# 6.3b is here!!



## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

According to our friends over at tivocommunity.com, 6.3 was released today. Any release notes Earl?


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## Juppers (Oct 26, 2006)

Been playing with it for about 10 minutes so far. The searching for signal during OTA channel changes is still there. Too early to say if the audio dropout problem is still there or not, or any of the recording problems that 63a had. Would love to know if this is to fix all the issues or just the OTA ones.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Release Notes:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=72826


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## Que (Apr 15, 2006)

Nice!!!

[edit] I don't have it yet. I'm sure it will be soon!


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## Ken671 (Dec 12, 2006)

When will the upgrade be available. I hope this will fix the tuning problems I'm having with my HR10-250. :nono:


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## bearmur (Oct 7, 2006)

Got the upgrade after phone call this AM.


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## jeffloby (Dec 3, 2005)

I received it today as well. Got a HR10-250 yesterday from Directv under their protection plan and it had 3.1 on it. Since yesterday it has updated to 6.3a and the to 6.3b.


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## bachj (Sep 24, 2006)

jeffloby said:


> I received it today as well. Got a HR10-250 yesterday from Directv under their protection plan and it had 3.1 on it. Since yesterday it has updated to 6.3a and the to 6.3b.


how can i check my HR250 to see if I recieved the 6.3b update?? thanks for any help


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## Groundhog45 (Nov 10, 2005)

bachj said:


> how can i check my HR250 to see if I recieved the 6.3b update?? thanks for any help


> Hit the DirecTV button
> Messages & Settings
> System Information

That will show the software version.

I had my HR10 phone home Wednesday evening while I was waiting for the HR20 download window and got the "Pending Restart" message. A quick restart and now it's running v6.3b. I hope this fixes everything. 

GH


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## videojanitor (Oct 8, 2006)

I got it -- upgraded my machine from 3.1.5f right to 6.3b. So far so good, no audio dropouts on FOX.


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## stogie5150 (Feb 21, 2006)

Got it here in South Louisiana, last night I forced a call and rebooted...I haven't checked FOX yet....I only had one problem with reciever locking up but FOX OTA was almost unwatchable due to sound hccups. When my wife noticed, I knew it was a problem.....


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## FastEddie (Sep 18, 2006)

I still can't get it and I have forced the phone call for 3 day now. Although I do have a HR-20 now and may be giving up the 10-250.


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## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

I just forced the download last night by running the add63.tcl script on all of my HDTivos. I checked the SwSystem info this morning and 6.3b was present on all three units. I have no intention of upgrading any of them to 6.3b yet because I want to see how well the bug fix works for the audio dropouts. I do plan on installing a clean 6.3a image to a drive and then hack it so I can run the add63.tcl script. My plan is to upgrade it manually and then make a backup of the clean, unhacked 6.3b image.


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## videojanitor (Oct 8, 2006)

Not definitive proof, but I've logged about three hours of viewing of my FOX affiliate, and so far (crossing fingers), no audio drops. Previously, with 6.3a, I'd get 'em about every five minutes.


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## mkinkade (Dec 8, 2006)

Does anyone know if the offsets for the encryption and 30second hacks have changed in 6.3b?


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## musiclover408 (Mar 16, 2006)

Is there ANY way to get the update to 6.3 without a phone line!?!?! All I have is a cell phone! I'm still sitting on the old 3.1.5 on 2 working HR10's.


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## FastEddie (Sep 18, 2006)

Still no 6.3b for me ...wonder whats going on?


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## videojanitor (Oct 8, 2006)

I received it on machine in the middle of last week, but nothing on the other. Go figure.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

musiclover408 said:


> Is there ANY way to get the update to 6.3 without a phone line!?!?! All I have is a cell phone! I'm still sitting on the old 3.1.5 on 2 working HR10's.


No. But you can take your HR10 to a friend/neighbor's house and use their phone line. Of course, there's no way to know if your particular HR10's Receiver ID has been enabled to receive the software update. My HR10 still hasn't gotten 6.3b.


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## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

Mine haven't gotten 6.3b either. I checked a couple times this weekend, then remembered they don't do them on weekends? Still waiting patiently.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

mkinkade said:


> Does anyone know if the offsets for the encryption and 30second hacks have changed in 6.3b?


According to DBD none of the offsets have changed.


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## mkinkade (Dec 8, 2006)

I have the 6.3b version on my machine and tried manually updating my system to 6.3b. After rebooting my tivo reinstalled 6.3a and then rebooted into an unhacked 6.3a. I have rehacked my 6.3a os, but would like to go to 6.3b.
Has anyone heard of the 6.3b install not sticking?


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

I had the same issue today. Unplug your phone line or set "upgradesoftware=false" on 'bootpage' to prevent it reverting to 6.3a. This happens because your unit hasn't been authorized by the mothership to upgrade to 6.3b. So once you install 6.3b manually and reboot/phone call you get 6.3a reinstalled because that's what you're suppose to have. PITA. I now need to upgrade to 6.3b manually again and make sure upgradesoftware is set correctly so I can stay on 6.3b.


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## RandCfilm (Aug 17, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> I now need to upgrade to 6.3b manually again and make sure upgradesoftware is set correctly so I can stay on 6.3b.


Or you can be lazy like me. Download the GZhpk-Series2 slice, extract the libhpkhl.so from /platform/lib/ 
Then go to /platform/lib directory
mv libhpkhl.so libhpkhl.so.63a
Then copy the new libhpkhl.so back, similar to doing tivoapp modification.
Reboot. 
I have been running like this since 12-13. It might not be so much as lazy but the last time I hosed my system by a stupid dd command to the wrong root partition. So this way I ensured I did not screw up again.


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## twaller (Dec 17, 2005)

Why isn't this "fix" rolled out nationwide? I can understand staggering a huge OS update (6.3a), but why stagger this bug fixer. It seems that it should be available to all boxes at once.


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## Lynskyn (Dec 17, 2005)

twaller said:


> Why isn't this "fix" rolled out nationwide? I can understand staggering a huge OS update (6.3a), but why stagger this bug fixer. It seems that it should be available to all boxes at once.


Amen to that. I have forced calls for several days and still have not received the update. It's ridiculous that I should even have to do that, especially since the audio dropouts issue is a major problem.


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## msmith (Apr 23, 2002)

Not here either. I got mine right at the end of the 6.3a rollout - I'm not looking forward to dropouts during the Christmas bowl week.


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

Because they don't want their CSRs to be inundated with phone calls. 6.3a was only supposed to be a "bug" fixer as well. You've seen how well that went.


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## bwaldron (Oct 24, 2005)

jdspencer said:


> Because they don't want their CSRs to be inundated with phone calls. 6.3a was only supposed to be a "bug" fixer as well. You've seen how well that went.


As far as the calls to CSRs go...that doesn't stop D* from regularly updating the software on the HR20--each version of which has its own associated issues--and pushing it out to all.

Yes, 6.3a was a bug fix, but the major issue(s) with 6.3a were part of 6.3 as well...which _was_ a relatively major upgrade.

EDIT: I received 6.3b last evening w/ a forced call. Hope everone else gets it soon as well!


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## bachj (Sep 24, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> I had the same issue today. Unplug your phone line or set "upgradesoftware=false" on 'bootpage' to prevent it reverting to 6.3a. This happens because your unit hasn't been authorized by the mothership to upgrade to 6.3b. So once you install 6.3b manually and reboot/phone call you get 6.3a reinstalled because that's what you're suppose to have. PITA. I now need to upgrade to 6.3b manually again and make sure upgradesoftware is set correctly so I can stay on 6.3b.


I have noticed that my machine has not recieved the 6.3b update....is there any simple way that I can make my machine load the new 6.3b update...and if so...is there an easy way somebody could explain to me how to do it step by step to a basic ordinary operator of a HR 10 like myself......Im having a heck of a time enjoying my CSI shows that are recorded OR even waching it live without having several audio dropouts during the show...I have noticed the drop outs only on Channel 6....I live in Beaverton, Oregon...channel 6 is CBS I believe. Thanks for you help


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

bachj said:


> I have noticed that my machine has not recieved the 6.3b update....is there any simple way that I can make my machine load the new 6.3b update...and if so...is there an easy way somebody could explain to me how to do it step by step to a basic ordinary operator of a HR 10 like myself......Im having a heck of a time enjoying my CSI shows that are recorded OR even waching it live without having several audio dropouts during the show...I have noticed the drop outs only on Channel 6....I live in Beaverton, Oregon...channel 6 is CBS I believe. Thanks for you help


Nope. Many of us are still waiting. DirecTV trickles down these updates over several weeks. Supposedly all HR10's should have 6.3b by mid-January.

What you can do is force a phone call from your DVR every evening. Normally the HR10's only phone in every 10-days, but your DVR might be authorized for the update before that 10-day window is up. Under "Messages & Setup" -> "Settings" -> "Phone Settings" you can "Connect to DVR Service Now" and your DVR will phone home. If you're lucky, when it's completed, you'll see "Pending Restart". This means that your DVR is ready to install 6.3b. Otherwise you'll see "Success", which means you're DVR was not yet authorized for the update.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

There is no simple way to manually load 6.3b. It involves hacking the unit and even beyond that, upgrading a unit to 6.3b that doesn't want it yet is even more difficult.

My units think they should still have 6.3a and with 6.3b loaded they are calling twice a day and rebooting every night. While on 6.3a they were calling in every 10 days.


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## RandCfilm (Aug 17, 2006)

bachj said:


> Im having a heck of a time enjoying my CSI shows that are recorded OR even waching it live without having several audio dropouts during the show


Even with the upgrade to 6.3b your shows recorded under 6.3a will still have the audio drop outs on those recordings. You could manually replace the libhpkhl.so in the /platform/lib/ as I did, see my post earlier in this thread. Attached is the 6.3b file


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## leesweet (Jul 15, 2003)

I was thinking the same thing about why in heck this bug fix wasn't blasted national immediately or after a few days. (Neither of my HR10s have it after daily calls...) I think the answer is in another of D*'s 'answers'.

See Earl's release notes. Since neither 6.3 or 6.3a went totally national (all boxes were NOT authorized to get it), I assume they assumed they had to stagger the rollout for b also.

I thought 6.3a was out there long enough to go full national/all boxes, but who knows how many calendar days the whole process takes to be 'done'.

Ugh. I watched a Seinfeld Suggestion last night and it was worse than any House or other Fox OTA show I normally watch: audio crap-out every three minutes.


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## mrhoads (Dec 25, 2006)

I still don't have 6.3b. Is there anything I can do other than wait. The dropouts are driving me crazy.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

mrhoads said:


> I still don't have 6.3b. Is there anything I can do other than wait. The dropouts are driving me crazy.


Nope. I don't have it yet, either. Supposedly all updates will be completed by mid-January.


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## SFNSXguy (Apr 17, 2006)

I received 6.3b last night.


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## leesweet (Jul 15, 2003)

mrhoads said:


> I still don't have 6.3b. Is there anything I can do other than wait. The dropouts are driving me crazy.


Unfortunately, those that haven't/don't want to hack their boxes are restricted into doing a daily call. Strange thing. I have two HR10s (as you can see below). One was upgraded to 2x400 way back. It somehow calls about daily. The other had to be C&DE'd because I f'd up an upgrade, and had to install the original drive from the other box (thus needing the C&DE, and thus downloading 6.3a over the phone line taking over an hour...  ).

[If you're confused by the sig, I later used the Weaknees tools to copy the contents of that drive to a 500, and that's where that box is now, and is doing fine, except for the weird daily schedule (which was doing it on the 250). BTW, I'm just starting to look into what's needed to 'mod' the box for net access, but I'm inclined to wait until it's stable on 'b'.)]

Interesting point is that this C&DE'd box is now somehow set to 'daily call' only every 3-4 or so days. Why would these be different? Both started with 3.1.5, although one was who knows what early 3.1.x and the other (the C&DE'd one) was 3.1.5f.

As I've said above somewhere, I've been calling daily on both, and no joy getting 'b'. I suspect it's like 'a' and I'm in the middle/late part of the list, meaning perhaps around 1/5-1/10? Who knows...

Yeah, the dropouts suck. I hope the mentioned log/reboot issues go away by the time we get the update!


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

While I manually upgraded both of mine to 6.3b (they are hacked so I can manually ran the process via telnet) they were both calling in twice a day and rebooting every night because they were "suppose" to have 6.3a and wanted to downgrade to that version. Three days ago one of my units (the oldest) must have gotten it's "okay to upgrade message" and it has stopped calling in and rebooting daily. The 2nd unit is still following that procedure. Looks like 6.3a->6.3b is being rolled out much slower than 3.1.5->6.3 or 6.3->6.3a.


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## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

Sounds like they're still using us as beta testers and are rolling out the upgrade slowly in case any more problems get reported early on.

Upgrading a hacked unit from 6.3a to 6.3b is relatively simple with the right tools. While I hesitate to recommend this method, I use it all the time because it's quick and painless and I already know what has to be done to recover from a bad hack installation. I use the Zipper after manually initiating the 6.3b upgrade. While I haven't actually hacked a 6.3b unit yet, I already have the necessary info required to patch the tivoapp file. I have upgraded one unit from 6.3a to 6.3b and it's pretty quick and easy using the same method used to go from 6.3 to 6.3a, which has been well documented in various forums.

I don't generally recommend using the Zipper because too many newbies look at it as a shortcut for hacking their Tivos and get completely befuddled when it doesn't work like they thought. I see it as a tool that expedites the hacking process, but only after understanding how it works. I can upgrade a HDTivo and rehack it in under 30 minutes, most of which is spent waiting for the HDTivo to reboot several times. If you've already hacked your Tivo manually then you should have a pretty good idea what it's all about. The Zipper just lets you get there a lot faster.

I haven't upgraded any of my HDTivos to 6.3b yet because I'm waiting for the dust to settle and see if there are still any serious bugs present. The audio dropouts is the most serious issue I'm concerned about and it appears that Tivo has rectified that in this release from the feedback I've read so far. The other problems never really plagued me and I believe some of them may be due to hard drive issues, sucvh as bad clusters and impending drive failures, that have nothing to do with the software update itself.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

I agree with everything you say Captian. 6.3b hasn't shown any problems yet on either of my units, but then again I was on 6.3a for quite some time before I started noticing the FOX dropouts.

FYI, I' sure you are aware but the 6.3a -> 6.3b tivoapp files are the same, patch locations didn't change. I keep an original and patched version of tivoapp on one of my servers and in this case simply FTPed it to the 6.3b units.


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## captain_video (Nov 22, 2005)

Yeah, I noticed that the patch locations haven't changed, although there is a new patch for HMO/HME that wasn't available until recently. I haven't done my homework on that one yet so I need to find out what it's all about before I start patching my HDTivos for it. 

My main PC went belly up right before Christmas and I've been going through withdrawals while waiting for a new mainboard to arrive. I've got tons of HD content that I've been itching to author to DVD-R now that I have my new HD-DVD player. I was able to author a couple of discs right before it died and the process works great using Ulead Movie Factory 5. The whole process is discussed over at the AVS Forums in the HD DVD Software discussion forum.

I'm still at 3.1.5f and would like to upgrade to 6.3b if it looks likes it's stable enough and the audio dropouts have been fixed. I still get lots of small glitches with 3.1.5f that are mostly a minor annoyance but can also cause problems for extracting and burning shows to DVD. I'll probably upgrade one of my HDTivos to 6.3b and see how it goes before I do the others, but I need a working PC to be able to process the files after extraction.


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## RandCfilm (Aug 17, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> Three days ago one of my units (the oldest) must have gotten it's "okay to upgrade message" and it has stopped calling in and rebooting daily. The 2nd unit is still following that procedure.


Wolffpack,
My units try to call in several times a day. Try this to see if it stops your daily call problem, it has worked for me. I glanced thru the tcphonehome file (I believe that was the on) and noticed that it looks at the last successful call date compared to todays date. I modified fakecall to advance the dates, rebooted and stopped the daily calls. NOTE: The number of days in advance you run fakecall_plus is the number of days before the unit will start to try to call in again, even if you run fakecall_plus on a daily basis. I do believe one month in advance is the maximum, I run mine as fakecall_plus 21. Giving me 21 days, but I try to reboot my units at least once every two weeks.
Remember you have to reboot once you have ran fakecall_plus or the unit will still try to call at the next scheduled time regardless of what TivoWebPlus shows from the info screen.


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