# MRV problems when ICK enabled



## fluser (Jul 7, 2010)

Ok, I got MRV installed with D* a week or so ago, and had the normal problems you have when I didn't know about this forum, ie, no ICK added to the order, even though I said I wanted everything for multi room viewing including Directv2PC.

The first installer had been on the job for less than 4 months and had a limited knowledge about MRV, and it didn't go well. The 2 HR20-100's wouldn't cooperate with the new H24's.

Called D* and got a different installer who fixed almost everything. Switched the HR20's for HR24-500's, switched the LNB5 for a Swm LNB3 (trees in the way for the spanish sat's), but he didn't have a PI for the ICK, it was not on the install sheet. He did leave me a DECA left over from the HR20, so all I was missing was a PI. Ordered it from Solid Signal after I couldn't get D* to understand what I wanted, and an installer didn't call back.

So now I have a DECA network with 2) HR24-500's 2)H24-100's and a H23-600 with a DECA hanging off of it. It is all connected via DECA using 169.254.x.x IP address and work good. MRV on all receivers.

I then hooked up the extra DECA with the PI and connected it to the SWiM8 and the router, a Linksys G band that I've had for a few years and has worked flawlessly. It assigns the 192.168.1.x IP's and shows MRV, then about 5 minutes later all the receivers start dropping off MRV. All lights on both DECA units show all green. I can connect to the internet and download app's and stuff, but not do any MRV. Restoring defaults and connecting works for a few minutes, then they drop off again. Disconnecting the DECA from the router and going back to the 169.254 and everything is fine for MRV again, but of course no internet.

Any Ideas what is up and why I can't get this to work?


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## jpitlick (Apr 19, 2007)

Rerun the Network setup on all of your receivers and they should get IP addresses from your router in the 192.168.1.x range and all should work.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

I'd try a couple of things.
Since you have a DECA on your H23-600, I'd swap this one with the one on the router.
I'd also pull the power on the router for a couple of mins, to let it reset. Then power it back up and reboot each receiver.


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## fluser (Jul 7, 2010)

Good Idea about switching the DECA's. I will try that along with a reboot.

I did do a network reset on all receivers after the ICK install, and it only work for a few minutes, if at all.

I'll let you know if it is any different...


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

I assume that when a DECA connected to the router, you are using DHCP for the router to assign addresses? 

Check that the router is setup with enough addresses in its DHCP pool for all your hardware. There is usually a setting that will limit the amount of time a device can have a DHCP address. (I think my router calls it a DHCP lease.) I usually set that to as long as the router will allow.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Don't dismiss what a good router reset can do too.


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## fluser (Jul 7, 2010)

I checked the IP addresses in each receiver, and each is different, so no problems there. I have not reset my router for a couple of months, so that will be done tonight for sure...


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## fluser (Jul 7, 2010)

Well, switched DECA units between Internet and H23-600 but left internet disconnected for a while. Everything was good on 169.254 APIPA network for past couple of days. No disconnects and MRV avail on all 5 receivers.

Plugged in Internet PI and DECA and did a RBR on all receivers and got 192.168.1.X IP addresses all in a row. Then 5 minutes later the H24 and H23 receivers get messages that the HR24's are not available. Internet and Apps avail on all receivers, but no MRV. All say connected and good, but still no MRV.

Did a right arrow and guide on H/HR24 receivers and all show good numbers, nothing below 233.

What could be wrong? I'm going from the 8 way splitter to the DECA and have the PI powering the DECA, and the cat5 wire into the router right there. If I disconnect the DECA and put the terminator cap back on I get 169.254.x.x addresses and MRV works fine.

This is driving me crazy.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

The DECA test is showing the RF side of the DECAs [and is good], but doesn't test the ethernet side.
I would try removing the DECA on the HR23 and see what happens. Then maybe change this back to the router and still leave the HR23 out of the loop.


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## GordonT (Apr 17, 2007)

fluser said:


> Well, switched DECA units between Internet and H23-600 but left internet disconnected for a while. Everything was good on 169.254 APIPA network for past couple of days. No disconnects and MRV avail on all 5 receivers.
> 
> Plugged in Internet PI and DECA and did a RBR on all receivers and got 192.168.1.X IP addresses all in a row. Then 5 minutes later the H24 and H23 receivers get messages that the HR24's are not available. Internet and Apps avail on all receivers, but no MRV. All say connected and good, but still no MRV.
> 
> ...


I have not heard of this test (see highlighted portion of your post) so I tried to do it on my HR24 but I must have not done it right. The right arrow takes me to TVAPPS but when I hit the guide button it seemed to stop the TVAPPS and simply brought up the guide. Can someone provide a little more information? (And yes, I have DECA/MRV).


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

GordonT said:


> I have not heard of this test (see highlighted portion of your post) so I tried to do it on my HR24 but I must have not done it right. The right arrow takes me to TVAPPS but when I hit the guide button it seemed to stop the TVAPPS and simply brought up the guide. Can someone provide a little more information? (And yes, I have DECA/MRV).


This only works on 24s. If you have one then you need to "keep at it" as the touch pad "buttons" can make it where to have to repeat this over & over until it works. "Both buttons at once".


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## -Draino- (May 19, 2008)

It seems that when you add Internet to the loop you are having problems. I would check to see if your router has a built in firewall. I'm thinking a router issue more than a DTV problem.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

-Draino- said:


> It seems that when you add Internet to the loop you are having problems. I would check to see if your router has a built in firewall. I'm thinking a router issue more than a DTV problem.


"Close"
I kind of doubt this is a firewall issue, since MRV doesn't go through the firewall.
It could be a router issue, since "routing" [traffic] is what it does.
It could also be the DECA bridging to the router, as we've seen with one other member here. This seems a bit like "chicken or egg", as it's either the router not doing its job, or the link to the router not doing it.


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## fluser (Jul 7, 2010)

The router is a Linksys WRT54GX2, and it is labeled with SRX200, it has MIMO. I've never had a problem with it, but who knows. I think I will try next taking the H23 out of the picture, then it will be 2 H24's and 2HR24-500's. We'll see what happens then.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

fluser said:


> The router is a Linksys WRT54GX2, and it is labeled with SRX200, it has MIMO. I've never had a problem with it, but who knows. I think I will try next taking the H23 out of the picture, then it will be 2 H24's and 2HR24-500's. We'll see what happens then.


I doubt it's the HR23, but "playing with" the DECAs [by leaving the 23 out of the loop] should give you some idea of what's going on.


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## tjbtexas (Nov 3, 2006)

Sorry for asking what maybe a dumb question. Is the DECA at the router installed correctly?


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## ciurca (Apr 14, 2009)

tjbtexas said:


> Sorry for asking what maybe a dumb question. Is the DECA at the router installed correctly?


Great question. Is the DECA power supply on the right connection on the DECA module, conversely is the "to receiver/IRD" connected to the splitter?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

ciurca said:


> Great question. Is the DECA power supply on the right connection on the DECA module, conversely is the "to receiver/IRD" connected to the splitter?


Since the DECA has a pigtail, it is kind of hard to connect it wrong to the PI.


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## fluser (Jul 7, 2010)

Yes, I believe I have it connected correctly. FWIW, I was cisco certified along with A+ and MCSE waaaay back with Windows 2000. Haven't kept certificates current, but I have kept up with things...

I'm going to work on it again tonight, as my wife was watching recorded shows and I didn't want to keep interupting to do resets and checking settings. She doesn't like that for some reason.


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

Just a theory here but we've had different f/w for MRV. Some versions seem to depend on the constant INTERNET connection (reason: IDK, validating all boxes within same subscriber network?). Momentarily dropping the INTERNET connection would flag MRV (requiring a restart since we no longer have a toggle like the beta opt in/out) while TV APPS and VOD would simply reconnect.

To duplicate this, I had defaulted the network settings on my HR22-100 and left it that way for a day. I lost TV APPS and VOD but quickly got those back with a "Connect" but no MRV, UPL or networked devices connected. I had to restart to get UPL & MRV back.

Odd results on another occasion last night, I had accidently bumped the broadband DECA enough to interrupt the INTERNET connection altogether. Reseating ETHERNET cable brought connection back but did not effect MRV. Maybe the scheme here was a simultaneous loss of INTERNET connection while the first example included only one DVR dropping connection.

If you've ever seen the pop-up about the Server has disconnected while you're viewing an un-interrupted MRV stream only to see p/b fail when you acknowledge the pop-up pasted on your screen, this is part of the problem. The router has been faulted in the past (replacing it resolved the issue). I'm inclined to think there are other variables that contribute, for example, DHCP routing schemes, static IPs, (basically firewall & IP settings but the biggest question, IMO, is the router's DHCP lease renew procedure both with ISP and LAN devices.

I think it's best to use DHCP routing. If that proves problematic, try static IPs but make sure the IPs don't conflict and that the Directv boxes show static IP in status information. It's been suggested that static IPs should be assigned outside the DHCP range and recorded for reference.

Maybe a hard reset/default of router would resolve some problems. And some routers will allow you to adjust the DHCP lease renewal period within your ISPs DHCP renewal period.


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## DrummerBoy523 (Jan 9, 2007)

fluser said:


> Yes, I believe I have it connected correctly. FWIW, I was cisco certified along with A+ and MCSE waaaay back with Windows 2000. Haven't kept certificates current, but I have kept up with things...
> 
> I'm going to work on it again tonight, as my wife was watching recorded shows and I didn't want to keep interupting to do resets and checking settings. She doesn't like that for some reason.


I'm anxious to see if you ever found the answer to your problem. I too have the same problem.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

I endorse setting static IPs on everything on my network for everything except 'transit' users. A dhcp client can request or try to renew it's address for some reason too frequently and during this negotiation it drops its connectivity -- some routers also have problems with frequent requests.

As mentioned above, assign these UNIQUE addresses outside of the dhcp 'pool'. My dvrs are 192.168.20.95, 96, 97, 98, 99. Dhcp pool on the router is 100-150. And I never use 192.168.1.xx because of VPN connectivity.

Keep a notepad file or a notebook of devices, addresses, and other things like DNS, default IPs, Usernames / passwords. It makes it much easier to troubleshoot 6 months later!


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## Eskimo (Aug 2, 2010)

dennisj00 said:


> Keep a notepad file or a notebook of devices, addresses, and other things like DNS, default IPs, Usernames / passwords. It makes it much easier to troubleshoot 6 months later!


x2!

Also, make note of what things default to when reset... (both their IP, and the admin username/pw). This saved my butt when I had to do a hard reset on my router, as I like to use the 192.168.100.XXX range on my network, but after the hard reset, the router defaulted back to a different IP range.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

The alternative is to search for that information on the net. . . but guess what! If it's your router, you don't have internet access!

In general, any 'black box' with a reset button, routers, wireless access points, print servers, smart switches, etc. will have default settings like IP, a username / password that needs to be logged locallly.


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## eric_n_dfw (Aug 2, 2010)

I am seeing the same thing with a pair of new HR24's, wired up as in this:









I just did a menu reset of both and it's working, but it's only been a few minutes...


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## DrummerBoy523 (Jan 9, 2007)

eric_n_dfw said:


> I am seeing the same thing with a pair of new HR24's, wired up as in this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


the menu resets will work, but if there is a bigger problem you will see it crop up again.

today I received a new DECA unit for my ICK. I replaced the existing DECA with the new one and brought the router connection back into play. With the old DECA at my router, I would lose the playlist from my HR21 to my HR24 within hours. So far so good today - but the proof will be over 24 hours.

If you continue to have problems, I would try eliminating the ICK DECA and terminating that line. Reboot your 24s and see what happens. Do they maintain connection or not? If so, your ICK DECA is probably the culprit or your router is.


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## DrummerBoy523 (Jan 9, 2007)

eric_n_dfw said:


> I am seeing the same thing with a pair of new HR24's, wired up as in this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


also, can I ask where you get the graphics in order to do your system diagram?


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

DrummerBoy523 said:


> also, can I ask where you get the graphics in order to do your system diagram?


I did the diagram.  I used images from here & Solid Signal. I'd pull up a picture, hit the 'Print Screen' key, paste the image to MS Paint, crop out the needed part, & drew lines with MS Paint.


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## eric_n_dfw (Aug 2, 2010)

eric_n_dfw said:


> I just did a menu reset of both and it's working, but it's only been a few minutes...


2 days later and things seem to still be working fine after that restart.


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## eric_n_dfw (Aug 2, 2010)

DrummerBoy523 said:


> also, can I ask where you get the graphics in order to do your system diagram?


That graphic is linked from someone else - http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w176/sigmaace01/working.jpg

Found via a Google Image Search when I was looking for clip art to form my own diagram - it perfectly represented my setup so I just linked to it (sorry if I've not given credit to whomever the original author is).


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## blade (Sep 20, 2006)

I too was having same issues as OP, initial installer failed to bother to connect any type of ICK...just said I can use existing powerline converters and plug into second port on boxes. 

So had another installer come out as MRV wasn't working (wouldn't show up on all boxes or certain ones kept failling off). He fixed that by doing network setup connections on the boxes that were failing and then that fixed that problem but said I needed a DECA hooked up to router (which I knew from reading this). He didn't have one with him so he had them send me one and did run a splitter/coax to right next to my router. Got the DECA a couple days later but no power supply so I couldn't do anything as it would get no power.

I call D* and they tell me they shouldn't have left without installing it right and that they couldn't order just a power supply and that there are 2 different kinds of DECAs and the one I was sent was just the regular (green sticker) and I needed a broadband DECA and now I have a scheduled appt for another installer to come install that. They did waive the $25 fee that they were supposed to charge for the ICK and the installer. 

I will let you know what becomes of this after the installer comes this afternoon. Apparently what i was told as I was arguing with the phone rep was that I needed the Broadband DECA as it works better at separating the internet from the the MRV cloud. So hopefully I can finally be done with this setup once and for all. I will just keep my powerline converters hooked up separately so I can connect to PS3 and blu-ray player and keep them off the DECA network so as to keep the install clean.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

fluser said:


> The router is a Linksys WRT54GX2, and it is labeled with SRX200, it has MIMO. I've never had a problem with it, but who knows. I think I will try next taking the H23 out of the picture, then it will be 2 H24's and 2HR24-500's. We'll see what happens then.


Can't remember where I saw it posted, but someone else with an older Linksys had to up the # of simultaneous connections his router allowed. Not sure where to find it, but I'd start by looking at the router's DHCP setup screen, to see if this may be your problem. If so, could be an easy fix.

EDIT: Found it here.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

blade said:


> Apparently what i was told as I was arguing with the phone rep was that I needed the Broadband DECA as it works better at separating the internet from the the MRV cloud.


"Apparently" they mixed up two line items, one being a DECA and the other being [the same] DECA and the PI for it.


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