# Hate this HR34.



## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

**1/22 Update of Issues**
So far here is what I am not liking about the HR34
1. The freezing of the recording playback with no cure
2. The pausing of a show and then when you come back to play it won't. Only fix is the change channel but that deletes the buffer of that show
3. Very slow and buggy software
4. While watching a show, the box just locks up
5. And my personal biggest irritant....the backup function during fast-forward is horrible. My HR24 has a beautiful alogrithm that regardless of level of search (1,2,3,4) when you hit play it would backup perfectly. The HR34 either backs up extremely far or fails to backup at all. 


So tonight we are watching the Survivor finale. We like to DVR about everything so we can FFD through commercials. Well tonight, we are 1.5 hours into the 2 hour finale and right before the final tribal council to see who wins and the playback just freezes. The timer at the bottom shows it is still playing but the show is stuck on a single frame. So, I fast forward. Nothing. I stop and start over and FFD to that spot and it still freezes. There is also a reunion show right after so we decided to fire that up from our playlist. We'd possibly see who won not knowing if they read the votes yet but that won't play. Not only will it not play, but the image on the screen when we select play is the a paused image from whatever channel the box was on last. No happy at all.

The box is a HR34. I just red buttoned it to see if that would fix it. Nope. Same thing. Heading to bed and would really like to see the end of Survivor. Really unhappy with the box. It's been buggy and nowhere near as smooth as my HR24 since we got it. Is this something that anybody can comment on from experience or knowledge about it? I really like D* and have for quite some time but this is really bad when a box this new acts so erratic. Something happened obviously and fried everything from that point forward.

Not sure if I am just venting or looking for answers so thank you for any replies and understanding 

Heading to bed..........


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## Datagg (May 17, 2009)

This happened many times for me also..... Today, it really went nuts... Pausing a program to answer a call, or answer the door to only come back to press play and it was stuck.... Couldn't rewind, nor forward.. The only thing that can be done is to change the channel then back again..Of course at that point I missed all the programing that was paused for..... It's happened many times before, yet today was a major pause day from many interruptions. From random lock ups, to the pause issue being the biggest of the issues and more.... Resetting makes no difference. [Mod edit].


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

I've seen alot of buggy behavior as well. I recently added a Dish network box so I could get Pac12 programming. I have to say, for trick play response, Dish really knows what they are doing. I hope that some day, the DirecTV engineers and programmers will find a way to make these boxes work properly. It's only been what...6 years?

One of the most amazing things to me is the lack of slo-mo. Sure, at some point I can hold down the "play" button to initiate slo-mo (when the box feels like accepting the command) but it is nowhere near as smooth or predictable as Dish.

I really wish that we could get DirecTV programming with Dish DVRs and music channels. That would be the best of both worlds. For now, I am paying for two services...some day, I'll have to give someone the boot...


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

Datagg said:


> I'm about ready to shove this thing up Direct TV's ass.


If it wasn't for the NFLST and the overall programming, I'd have done that last night. We had Dish once upon a time and had no complaints with it except that they didn't have NFL.


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## caseyf5 (Mar 22, 2009)

Hello 996911 and Datagg,

My HR34 was installed in February 2012. I do not recall this particular problem occurring any time after the first 10 days of operation. Every piece of electronic equipment can have hardware an or software/firmware failures. A one time failure is almost impossible to troubleshoot and be certain of a repair. Whenever a problem is reproducible then the odds of repair go up. Your HR34 could have locked up at that time so the last half hour of Survivor was never recorded. I just checked and CBS On Demand has the Survivor Finale available now. It seems that the more important something is the greater the chance of failure. I have had around the same number of problems with the HR34 as the other DVR's and receivers HR24 and HR22, H24's, D12,s and even my original Hughes HIRD-B4 receiver in over 13 and 1/2 years of viewing pleasure.


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

Casey, thanks you for your reply! After thinking about this more I realized that, while I was pissed about the box lockup, it was just one show. It's not like it is a regular occurrence. The ability to record 5 shows, have my NFLST, and have what IMHO is the best programming (and interface), is why I stick with D*. To think that other solutions (i.e., Dish, TWC, FiOS) would be better is delusional


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## wrj (Nov 23, 2006)

I'm scheduled to get a HR-34 this week (and replace my HR-22). I hope I don't regret this.


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## minnow (Apr 26, 2002)

I had a new install scheduled on 12/27. Been following this thread and others like it regarding problems with the Genie. Called the 24th and to reschedule for two weeks out hoping a software fix was imminent. Based on what I'm reading here, no so. Called yesterday and told the dealer don't call me - I'll call you. I have TWC with the very crappy DVR's but from what I've learned here, the Genie isn't, at least at this point, that much better. I already have to reboot the TWC DVR's twice a week to get them to respond to remote control commands. Not willing to do have to reboot the Genie Clients either...
Will follow these threads closely to see when, if ever this is resolved.


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

wrj said:


> I'm scheduled to get a HR-34 this week (and replace my HR-22). I hope I don't regret this.


You won't, the HR34 is a very good DVR!


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

I'd agree with Scott. The HR34 is a fantastic DVR and no way would I keep TWC over this. It's not even close.


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## NR4P (Jan 16, 2007)

I agree its a good DVR. Its the main one in my home and gets used many hours every day and does most of the recordings. 

Haven't had the problem the OP posted other than bad weather interfered with a recording.


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

Yup, thinking about it, we have recorded hundreds of hours of programming and have only had is the one issue I describe in post 1. Seems to be a good record so far.


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## Rob Dawn (Jan 11, 2006)

There were tons of reports of problems with the HR34 in the Spring so I waited until September to get one and have not had one issue in those 4 months. Not having to every worry about a recording conflict is awesome!


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

My HR34 has worked great at times and then sometimes I get many of the same issues that other HR's have. I haven't had many issues with recordings, other then when I added time at the beginning and end of an NFL ST recording. Then the whole game was grey. I think if the recording is 5+ hours long, it causes issues. 

Despite what I mentioned, I'm still glad I made the move to upgrade to it. You can't beat 5 simultaneous recordings, PIP, 2x's the storage and 2x's the series recordings.


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## Datagg (May 17, 2009)

Datagg said:


> This happened many times for me also..... Today, it really went nuts... Pausing a program to answer a call, or answer the door to only come back to press play and it was stuck.... Couldn't rewind, nor forward.. The only thing that can be done is to change the channel then back again..Of course at that point I missed all the programing that was paused for..... It's happened many times before, yet today was a major pause day from many interruptions. From random lock ups, to the pause issue being the biggest of the issues and more.... Resetting makes no difference. [Mod edit].


Yep.... This all too common... cant even take a wizz to pause as it will not fire back up..... [Mod edit] The engineers who cant get it right after a year now. A call to them, they are aware of the issue and to expect many updates... I'm not a [Mod edit] beta tester. With that being said, I love the tuners and that's the only reason thus far there hasn't been a nuclear meltdown yet. For god sakes hire people who know what they are doing.. Damn!!!!


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Datagg said:


> Datagg said:
> 
> 
> > This happened many times for me also..... Today, it really went nuts... Pausing a program to answer a call, or answer the door to only come back to press play and it was stuck.... Couldn't rewind, nor forward.. The only thing that can be done is to change the channel then back again..Of course at that point I missed all the programing that was paused for..... It's happened many times before, yet today was a major pause day from many interruptions. From random lock ups, to the pause issue being the biggest of the issues and more.... Resetting makes no difference. [Mod edit].
> ...


You shouldn't be having that many problems with the HR34; especially the continuous random lockups. The pause issue is very rare for me (can't remember the last time I saw that one) and I do not have lockups at all.

I would recommend starting a thread to see if there is some troubleshooting that can alleviate some of your issues.

Mike


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## unixguru (Jul 9, 2007)

Mike Bertelson said:


> You shouldn't be having that many problems with the HR34; especially the continuous random lockups. The pause issue is very rare for me (can't remember the last time I saw that one) and I do not have lockups at all.
> 
> I would recommend starting a thread to see if there is some troubleshooting that can alleviate some of your issues.


I see lockups frequently on my C31 (with HR34 behind obviously). One or more of pause/play, skip backward, exit/resume, on/off always clears it up.

Having that kind of thing happen in the same area of a program even after a reboot sounds like a sick HDD.


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

996911 said:


> I'd agree with Scott. The HR34 is a fantastic DVR and no way would I keep TWC over this. It's not even close.


Had TWC for 10+ years and the last year, I've had nothing but problems. Their DVR service never worked and missed recording all the time. I finally jumped ship in September and I haven't looked back. H34 is way better than TWC, but not flawless. HR34 doesn't compare with SA8300. It's so much better in every way. I don't have any conflict recordings because of the 5 tuners.


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## pappasbike (Sep 19, 2006)

wrj said:


> I'm scheduled to get a HR-34 this week (and replace my HR-22). I hope I don't regret this.


I've had a 34 for almost a month now. I got it to replace a 21 that I just couldn't stand anymore. The difference is dramatic and worth the money I paid just to get the better performance not counting the extra tuners and other features.

This was highlighted again for me this week when my other 21 finally died. I have the protection plan so they sent out a refurb to replace it. Turned out to be an HR22. Just setting that thing up was so slow compared to performing the same functions on the 34 that my decision to get the 34 was reaffirmed.

Fortunately that 22 is in another room connected to a tv that we rarely watch. We mainly use it for the whole home service with the extra 2 tuners so that we can watch recordings from the 34.


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

**1/22 Update of Issues**
So far here is what I am not liking about the HR34
1. The freezing of the recording playback with no cure
2. The pausing of a show and then when you come back to play it won't. Only fix is the change channel but that deletes the buffer of that show
3. Very slow and buggy software
4. While watching a show, the box just locks up
5. And my personal biggest irritant....the backup function during fast-forward is horrible. My HR24 has a beautiful alogrithm that regardless of level of search (1,2,3,4) when you hit play it would backup perfectly. The HR34 either backs up extremely far or fails to backup at all.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

wrj said:


> I'm scheduled to get a HR-34 this week (and replace my HR-22). I hope I don't regret this.


You might want to wait until the HR44 comes out in a few months.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Mike Bertelson said:


> You shouldn't be having that many problems with the HR34; especially the continuous random lockups. The pause issue is very rare for me (can't remember the last time I saw that one) and I do not have lockups at all.
> Mike


It could be a Bad DVR or a Failing Hard Drive.


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## Datagg (May 17, 2009)

996911 said:


> **1/22 Update of Issues**
> So far here is what I am not liking about the HR34
> 1. The freezing of the recording playback with no cure
> 2. The pausing of a show and then when you come back to play it won't. Only fix is the change channel but that deletes the buffer of that show
> ...


I thought the update fixed it, then last night 1 & 2 returned. A call to DTV does nothing as they say updates are coming to fix these issues. So basically im supposed to "Deal" with this.... BS. Its a bad Hard Drive yet they will not acknowledge that. BBB will be called soon if they dont fix this issue.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

Mike Bertelson said:


> You shouldn't be having that many problems with the HR34; especially the continuous random lockups. The pause issue is very rare for me (can't remember the last time I saw that one) and I do not have lockups at all.
> 
> I would recommend starting a thread to see if there is some troubleshooting that can alleviate some of your issues.
> 
> Mike


Good thought.

With a HR24 or earlier, 98% of what happens happens inside the DVR. With server/client technology in the newer DVRs, some stuff happens in the server DVR, some happens in the client, and most of it happens somewhere between the two. I think it is easy to predict that when you move from an enclosed system to one dependent on two boxes communicating over a network that this opens up a lot of possibilities for problems to creep in. Dollars to donuts this is why some have lots of issues and others seem to have none.

It's immature technology and I won't sit through that; I'll stick with self-contained DVRs until all of these woes are rooted out and fixed.


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

Really am regretting moving to the HR34 and have learned my lesson. I will definitely move to an external HD next as I have so much saved on the HR34 that if I have to send it back I don't want to lose future recordings. Ugh.......


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

FYI, the external HDD will not work on another receiver so you will lose those recordings too.


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

Wait, so the external HD is box dependent? Then I must have misunderstood an earlier thread somebody said that getting an external HD was smart so you don't lose recordings if the box fails and you have to get a replacement. THat makes no sense unless the only intent was to increase recording capacity.

Thanks for the explanation!


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

Sorry to hear that you are having bad luck with your HR34, but I'm glad to see that they are resolving the issue. So far, so good for my unit, but when TWC first introduced their HD DVR in my area, I went through so many and after a while, I saw no need to have DVR until the hardware was reliable. After an year, I got their DVR service again and had the same box for at least 4 years.

Maybe you just got a lemon with the HR34.


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

Maybe another software update will fix these issues? Who knows. Right now I am just living with this box since the 5-tuner recording is huge for us. Shame though.


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

Having 5 tuners is AWESOME. That is the main reason why I went with Directv, but I don't use Genie recommendation much at all. Do you?


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

Is that where "she" tells you "based on what you recorded, you might like 'this' show"???


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

It will record shows that you might like base what is on your DVR already. You can turn it off. I have mine on, but I never watch any shows that Genie recommends.


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

Yeah, I haven't turned it on either. I remember about 8-9 years ago when we had the D* Tivo box that we turned on that feature and were not impressed with the algorithm the box used. My wife recorded "Sex and the City" (the HBO show with Sarah Jessica Parker) and our box recoded about 15-20 softcore p0rn shows through the night. Of course this was before kids so no harm no foul. We got a nice laugh out of it


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

If Genie recorded softcore, I would use it <laugh>.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

996911 said:


> Wait, so the external HD is box dependent? Then I must have misunderstood an earlier thread somebody said that getting an external HD was smart so you don't lose recordings if the box fails and you have to get a replacement. THat makes no sense unless the only intent was to increase recording capacity.
> Thanks for the explanation!


The RID # of the DVR is encoded into the Header of each Recording whether it is an Internal Hard Drive or an External Hard Drive so all Recordings are Married to the DVR that Recorded them by the DVR's RID #.

Several of us here at DBSTALK have asked Directv thru this Forum to change that process and Allow it to be Married to the Customer's Account # but that has fallen on Deaf Ears so far. :nono2:


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

If you have an external drive, which drive will it will record on first? I have a WD 500gb My DVR that I used with TWC. Could I use it on the HR34 also?


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

toobs said:


> If you have an external drive, which drive will it will record on first? I have a WD 500gb My DVR that I used with TWC. Could I use it on the HR34 also?


If the DVR Detects an External Hard Drive thru the eSATA Port then it will Boot up using the External Drive and completely Ignore the Fact that there is an Internal Drive even though there could be Recordings on it before the External Drive was added to the system.

If you want to look at Recordings on the Internal Drive simply disconnect the eSATA Cable and Reboot using the Internal Drive.

You can use that Drive as an External Drive but the DVR will Reformat it so all the existing Recordings on it will be Erased.


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

toobs said:


> If you have an external drive, which drive will it will record on first? I have a WD 500gb My DVR that I used with TWC. Could I use it on the HR34 also?


It will only record on the external, it will format the drive when you connect it to the HR34 so no you can't share with another providers DVR.


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

So, when I add the external drive and reboot, I am assuming that I won't be loosing the shows that were already recorded on the internal?


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

toobs said:


> So, when I add the external drive and reboot, I am assuming that I won't be loosing the shows that were already recorded on the internal?


Exactly, that is what I stated. You can go back and forth between the Internal and External Drives by doing what I stated.


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

Wouldn't it be more reliable to record on an external drive instead the internal, just in case if the external crashes, you won't have to get another DVR and just get another drive?


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

toobs said:


> Wouldn't it be more reliable to record on an external drive instead the internal, just in case if the external crashes, you won't have to get another DVR and just get another drive?


No, because if your Internal Drive crashes then you could just plug in an External Drive and continue on.


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

You have a point there also <hee,hee>.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

We are now seeing External Power Supply Units on the HR44 which was one of the 2 Big Problems a DVR could experience and the other being the death of the Hard Drive so if they could just make that Plug n Play as in a Modular Swappable Drive then if the Drive died you could just plug in another Drive and keep on going (yes, you would lose your Recordings but you wouldn't have to send back your DVR for a Replacement).


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

996911 said:


> Wait, so the external HD is box dependent? Then I must have misunderstood an earlier thread somebody said that getting an external HD was smart so you don't lose recordings if the box fails and you have to get a replacement. THat makes no sense unless the only intent was to increase recording capacity.
> 
> Thanks for the explanation!


Sadly, that is the case, but more capacity is still a primary reason even if you could swap them.

My solution is clunky, which is to have 4 DVRs instead or 2, and to double-record everything.

But then my solution also works pretty well.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

Richierich said:


> ...If you want to look at Recordings on the Internal Drive simply disconnect the eSATA Cable and Reboot using the Internal Drive...


I would recommend against disconnecting the eSATA cable, which has connectors that are rated for only a few connections over their lifetime (IOW, no one expected us to be doing that).

It is easy to move from internal to x drive; just do a menu restart and have the drive up and running and connected. It will then mount the x drive.

To go the other way, do a menu restart and simply drop the power on the x drive at the point the reboot starts. It will then mount the internal drive. No fussing with cables at all needed.

Now if there were just some way to get it to mount both drives at once.:nono:


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

TomCat said:


> Sadly, that is the case, but more capacity is still a primary reason even if you could swap them.
> 
> My solution is clunky, which is to have 4 DVRs instead or 2, and to double-record everything.
> 
> But then my solution also works pretty well.


I have 3 DVRs whose Sole Purpose in Life is to Backup my other 4 DVRs so if and when I lose a Hard Drive or a Power Supply I will still have my Recordings on another DVR!!!


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

TomCat said:


> I would recommend against disconnecting the eSATA cable, which has connectors that are rated for only a few connections over their lifetime (IOW, no one expected us to be doing that).
> 
> It is easy to move from internal to x drive; just do a menu restart and have the drive up and running and connected. It will then mount the x drive.
> 
> ...


Excellent Post.

I was just pointing out that you could go back and forth but I definitely don't do that nor would I urge anyone to do it but it is possible.


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

Richierich said:


> I have 3 DVRs whose Sole Purpose in Life is to Backup my other 4 DVRs so if and when I lose a Hard Drive or a Power Supply I will still have my Recordings on another DVR!!!


You guys watch a lot of tv .

How often does your drives crashes to have backups?


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

toobs said:


> You guys watch a lot of tv .
> 
> How often does your drives crashes to have backups?


Not necessarily; recent measurements say folks watch over 54 hours per week on average, up to 75 in African-American households. I find that shocking; I may have the tube on in the background a lot (mostly also on mute), but I only seriously watch about 15-20 hours a week.

Oddly, I watch less now that I have HD and a giant screen. I think that TV today is so much more immersive that a little goes a long way. I could watch a 32" SD set from way across the room all day long back in the day, but today a couple shows in glorious HD up close, and I'm out, and I credit the increased immersiveness of the experience as to why. Rather than the increased quality and screen size making me want more, ironically it makes me want (need) less. I also think that pre-VCR and pre-DVR some of us might have been conditioned to watch 3 hours of prime time all at once, because that was the only opportunity to see those shows. PT was 3.5 hours back in the 70's.

No, Toobs, the point of multiple DVRs and double-recording is not to watch a lot of TV; it is to ensure that you get to watch what you want to. I can lose an entire season of _Fringe _due to a bad HDD, but oh, look...there's a backup copy of every ep sitting right next to it on another DVR.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

TomCat said:


> No, Toobs, the point of multiple DVRs and double-recording is not to watch a lot of TV; it is to ensure that you get to watch what you want to. I can lose an entire season of _Fringe _due to a bad HDD, but oh, look...there's a backup copy of every ep sitting right next to it on another DVR.


EXACTLY!!!

I can Scroll thru Pages of Recordings and Select Whatever I Am In The Mood For!!! 

It does thought require constant Maintenance to Delete Recordings that you thought you might watch but now you have decided it is no longer important.


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## toobs (Oct 10, 2012)

Do you guys have DVR guilt? If I don't watch a show, I pretty much forget about it and stop recording the series.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

No Guilt here but I just Record a lot of stuff and when I get the chance I watch the Recordings and then if it is not important enough to watch again I delete it.


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