[Casey21]

I've had this piece of crap since Spring and it's been nothing but trouble. Absolutely unreliable. Tonite - I had the Office and ER scheduled to record. I checked it to make sure it was in my TODO list. It was. For some reason, the DVR decided to not record and cancel instead. Of course, it doesn't tell you why it was cancelled. After all, it's not TIVO. TIVO would actually provide you a reason. However, with this genious piece of machinery, there was no reason for the cancellation and nothing else was recording. WTF did it cancel the recordings that were in the TODO list. Nothing else was scheduled to record. I'm so sick of this absolute piece of s#@t. I feel like an absolute idiot for buying it. DTV - your DVR sux [email protected]@. Not that you care. Sadly, the current wreck of an economy is working better than this garbage machine. Don't bother posting if your machine is working great. Goody for you. I've had DVR's for years and I know how they work. This one doesn't work right!!!

 

[bobnielsen]

Did you consider that you may have received a defective unit (there are bad Tivos also, I had one). Directv will replace it without extending your commitment (you may have to pay $20 for shipping). There are some bad ones, but many work just fine.

 

[waynebtx]

Had mine for almost two years and it has worked great some minor things but all and all been very good.

 

[DanER40]

I agree these HR units are not idiot proof like TIVOS are.

 

[inkahauts]

I agree these HR units are not idiot proof like TIVOS are.

Tivos treat the users like idiots...

 

[inkahauts]

I've had this piece of crap since Spring and it's been nothing but trouble. Absolutely unreliable. Tonite - I had the Office and ER scheduled to record. I checked it to make sure it was in my TODO list. It was. For some reason, the DVR decided to not record and cancel instead. Of course, it doesn't tell you why it was cancelled. After all, it's not TIVO. TIVO would actually provide you a reason. However, with this genious piece of machinery, there was no reason for the cancellation and nothing else was recording. WTF did it cancel the recordings that were in the TODO list. Nothing else was scheduled to record. I'm so sick of this absolute piece of s#@t. I feel like an absolute idiot for buying it. DTV - your DVR sux [email protected]@. Not that you care. Sadly, the current wreck of an economy is working better than this garbage machine. Don't bother posting if your machine is working great. Goody for you. I've had DVR's for years and I know how they work. This one doesn't work right!!!

What exactly did history say for the recordings? They do give a reason, (albeit sometimes not a great one) for recordings that don't happen...

And whats your other issues?

 

[kenmoo]

As I reported in the blank screen thread The Office and ER had major problems last night. Major pixelation and total blank screens. I ended up with about 10 minutes of The Office. Both MPEG4 Sacramento DMA LIL's. HR20-700 and HR21-100. SD content was fine for all programs.

 

[jodyguercio]

I've had this piece of crap since Spring and it's been nothing but trouble. Absolutely unreliable. Tonite - I had the Office and ER scheduled to record. I checked it to make sure it was in my TODO list. It was. For some reason, the DVR decided to not record and cancel instead. Of course, it doesn't tell you why it was cancelled. After all, it's not TIVO. TIVO would actually provide you a reason. However, with this genious piece of machinery, there was no reason for the cancellation and nothing else was recording. WTF did it cancel the recordings that were in the TODO list. Nothing else was scheduled to record. I'm so sick of this absolute piece of s#@t. I feel like an absolute idiot for buying it. DTV - your DVR sux [email protected]@. Not that you care. Sadly, the current wreck of an economy is working better than this garbage machine. Don't bother posting if your machine is working great. Goody for you. I've had DVR's for years and I know how they work. This one doesn't work right!!!

We can all understand that this is frustrating, can you please provide some background as to signal strength, system setup, etc. With that info maybe some here can offer possible solutions to the problem. Also, make sure you report these issues in the blank,grey/black screen,missed recordings thread as it has been stated many times that directv reads that thread and makes note of any and all problems.

 

[btrain]

We can all understand that this is frustrating, can you please provide some background as to signal strength, system setup, etc. With that info maybe some here can offer possible solutions to the problem. Also, make sure you report these issues in the blank,grey/black screen,missed recordings thread as it has been stated many times that directv reads that thread and makes note of any and all problems.

Mine missed Greys Anatomy last night for no reason... Luckily the downstairs unit got both ER and Greys anatomy.

 

[mstenbrg]

My office was 1 hour of black screen. Not sure if this was a DVR problem or a broadcast problem.

 

[mrrydogg]

My office was 1 hour of black screen. Not sure if this was a DVR problem or a broadcast problem.

I had about 15 minutes of The Office, then a blank screen. Mine too completely misses or does not record programs setup on season passes. My prioritizer triplicates numbers and shows and I can't delete them!!

 

[rudeney]

I had about 15 minutes of The Office, then a blank screen. Mine too completely misses or does not record programs setup on season passes. My prioritizer triplicates numbers and shows and I can't delete them!!

Did you schedule anything online at directv.com? There have been a lot of reports of weird issue s when doing this - To Do list getting wiped out, ghost scheduled recordings that can't be deleted, etc. If you didn't do that, then you might want to do two reboots back to back so that your To Do list and guide data gets rebuilt.

 

[Stuart Sweet]

I agree these HR units are not idiot proof like TIVOS are.

A wise man once told me that it is impossible to make things foolproof, for fools are very inventive

 

[t_h]

Both MPEG4 Sacramento DMA LIL's. HR20-700 and HR21-100. SD content was fine for all programs.

FWIW, I'm in the Sac area and I hear there are problems with the broadcast antenna stuff that directv uses for their uplink for KCRA. According to the station guys, Directv isnt interested in getting a fiber connection in place and the antenna gear they're using now is sort of patched together since it got blown over in that huge windstorm we had last winter.

I havent checked on it lately, but last I heard they planned a new tower to be put into service around December, maybe a little bit earlier.

I dont think The Office and ER are on KCRA, but its plausible that some of the other stations are experiencing similar issues since directv isnt using a fiber link with them either.

 

[celticpride]

I agree its a piece of junk,in fact so much so that i will reactivate my hd tivo even if i have to watch my programs in standard def!

 

[keith_benedict]

FWIW, I'm in the Sac area and I hear there are problems with the broadcast antenna stuff that directv uses for their uplink for KCRA. According to the station guys, Directv isnt interested in getting a fiber connection in place and the antenna gear they're using now is sort of patched together since it got blown over in that huge windstorm we had last winter.

I havent checked on it lately, but last I heard they planned a new tower to be put into service around December, maybe a little bit earlier.

I dont think The Office and ER are on KCRA, but its plausible that some of the other stations are experiencing similar issues since directv isnt using a fiber link with them either.

The Office and ER *are* on KCRA. I can confirm that we had major problems too. It was the broadcaster, not Directv. Comcast, SureWest, Dish and OTA were all down during The Office. We wound up watching it nearly live and switched to the analog station once we figured out that the channel wasn't coming back.

Although a fiber connection wouldn't have fixed this particular problem, it would fix the majority of problems that we have with our local channels. Interestingly enough, the analog feed to Directv for the Sacramento DMA is on fiber.

Comcast and SureWest both receive their HD feeds from the broadcasters over fiber. The Chief Engineer at one of the stations even went as far as saying that Comcast and SureWest were beating down his door to put fiber in. It's both amazing and telling to me that "the leader in HD" isn't willing to do the same.

 

[Mike the MJB]

Folks, it is very simple. This box is a POS. I've given up reporting my issues because I am convinced D* knows it is a POS and that is why they commissioned TIVO to create a MPEG box/software.

 

[tcusta00]

I agree its a piece of junk,in fact so much so that i will reactivate my hd tivo even if i have to watch my programs in standard def!

We just determined his issues are a faulty dish alignment, not the HR20.

It was the broadcaster, not Directv. Comcast, SureWest, Dish and OTA were all down during The Office.

There's a man who got to the bottom of his issue.

Folks, it is very simple. This box is a POS. I've given up reporting my issues because I am convinced D* knows it is a POS and that is why they commissioned TIVO to create a MPEG box/software.

Would you like help with your issue or have you come to complain? Just asking so the good people here that know how to help you know whether to waste their time or not.

 

[Cmnore]

Trolling for a free upgrade maybe?

 

[bwaldron]

Folks, it is very simple. This box is a POS. I've given up reporting my issues because I am convinced D* knows it is a POS and that is why they commissioned TIVO to create a MPEG box/software.

Gee, thanks for simplifying things for me! :sure:

Your box may be a POS. Quality control isn't perfect, and there are certainly bugs in all software (including Tivo -- which I do like, BTW).

My three DVRs work quite reliably and well.