# DVR Timer not firing



## welchwarlock (Jan 5, 2005)

I have been trying to record a show every friday on Scifi, The timer is there, but it never records the show. I went to the show and tried to add another timer, and it brings me to the timer I already had installed.

Is this a known bug?

What is the workaround?

Regards,
Robert Cook


----------



## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

welchwarlock said:


> I have been trying to record a show every friday on Scifi, The timer is there, but it never records the show. I went to the show and tried to add another timer, and it brings me to the timer I already had installed.
> 
> Is this a known bug?
> 
> ...


Delete the existing timer and create a new one. See if that will work.


----------



## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

If that doesn't work, or you can't get the timer replaced, try creating more timers so that you get to the timer conflict screen, and kill them from there. Sometimes that works.

For general information, the WORST case, that has ALWAYS worked in the past is:
Delete ALL, repeat ALL timers
Power off
Pull power plug
Let it reboot
Pull power plug AGAIN
Let it reboot again - this time is what rebuilds the timer database
Make sure no "phantom" timers have appeared - if so return to first step.


----------



## Kagato (Jul 1, 2002)

The 921 hasn't been recording my Sci Fi shows either (Star Gate and Battle Star). I deleted every timer, set them all back up again, and rebooted a couple times. No good. I've set them on the 721, which, dispite it's issue, actually seems to be able to fire timers.

The issues seem to have started when it had a problem recording a local OTA-HD event.

To add insult to injury any series Sci-Fi has shown has already been completed in Europe on Sky-One. So the guys at Eldon have already seen the entire season we're trying to catch. Well, except they don't have to use a 921 to record it.


----------



## David_Levin (Apr 22, 2002)

Rumor has it that those shows can be downloaded from:
alt.binaries.battlestar-galactica
alt.binaries.multimeda
alt.binaries.multimedia.scifi
alt.binaries.stargate-sg1

in wide screen xvid format captured from the hi-def European feed. Rumor has it that it looks way better then the crappy sci-fi feed on a hi-def TV.

The download for a 40 minute show is around 370 meg.

The sky-one schedule is way ahead of the US, and all shows have been posted.

I'm all for watching the shows on our local feeds, but where's the hi-def?


----------



## Grauchy (Oct 28, 2004)

I have timers set for Stargate Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, and monk on USA and none of them fire. I even sat there at watched them not fire. Very frustrating. I will try deleting all my timers. It would be good if someone could tell me if there is a trick to getting the timers to fire.

Is there some special way to set up a weekly timer? Seems that a weekly timer is the one that doesn't work for me.


----------



## Kagato (Jul 1, 2002)

Interesting. Those are the exect same timers I'm constantly having issues with.


----------



## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

I'll set weekly timers on mine for Friday, and I'll let you know if they record or not.


----------



## David_Levin (Apr 22, 2002)

I haven't had any trouble with the Friday night timers. BUT....

Since I'm also recording Enterprise AND I want padding on all timers (don't trust the pads - extend the start/end times)......

To avoid the overlap I record (all really xx:58 - xx:01):
06:00 pm - Stargate
07:00 pm - Enterprise
08:00 pm - Galactica
10:00 pm - Atlantis (replay)

You might want to also post if you have any other timers in the vicinity, and how your pads are set up (I extend start/end and set the pads to 0).

I definately trust the 921 timers more if I keep them an arms length from each other.


----------



## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

I set my timers up with the default pads, so they were adjusted so that Stargate starts 1 min early, BG ends 3 min late, and the others are all at 0. I also record OTA during 2 of those hours, so we'll see what my results are on Friday.


----------



## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

Mark Lamutt said:


> I set my timers up with the default pads, so they were adjusted so that Stargate starts 1 min early, BG ends 3 min late, and the others are all at 0. I also record OTA during 2 of those hours, so we'll see what my results are on Friday.


Mark, do you still suggest not tampering with the pads?


----------



## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

I have always suggested not tampering with the pads. They adjust themselves automatically if necessary (back to back timers). If I set back to back timers on different channels that need to have their stop or end times changed, I then edit the times themselves, not the pads. I don't think I've touched a pad (other than testing) in months.


----------



## Kagato (Jul 1, 2002)

I rarely adjust pads. My gut feeling is that the timmers will fire for Mark. But, that doesn't mean there isn't a problem. I'm thinking the problem is a bit more complicated than "Eldon hates USA networks".


----------



## welchwarlock (Jan 5, 2005)

I checked the timers, and there was only one timer on Friday, and that was for Battlestar Galactica. It had standard 1 and 3 pads. The next timer on the list was for Saturday, and had 0 and 3 pads. Another interesting item was that the timer was for 2 hours; 8-10pm CST (I made it when the first 2 hour show appeared). I wonder if the fact that the show is now 1 hour somehow confused it? But I would think that the timer would only have start time, end time and "Pads", and would not know the show name, or care how many shows were in the timer period... Anyways, I deleted just that one timer, and created a new one. If it doesn't fire this Friday, I will try another small step. I appreciate the advice on how to fix it by clearing everything out, but I would like to find a small delta where it works and then doesn't work.


----------



## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

Last week I created a weekly DVR event for BattleStar Galactica. The timer fired this Friday and recored the event. The data information showed, "Unknown Recorded Event - channel 77 UKN." The program was viewable with only one problem. I paused it and when I returned to continue watching, I hit the pause button to resume, I got a password screen as if it were password protected or whatever. I checked and saw that it was unprotected. I actually had to enter my password, then it resumed where I left off. All other DVR events were fine. So maybe there is something with this channel that is causing problems.  The problem occurred on my HECD version. I created the timer from the EPG and made no alterations to the events timer.


----------



## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

My 921 recorded Stargate, Atlantis and BG with no problems on Friday. boylehome - do you have locks enabled? If so, let me know what your lock settings are, and I'll set mine up that same way to try to duplicate.


----------



## GFloyd (Jun 3, 2003)

My 921 also missed BG this past week - for the first time. I have a weekly timer set for the 1AM (?) showing on Sat morning. Fri night's episode is broadcast at 11pm on Mondays. I have set a one-off timer ....


----------



## welchwarlock (Jan 5, 2005)

welchwarlock said:


> I checked the timers, and there was only one timer on Friday, and that was for Battlestar Galactica. It had standard 1 and 3 pads. The next timer on the list was for Saturday, and had 0 and 3 pads. Another interesting item was that the timer was for 2 hours; 8-10pm CST (I made it when the first 2 hour show appeared). I wonder if the fact that the show is now 1 hour somehow confused it? But I would think that the timer would only have start time, end time and "Pads", and would not know the show name, or care how many shows were in the timer period... Anyways, I deleted just that one timer, and created a new one. If it doesn't fire this Friday, I will try another small step. I appreciate the advice on how to fix it by clearing everything out, but I would like to find a small delta where it works and then doesn't work.


Well it works now. Deleted the 2 hour timer, and created a new 1 hour timer.


----------



## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

Mark Lamutt said:


> My 921 recorded Stargate, Atlantis and BG with no problems on Friday. boylehome - do you have locks enabled? If so, let me know what your lock settings are, and I'll set mine up that same way to try to duplicate.


Hi Mark, I have LOCKS set for Pay-Per-View and Enable All Locks.


----------



## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

So, you're only locking out PPV. No ratings locks or channel locks set?


----------



## hgeyer (Dec 4, 2004)

My recording of BG went ZTR last Friday. No overlapping timers, no back-to-back timers, and Sci-Fi is not an OTA! I have no locks on the system. I've been patient, but this is getting ridiculous!


----------



## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

Mark Lamutt said:


> So, you're only locking out PPV. No ratings locks or channel locks set?


Yes, I'm only locking out the PPV.


----------



## KKlare (Sep 24, 2004)

When I enabled locks (PPV and Adult, not ratings) I got channel not subscribed. Disabling locks and allowing PPV and Adult I have not gotten the block. I attribute some of the ZSRs to the block preventing recording in the middle of the night, but there must be other reasons, too.

921 DVI #2/2 (#1 7/9/04 lightning nearby) 120B/F051/L211HECD-N
811 Component #1/1 (1/04)
501 RF/S-vid #2/4 machine (#1 few months, #2 flakey, #3 1 day, #2 came back, ran #2 + #4 until kept quieter, running for 2 years)
Versions: current software
Monitor: Hitachi 46H83
Dish: 500/500 Legacy SW64. Power inserter on 811, as is diplexed antenna.
Orbits: 119, 110, 148
Underdeck old 78" or more antenna. 49-mi line of sight. 10dB 4-way signal strength 100 to 123.


----------



## GFloyd (Jun 3, 2003)

I set a timer last night for the 11pm re-broadcast of BG, and it worked fine ... strange that so many folks had issues with the same show ...


----------



## Jon Spackman (Feb 7, 2005)

with all the talk of locks, has me wondering (since i dont watch BG) what is it rated? is it rated different then most shows that record fine for those that are having the ZSR problem? IE: does that show carry a mature rating?

just an idea....


----------



## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Nope...TV-PG usually has been the rating. Maybe the occasional TV-14.


----------



## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

Speaking of locks, I have one PVR recording made off a free preview of that new Polish channel. There was no information available in the guide at the time of the recording, so it is a "unknown recorded event", which is O.K., except being unknown gave it an automatic NR/AO rating. The last time I tried to view this recording, it asked for my password!?! as if it was a locked channel. This channel did not ask for a password the day I recorded it, only after the preview was over. I have locks on adult and all PPV, but no ratings locks.


----------



## hgeyer (Dec 4, 2004)

I've been living with a serious ZTR issue with my 921 that began 30 days after the release of 2.11 and 60 days after my purchase. I've been reading this forum and the myriad of suspected causes and workarounds, thinking that this is a widespread epidemic and that I should be patient until 2.13 (or whatever release fixes the supposed software glitch).

This past Monday (2/28), I decided that I need to contact Dish to at least have my complaints on file in the event I need to file a warranty claim. I call Tech Support, explain the problem, and am told that I'm being directed to a special "921 team". 

I explain the problem to this person, and she replies "we'll send you a new box and that'll fix the problem." I explained that I understood that the ZTR issue is a widespread problem that was software related. In response, she claimed that she had been on the 921 support desk from the beginning and that my call was the first that she personally had received regarding mis-firing timers and ZTRs (I'm shocked at this point). 

Questioning her further, she does a search for "Zero Time Recordings" and "Mis-firing Timer" and claims that she couldn't find anything in her database.

In any event, she offers to send a new 921 via second day air at no charge and free return postage for the old unit (score 1 point for customer service). I get the new box on 3/2 and have put it through every possible scenario to force a ZTR - - it works perfectly.

So, everything I read on this board regarding a ZTR epidemic and Dish's lack of response to complaints is the exact opposite of what I experience.

I acknowledge that I may have gotten an uninformed Technition, but the new 921 does not ZTR as I would have expected. Is it possible that there is a manufacturing defect out there and the 100-200 ZTR postings on this board really represent a sampling of such affected users?

For what it's worth, I decided that while complaining on this board has been helpful, I'm writing my checks to Dish and they're the people I really ought to be venting at.


----------

