# 0x235 - GARBAGE!



## Casey21 (Sep 20, 2007)

On my HR20-700, I have had 0x235 since 6/17. It's a piece of garbage and has ruined my DVR experience. I'm constantly getting recordings that either didn't record at all or are partial recordings. I now also have a big issue with my prioritizer. All of the numbering is screwed up. For instance, I now have no less than 5 shows that are ALL numbered as #1. Of course, it's now slow as molasses. No wait, I think Molasses is faster. I had none of these issues prior to receiving 0X235. Thanks DirecTV for sending me this piece of [email protected]#t software. Your just like Microsoft. Sending out software that isn't yet ready for the masses. Why don't you do some testing for once before you send us this [email protected]#t again!

Anyone else have any of these issues with 0x235. When are they going to send me an update?!?


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

There's no indication of when the next release will be made available to everyone .. You can check out the Cutting Edge forum if you like as we are testing a national release tonight. There are, however, rules to the Cutting Edge Program which you can review here: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=90847

Your problems, however, seem to indicate something is wrong with the hardware .. If you could give more information about your setup it would be helpful .. Type of dish, do you have a multiswitch, etc. Also, if you could check your sat signal strengths that would be very helpful ..


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

Casey21 said:


> On my HR20-700, I have had 0x235 since 6/17. It's a piece of garbage and has ruined my DVR experience. I'm constantly getting recordings that either didn't record at all or are partial recordings. I now also have a big issue with my prioritizer. All of the numbering is screwed up. For instance, I now have no less than 5 shows that are ALL numbered as #1. Of course, it's now slow as molasses. No wait, I think Molasses is faster. I had none of these issues prior to receiving 0X235. Thanks DirecTV for sending me this piece of [email protected]#t software. Your just like Microsoft. Sending out software that isn't yet ready for the masses. Why don't you do some testing for once before you send us this [email protected]#t again!
> 
> Anyone else have any of these issues with 0x235. When are they going to send me an update?!?


Lots of us are having similar issues. I too am waiting for the 0x251 update in hopes that it solves this horrible mess. Several people have already received the update. Seems like it rolls west to east.


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

I read of people who are having trouble with 0235 and I have had 0235 on two -700's with absolutely no issues. I still believe many problems lie outside of the DVR itself, multi-switches, cables, alignment, etc. and just plain poor installations.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Overall 0x235 has seemed very stable ..

There is a new national release 0x251 that was started this past week and there may be an update to that next week, but it could still take a couple of weeks to roll out to everyone once it gets started in earnest. I'll certainly let folks know more as I do.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

Doug:

I am still waiting for the 0x251 upgrade (as of last night).

Are you saying you think everyone else will get 0x251 next week, or that there is an upgrade coming next week that is even newer than the 0x251 release? It wasn't completely clear to me from your post.

Thanks.


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

When people report problems with their HR2x's, please also report if it was recording Satellite or OTA or some combination. With my HR20-100, I've had no problems with 0x235, but I don't record OTA. These problems could be OTA related!


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

Welcome to the club! 235 is truly the crappiest, buggiest, most ill-conceived piece of software since Win ME.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Maruuk said:


> Welcome to the club! 235 is truly the crappiest, buggiest, most ill-conceived piece of software since Win ME.


I'd say that's a gross overstatement.

Not buggy here yet....but its replacement will be here shortly, so a moot point anyway.

I just love this glittering generalities.


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## shelland (Jul 10, 2007)

I got 0x251 on all 3 HD-DVRs overnight Tuesday. I've never had any problems with any of the software version - 235 included. (I run OTA through 2 of them)


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## tomparker (Dec 9, 2007)

I've been having lockups with this new release, and now the remote doesn't work on all functions. It can pull up the guide or list, but can't pause or ff programming. 
This is the 6/17version, original version was 0xbe.

The family is threatening mutiny!


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Maruuk said:


> Welcome to the club! 235 is truly the crappiest, buggiest, most ill-conceived piece of software since Win ME.


I'd say you've done nothing to prove your case ..


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

I am truly sympathetic to those who are having problems with the Hr2xs. I do think D* pushed these units out the door before they were fully tested, and some (many?) users are suffering as a result. I think if you follow this board that is pretty clear.

0x235 was only out a month or so before it was replaced by 0x251. That is not exactly an endorsement of 0x235. A reasonable person could conclude that any software program being patched/updated on a monthly basis probably has some bugs.

I am always entertained when people post they are using a HR20x and "have never had any problems." Given that the updates purport to fix certain bugs and problems acknowledged to exist by D*, I wonder what they are using the units for? I use mine lightly, and have had problems which have been confirmed by other posters. I am not willing to rely on the HR21 at this point in time for "important" recordings. I use my TIVO HR10-250, *which has DLB*. LOL

I am no fan of the HR21 interface. However--

I haven't found 0x235 worse than the release my HR21-100 was running before (190?), and it clearly fixed some serious bugs. YMMV. I suspect the guys working on the software are trying to beat the alligators off the boat before they attempt to drain the swamp. Two steps forward, one step back. Pretty normal for the software business.


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## coacho (Aug 21, 2007)

My HR20-700 has now locked up twice since the new release. Good thing I was also recording Stargate Atlantis on my HR10 ( no HD but at least it works).


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## ToddinVA (Mar 5, 2006)

0x235 has been the buggiest version I've had since I got this thing a year ago.


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## MIAMI1683 (Jul 11, 2007)

Nicholsen said:


> I am truly sympathetic to those who are having problems with the Hr2xs. I do think D* pushed these units out the door before they were fully tested, and some (many?) users are suffering as a result. I think if you follow this board that is pretty clear.
> 
> 0x235 was only out a month or so before it was replaced by 0x251. That is not exactly an endorsement of 0x235. A reasonable person could conclude that any software program being patched/updated on a monthly basis probably has some bugs.
> 
> ...


 Every reciever reacts a little differently, but I haven't had many "real problems" Now my HR21-700 is my "primary" reciever. It missed a recording last week. I believe the power was out due to our afternoon storms, but if not then it missed one. I still trust it and use it every day. The software should come out stable to the general public, but sometimes there are "problerms" Atleast D* continues to improve its ui and software too.

As far as the Tivo goes. Let it go. Tivo's dead! No more on that from me  . Now do some of the problems get caused by user error? I bet it does. Do you put your receiver in "standby mode" at night? Is it left on all the time? Do you have it on a ups (that way it will record when the power is out), are you attached to the network? All questions for most people. These are just little things that can affect many people. The unbelieveable part to me is that lots of people don't understand how hard it is to make every one happy.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

I had an HR21-100 installed Thursday. It downloaded 0x235 and the info screen says no updates scheduled. This morning the receiver was frozen on one channel and totally unresponsive to the remote or front panel controls. An RBR has it working properly again.


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## MIAMI1683 (Jul 11, 2007)

Jon J said:


> I had an HR21-100 installed Thursday. It downloaded 0x235 and the info screen says no updates scheduled. This morning the receiver was frozen on one channel and totally unresponsive to the remote or front panel controls. An RBR has it working properly again.


 Be patent as the new Nr is rolled out. I think x0251 started. It should be ok.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

0x235 wasn't particularly good here either and it appears that 0x251 had problems as well as they have rolled out another NR candidate (check the CE forum). We have yet to receive 0x251 here in Florida so I wonder if they stopped it and are trying to quick fix it with another version (0x254+?)
What's the big deal though? This kind of thing happens with beta equipment all the time.

Anyone know how many writes the bios chips in the HR series can handle before failing?


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## MIAMI1683 (Jul 11, 2007)

Ken S said:


> 0x235 wasn't particularly good here either and it appears that 0x251 had problems as well as they have rolled out another NR candidate (check the CE forum). We have yet to receive 0x251 here in Florida so I wonder if they stopped it and are trying to quick fix it with another version (0x254+?)
> What's the big deal though? This kind of thing happens with beta equipment all the time.
> 
> Anyone know how many writes the bios chips in the HR series can handle before failing?


 I didn't get it either (x0251) but i figue it will get here.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

Doug Brott said:


> I'd say you've done nothing to prove your case ..


And neither have you in stating the release seems generally stable.


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## finaldiet (Jun 13, 2006)

I got the NR during the night tuesday on both my HR20's. Really surprised as it usually takes 4-5 days where I'm at. x0235 worked with no problems. Been checking out x0251 on both receivers and both working flawlessly. Have not had any problems with either receiver since they came out.


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## finaldiet (Jun 13, 2006)

Nicholsen said:


> I am truly sympathetic to those who are having problems with the Hr2xs. I do think D* pushed these units out the door before they were fully tested, and some (many?) users are suffering as a result. I think if you follow this board that is pretty clear.
> 
> 0x235 was only out a month or so before it was replaced by 0x251. That is not exactly an endorsement of 0x235. A reasonable person could conclude that any software program being patched/updated on a monthly basis probably has some bugs.
> 
> ...


As I stated in previous post, Ive had no problems with my 2 HR20's. Have a seagate 750 attached to one and both are ethernet connected. One also has a phone line. Why my 2 are working like they have, I don't know! I've always been leary when I see the problems others have had. Thank goodness I've been spared. Now I'm probably in trouble with that statement. Iuse both units to record. Seagate is more than half loaded and wifes is probably the same. DDon't watch any commercials, unless one looks interesting while jumping forward.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Nicholsen said:


> I am truly sympathetic to those who are having problems with the Hr2xs. I do think D* pushed these units out the door before they were fully tested, and some (many?) users are suffering as a result. I think if you follow this board that is pretty clear.


Not really....as many if not most posters are NOT having problems, and the total number of posters here represents maybe 1/2 of 1% of the DVR install base.... 


> 0x235 was only out a month or so before it was replaced by 0x251. That is not exactly an endorsement of 0x235.


Actually, its meaningless. There have been National Releases out longer, and some shorter periods of time. That has nothing to do with any kind of "endorsement" either way. It has to do with what specific fixes, changes, enhancements, and new features are contained in each release, as well as how many interim iterations of testing occur, which varies with each release.


> A reasonable person could conclude that any software program being patched/updated on a monthly basis probably has some bugs.


On the other hand, a reasonable person who reads these threads knows better, and the majority of users who don't read these threads aren't even aware of firmware updates being pushed out in most cases, unless a major new feature is added that is highlighted on their intro screen announcing it.


> I am always entertained when people post they are using a HR20x and "have never had any problems." Given that the updates purport to fix certain bugs and problems acknowledged to exist by D*, I wonder what they are using the units for?


Apparently then you do not understand the CE program, as the intent is to use it in "normal usage". Results on updates vary, but indeed, many users do NOT have problems, depending on the particular release and what features a user actually uses in their location. Results of no problems are the same value as those who do have problems, so that DirecTV can understand the CE tester actual results in the field beyond their internal testing.

There's no arm twisting for participation in the CE program. In terms of the National releases, there are weeks of wide-scale testing that goes on between those....sometimes months. In any case, the intent and efforts of the CE testers here is to identify and help eradicate issues so that DirecTV can address them in the corresponding next National Release.

As one of the many here who has been doing CE testing for over 1 1/2 years now, I can testify that the picture you paint is inaccurate. We've tested hundreds of CE releases in that timeframe that never get pushed out between the National Releases. The NR's are typically pretty solid.

As for this being "entertaining"....I have plenty of cheese here for all the whine - let's party.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

raott said:


> And neither have you in stating the release seems generally stable.


The difference, of course, being that I'm trying to help understand where the problems are .. and if there are any solutions available .. Soon it will be moot as we will have moved from 0x235 to the next national release.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

finaldiet said:


> As I stated in previous post, Ive had no problems with my 2 HR20's. Have a seagate 750 attached to one and both are ethernet connected. One also has a phone line. Why my 2 are working like they have, I don't know! I've always been leary when I see the problems others have had. Thank goodness I've been spared. Now I'm probably in trouble with that statement. Iuse both units to record. Seagate is more than half loaded and wifes is probably the same. DDon't watch any commercials, unless one looks interesting while jumping forward.


Based upon your set-up, you are obviously know something about the HR20s. Let me ask you a couple of questions:

1. Does you unit always respond immediately to the remote?
2. Does your slow motion function engage immediately and work properly?
3. Does your search function return channels you don't get?
4. When you enter a series link, does the to do list promptly show which episodes it will record so you can verify and edit same *This was an issue with the Ted Koppel China special discussed in another thread.)
5. How do you you switch from one live buffer to another,,,,,, ( sorry, that is a trick question in honor of No DLB Thread Week.  )

I suspect (but can't know) that these issues exist with most (maybe all?) of the HR21s. If your unit does not have these issues, maybe I should consider looking for a used/refurb HR20 to replace my HR21.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Nicholsen said:


> 1. Does you unit always respond immediately to the remote?
> 2. Does your slow motion function engage immediately and work properly?
> 3. Does your search function return channels you don't get?
> 4. When you enter a series link, does the to do list promptly show which episodes it will record so you can verify and edit same *This was an issue with the Ted Koppel China special discussed in another thread.)
> 5. How do you you switch from one live buffer to another,,,,,, ( sorry, that is a trick question in honor of No DLB Thread Week.  )


I suspect if you wait perhaps another 1-2 weeks, many of your "issues" will no longer be of concern in the next National Release.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Nicholsen said:


> Based upon your set-up, you are obviously know something about the HR20s. Let me ask you a couple of questions:
> 
> 1. Does you unit always respond immediately to the remote?
> 2. Does your slow motion function engage immediately and work properly?
> ...


Those are all design decisions not bugs.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I suspect if you wait perhaps another 1-2 weeks, many of your "issues" will no longer be of concern in the next National Release.


I wonder how many times this same type of statement has been posted here over the past two years?


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Ken S said:


> I wonder how many times this same type of statement has been posted here over the past two years?


Apparently not enough.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I suspect if you wait perhaps another 1-2 weeks, many of your "issues" will no longer be of concern in the next National Release.


That would be great news! Do you have any concrete reason to expect that will really happen? Is this the reason the DLB thread is gone? DLB is really coming within 2 weeks? (In all seriousness, I assume you weren't including DLB, but one can always wish.)

That also raises the question of why 0x251 was even rolled out. Why not just wait two weeks for the NR with the rest of the bug fixes? This is not some kind of major criticism of D*, just an observation. Any idea/speculation as to what the thinking was regarding that?


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## bsteeler05 (Oct 25, 2007)

OK, just today am having problems with HR20-700.....New software downloaded last night and now when I am watching a recorded program and FF to the end, instead of giving me a message to delete or not, the counter on the bottom goes into negative numbers and the unit becomes unresponsive. This has happened twice with hard resets the only thing that fixes it. ??????????


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Nicholsen said:


> That would be great news! Do you have any concrete reason to expect that will really happen?


I'm not in the cement business. 

If you read the main DBSTalk thread, you may have noticed this week that there was an intended National release updated started. This was quickly stopped becuase of one last minute little glitch...so it would seem reasonable to assume a new Natonal Release will be forthcoming in 2 weeks or less.


> Is this the reason the DLB thread is gone? DLB is really coming within 2 weeks? (In all seriousness, I assume you weren't including DLB, but one can always wish.)


It wouls appear you are aware the DLB is not on the DirecTV radar - there is some form of alternative ("even better" we were told) solution that is in planning, with no dleivery date announced.


> That also raises the question of why 0x251 was even rolled out.


Any National release may contain fixes, enhancements, and/or new features. 0x251 would be no different than any previous version. Based on various testing, thes results indicated certain fixes were resolved and any enhancements passed internal and field testing.

With the complexity of DVR code, it would seem reasonable to assume that there are many areas where glitches could surface. When those are identified and confirmed, they get on the list for the next series of testing versions to be addressed and re-tested, and then once resolved, included in the next National release.

This is not unique to DirecTV. Any software goes through a similar ISO process of testing and release, often with interim "beta test versions for internal testing prior to the main Release distribution.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

bsteeler05 said:


> OK, just today am having problems with HR20-700.....New software downloaded last night and now when I am watching a recorded program and FF to the end, instead of giving me a message to delete or not, the counter on the bottom goes into negative numbers and the unit becomes unresponsive. This has happened twice with hard resets the only thing that fixes it. ??????????


Since you did not indicate which firmware version you "downloaded"...I would recommend you simply post your problem in the apprpriate and corresponding version "issues" thread.


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## mchaney (Aug 17, 2006)

Doug Brott said:


> I'd say you've done nothing to prove your case ..


The case proves itself! There are enough of us here having the same problems that I think it's not overstated at all. 235 is junk! We've lost at least 10% of our recordings due to getting nothing but an hour of gray screen and the thing locks up about once every 3 days. Still waiting for 251. Not here yet.

Mike


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

MIAMI1683 said:


> Every reciever reacts a little differently, but I haven't had many "real problems" Now my HR21-700 is my "primary" reciever. It missed a recording last week. I believe the power was out due to our afternoon storms, but if not then it missed one. I still trust it and use it every day. The software should come out stable to the general public, but sometimes there are "problerms" Atleast D* continues to improve its ui and software too.
> 
> As far as the Tivo goes. Let it go. Tivo's dead! No more on that from me  . Now do some of the problems get caused by user error? I bet it does. Do you put your receiver in "standby mode" at night? Is it left on all the time? Do you have it on a ups (that way it will record when the power is out), are you attached to the network? All questions for most people. These are just little things that can affect many people. The unbelieveable part to me is that lots of people don't understand how hard it is to make every one happy.


I think TIVO is doing fine. It's only dead to D* until somebody at D* realizes there is money to be made by giving the customers a choice (and letting them pay extra for it)

There is also a chance the NFL Sunday Ticket will also be available on cable in 2010. If that were to happen, I suspect there will be some defections to the dark cable empire and/or more interest in a new TIVO box for D*.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I'm not in the cement business.
> 
> If you read the main DBSTalk thread, you may have noticed this week that there was an intended National release updated started. This was quickly stopped becuase of one last minute little glitch...so it would seem reasonable to assume a new Natonal Release will be forthcoming in 2 weeks or less.
> 
> .


I don't see why you would assume that any of these problems are going to be addressed in a future update. They have been around for a while.

Are you in the CE program? Otherwise, it's just speculation.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

bsteeler05 said:


> OK, just today am having problems with HR20-700.....New software downloaded last night and now when I am watching a recorded program and FF to the end, instead of giving me a message to delete or not, the counter on the bottom goes into negative numbers and the unit becomes unresponsive. This has happened twice with hard resets the only thing that fixes it. ??????????


I think I saw a note in the latest CE patch notes that talked about your issue. You may want to read that forum for some more information. If I recall correctly they stated the problem was with 4x FF...maybe try slowing to 3x just before the end.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Apparently not enough.


Or so many times that it rings hollow.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Nicholsen said:


> I don't see why you would assume that any of these problems are going to be addressed in a future update. They have been around for a while.
> 
> Are you in the CE program? Otherwise, it's just speculation.


Yes...in CE....some, but not not all of your items will be addressed....not speculation....


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## MIAMI1683 (Jul 11, 2007)

Nicholsen said:


> I think TIVO is doing fine. It's only dead to D* until somebody at D* realizes there is money to be made by giving the customers a choice (and letting them pay extra for it)
> 
> There is also a chance the NFL Sunday Ticket will also be available on cable in 2010. If that were to happen, I suspect there will be some defections to the dark cable empire and/or more interest in a new TIVO box for D*.


 Read about some of the TIVO stuff. Now cable companies are haing issues with getting them to "work" or something. I don't recall because I don't read about it too much. Isn't thier stock delining too. Does dish use it? Nope they use thier own in house equipment. i beliee the NFL could becpme more "mainstream" too. It wouldn't trigger the defects you think about. D* will still have it, and I promise you the 18 million subs aren't all watching football. When TIVO goes under like Ultimate TV (which D* owns now) many will be looking for a new DVR. Then what? Many of the users here have gotten used to the Hrxx's. I for one like them better than my 4 tivos. i also agree that everybody should have options to buy what they want. So in that case I hope you find what you are looking and you get a TIVO soon. Enjoy cable and all it has to offer.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

When I see a thread with a title as such I tend to avoid them since they always seem to be vent sessions and not very constructive, but still I felt it needed a look-see just in case I can help in some small way. I've been sucked in again.


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## kw2957 (Apr 5, 2008)

smiddy said:


> When I see a thread with a title as such I tend to avoid them since they always seem to be vent sessions and not very constructive, but still I felt it needed a look-see just in case I can help in some small way. I've been sucked in again.


I can see what you mean, smiddy.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

smiddy said:


> When I see a thread with a title as such I tend to avoid them since they always seem to be vent sessions and not very constructive, but still I felt it needed a look-see just in case I can help in some small way. I've been sucked in again.


Pretty much sums things up.


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## aramus8 (Nov 21, 2006)

mchaney said:


> The case proves itself! There are enough of us here having the same problems that I think it's not overstated at all. 235 is junk! We've lost at least 10% of our recordings due to getting nothing but an hour of gray screen and the thing locks up about once every 3 days. Still waiting for 251. Not here yet.
> 
> Mike


Ditto!!! I haven't had a crash with my hr20-700 in well over a year. Now in the last two weeks, I can count on the unit to hang up for several minutes at a time when browsing channels or browsing my recorded shows. Last night it completely locked up where I had to do a hard boot to get it restarted. Browsing the Movies Now category takes at least 10 seconds to go from one movie to the next and I suspect Movies Now is actually what is causing the issues. With a 24 hour window, we won't be using those anyway. We need a way to turn it off if it is the cause. I haven't so many instances of slow or no reaction time ever!!! This software is worse than what we were using in October, 2006. Congratulations D*, you've managed to destroy 2 years of progress in the last couple of weeks.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Yes...in CE....some, but not not all of your items will be addressed....not speculation....


I realize you can' comment on specifics. If several of those 4 items are really fixed, I will be the first to tip my hat.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Nicholsen said:


> I realize you can' comment on specifics. If several of those 4 items are really fixed, I will be the first to tip my hat.


CE doesn't mean NDA - the CE forums with specific notes for each release are all viewable to anyone with a username here.

For future reference, anyone with *Cutting Edge: ECHELON * under their name is likely very active in the CE program.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

MIAMI1683 said:


> Read about some of the TIVO stuff. Now cable companies are haing issues with getting them to "work" or something. I don't recall because I don't read about it too much. Isn't thier stock delining too. Does dish use it? Nope they use thier own in house equipment. i beliee the NFL could becpme more "mainstream" too. It wouldn't trigger the defects you think about. D* will still have it, and I promise you the 18 million subs aren't all watching football. When TIVO goes under like Ultimate TV (which D* owns now) many will be looking for a new DVR. Then what? Many of the users here have gotten used to the Hrxx's. I for one like them better than my 4 tivos. i also agree that everybody should have options to buy what they want. So in that case I hope you find what you are looking and you get a TIVO soon. Enjoy cable and all it has to offer.


Don't get me wrong, everyone of the roughly 1,000,000 Sunday Ticket subscibers could leave, and D* would still be fine. Of course that won't happen. My point is that D* will eventually face stronger competition, and may become a little more flexible in its policies and service rules.

Right now it has exclusivity on ST, and a large lead in HD programming. In 24 months or so, one might be able to get the NetFlix films downloaded on demand in HD to my TIVO and *watch ST with DLB *on my TIVO. The competitive landscape is changing rapidly.

I am sure connecting cable cards to a new TIVO could turn out to be an adventure. Getting a proper install for HD DVR service on D* was also an adventure.

One question, did D* really buy the Ultimate TV technology? Or is that just an assumption on your part. If they already had the UTV code (which was working well) and didn't use it, that is a story in itself.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> CE doesn't mean NDA - the CE forums with specific notes for each release are all viewable to anyone with a username here.
> 
> For future reference, anyone with *Cutting Edge: ECHELON * under their name is likely very active in the CE program.


Thanks for the heads up. Until now I assumed you guys all worked together at the NSA on some kind of big vacuum cleaner device.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Nicholsen said:


> I realize you can' comment on specifics. If several of those 4 items are really fixed, I will be the first to tip my hat.


I'd have to keep my hat on to cover the bald spot.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Nicholsen said:


> Don't get me wrong, everyone of the roughly 1,000,000 Sunday Ticket subscibers could leave, and D* would still be fine. Of course that won't happen. My point is that D* will eventually face stronger competition, and may become a little more flexible in its policies and service rules.
> 
> Right now it has exclusivity on ST, and a large lead in HD programming. In 24 months or so, one might be able to get the NetFlix films downloaded on demand in HD to my TIVO and *watch ST with DLB *on my TIVO. The competitive landscape is changing rapidly.
> 
> ...


They purchased Ultimate TV (or what is left of it) and the technology a few months back. I doubt they'd ever use the actual code, but they may at some point use the IP rights...or at least have them as protection.


----------



## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

Doug Brott said:


> .. Soon it will be moot as we will have moved from 0x235 to the next national release.


Not soon enough, I fear, especially since the "next" one was an "oops--lets not release this one after all". That implies a waiting period and some suspicion that the lockups I've been having since 235 might not be fixed even by that.



smiddy said:


> When I see a thread with a title as such I tend to avoid them since they always seem to be vent sessions and not very constructive...


It's not like any of these threads are the equivalent of the Algonquin roundtable, so if your looking for substance, try the New York Times. They may be not that stimulating or your particular cup of tea, but "vent" threads serve a very-worthy purpose, especially when DTV seems oblivious to the damage they might be doing by shooting from the hip with flop-sweat-driven up revs.


----------



## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

TomCat:

I agree with you that threads like this serve an important purpose. And let's all be honest, the recent history of software releases for the HR2x boxes is hardly a case study in software quality control.

We are discussing consumer DVRs. Some ranting, kvetching and black humor can make frustrated users feel better about their situation. As long as it is not an attack directed at an individual, no real harm done. 

By the way, "Shooting from the hip with flop-sweat-driven up revs" is a line worthy of James Ellroy.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

Ken S said:


> They purchased Ultimate TV (or what is left of it) and the technology a few months back. I doubt they'd ever use the actual code, but they may at some point use the IP rights...or at least have them as protection.


I think you are probably thinking of Replay TV. If there is any news about Ultimate TV, please point me in that direction.


----------



## mchaney (Aug 17, 2006)

aramus8 said:


> Congratulations D*, you've managed to destroy 2 years of progress in the last couple of weeks.


I'd also like to mention that I was a part of the CE program up through about the 22x versions. I finally bowed out of the CE program because the software they release in that program is so unbelievably buggy that to test it, you have to put up with constant lockups, missed recordings, and blank recordings. It's like they don't bother testing the CE releases at all: just dump them and let the masses weed through the garbage. That really cuts down on the number of people who stick with the CE program because you can't have a working piece of hardware while trying to help with the CE process. Unfortunately going back to the national releases doesn't help much because those aren't much better these days.

Looking back, the last stable version for me was 1FE. After that, every released version has been worse than the previous, with me losing a higher and higher percentage of recordings to lockups, gray screen recordings, and other bugs. I'm convinced that the people coding for the HR20's just fly by the seat of their pants now and release stuff with a "see what happens" mentality. I don't know whether the hardware is that difficult to program or the coders just aren't up to par, but each release is like another pot shot in the dark as to whether or not we'll have a stable DVR. Here's hoping 25x is better... but it seems I've been hoping the same for months since about 20B.

And yes, I agree it's good to get this stuff out in the open sometimes. When I see three recordings under the show heading "Intervention" on A&E and when I go to watch them, two of the three recordings are an hour of gray screen... yeah, that makes me want to speak out. There are many more examples of the same and many lockups where not even the power button on the front of the unit works, and that's all on the national release 235. I wonder how many other providers have DVR's that simply cannot be made to be reliable with months of programming and dozens of software releases? I've had a lot of providers in the past including Dish Network, FIOS, Brighthouse Cable, and Comcast Cable but I have to say DirecTV is the only provider where I can literally never depend on the DVR recording what it is supposed to... or even turning on when you press the power button. When you find yourself crossing your fingers every time you go to turn the DVR on and saying, "Oh please don't be locked up" or you find yourself praying every time you click on a recording from the list that it isn't an hour of gray screen... something is really wrong in stinkville!

Mike


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## Gotchaa (Jan 25, 2006)

Being the first customer in LA to get the HR20, and having been through every single code update, I have to say this has been the most problematic for me to date. Not just on 1 receiver, but all 3. I am currently staring at a blank screen. I've had partial/failed recordings, unexplained freezes, slow system response....wow and I thought it was the DirecTV gods angry at me for evaluating U-verse (which by the way has a very cool fast gui and comparable HD quality--but no NFL ticket).

I decided to check here and guess what I am not the only one. I stopped with the CE updates last year, looks like I am going to have to get involved again, QA on this last national release really missed the mark...very surprised given the large group of early adopters now...

Oh well time for a reboot, at least I can tune in to U-verse...


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

Nicholsen said:


> ...By the way, "Shooting from the hip with flop-sweat-driven up revs" is a line worthy of James Ellroy.


 Wasn't he charter member of the round table?


Nicholsen said:


> TomCat:
> 
> I agree with you that threads like this serve an important purpose. And let's all be honest, the recent history of software releases for the HR2x boxes is hardly a case study in software quality control...


You're getting in a couple of choice lines yourself, there.


Nicholsen said:


> ...We are discussing consumer DVRs. Some ranting, kvetching and black humor can make frustrated users feel better about their situation. As long as it is not an attack directed at an individual, no real harm done....


Oh, I could not agree more. But it also sometimes serves a better purpose to take the wind out the sails of those who's posts undermine the power of the thread if the thread represents a worthy cause, such as getting DTV's thumbs out of their butts.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Nicholsen said:


> I think you are probably thinking of Replay TV. If there is any news about Ultimate TV, please point me in that direction.


Oops...you're right that was ReplayTV. UltimateTV is the Microsoft/RCA/Sony product...I think it's still owned by MSFT.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

TomCat said:


> Not soon enough, I fear, especially since the "next" one was an "oops--lets not release this one after all". That implies a waiting period and some suspicion that the lockups I've been having since 235 might not be fixed even by that.
> 
> It's not like any of these threads are the equivalent of the Algonquin roundtable, so if your looking for substance, try the New York Times. They may be not that stimulating or your particular cup of tea, but "vent" threads serve a very-worthy purpose, especially when DTV seems oblivious to the damage they might be doing by shooting from the hip with flop-sweat-driven up revs.


Unfortunately after just about two years (after release) it is becoming fairly obvious that the development/release process is badly broken. I can imagine that the quality developers they do have must be getting nearly as frustrated as the customers that wade through buggy release after buggy release.

I'm not sure why they seem to have halted the latest national release but it's at least indicative that someone there was able to stop something that was causing problems before inflicting it upon their entire customer base...I don't think we've seen that before. Perhaps the internal embarrassment of this occurrence will allow for those at DirecTV that are interested in higher quality releases to have more of a say. We can only hope.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Gotchaa said:


> Being the first customer in LA to get the HR20, and having been through every single code update, I have to say this has been the most problematic for me to date.


I don't think too many folks will debate that 0235 is a stinker...

That said, all the other hoopla and ranting about the coding, testing, and release process is just that - ranting.

Since most folks have no clue how the process operates internally, let alone within the CE process itself, an informed view is rare.

What *really* going on right now...is that in addition to the traditional regular release cyle of fixes and tweaks, are pending new features which will be the foundation for new capabilities in the near future. In addition, with the new D11 satellite and corresponding new HD and LIL channels, there's alot of thing going on in the code "under the covers".

Just because folks don't see a particular screen of menu item, doesn't mean there are not code elements being tested or adjusted in the firmware.

For those of us long-term CE testers, we can clearly see that there are aggressive efforts being made to get out another solid National firmware release to stablize the DVR population of users. Several "new" little things have been backed out for use just to accomplish that - so some of the characterizations about intentions, methods, or activities posted here earlier in this thread are plain wrong.

Despite infurances to the contrary, there is no benefit or intent to DirecTV to issue a firmware release with flaws - it only causes them problems.

As I have worked in a software development world directly myself for over 15 years...a sudden "bad apple" release happens. It's not good, its not pretty, but it happens for a wide range of reasons.

No one disputes the need for a newer, stable National firmware release. What is disputed is what is being done about it, and how its being done. It has been about 18 months since the CE testing program began, and the system is anything but broken.


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

Woke up today to another complete lock up. Getting really tired of this.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Nicholsen said:


> I agree with you that threads like this serve an important purpose. And let's all be honest, the recent history of software releases for the HR2x boxes is hardly a case study in software quality control.


some venting is fine, but please remember that there are real people are behind word 'DIRECTV' ..


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> some venting is fine, but please remember that there are real people are behind word 'DIRECTV' ..


and there are real customers paying the bills each month. Personally, I'm not pointing at anyone at DirecTV personally...but for people to deny after all we've been through for two years (next month) that there isn't a problem with the process is some serious denial. But...it may be at a point where it can't be fixed anytime soon...in which case we as customers are just going to have to accept this type of product and either live with it, find an alternative or do without.

As I said...the pulling of the 0x251 NR is actually a good sign in some ways...someone there saw a problem and was able to stop it before more people were affected.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I don't think too many folks will debate that 0235 is a stinker...
> 
> That said, all the other hoopla and ranting about the coding, testing, and release process is just that - ranting.
> 
> ...


I haven't seen anyone infer or state that DirecTV intentionally is releasing bad software. Unfortunately, we haven't seen a lot of evidence over the past few years that they know how to release really good software either.

The CE system isn't broken, but something is. If you think 0x235 is the only real "stinker" of a release they've made you have a very short memory. As customers we don't need to know how the internal process works...we just get to judge the end results which are the NR.


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> some venting is fine, but please remember that *there are real people are behind word 'DIRECTV' *..


After paying these people $200 for a box that I have to lease and another $127/mo I personally don't care if the D* people get their delicate little feelings hurt. The bottom line is that some of us had DVR's that functioned very well and now they suck ass. If we contact D* to help us fix problems they want to charge us $80 for a tech visit or $20 plus another $5.99 per month for the service plan. This is just pitiful.

IMO they need to quit worrying about all the media share BS and networking crap and just concentrate on fixing these DVR's so that we can just watch TV without having our boxes lock up. If people want to add media share and networking then have them purchase extra hardware that is designed to do so. Not all of us are tech geeks. Some of us just want to watch TV and record programs.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I don't think too many folks will debate that 0235 is a stinker...


I don't know about that, it appears some people would.



Doug Brott said:


> Overall 0x235 has seemed very stable ..


----------



## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

raott said:


> I don't know about that, it appears some people would.


Ah, so clearly you are pointing at me .. Yes, up until the last couple of days, it has seemed that way as there just wasn't the amount of posts that are showing up now. It's not clear to me what the problems are and I am trying to help understand what was and is going on.


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## Flyrx7 (Dec 26, 2007)

Uh-oh,

Almost looks like we need another week long censorship program, just in case someone at D* gets their feelings hurt.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

OK .. folks

<Mod Hat>

This thread is not what DBSTalk.com is about .. If you've got a gripe about something, then feel free to post it but the attacking must stop .. I do not want to close this thread because clearly folks are having problems .. but there is no need to be disrespectful, period .. There just is no place for that on our forum.

</Mod Hat>


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## shmengie (Apr 12, 2007)

mostly on-topic: i'm here in los angeles and haven't received 251 yet (hoping it'll fix lockups on my hr21). so, i just forced an update and it didn't find 251. it's re-downloading 235. aren't us left-coasters usually first in these rollouts?

screenie


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## OverThereTooMuch (Aug 19, 2006)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> No one disputes the need for a newer, stable National firmware release. What is disputed is what is being done about it, and how its being done. It has been about 18 months since the CE testing program began, and the system is anything but broken.


If the process is "anything but broken", then how do major issues like this sneak out of the CE's into the NR's? There's a finite set of hardware, and a relatively small set of software tweaks that can be made (though the number of software tweaks possible appears that's growing exponentially with each new release).

I see similar threads/complaints similar to the one at the top of this thread posted all the time here. The common theme seems to be a request to stop adding in all of the new features until they get some better core stability in the box. For example, I saw a thread a week or two ago that seemed to attribute some frequent problem w/ their DVR (I think it was lockups) to having a network cable plugged in.

A suggestion: There are people here that aren't used to testing software or the CE's, and so they don't know that it's really helpful to provide some basic set of info in their reports. Perhaps a sticky post on the top of each forum reminding people what kinds of details are helpful would prevent some of the threads from spinning off into random rants? (And I'm not knocking random rants...I often post those myself )


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

shmengie said:


> mostly on-topic: i'm here in los angeles and haven't received 251 yet (hoping it'll fix lockups on my hr21). so, i just forced an update and it didn't find 251. it's re-downloading 235. aren't us left-coasters usually first in these rollouts?


shmengie - it's looking like the NR roll of 251 has stalled or been canceled. See this discussion going on here.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

shmengie said:


> mostly on-topic: i'm here in los angeles and haven't received 251 yet (hoping it'll fix lockups on my hr21). so, i just forced an update and it didn't find 251. it's re-downloading 235. aren't us left-coasters usually first in these rollouts?
> 
> screenie


It's possible they're changing the way that rollouts occur. It never made sense to me to do it west to east as one differentiator between units is the time zone the person is in. By potentially doing it across the entire country in bits and pieces you have a better chance of finding the bug that effects viewers in any given time zone before everyone in ET is affected.

Of course, I think everyone would prefer if they had things a bit more stable before going NR...but while I'm as hard on their QA process as anyone...there are bugs that just can't be easily found until you have tens of thousands of people using the devices.


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## Flyrx7 (Dec 26, 2007)

Doug,

Please don't think that I was attacking you, if indeed you were also referring to me. I'm just trying to understand where the line is drawn. 

Clearly people are upset with the quality of D* offerings, so if there are complaints in the public forum about D* inability to rectify the issues, is that a personal attack? It seems as soon as anyone gets critical about D* it gets labeled as an attack, I mean, why else would the "DLB" thread get censored?

I think we have a right to be critical, it's not like we are complaining about a free service. Directv sees fit to charge us, and charge us extra for the whole HD experience, and therefore can afford to weather unhappy reviews, IMHO. They are afterall a service provider. 
D* needs to understand how there actions effect their customers, otherwise what's the point? It would just be a dictatorship.

Personal attacks, on the other hand, should not be encouraged or tolerated, I agree. But to discourage any critical rhetoric against D* seems a little over zealous to me. 
What D* needs are public liazons, someone to provide answers, apologies, insight, etc. Since they don't publicly acknowledge any of these issues it leaves an already frustrated base even more so, since it leads to speculation and all sorts of nastiness.

Regards,
Frank


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## shmengie (Apr 12, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> shmengie - it's looking like the NR roll of 251 has stalled or been canceled. See this discussion going on here.


ah so, thx!


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

Flyrx7 said:


> Doug,
> 
> Please don't think that I was attacking you, if indeed you were also referring to me. I'm just trying to understand where the line is drawn.
> 
> ...


I would second that, and amplify a little.

1. The posters on the board (even the negative ones) are D* customers who are choosing to stay with the D* system. When things go badly, they are entitled to grouse, complain, vent, etc., within the boundaries of civility and good manners generally applicable to the board. Otherwise the board becomes just a bunch of people posting "My D* DVR works great, loser. Enjoy your new cable connection."

2. A big part of the board's attraction is the personalities of some of the posters, and the lively debate. If you want plain vanilla, you can always head over to the "official" D* forum. Personally, I miss QUE (the poster with the DLB avatar) and enjoyed reading the daily news on the DLB thread, even if it was basically just "+1." A little friendly controversy is good. I would, therefore, respectfully request that the moderators consider leaving the DLB thread open in the future.

3. D* would be smart to make official posts to the board from time to time to deliver "official" news. That seems like basic PR. When something bad happens (like a misfire on an NR) it just makes sense to issue a short statement as to what happened, and your plan to fix it.


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

Flyrx7 said:


> Doug,
> 
> Please don't think that I was attacking you, if indeed you were also referring to me. I'm just trying to understand where the line is drawn.
> 
> ...





Nicholsen said:


> I would second that, and amplify a little.
> 
> 1. The posters on the board (even the negative ones) are D* customers who are choosing to stay with the D* system. When things go badly, they are entitled to grouse, complain, vent, etc., within the boundaries of civility and good manners generally applicable to the board. Otherwise the board becomes just a bunch of people posting "My D* DVR works great, loser. Enjoy your new cable connection."
> 
> ...


Excellent.

I was beginning to think that this board was veering off path a bit. These posts are very refreshing.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

OverThereTooMuch said:


> If the process is "anything but broken", then how do major issues like this sneak out of the CE's into the NR's?


Without re-envigorating the whole off-topic debates...lets just say that those of us who work with software development on a daily basis see this all the time. You cannot test all the operating environments that are out there in a lab. That's why the CE program was started, and even it has limitations.

We could spend the next 1000 posts talking about the wonderful world of Windows releases and the ups and downs, fixed and broken, re-fixed and re-broken, and the like....

*or...*

We can simply move on, and look forward to the next National Release that should improve things considerably. No one wants a stinky release, least of which DirecTV...


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> *or...*
> 
> We can simply move on, and look forward to the next National Release that should improve things considerably. No one wants a stinky release, least of which DirecTV...


No disrespect, but why would anyone assume the "next" release will be the one that fixes all of the problems experienced by users? Based upon recent history, it seems just as likely that there will be some new features implemented and some new problems introduced. If nothing else, people are entitled to note and comment upon the ongoing software problems/issues.

To a large degree, it would appear we have been doing beta testing. Just because a piece of software has had some field testing (like the CE program) does not mean it is robust. I admire the guys/gals who are doing the CE's. However, I don't do beta software , because I expect my stuff to work. No excuses, no workarounds, no patching.

Personally, I would like to see a "feature freeze" until they get the existing bugs shaken out and the systems working reliably. I have suggested this before. I am sure the marketing guys want whistles and bells. However, I think much of the the user base would prefer that the software be rock solid before they start to add features again.

One other constructive suggestion. It seems like a lot of people (informed people at that) think some of the software problems are triggered by poor installs, low signal levels, etc. How about a report to the user that indicates the signal levels are low and suggests a service call. (Like a "Service Engine Now" light in a car.) There is no reason someone should need to record signal levels manually and post them to the board. The DVR should be able to check that once a day, and let you know if something is bad or appears to be deteriorating. Just a thought. (Ouch! I guess that is a new feature)


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Nicholsen said:


> How about a report to the user that indicates the signal levels are low and suggests a service call. (Like a "Service Engine Now" light in a car.) There is no reason someone should need to record signal levels manually and post them to the board. The DVR should be able to check that once a day, and let you know if something is bad or appears to be deteriorating. Just a thought. (Ouch! I guess that is a new feature)


Great idea!

DirecTV Got a Signal from my HR20 that my Signal Strengths are Low


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Without re-envigorating the whole off-topic debates...lets just say that those of us who work with software development on a daily basis see this all the time. You cannot test all the operating environments that are out there in a lab. That's why the CE program was started, and even it has limitations.
> 
> We could spend the next 1000 posts talking about the wonderful world of Windows releases and the ups and downs, fixed and broken, re-fixed and re-broken, and the like....
> 
> ...


I really wish people would stop comparing D* to Microsoft.

If anything, D* is more like Apple, where the company provides both the hardware and software -- yet, D*, like Apple, still releases a lot of bugs into the wild.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

ATARI said:


> I really wish people would stop comparing D* to Microsoft.
> 
> If anything, D* is more like Apple, where the company provides both the hardware and software -- yet, D*, like Apple, still releases a lot of bugs into the wild.


I think you make a valid point. D* is supporting 2 basic consumer DVR models, and completely controls the hardware specs on all six version of those units. Microsoft deals with hundreds of hardware vendors and thousands of different hardware components.

On the other hand, Apple is an acknowledged leader in industrial design and interface programming. Other companies routinely mimic their designs. On the DVR side, I think D* has been an imitator, not an innovator.


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## JerryAndGail (Oct 18, 2006)

SPACEMAKER said:


> IMO they need to quit worrying about all the media share BS and networking crap and just concentrate on fixing these DVR's so that we can just watch TV without having our boxes lock up. If people want to add media share and networking then have them purchase extra hardware that is designed to do so. Not all of us are tech geeks. Some of us just want to watch TV and record programs.


+1


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## gleytch (Aug 26, 2007)

I've had the problems that have been reported before about the unit freezing after pausing (live tv or recorded show). I decided to try to force a dowload to see if a new version was available, and it turns out I already had 0251, but when I forced the download, it is now installing 0235. Looks like Directv has changed their minds about 0251.

Note that I didn't download 0251 during a CE or anything, it was just installed on its own.

Greg


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## eileen22 (Mar 24, 2006)

It sounds like people are having the "freezing after pausing" issue with both releases (235 and 251). I still have 235 and had it happen last night, but I see that this issue is being talked about on both of the release threads, and seems to just have started when 251 was rolled out.


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## OverThereTooMuch (Aug 19, 2006)

ATARI said:


> I really wish people would stop comparing D* to Microsoft.
> 
> If anything, D* is more like Apple, where the company provides both the hardware and software -- yet, D*, like Apple, still releases a lot of bugs into the wild.


Amen!


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

eileen22 said:


> It sounds like people are having the "freezing after pausing" issue with both releases (235 and 251). I still have 235 and had it happen last night, but I see that this issue is being talked about on both of the release threads, and seems to just have started when 251 was rolled out.


I never saw this myself --> until last night. Watching Next Food Network Star, time delayed so as to skip commercials. I was about 45 minutes into the show, but in 'real' time there was 5 minutes left to record. I paused for a bathroom break, came back, and unit was unresponsive. I waited until after the shows end time to RBR.

Luckily, when the unit cam back up, the show was there in its entirety. So it looks like it was still doing the recording, even though it was unresponsive to remote or front panel inputs.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

eileen22 said:


> It sounds like people are having the "freezing after pausing" issue with both releases (235 and 251). I still have 235 and had it happen last night, but I see that this issue is being talked about on both of the release threads, and seems to just have started when 251 was rolled out.


Yes, last night I also noticed the "freezing after pausing" bug. I had paused the local news to take a phone call. On resumption the play, fast forward, and rewind buttons did nothing. I was able to change the channel, but of course when I went back to the original channel I had lost the buffer.

Been doing this pausing on a fairly regular basis, but this is the first time I had a freeze. NR is version 235.


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## EricJRW (Jul 6, 2008)

Nicholsen said:


> Personally, I would like to see a "feature freeze" until they get the existing bugs shaken out and the systems working reliably. I have suggested this before. I am sure the marketing guys want whistles and bells. However, I think much of the the user base would prefer that the software be rock solid before they start to add features again.


*Absolutely! *



Nicholsen said:


> One other constructive suggestion. It seems like a lot of people (informed people at that) think some of the software problems are triggered by poor installs, low signal levels, etc. How about a report to the user that indicates the signal levels are low and suggests a service call. (Like a "Service Engine Now" light in a car.) There is no reason someone should need to record signal levels manually and post them to the board. The DVR should be able to check that once a day, and let you know if something is bad or appears to be deteriorating. Just a thought. (Ouch! I guess that is a new feature)


With a historical data graph! So you can see if the SS went south over time, or happened overnight!


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## johnd55 (Mar 29, 2007)

My HR20-700 didn't start having problems until we checked out the Game Lounge Freebee. It really became a problem last night. Still running 235 software release.



EricJRW said:


> *Absolutely! *
> 
> With a historical data graph! So you can see if the SS went south over time, or happened overnight!


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## Ramalama (May 2, 2007)

Had tons of the same problems as mentioned here and in other threads so will spare details, but worst of which was remote commands were ignored or responded to very lethargically, got pixelations, sound drop outs. But the odd thing is that while I got 251 on July 9, it is now gone! It seems to have rolled back, all on its own to 235 and now shows it to be updated on 6/17 which I know to be what it used to say before it said 7/9

Did not watch much on it last night so not sure if there are any problems yet.
I had more issues with this release than any in the past. Just my experience, and I might add we just have a plain vanilla installation - the thing is connected to a TV. No network, no internet, no external boxes, no multiswitches. Dish is NOT not grounded and Caller ID works flawlessly. (22 feet from ground vertically and about 55 linear feet on the ground to nearest water pipe ergo no ground).


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

My HR20-100 stopped recording on both tuners at 12:50am and was locked up.

I had to RBR at 7:00 am and again at 10:00am.

Something is seriously screwed up with this 0x235.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

SPACEMAKER said:


> My HR20-100 stopped recording on both tuners at 12:50am and was locked up.
> 
> I had to RBR at 7:00 am and again at 10:00am.
> 
> Something is seriously screwed up with this 0x235.


There is some hope that a new release will be available later this week .. It's not 100% sure, though.


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> There is some hope that a new release will be available later this week .. It's not 100% sure, though.


I have my fingers crossed!


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> There is some hope that a new release will be available later this week .. It's not 100% sure, though.


Let's all hope that "new" this time around also means "better"!


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Ken S said:


> Nicholsen said:
> 
> 
> > Based upon your set-up, you are obviously know something about the HR20s. Let me ask you a couple of questions:
> ...


In the modern day software industry, that's not entirely relevant. Either way, they are software "defects". Software defects may have their source in the Code phase, the Design phase, and even in the Requirements phase of the software development process. Just because something was implemented to spec doesn't mean that it isn't a software defect.

Anyone who is doing any software development to modern day software process standards, not only accepts that fact, but also tracks which of those development phases was the injection point for every defect in their software. If they are following advanced software development process, they not only track the data mentioned above, but adjust and change their software development process to reduce the number of defects that are discovered "out of phase"&#8230; i.e. defects that were injected in a development phase other than the phase in which they were discovered.


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## Steve Rhodes (Oct 4, 2006)

gleytch said:


> I've had the problems that have been reported before about the unit freezing after pausing (live tv or recorded show). I decided to try to force a dowload to see if a new version was available, and it turns out I already had 0251, but when I forced the download, it is now installing 0235. Looks like Directv has changed their minds about 0251.
> 
> Note that I didn't download 0251 during a CE or anything, it was just installed on its own.
> 
> Greg


How do you force a download?? I want to try that.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

Steve Rhodes said:


> How do you force a download?? I want to try that.


Reboot the reciever... the blue lights on the front panel will go off... as soon as they come back on... enter '0-2-4-6-8' on the remote... it should then go to the software download screen...


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## makaiguy (Sep 24, 2007)

I think you guys jinxed me. 

I'd never had a recording fail until I started reading this thread. Now the last "Tougher in Alaska" episode on Hist gave me an hour of gray nothing. Fortunately that episode will be shown again and I've set it for a manual record ...


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## shmengie (Apr 12, 2007)

Steve Rhodes said:


> How do you force a download?? I want to try that.


hey, i'm certainly not a mod or a forum nazi, but when i wanted to know how to force i download, i searched here for 'force' and found it instantly. anyways, you know the old saying: if it jams, force it. if it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

If you force a download at this moment, you will receive firmware version 0x235.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

shmengie said:


> hey, i'm certainly not a mod or a forum nazi, but when i wanted to know how to force i download, i searched here for 'force' and found it instantly. anyways, you know the old saying: if it jams, force it. if it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.


If hitting it with a hammer doesn't work -- try a bigger hammer.


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## shmengie (Apr 12, 2007)

ATARI said:


> If hitting it with a hammer doesn't work -- try a bigger hammer.


yes, but with what if your hammer breaks? what do you hit it with? :kickbutt:


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## Flyrx7 (Dec 26, 2007)

shmengie said:


> yes, but with what if your hammer breaks? what do you hit it with? :kickbutt:


A boat anchor? Or a HR2* DVR+ receiver, whichever is more convenient.

I know, I know....:backtotop but I couldn't resist.


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## Redlinetire (Jul 24, 2007)

shmengie said:


> yes, but with what if your hammer breaks? what do you hit it with?


I use my H10, since it stopped working when I kept throwing it against the wall.

I'm getting to that point with the HR20! :lol:


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> ...No one wants a stinky release, least of which DirecTV...


 Too late.

We've just had two in a row.


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## romulox (Jun 22, 2007)

yeah, it's getting so frustrating that I can't tell if any little glitch is a "235 problem" or something else. For example, I'm one of the few people in the USA watching Big Brother 10 (recorded) now. The audio is intermittently cutting in and out and the pic freezes for like a second while doing so. The question is, is this:
1) x235 ?
2) All of CBS
3) My central FL cbs affiliate?
4) my box (hardware)
5) am I revisiting an old issue of "tuner 1 problems" (remember those threads?) that seemed to be cleared up but now maybe reintroduced with 235 ?

I don't expect an answer... I'm just tired of some sort of issue with nearly every one of my recorded programs. However, I love directv, it is the best option for me, and I plan on being with them for a long time. When I next see my blue ring-a-glowin, it will feel like Christmas day (for just a second).

On a troubleshooting note, apparently my Big Brother glitches are not recorded which means they are not a part of the stream which means I'm down to #1, #4, or #5. I, hopefully, doubt #4 given the troubled times we are having. well, so much for my woe-is-me story; back to tv watching.


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