# New Update WHEN ?????



## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

Just checking in as I havent been around much due to my love/hate relationship with my R-15. Every 3-4 weeks I switch from using my R-10 to R-15 as my main receiver and the R-15's turn is about due.

Any word on when the next update will be and/or what it will fix or add ?


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

We I talked to D* last week. The DVR tech said one was suppose to be out within the next two weeks. Not sure if that's right but that's what they told me.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

The Tech wasn't wrong... 
There is no set date though.


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## morgantown (Nov 16, 2005)

Earl Bonovich said:


> The Tech wasn't wrong...
> There is no set date though.


Score one for the Techs!

They get picked on so much (deservedly so in instances) it is noice to see a good comment.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Sorry but I don't believe anything a tech has to say anymore from D*. I was told the series link problem where it records all showings of programs would be fixed by a download end of January, still waiting.


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## sjniedz (Feb 11, 2006)

So...does anyone know what we might be expecting in this release?


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

It's not just a tech telling you. It's Earl and he has a secret insider thats for higher up at DirecTV


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

All I can add is this....Why do we need any upgrade if we can't see a difference in the operation of the R15? If nothing is fixed and nothing is added (oh remember we won't know either) then we have to figure out what has been fixed and what has been added. If we can't do that (based on past upgrades) why push the next upgrade?


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

If the box functions better why do you need to know? I mean if you want to keep having issues with your DVR we can ask earl to have them flag your account to never get upgrades again.  lol


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

This release is different then the lasts ones.

There are at least two (if not more) VERY noticeable changes to the system.
Along with a variety of not so noticeable corrections.

Once it is confirmed that is has "released", I will post the unofficial Release Notes.


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## Marcus S (Apr 23, 2002)

Thanks Earl, at least D* is moving forward with the R15 updates, I can't say that about the E* 921. Moving towards discontinued with significant bugs remaining and E* wants to charge $99 after paying retail for the 921 for the ViP622. I can only say still I have both because I still have grandfathered all DNS nets with E*, but it's just not worth it with E* any more. My primary subscription is with D* with partial DNS.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Clint Lamor said:


> If the box functions better why do you need to know? I mean if you want to keep having issues with your DVR we can ask earl to have them flag your account to never get upgrades again.  lol


Have you noticed a difference in the upgrades we've received? There still are the shows that are in your TDL hours before a show and end up not recorded with nothing mentioned in history. I see more freezes in the morning that I did before the last upgrade. As MYVOD get's over 50% full the unit gets real slow.


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## Kichigai (Mar 21, 2006)

ok Earl, spill the "unoffical" info....

we promise not to get too excited over anything you tell us

PLEASE


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Alright... for those of you that want to still wait and see.... don't click the spoiler button



Spoiler



Yah Right..... Homie don't think so...

But I can tell you there are more stability, series link, guide, and caller id fixes in it


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## syphix (Jun 23, 2004)

You're such a tease, Earl.... Me likey!! GREAT improvements!!


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Alright... for those of you that want to still wait and see.... don't click the spoiler button
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Any word on the RF remote capability? Maybe once it reboots it will go to Tivo Central. :eek2:


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

I think the first thing fixed should be the stability and freezing issues. Next would be fixing the SL's THEN adding new features.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

As far as I know... RF is not included in this release.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

Bobman said:


> I think the first thing fixed should be the stability and freezing issues. Next would be fixing the SL's THEN adding new features.


I think they should squeeze in both or you may never see anything new... how about support for an external hard drive or the ability to connect ot external devices? I would rather see some of this come into play, the box will never be perfect but if it can do more I can more easily accept it's short comings. :grin:


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> Have you noticed a difference in the upgrades we've received? There still are the shows that are in your TDL hours before a show and end up not recorded with nothing mentioned in history. I see more freezes in the morning that I did before the last upgrade. As MYVOD get's over 50% full the unit gets real slow.


I think I have had 1 show flat out ever missed, I don't get lockups on my R15 outside of maybe a couple of times and I have had no more issues then I had before the last update which we where told was to only fix shows not being recorded and nothing else.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Earl Bonovich said:


> The Tech wasn't wrong...
> There is no set date though.


It's nice to know that they are getting good info finally.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Alright... for those of you that want to still wait and see.... don't click the spoiler button
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Does this mean that they have increased or taken away the limits on the SL? I think/hope we'll at least be seeing a faster way to move the SL's around.


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## Palsgraf99 (Mar 17, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> This release is different then the lasts ones.
> 
> There are at least two (if not more) VERY noticeable changes to the system.
> Along with a variety of not so noticeable corrections.
> ...


I think it's pretty crappy of D* to not have official Release Notes for its software upgrades or an official forum for the sharing of information back and forth with its customers. I don't have any problem at all with helping them make their product better and in some ways even being a beta tester of sorts, but D* needs to come clean about it and have some form of official communication about updates and problems that need to addressed. The R15 is my first DVR, so I can't speak as to how other companies have handled updates to their DVR eqipment, but I cannot think of one piece of computer hardware or software that I own that gets updated without me being able to find official Release Notes on the upgrades.

On the upside, thanks to all of you here at DBSTALK for at least giving us this "unofficial" forum to hash out this stuff, and thank you Earl for using your inside connnection to our advantage.


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## matty8199 (Dec 4, 2005)

dodge boy said:


> I think they should squeeze in both or you may never see anything new... how about support for an external hard drive or the ability to connect ot external devices? I would rather see some of this come into play, the box will never be perfect but if it can do more I can more easily accept it's short comings. :grin:


What's the point to supporting an external hard drive when it doesn't record shows properly? You need to have recordings to fill a HD, no?


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

matty8199 said:


> What's the point to supporting an external hard drive when it doesn't record shows properly? You need to have recordings to fill a HD, no?


Since my last clear and delet all it runs tons better. Finally and now that nicer weather is here I need more time off the couch.... I need 1000 hrs capacity.


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## ad301 (Mar 30, 2004)

Clint Lamor said:


> I think I have had 1 show flat out ever missed, I don't get lockups on my R15 outside of maybe a couple of times and I have had no more issues then I had before the last update which we where told was to only fix shows not being recorded and nothing else.


Clint, to what would you attribute your singular success with this box? Do you use it as your main DVR? How many series do you have links for? Any auto-records? Do you ever try to rearrange the prioritizer? Do you babysit the todo list?

We've seen so many reports of problems that it would probably be very helpful to D* to know exactly how you are using the box which enables you to get such satisfactory results. The people who come on here, day after day, reporting on missed shows and other problems, would probably love to know what you're doing which prevents that from occuring to your box. You could be the key!


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

I currently have 36 SL's, I move things around in the prioritizer maybe once a week or so. No I do not babysit the ToDo list I know whats supposed to be recorded and when so I know if something is missing. Yes it is my main DVR now, I haven't had either of my TiVo's plugged in since I moved in Feb. No auto records either.

I honestly wish I knew what to attibute it to. I have my share of issues one of which is everything gets recorded and that causes it own set of problems. On thing is I have had mine since the first week they actually shipped, I have often wonderd if there was some sort of hardware change that causes many of these DVR's to have more issues.


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

Clint Lamor said:


> I don't get lockups on my R15 outside of maybe a couple of times


I would consider yourself "lucky" not that the R-15 is working correctly  or there would not be so many people here complaining. You can check back and I really like the R-15 and its features but to use it just gets plain frustrating.

I switch back and forth every 3-4 weeks between using the R-10 and R-15 as my main units and just yesterday was the R-15's turn to be the main unit. Two lockups in less than 24 hours with the R-15. All I did was try to create a SL from the program guide. I did let it sit for the required 5-10 minutes for it to unlock but both times it had to be reset.

I think this next update is going to be my "MAKE or BREAK" with the R-15. If after 5 months and 3-4-5 updates its still working this erratically I need to do some serious thought on if its worth it for me to continue to use the R-15 and have all these problems or just use my R-10 with no problems.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Clint Lamor said:


> I currently have 36 SL's, I move things around in the prioritizer maybe once a week or so. No I do not babysit the ToDo list I know whats supposed to be recorded and when so I know if something is missing. Yes it is my main DVR now, I haven't had either of my TiVo's plugged in since I moved in Feb. No auto records either.
> 
> I honestly wish I knew what to attibute it to. I have my share of issues one of which is everything gets recorded and that causes it own set of problems. On thing is I have had mine since the first week they actually shipped, I have often wonderd if there was some sort of hardware change that causes many of these DVR's to have more issues.


Do you have a phone line attached?


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

Bobman said:


> I would consider yourself "lucky" not that the R-15 is working correctly  or there would not be so many people here complaining. You can check back and I really like the R-15 and its features but to use it just gets plain frustrating.
> 
> I switch back and forth every 3-4 weeks between using the R-10 and R-15 as my main units and just yesterday was the R-15's turn to be the main unit. Two lockups in less than 24 hours with the R-15. All I did was try to create a SL from the program guide. I did let it sit for the required 5-10 minutes for it to unlock but both times it had to be reset.
> 
> I think this next update is going to be my "MAKE or BREAK" with the R-15. If after 5 months and 3-4-5 updates its still working this erratically I need to do some serious thought on if its worth it for me to continue to use the R-15 and have all these problems or just use my R-10 with no problems.


Actually I just created a new SL for a show on Speed called PINKS!, just found it in the guide hit R R and it popped up. I went to the prioritizer and then moved it round where I wanted it to be and left the menu. Everything worked very well.

I am inclined to believe there is something more then just luck going on here, something has to be different in all these units. As Earl has said in the past though we have a lot of people here who complain about them but then again we are all a very small subset of the general population. I wonder what the real problem per unit ratio is.

I have many moments when I get VERY frustrated with the box, most of the time I am satisfied with it though. I hope it gets better, as you said though it needs to be fixed or like many others I am going to have to switch to something else as I get very annoyed with having to delete shows it never should have recorded and those shows causing me other issues.

LOL I can't even say it was free because I never got my rebate check.


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

cabanaboy1977 said:


> Do you have a phone line attached?


No sir I don't, never have and most likely never will. I don't use PPV either so maybe this could be one of the things?


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Clint Lamor said:


> No sir I don't, never have and most likely never will. I don't use PPV either so maybe this could be one of the things?


That's what I'm starting to think it might be. Of the 3 R15, two have phone lines and ~41 SL each and the other is in the basement with 20-30 SL and no phone line. Our roommate says his in the basement hasn't locked up and works fine. The other 2 with phone lines are the ones with the issues and I have the CID's disabled on them. I think it's time for a poll.


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## eengert (Nov 16, 2005)

This next update will determine my R15's fate as well. I almost swapped it out for the R10 last night but then decided to give the next update a chance. I'm not holding my breath though.

I have only been using the R15 as a second DVR in the rec room, which we don't watch very much. But when I do want to use it, I would like it to perform basic functions, such as being able to view a recorded program. At least 50% of the time it won't even do that properly. I've only kept it active to keep an eye on the software since I believe it is the same code base being used for the HR20. But now that Verizon FIOS is being introduced in my area (Orchard Park, NY) sometime this year, I will almost certainly leave D* so I don't care anymore about the software - I just want a working DVR for my remaining few months with D*. I get frequent hangups, SL problems, etc with the R15 such that it is largely unuseable. Last night I tried to watch a recorded program. Getting the VOD was a chore in itself since the GUI was very unresponsive. After 2-3 minutes of coddling, I finally got the VOD list to display. Then I tried 3 separate times to get ANY recorded program to play with no luck. It always just returned me to the live channel. This is not the first time that has happened. And given that I only use it 3-4 times per month, it has a very high incident rate. A DVR is no good if you can't watch the programs it may or may not record. Heck, this unit sometimes doesn't even function well as a plain old receiver. I sometimes can't even change channels without a full reboot (and we know how painful that is).

So anyway, if this next update is out within 2 weeks and makes some major improvements I'll keep it active. Otherwise, I'm re-activating my spare R10 and not bothering with the R15 anymore. I'm just biding my time until FIOS TV is available anyway.


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## klwillis (Apr 11, 2006)

Bobman said:


> Just checking in as I havent been around much due to my love/hate relationship with my R-15. Every 3-4 weeks I switch from using my R-10 to R-15 as my main receiver and the R-15's turn is about due.
> 
> Any word on when the next update will be and/or what it will fix or add ?


I just got 10B8 I am not sure if this was already pushed out or is this a new update?


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

Clint Lamor said:


> I am inclined to believe there is something more then just luck going on here, something has to be different in all these units.


I love Pinks too, great show. I keep mine maxed out at 50 SL's full time but on my R-10 I have 112 SP's !! The R-15 needs to remove the limits soon.

Mine can lock up anywhere and everywhere since the last update. Since making it my main unit, in only two days I have had 3 lockups, the two I mentioned before and one this morning. All I did was hit the List button and click on a group to open it up to watch a show. The screen went all garbled and nothing worked not even the buttons on the unit.

Mine seems to be much worse since the last update. I unplugged it and did a 02468 incase my software got corrupted when I moved it.


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