# You Stupid Machine!



## audispartan (Sep 26, 2006)

I hate this thing! The two shows I want to record, Earl and The Office, on Series Link, are of course not recording. Dumb thing is locked up, too. 
All this because, according to D*, the software is not here yet. They said nothing I could do until it arrives for the eastern time zone on January 9th. Not even a reset everything/reboot/whatever would solve this. 
I don't believe them, but oh well...:nono:


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## Pink Fairy (Dec 28, 2006)

The software could help, that is true, but more than likely it will be a reformatting of the hard drive - followed by a replacement if that does not work.


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## audispartan (Sep 26, 2006)

okietekkie said:


> The software could help, that is true, but more than likely it will be a reformatting of the hard drive - followed by a replacement if that does not work.


Is it worth a try? I mean, I'd lose everything, which is tough because I have a lot of kids programs recorded, and I don't want to do it if it doesn't work. Frankly, the only thing that works consistently is prior recorded viewing. Even live TV is screwed up (no pause, rw, buffer, etc) and occasionally the channels won't even change (correct that: the banner changes, but not the channel). 
So with that, if a reformat doesn't fix it, do I even want to try?

I wish Earl would chime in with his inside information...


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## wbmccarty (Apr 28, 2006)

audispartan, perhaps because I missed earlier posts describing your R-15 problem, I don't understand your confidence, and that of other posters, that the new release will fix your problem. Many of us, representing a variety of installed releases, have ongoing problems with reliability. I'd characterize my R15 ride, which began in April, as slightly downhill rather than uphill in terms of reliability. Apparently, there was considerable uphill motion during the interval between initial release and my boarding the bus. So, my experience may not be typical. That is, I may have boarded the bus at precisely the wrong time. 

So, your problem may be a special one that actually does go away with the new release, as promised. But, then again, the new release may not resolve your problem. There's even a fair chance the new release will make the problem worse. And, the new release is almost certain to introduce some new problems. Each preceding release seems to have done so. Cumulatively, these may be more or less irritating than your current problem.

This may be a time to count your blessings rather than wish for a pig-in-the-poke release.

Cheers,


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Which inside information that you want.

Other then that they are continuing with the rollout of the software version..
(They halted the rollouts during the holidays).

For now... I would just reboot the system.
Don't "reformat it"... if you can't wait.

I would expect the current release to go national soon, but don't have a definitive time fram eon the rollotu schedule.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

My take on it is that with the level of problems you are having, the software upgrade won't resolve them. A reformat probably will resolve them, and the software upgrade may reduce the chance of future problems.

The alternative to a reformat is a replacement. In either case, you lose the recorded programs, so a reformat is certainly an easier first step than a replacement.

If you do choose to do a reformat, going forward I also recommend that you avoide using the search function to set recordings (autorecord). There seems to be a high correlation between doing that, and having problems.

Carl


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## wbmccarty (Apr 28, 2006)

carl6 said:


> If you do choose to do a reformat, going forward I also recommend that you avoide using the search function to set recordings (autorecord). There seems to be a high correlation between doing that, and having problems.
> 
> Carl


Hmm, not to disagree with a much more senior forum member...but, going forward I suggest that you avoid using the Record function. There seems to be a high correlation between doing that, and having problems.


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## Larry Daughtrey (Feb 14, 2006)

I would not hold out much hope with the latest software release.. Ive had it on my 500 machines since it first came out and it didnt fix a damn thing and infact I have more problems than before upgrading... Yes ive done all flavors of resetting.. pos this thing is..


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

you could do what I did when they refused to replace mine...... I threw it in the garbage and canceled the protection plan, then after a couple days went to cable.


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## jwd45244 (Aug 18, 2006)

First off, I feel for those of you that have significant problems with your R15. It has not been the case for me. So what is different for me than you that have problems. First off, I have a very new powered multi-switch. My cable runs are "short" (living in a ranch style home makes that possible). I have no obstructions anywhere in the southern sky where D* satellites live. I have a single Dish (Dual LNB).

So what, you might say. Having or not having these things effect the stream from cleanly getting to the DVR. Once you move into the content the locals put out there are even more variables. 

Yes, there are problems with the R-15 SL first-run vs. repeat logic. It confuses me why my SL for CSI: Miami from my local CBS at Monday night at 10 PM EST also includes episodes from 2003 that the same CBS station broadcasts as 12:05 am on Sunday and Monday. This is a very consistent pattern. I am nearly 100% certain that the guide data fields for these showings are messed up. I have a DirecTivo and for CSI:Miami, the season pass has never messed up. The two units are probably looking at different fields to determine the 1st run logic. It is very frustrating.

Each new software release brought improvements (mostly).

If you are very upset and want to leave DTV, no one can blame you. If you have problems and just vent here and don't contact DTV you are doing yourself and us a disservice. When I had problems with the units I had before the D10s, I called DTV and got some substantial credits and my service got better.


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## wbmccarty (Apr 28, 2006)

jwd45244 said:


> If you have problems and just vent here and don't contact DTV you are doing yourself and us a disservice. When I had problems with the units I had before the D10s, I called DTV and got some substantial credits and my service got better.


Your remarks are generally wise and balanced. Please do continue to bear in mind that some of us have not been equally well treated by DTV as you. I've talked to a variety of first- and second-level CSRs. Mostly, they've made my problems worse and ticked me off by disputing the reality of my problems.

There may be regional or time-of-year variations in the attitudes of CSRs. Policies may also have changed over time as evidence of problems has filtered through the DTV information structure.

I'm in the process of having another go at DTV, seeking some sort of improvement. This time, I'm trying to conduct the process via e-mail so that I can retain a record of the interactions.

You could infer from my situation that I've mistreated one or more CSRs. That's not the case. If anything, I haven't been demanding enough. Good customer service responds to the customer's situation rather than the customer's emotional attitude.

As evidence that DTV's CS problem is ongoing, I cite the recent assurances reported here that the forthcoming release will solve various problems. I don't doubt that CSRs are offering such assurances in good faith. But, it doesn't take a great deal of expertise to understand that those assurances do not likely have any real foundation. Experience with previous releases makes that case handily.


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## akstone (Dec 27, 2006)

wbmccarty said:


> This time, I'm trying to conduct the process via e-mail so that I can retain a record of the interactions.


Good luck with the emails. I've sent emails detailing why I was not happy the last two times I got really frustrated after phone calls to CSRs.

Both times the only email response I received was an email saying someone would call me in a couple days.

But both times the person who called me was a senior person who was actually very helpful.


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## wbmccarty (Apr 28, 2006)

I anticipate receiving no response at all. But, having sent an unanswered e-mail, I'll own the moral high ground when I initiate phone contact. If I do get any kind of response, I'll be pleasantly surprised. Either way, I'm happy with the outcome. I like loaded decks.


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## scott0702 (Nov 25, 2006)

The R15 is garbage. I've been having issues with missed recordings since day one which was in January 2006. I went on vacation last week, set several shows to record and not one of them recorded. Calling customer service is useless. They can't give any definite answers. The HR20 is a much better unit and much more reliable. I requested them to replace the R15 for the HR20 for free but no luck as the rep said they are in high demand.


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## Snopple (Apr 21, 2002)

audispartan said:


> I hate this thing! The two shows I want to record, Earl and The Office, on Series Link, are of course not recording. Dumb thing is locked up, too.
> All this because, according to D*, the software is not here yet. They said nothing I could do until it arrives for the eastern time zone on January 9th. Not even a reset everything/reboot/whatever would solve this.
> I don't believe them, but oh well...:nono:


I agree. I've come to hate these things with a passion. D* is going to have to do something. The R-15 in our living room is driving me nuts.

More often than not, it won't record. Or if it does record, the List will indicate that 34 minutes of an hour show has recorded. But it will be 34 minutes of nothing. (For some reason it always says 34 minutes.) Then it constantly freezes. One time the red rest button wouldn't work. So I had to unplug the stupid thing from the wall in order to unfreeze and reset it.

I had NFL Network's "Total Access" show on SL. Every night at 7PM there is a new "Total Access". But it's repeated numerous times over the next twenty four hours. One day I noticed the thing recorded seven of the same "Total Access" shows. So I removed it from SL and set it to record just the one time from the guide. Hasn't recorded it since. Go figure.

The Samsung DirecTV DVR with Tivo that we're still using in our family room has performed flawlessly in the almost four years we've had it. So I'm seriously considering purchasing a Direct Tivo from http://www.weaknees.com/directv-tivo.php. Problem is they start at $299 for a seventy hour unit. And I don't know if I want to spend that much.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Snopple said:


> I agree. I've come to hate these things with a passion. D* is going to have to do something. The R-15 in our living room is driving me nuts.
> 
> More often than not, it won't record. Or if it does record, the List will indicate that 34 minutes of an hour show has recorded. But it will be 34 minutes of nothing. (For some reason it always says 34 minutes.) Then it constantly freezes. One time the red rest button wouldn't work. So I had to unplug the stupid thing from the wall in order to unfreeze and reset it.
> 
> ...


Have you tried to "Reset Everything" from the menu system?


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## Snopple (Apr 21, 2002)

jonaswan2 said:


> Have you tried to "Reset Everything" from the menu system?


Reseting from the menu is the next step. Problem is, doing so will whip out the contents of my Hard Disk. In other words I'll loose everything that has been successfully recorded. Including a number of Christmas movies from Hallmark and Lifetime that I'm attempting to save to DVD. Just haven't had the time. Once I get around to saving those movies, it looks like I'll to reformat.

It just ticks me off that I have to do this. The Tivo based units never had these problems. After maybe a month of use, I had to reformat my daughters R-15. So if you have two units in the same house that are behaving as badly as these things, that tells me I just didn't get stuck with a "lemon". There are some serious issues with the R-15 that D* is going to have to address.


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