# HR21-700 Keeps Freezing



## wbandit (Mar 16, 2007)

System freezes to gray screen. I called DTV and was told to check my software version. I had 0x235 so she told me to force a software download because they just released a new version. The new software downloaded and she told me to call back if it happened again. After we hung up, I checked to see what version I have and it still says 0x235. Why didn't I get the new software? Has anyone else had this freezing problem? Thanks for any help.


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## MartyS (Dec 29, 2006)

235 is the current version for many of the units out there right now, 251 is slowly being rolled out nationally, but that may be on hold, since the CE release last night is supposed to be a replacement for 251.

As far as the freezing is concerned, that may be an isolated issue. When that happens, many people just restart their unit without the download of the current software and that solves the problem more often than not. The CSR you talked to may have thought that you were supposed to have 251 and not 235, but I don't think that they really know what software is being rolled out to what areas until the software is fully released nationally.


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## wbandit (Mar 16, 2007)

I should have just posted here first. I spent 45 minutes on the phone for nothing. Anyway, it's frozen probably 3 or 4 times in the last week and when I restart, it's fine. So you think this is not software related and I probably need a new HR20?


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## wbandit (Mar 16, 2007)

Just froze again. I tried to rewind a recorded show and the picture froze. I pressed the power button and then it wouldn't turn back on but the record light was still on. It would not respond so I had to unplug it. So is this a software or hardware problem? Thanks!


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

I have 235 on a HR20-700. I have had virtually no problems of note since getting it in December, and got 235 on 6-17. Since then I have been getting freezes as well. The picture freezes, sometimes the audio, and sometimes the audio a bit later. Then it's totally unresponsive until RBR. It also seems like its not responding quickly to the remote for a few minutes before this happens. It also seems to only happen if I FFW/RW or jump back.

It happened a couple times on Wednesday, and I unplugged it for an hour, and then it seemed OK until Friday night, where I had to do 4 RBRs to get through a viewing of "Disturbia".

WTF?


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## wbandit (Mar 16, 2007)

So I guess this must be software related? WTF are we supposed to do?


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## romulox (Jun 22, 2007)

About the same as TomCat here. No real problems for over a year until this week.

I can't get through 1 recorded program without one or more freezes. Occurs with both HD and SD content. For me - if I wait while the picture is frozen, I seem to recover after about 2 to 5 minutes. Then, all is fine, and I MIGHT make it through the entire program. Sometimes after a freeze, my FF or 30sec skip becomes a little skittish... like the picture freezes during FF, but I'm still FF'ding - I just don't know where I'm at!

The first time this happened, the remote became non-responsive, but recovered enough for me to do a menu reboot. That didn't really help though - I'm typing this because my Doctor who recording is frozen right now!

It seems after reading a some of the "235 messed up my box" posts, many people are having variations of the same symptom; meaning, we freeze up but recovery and after effects and remote responsiveness are different. Hey, Doctor Who is running again!!!!

Anyway, I'll wait for 251. I just wanted to post a "me too".


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## wbandit (Mar 16, 2007)

Still freezing. I had no problems until last week. When is the next update gonna be available? This is ridiculous!


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## tlrowley (Jun 21, 2007)

I saw this for the first time this week as well. I've seen it on 2 programs, both recorded off MPEG4 signals. The recordings seem to be fine - I've watched them through - but while I was watching they froze the HR20 every time I paused - I had to watch them straight through. Trick play was fine, but pausing was the kiss of death.

ETA - sorry about the duplicate posts - apparently the HR20 isn't the only device giving me fits


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## bobkatF (Sep 26, 2004)

Add me to the frequent freezing list. About 7 RBR's in the past 3 days.

I thought it was getting long in the tooth, after running very well since Sept. of 2006.


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## 5 ACES (Dec 27, 2007)

During the last few months, a weird problem has been happening: Receiver: HR21-700. Software: Current NR Version. While fast forwarding through a recorded show, MAINLY HD CONTENT but sometimes SD content as well, the picture will "stall" and I then have no control over the remote. No matter what button I press, the FF will go in frame increments, as though it's stuck or confused. The blue light on the receiver will turn very slow but only one frame at a time will slooooowly FF on the tv. After about a minute, it will finally catch up and FF to the speed you request. It has done this with the last two national releases and it's doing it really bad with the latest NR release 251. It's getting so bad, that I'm about ready to ask Directv for a new receiver. I've had this receiver for about 5-6 months and don't remember it acting this way until about three months ago. Does anyone have any suggestions? Could it be a software bug and/or hardware issue? Just curious, since I posted this earlier on another forum and see that others are having a similar problem. It's looking more and more like a software bug.


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## adamson (Nov 9, 2007)

The beat goes on...

Maybe beyond my time left here on earth Directv will have working equipment...until then I am forced to use my son's R10 Tivo. Im sorry but the R10 is at least 100% reliable and does what it should. 

I don't miss my HR20 other than the HD...its just a box! When will it be safe to have a HD DVR?? God how long does this go on and on and on and on????????????????????????????????????????????????????????


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## avoiding work (Sep 20, 2007)

I'm seeing the exact same problem. Everything was fine for about a year, and then all in the last week, I've experienced a dozen or so freezes. I don't know my software rev, but I hope it is not the latest version (251?).


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## cstelter (Sep 20, 2007)

Yeah, count me in on this one too-- two nights in a row for me. I have a couple datapoints to add. It's happened twice to me. I don't think it's frozen-- just *extremely* slow when on a HD channel.

Turned on TV, Grey screen, went to the play list and started a SD show. It started just fine. I then stopped it (forget why-- I think I wanted to change channels to buffer up a show while I watched the SD show). It was then I noticed the unresponsiveness. I wound up pushing chan-up and it went to the SD version of the channel (one of the starz channels I think) and things were normal. I went back down to the HD channel and it got glacial again. Finally (after literally minutes) I got the SD recording to play again and it played just fine with good reaction for trick plays. When it ended, it went glacial again. It was recording another HD channel so I waited until the recording was done and then (over the course of 5 minute) managed to change to a SD channel and perform a reboot via the menu. Was fine after the reboot.

2nd time, was grey again (this time on UHD I think, though I'm not sure). Again no bad recordings, but Had to be patient for the menus to come up so I could reboot it from the menus. Didn't try RBR or power. Last night I had no problems.

I got message noting that I had updated software about a week or two ago, but I don't know off the top of my head what version it just went to. I'd 3 days ago was the first time I'd ever noticed that problem.


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## r3zd0g (May 21, 2007)

I have the 251 release, and I started experiencing the freezes on my HR20-100's as described in this thread. My recievers have been mostly okay since the HD launch until this past saturday.


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## wbandit (Mar 16, 2007)

Could someone please advise what we are supposed to do? Are we to wait until the next software release or call DTV and demand a new receiver? I don't pay for protection plan and don't think it's fair that I have to pay for a new receiver just because they released flawed software.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

The best plan is to wait for the next firmware release ..


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## mrshermanoaks (Aug 27, 2006)

Ugh, I was just counting my blessings that I hadn't had any blank recordings in awhile. Now I've had to RBR 3 times today to get out of lockups. 

Most of the time I'm really happy with the HR20-700. But sometimes this thing is just the most ridiculous DVR ever.


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## cstelter (Sep 20, 2007)

cstelter said:


> I got message noting that I had updated software about a week or two ago, but I don't know off the top of my head what version it just went to. I'd 3 days ago was the first time I'd ever noticed that problem.


so I was on 251 when I got the grey screen glacial problem. It happened twice in the week or two that I had it. Last night I got 254, so we'll see if I get it again.


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## darekd (Oct 11, 2006)

5 ACES said:


> During the last few months, a weird problem has been happening: Receiver: HR21-700. Software: Current NR Version. While fast forwarding through a recorded show, MAINLY HD CONTENT but sometimes SD content as well, the picture will "stall" and I then have no control over the remote. No matter what button I press, the FF will go in frame increments, as though it's stuck or confused. The blue light on the receiver will turn very slow but only one frame at a time will slooooowly FF on the tv. After about a minute, it will finally catch up and FF to the speed you request. It has done this with the last two national releases and it's doing it really bad with the latest NR release 251. It's getting so bad, that I'm about ready to ask Directv for a new receiver. I've had this receiver for about 5-6 months and don't remember it acting this way until about three months ago. Does anyone have any suggestions? Could it be a software bug and/or hardware issue? Just curious, since I posted this earlier on another forum and see that others are having a similar problem. It's looking more and more like a software bug.


I had my receiver replaced a week ago for the same problem. It didn't help.

BTW, do you have AM21 connected to your receiver?


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## bobkatF (Sep 26, 2004)

darekd said:


> I had my receiver replaced a week ago for the same problem. It didn't help.


You just saved me $19.95, Thanks! 

This has been the most annoying bug in the almost 2 years.

It even bothers me more than taking away the TWO-BUTTON TO DO LIST. Boy does that one still pizz me off!


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## Chuck2527 (Jul 16, 2008)

This problem has only started for me in the past 5 days. HR20-700.
After a few pauses (had the grandkids for a week--had to pause to answer "WHY" questions !! ) the picture locks up--sound continues for about 10 seconds, then even the remote is useless. Only total reboot works, but unless it was previously recorded it is also lost.:nono:


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## jfm (Nov 29, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> The best plan is to wait for the next firmware release ..


Well maybe the next firmware release....


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## njblackberry (Dec 29, 2007)

Not sure if this will help anyone, but if you are connected to your home network, try disconnecting the Ethernet cable.

** That is not a solution - but it may stop the DVR from freezing/lagging **

In other words, it has worked on two HR21-700s that were freezing or lagging.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

jfm said:


> Well maybe the next firmware release....


The "next" version is 0x254/0x255 .. it is rolling out starting today and should start arriving at everyone's receiver soon.


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## onebad93ta (Sep 28, 2007)

same here i have been saying it for a few months now and with every release i try but after almost 24 hours with Ethernet connected box freezes but when i leave Ethernet disconnected no lock ups at all and even with the newest release 0255 which i got sat morn around 1am connected Ethernet and sure thing sun morn locked up


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## romulox (Jun 22, 2007)

I haven't received x254 yet, but my x235 symptom seems to have migrated. I used to have my programs freeze like many others here. Now, with the same software, I don't seem to get freezes any more, but my recordings continually drop the audio feed for a few secs and while doing so the video gets jittery like frames being dropped. It is so frequent during a recording, there's no point in watching the program.

I don't think I've read this particular "symptom" on the forums, but I'm hoping someone will give me a "me too" shout out.

I've decided to stop watching all recorded programming until x254 comes my way. Hopefully if will play my x235 recorded content fine - assuming I don't pause my recording! But that's a topic for other threads.


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## 5 ACES (Dec 27, 2007)

darekd said:


> I had my receiver replaced a week ago for the same problem. It didn't help.
> 
> BTW, do you have AM21 connected to your receiver?


No I don't. Just the HR 21-700


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## wbandit (Mar 16, 2007)

I got 254 on Wed and haven't had a freeze since. I'm hoping this fixed it for good.


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## Beast (Jun 30, 2008)

My 21-700 also gets the freeze issue and searching for satilite error 771, when ever I hook up the home network. I froze within minutes after connecting the network,
also the 771 error. I reset the unit via menu, see how it goes.


Firmware 255


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## Wired (Jul 17, 2008)

Hi all. I'd like to add another account along with the other posters here who've discovered that there seems to be a direct "connection" between having the ethernet cable plugged in and finding their unit frozen in 1 or 2 days.

I posted this in the 255 issues and discussion thread over the past couple of days (my first posts on this fine message board) but no replies so I did a search and found this thread with the same problems I'm having. Here's the details from those posts...

7/18/08, 7:24 PM:

Issue: Unit frozen requiring RBR (Network plugged in)
Receivers affected: HR21-100
Diagnostic Key: N/A

Description: Hi all. This is my first post but I have found these boards invaluable as a source of information and I appreciate the work of moderators and all those working hard to keep the lines of communication open with DirecTV to hopefully continue real improvements on these sometimes frustrating units. 

I have had my brand new HR21-100 for nearly 2 months when I upgraded to MPEG 4 (still have my trusty HR10-250 working fine as always) and received 0x0255 a couple of days ago. While on the previous version of 0x0231, I read in posts that some discovered that frequent freezes requiring RBR seemed to stop after people disconnected their network connection. Like others, my unit was freezing for weeks (no response to Power from remote or at the console) approx every 1-2 days with 2 days being more common. Once I unplugged the network cable from my unit, there were no more freeze incidents and this covered a period of nearly 3 weeks!

When I discovered I got 0x0255 around 3 AM on Wednesday 7/16, with its laundry list of fixes, some very specific, some a little more general like "stability", I put it through it's paces for about an hour trying various menu functions and moving around the program guide. I noticed right away that responsiveness of the unit was faster than I had experienced before the update.

After my little test session, I decided to plug the Ethernet cable back in around 5:30 PM. I went to On Demand and downloaded a movie without incident. I watched part of the movie and used the unit on various channels the rest of the evening without any issues. I powered the unit off as is my habit. When I got home from work on Thursday and checked the unit around 6:30 PM, I discovered that like so many times on 0x0231, it was frozen - no picture or sound output and wouldn't respond to power from remote or console. I did the RBR and it was fine for the rest of the night. I decided to leave the Ethernet cable plugged in to test what happens over the next couple days. It still responds to Power this morning.

Has anyone else had the freezing problem with their units and noticed that the problem does not occur when the Ethernet cable isn't plugged into the unit that they think is related to the software? Does anybody think that I actually have a defective box that is worth replacing? Any other suggestions (like trying the other Ethernet jack on the unit as stupid as that may sound)?

Any and all help is sincerely appreciated!
Best regards,
Wired

Later that evening:

Came home tonight to find the HR21-100 frozen again. I now have the Ethernet cable unplugged again and I expect that it won't freeze again as long as the cable is unplugged. I guess if I want to download something on-demand I'll have to plug the cable in until it's finished downloaded and then disconnect it so it doesn't eventually freeze. Can anybody help with the questions above?

Thanks again,

Wired


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## onebad93ta (Sep 28, 2007)

i have been having the same exact problem and same solution every time i leave Ethernet unplugged the box works great but plugged in locks up almost every 24 hours like clockwork. i have posted and new answers so for some reason people dont believe its related to the network cause they say they have issues with lock ups and no network but i feel this issue has to do with something especially since its actually 100% reliable in that it will freeze every time and by the way same setup here as far as model and software and in the beginning i went through 3 receivers cause dtv thought that was the issue and then i did some testing of my own and narrowed it down and have reported this to dtv and they say its not an issue but before i got this hr21 i had my hr20 which failed for another reason in same location networked and never locked up so please any input would be much appreciated


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

Periods are good things. 

Many people have reported a correlation between networking a DVR and lockups, not just you. An HP printer in the network is sometimes the cause. Others can help you here more than I.


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## onebad93ta (Sep 28, 2007)

sorry for the non puncuation but i dont usually but anyway i had first started reporting this problem back in april with no luck and no hp printer networked just a brother all in one but like i said hr20 worked fine


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## cstelter (Sep 20, 2007)

The network cable angle fits into my scenario somewhat. The unit that had the freeze twice has been on the lan for a good 8 months, but it is on the same switch as a recently-added Vista HTPC. I noticed that in browsing the network via Vista, I see my DVR's but I don't think I've ever seen them from my XPpro machines under the networking window. I've never tried to access them (unless I accidentally clicked on them once from the htpc. The perturbation of adding the Vista box is also timed right to have been part of the equation of my two recent freezes. 

But it's hard to say-- it only happened twice and hasn't happened in over a week now.

My timeline is:

~Jun 20, upgraded to 251 ( I could bee off a week or two on this date)
Jun 28, introduced Vista HTPC
Jul 11th & 13th lockups
Jul 17, upgraded to 254

If I get another lockup I'll certainly try to doublecheck the status of the HTPC while it is occurring. I do know that I was actively using the HTPC the two days it froze before because I kept switching over to it while I watied for my remote-presses to take effect on the DVR. Eventually I would be able to get the DVR to change to a SD channel and then I could reboot it, but both times I recall futzing with the HTPC while I waited.
--
Craig


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## DKPeppard (Feb 26, 2008)

*sigh*...I've been having this same problem too where our HR21-700 locks up about every 24 hours when the ethernet cable is plugged in. I was really hoping the 255 update would fix this, especially since I just got an email today touting ON Demand being fully available. 

I guess no On Demand for us yet. :nono2:  :nono:


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