it is a DVR.

HD is another factor, but I think the buffer in and of itself is a bigger one. As I stated, the H21 is lightning fast compared to the HR21 even though both receive HD. I think Mpeg2 is faster as well, even though that seems illogical.

 

[bakers12]

I think Mpeg2 is faster as well, even though that seems illogical.

MPEG4 doesn't send full frames as often, so there will be time wasted while the receiver waits for one. In between full frames, MPEG4 just sends the difference between one frame and the next. I'm oversimplifying it to stay on topic.

 

[bonscott87]

HD is another factor, but I think the buffer in and of itself is a bigger one. As I stated, the H21 is lightning fast compared to the HR21 even though both receive HD. I think Mpeg2 is faster as well, even though that seems illogical.

This is correct. I also have an H21 and it will do channel changes in less then a second, including all various HD formats and resolutions. Native On delays it a bit but not too much.

As I stated before, contrast an SD DirecTivo channel change to a standard receiver and you'll see the same issue. The DVR takes a good 1-2 seconds longer on a channel change simply because of the buffering on the hard drive.
Now add in HD and resolution changing and you're adding on more time.
Then add in HDMI issues with some TVs and I've seen some people up to 5-7 seconds for channel changes.

So eliminating as many of the issues in terms of HDMI and resolutions and native on/off can get you back down to near the standard DVR channel change time. And of course every single setup is different so there is no one "right" answer on what to do. It will be trial and error for everyone.

But no matter what you do it will never be as fast as a non DVR receiver.

 

[baseband]

This happens when the receiver changes the output method to the TV on the channel change (ie. changing between 480i, 720p, 1080i). If you change the receiver settings to always output in one of these formats instead of using native, you should no longer see this problem.

That did the trick. The unit must have reset itself after a software upgrade.
Thank you.

 

[sundude90]

My R22 has the same issue. I have told Directv about this about a 20 times and nothing has been done about it!

 

[bonscott87]

My R22 has the same issue. I have told Directv about this about a 20 times and nothing has been done about it!

Ummm, there is no "issue" for them to fix. You need to follow some of the advice up above and find the best happy medium that works for you.

And no matter what, it's a DVR. It's still going to take around 1-2 seconds for a channel change no matter what settings you have. Been that way for nearly a decade, just a nature of the technology.

 

[dcowboy7]

why does the dvr need a buffer ?

what is the drawback of having in the setup menu an option to turn the buffer on/off ?

i know u lose the 90 min. rewind stuff etc. but i would sacrifice that for more channel changing speed.