# Is DirecTV "flagging" commercials to make the DVR stop during FF?



## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

I know I can't be the only person noticing this. I searched for a thread on this, but I can't find anything. This guy noticed too: http://www.the3dstudio.com/blog_detail.aspx?id=3362

Basically, when I am FF through commercials, it will stop. There are 2 specific commercials that do this. One is the DirecTV Cinema ones and the 2nd is not really a commercial. It's almost like one of those informational commercials with important information about something. I can't ever remember what it is, but it is annoying as hell to have the FF stop for a commercial. I certainly hope this isn't the future for commercials.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I haven't heard of this happening with regular fast forward or 30slip, but on 30skip. I believe it's been said its a bug with ads inserted by the DVR.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Here is the *thread* from back in Sep that discusses the skip


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

That link and your post isn't clear as to what "fast forwarding" steps are actually being used.
True FF [the button] shouldn't be affected, and neither is the supported 30slip function,* BUT* the unsupported 30skip option [setup by using a keyword search] does have a glitch in the current software for commercials that are intended to have local inserts.
This will be cleared up in later software updates.


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## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

"Post sorta Deleted"


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

As has been said, it shouldn't be happening during the FF operation, only if you use 30sec skip, and only during inserted commercials.


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## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

It is definitely happening during FF for me. I don't use the 30 second skip feature at all. Funny how it is a "bug" yet 1 of the 2 commercials it is happening on is a DirecTV commercial.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Deftones said:


> It is definitely happening during FF for me. I don't use the 30 second skip feature at all. Funny how it is a "bug" yet 1 of the 2 commercials it is happening on is a DirecTV commercial.


I've seen this and the DirecTV commercials are the ones that are being replaced with the local inserts, BUT fast forward has always worked here to get through them, when 30skip hasn't.
You may have some other issue if FF doesn't work for you.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

CCarncross said:


> ...it shouldn't be happening during the FF operation...


Might "shouldn't" but it does.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Jon J said:


> Might "shouldn't" but it does.


Ok, let me state is this way...this would be the 1st report that I have read here that FF is not working...other reports were only when using 30sec skip.


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## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> I've seen this and the DirecTV commercials are the ones that are being replaced with the local inserts, BUT fast forward has always worked here to get through them, when 30skip hasn't.
> You may have some other issue if FF doesn't work for you.


How can I have other issues if FF is working completely fine in every situation outside of these 2 instances? Whatever "bug" there appears to be, it's affecting me during FF.



CCarncross said:


> Ok, let me state is this way...this would be the 1st report that I have read here that FF is not working...other reports were only when using 30sec skip.


Well, I'm reporting it now. It's definitely happening to me during FF.


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## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

Ok, so the other commercial is a United Way commercial for the website www.bornlearning.org

Just happened a moment ago while watching Justified.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Deftones said:


> How can I have other issues if FF is working completely fine in every situation outside of these 2 instances? Whatever "bug" there appears to be, it's affecting me during FF.


I really don't know how, but since I have had/seen the bug in question, and had some discussion with DirecTV over this and the cause of it, it does seem strange that fast forward doesn't work for you when it works for "everyone else". Now maybe more members will post the problem you're having, but to date there haven't been any.
The source of the problem comes with a change where DirecTV can insert commercials that have been stored on the DVR, replacing those in the SAT feed. This process wasn't tested with the non supported 30skip, so this bug wasn't found. This is being addressed in a later software release.


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## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> I really don't know how, but since I have had/seen the bug in question, and had some discussion with DirecTV over this and the cause of it, it does seem strange that fast forward doesn't work for you when it works for "everyone else". Now maybe more members will post the problem you're having, but to date there haven't been any.
> The source of the problem comes with a change where DirecTV can insert commercials that have been stored on the DVR, replacing those in the SAT feed. This process wasn't tested with the non supported 30skip, so this bug wasn't found. This is being addressed in a later software release.


I am in no way saying FF doesn't work for me. I'm saying that on the random times there is a DirecTV cinema commercial or that United Way commercial, it'll stop for those ones specifically. Nothing else. I can begin fast forwarding after it has stopped.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Deftones said:


> I am in no way saying FF doesn't work for me. I'm saying that on the random times there is a DirecTV cinema commercial or that United Way commercial, it'll stop for those ones specifically. Nothing else. I can begin fast forwarding after it has stopped.


Which is describing the bug with 30skip, but doesn't happen with FF or 30slip, which is what doesn't make sense [yet] with your fast forward issue.
I'm not doubting that you're having an issue, but only that what you're posting matches another known bug that doesn't affect FF or 30slip.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Does this happen at all FF speeds? Using 30slip? Make any diff if you remove the progress bar?


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## jayerndl (Aug 4, 2007)

I noticed the same problem last night. I was using fast forward 3x to go through the commercials and part way through it just started playing (as if I hit the play button). At first I thought I must of hit play by mistake but then it happened a couple more times. I don't recall which commercials were playing. I just figured it was some random glitch.

Jay


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## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> Which is describing the bug with 30skip, but doesn't happen with FF or 30slip, which is what doesn't make sense [yet] with your fast forward issue.
> I'm not doubting that you're having an issue, but only that what you're posting matches another known bug that doesn't affect FF or 30slip.


You make it to be like I'm lying. Why would I make something this up? It does me no good. :lol:

Apparently I'm special, because this bug IS affecting my FF.


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## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

Laxguy said:


> Does this happen at all FF speeds? Using 30slip? Make any diff if you remove the progress bar?


I know for sure it happens in 3x, and I'm pretty sure it's happened in 2x once or twice. I don't know about 1x.


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## fleckrj (Sep 4, 2009)

Does this problem only occur on certain channels or DVR models? 

I have never had a problem with FF or the 30 sec skip not working on my HR21-100, but I have only recorded shows on a limited number of channels - USA, TNT, my local CBS, my local Fox, Food Network, Universal Sports, NBS Sports (formerly Versus), ESPN, and some of the regional sports networks.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

I actually have this problem too, just didn't bother to post about it.

I have an HR20-700 and usually use 3x FF and sometimes 4x FF.

OCCASIONALLY, it'll stop FFing and play at normal speed, but the display bar will still show that its in FF mode (obviously not advancing at FF speeds).

OP ain't lyin' .

I've had this problem with both the SD GUI and the HD GUI.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Deftones said:


> You make it to be like I'm lying. Why would I make something this up?


What are you not reading when I posted "I'm not doubting that you're having an issue"?


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

Deftones said:


> Ok, so the other commercial is a United Way commercial for the website www.bornlearning.org
> 
> Just happened a moment ago while watching Justified.


Well this should be good information to test by. We need someone else here who records Justified to try fast forwarding through their recording and see if it has any issues with the same commercial.

Did you already delete your recording of Justified? Can you rewind the recording to before the commercial with the issue and try fast forwarding it through it again?

We do believe you this is just a new bug we are trying to narrow down.

I think I might have Justified recorded at home on my HR22, I can try checking this out tonight if I remember.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Beerstalker said:


> Well this should be good information to test by. We need someone else here who records Justified to try fast forwarding through their recording and see if it has any issues with the same commercial.
> 
> Did you already delete your recording of Justified? Can you rewind the recording to before the commercial with the issue and try fast forwarding it through it again?
> 
> ...


I used 30skip through all the commercials of _Justified_ without issues, but I may be running newer software.


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## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> What are you not reading when I posted "I'm not doubting that you're having an issue"?


After your 2nd or 3rd post. You didn't say that initially. You kept saying "this must be some other problem." Obviously it is not, since a few other people have come here to post they have the same problem. I'm not trying to be argumentative here and there is no incentive for me to lie about what is happening. I'm just reporting the issue to see if others have the same problem.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Deftones said:


> After your 2nd or 3rd post. You didn't say that initially. You kept saying "this must be some other problem." Obviously it is not, since a few other people have come here to post they have the same problem. I'm not trying to be argumentative here and there is no incentive for me to lie about what is happening. I'm just reporting the issue to see if others have the same problem.


In my third reply:


> Now maybe more members will post the problem you're having, but to date there haven't been any.


And some have.


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## Jive Turkey (Sep 6, 2011)

I got the new HD GUI overnight. I just watched Justified, which was recorded before I received the upgrade, and had no problems with 30skip. I haven't noticed any local commercials on any programs however, so maybe my DMA is not part of that rollout yet.


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

it does happen sometimes on my HR22 but only during local commercials, maybe it's a bug with 30skip but ffwd works fine as does 30 slip


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

acostapimps said:


> it does happen sometimes on my HR22 but only during local commercials, maybe it's a bug with 30skip but ffwd works fine as does 30 slip


Yes, that's been confirmed by many. 30SKIP isn't officially supported.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

I watched Justified later on Tuesday. FF3 through all commercials. FFing never stopped until I pressed Play.

HR20-100 with latest HDGUI software.


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## SeeYa (Jan 20, 2012)

I have noticed the same thing multiple times now, which is why I was searching and found this thread. As the OP noted and what I've noticed:
- FF x2 and it'll stop and play right at the beginning of a commercial
- Progress bar on the bottom of the screen still says x2 FF
- Blue ring of lights on the box are still circling like it's fast forwarding
..but it's playing normal speed.

If I press FF again, it goes up to FFx3 and fast forwards properly through that commercial until I hit Play to resume at the beginning of the show.

At first I too thought I hit play or something was wrong, but it has happened a handful or times now. And it's not at random spots, it's always at the very beginning of a commercial - like a DirecTV cinema ad.

It has happened twice while watching Top Chef on Bravo, two different episodes on different nights. I think the other times were during Hawaii Five 0 or the Mentalist (both CBS), can't remember now but will be keeping track of when, where, and what commercials now.

HR22-100. Never did this before the HD guide update, but only noticed it happening in the last week whereas the guide has been updated for about a month I think.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Welcome to DBSTalk! 

Are these just local commercials, or all? I don't have your model, so can't try to recreate it. 

Plus it occurs to me that not all local commercials are tagged the same, created the same, or inserted the same, which may explain why some get this phenom a lot, some infrequently, and some not at all.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Laxguy said:


> Are these just local commercials, or all? I don't have your model, so can't try to recreate it.
> 
> Plus it occurs to me that not all local commercials are tagged the same, created the same, or inserted the same, which may explain why some get this phenom a lot, some infrequently, and some not at all.


"I think" we will all find this goes back to the same cause/source and will be addressed in a firmware update.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

veryoldschool said:


> "I think" we will all find this goes back to the same cause/source and will be addressed in a firmware update.


Yes, but could my theory also hold water?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Laxguy said:


> Yes, but could my theory also hold water?


I think you're saying/asking the same thing.


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## SeeYa (Jan 20, 2012)

Laxguy said:


> Welcome to DBSTalk!
> 
> Are these just local commercials, or all? I don't have your model, so can't try to recreate it.
> 
> Plus it occurs to me that not all local commercials are tagged the same, created the same, or inserted the same, which may explain why some get this phenom a lot, some infrequently, and some not at all.


Thanks, longtime lurker searching for info 

I can't remember since I just fast-forwarded though them by pressing the Fast Forward button again. I know one was a DirecTV commercial; I'll update this thread when I see it happen again.


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## SeeYa (Jan 20, 2012)

So we've been catching up on Top Chef: Texas on Bravo HD. We watched three episodes the other night, and during the first one it happened at the 13 minute mark for a DirecTV Cinema commercial. The episode was recorded Jan 4 during the marathon of back-to-back episodes. I rewound to see if it would happen again, and it didn't.

Last night, watching the episode recorded Jan 18, it stopped at the 10 min mark for a DirecTV moving commercial. This time I let the commercial play and then pressed FF again and it jumped way ahead into the program and I had to rewind a few minutes worth.

Both times it was the same thing - FFx2, the commercial starts playing even though the progress bar still says FFx2 and the blue ring is circling clockwise. Haven't watched anything else recently except football and soccer, not much FF'ing going on then. This is on the HR22 and my kids say it happens on the other one as well, an HR21, although I haven't been able to verify that.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

Of course people think its only happening during commericals ... most people only FF through commericals .

I see it happen during commercials AND the show itself... so I don't think its anything to do with commercials. Just a bug somewhere.


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## DKD22 (Nov 18, 2009)

This has happened to me on multiple occasions, using 3x FF. It has happened on Directv commercials and also some other commercials, which may well be local commercials that I am receiving because of my location.

I'm posting this because it just happened to me on the CNN broadcast of the Republican debate, which I had recorded. At the 37 minute mark of the recording, the broadcast goes to commercial. The 5th (or so) commercial is for a local casino. The 3x FF stopped during that commercial and the commercial began playing at regular speed. I hit the FF button again, and it immediately resumed playing in FF. I then rewound through the entire commercial block and went back forward through it at 3X FF. This time it went all the way through in FF, with no halts.

I'm not sure what's happening here. It's possible that playing a commercial once changes the state of the receiver so that it is able to properly FF through the commercial, e.g., by providing MPEG 4 coding that for some reason isn't available the first time the commercial is played. 

Whatever the cause, however, from my experience it appears that once this phenomenon is triggered for a particular commercial, that commercial will not again display the same behavior, no matter how many times it's replayed. It also seems that this behavior occurs very rarely, since I see it at most once a week.

I have an HR20/700 and am up to date on firmware.


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## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

But I thought I was the only one? That this wasn't a bug? :lol:


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## spewak (May 19, 2010)

Happened to me yesterday. Puzzled to be sure.


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

Deftones said:


> But I thought I was the only one? That this wasn't a bug? :lol:


This is a bug and I believe it's fixed in the upcoming release.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

Scott Kocourek said:


> This is a bug and I believe it's fixed in the upcoming release.


Glad that it's finally confirmed a bug (and nobody is just seeing things), and a fix is on the way.


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