# HR54 now shows screensaver about 30 seconds after pausing live tv.



## xtc (Jun 26, 2004)

it used to be that it would only start showing the screen saver after 5 minutes of a show being paused. It's a bit annoying now.


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## makaiguy (Sep 24, 2007)

Yeah, well, their screen saver never used to contain ads, either.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

xtc said:


> it used to be that it would only start showing the screen saver after 5 minutes of a show being paused. It's a bit annoying now.


Why is it annoying? People pause what they are watching because they need to tend to something else until they can continue viewing again. What difference does it make when the screensaver kicks in?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

It is distracting. When I pause TV I want the image on the TV to stop moving.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

James Long said:


> It is distracting. When I pause TV I want the image on the TV to stop moving.


Distracting from what. It is paused


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Distracting from the static image I want on the screen when I pause TV. Something starts moving and it attracts my attention away from the reason why I paused the TV show.

If I paused TV and left the room I wouldn't notice. But most of the time (including right now as I type this reply) I am sitting where I can see the TV screen. If the image changes or starts to move it pulls my attention away from the thing I paused TV to do. I might think that the pause was broken - or that the receiver shut off and I lost my paused show. Or that AT&T|DIRECTV is an evil company that can't let a chance to sell me to an advertiser go by.

It sure is nice when the receiver does what *I*, the lord and master of the remote, tell it to do. I told it to pause the show and wait patiently for me to decide when to unpause or change to other content. I do not need a stupid receiver usurping my authority in my own house.

Perhaps you don't mind being the puppet of AT&T|DIRECTV and not being able to pause a TV show without AT&T|DIRECTV deciding to use that moment for advertising. I mind.

(And now, "Post Reply" and unpause. Back to the show I was watching, still in progress.)


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

James Long said:


> Distracting from the static image I want on the screen when I pause TV. Something starts moving and it attracts my attention away from the reason why I paused the TV show.
> 
> If I paused TV and left the room I wouldn't notice. But most of the time (including right now as I type this reply) I am sitting where I can see the TV screen. If the image changes or starts to move it pulls my attention away from the thing I paused TV to do. I might think that the pause was broken - or that the receiver shut off and I lost my paused show. Or that AT&T|DIRECTV is an evil company that can't let a chance to sell me to an advertiser go by.
> 
> ...


If you get that easily distracted i dont know what to tell you

As far as being a puppet your right i dont mind.. If it bothered me that much i would switch to the multitude of other TV options


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

compnurd said:


> As far as being a puppet your right i dont mind.


Neither do I. As a businessman I understand the logic using advertising with screensavers. It increases profits and profits is the name of the game in any business. And as a combat veteran my mind is conditioned to focus with the "task at hand" regardless how many distractions there are.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> It increases profits and profits is the name of the game in any business.


I'll agree with James that its kind of annoying, but I ignore it. I don't buy or watch anything based on "obnoxious ads" any more then I do business with anybody who robo/cold calls me.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

SledgeHammer said:


> I don't buy or watch anything based on "obnoxious ads"


Neither do I. I'm in my seventies. In all those years I have never been motivated by advertisement to purchase a product or service. But obviously there are people who are and that is why we have the volume of advertisement we are exposed to daily.


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## coconut13 (Apr 14, 2013)

IF you shut the effing TV OFF. You would have a NICE blank screen. PROBLEM sovled.


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## SledgeHammer (Dec 28, 2007)

coconut13 said:


> IF you shut the effing TV OFF. You would have a NICE blank screen. PROBLEM sovled.


If we could go back to working in the office, that would solve the problem too lol.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Cancelling DIRECTV is an excellent solution. Thanks for the suggestion. That will certainly help AT&T|DIRECTV keep the company healthy. Less subscribers means more satellite signal for the remaining subscribers, right?  One more thing to annoy users isn't a good thing. Hopefully they are making enough money off of the ads to make up for the lost subscriber revenue - but subscriber levels are tanking so fast that the few that leave over the screen saver would not be noticed.

I was hoping people would understand why it would be annoying - preferably without insulting the people who are annoyed by the interruption. Pause means pause - not "please show me an advertisement".


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

I'm surprised the ads don't kick off as soon as you hit the pause button. That will probably be in the next software release.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

1. The screen saver shouldn't kick in, unless the screen is paused for >5 minutes. If it's kicking in sooner, it's a bug. Often resetting the DVR will fix that. 

2. Yes, the new ad-based screen saver is annoying. But it doesn't really bother me. DirecTV DVRs have many more idiosyncrasies that bug me more


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

coconut13 said:


> IF you shut the effing TV OFF. You would have a NICE blank screen. PROBLEM sovled.


What I don't get is the idea that what works for you should work for everybody, my TV does not instantly turn back on, I would have to time it but it takes at least five seconds, so I leave it on, sure I could buy a new TV that was instant, if the new ones are instant on, I've adjusted to the floating logo, a static commercial I could live with, but full motion ads, that is a bridge too far, but heck, there are not many other tv options that could replace my current setup, not sure I could leave Directv over that, if it does not bother you, great.

Knock on wood, a non internet connected HR54 will not have these full motion ads but that might be wishful thinking.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

litzdog911 said:


> 1. The screen saver shouldn't kick in, unless the screen is paused for >5 minutes. If it's kicking in sooner, it's a bug. Often resetting the DVR will fix that.


I am currently watching a recording of the evening news. I paused the program and started my stop watch. The ads kicked in at *exactly 5 minutes*, not 30 seconds. I am on an HR54-700 with FW 0x12e5. If the OP's screensaver is kicking in after 30 seconds, I don't know what would be causing this.

I keep my DVR tuned to a music channel (856 or 857), so rather than pausing a program, I exit the program so that music is playing, rather than an annoying advertisement. I click the Previous Channel Button to pick up the recording where I left off. This doesn't work for live TV, obviously, but I am rarely watching live content.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

JerryMeeker said:


> I am currently watching a recording of the evening news. I paused the program and started my stop watch. The ads kicked in at *exactly 5 minutes*, not 30 seconds. I am on an HR54-700 with FW 0x12e5. If the OP's screensaver is kicking in after 30 seconds, I don't know what would be causing this.
> 
> I keep my DVR tuned to a music channel (856 or 857), so rather than pausing a program, I exit the program so that music is playing, rather than an annoying advertisement. I click the Previous Channel Button to pick up the recording where I left off. This doesn't work for live TV, obviously, but I am rarely watching live content.


Are you sure you have 12e5? That hasnt been the firmware in while


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

compnurd said:


> Are you sure you have 12e5? That hasnt been the firmware in while


Yes, 12e5, last updated 1/28. I checked my network connection and it is working properly. AFAIK, I have no control over when updates get loaded to my DVR.

Firmware Watcher shows the current version as 0x12dc. How do these numbers work? Isn't 12e5 newer than 12dc?


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

JerryMeeker said:


> Yes, 12e5, last updated 1/28. I checked my network connection and it is working properly. AFAIK, I have no control over when updates get loaded to my DVR.
> 
> Firmware Watcher shows the current version as 0x12dc. How do these numbers work? Isn't 12e5 newer than 12dc?


I keep logs on updates. My HR54-200 received 0x12dc on 10 Decenber 19. It was updated to 0x12e5 on 28 January 20.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

JerryMeeker said:


> Yes, 12e5, last updated 1/28. I checked my network connection and it is working properly. AFAIK, I have no control over when updates get loaded to my DVR.
> 
> Firmware Watcher shows the current version as 0x12dc. How do these numbers work? Isn't 12e5 newer than 12dc?


That's right. My bad. Was looking at the logs wrong


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> I keep logs on updates. My HR54-200 received 0x12dc on 10 Decenber 19. It was updated to 0x12e5 on 28 January 20.


Sounds like you are agreeing with me. Why does compnurd think my version is outdated?


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

compnurd said:


> That's right. My bad. Was looking at the logs wrong


Sorry, didn't see your reply.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

JerryMeeker said:


> I keep my DVR tuned to a music channel (856 or 857), so rather than pausing a program, I exit the program so that music is playing, rather than an annoying advertisement. I click the Previous Channel Button to pick up the recording where I left off. This doesn't work for live TV, obviously, but I am rarely watching live content.


You could use double play. Pause the live show, double play to the other tuner, tune to the music channel.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

Firmware Watcher shows the current version as 0x12dc. How do these numbers work? Isn't 12e5 newer than 12dc?[/QUOTE said:


> So, anyone know why https://www.redh.com/dtv/ would not be showing 12e5 as the current FW level for the HR54?


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

They paused the rollout of 12e5 There should be a new version getting close to start rolling out


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## makaiguy (Sep 24, 2007)

xtc said:


> it used to be that it would only start showing the screen saver after 5 minutes of a show being paused. It's a bit annoying now.


Just timed my HR-44, 5 minutes on the button.


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

I have HR54-200 on 0x12dc from December 10. Just last week I started getting the ads appearing on my screensaver about 30 seconds after hitting pause (it always used to be at 5 minutes and was just scenic photos but never ads). I have rebooted it a few times since then but the ads still start at 30 seconds. It doesn't bother me too much. But what does bother me is that exiting from the ads causes the paused show to roll forward a few frames (you can actually see it move forward when exiting from the ads) causing me to have to hit the jump back button so as not to miss anything or any bits of dialog.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

Indiana627 said:


> I have HR54-200 on 0x12dc from December 10. Just last week I started getting the ads appearing on my screensaver about 30 seconds after hitting pause (it always used to be at 5 minutes and was just scenic photos but never ads). I have rebooted it a few times since then but the ads still start at 30 seconds. It doesn't bother me too much. But what does bother me is that exiting from the ads causes the paused show to roll forward a few frames (you can actually see it move forward when exiting from the ads) causing me to have to hit the jump back button so as not to miss anything or any bits of dialog.


Interesting. My HR54-200 received 0x12dc on 10 December 19. On 28 January 20 it was upgraded to 0x12e5. When I use PAUSE the screensaver doesn't kick in for at least five minutes.


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

It just did it at lunch today. I've seen ads for Charmin, Don't Text While Driving PSA, Lincoln automobiles and some others. I forgot to mention that after it runs through ads for a few minutes, then it goes back to the paused show, then it will eventually go to the regular screensaver showing scenic photos.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

I've never noticed commercials like that. All of them on my system are for DirecTV content. Do the ads you are seeing have sound and/or video?


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

Yes I've seen full blown commercials with sound like this Lincoln one 



.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

Now why would one user be receiving commercials like this, and not me? As previously posted, my screensaver kicks in at 5 minutes, and only has static promotional material for DirecTV content with no audio. Is this explained because I may have a newer FW version?


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## RoyGBiv (Jul 24, 2007)

If I recall from other posts, you are not connected to the internet. I am not connected to the internet and get the D* screensaver moving slowly across the TV screen.

SMK


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

RoyGBiv said:


> If I recall from other posts, you are not connected to the internet. I am not connected to the internet and get the D* screensaver moving slowly across the TV screen.
> 
> SMK


if you are talking about me, I am connected to the internet.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Indiana627 said:


> Yes I've seen full blown commercials with sound like this Lincoln one
> 
> 
> 
> .


Running 0x12e5 and have never seen ads like that on my 54. Only has static promotional material for DirecTV content with no audio like JerryMeeker stated.


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

RoyGBiv said:


> If I recall from other posts, you are not connected to the internet. I am not connected to the internet and get the D* screensaver moving slowly across the TV screen.
> 
> SMK


If you're referring to me, my HR54 is hardwired to my router for full internet access.

A Charmin video ad with one of their bear characters played this morning about 30 seconds after I hit pause. It was video only with no audio. I took a video of it on my phone but apparently I can't upload videos to this site.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

Indiana627 said:


> If you're referring to me, my HR54 is hardwired to my router for full internet access.
> 
> A Charmin video ad with one of their bear characters played this morning about 30 seconds after I hit pause. It was video only with no audio. I took a video of it on my phone but apparently I can't upload videos to this site.


We are trying to link this behavior to the SW version. What version do you have? Those of us with 0x12e5 don't seem to be observing this behavior.


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

JerryMeeker said:


> We are trying to link this behavior to the SW version. What version do you have? Those of us with 0x12e5 don't seem to be observing this behavior.


I have an HR54-200 on 0x12dc from December 10. As stated before, these ads just started showing after 30 seconds about 10-14 days ago. Prior to that I just had the screensaver after 5 minutes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

Indiana627 said:


> I have an HR54-200 on 0x12dc from December 10. As stated before, these ads just started showing after 30 seconds about 10-14 days ago. Prior to that I just had the screensaver after 5 minutes.


What channels are these on?


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

TheRatPatrol said:


> What channels are these on?


I think any channel. I've not paid attention to that. And live tv or a recorded show.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

When I first saw the ads on pause, disconnected the internet from my HR54. Reverted to the bouncing logo. DirecTV on-demand is not good anyway- wasn't using it.

I've since suspended DirecTV. But even with some apps on my Apple TV, they've messed with screensaver function such that it won't let the Apple TV launch its screensaver at all, even static screens for music. I've programmed my Logitech Harmony to do two things: short press of programmed is a sequence to go into TV settings menu and turn the picture screen off. Any TV button turns it back on. Two: long press of same button will toggle the TV off/on while music plays on my AVR or wireless headphones. Not that hard to recall which button to press to return to normal operation.

Wouldn't take imagination if screensavers did what they were intended to do. Sometimes a little imagination just saves power and decreases frustration. I sure did tire of complaining and not seeing change about this. ESPN killed the screensaver nearly 2 years ago and it never came back! Started watching Sling happy hour- no screensaver on pause for Apple TV! Solved!

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk


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## edpowell (Feb 19, 2008)

I have an HR54/700 with x12dc and we are incensed about the 30 second delay before the screen saver. I can’t tell you how many times my wife or I pause the screen to look at something in detail and the screensaver interrupts us. It’s infuriating. I’ve called Directv to complain by the CSR wouldn’t know how to turn in his own TV much less how the Directv software works.

Anyway, when the pandemic lockdown ends, we are switching to FIOS/TiVo even though it’s going to cost close to $800 up front an an extra $75/month, compared to Directv. Yes, that’s the amount of money I am willing to spend to escape this evil screensaver. If Directv fixes this between now the opening, I will reconsider. But the TiVo equipment has been picked and saved in my list and I already have FIOS for Internet. So I’m ready to pull the trigger. And my wife is even more adamant than I am.

if there’s any way to force the upgrade to x12e5, let me know. Else Directv is losing a 20-year customer come June.


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

edpowell said:


> I have an HR54/700 with x12dc and we are incensed about the 30 second delay before the screen saver. I can't tell you how many times my wife or I pause the screen to look at something in detail and the screensaver interrupts us. It's infuriating. I've called Directv to complain by the CSR wouldn't know how to turn in his own TV much less how the Directv software works.
> 
> Anyway, when the pandemic lockdown ends, we are switching to FIOS/TiVo even though it's going to cost close to $800 up front an an extra $75/month, compared to Directv. Yes, that's the amount of money I am willing to spend to escape this evil screensaver. If Directv fixes this between now the opening, I will reconsider. But the TiVo equipment has been picked and saved in my list and I already have FIOS for Internet. So I'm ready to pull the trigger. And my wife is even more adamant than I am.
> 
> if there's any way to force the upgrade to x12e5, let me know. Else Directv is losing a 20-year customer come June.


Can you live without the internet connection to DirecTV? Disconnect it and screensaver reverts to bouncing AT&T logo. Maybe I rebooted too? That was my solution.

But I suspended DirecTV for 6 months anyway. No contract; I can leave anytime but holding equipment until I know better what I want. Keeps my options open and since I'm legacy DirecTV account, no suspension fee added monthly. The fee would've triggered a cancellation on my part.

I subscribed to Philo. Wife subscribed to Hulu Live TV. And I've also been watching stay at home with sling during prime time extended nightly hours. Free bonus but DVR may have only worked the first week; I haven't tried adding more shows but they may have stopped recording unless I did that (maybe I did that- need to check). But on-demand isn't all bad on sling TV. There's also Pluto which is surprisingly better than expected. The wife isn't saving much on TV entertainment since I suspended but I am.

I'm not crazy about Hulu Live TV but I'll use it. The first thing Hulu did was switch all my shows to record only. Oh, the agony of default settings. I had to manually switch every show that existed in my stuff to not record. But set record for stuff not in on-demand without ads. Annoying.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

edpowell said:


> I have an HR54/700 with x12dc and we are incensed about the 30 second delay before the screen saver. I can't tell you how many times my wife or I pause the screen to look at something in detail and the screensaver interrupts us. It's infuriating. I've called Directv to complain by the CSR wouldn't know how to turn in his own TV much less how the Directv software works.
> 
> Anyway, when the pandemic lockdown ends, we are switching to FIOS/TiVo even though it's going to cost close to $800 up front an an extra $75/month, compared to Directv. Yes, that's the amount of money I am willing to spend to escape this evil screensaver. If Directv fixes this between now the opening, I will reconsider. But the TiVo equipment has been picked and saved in my list and I already have FIOS for Internet. So I'm ready to pull the trigger. And my wife is even more adamant than I am.
> 
> if there's any way to force the upgrade to x12e5, let me know. Else Directv is losing a 20-year customer come June.


So your answer to a ad while the screen is paused is to switch to tivo and now have ads before all of your recordings. Makes sense


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

edpowell said:


> Else Directv is losing a 20-year customer come June.


I'm sure you'll be missed.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

edpowell said:


> I have an HR54/700 with x12dc and we are incensed about the 30 second delay before the screen saver. I can't tell you how many times my wife or I pause the screen to look at something in detail and the screensaver interrupts us. It's infuriating. I've called Directv to complain by the CSR wouldn't know how to turn in his own TV much less how the Directv software works.
> 
> Anyway, when the pandemic lockdown ends, we are switching to FIOS/TiVo even though it's going to cost close to $800 up front an an extra $75/month, compared to Directv. Yes, that's the amount of money I am willing to spend to escape this evil screensaver. If Directv fixes this between now the opening, I will reconsider. But the TiVo equipment has been picked and saved in my list and I already have FIOS for Internet. So I'm ready to pull the trigger. And my wife is even more adamant than I am.
> 
> if there's any way to force the upgrade to x12e5, let me know. Else Directv is losing a 20-year customer come June.


I'm at a total loss as to what you look at on screen for more than 30 seconds with it paused.. just never heard of anyone doing this. Mind if I ask for an example? And you can hit the ffwd button and step forward one frame while it's paused...

But disconnecting internet may be your best bet at the moment. Do not expect it to ever change the 30 second time for the ad screen saver. That seems adequate even to me for any screen saver.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

There are ad blocking DNS servers you can add to your router such as Alternate DNS that claims it will block ads on your whole network. I've never tried one so I can't tell you how well it works or if it would work on DirecTV receivers.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> I'm at a total loss as to what you look at on screen for more than 30 seconds with it paused.. just never heard of anyone doing this. Mind if I ask for an example? And you can hit the ffwd button and step forward one frame while it's paused...
> 
> But disconnecting internet may be your best bet at the moment. Do not expect it to ever change the 30 second time for the ad screen saver. That seems adequate even to me for any screen saver.


There is still the disparity between some users who are experiencing a 30-second timeout, and users like myself, who are experiencing a 5-minute timeout. It seems to me that a less drastic change would be to help the OP migrate to the latest FW version, which seems to have the 5-minute timeout. Of course, it could be that the OP is just looking for an excuse to terminate his DTV service...


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

Tivo has added preroll ads before you play a recording. You can avoid it by sticking with the older TE3 GUI (which isn't supported on the brand new hardware, you will need a Bolt or Roamio to run TE3) I personally prefer TE3 for other reasons so I had already stuck with it, but I imagine my Bolt will be the last Tivo I own because eventually cable companies will quit supporting cable cards since they are no longer required to. I would imagine FIOS would be among the first to drop support since it isn't really "cable TV" in the first place and it should be easiest for them to go all IP.

Sadly this sort of advertising crap is probably something every provider going to do. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tivo add pause ads to TE4 down the road, and for Directv to add preroll ads before you play a video. And of course Comcast etc. to do it to their in-house DVRs, and we already see many streaming services that come with ads that cannot be skipped. Everyone is out to undo the damage DVRs did to ad revenue.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

slice1900 said:


> Tivo has added preroll ads before you play a recording. You can avoid it by sticking with the older TE3 GUI (which isn't supported on the brand new hardware, you will need a Bolt or Roamio to run TE3) I personally prefer TE3 for other reasons so I had already stuck with it, but I imagine my Bolt will be the last Tivo I own because eventually cable companies will quit supporting cable cards since they are no longer required to. I would imagine FIOS would be among the first to drop support since it isn't really "cable TV" in the first place and it should be easiest for them to go all IP.
> 
> Sadly this sort of advertising crap is probably something every provider going to do. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tivo add pause ads to TE4 down the road, and for Directv to add preroll ads before you play a video. And of course Comcast etc. to do it to their in-house DVRs, and we already see many streaming services that come with ads that cannot be skipped. Everyone is out to undo the damage DVRs did to ad revenue.


Dont forget Tivo has over 10 million MSO Customers(all of which TE4) I expect at some point Tivo will adapt to IPTV to keep those customers


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

compnurd said:


> Dont forget Tivo has over 10 million MSO Customers(all of which TE4) I expect at some point Tivo will adapt to IPTV to keep those customers


But that doesn't mean that those cable companies will allow privately owned Tivos to be used with their IPTV solution, since there is no longer a legal requirement that they do so.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

slice1900 said:


> But that doesn't mean that those cable companies will allow privately owned Tivos to be used with their IPTV solution, since there is no longer a legal requirement that they do so.


Your correct on that. However MSO customers outnumber there retail customers 10-1. What we don't know is what part of that 1 is OTA or cable


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

compnurd said:


> Your correct on that. However MSO customers outnumber there retail customers 10-1. What we don't know is what part of that 1 is OTA or cable


Sure but it isn't like Tivos haven't been able to handle IPTV for over a decade. There's no additional/different hardware required, they'd just need a software update. If Comcast announced they were switching to IPTV next year, Tivo would update their software ready to handle it and no one would need to upgrade their hardware. The only difference would be that the coax input and cable card slot would no longer be used.

The security will be in the form of a software certificate that's tied to the hardware, and it will be up to the cable company whether to issue certificates to owners of Tivos or only their own MSO fleet. Without a legal requirement to do so, I think we all know how that will go.


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

slice1900 said:


> Sure but it isn't like Tivos haven't been able to handle IPTV for over a decade. There's no additional/different hardware required, they'd just need a software update. If Comcast announced they were switching to IPTV next year, Tivo would update their software ready to handle it and no one would need to upgrade their hardware. The only difference would be that the coax input and cable card slot would no longer be used.
> 
> The security will be in the form of a software certificate that's tied to the hardware, and it will be up to the cable company whether to issue certificates to owners of Tivos or only their own MSO fleet. Without a legal requirement to do so, I think we all know how that will go.


If anyone here experiments with a Raspberry Pi-Hole Ad blocker on their router, if you are able to successfully block Tivo or Directv DVR ads with the Raspberry Pi, please let us know in the future, I'm confident there will be such a solution, many people in the hacking community are anti-ads, I'm sure they will invent something if they have not already, good luck.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

GordonGekko said:


> If anyone here experiments with a Raspberry Pi-Hole Ad blocker on their router, if you are able to successfully block Tivo or Directv DVR ads with the Raspberry Pi, please let us know in the future, I'm confident there will be such a solution, many people in the hacking community are anti-ads, I'm sure they will invent something if they have not already, good luck.


If there's a way, and enough people do it, then Tivo could easily defeat it by making the ads download from the same IP address as the guide updates to make it impossible to block them without making your Tivo useless.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

Out of curiosity, I tried turning off my internet connection, pausing live content, and waiting for 5 minutes. Sure enough, I got the bouncing DTV logo, not the adds. However, I don’t find the adds distracting enough to want to leave the internet disconnected.


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

JerryMeeker said:


> Out of curiosity, I tried turning off my internet connection, pausing live content, and waiting for 5 minutes. Sure enough, I got the bouncing DTV logo, not the adds. However, I don't find the adds distracting enough to want to leave the internet disconnected.


I don't have the internet connected because I don't need the downloaded content but if I did, I could live with static ads, the full motion video ones would make me disconnect.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

GordonGekko said:


> I don't have the internet connected because I don't need the downloaded content but if I did, I could live with static ads, the full motion video ones would make me disconnect.


There are numerous reports of different behavior, which I don't understand. Why some are seeing the screensaver appear after 30 seconds, when it doesn't appear for my until 5 minutes? Why you have seen full motion video ads, when I have only seen static images?


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

JerryMeeker said:


> There are numerous reports of different behavior, which I don't understand. Why some are seeing the screensaver appear after 30 seconds, when it doesn't appear for my until 5 minutes? Why you have seen full motion video ads, when I have only seen static images?


I don't know, could be intentional to study the ads and which are having a greater impact or well, who knows, I just hope eventually some of these streaming services build a DVR architecture that is equal or above the Directv Genie, if they can build a DVR GUI that rivals the Genie, that would make it easier to leave Directv.


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## edpowell (Feb 19, 2008)

inkahauts said:


> I'm at a total loss as to what you look at on screen for more than 30 seconds with it paused.. just never heard of anyone doing this. Mind if I ask for an example? And you can hit the ffwd button and step forward one frame while it's paused...
> 
> But disconnecting internet may be your best bet at the moment. Do not expect it to ever change the 30 second time for the ad screen saver. That seems adequate even to me for any screen saver.


My wife and I are trying to decide whether to renovate our existing house or build a new one. As you might imagine, unless you are willing to say, "Yes Dear" to every decision, and thus lose the opportunity to have a space for an 85 inch TV somewhere, one must have a lot of conversations about what we like, what we don't like, etc. So we've been watching a bunch of the renovations shows and talking a lot about what we like. This involves pausing the video and discussing whatever's of interest on the screen. So that's the reason.

Thank you all for the suggestions. The internet suggestion worked fine.

With the wired ethernet connected, there are ads that start after 30 seconds.
With the wired ethernet disconnected, there is the Directv logo that starts after 300 seconds (5 min).
The change is immediate when disconnecting the internet.
When reconnecting the internet, the HR54 takes a while to realize it's back on line.

I purchased an ethernet kill switch. It should arrive Tuesday. Then I can connect my ethernet gigabit switch to the kill switch mounted alongside the HR54, and then connect the kill switch to the back of the HR54. When we are watching all normal programming where pausing and reading is not required, we can keep the internet connected. When we want to watch a home renovation show where we might be interested in pausing on something to discuss it, we can easily switch the internet off.

I do appreciate the people who told me that Tivo is planning to do ad-insertion before DVRed programs, something I had not heard about. My family all has FIOS/Tivo that I recommended and they haven't told me they've experienced it yet. But even though the new Tivo pre-roll ads are said to be skippable, I can't imagine what was going through the executives at Tivo's heads when they made this decision. Tivo's brand is an ad-free experience. They start adding ads (skippable at first, but then 5-second or 10-second delays before skipping like YouTube next, then finally unskippable) they will destroy the company. It is funny when engineers create something good and cool and innovative, there's always some business major waiting to swoop in and destroy all the value for some presumed short-term revenue. I've seen it countless times in my life. Indeed I've never witnessed any M&A that worked out positively for anyone except Wall Street.

Thanks again for the advice.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Ok that explains it. Thanks. That does make so much more sense to me now.

And I'd suggest making the space big enough for 100" TV just in case for the future ... can't hurt!!!!


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

I’m now getting the AT&T First Net ad after being paused for 30 seconds.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

After several posts stating that the screensaver on my DVR didn’t start until after 5 minutes, and was only showing static images, I am now seeing moving images after 30 seconds. My SW version didn’t change, still 12e5. Annoying behavior.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

JerryMeeker said:


> After several posts stating that the screensaver on my DVR didn't start until after 5 minutes, and was only showing static images, I am now seeing moving images after 30 seconds. My SW version didn't change, still 12e5. Annoying behavior.


Switch


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## rob5819 (May 26, 2007)

I have one HR44 and three HR20 DVRs, they are connected to a Wyrestorm HDMI switch. I started getting the moving commercials after 30 seconds on only the HR44. Annoying, but the real problem is that after 2 -3 or commercials my HR44 fails HDCP with the HDMI switch when returning from the commercial and the screen goes blank. I can plug the DVR into another port on the switch, I can reboot the DVR, I can reboot the HDMI switch and everything works again. These are all very time consuming options when trying to watch a show and inadvertently pausing for more than 30 seconds. I am open to any suggestions.


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## rob5819 (May 26, 2007)

rob5819 said:


> I have one HR44 and three HR20 DVRs, they are connected to a Wyrestorm HDMI switch. I started getting the moving commercials after 30 seconds on only the HR44. Annoying, but the real problem is that after 2 -3 or commercials my HR44 fails HDCP with the HDMI switch when returning from the commercial and the screen goes blank. I can plug the DVR into another port on the switch, I can reboot the DVR, I can reboot the HDMI switch and everything works again. These are all very time consuming options when trying to watch a show and inadvertently pausing for more than 30 seconds. I am open to any suggestions.


Quick update, I read all the posts on this forum and turned off the internet connection to the HR44. I now get a five minute wait to the bouncing DirecTV screensaver. No problems pausing/re-starting shows. Of course, the HR44 no longer participates in whole home DVR, so that is a problem, but a huge improvement over failing HDCP every few 30 second pauses . . . .


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## rob5819 (May 26, 2007)

rob5819 said:


> Quick update, I read all the posts on this forum and turned off the internet connection to the HR44. I now get a five minute wait to the bouncing DirecTV screensaver. No problems pausing/re-starting shows. Of course, the HR44 no longer participates in whole home DVR, so that is a problem, but a huge improvement over failing HDCP every few 30 second pauses . . . .


Second update. I went into my DHCP server and configured a bogus default-router for the HR44. I can now turn the ethernet back on and it participates in whole home DVR, but does not have any internet access, so the five minute pause with bouncy DIRECTV screen saver instead of the 30 second moving ATT commercial. Success!! (I won't be able to do on-demand on the HR44, but that is still a huge improvement.)


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Turning off internet access won't make it not work on whole home.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

rob5819 said:


> Second update. I went into my DHCP server and configured a bogus default-router for the HR44. I can now turn the ethernet back on and it participates in whole home DVR, but does not have any internet access, so the five minute pause with bouncy DIRECTV screen saver instead of the 30 second moving ATT commercial. Success!! (I won't be able to do on-demand on the HR44, but that is still a huge improvement.)


If you can snoop the traffic and figure out where those commercial are coming from you might be able to block just those domains/IPs, thereby leaving on demand intact.


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## rob5819 (May 26, 2007)

slice1900 said:


> If you can snoop the traffic and figure out where those commercial are coming from you might be able to block just those domains/IPs, thereby leaving on demand intact.


That's a good idea. I really wish I could figure out what happens with the commercials that cause the DVR to fail HDCP when I try to restart the show. Clearly some incompatibility between the HR44 and the HDMI switch, but they have both been installed for over five years and this is the first time having an issue. I've swapped/replaced the HDMI cables with no change. I can fix it by rebooting the dvr, rebooting the switch, or unplugging the hdmi cable for a few minutes.

I'll report back if I get a chance to snoop the traffic. External connectivity goes through a Cisco 5506-X firewall so I should be able to look at the connections that the HR44 makes.


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## argonaut (Dec 16, 2006)

These are all the domain resolutions my HS17 has requested in the last 30 days. I am not attempting to block the screensaver ads. I also have a DECA Broadband adapter. I don't even know if I need this thing. But it has requested the same domains.

adip-impr-xandr.att.com
api.cld.dtvce.com
bbvdms.dtvbb.tv
callback1-stb.dtvce.com
dps-stb.dtvce.com
dtvstb-screensaver.secure.footprint.net
insights-collector.newrelic.com
itv-pxy.dtvce.com
iw.dtvce.com
pds-stb.dtvce.com
stb.dtvce.com
ums-stb.dtvce.com

I am blocking this domain via pihole for privacy reasons.
insights-collector.newrelic.com


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

Xandr is the name of AT&T's advertising platform, so you'd want to block anything that includes that, and the obvious one with "screensaver" in its name as a first cut to trying to block those annoying ads.


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## rob5819 (May 26, 2007)

slice1900 said:


> Xandr is the name of AT&T's advertising platform, so you'd want to block anything that includes that, and the obvious one with "screensaver" in its name as a first cut to trying to block those annoying ads.


I finally had a chance to get give this a try and you were correct. I setup a pi-hole DNS ad-blocker. The offending URL from DirecTV/ATT is xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net. Right around 39 seconds after hitting the pause button the HR44 tries to resolve that address. Without blocking it the DVR would show the annoying commercials, with it blocked it now goes five minutes to the old pause screen. Thanks for all the help, really appreciated.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

rob5819 said:


> I finally had a chance to get give this a try and you were correct. I setup a pi-hole DNS ad-blocker. The offending URL from DirecTV/ATT is xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net. Right around 39 seconds after hitting the pause button the HR44 tries to resolve that address. Without blocking it the DVR would show the annoying commercials, with it blocked it now goes five minutes to the old pause screen. Thanks for all the help, really appreciated.


Don't have any idea what a "pi-hole DNS ad-blocker" is, but on a whim, I set up a URL filter Black List entry on my router. After applying it, sure enough I don't see the advertising screen-blocker after 30 seconds any more when I pause the DVR. I let the pause continue for 7-8 minutes, and still no ads. Is this too good to be true?


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

JerryMeeker said:


> Don't have any idea what a "pi-hole DNS ad-blocker" is, but on a whim, I set up a URL filter Black List entry on my router. After applying it, sure enough I don't see the advertising screen-blocker after 30 seconds any more when I pause the DVR. I let the pause continue for 7-8 minutes, and still no ads. Is this too good to be true?
> 
> View attachment 30702


It's not if you have a OLED TV


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## rob5819 (May 26, 2007)

JerryMeeker said:


> Don't have any idea what a "pi-hole DNS ad-blocker" is, but on a whim, I set up a URL filter Black List entry on my router. After applying it, sure enough I don't see the advertising screen-blocker after 30 seconds any more when I pause the DVR. I let the pause continue for 7-8 minutes, and still no ads. Is this too good to be true?
> 
> View attachment 30702


Unfortunately the forum will not allow me to provide the link for pi-holedotnet, but it sounds like you figured out an equally good solution.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

rob5819 said:


> Unfortunately the forum will not allow me to provide the link for pi-holedotnet, but it sounds like you figured out an equally good solution.


Well, the fact that you provided the URL to add to the black list was very useful. I lack the skills to analyze network traffic.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

I entered that address exactly as shown into my router in the place labeled:

Block sites containing these keywords or domain names: xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net

and I'm still getting the ads.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> I entered that address exactly as shown into my router in the place labeled:
> 
> Block sites containing these keywords or domain names: xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net
> 
> and I'm still getting the ads.


If you look at my screenshot, I did not enter the entire URL into the black list. Try the URL as I entered it and see if that works.


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## rob5819 (May 26, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> I entered that address exactly as shown into my router in the place labeled:
> 
> Block sites containing these keywords or domain names: xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net
> 
> ...


I just ran a quick test and watched the traffic. I put a movie on at 10:25 exactly and hit pause at exactly 10:26. No annoying commercials after 30 seconds, normal screensaver after five minutes. My DNS blocker only blocked xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net, but it looks like it also contacts xaaf-be-live.att.com. I looked through the logs and the same sequence seems to play out each time I pause:

2020-07-09 10:26:39 A xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net 192.168.2.64 Blocked (exact blacklist)
2020-07-09 10:26:36 A xaaf-be-live.att.com 192.168.2.64 OK (cached)
2020-07-09 10:26:29 A xaaf-be-live.att.com 192.168.2.64 OK (forwarded)
2020-07-09 10:25:29 A nomadnws.dtvce.com 192.168.2.64 OK (forwarded)
2020-07-09 10:25:27 A pds-stb.dtvce.com 192.168.2.64 OK (forwarded)


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

rob5819 said:


> I just ran a quick test and watched the traffic. I put a movie on at 10:25 exactly and hit pause at exactly 10:26. No annoying commercials after 30 seconds, normal screensaver after five minutes. My DNS blocker only blocked xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net, but it looks like it also contacts xaaf-be-live.att.com. I looked through the logs and the same sequence seems to play out each time I pause:
> 
> 2020-07-09 10:26:39 A xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net 192.168.2.64 Blocked (exact blacklist)
> 2020-07-09 10:26:36 A xaaf-be-live.att.com 192.168.2.64 OK (cached)
> ...


OK, with this information, what is your recommendation? When I entered the first URL into my blacklist, the 30-second adds stopped, but I am still seeing ads after 5 minutes. Where are these ads coming from?


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

JerryMeeker said:


> If you look at my screenshot, I did not enter the entire URL into the black list. Try the URL as I entered it and see if that works.


I'll give it a shot when I get home tonight. Thanks.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

JerryMeeker said:


> OK, with this information, what is your recommendation? When I entered the first URL into my blacklist, the 30-second adds stopped, but I am still seeing ads after 5 minutes. Where are these ads coming from?


That is exactly what I am seeing.


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## rob5819 (May 26, 2007)

JerryMeeker said:


> OK, with this information, what is your recommendation? When I entered the first URL into my blacklist, the 30-second adds stopped, but I am still seeing ads after 5 minutes. Where are these ads coming from?


Hmmm, that is interesting. I don't have much of a recommendation right now. I ran another quick test. Turned a movie on at 12:15, paused it at 12:16, old screensaver (below) came on around 12:20:47.










The only blocked request during that five minute window is the one mentioned earlier from xandrssads:










I'll play around more and update if I think of anything useful.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

BTW, what tool are you using to display that list. Is that a log on you router?


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## rob5819 (May 26, 2007)

JerryMeeker said:


> BTW, what tool are you using to display that list. Is that a log on you router?


I'm using a pi-hole running on a raspberry pi virtual machine (apologies, all links blocked). It is a DNS ad blocker, so just google the words. My network sits behind a Cisco 5506-X firewall, but I am letting the pi-hole block DNS requests. I looked through the logs, my HR44 also tries to contact insights-collector.newrelic.com, which the pi-hole blocks.


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## JJBLW182 (Apr 11, 2018)

My screensaver was popping on way less than 5 minutes also. So I monitored the URL's my HR54 was using and added them all to my Blacklist on my ASUS router and it's back to a 5 minute timeout with the Directv logo moving around the screen. NO MORE AT&T ADDS!!! Below is the list of the URL's I blocked. I'm not sure if you need to block all of them, so you can experiment and remove ones that aren't needed. Good luck!!

nomadnws.dtvce.com
xaaf-be-live.att
xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net
pds-stb.dtvce.com
insights-collector.newrelic.com
dtvstb-screensaver.secure.footprint.net
iw.dtvce.com
callback1-stb.dtvce.com
cmd.dtvce.com
stb-plugin-akamai.directv.com.edgesuite.net
bbvds.dtvbb.tv
api.cld.dtvce.com
ums-stb.dtvce.com
analytic.rollout.io
itv-pxy.dtvce.com


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

JJBLW182 said:


> My screensaver was popping on way less than 5 minutes also. So I monitored the URL's my HR54 was using and added them all to my Blacklist on my ASUS router and it's back to a 5 minute timeout with the Directv logo moving around the screen. NO MORE AT&T ADDS!!! Below is the list of the URL's I blocked. I'm not sure if you need to block all of them, so you can experiment and remove ones that aren't needed. Good luck!!
> 
> nomadnws.dtvce.com
> xaaf-be-live.att
> ...


Without getting too technical, what settings on the router do you have to adjust, what is the subheading of the section that allows one to blacklist sites?


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## JJBLW182 (Apr 11, 2018)

It's a GT-AX11000 and the settings are under "Firewall" and the "General" tab.


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

JJBLW182 said:


> It's a GT-AX11000 and the settings are under "Firewall" and the "General" tab.


If this continues to work for a few months, can you check back here and let us know, if I wanted to connect the internet to my HR54, it would be worth it to buy your router at around $450, my TP Link router does not seem to have the ability to block individual websites from the Firewall section, I'll look more but I doubt it as my router is worth about $60.

People on this website and other websites have been looking for something that will block the ads, big news if this continues to work, thanks.


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## ColdCase (Sep 10, 2007)

You will find that lower tier routers start to choke and reset when blocking of more than a few addresses. The router has the burden to compare this list to all the packets, not a small task. Mid-higher end routers can do this without issue. The $180 Ubiquiti ER-4 is an example of a popular router that many use for these kinds of things.

Blocking for specific URLs is typically done by DNS (which may be what the GT-AX1100 does under the hood)


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Shouldn't blocking be done by DNS? Route the unwanted domains to a junk address (or one that refuses connections) instead of to the real IPs on the Internet.
On a PC there was is trick with "hosts" files that can be used to block specific domains that could be done on a router.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

hosts files on a PC or Mac could be setup to re-route domains but it would only affect that pc or mac. If the underlying os on a router supports hosts files you would have to be able to get to the router os file system via ssh or telnet to modify the hosts file unless the router GUI has a place to do that which I haven't seen in any of the routers I've had.

You could also try something like this though I have not tried it.

Block Ads With Your Router by Using Ad-blocking DNS Servers


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

I just tried the DNS IP addresses I listed in the link above. It does seem to block the ads on this website. Checking DirecTV box now.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

GordonGekko said:


> Without getting too technical, what settings on the router do you have to adjust, what is the subheading of the section that allows one to blacklist sites?


This perhaps isn't the domain of a typical consumer router. ASUS named their feature "URL filter". Other devices that support URL filtering may call the feature "Blocking".

These modifications to the router's DNS are typically effective for the service they are set up for but they must be maintained and they can have some unintended consequences.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

b4pjoe said:


> I just tried the DNS IP addresses I listed in the link above. It does seem to block the ads on this website. Checking DirecTV box now.


Most of the domains in JJBLW182's post are specific to DIRECTV versus this site that that uses more conventional web-based advertising.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Using the DNS from above it is blocking ads from this site when using Safari in which I do not have an ad blocker extension installed. In Firefox I have Ad Block Plus installed but I have it turned off for this website and the ads are coming through which means ad block plus is overriding the router DNS. MY C61K still showed the ads. I just did a red button reset on my HR54 and it still is not blocking any ads so that particular DNS server does not block the URL's that DirecTV uses.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

b4pjoe said:


> In Firefox I have Ad Block Plus installed but I have it turned off for this website and the ads are coming through which means ad block plus is overriding the router DNS.


This is not a logical conclusion because Adblock Plus doesn't depend on using a special DNS server. It uses filters that recognize typical ad "behaviors" to do its job. It is possible that Firefox is configured to use a different DNS server than the one served up by your router's DHCP daemon.


> MY C61K still showed the ads. I just did a red button reset on my HR54 and it still is not blocking any ads so that particular DNS server does not block the URL's that DirecTV uses.


This shouldn't surprise anyone. Most of the "filtered" DNS services are set up around shunting well-known web ad servers and DIRECTV's ads are on their own servers.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Firefox is not setup to use different DNS servers than my router. However you want to explain it the browser running Ad Block Plus that is turned off for this site still showed ads while Safari, not running any kind of ad blocker, blocked the ads.

Unless you happen to know the ad servers that are filtered by that DNS service the only quick way to find out if it works is to actually try it. Did the results surprise me? Not in the least.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Perhaps Firefox is serving up the ads from cache. Do you normally use Firefox or Safari?

If you clear the Firefox cache (Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Cookies and Site Data: Clear Data and check only the Cached Web Content checkbox), do the ads still appear?


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

I use Safari, Firefox, and Chrome regularly. I always clear the browser cache on all browsers any time I make a change to anything related to networking. Also rebooted the router before testing anything. Also I did the red button reset on the HR54 because it supplies internet to all other receivers.


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

b4pjoe said:


> Using the DNS from above it is blocking ads from this site when using Safari in which I do not have an ad blocker extension installed. In Firefox I have Ad Block Plus installed but I have it turned off for this website and the ads are coming through which means ad block plus is overriding the router DNS. MY C61K still showed the ads. I just did a red button reset on my HR54 and it still is not blocking any ads so that particular DNS server does not block the URL's that DirecTV uses.


I figured it would not work, if it were that easy it is fair to say we would have seen this months ago all over the internet.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

IIRC creating your own DNS was mentioned earlier in the thread. Using a PI box where the domains can easily be edited (without cracking the router).


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## makaiguy (Sep 24, 2007)

b4pjoe said:


> Firefox is not setup to use different DNS servers than my router.


Firefox rolled out DNS-over-HTTPS a while ago. You may not be using your normal DNS without realizing it. Here's an article: Firefox turns encrypted DNS on by default to thwart snooping ISPs


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

James Long said:


> IIRC creating your own DNS was mentioned earlier in the thread. Using a PI box where the domains can easily be edited (without cracking the router).


But nobody has proven that the Rasberry Pi-Hole anti ads program effectively blocks the Directv ads on the Genie receivers.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

GordonGekko said:


> But nobody has proven that the Rasberry Pi-Hole anti ads program effectively blocks the Directv ads on the Genie receivers.


Nobody?


rob5819 said:


> I finally had a chance to get give this a try and you were correct. I setup a pi-hole DNS ad-blocker. The offending URL from DirecTV/ATT is xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.net. Right around 39 seconds after hitting the pause button the HR44 tries to resolve that address. Without blocking it the DVR would show the annoying commercials, with it blocked it now goes five minutes to the old pause screen. Thanks for all the help, really appreciated.


One may need to add other domains, but it seems that DNS is a decent approach.


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

James Long said:


> Nobody?
> 
> One may need to add other domains, but it seems that DNS is a decent approach.


Yes point us to it if you have the evidence or the thread where a poster has written about it working long term.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

GordonGekko said:


> But nobody has proven that the Rasberry Pi-Hole anti ads program effectively blocks the Directv ads on the Genie receivers.


From one of the curated black lists, almost certainly no.

You could certainly take the list provided and add it to the Pi-Hole URL block list and it will work. Of course you have to tinker with each device and manually set up all of the network connection parameters or modify your router DHCP server settings to make it serve up Pi-Hole as the DHCP assigned DNS server.

You really have to want this bad to go through the hoops if you don't have the capability built into your router.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

JJBLW182 said:


> My screensaver was popping on way less than 5 minutes also. So I monitored the URL's my HR54 was using and added them all to my Blacklist on my ASUS router and it's back to a 5 minute timeout with the Directv logo moving around the screen. NO MORE AT&T ADDS!!! Below is the list of the URL's I blocked. I'm not sure if you need to block all of them, so you can experiment and remove ones that aren't needed. Good luck!!
> 
> nomadnws.dtvce.com
> xaaf-be-live.att
> ...


I added this list of sites to my Netgear block list and now I see this instead of the ads.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

b4pjoe said:


> I added this list of sites to my Netgear block list and now I see this instead of the ads.


It is working but that's annoying.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Agreed. This will be last Netgear router. For more reasons than just this.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

GordonGekko said:


> Yes point us to it if you have the evidence or the thread where a poster has written about it working long term.


I have no reason to doubt the post quoted.
I do have reason to expect no proof would be acceptable to you.


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

James Long said:


> I have no reason to doubt the post quoted.
> I do have reason to expect no proof would be acceptable to you.


I don't care about your personal expectations, I'm not trying to solve a murder, trying to discover if there is actually a reliable method to block Directv ads, I have no reason to doubt anyone posting here, however until someone posts results for at least a few months, we can't be certain their solution works.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

It is worth a try ... which is all I was suggesting before you rudely demanded "proof". The more people try the more this can become a data driven discussion.

Have you tried a pi-hole? Did it fail for you? Did you add the listed URLs to your pi-hole? Can you add a data point to the discussion or just doubt?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

GordonGekko said:


> I'm not trying to solve a murder, trying to discover if there is actually a reliable method to block Directv ads, I have no reason to doubt anyone posting here, however until someone posts results for at least a few months, we can't be certain their solution works.


DNS filtering will absolutely work, but it is unlikely to be maintenance-free in the long term. As new server names show up, they'll need to be added.


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## Toukuss (Oct 2, 2020)

Thanks read all posts seems like adding all the URLs to my sage M com fast 5260 router helped a lot. Thanks Marsh wondering if there are any more URLs to be added I added all of them and I was wondering it seems like maybe some are not needed and maybe taking resources away from filtering the correct ones? Because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t sometimes it’s five minutes and the balancing Direct Tv and sometimes it’s static ads that don’t move. And it seems like maybe one time was 30 seconds. Not really interested in purchasing blackberry pi add blocker. Are there any other forums or links on this issue that anyone knows of? Thanks in advance


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## Toukuss (Oct 2, 2020)

Harsh and James long are there any backdoor Easter egg pin codes you can put into the genie remote and get into like service menus maybe there’s something there we can use or change?
Thanks again sorry that meant DirecTV bouncing logo-My last post


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## JJBLW182 (Apr 11, 2018)

JJBLW182 said:


> My screensaver was popping on way less than 5 minutes also. So I monitored the URL's my HR54 was using and added them all to my Blacklist on my ASUS router and it's back to a 5 minute timeout with the Directv logo moving around the screen. NO MORE AT&T ADDS!!! Below is the list of the URL's I blocked. I'm not sure if you need to block all of them, so you can experiment and remove ones that aren't needed. Good luck!!
> 
> nomadnws.dtvce.com
> xaaf-be-live.att
> ...


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

I think the time frame is about 30 seconds now when I start seeing the ads on my C61K. I had blocked the ads previously on my Netgear router but Netgear throws up a big red screen saying it is blocking something which is as annoying as the ads so I've removed them and just live with the ads. They only come on when I'm not paying attention to the TV so no big deal.


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## Toukuss (Oct 2, 2020)

Thanks for the updated list JJBL
It's really gotten out of hand with the movement of the ads, tired of seeing Lilly of AT&T spokes woman. I am dropping AT&T DIRECTV in less than a month and I am very happy. Anyone who says they can live with the ads or it doesn't bother them is just lying to themselves and others. I don't know if I'll ever go back to satellite In the future. Signing out. The fact it took so many months for anyone to reply lately shows me not enough people are concerned about ads maybe you're all too busy with COVID-19. I don't know what the excuse but I'm done. Toukuss out! enjoy your ads y'all


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

Bye, I'm sure you'll be missed.


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## DirectMan (Jul 15, 2007)

Toukuss said:


> Thanks for the updated list JJBL
> It's really gotten out of hand with the movement of the ads, tired of seeing Lilly of AT&T spokes woman. I am dropping AT&T DIRECTV in less than a month and I am very happy. Anyone who says they can live with the ads or it doesn't bother them is just lying to themselves and others. I don't know if I'll ever go back to satellite In the future. Signing out. The fact it took so many months for anyone to reply lately shows me not enough people are concerned about ads maybe you're all too busy with COVID-19. I don't know what the excuse but I'm done. Toukuss out! enjoy your ads y'all


Why don't you just disconnect the box from the internet. I don't see any ads just the D* screen saver no internet connection.


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

Toukuss said:


> Thanks for the updated list JJBL
> It's really gotten out of hand with the movement of the ads, tired of seeing Lilly of AT&T spokes woman. I am dropping AT&T DIRECTV in less than a month and I am very happy. Anyone who says they can live with the ads or it doesn't bother them is just lying to themselves and others. I don't know if I'll ever go back to satellite In the future. Signing out. The fact it took so many months for anyone to reply lately shows me not enough people are concerned about ads maybe you're all too busy with COVID-19. I don't know what the excuse but I'm done. Toukuss out! enjoy your ads y'all


What? Lily is like the newer Tanya Memme!

I don't have ads when my ASUS router is set to block my 54 from the internet, no big deal there. When it's unblocked, I don't sit and stare at the TV waiting for ads.

Many people got their shots now compared to last October when you last posted, so I don't think Covid is really an issue here.

A lot of people hit pause and go to the bathroom, then the ads come on, and then the ads stop when they come back and press 'play'.

For me, I think there's a lot of other things in life to worry about, rather than ads on a screensaver. Now back to Lily.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> Bye, I'm sure you'll be missed.


I do already


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

Toukuss said:


> Thanks for the updated list JJBL
> It's really gotten out of hand with the movement of the ads, tired of seeing Lilly of AT&T spokes woman. I am dropping AT&T DIRECTV in less than a month and I am very happy. Anyone who says they can live with the ads or it doesn't bother them is just lying to themselves and others. I don't know if I'll ever go back to satellite In the future. Signing out. The fact it took so many months for anyone to reply lately shows me not enough people are concerned about ads maybe you're all too busy with COVID-19. I don't know what the excuse but I'm done. Toukuss out! enjoy your ads y'all


I don't like ads either, that is why I'll never connect the internet, are you seeing video ads or are they just static images? Video ads would be worse, video ads with audio would be the last straw.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

I've never seen anything but static images for the ads.


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## Bubbi (Jul 19, 2021)

I just tried it today and they work.



GordonGekko said:


> Yes point us to it if you have the evidence or the thread where a poster has written about it working long term.


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## Bubbi (Jul 19, 2021)

I added these a couple months ago and they have been working. It stopped working a couple weeks ago or so, and then it's working again. Thanks very much for the info on this thread.



mitchflorida said:


> This works great. Now I see just the landscape screensavers, no video ads!


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

JJBLW182 said:


> My screensaver was popping on way less than 5 minutes also. So I monitored the URL's my HR54 was using and added them all to my Blacklist on my ASUS router and it's back to a 5 minute timeout with the Directv logo moving around the screen. NO MORE AT&T ADDS!!! Below is the list of the URL's I blocked. I'm not sure if you need to block all of them, so you can experiment and remove ones that aren't needed. Good luck!!
> 
> nomadnws.dtvce.com
> xaaf-be-live.att
> ...


Has this list been updated recently, or is this still a good starting point?


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## JJBLW182 (Apr 11, 2018)

JerryMeeker said:


> Has this list been updated recently, or is this still a good starting point?


I did remove a URL or two to get "On Demand" and the iPad/Android apps to work. I've been using the below list for a while now without any issues:

xaaf-be-live.att
xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.n
insights-collector.newrelic.com
dtvstb-screensaver.secure.footpr
iw.dtvce.com
callback1-stb.dtvce.com
ums-stb.dtvce.com
analytic.rollout.io
itv-pxy.dtvce.com
stb-plugin-akamai.directv.com.ed


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

Thanks, I'll give that list a try.


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## rposly (Aug 10, 2007)

I'm sure no one cares, but I'll tell you exactly why these ads are a huge problem for me. When an ad comes up and I press play (twice) to resume the recording, my DVR no longer outputs Dolby Digital. It switches to a stereo PCM stream, which obviously sounds like crap. So I have to exit the recording, open my List, find the recording, press play. Then I'm back where I was with proper audio. That's on average 5-10 button presses (depending on where in the List the program is) just to unpause. Completely unacceptable.


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## Luskus Delph (Jul 13, 2021)

JJBLW182 said:


> I did remove a URL or two to get "On Demand" and the iPad/Android apps to work. I've been using the below list for a while now without any issues:
> 
> xaaf-be-live.att
> xandrssads-sponsored.akamaized.n
> ...


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## Luskus Delph (Jul 13, 2021)

For me, blocking just "iw.dtvce.com" in my ASUS router gives the 5min DirecTV screensaver. However, it also disables the DirecTV apps. Much appreciation for all the efforts here.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

Luskus Delph said:


> For me, blocking just "iw.dtvce.com" in my ASUS router gives the 5min DirecTV screensaver. However, it also disables the DirecTV apps. Much appreciation for all the efforts here.


Very interesting. After 5 minutes, I get the bouncing "DirecTV" screensaver, which I think is what you mean. I don't use DirecTV apps, so that is not a loss for me. Thanks for sharing.


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

JerryMeeker said:


> Very interesting. After 5 minutes, I get the bouncing "DirecTV" screensaver, which I think is what you mean. I don't use DirecTV apps, so that is not a loss for me. Thanks for sharing.


If you don't use Directv apps, why not just disconnect the internet? What is left, a Pandora app?


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## ron_s (May 27, 2020)

GordonGekko said:


> If you don't use Directv apps, why not just disconnect the internet? What is left, a Pandora app?


On demand?


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

GordonGekko said:


> If you don't use Directv apps, why not just disconnect the internet? What is left, a Pandora app?


Lol on demand


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

compnurd said:


> Lol on demand


I thought the Directv App included On Demand but I guess to some that passes as comedy. Do the PPV movies on demand act like the ones in the Directv library, or at least how they did years ago, I can't remember how exactly but fast forward was different (non existent on some programs) for the on demand programs.

Anyway to each his own but I don't deal with anything that does not have all of the Genie DVR functions or the half baked fast forward features on most of the streaming channel apps.


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## suzook (Feb 1, 2006)

Thanks to the OP for this. Those ads drove me nuts.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

GordonGekko said:


> If you don't use Directv apps, why not just disconnect the internet? What is left, a Pandora app?


I typically use on-demand to download an episode of a program that I either forgot to record, or the recording was interrupted by rain-fade during a storm. Of course, the downloaded programs don't allow FF, which is a PITA, but more desirable than missing an episode of a favorite program.


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

Following up, when I have the following two URL's blocked in my router, I *never* see any adds of any kind--just the floating DirecTV logo.

iw.dtvce.com
Xandrssads-sponsored


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## Bubbi (Jul 19, 2021)

GordonGekko said:


> Anyway to each his own but I don't deal with anything that does not have all of the Genie DVR functions or the half baked fast forward features on most of the streaming channel apps.


They sure leave a lot to be desired. FF and frame by frame, those two features keep me on DTV.


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## Bubbi (Jul 19, 2021)

The ads have come back randomly over the last several months, but not for more than a night of viewing. Then they are gone again, without touching the router. So far so good...


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## Genesmasher (Dec 3, 2021)

rposly said:


> I'm sure no one cares, but I'll tell you exactly why these ads are a huge problem for me. When an ad comes up and I press play (twice) to resume the recording, my DVR no longer outputs Dolby Digital. It switches to a stereo PCM stream, which obviously sounds like crap. So I have to exit the recording, open my List, find the recording, press play. Then I'm back where I was with proper audio. That's on average 5-10 button presses (depending on where in the List the program is) just to unpause. Completely unacceptable.


OMG, I finally found someone with the same problem!

I have the same exact annoying issue with my HR54-500 receiver. Every time I pause a "Dolby Audio DD"-encoded program (live or recorded), it goes to screensaver after 30sec and after that the audio comes back ONLY as "PCM 2.0 channel". The only way to restore proper Dolby Digital audio decoding is to switch the channel or go to the receiver settings and disable/re-enable DD (it still shows "enabled", even though it is outputting PCM 2.0). Receiver has the latest firmware 0x15fb. Nothing helps - restarting/resetting the receiver, changing HDMI cables or downstream equipment. I tried FOUR different AVR's, including two latest Onkyo models with HDMI 2.1 inputs and 8K certified cables. After I have raised the issue with DirecTV, they sent me a replacement receiver, which is having the same exact issue (interestingly, the replacement HR54-500 unit was made within a week of my original one - June 2016). I'm out of ideas...


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

What device (i.e. AVR, TV, switch) is your Genie HDMI output connected to?


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## Genesmasher (Dec 3, 2021)

harsh said:


> What device (i.e. AVR, TV, switch) is your Genie HDMI output connected to?


Currently - Onkyo TX-NR7100 AVR, HDMI input. I also tried Onkyo TX-NR6100 and Pioneer Elite VSX-23TXH - no difference.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Genesmasher said:


> Currently - Onkyo TX-NR7100 AVR, HDMI input. I also tried Onkyo TX-NR6100 and Pioneer Elite VSX-23TXH - no difference.


I'm guessing that the Onkyos use the same HDMI hardware (more or less). Reports of HDMI interaction seem to be positive for the 2021/22 models.

The Genie should be renegotiating both the video and audio connections when it comes out of pause but I'd guess it isn't.

Have you tried using eARC (or ARC) through the TV?*

* I'm not suggesting this is a long-term solution but it may help pin down the problem.


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## Genesmasher (Dec 3, 2021)

harsh said:


> I'm guessing that the Onkyos use the same HDMI hardware (more or less). Reports of HDMI interaction seem to be positive for the 2021/22 models.
> 
> The Genie should be renegotiating both the video and audio connections when it comes out of pause but I'd guess it isn't.
> 
> ...


Yeah, no. Downstream equipment is not the problem. These are latest (MY2021) Onkyo receivers, with properly working 8K-capable HDMI 2.1 inputs, connected with brand new 8K-certified HDMI cables. In fact, this stupid issue is what prompted me to upgrade my receivers (have been using Pioneer Elite units for the last five years or more) - I thought that this would solve the problem. I am not running Arc or eArc, my TV is not involved in sound processing at all - it's a pure monitor, hooked up to the receiver's display out port (HDMI).

For now , I just went ahead and blocked all of the suggested URLs through my wifi router, so that the HR54 is not feeding ads anymore, when programming is paused. It's working for now (30sec ads are gone, 5min ones don't seem to affect on sound), but no idea if it's gonna stay like this for long. I am still hoping DTV addresses the issue via firmware SOON.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Genesmasher said:


> Downstream equipment is not the problem.


I figured I'd get push-back on my suggestion. If you don't want to try all avenues to identifying the source of the problem, that's up to you.

If DIRECTV is subbing out box programming as someone suggested, workarounds may be the only option.


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## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Seems odd the ads would cause sound problems since there is no sound on the ads...at least on my system there isn't. Of course maybe that is WHY it affects the DTV receiver sound settings.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

b4pjoe said:


> Seems odd the ads would cause sound problems since there is no sound on the ads...at least on my system there isn't.


The idea is that the ads are a different feed with their own audio channel that just happens to be stereo. Ideally, when the screen saver goes away, the Genie should renegotiate the audio and video parameters through HDMI as if there were a channel change. Apparently that's not happening the same way it does with a channel change.

I'm guessing this may be because they've not applied some workaround to the configuration process that was long ago added for changing channels.


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## Genesmasher (Dec 3, 2021)

Well, the ads (and DD switching to PCM) are back for me, despite blocking over 20 URL's based on suggestions above... Anyone knows what new sites they are using to feed this crap?


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## JerryMeeker (Sep 20, 2007)

Genesmasher said:


> Well, the ads (and DD switching to PCM) are back for me, despite blocking over 20 URL's based on suggestions above... Anyone knows what new sites they are using to feed this crap?


I only block two URL's, and am not seeing any ads whatsoever. And I have never experienced the DD to PCM issue.

xandrssads-sponsored
iw.dtvce.com


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