# Delay/white screen when changing channels



## SBI (Feb 20, 2004)

We are experiencing a white/light gray screen when changing channels. the delay is the longest when we switch the DVR on (wake it up), could last 20-30 seconds. We try to move the channel up/down, sometimes it helps but in most cases it doesn't. Later, after the DVR 'established' itself, there is still a delay although much shorter one.

Any idea what this could be?
We have two HR24 and one H24.

Thanks.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

With MPEG4 encoding, there is always some delay changing channels, as more of the content has to be downloaded before it can be decoded. And DVRs always add additional delay, because what you are watching is the output of the DVR buffer, not the live stream.

But, you may also have Native mode set to On, which means your TV will have to switch resolutions whenever you change between channels that are in a different format. That alone can add several seconds of delay. For most folks, I recommend setting Native to Off, unchecking all resolutions except 1080, and setting the format to 1080i/Piller Box (or Stretch, if you must).


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

Ever since the last software download, I've noticed the same thing on both my HR22 and HR20. Both DVRs seem slower in responding to most commands, but it is especially noticeable when changing channels. At times, the delays on mine can be over 30 seconds before the new channel appears on the screen.


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## tenpins (Jan 19, 2010)

+1, very frustrating


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2011)

I get that sometimes also. I have native off. Happens when I use the number pad to change channels not the up and down button.


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## richiephx (Jan 19, 2006)

I, and others I know, are experiencing slow remote control response from the DVRs since the last update. Some times it takes 30 seconds just to get the program guide to move. I shouldn't have to reset the receiver multiple times a week to improve DVR performance. I don't buy some of the responses from the D* apologists on this site. As far as I am concerned, it's software related and D* doesn't do a very good job in their attempts to improve the user interface. They keep adding more and more bells and whistles at the expense of basic receiver functionality.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

I also experience this but I have Native On so I'm used to a delay. It has gotten a lot longer lately. 

Sometime the white screen freezes and either I have to change to a new channel to restore the picture or I have to hit a macro I've programmed into my Harmony remote. It's called Reset and it pings the various inputs and settings for my TV and Yamaha A/V receiver. That gets my picture back. Having to hit this Reset button makes me wonder if this is a HDMI handshake issue.


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## chrisfowler99 (Aug 23, 2006)

Carl Spock said:


> I also experience this but I have Native On so I'm used to a delay. It has gotten a lot longer lately.
> 
> Sometime the white screen freezes and either I have to change to a new channel to restore the picture or I have to hit a macro I've programmed into my Harmony remote. It's called Reset and it pings the various inputs and settings for my TV and Yamaha A/V receiver. That gets my picture back. Having to hit this Reset button makes me wonder if this is a HDMI handshake issue.


For mine I know it's not an HDMI handshake issue because I can bring up the info bar.

Over the last several days I've noticed that when I first turn on (wake up) my HR-22 the first channel change takes 15-20 seconds. The screen blanks and the audio stays on the previous channel. If I hit "Info" it pops up the information for the new channel. Eventually that channel will tune in. Also an additional change of the channel will bring video.

After that initial channel change everything returns to "normal".


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## JeffBowser (Dec 21, 2006)

I thought I was going nuts - I have also noticed extra long delays on channel changes lately, too.


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

I'm seeing the same thing. Very slow channel changes as of just last week. The screen just goes grey and sometimes it take 30+ seconds for the channel to come up. If I hit channel +/- and come right back to the channel it loads in 5 seconds... tops. The guide has also slowed down a lot too.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

chrisfowler99 said:


> For mine I know it's not an HDMI handshake issue because I can bring up the info bar.


Excellent observation. I hadn't thought about that. 

When the white screen freezes and I change channels to restore my picture, the info bar comes up over the white screen for a second. That means it isn't a HDMI handshake issue for me, too.

:righton:


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

I am seeing this on my HR24, but the screen is black instead of white.


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

richiephx said:


> I, and others I know, are experiencing slow remote control response from the DVRs since the last update. Some times it takes 30 seconds just to get the program guide to move. I shouldn't have to reset the receiver multiple times a week to improve DVR performance. .


I haven't tried it myself. So, before I waste 10-15 minutes trying it, can someone report on whether or not resetting the DVR helps to solve the problem?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

BattleZone said:


> DVRs always add additional delay, because what you are watching is the output of the DVR buffer, not the live stream.


Not DirecTV's DVRs. Live is live.


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

It's been really bad at my house today. I noticed it first thing today on my HR22-100. At first, I thought I was having rain fade and was waiting for the "waiting for signal ..." message to come up. I also saw it tonight on my HR24-500. Like others have mentioned, the info bar still works when the screen is black.


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## nibyak (Dec 7, 2005)

bobnielsen said:


> I am seeing this on my HR24, but the screen is black instead of white.


If you have the color of your pillar/letterbox bars set to black the screen will be black. If they are set to grey, the screen will be grey.


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## SBI (Feb 20, 2004)

Wow...looks like there is indeed a wide-spread problem and I am not the only one noticing it.
I did turn Native Off in one of the receivers, but I can't swear by any improvement. I'll keep monitoring it.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.


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## basenji007 (Nov 10, 2010)

Same here, big delay recently.


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## 74Cuda (May 3, 2010)

Same report from Oregon. It's been going on for about a week now.


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

Add me and my HR24 to the list. Really annoying.


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## argonaut (Dec 16, 2006)

I'm definitely seeing this on my HR24's as well.


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

I have notice this as of today when i was changing to cinemax. I though it was cinemax bit it's not. I have native off and my TV is on 1080i only. My background on the screen is set to black color. For me i change the channel and background come on but no pic for a while. Even after the banner is gone. I have a HR24-100


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## lgb0250 (Jan 24, 2010)

I've got the same problem lately with my two HR23's.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

FWIW, the problem for me only exists with a HR23 that's hooked up to my home theater through a Yamaha receiver and a Panasonic plasma.

A HR20-700 that runs my kitchen system, and which is hooked up straight to the TV, doesn't exhibit the problem, nor does a H23 in my bedroom. All connections are HDMI.


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## lmuehl (Dec 18, 2007)

+1 on all units 2-HR21's and an HR22 . I've tried clearing the memory on channel 1 which didn't seem to help, A menu reset did seem to help for a while .


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

hr24-100 did the all black (except for info banner) no matter what. reboot was only remedy.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

Same here, 10-15 second delay for the first channel change in the morning. Happens both on HR20-700 and R22.

Info bar shows but the screen is light gray.


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## adamson (Nov 9, 2007)

the color of screen "grey" or "black" is a setting in your dvr. not sure if some realize this. Also this started after, not because of the last rollout, something else is going on. I too was thinking weather related, or more damage from my recent lightning strike.


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## wxguy (Feb 17, 2008)

What you are experiencing is not a problem, it is a Directv feature to enhance your viewing pleasure:hurah:

I suspect something has changed with the central office processing of signals since it didn't start with the new software -- it has just started without any changes on our part. I really wish they would quit messing around and just provide a system that works reasonably well without 15-20 sec delays between channel changes.


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## BattleScott (Aug 29, 2006)

HR-24 / HR22 both with the same issue. Out of curiosity, does anyone with this issue have it on a DVR/Reciever that is not network enabled?


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## JeffBowser (Dec 21, 2006)

me



BattleScott said:


> HR-24 / HR22 both with the same issue. Out of curiosity, does anyone with this issue have it on a DVR/Reciever that is not network enabled?


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## kovach (Feb 22, 2010)

Same issue here.


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## nickg2 (Nov 28, 2005)

glad it's just not me noticing this delay lag.


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

BattleScott said:


> HR-24 / HR22 both with the same issue. Out of curiosity, does anyone with this issue have it on a DVR/Reciever that is not network enabled?


Me


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## matty8199 (Dec 4, 2005)

count me in for having this issue, but only with my hr23. h20 in the bedroom doesn't seem to have a problem, at least not that i've seen yet...


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## lgb0250 (Jan 24, 2010)

This latest "improvement" is ridiculous. I almost rebooted just a few minutes ago when I changed channels. Took so long I thought my HR23 had froze up!!


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

If anyone has found out what going on can you please post.

Thanks


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

I posted that I was seeing the issue a couple of days ago, but it's getting pretty ridiculous now. It's takes a good 10 seconds to change the channel on my HR24 now.

Since this seems to be an HR thing, should this thread be moved to the HR forum? I bet if it was over there, we would see a lot of other people reporting the issue as well.

I forgot to add
Native is turned off on my hr24 and hr22. Resolution is hardcoded to 1081i
The HR22 is connected via HDMI to a Toshiba 65” and also over composite cables to composite-coax converter which is plugged into a 13” Symphonic TV
The HR24 is over HDMI to my Panasonic plasma

Both HR’s have the same issue.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Just to clarify - Is the sluggishness even after the initial channel change or is it most/every channel change? 

My HR24-100 is ridiculously slow on the first change, but is fine after that. I cleared the VRAM and reset it yesterday and today was a little better.


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## argonaut (Dec 16, 2006)

Here is the behavior for all my devices:

- Hit the power button on remote
- DVR/receiver powers on
- Channel was tuned to say 360 (Fox News)
- channel info is displayed
- channel is displayed immediately
- channel info times out
- Using remote I enter 501 (HBO)
- Screen blanks
- After about ten seconds info bar appears with correct info
- Info bar times out after some number of seconds
- Screen is still black
- wait ... nothing will happen for at least 90 seconds (that is the longest i've waited)
- At this point i usually hit the channel up or down button, and the next channel will appear immediately
- I can then go back to 501 and the channel appears as expected
- From this point on I have no issues until I "power off" the DVR/receiver (hit the power button on the remote)


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

argonaut said:


> Here is the behavior for all my devices:
> 
> - Hit the power button on remote
> - DVR/receiver powers on
> ...


Sounds about right for what I'm seeing, too.


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## A_Bear (Jun 16, 2011)

this is actually a known issue that we have, when i find what i am looking for i will post the temp. resolution that we have


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

sigma1914 said:


> Just to clarify - Is the sluggishness even after the initial channel change or is it most/every channel change?
> 
> My HR24-100 is ridiculously slow on the first change, but is fine after that. I cleared the VRAM and reset it yesterday and today was a little better.


For me it's on most/every channel. I've reset 3 times today already. :-(


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## A_Bear (Jun 16, 2011)

Sorry, i dont have anything tonight, ill find it tomorrow for you guys, we were just busy tonight and no downtime to post :nono:


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## BigRedFan (Mar 28, 2010)

Same for me on all my DVR receivers.... I've been turning off the power on the receivers thinking it was a re-boot that was needed, but it keeps happening---- long long blank screens when inputting channel changes.... 

If I hadn't come here I'd be still turning the power on and off trying to get this fixed.... Definitely a problem they need to fix soon or their CSR's will be very busy handling tons of service calls on this....

Thanks much to the thread starter for saving our sanity !....


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

A_Bear said:


> Sorry, i dont have anything tonight, ill find it tomorrow for you guys, we were just busy tonight and no downtime to post :nono:


I understand and thank you for keeping us posted on what the problem is and hopefully how to fix it.


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## Cagpop (Oct 29, 2007)

Same sluggishness here.


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## rvernier (Sep 27, 2009)

+1 here too. HR23-700

The worst is this: 

Type in channel 2-2-9-enter.

Then, it is so sluggish, it changes to channel 2, then channel 2 again, and then to channel 9. Not fun.


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## betterdan (May 23, 2007)

Yep channel changes are slower than Oprah getting up from a Thanksgiving dinner table.


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## QuickDrop (Jul 21, 2007)

rvernier said:


> +1 here too. HR23-700
> 
> The worst is this:
> 
> ...


I'm having similar problems. It comes and goes. Everything will work fine and then there is a twenty minute period that makes it nearly impossible to switch between channels effectively. If there is something I really want to watch "live," I now switch there five minutes early just to be sure I can watch it from the start.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

Carl Spock said:


> FWIW, the problem for me only exists with a HR23 that's hooked up to my home theater through a Yamaha receiver and a Panasonic plasma.
> 
> A HR20-700 that runs my kitchen system, and which is hooked up straight to the TV, doesn't exhibit the problem, nor does a H23 in my bedroom. All connections are HDMI.


Carl, same here, my HR20-700 seems fine, while my HR24-200 is slower.


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## mthompso105 (Mar 21, 2007)

I can tell you what worked for me (so far, it's been 2 days now), a double reboot. To be exact I reset (from menu) and within a minute of it coming back up I reset again. That clears out guide data and maybe some other stuff. Now I am back to normal sluggishness.
HTH,
Mike


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

rvernier said:


> +1 here too. HR23-700
> 
> The worst is this:
> 
> ...


After following this thread for several days and trying to correlate what people are saying with what I see happening with my DVRs, I think that there are actually a few different issues that people are talking about. Perhaps, they are related. Perhaps, not. I really don't know.

First, there is the issue of the long delay that seems to come with the first channel change after the DVR has been powered up. That is the delay that can last for up to 30 seconds. For my DVRs, this behavior started after the last software update. Perhaps, that is coincidence. I have no idea whether or not that is the case.

After that first channel change following powering up the DVR, many further channel changes will happen in a normal amount of time, but there are occasional further channel changes that can take from about 6 to 12 seconds. These seem to happen randomly. Again, I have no idea whether these random shorter delays are related to the especially long delay with the first channel change after powering up. Like with the first change delay, these random later delays started on my DVRs after the last software update.

Then, there is also the issue explained in the post that I quoted above. With this issue, entering a channel, such as the 2-4-5, might result in the tuner only recognizing the 2 and tuning to channel 2. Then, a few seconds later, it might try to tune to channel 4 or to channel 45. This behavior seems to occur randomly, and it might last for a few minutes. I doubt that this issue is related to the first 2 because I've seen this issue randomly appearing for over a year.

In the case of my DVRs, at least, doing things like rebooting and clearing out the VRAM may have led to some marginal improvement with the overall sluggishness of response performance, but nothing that I've tried has changed in any way that long first channel change delay.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

mthompso105 said:


> I can tell you what worked for me (so far, it's been 2 days now), a double reboot. To be exact I reset (from menu) and within a minute of it coming back up I reset again. That clears out guide data and maybe some other stuff. Now I am back to normal sluggishness.
> HTH,
> Mike


See how long that lasts and report back.


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## mthompso105 (Mar 21, 2007)

Maybe I was not clear, I did the double reset from the menu 2 days ago (ok, 46 hrs ago) and so far so good.


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

mthompso105 said:


> Maybe I was not clear, I did the double reset from the menu 2 days ago (ok, 46 hrs ago) and so far so good.


the guide still may not be fully populated, would see how it is after 4-5 days.
if so this may be a solution.


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## ScottP (Jun 1, 2011)

mthompso105 said:


> Maybe I was not clear, I did the double reset from the menu 2 days ago (ok, 46 hrs ago) and so far so good.


I think this may have hit on the problem: some corrupt guide data may have been sent. This morning, when I turned on my HR24, it of course was blank for awhile. Then when I changed the channel, it was blank again. I pulled up the info banner and it contained the new channel and program name, but still had the description of the previous channel's program. That sounds like guide data corruption to me. It also helps explain why everybody seems to have started having problems at about the same time. I'm going to do the double reboot when I get home.


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## jediphish (Dec 4, 2005)

I'm having the same "very slow" issue with my lone Directv HD-DVR (HR21-100) connected directly to my TV via HDMI and operated with the Directv remote in IR mode. Channel changes are taking forever - the light on the front panel doesn't register when I've pressed a remote button when this "sluggishness" happens, and I end up pressing several commands trying to get it to work. Eventually the receiver responds and it then goes through most of the remote buttons sent, adding to the delay.

This only started happening about 3 or 4 days ago.

I know there is something up with the receiver or the software. It's not my remote, it's not "normal" sluggishness.

my receiver reset itself 2 nights ago (after the sluggishness began) due to a brief power outage, so it's already been "reset" once and that did nothing to change the situation. Why the need for a "double" reboot?


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## Deftones (Sep 6, 2006)

I thought I was the only one having this problem, too. I had a delay the other day when I changed the channel where it took 15 seconds to display the channel.


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## ScottP (Jun 1, 2011)

jediphish said:


> Why the need for a "double" reboot?


The double reboot clears the guide data and starts reloading it again.


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## jediphish (Dec 4, 2005)

Just to be clear - does a "double reboot" involve anything specific? Must it be done once from the menu and then a RBR after? Is there a time limitation in between where if you wait too long, it's not considered a "second" reboot?


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## ScottP (Jun 1, 2011)

jediphish said:


> Just to be clear - does a "double reboot" involve anything specific? Must it be done once from the menu and then a RBR after? Is there a time limitation in between where if you wait too long, it's not considered a "second" reboot?


I don't think it matters how you reset: red button, menu, or unplugging. Just reset, wait for picture and audio to return, and then reset again. I think twice in 30 minutes will reset guide data.


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## Skyboss (Jan 22, 2004)

bobnielsen said:


> I am seeing this on my HR24, but the screen is black instead of white.


Ditto. Its been a week now and its starting to tick me off. Gonna try the double re-boot.


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## skihoodoo (Oct 17, 2008)

I just got a call from directv 
the call i got said there engineering department is aware of the problem and has ruled out it being customer hardware they are looking at a possible sat/signal problem


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

My intent was to be patient and to wait for some official word from DIRECTV as to a solution to the channel change delay issue; however, this evening, even after the first channel change, subsequent channel changes were also frustratingly slow, and navigating through the guide also was accompanied by response delays. 

So, I figured that I might as well give the double restart a try. After doing so, things are clearly better. I have no idea whether the fix is temporary or whether the problems will reappear within some short period of time, but, for now, performance is much better than it had been before the two restarts.


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

lesz said:


> My intent was to be patient and to wait for some official word from DIRECTV as to a solution to the channel change delay issue; however, this evening, even after the first channel change, subsequent channel changes were also frustratingly slow, and navigating through the guide also was accompanied by response delays.
> 
> So, I figured that I might as well give the double restart a try. After doing so, things are clearly better. I have no idea whether the fix is temporary or whether the problems will reappear within some short period of time, but, for now, performance is much better than it had been before the two restarts.


This is a follow up to my post above. While, after the double restart there was clearly an improvement in the delays, by the next morning, the delays were back to basically the same level that they were at before the double restart. Thus, in the case of my DVRs, at least, any improvement from doing the double restart was quite temporary.


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## mthompso105 (Mar 21, 2007)

That is too bad, my double reset was 71 hrs ago and it is still much improved for me. I'm just happy my wife no longer notices the delay....


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## SIENGTOM (May 5, 2008)

Greeting folks! mthompso105, I'm going to follow your lead and perform the double reset. We have had this issue with our 21 as well. I'll report back. Thank you to everyone for helping us know that "we are not alone"!!!


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## alhurricane (Sep 21, 2007)

My HR 22 is atrociously slow on basically any remote request... changing channels, scrolling through the guide, etc. This is obviously a DirecTV problem given the number of complaints. When will we hear word on a resolution for the matter?


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## mohmike (Jun 25, 2011)

Same problem here. HR24
Reset twice and cleared NVRAM.

We'll see what happens


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

I was just thinking, it's been a while since DirecTV broke something in the stream that screwed up almost everyone's DVRs. Good thing they fixed that!


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

:lol:

You make me wistful for the early days of the HR20, or remember the time there was bad guide data and everyone's DVR was as slow as molasses for a day? They had to centrally reboot every DVR in the country that afternoon to load in new guide data. When did that happen? Wasn't that a couple of years ago?

Ah, the good old days...


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Carl Spock said:


> You make me wistful for the early days of the HR20, or remember the time there was bad guide data and everyone's DVR was as slow as molasses for a day? They had to centrally reboot every DVR in the country that afternoon to load in new guide data. When did that happen? Wasn't that a couple of years ago?


There have been incidents since then where everyone's DVR just locked up, again needing a central reboot.


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## Barcthespark (Dec 16, 2007)

Having the same problem with my HR21. Attempting double reboot now.


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## SIENGTOM (May 5, 2008)

Performed the double reset. Seems it didn't resolve the issue. At first appeared good but as time went on the issues returned. I sure hope those code crunchers slapped a little mayo on their "bit sandwiches" before the took their first byte! We could sure use some relief out here.


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## Skyboss (Jan 22, 2004)

SIENGTOM said:


> Performed the double reset. Seems it didn't resolve the issue. At first appeared good but as time went on the issues returned. I sure hope those code crunchers slapped a little mayo on their "bit sandwiches" before the took their first byte! We could sure use some relief out here.


Same here. This is really pissing me off.


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

A_Bear said:


> Sorry, i dont have anything tonight, ill find it tomorrow for you guys, we were just busy tonight and no downtime to post :nono:


A_Bear,

Did you find out anything?


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

"Boobie1998" said:


> A_Bear,
> 
> Did you find out anything?


Also did the double reboot and no improvement. Hr24 here.


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## photostudent (Nov 8, 2007)

Same problem. Hitting the channel button up and down quickly clears the white screen and saves some frustration.


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## StuBerger (Jul 17, 2010)

"mohmike" said:


> Same problem here. HR24
> Reset twice and cleared NVRAM.
> 
> We'll see what happens


How does one clear the VRAM? I also just noticed someone saying he cleared channel 1 info...is this the same thing and how does one do this?


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## Boston_bill (Jul 23, 2009)

Glad Im not alone here. I reset the box a few times because that usually speeds things up a little but no luck. Most frustrating.


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## StuBerger (Jul 17, 2010)

Got the same problem here as well and had started after last firmware update.
Both our HR24 and HR20 are slow at times to a crawl in changing channels. At one point it took close to 15 seconds to change.....arghhhhh


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## StuBerger (Jul 17, 2010)

Got a quick off topic question, I've noticed a few tips to speed up channel viewing and such...one is just choosing 1080i/p on the resolution menu...does this mess up anything when watching SD media?


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

StuBerger said:


> How does one clear the VRAM? I also just noticed someone saying he cleared channel 1 info...is this the same thing and how does one do this?


From instructions given on another thread.

"Go to channel 1. Once the page is operating including audio, use the remote and press Red, Red, Blue, Blue, Yellow, Green in exactly that order. This must be done quickly. Otherwise the yellow press will bring up a quick options menu. That will display a message about the NVRAM being cleared in the lower left."


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## StuBerger (Jul 17, 2010)

"lesz" said:


> From instructions given on another thread.
> 
> "Go to channel 1. Once the page is operating including audio, use the remote and press Red, Red, Blue, Blue, Yellow, Green in exactly that order. This must be done quickly. Otherwise the yellow press will bring up a quick options menu. That will display a message about the NVRAM being cleared in the lower left."


Thanks, just did it...hope this helps but from reading other posts it's just a temp fix.


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

Boobie1998 said:


> Also did the double reboot and no improvement. Hr24 here.


I think that the reason why most are not solving the problem with a double reboot, but some think they are is because the double reboot may help to solve other problems that cause the DVR to be sluggish, but it doesn't solve the long channel change issue, especially the delay with the first channel change after powering up the unit.

Thus, by doing the double reboot and getting rid of other causes of sluggish performance, the channel change delay may seem less pronounced, but it is definitely still there, and I'm confident that its cause is something quite different from other causes of sluggish performance.


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## mthompso105 (Mar 21, 2007)

lesz said:


> I think that the reason why most are not solving the problem with a double reboot, but some think they are is because the double reboot may help to solve other problems that cause the DVR to be sluggish, but it doesn't solve the long channel change issue, especially the delay with the first channel change after powering up the unit.
> 
> Thus, by doing the double reboot and getting rid of other causes of sluggish performance, the channel change delay may seem less pronounced, but it is definitely still there, and I'm confident that its cause is something quite different from other causes of sluggish performance.


I'm gonna "gulp" agree with lesz that it seems like more than one issue. My double reset (I say reset because that is the menu choice I use, and the 2nd reset is within a min or two of the 1st restart finishing) helped but it still takes 3-5 secs on a channel change where the unit had been on that channel for over an hr. Like it is working on it's buffer dump before switching. But it's better than the 20+ seconds it was taking. 
One last thing, why get mad, if a double reset does not make it production-able for you, call tech support


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

mthompso105 said:


> I'm gonna "gulp" agree with lesz that it seems like more than one issue. My double reset (I say reset because that is the menu choice I use, and the 2nd reset is within a min or two of the 1st restart finishing) helped but it still takes 3-5 secs on a channel change where the unit had been on that channel for over an hr. Like it is working on it's buffer dump before switching. But it's better than the 20+ seconds it was taking.
> One last thing, why get mad, if a double reset does not make it production-able for you, call tech support


Besides doing the double reset, I cleared the VRAM and turned off scrolling effects. Some combination of those efforts had the effect of improving the overall responsiveness of the DVR. Responsiveness to commands when doing things like navigating through the guide is definitely improved, but none of these things seems to have had any effect on the first channel change issue. This morning, for example, about 48 hours after the double reset, it took 22 seconds for the first channel change to complete. At other times after powering up the DVR, it has taken as little as 7 or 8 seconds, which gave me false hope that I had done something to improve things, but, then, another first channel change later ends up taking 15-20 seconds or more.

Thus, I'm increasingly convinced that, yes, there is more than one issue. Doing things like the double reset, clearing the VRAM, etc. may be making improvements to overall responsiveness, which, in turn, makes the channel change issue seem less annoying, but whatever is causing that channel change issue doesn't seem to be anything for which any of has identified a solution to deal with.


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## adamson (Nov 9, 2007)

Where is an answer to this issue?? Since some Directv employees post here be it against company policy, and that I know for a fact...no answer on this after over of a week of this issue. This is getting old and I am going to go off on Directv big time.


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## gilviv (Sep 18, 2007)

I am starting to see a few different threads regarding the same basic problem throught this forum with multiple post each. This is not just a couple of isolated incidents, time to start "informing" D* about the problem. It seems that until they have enough reports of the same problem they don't start looking into it seriously.
At least for me this problem has been getting worse, in that the delay was a couple of seconds and now can be as long as 30secs. I have tried the reboots and the VRAM resets, *but I really don't think that this is what A DIRECTV CUSTOMER NEEDS TO GO THROUGH TO WATCH TV!:*mad:
Start sending emails and making the calls to D* cuz this aint right.:nono:


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## Karen (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow, I just noticed this thread! The black screen when changing channels just started for me yesterday. It would clear up after a bit after changing channels again, but it happened several times yesterday. Soooooooooo annoying, especially when I realized I was missing a show I wanted to watch, quickly changed channels and got nothing but a black screen... I have an HR20-700.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

Karen, I started writing a response, pointing out upthread that I said my HR20-700 was not affected and you may want to look into this further, but then I decided to double check before I made a fool of myself. I discovered my HR20, which was fine a few days ago, is slow on channel changing, especially with the first channel change after powering up. It now has the problem.

It's all your fault, Karen.


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## Karen (Oct 4, 2007)

Oh, nooooooooooo! Sorry Spock... I wonder why it took the HR20-700 so long to catch it. Better immunity perhaps? <g>


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## OldCountry (Nov 30, 2006)

I have two HR24's and an H24 and noticed the same thing everyone else on this thread has noticed a few days ago, but mine worsened to the point I couldn't get anything. I was getting 771A errors, and while I could see the guide info and the info bar for the channel to which I was trying to tune, there was no picture OR sound.

At one point, on one of my HR24's I was tuned to DIY(230 and suddenly a DirecTV logo (not the screen saver) popped up and music started playing. But that never happned on any other set.

After trying to reset the PI to no avail I called customer service and they told me they were aware of the problem and the engineers were working on it. But since my symptoms seemed a little worse than most they scheduled a truck roll for Tuesday.

Three of my grandchildren were spending the night last night and are addicted to everything Disney, so I didn't give up. I found this post on another thread from a few months back and this indeed "fixed" my problem for the most part. It's still a little slow changing, and I think it's a cumulative problem and will get worse and require this fix again at some point until the software is upgraded.

Kudos to VOS once again. It makes perfect sense. It's not unlike rebooting a router and waiting to turn on your computer until it has finished so you can at least get your DHCP address. In addition to VOS' post, I would point out that I let the PI stay unplugged for about two minutes just to make sure.

The interesting part is that even the DVR's didn't have to download information or anything. They just came on instantly as I powered each of them up.



veryoldschool said:


> I'm glad this worked for you, but removing any coax isn't [or shouldn't be] needed.
> Powering down everything [SWiM & all receivers] and then powering up the SWiM, followed by each receiver one at a time, is a common way to reset the system.
> "Normally" as with a whole home power loss, everything can power up at the same time and everything works, but when it doesn't, let the SWiM power up first, wait a min or so, and then power up each receiver one at a time.
> This is close to what the tech told you, but he had some useless steps.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

OldCountry said:


> The interesting part is that even the DVR's didn't have to download information or anything. They just came on instantly as I powered each of them up.


That's not possible, and would indicate that power wasn't actually removed.


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## OldCountry (Nov 30, 2006)

I didn't remove the power cable from the DVR's just turned them off. I only removed the cable from the PI. I realize they weren't actually powered off.

I had already reset them several times each with good luck initially, but then no luck at all. That's why I was surprised. I had even received a message on my main DVR that the unit hadn't been able to contact the satellite for over an hour and I needed to call customer service.

But after turning off all three boxes and then going to the attic and unplugging the PI and letting it stay unplugged, I plugged it back in, went back downstairs and turned each box on the way I would when I first got up in the morning and they were instantaly on.

Sorry if my post was misleading about "removing" power from the boxes, but the above description is accurate, possible or not. 

I also think that it's possible that the first few times I unplugged the PI I didn't leave it off long enough. The CSR said twenty to thirty seconds, but VOS in another post indicated a minute or more, and I think that's more accurate. So maybe everything would have been fine with only doing that. I'm not going back into the attic today to find out in this heat!


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

OldCountry said:


> I didn't remove the power cable from the DVR's just turned them off. I only removed the cable from the PI. I realize they weren't actually powered off.


I see. That doesn't actually reset anything as far as the DVR is concerned.


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## OldCountry (Nov 30, 2006)

Yeah, I understand that. But since I had reset them and they had failed to talk to the bird and download their information I was surprised they didn't have to do that again. The guide seemed fine, and each one came up on the channel to which we had last tried to tune.

Anyway, I cancelled the truck roll and thought some people like myself who aren't experts might like to know that one key seems to be keeping the PI unplugged a little longer. At least it worked for me.


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

OldCountry said:


> I have two HR24's and an H24 and noticed the same thing everyone else on this thread has noticed a few days ago, but mine worsened to the point I couldn't get anything. I was getting 771A errors, and while I could see the guide info and the info bar for the channel to which I was trying to tune, there was no picture OR sound.
> 
> At one point, on one of my HR24's I was tuned to DIY(230 and suddenly a DirecTV logo (not the screen saver) popped up and music started playing. But that never happned on any other set.
> 
> ...


I'm guessing that what you did, just like with doing a double reset of the receiver, clearing the VRAM, etc., may have dealt with other sources of sluggishness that may have made the slow channel changes seem even worse, but I doubt that it dealt with the main cause of the slow channel changes because, if the problem was, in fact, being caused by something that resetting the SWiM would correct, only those with SWiM should be having the problem, and those of us without SWiM are having the exact same problem as those with SWiM.


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## OldCountry (Nov 30, 2006)

Well, all I can do is report on my own issues. But after a couple of days of slow channel changing and resetting to get a few hours of performance only to have it stop again, it got to the point where it was far beyond slow channel changing.

I have an AU9 5 LNB SWM ODU going straight to the PI then to the switch.

I don't know enough about sat technology to argue about it, but resetting the PI worked for me; once I let it stay unplugged long enough to really reset.

That was around 9:00 last night and it's still doing fine.

Maybe it was just good Karma.


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## jackal2001 (Jul 10, 2009)

I don't normally post on this forum until I have an issue. Well I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed this. Its been happening for a little while that I noticed. I think I'm on a HR21. Tried doing resets and it doesn't fix the long delay of white/grey screens.


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## donm (Aug 19, 2003)

I'm having the exact same problem on my HR21.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Same problem here on my 7 DVRs (3 of which are HR24-500s). Directv had to change something somewhere to have affected so many people and posters and I believe it happened about 2 weeks ago and I got my NR Download on 5/26/11 so it happened after the NR Download.


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## gilviv (Sep 18, 2007)

FWIW, I called D* today, the tech that I spoke with was well aware of the problem, but did not indicate a time frame(duh!), he did state that "it was being addressed" as did a CSR supervisor who confirmed that there is a problem. At least they are not denying there's a problem.

I also read in another post/thread from 06-25-11, 11:33 AM that:



Doug Brott said:


> There should be a new NR for some of the boxes soon to provide some minor corrections to some of the issues you may be seeing in the last NR. This won't be a "New" NR in the sense that it won't have any additional features. It will just be some minor tweaks on the last NR which everyone has right now.
> 
> So, don't be surprised if you get a new download over the next 3-4 weeks (could be farther out).


Hopefully, DirecTV will get on this quicker than our HD channels have been added.:lol:


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

I am also having this problem on my HR24's for about the last week.


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## Billzebub (Jan 2, 2007)

Both my HR24 and my R22 have had this problem. Don't know about my HR22 since I rarely watch that TV, mostly use it to record stuff to watch on the other receivers.


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## Glenee (Sep 22, 2007)

I am also having some Bad audio Drop outs on different channels from time to time. I am also having the long channel change delays.


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## edtuch (Jan 13, 2006)

The white screen delays are getting worse. It really sucks.


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## huskerhead (Oct 27, 2002)

My hr-24's are having this issue too - been that way for over a week. RBR doesn't seem to help either. Now these receivers are as sluggish as the old POS 21's.


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

Glenee said:


> I am also having some Bad audio Drop outs on different channels from time to time. I am also having the long channel change delays.


I am seeing the same thing! Channel changes are getting slower. I'm getting random audio-only drop outs on History HD, TLC HD, Disc HD and some of the local HD channels. The video is fine.


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## mrfatboy (Jan 21, 2007)

same thing for me on HR24 and HR23. Long channel switching delay with sometimes white/grey screen.


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## skatingrocker17 (Jun 24, 2010)

I just noticed this recently. It always makes me think something is wrong then after a couple of seconds it starts working again.


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## epi (May 18, 2006)

+1. Black screen on the change of channels on a HR22. It has been happening for a couple of weeks. It is still receiving remote input as the numbers pushed will "magically" show up after the 30 second delay.


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## kmcnamara (Jan 30, 2004)

I came here specifically to see if this was just me or if it was happening to others. At least I'm glad to know it's not my hardware that's the problem.

I've observed this on my HR24's, FWIW.


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## rey_1178 (Dec 12, 2007)

same issue here every day for the last two weeks. everyday when i get home from work i turn on the HR24 and the first time i try to change a channel this delay up to 20 seconds at times happens. black screen. HR20 too. also some of my recording on both DVR's are acting strange. after the delay, i change channels as much as i want and this doesn't happen again until the next day when i get home.


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## Machael (Apr 20, 2008)

Same issues here. :nono2:

Very annoying.


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

I did double reboot within 30 on all units here (that was fun) and so far (6 hours) all been ok.
will know more in 24+ hours,


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## StuBerger (Jul 17, 2010)

"David MacLeod" said:


> I did double reboot within 30 on all units here (that was fun) and so far (6 hours) all been ok.
> will know more in 24+ hours,


Just a temporary fix.....if at any!


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## Skyboss (Jan 22, 2004)

David MacLeod said:


> I did double reboot within 30 on all units here (that was fun) and so far (6 hours) all been ok.
> will know more in 24+ hours,


Did this. You'll be back in two days. It took 60 seconds for my first channel change today.


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

It looks like it wont get fix until a software update is done, right?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Boobie1998 said:


> It looks like it wont get fix until a software update is done, right?


Not necessarily. It wasn't caused by the software update, so it doesn't *have* to be fixed by another software update. But that may be how they choose to fix it.


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

"Jeremy W" said:


> Not necessarily. It wasn't caused by the software update, so it doesn't have to be fixed by another software update. But that may be how they choose to fix it.


Oh ok. I hope the issue gets fix soon. It's getting to be more than just the 1st channel change I do right after I turn it on.


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## Thwarter (Mar 19, 2008)

My HR22-100 is doing the white-out 20-30 second delay occasionally as well. Also I sometimes get the super-sluggish response to button presses on the remote control. :nono2:

Hopefully they put out a fix sooner rather than later. :sure:


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## APB101 (Sep 1, 2010)

Do resets. And keep in mind - it's a problem for DirecTV to have to fix. _It knows!_


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

Jeremy W said:


> It wasn't caused by the software update...


Then pray tell, kind sir, what did cause it?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Jon J said:


> Then pray tell, kind sir, what did cause it?


Something DirecTV changed in the stream.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

Jeremy W said:


> Something DirecTV changed in the stream.


What stream and you came by this information how?


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## StuBerger (Jul 17, 2010)

Whatever it is.....STOP it, it's driving me bajeebers!


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Jon J said:


> What stream and you came by this information how?


The stream of information DirecTV is sending out to all receivers. It's not hard to figure out...


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

I was under the impression there are different streams of data for different purposes. Though you didn't cite a source of your information, obviously I was wrong and I thank you so much for your kind response.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Jon J said:


> I was under the impression there are different streams of data for different purposes.


There are, but I was referring to the whole collection since it's impossible to know exactly what happened.


Jon J said:


> Though you didn't cite a source of your information, obviously I was wrong and I thank you so much for your kind response.


:nono2:


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

DirecTV is aware of the slow channel changes and slow remote control feedback. I just talked with one of my higher level contacts and the contact has D* service at home and was seeing the same thing.


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

mini1 said:


> DirecTV is aware of the slow channel changes and slow remote control feedback. I just talked with one of my higher level contacts and the contact has D* service at home and was seeing the same thing.


Any ETA on when we can see this fix?

Thanks

Boobie1998


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

Boobie1998 said:


> Any ETA on when we can see this fix?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Boobie1998


Reset your box (even if you have done it today already) and wait about 20 minutes you should be ok after that for good hopefully.


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

Boobie1998 said:


> Any ETA on when we can see this fix?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Boobie1998


I am waiting to see if I do get an ETA. Contact said the tech team was working on a fix and would ask, but said that they may not get an answer from the tech team.


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

mini1 said:


> I am waiting to see if I do get an ETA. Contact said the tech team was working on a fix and would ask, but said that they may not get an answer from the tech team.


Ok, anything you can find out I appreciate.

Thanks

Boobie1998


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

Shades228 said:


> Reset your box (even if you have done it today already) and wait about 20 minutes you should be ok after that for good hopefully.


I have done this  but I will do it again.

Boobie1998


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

Boobie1998 said:


> I have done this  but I will do it again.
> 
> Boobie1998


The first channel change delay does seem to have been solved. I'm guessing that DIRECTV did something on their end, and, now, after doing the restart suggested a few posts above, the problem is gone on both of my DVRs.


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## jackal24 (Nov 18, 2008)

If you call d*, it now has a voice telling you to do a red button reset even before it transfers you to anybody.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Actually that's been part of the system for many years.


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## terryfoster (Nov 15, 2006)

jackal24 said:


> If you call d*, it now has a voice telling you to do a red button reset even before it transfers you to anybody.





Stuart Sweet said:


> Actually that's been part of the system for many years.


Except that the message explicitly tells you that you should do a RBR to resolve this delay issue. I got this message even when I called in regarding a billing issue.


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

Does RBR change anything (reset to all defaults?) on the HR24? I've never had to use it before on this receiver.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

mini1 said:


> Does RBR change anything (reset to all defaults?) on the HR24? I've never had to use it before on this receiver.


No RBR is purely a reset button just like you had on computers of old. It just stops the power output of the power supply until released.


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

OK, I will try it and see if it fixes anything.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Shades228 said:


> It just stops the power output of the power supply until released.


It's not quite that low level. If it were, it wouldn't be delayed like a remote button press at times. :lol:


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

It is much faster after reset. Let's see if it stays that way or goes back to being a windows 95 slug.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

Jeremy W said:


> It's not quite that low level. If it were, it wouldn't be delayed like a remote button press at times. :lol:


I haven't torn apart a box and traced the red button to the PS to see if it's direct or not but usually they are and the delay can usually be attributed to the power supply still discharging the power in it's capacitors.

I could be wrong since I never looked but I can't think they would over engineer a reset button to do more than they used to do.


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## MGROSVOLD (Jun 10, 2010)

We are a D* servicer here in WI. We've had A LOT of subs call in this past week or so complaining of slow response to remote commands. We ensure Native mode is off and suggest resets. It seems as though the problem is not consistant. The DVR will alternate between being responsive and being slow. It seems as though something is happening in the background with data that is causing the receivers to slow down. Hope the problem gets addressed soon.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Shades228 said:


> I haven't torn apart a box and traced the red button to the PS to see if it's direct or not but usually they are and the delay can usually be attributed to the power supply still discharging the power in it's capacitors.


If that were the case, then a similar delay would be seen when pulling the plug. And there's definitely no delay there.


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

MGROSVOLD said:


> We are a D* servicer here in WI. We've had A LOT of subs call in this past week or so complaining of slow response to remote commands. We ensure Native mode is off and suggest resets. It seems as though the problem is not consistant. The DVR will alternate between being responsive and being slow. It seems as though something is happening in the background with data that is causing the receivers to slow down. Hope the problem gets addressed soon.


There was supposedly some kind of an error in the guide data that was being streamed to the receivers that was causing all sorts of issues for customers (long channel changes, guide freezes, etc.). I guess they made some king of an update last night to fix it and now all customers having this issue should restart their receivers and it should take care of the issues.


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## dvisthe (May 27, 2007)

My HR20-700 is so s-l-o-w also, it is so frustrating to try to watch TV
Hopefully Directv has a fix soon, I do not want to go through the hassle of getting a new receiver.


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## MoInSTL (Mar 29, 2006)

Same here and really annoying. RBR did not help. Double checked and native off.
HR22.


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## nydave (Nov 15, 2007)

add me to having the same problem as everyone else. not only does this happen when we turn on the set but during the day as well. needless to say, the wife is not very happy when this occurs. everyone knows what happens when the wife is not happy. hopefully directv is either listening/reading about this and corrects the problem.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

A mod needs to update the title and first post of this thread with the solution to this problem.


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

Jeremy W said:


> A mod needs to update the title and first post of this thread with the solution to this problem.


Or people just need to read closer 

Instructions for everyone to reset their receivers has been posted in pretty much each of the threads talking about these issues but people seem to keep ignoring it and complaining instead. I'm at work right now so I can't try it but it sounds like it has fixed the issues for everyone who has done it so far (at least for now).


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Beerstalker said:


> Or people just need to read closer


I can't really fault someone for not reading through the whole thread. The information isn't in a sticky or anything like that, it's buried between lots of complaints about the issue.


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## dvisthe (May 27, 2007)

Beerstalker said:


> Or people just need to read closer
> 
> Instructions for everyone to reset their receivers has been posted in pretty much each of the threads talking about these issues but people seem to keep ignoring it and complaining instead. I'm at work right now so I can't try it but it sounds like it has fixed the issues for everyone who has done it so far (at least for now).


Sorry. Reset does NOT work!


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## gilviv (Sep 18, 2007)

True, lots of complaining going on, but unfortunately, resets don't fix the problem, it keeps coming back. Soooooooooo I guess I'm waiting for D* to fix it(as they already know about it).:nono2:


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

gilviv said:


> True, lots of complaining going on, but unfortunately, resets don't fix the problem, it keeps coming back. Soooooooooo I guess I'm waiting for D* to fix it(as they already know about it).:nono2:


Doing a reset did nothing to fix the problem a few days ago. However, if you do the reset now after DIRECTV has apparently applied a fix from there end, it does solve the problem.

I did the reset over 24 hours ago on both of my DVRs. Since then, they have been intermittently on and off, including being off overnight. After multiple times of starting up the DVRs, there has been no evidence of the first channel change delay with either unit.

I can't guarantee that some others are not still seeing a problem, but the issue is completely gone with both of my DVRs after doing just a single reset, again, after whatever fix DIRECTV seems to have applied in the last 36-48 hours.


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## StuBerger (Jul 17, 2010)

I concur, after doing a reset on both my 24 and 20 things are fine again!


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## Skyboss (Jan 22, 2004)

lesz said:


> Doing a reset did nothing to fix the problem a few days ago. However, if you do the reset now after DIRECTV has apparently applied a fix from there end, it does solve the problem.
> 
> I did the reset over 24 hours ago on both of my DVRs. Since then, they have been intermittently on and off, including being off overnight. After multiple times of starting up the DVRs, there has been no evidence of the first channel change delay with either unit.
> 
> I can't guarantee that some others are not still seeing a problem, but the issue is completely gone with both of my DVRs after doing just a single reset, again, after whatever fix DIRECTV seems to have applied in the last 36-48 hours.


Can't wait to get home then. :grin:

The WAF meter was pegging around our house. :eek2:



mini1 said:


> It is much faster after reset. Let's see if it stays that way or goes back to being a windows 95 slug.


Not Windows ME???


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## StuBerger (Jul 17, 2010)

95 wasn't bad....ME...now that was the nightmare!


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

The problem that causes the channel change slowness and the menu slowness is resolved with a reset. 

Other slowness issues or perceptions can remain.


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## Soulweeper (Jan 10, 2005)

I just came here to post about the same problem with both of my HR24's and channel changing, and found this thread. Is a menu reset fine, or RBR?


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

VOLBEAT said:


> I just came here to post about the same problem with both of my HR24's and channel changing, and found this thread. Is a menu reset fine, or RBR?


I did both of my DVRs with a menu reset, and it solved the problem for both.


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## dvisthe (May 27, 2007)

Hum, know what's missing when you reboot? Twice 
The' in guide 'ads. 

Much much faster.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

dvisthe said:


> Hum, know what's missing when you reboot? Twice
> The' in guide 'ads.
> 
> Much much faster.


They come back in a couple hours once they load.


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

At almost 24 hours later after a menu reset, the HR is actually still running fast. I hope it doesn't revert back to slug slow speed.


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## A_Bear (Jun 16, 2011)

Sorry guys i went on vacation for a few days, a reset should resolve, if not, give dtv a call and they will escalate the information and get it resolved


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## A_Bear (Jun 16, 2011)

also, I am unsure if we (this website) has an option of a quick load (ex. finding were you have posted before and telling you if there is a new post there) because if there is I can not locate it


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## bearcat250 (Feb 19, 2004)

I have been following this thread since the begining because I have the same problem with both my HR-21's. But today the lack of response from the remote control is OUT OF CONTROL!! At first the slow channel change was when either HR-21 was powered up. After a while the problem disappeared. Today there were several times when there was no response from the remote control, AAAHHHGGG!!! Please tell me that a fix is on the way.


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## NCEarlb (Sep 11, 2006)

I called this morning after a reset did not fix the delay problem and my remote would not work. 

This is the solution I got from Technical support and it worked wonders for me.

Go to MENU

SETUP

SYSTEM SETUP

HDTV

TV RESOLUTIONS

uncheck everything but 1080i and 1080p

Like I said this solved the delay problem for me.

Earl


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

bearcat250 said:


> I have been following this thread since the begining because I have the same problem with both my HR-21's. But today the lack of response from the remote control is OUT OF CONTROL!! At first the slow channel change was when either HR-21 was powered up. After a while the problem disappeared. Today there were several times when there was no response from the remote control, AAAHHHGGG!!! Please tell me that a fix is on the way.


If you have done a reset in the last 48 hours or so and are still having problems, it is likely that you are dealing with an issue different from that which is the main topic of this thread because, after DIRECTV did something on their end a couple of days ago, the reset should have solved the problem.

Doing things like clearing the VRAM, disabling guide scrolling effects, and limiting available screen resolutions can help with other issues related to sluggish performance.


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## woj027 (Sep 3, 2007)

I did a reset on my HR on July 4th and it still has the long delay problem. I will do the reset again wehn I get home today just to give it another chance.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

I got a new software download last night for my HR23-700. It's version 0x4a7. My unit seems much more responsive this morning. I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for this problem?


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## hiker (Mar 1, 2006)

Carl Spock said:


> I got a new software download last night for my HR23-700. It's version 0x4a7. My unit seems much more responsive this morning. I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for this problem?


Hmm... 
0x4a7 looks like a regression. All my HR20's are on 0x4a9. 
Anyone know what the latest national release is?


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

If it works, it works. I'd take a regression right now to get my DVR back.

The current national release according to this forum is 0x4a9.

_This is a job for __*SuperDoug!*_


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## gilviv (Sep 18, 2007)

Latest releases;
0x4A6 - H24-700/H25-500
0x4A7 - H24-100/H24-200

0x4A9 - HR20
0x4A6 - HR21/22/23, R22
0x4A7 - HR24


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

H25 is @ 0x4a8, but basically they are all in the vicinity of 0x4a6 to 0x4a9 at the moment with H21/23 having a extra 4 in front.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

hiker said:


> Hmm...
> 0x4a7 looks like a regression. All my HR20's are on 0x4a9.
> Anyone know what the latest national release is?


I know that there were some tweaks in the works, particularly for HR21/22/23 series and HR24 series. I suppose it may have started this week. It's basically a minor cleanup from the previous update in May, no new features and very little actually changed. It is possible that this is a fix for the "slow" issue that has been noted, but I really don't know if it is or not.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

I just played around with my HR23 for half an hour, changing channels and working the guide. It works like a dream. I don't think it has ever been faster.

Over the past few weeks, I tried all the tricks in this thread and nothing has made it work like it's working now. There is no doubt in my mind that my HR23 is working better than it did a month or two ago, well before the recent software problems that put us all in Hell.

Now wait - maybe tomorrow it will be back to slowsville, but I doubt it. I think the new software download I got last night has fixed my DVR.

:righton:


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## hiker (Mar 1, 2006)

Carl Spock said:


> I just played around with my HR23 for half an hour, changing channels and working the guide. It works like a dream. I don't think it has ever been faster.
> 
> Over the past few weeks, I tried all the tricks in this thread and nothing has made it work like it's working now. There is no doubt in my mind that my HR23 is working better than it did a month or two ago, well before the recent software problems that put us all in Hell.
> 
> ...


Are you sure you have a HR23? The 0x4a7 release is supposed to be for the HR24/H24 according to the list above in gilviv's post.

What release were you on previous to 0x4a7? Most of the current releases came down around the middle of May, so it's strange that you are just getting it.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

I got 0x4a7 today on my HR21-100. So far so good.

EDIT: Got a7 on my hr23 today also. Much improved...


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## Dan B (Mar 6, 2007)

I also got 0x4a7 on my HR21-700 this morning. I wasn't having any trouble with the previous software & haven't noticed any differences. (knock on wood)


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

hiker said:


> Are you sure you have a HR23? The 0x4a7 release is supposed to be for the HR24/H24 according to the list above in gilviv's post.


Yes, I am sure I have a HR23 and it is now running 0x4a7. I am not alone.



> What release were you on previous to 0x4a7? Most of the current releases came down around the middle of May, so it's strange that you are just getting it.


I got this update last night. I also got an update in the middle of May. I can't tell you what software version that was. I assume it was 0x4a6. That's the one on the list.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

So far my 21 & 23 are as fast as they have ever been. 

(They both received 0x4a7 yesterday.)


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## Bofurley (Oct 11, 2006)

On my HR 24-500, I have the 0a4a8 that was downloaded this morning 7/7/11, it seems a little faster - nothing to write home about, but definitely improved.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

Last night my HR20-700 got software #0x4aa. It now seems to be fixed.


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

Last night, my HR22 got 0a4a8, and my HR20 got 0x4aa. 

I don't see much difference in how either unit works, but both had been working okay since whatever DIRECTV seems to have done a week or so ago to deal with the initial channel change issue.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

Athlon646464 said:


> So far my 21 & 23 are as fast as they have ever been.
> 
> (They both received 0x4a7 yesterday.)


Last night my HR23 slowed way down again, especially the first channel change out of standby. It's baaaaaaaaaaack.............. :nono:


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

I had an incident last night when I went to the guide that things got slow again. I rebooted and cleared the NVRAM and everything was good again. Yes, there are still some holes in this software but overall, my HR23 works much better. Hopefully the final bugaboos can be worked out through normal software updates.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

Carl Spock said:


> I had an incident last night when I went to the guide that things got slow again. I rebooted and cleared the NVRAM and everything was good again. Yes, there are still some holes in this software but overall, my HR23 works much better. Hopefully the final bugaboos can be worked out through normal software updates.


I rebooted & cleared the NVRAM as well, but they did not seem to help. I wonder if this issue is a little out of their direct control.


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

I have 2 hr24/100 and there both slow still. Channel changing seems OK though but guide, scrolling is bad. I have native off and scrolling off. I have cleared nvram and reboot the box a few times a days when I'm home. Got the latest software but for me it seems it didn't help other issue except for the delay in channel changing.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

Boobie1998 said:


> I have 2 hr24/100 and there both slow still. Channel changing seems OK though but guide, scrolling is bad. I have native off and scrolling off. I have cleared nvram and reboot the box a few times a days when I'm home. Got the latest software but for me it seems it didn't help other issue except for the delay in channel changing.


When rebooting you may want to wait at least 30 minutes between reboots. If you reboot twice in 30 minutes, it wipes your guide data which then has to be reloaded.

While it is reloading in the background it can slow everything down for up to 48 hours (it can take that long to rebuild).


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## hiker (Mar 1, 2006)

Are those of you still experiencing slowness using the standby function? 
According to a post here putting into standby is what's triggering it. Try avoiding using standby, it doesn't save power anyway.


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## donm (Aug 19, 2003)

lesz said:


> If you have done a reset in the last 48 hours or so and are still having problems, it is likely that you are dealing with an issue different from that which is the main topic of this thread because, after DIRECTV did something on their end a couple of days ago, the reset should have solved the problem.
> 
> Doing things like clearing the VRAM, disabling guide scrolling effects, and limiting available screen resolutions can help with other issues related to sluggish performance.


I don't believe this at all. I'm having the exact problem described and called Directv twice in the last two days and they had me do a reset plus walk we through other checks and didn't say it was my HR21. They said it was their fault and are working on a fix.

I did notice I just got the software upgrade. I did another reset, disabled guide scrolling effects and limited the screen resolutions. I does seem to be faster but won't be able to tell for a while to see if it comes back.


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## Boobie1998 (Oct 6, 2007)

Athlon646464 said:


> When rebooting you may want to wait at least 30 minutes between reboots. If you reboot twice in 30 minutes, it wipes your guide data which then has to be reloaded.
> 
> While it is reloading in the background it can slow everything down for up to 48 hours (it can take that long to rebuild).


I never reboot within 30 unless I want to do guide data wipe. Thanks anyway
I'm starting to think this is just the way it is.


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## Stewpidity (Jan 26, 2008)

playing with the Directv Ipad App. it changes the channels faster than the regular remote :lol:


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Stewpidity said:


> playing with the Directv Ipad App. it changes the channels faster than the regular remote :lol:


Yeah, it doesn't have to send each digit individually like the remote does, it changes the channel with a single command.


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## Directvlover (Aug 27, 2007)

Ok...i thought they had fixed it, but just the other day the delay on channel change when first powering up the reciever came back. Anyone else having this. It's doing it on all 3 of my recievers.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Directvlover said:


> Ok...i thought they had fixed it, but just the other day the delay on channel change when first powering up the reciever came back. Anyone else having this. It's doing it on all 3 of my recievers.


I was at my friend's house on Friday, and his HR23 was doing it.


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## JeffBowser (Dec 21, 2006)

I was up at my folks house in Georgia this weekend, and I watched my dad manipulate his Dish receiver. I was left drooling at the menu and channel change responsiveness over my HR 2x's. Sigh.

Mind you, I'm complaining about menu responsiveness only, I have no interest in turning this into a DirecTV v Dish pissing match over price, quality, blah blah blah.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

JeffBowser said:


> I was up at my folks house in Georgia this weekend, and I watched my dad manipulate his Dish receiver. I was left drooling at the menu and channel change responsiveness over my HR 2x's. Sigh.


DirecTV is pretty much at the bottom in this respect. Hopefully the HD GUI lives up to it's promise of bringing significant performance improvements.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

Directvlover said:


> Ok...i thought they had fixed it, but just the other day the delay on channel change when first powering up the reciever came back. Anyone else having this. It's doing it on all 3 of my recievers.


Yes. It has never really gone away despite DirecTV's claimed attempts at a fix.


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## Zellster (Aug 3, 2007)

Honestly, today was the first day I thought I was going to throw the remote at a wall over this issue. It's truly pathetic. This is the most basic thing a tuner/remote do. My issue is more related to it accepting the number I input.

And once I do input it the delay is crazy terrible. It's happening on all 5 of my HD DVDr's. It got worse in my opinion after the last 2 updates. 

Please, please, please fix this.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

It's kind of crazy to think DirecTV has such a poor handle on their systems that they've allowed this to be such a problem for so long.


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## Directvlover (Aug 27, 2007)

Ok...got home from work last night and noticed two of my recievers got a software update. The delay seems to be gone for now....again. Wonder how long this will last?


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## Hutchinshouse (Sep 28, 2006)

Jeremy W said:


> DirecTV is pretty much at the bottom in this respect. *Hopefully the HD GUI lives up to it's promise of bringing significant performance improvements*.


That would rule!


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

I just had a crazy thought (not a rare occurrence :grin.....

Has D* slowed our machines down so that when the HDGUI hits it will just _appear_ to be faster? Lowering expectations now?

(I'm not serious, but the thought is in my head. :hurah


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Hutchinshouse said:


> That would rule!


Everything I've heard points to that being the case.


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## JeffBowser (Dec 21, 2006)

I'm struggling to understand how a higher resolution/more complex interface will result in speed improvements on an under-powered processing unit such as contained in the sub -24 units.



Jeremy W said:


> Everything I've heard points to that being the case.


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## Hutchinshouse (Sep 28, 2006)

JeffBowser said:


> I'm struggling to understand how a higher resolution/more complex interface will result in speed improvements on an under-powered processing unit such as contained in the sub -24 units.


Yup, it defies logic.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

JeffBowser said:


> I'm struggling to understand how a higher resolution/more complex interface will result in speed improvements on an under-powered processing unit such as contained in the sub -24 units.


The HR2x codebase is currently more than five years old. Along with the HD GUI, they'll be implementing major foundational changes that reflect what they've learned along the way. That's where the performance improvements will come from.

It's much more than a new GUI, it's basically a new DVR.


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## JeffBowser (Dec 21, 2006)

The optimist in me hopes so, as I am not going to enter a new 2yr contract just to get a tuner that can tune without taking naps between numbers. However, the pessimist and software business owner in me knows that, with only very few exceptions, complex software updates never result in faster performance...... They normally result in more features demanding more processor cycles, to further perpetuate the hardware/software upgrade cycle the industry relies on.



Jeremy W said:


> The HR2x codebase is currently more than five years old. Along with the HD GUI, they'll be implementing major foundational changes that reflect what they've learned along the way. That's where the performance improvements will come from.
> 
> It's much more than a new GUI, it's basically a new DVR.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

JeffBowser said:


> the pessimist and software business owner in me knows that, with only very few exceptions, complex software updates never result in faster performance


Well all I can tell you is that I've heard from multiple independent sources, who have actually used the HD GUI, that the performance is significantly improved. I completely understand your pessimism, but I have no reason to doubt what I've been told.


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## JeffBowser (Dec 21, 2006)

Then I'll remain cautiously optimistic 



Jeremy W said:


> Well all I can tell you is that I've heard from multiple independent sources, who have actually used the HD GUI, that the performance is significantly improved. I completely understand your pessimism, but I have no reason to doubt what I've been told.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

JeffBowser said:


> Then I'll remain cautiously optimistic


I'm in the same boat. I think what we have is a system that was rushed out the door with barely optimized or totally unoptimized code, which has had lots of duct tape applied to it over the past five years. The HD GUI is giving DirecTV an opportunity to trash all of that old code, and put much tighter code in it's place.

Also, I have to believe there's a good amount of embarrassment at DirecTV over the performance of the HR2x. When you have competitors making commercials specifically about how awful it is, that has to sting.


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## BattleScott (Aug 29, 2006)

Jeremy W said:


> I'm in the same boat. I think what we have is a system that was rushed out the door with barely optimized or totally unoptimized code, which has had lots of duct tape applied to it over the past five years. The HD GUI is giving DirecTV an opportunity to trash all of that old code, and put much tighter code in it's place.
> 
> Also, I have to believe there's a good amount of embarrassment at DirecTV over the performance of the HR2x. When you have competitors making commercials specifically about how awful it is, that has to sting.


Well, hopefully they WILL learn from the previous debacle and ensure that the code is properly tested and sound before releasing it. However, since the release has already been promised for "October", that will put the pressure on to release it by then regardless.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

BattleScott said:


> Well, hopefully they WILL learn from the previous debacle and ensure that the code is properly tested and sound before releasing it. However, since the release has already been promised for "October", that will put the pressure on to release it by then regardless.


Promised? I wouldn't go that far.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

BattleScott said:


> Well, hopefully they WILL learn from the previous debacle and ensure that the code is properly tested and sound before releasing it. However, since the release has already been promised for *"October"*, that will put the pressure on to release it by then regardless.


I'd expect it by Halloween then...


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## Hutchinshouse (Sep 28, 2006)

BattleScott said:


> Well, hopefully they WILL learn from the previous debacle and ensure that the code is properly tested and sound before releasing it. However, since the release has already been promised for "October", that will put the pressure on to release it by then regardless.


Next month some of us may see it in the top secret testing phase.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

sigma1914 said:


> Promised? I wouldn't go that far.


Oh god, let's not get into a semantics battle here. It has been publically announced for October. Whether you consider that a promise or not is irrelevant.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

Let me be the first to use the term 'trick or treat'.

:hurah:


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## SBI (Feb 20, 2004)

Count me in. I read all the "fixed" replies, but I kept seeing no significant improvement. I just refreshed this thread and was "happy" to see that it came back to life, that it wasn't just me.


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## dvisthe (May 27, 2007)

SBI said:


> Count me in. I read all the "fixed" replies, but I kept seeing no significant improvement. I just refreshed this thread and was "happy" to see that it came back to life, that it wasn't just me.


Yep. Problem is back here too. Wife is chirping in my ear to get new boxes. But I like the HR20, because of the OTA antenna, don't know what I would receive if I asked for a new one.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Hutchinshouse said:


> Next month some of us may see it in the top secret testing phase.


I would hope so if they expect an October timeframe.

I also hope that those that get to fiddle with it first and assuming it really does improve speed, that they don't get all bubbly as all too many do with previous updates that were going to speed things up, that not only didn't make things faster, made them slower. This from a bit back.

That said, my newly installed HR24s are pretty darned speedy, with only an occasional pause (to catch their breath I suppose... :lol: ). But I would like to see a guide with at least a 3 hour window...


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

dvisthe said:


> Yep. Problem is back here too. Wife is chirping in my ear to get new boxes. But I like the HR20, because of the OTA antenna, don't know what I would receive if I asked for a new one.


You could always get an AM21. However, the other box could very well have the same problem. Even if it doesn't, it could have this problem in the future. Bottom line is, it's a waste of time to replace your receiver because of this problem.


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## kevinwmsn (Aug 19, 2006)

I got a hr20 and hr21, The hr20 is a good bit faster than the hr21. The lack of response on the unit has been driving me crazy at times.


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## Steve Robertson (Jun 7, 2005)

I think it will be released "soon" I love that word it has no real meaning soon could be 1 minute or 1 century


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Steve Robertson said:


> I think it will be released "soon" I love that word it has no real meaning soon could be 1 minute or 1 century


What exactly are you talking about?


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> What exactly are you talking about?


I'm sure he'll reply 'soon'.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Jeremy W said:


> Along with the HD GUI, they'll be implementing major foundational changes that reflect what they've learned along the way. That's where the performance improvements will come from.
> 
> It's much more than a new GUI, it's basically a new DVR.


It is much more than a New GUI but also New DVR Software Optimized for Speed and Efficiency!!!


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Jeremy W said:


> Well all I can tell you is that I've heard from multiple independent sources, who have actually used the HD GUI, that the performance is significantly improved. I completely understand your pessimism, but I have no reason to doubt what I've been told.


I Concur Wholeheartedly that those who have tested it say that it is a Total Improvement in Speed and Performance!!!


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## Steve Robertson (Jun 7, 2005)

Jeremy W said:


> What exactly are you talking about?


I remember wshen all the new HD channels were being launched a few years ago and it was always they will be available soon.

But wghat does soon really mean it can span many different time frames based on the project . Making an ice cream cone could be done real soon but launching a satellite t6akes years to build and when you get down to the last 3-6 months well that could be seen as soon.

Anyways I hate the word soon qas there is no deffinete time frame


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Steve Robertson said:


> I remember wshen all the new HD channels were being launched a few years ago and it was always they will be available soon.
> 
> But wghat does soon really mean it can span many different time frames based on the project . Making an ice cream cone could be done real soon but launching a satellite t6akes years to build and when you get down to the last 3-6 months well that could be seen as soon.
> 
> Anyways I hate the word soon qas there is no deffinete time frame


Your answer just confused me more.


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## Steve Robertson (Jun 7, 2005)

Jeremy W said:


> Your answer just confused me more.


Ok good :lol:


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