# DVR playback choppy picture and audio!



## ELsolly (Mar 15, 2007)

Recently (over the past two weeks or so) I am experiencing choppy video and audio playback on HD recorded shows. This has never happened to me before on this consistent level 

Any ideas or solutions will be most appreciated.

Thank you

DirecTV HD DVR HR20-100 model


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## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

Does it happen on the same HD shows live; or is this only a playback of recorded material issue? If it occurs during live playback as well, then start by checking your signal levels as you may need to reailign your dish. Slight out of alignment problems will be experienced more on HD stations as 99 and 103 are significantly more critical.

If it only happens for playback and NOT during live transmissions, try a simple red button reboot of your receiver to see if that corrects the issue.

If the problem still persists a replacement may be necessary to resolve the issue.


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## pmayo2002 (Mar 30, 2002)

Thanks for positing -- I was going to do the same.

I don't think that you have a unit problem. I have same issue on 2 of 3 HR21. I have been gone for 2 weeks and these were my wife's complaints. Saw the recording and they definitely studdered and pixelate. 

I already had her reboot -- power off the systems. This morning (just home) I checked all sat signal strengths on both tuners all in the 90's.

The recordings that are in issue seem to be all HD.

Software is 0X368 --Today -- I just did the 0,2,4,6,8 to get a reload of software.


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## jmgriffith (Dec 27, 2009)

My DVR is doing the same thing. Slight stutter during live but really choppy with HD playback. Signal strengths are all in the 90's. DTV wants me to format the drive but there are things on there we don't want to get rid of. They thought I might be able to connect an external drive and pull stuff off but that doesn't seem to be the case, or so I've read. Can I actually pull the data off, format the drive, then put the data back on?


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## tick221 (Jan 12, 2008)

sorry to bump and old thread but did anyone find a solution to this problem. My HR-21 is stuttering during playback and using the buffer. I cant use my dvr as a dvr


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## pmayo2002 (Mar 30, 2002)

Have same problem and D* CSR gave me a runaround and would not send a replacement receiver


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## richzilla (Jan 18, 2008)

Having the exact same issue with my HR20-700 w/0x368

Live TV has no issues however when using any sort of buffer or when recording 2 @ the same time seems to make this issue worse. 

It's unwatchable at this point IMO.


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## Gloria_Chavez (Aug 11, 2008)

Occasionally have same problem on R16-300. About 10 times over the last year, including having to watch the season finale of Mad Men in 54 minutes, instead of the allotted 61 minutes. I imagine it's caused by some bad hard drive fragments. Not enough of a hassle to ask for a new receiver, however.


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## tick221 (Jan 12, 2008)

I was able to solve this and it is a software problem, I forced a CE update and everything is working fine now. No more buffer stuttering and I can use my dvr as a dvr again.


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## CLAUDE5382 (Sep 4, 2008)

tick221 said:


> I was able to solve this and it is a software problem, I forced a CE update and everything is working fine now. No more buffer stuttering and I can use my dvr as a dvr again.


How did you force the update?


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## cygnusloop (Jan 26, 2007)

Start here:

http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=171

and :welcome_s to DBSTalk, or at least congrats on your first post.


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## jefe1018 (Sep 2, 2007)

I was having the same problem with my HR20-100 a couple of days ago. Then it suddenly rebooted on its own and up came a message saying my storage device suffered a "critical failure". Long story short, DVR would never boot back up and I had to get a replacement. I lost about 40 hours of programming I hadn't watched yet. My advice, watch any programs on your hard drive you really want to see ASAP.


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## Mailyfesux (Jan 15, 2010)

I have the same issue too with an hr21-700! When watching tv normally everything plays fine, but when watching recordings, recordings are distorted and pixelated and freezes occasionally. I've called directv regarding this issue and none of their troubleshooting steps worked. They suggested that I buy the protection plan and request service(ridiculous!!), which will be my last resort. :[

Can anybody else confirm that using the CE update fixes the issue? Are there any other ways to fix this problem?


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## richzilla (Jan 18, 2008)

Funny thing is that I tried the forced update last night as well..and so far it seems to be working. 

Recorded the Bulls game last night and it worked fine. 

Fingers crossed.


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## tivoboy (Aug 16, 2006)

I continue to have this "issue" where it will stutter and audio drop out, and then come back. SOMETIMES if I click PAUSE and let it sit for a few minutes, then press play it will ALWAYS make it through whatever section was showing the problem but then it starts again five minutes later with a drop out.

If I reboot the system, it works PERFECTLY for about a day, and then starts exhibiting the problem again. If I had to guess, the problems STARTs when I try to watch something while something ELSE is recording, but I haven't done an exact test of it to know for sure.

I seem to have gotten the latest update back in October, WHEN is a new one coming.

Is the CE update something that everyone can do?


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## richzilla (Jan 18, 2008)

anyone can force an update. 

long story short red button reset then as it starts up hit 02468 on your remote. you will know it works if the software download starts. 

I already had the most current update from october and re downloaded/installed the same version. 

Think of it like reinstalling windows....sometimes the OS will start acting goofy and the only thing you can do to fix it is to reformat and refresh your windows install. 

This is kind of the same deal....software was acting goofy and we refreshed the install and it fixed the problem.


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

richzilla said:



> anyone can force an update.
> 
> long story short red button reset then as it starts up hit 02468 on your remote. you will know it works if the software download starts.
> 
> ...


Except that windows resides on your hard drive, therefore it is possible that the actual files get corrupted. The DVR hardware resides in firmware, and there is no way for it to get corrupted. Restarting the DVR is like rebooting a PC and will help if something has gotten corrupted in memory. However, redownloading the software is unlikely to do anything that the restart itself did not do.


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## tivoboy (Aug 16, 2006)

richzilla said:


> anyone can force an update.
> 
> long story short red button reset then as it starts up hit 02468 on your remote. you will know it works if the software download starts.


I've tried forcing this update, or re-install a couple of times but it doesn't seem to take? Nothing happens except the normal startup?


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## richzilla (Jan 18, 2008)

DogLover said:


> Except that windows resides on your hard drive, therefore it is possible that the actual files get corrupted. The DVR hardware resides in firmware, and there is no way for it to get corrupted. Restarting the DVR is like rebooting a PC and will help if something has gotten corrupted in memory. However, redownloading the software is unlikely to do anything that the restart itself did not do.


Well put....that's true...I was mistaken... by the way my dvr has gone to **** again...lol Lasted about a day  Not happy...with about 5 things I wanted to record tomorrow....NFL / Supercross / 24 / etc.....wonder if I can get my dvr fee refunded since I basically don't have one now...lol


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## o2manyfish (Oct 22, 2007)

Wanted to join this thread as I am having the same problems. 

When it first started it was during the playback of HD materials. Dropping audio constantly (60 percent) and the video was stuttering. Restarting the the program got me different audio drop outs. 

If I reset the receiver I could plaback the same recording without any audio or video issues. I had this quite a bit with the World Rally Championships on HDNET, Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters. 

However playback of SD recording had no problem. 

I then discovered that If I want to use double play, doubleplay worked fine, still I started pausing one of the streams. Then both would audio drop and video stagger. 
If I keep both double plays at the live point - they both play smoothly. 

Live viewing of the stream is no problem. 

Hardware configuration has been without change for over 2 years. And double play worked flawlessly when it first came out. 

The fact that originally programs would playback error free with a reboot leads me to believe this is a software issue. 

In the past 2 weeks it has gotten much worse, and the rebooting technique is less effective. But playback of SD is alway glitch free. 

My Harddrive is never less than 60% available.


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## AntonyB (May 2, 2008)

o2manyfish said:


> Wanted to join this thread as I am having the same problems.
> 
> When it first started it was during the playback of HD materials. Dropping audio constantly (60 percent) and the video was stuttering. Restarting the the program got me different audio drop outs.
> 
> ...


Do you notice any audible increase in hard disk drive activity when the stuttering occurs? You may need to get close to the DVR to listen, depending on your model and setup. If yes, you may find this thread interesting: "HR2x/R22 0x368: Is your Hard Drive loud?" http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=168109


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## richzilla (Jan 18, 2008)

I gave up today and had a replacement sent. I've had enough. The last straw was last night it butchered 24 to the point it was unwatchable even after multiple red button resets. 

On the plus side Dtv sent a replacement out today and with any luck I should have it up and running by the weekend. 

Now I feel like a tool for trying so long to fix this thing...should have chucked it a week ago.


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## cmalk98 (Jan 21, 2010)

I recently got directv this past December. I have an HR-22 HD DVR receiver with the choice extra package. I also get Starz and Showtime. I have noticed from the beginning of my service the audio on some of the channels seems to drop or mute for about a second or half a second. The video doesn't seem to be affected. Also, the audio cut outs only seem to be on hd channels. Speed (607) seems to be the worst out of all the channels. It also cuts out on discovery and A&E. I have checked the signal strength and the majority of the transponders are 90 or above with a few in the mid 80's so I don't think it is related to poor signal strength. Initially I thought my sony A/V receiver was bad but after reading some of the other posts I don't believe it is on my end. I have even tried hooking the DTV box directly to my TV via HDMI and the audio cut outs are still there? It seems to me there are some audio issues with how DTV is broadcasting their HD channels. Any suggestions on how I could resolve the issue would be greatly appreciated as this is very frustrating.


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## hdtvluvr (Mar 2, 2008)

It's not just how D* is broadcasting their HD channels, I get dropouts on recordings of the locals OTA.


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