# Problem with HR34 and C31



## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

I had these installed two weeks ago. Every couple of days, the C31 lose connection. Reseting it does not do anything, I have to reset the server and in the process lose recordings in progress. After reset it works for a couple of days and then does it again.
I am getting ready to call the technical support but I would like to know if other people experienced this and how did they fix it.

Thank you.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

My suspicion is a bad cable or bad connection, or a cable run that's too long.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

I'm having the same problem here. I'm a relatively new customer (first time poster on DBStalk too  ) and have a HR34 and two C31 clients. The service worked flawlessly for the first week, but after that (possibly coinciding with a software update rolled out on Oct 31st) I started having problems with my C31 devices.

When I power the C31 on, it'll show a blank grey screen. I can usually browse the menus, show listings, and guide but the C31 will never play a recorded show or live TV. When it gets in this state, even a full RBR won't resolve the problem. I must reset the HR34 unit before the C31 client will come back.

At first I thought it might have been a defective C31 unit, so I swapped the C31 that I use regularly with the the C31 in the guest bedroom. The second C31 began having that exact same problem though, so I don't think it's a hardware issue.

I've read of other people on a different forum having this same problem. I don't think it's a cabling or bad connection. Like I said, it worked fine for the entire first week. And I'm able to resolve the problem by rebooting the HR34 unit. But it only stays fixed for a day or sometimes less before the C31 units run into the same problem again.

I'm hoping that a future software release will fix this problem. I have no idea if/when a release is planned for these devices? I sympathize with the original poster though. It has been quite annoying to reset the server and lose recordings that are in progress on a daily basis to resolve this grey screen issue on the C31s.


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## keebler21 (Oct 22, 2011)

I've been having very similar issues with two C31 clients... My cables aren't bad since I just moved into a brand new house about a month ago. 

Usually a reboot will take care of any issues - other times not.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

By all means, contact DIRECTV ASAP. DIRECTV cannot fix something that they don't know about and if they're losing connection, the devices may not be able to notify DIRECTV themselves. If nothing else, maybe they can give you a timetable on a fix.

You also need to make sure that the resolution process starts before the installation honeymoon (30 days?) is over so that you don't have to pay for service calls.


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

For those of you having problems, is your DirecTV network hooked up to the internet? If so is it hooked up using a wired cinema connect kit, wireless cinema connect kit, or an ethernet cable hooked up to the HR34/Genie Server? Can you check to see what IP address the C31s have when the issue happens? I'm wondering if these are more DHCP/router IP address issues.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

I called DirecTV this morning to let them know of my recurring issue. They weren't of any immediate help, but did say that it was a known problem. They didn't have any sort of time frame as to when it might be fixed or anything, though.

My HR34 is connected to the Internet via an ethernet cable. I'll check the IP addresses of the C31 the next time the issue comes up and report back. Starting yesterday, I've taken to just leaving the C31 on at all times so I don't have to mess with rebooting the HR34 so frequently. I'm hoping that by not powering the device off it'll never get into this grey screen degraded mode, but we'll see!


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Beerstalker said:


> I'm wondering if these are more DHCP/router IP address issues.


For the clients I doubt it's DHCP, since they use a 169.xxx IP between server and client, even with a router connected.


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## keebler21 (Oct 22, 2011)

Drinyth said:


> I called DirecTV this morning to let them know of my recurring issue. They weren't of any immediate help, but did say that it was a known problem. They didn't have any sort of time frame as to when it might be fixed or anything, though.
> 
> My HR34 is connected to the Internet via an ethernet cable. I'll check the IP addresses of the C31 the next time the issue comes up and report back. Starting yesterday, I've taken to just leaving the C31 on at all times so I don't have to mess with rebooting the HR34 so frequently. I'm hoping that by not powering the device off it'll never get into this grey screen degraded mode, but we'll see!


I leave my C31's on all the time and still have these issues... I'm sure once they get some more software updates out that it will help correct the problems since they are very new.


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

I called the tech this morning. After several tests that showed a networking error, he transferred me to his manager. 
I have an appointment with the technician next week. I hope he will be able to solve the problem.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

> I leave my C31's on all the time and still have these issues... I'm sure once they get some more software updates out that it will help correct the problems since they are very new.


Bummer to hear that they still grey screen despite leaving them on. There goes that idea...



> After several tests that showed a networking error, he transferred me to his manager.
> I have an appointment with the technician next week. I hope he will be able to solve the problem.


Do you remember what tests that you ran to show the networking error?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> Do you remember what tests that you ran to show the networking error?


You can run a system test from the HR34 and it will report network errors, but these can also come from "just turning off" the C31s, even when there isn't a network problem.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

veryoldschool said:


> You can run a system test from the HR34 and it will report network errors, but these can also come from "just turning off" the C31s, even when there isn't a network problem.


Hmmm. Interesting. I just ran the system test on my HR34 while both of my C31 clients were on and functioning just fine. I still received the network error message. 

I'm going to wait until the clients do their grey screen magic and run the system test again to see if I get anything different.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> Hmmm. Interesting. I just ran the system test on my HR34 while both of my C31 clients were on and functioning just fine. I still received the network error message.
> 
> I'm going to wait until the clients do their *grey screen* magic and run the system test again to see if I get anything different.


This may be due to a firmware issue more than anything else.
My C31 seems to not have this problem, and has worked better with component than HDMI, but I already had the special component cable here to use.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

"OK" I've been given some info to ask about:

What else is on your network?
Are there any: DLNA servers or clients on the same network, such as PCs with media sharing turned on, Smart TVs or IPTV boxes?


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

veryoldschool said:


> "OK" I've been given some info to ask about:
> 
> What else is on your network?
> Are there any: DLNA servers or clients on the same network, such as PCs with media sharing turned on, Smart TVs or IPTV boxes?


Out of that list, the only thing that I would have would be one Smart TV. That Smart TV is connected to a C31 client and not the HR34. I don't know if that detail matters or not?


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

veryoldschool said:


> My C31 seems to not have this problem, and has worked better with component than HDMI, but I already had the special component cable here to use.


I was thinking about giving component a try, but I don't think it'll help. I've tried switching the input source when this happens to get the TV to try and rescan for devices to no avail. And the C31 will actually display menus, playlists, and the guide (albeit with a grey background [maybe I'll take a screenshot of what I can see the next time it happens]) leading me to believe if it were some kind of HDMI issue, I wouldn't be seeing anything at all.

The issue always has fixed itself upon a reset of the HR34 and without touching anything on the C31 or that clients TV. I would think that if there were a problem with the C31 or that TV, that a HR34 reset wouldn't do anything there.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> The issue always has fixed itself upon a reset of the HR34 and without touching anything on the C31 or that clients TV. I would think that if there were a problem with the C31 or that TV, that a HR34 reset wouldn't do anything there.


I tend to agree with you. The question was if there was/is anything on the network that might cause the 34 to have problems.
Do you know your router's settings very well?
There are some reports that this could be a uPNP issue and you might try turning it off in your router's setting.

My router doesn't support uPNP, so I can't turn it off, but then I don't have the problem either. :shrug:


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## Jodean (Jul 17, 2010)

only grey screen of death i run into is when the client isnt actually activated. They will work again for a while if the server is reset, but then after a day back to grey screen.

try a resend of auth


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

veryoldschool said:


> I tend to agree with you. The question was if there was/is anything on the network that might cause the 34 to have problems.
> Do you know your router's settings very well?
> There are some reports that this could be a uPNP issue and you might try turning it off in your router's setting.
> 
> My router doesn't support uPNP, so I can't turn it off, but then I don't have the problem either. :shrug:


Alright. I've disabled uPNP on my router. I'll post back if/when the grey screen issue comes back and uPNP is off.


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

dserban said:


> I had these installed two weeks ago. Every couple of days, the C31 lose connection. Reseting it does not do anything, I have to reset the server and in the process lose recordings in progress. After reset it works for a couple of days and then does it again.
> I am getting ready to call the technical support but I would like to know if other people experienced this and how did they fix it.
> 
> Thank you.


I have 3 C31 clients. Had exact same issue with one of them. We even replaced the C31 client. Issue went away once I connected to the TV using component\special cable. It turns out the C31 and the Westinghouse LCD for some reason didn't like each other when using HDMI. The other TVs work fine with HDMI connection.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

For the record, I have this problem with my C31 too. It happens about once a week. It's happened ever since I got my HR34 about a month ago. The only way to fix it is reboot the HR34.

Like others, I can see the grid and work the menus, but there's no video, even from recorded shows. I think the background is the border bar color preference. In my case, it's set to black.

I use wireless with a AP bridge located at my HR34. The only other device on the network is one PC. No torrenting, etc. It's been like that for years and worked fine for my older 20 and 21.

Here's a pic.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

Strog said:


> I have 3 C31 clients. Had exact same issue with one of them. We even replaced the C31 client. Issue went away once I connected to the TV using component\special cable. It turns out the C31 and the Westinghouse LCD for some reason didn't like each other when using HDMI. The other TVs work fine with HDMI connection.


What kind of cable did you use? An HDMI to component? I think it might be an HDMI handshake issue too. The issue happened more often at first. But then I turned off the some of the ratio detection settings on my Toshiba. It happens less, but still happens.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

c6duffman said:


> Like others, I can see the grid and work the menus, but there's no video, even from recorded shows. I think the background is the border bar color preference. In my case, it's set to black.


Good call about the color preference. I never thought of that. Yes, mine is set to dark grey and indeed I have a grey background when my C31 locks up like this.

EDIT:  Yes indeed. I changed my border bar to black and had a black background exactly like you pictured when my C31 locks up.


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

c6duffman said:


> What kind of cable did you use? An HDMI to component? I think it might be an HDMI handshake issue too. The issue happened more often at first. But then I turned off the some of the ratio detection settings on my Toshiba. It happens less, but still happens.


This is what he gave me: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...nt-Dongle-for-DIRECTV-H25-and-C31-(H2510PIN)-


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

Strog said:


> This is what he gave me:


Ah, I thought that port was S-Video. Can it display 1080i and 1080p?


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

c6duffman said:


> Ah, I thought that port was S-Video. Can it display 1080i and 1080p?


Doing 1080i right now.


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

Drinyth said:


> Bummer to hear that they still grey screen despite leaving them on. There goes that idea...
> 
> Do you remember what tests that you ran to show the networking error?


System info test.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

veryoldschool said:


> I tend to agree with you. The question was if there was/is anything on the network that might cause the 34 to have problems.
> Do you know your router's settings very well?
> There are some reports that this could be a uPNP issue and you might try turning it off in your router's setting.
> 
> ...


It's been a little over a day or so since I disabled uPNP on my router and I will say that I'm cautiously optimistic at this point! Both C31 clients are still working as normal. They also startup significantly more quickly. Previously, it would take between 20-30 seconds when I turned the C31 on until it would start displaying video (when it did work, that is). Now, that's down to 5-10 seconds.

I'm hoping those two things are related and that the C31 was taking so long before because it was waiting to get some kind of uPNP response from the router. Now that it's disabled, it doesn't need to wait for any kind of timeout?

In any case, I'll report back if it does freeze up again or in a few days if all is still normal.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Drinyth said:


> It's been a little over a day or so since I disabled uPNP on my router and I will say that I'm cautiously optimistic at this point! Both C31 clients are still working as normal. They also startup significantly more quickly. Previously, it would take between 20-30 seconds when I turned the C31 on until it would start displaying video (when it did work, that is). Now, that's down to 5-10 seconds.
> 
> I'm hoping those two things are related and that the C31 was taking so long before because it was waiting to get some kind of uPNP response from the router. Now that it's disabled, it doesn't need to wait for any kind of timeout?
> 
> In any case, I'll report back if it does freeze up again or in a few days if all is still normal.


Nevermind. False alarm. Turned it on this morning and it's locked up again like usual.


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## keebler21 (Oct 22, 2011)

Strog said:


> I have 3 C31 clients. Had exact same issue with one of them. We even replaced the C31 client. Issue went away once I connected to the TV using component\special cable. It turns out the C31 and the Westinghouse LCD for some reason didn't like each other when using HDMI. The other TVs work fine with HDMI connection.


Hmm - the TV I'm mainly having this issue with is also a Westinghouse. But I don't currently have the special cable needed to hook it up via component.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

veryoldschool said:


> I tend to agree with you. The question was if there was/is anything on the network that might cause the 34 to have problems.
> Do you know your router's settings very well?
> There are some reports that this could be a uPNP issue and you might try turning it off in your router's setting.
> 
> My router doesn't support uPNP, so I can't turn it off, but then I don't have the problem either. :shrug:


Well, I'm running out of ideas of what I can do on the network side to mitigate the problem. I updated the firmware on my router and tried adjusting numerous settings (disabled uPNP, disabled QoS, etc.). Nothing really seems to help. My C31 will work for a day or so after a HR34 reset, but always ends up crapping out less than two days later.

Do you have your HR34 connected directly via ethernet? If you run a system test on your machine, does it report back a network error of any kind? I'm at a complete loss of where to go from here...


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> Do you have your HR34 connected directly via ethernet? If you run a system test on your machine, does it report back a network error of any kind? I'm at a complete loss of where to go from here...


I'm using a CCK to connect to my home network.
When I run a system test, it reports a network problem which comes from me turning off my C31.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

veryoldschool said:


> I'm using a CCK to connect to my home network.


Hmmm. I'm connecting my HR34 directly to the Internet via an ethernet cable. I'm not sure if that is an issue or not? If anyone else is still reading this thread and is having this problem, can you please report back to how your HR34 is connected to the Internet?

I can ping all the local IPs of the DirecTV devices (the HR34 and the two C31 devices). Obviously, I can't check to see if the 169.x.x.x addresses can talk to each other. I came across this URL:

http://support.directv.com/app/answ...2LzEvdGltZS8xMzUyNzYyMzA1L3NpZC9Ec2lONDdibA==

Which says that you can't connect a HD DVR directly via ethernet if you have whole-home DVR service. But I wonder if that's written for older DVR systems? I would have thought that if I required a CCK type of device, that they installer would have known about that requirement?



> When I run a system test, it reports a network problem which comes from me turning off my C31.


If you get a chance, I'm curious when your C31 units are on if it also reports a network problem or not? Thus far, my HR34 ALWAYS reports a network problem even when the C31 units are on and functioning properly. I haven't tested yet to see if it'll give me a different error code now that the C31 devices are hung mostly because I don't want to stop my recordings that are in process.

I appreciate the help thus far!


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

DIRECTV's policy is that connecting DVRs via ethernet is unsupported. The HR34 is different from other DVRs because it bridges the connections so you can use it as a cinema connection kit but that is, as I said, unsupported. 

If you have C31 clients you will always get dropped connection errors; an error is generated any time you turn the C31 off. This is known, and at some time in the future it will be addressed.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> I appreciate the help thus far!


The network errors are collective, so it don't matter if the C31 is on or off. If you turn it off, as I do, the HR34 counts this as a dropped session.

While I don't use ethernet to my HR34, I know many that do, and this problem doesn't seem to be related.

The link you found has to do with the HR24, as if you connect ethernet to it, it disables the coax networking.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Alright. Again, thanks for the feedback. I'm still new to DirecTV, so I'm glad to have some of you more experienced folks here to help!

Can someone verify my cabling setup as done by the installer? I have my coax from the satellite dish going to the power inverter on the port labelled "Power to SWM". The connection continues out via the port labelled "Power to IRD" and into a 4-way green label splitter. From there, three coax cables exit going to the respective rooms with the receivers. One of the C31s is connected on the DC power passing leg. The other C31 and the HR34 are connected to two of the other legs of the splitter with the last one being terminated with a cap. Does that sound right?

I've also heard of the setup running as follows: Coax from the dish runs directly to the input on the 4-way green label splitter. The DC power passing leg goes to the Power to SWM label of the power inverter. The Power to IRD is terminated. The remaining three legs of the 4-way splitter go to the respective DirecTV receivers.

Is there any legitimacy or reason to believe that the latter would be any better? I found the latter setup from:

http://forums.directv.com/pe/action/forums/displaypost?postID=11116099

Thoughts?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> Alright. Again, thanks for the feedback. I'm still new to DirecTV, so I'm glad to have some of you more experienced folks here to help!
> 
> Can someone verify my cabling setup as done by the installer? I have my coax from the satellite dish going to the power inverter on the port labelled "Power to SWM". The connection continues out via the port labelled "Power to IRD" and into a 4-way green label splitter. From there, three coax cables exit going to the respective rooms with the receivers. One of the C31s is connected on the DC power passing leg. The other C31 and the HR34 are connected to two of the other legs of the splitter with the last one being terminated with a cap. Does that sound right? *Yes this is correct and very close to how mine has been since I first got a SWiM.*
> 
> ...


Everyone gets an idea of how to "fix" something, but this is how myths get started too.
That link had to do [or the first few posts/dates] with a software problem with the HR34.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

veryoldschool said:


> Everyone gets an idea of how to "fix" something, but this is how myths get started too.
> That link had to do [or the first few posts/dates] with a software problem with the HR34.


Oh well. It was worth a shot. Thanks for the clarification.

I'm at a total loss as to where to go from here, I guess.  Do you mind if I ask you what kind of router you're using? I can keep tweaking my router settings to see if it makes any difference. Or just do a RBR on the HR34 every time that I don't see an amber light on the front that it's recording something...


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> Oh well. It was worth a shot. Thanks for the clarification.
> 
> I'm at a total loss as to where to go from here, I guess.  Do you mind if I ask you what kind of router you're using? I can keep tweaking my router settings to see if it makes any difference. Or just do a RBR on the HR34 every time that I don't see an amber light on the front that it's recording something...


I've got a Uverse 2Wire router.
I'm a bit at a loss as to what to do also, though the software is still being tested for improvements.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

dserban said:


> I called the tech this morning. After several tests that showed a networking error, he transferred me to his manager.
> I have an appointment with the technician next week. I hope he will be able to solve the problem.


Just curious if you had your appointment yet? If you could post the results of the technician's visit, that would be great. I'm thinking about going that route myself.

I've tried increasing my DHCP lease times from 12 hours to 7 days, but it didn't seem to do anything. I'm assuming that don't have to port forward anything on the router itself? I see that there is a STB port that is defined on the receivers, but I haven't seen many folks talking about setting up port forwarding such that these are accessible from the outside world? I would have figured there would have been more discussion surrounding this if it were required.

I did call DirecTV today just to have record of my problems with the service on my account. The person I spoke with tried some troubleshooting to no avail. Eventually, we got around to resetting the HR34 which I already told him I knew would solve the problem. Once all the receivers were operational after reboot, he said he'd send another "activation signal" or something along those lines to my house in hopes that it would solve the problem long term. I'm highly suspect that it'll do anything, but it's noted on my account now that I've been having continual issues. If I want a technician to come out to the house (assuming that activation signal didn't solve the problem), I should be able to free of charge since I'm still a relatively new customer.


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

Still waiting to hear from them.


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## whitestripes1 (Nov 14, 2012)

I'm having this exact same problem as well


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

Latest update.

The technician came, he run some tests, checked the software and apparently I have now the latest software pushed this morning. This should address the problem.
We will see. In any case he insisted that I should call every time there is a problem so they can document so if you have this issue, call them.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Yes, I see that there was an update on my C31 clients this morning as well (although the date on the software goes back to 11/2?).

Hopefully it fixes the issue. I've generally had the problem creep up within 24 hours of rebooting my HR34, so I should know relatively quickly if it helped or not.


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## mrjussellr (Jul 3, 2010)

c6duffman said:


> Ah, I thought that port was S-Video. Can it display 1080i and 1080p?


1080p is only availible on HDMI with D* receivers.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Drinyth said:


> Yes, I see that there was an update on my C31 clients this morning as well (although the date on the software goes back to 11/2?).
> 
> Hopefully it fixes the issue. I've generally had the problem creep up within 24 hours of rebooting my HR34, so I should know relatively quickly if it helped or not.


Well, that was quick. No fix to me on the issue. I woke up this morning and my C31 was back in its "menu/recordings/guide working but no video showing state".

I've disconnected the HR34 from the Internet and reset the receiver. I'll see if that does anything to keep things running longer than normal.


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

Same here. The issue came right back.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Drinyth said:


> I've disconnected the HR34 from the Internet and reset the receiver. I'll see if that does anything to keep things running longer than normal.


Well, we're at 36 hours+ and my C31 clients are still working. Certainly not long enough of a test to say definitely that it was the Ethernet connection causing the problem, but I can't remember the last time my C31 clients stayed running for this long. I'll continue to monitor the situation for a few days and report back on my findings, but it may be something for you guys to try. After I disconnected the Ethernet from the HR34, I reset the HR34 and all the C31 clients to ensure that none of the devices were carrying any IPs from my home network on them - just the IPs from the 169.254.x.x internal coax network.

VOS originally clued me into turning off uPNP on my router to see if that helped things. While it didn't prevent the C31 from getting into its weird state, it did allow the C31s to go from off to on much more quickly when it did work. That had me thinking if uPNP on the router can have that affect, maybe there is something with the way the HR34 interacts with the home network that is causing the problem? I can't imagine what that might be? My home network hasn't changed in quite a while and I've never had any problems with it that I can speak of. We'll see...


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> Well, we're at 36 hours+ and my C31 clients are still working. Certainly not long enough of a test to say definitely that it was the Ethernet connection causing the problem, but I can't remember the last time my C31 clients stayed running for this long. I'll continue to monitor the situation for a few days and report back on my findings, but it may be something for you guys to try. After I disconnected the Ethernet from the HR34, I reset the HR34 and all the C31 clients to ensure that none of the devices were carrying any IPs from my home network on them - just the IPs from the 169.254.x.x internal coax network.
> 
> VOS originally clued me into turning off uPNP on my router to see if that helped things. While it didn't prevent the C31 from getting into its weird state, it did allow the C31s to go from off to on much more quickly when it did work. That had me thinking if uPNP on the router can have that affect, maybe there is something with the way the HR34 interacts with the home network that is causing the problem? I can't imagine what that might be? My home network hasn't changed in quite a while and I've never had any problems with it that I can speak of. We'll see...


If things keep "going well", you might move to a CCK [or the wireless CCK] to get back the internet/network connection.
I use the WCCK and don't have these issues. :shrug:


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

veryoldschool said:


> If things keep "going well", you might move to a CCK [or the wireless CCK] to get back the internet/network connection.
> I use the WCCK and don't have these issues. :shrug:


Yup. I was thinking that too.

If the other folks on this thread that have been having this problem (dserban, keebler21, c6duffman, whitestripes1) could post (1) if their HR34s are connected to the network and (2) by what means they're connected to the network, that might help.

If some of those folks already are using the CCK or WCCK and are still having the issue, I can try another router (or probably two or three) that I have here at home lying around to see if the problem doesn't lie there. I probably won't go as far as to replace my main home router, but I can isolate the HR34 on its own private router and subnet independent of any other traffic and see if that doesn't help?


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

I disconnected from the network last night. To no avail, the issue happened again today.
A technician is coming on Sunday but I doubt he will be able to fix the issue.
At this point, I am very frustrated and ready to drop Directv.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

dserban said:


> I disconnected from the network last night. To no avail, the issue happened again today.
> A technician is coming on Sunday but I doubt he will be able to fix the issue.
> At this point, I am very frustrated and ready to drop Directv.


Hmmm. I'm still rather amazed that mine is still up and running. I've gotten so used to it crashing within 24 hours. Who knows? Maybe it'll start acting up again soon? A couple questions:


Where you connected to the Internet via a direct Ethernet connection? Or some other method?
After you disconnected from the Internet, did you reset all the C31 clients (to remove any home network IP from the C31)?

Mine was directly connected via Ethernet to a gigabit switch which was uplinked to my router LAN ports. I disconnected the Ethernet cable and did a reset of the HR34. I then checked the network status of the C31 (holding down the select button for 15 seconds and releasing) and saw both my home network IP (192.168.x.x) and the internal DirecTV coax IP (169.254.x.x). I did a reset on both C31 receivers so only the 169.254.x.x IP was left. I'm pretty sure that's all I did.

I'm not saying my setup is fixed. But it has been up and running now for longer than it has been in the past week... maybe two.

EDIT: I also reset the networking preferences to the defaults. Not that it should have mattered since the Ethernet was unplugged, but figured I would do that just in case something was wonky in the saved network settings on the HR34.


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## Billd300 (Jan 18, 2007)

im not sure this will help you guys but check out this kink. If i understand this correctly if you have a hr34 you do not need a cck it says it will confuse the boxes. Not an expert just found this and thought it might help 

forums.solidsignal.com/showthread.php/1251-WHITE-PAPER-A-Guide-to-DIRECTV-Networking


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Billd300 said:


> im not sure this will help you guys but check out this kink. If i understand this correctly if you have a hr34 you do not need a cck it says it will confuse the boxes. Not an expert just found this and thought it might help
> http://forums.solidsignal.com/showthread.php/1251-WHITE-PAPER-A-Guide-to-DIRECTV-Networking


That's a good white paper, as I help on it. :lol:


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Drinyth said:


> I'll continue to monitor the situation for a few days and report back on my findings


Well, it was too good to be true I suppose. Turned the C31 on this morning and it was back to it's broken state. So in my case, it happens regardless of the HR34 being connected to the home network or not.

I suppose maybe I'll call DirecTV and have them dispatch a technician? :whatdidid: I'm not really hopeful that he is going to be able to solve the problem either, but I really have taken out every other variable at this point. It's either a software bug that needs to get fixed or a problem with the hardware that needs to get addressed. In either case, it's on DirecTV to fix.

I still want to thank VOS and the other folks here for listening and offering their opinions on how to troubleshoot and help. Even though my problem isn't resolved, it was helpful to be able to rule out various things (home network, cable signal strength/phy mesh network, etc) so thank you all for that!


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

Drinyth said:


> Yup. I was thinking that too.
> 
> If the other folks on this thread that have been having this problem (dserban, keebler21, c6duffman, whitestripes1) could post (1) if their HR34s are connected to the network and (2) by what means they're connected to the network, that might help.


It sounds like it's not a networking issue, but for the record.

ATT 2wire DSL modem with the wireless AP turned off. That's connected to a D-Link DGL-4500 Wireless AP. At the TV, I have a D-Link DAP-1522 in bridge mode.

I just got a component cable to replace the HDMI cable on the C31. I'll report back on the outcome.


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## 1080me (Nov 18, 2012)

I'm having the same exact problem and I just switched to Directv. I've got two c31 receivers and an H34. Anyway i'm super interested in the results because I haven't been able to watch TV in my bedroom for a week now.


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## dtvsvctech (Nov 18, 2012)

As a service tech ive noticed there is a big problem with the hand shake between the c31 and the tv using hdmi. Ive tried everything i know including disconnecting the clients and then rebooting the hr34 fully. Then reconnect your clients. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. As soon as i remove the hdmi cable and install a 10pin/rgb cable, it pops right on with no problems.


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

dtvsvctech said:


> As a service tech ive noticed there is a big problem with the hand shake between the c31 and the tv using hdmi. Ive tried everything i know including disconnecting the clients and then rebooting the hr34 fully. Then reconnect your clients. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. As soon as i remove the hdmi cable and install a 10pin/rgb cable, it pops right on with no problems.


Exactly what I've experienced with one of my C31 clients. Just as an update, I tried reconnecting HDMI to the C31 and Westinghouse LCD after the new 0x709 dated 11.2.2012 was pushed to my clients but the issue is still not resolved. Otherwise system works great, I have no other issues.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

For those that are thinking it's a HDMI handshake issue, when the C31 acts up are you able to see anything on the screen at all? Do the menus or guide or anything work?

I think we may have two different issues here. For some of us, the menus/guide/recording list work fine and we just aren't able to display video. I would think if it were a HDMI handshake issue going on here, that we wouldn't get anything on the screen?


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

Drinyth said:


> For those that are thinking it's a HDMI handshake issue, when the C31 acts up are you able to see anything on the screen at all? Do the menus or guide or anything work?
> 
> I think we may have two different issues here. For some of us, the menus/guide/recording list work fine and we just aren't able to display video. I would think if it were a HDMI handshake issue going on here, that we wouldn't get anything on the screen?


Yes. I saw menu bar, was able to change channels (I think, since I saw numbers changing in the menu bar but I couldn't see the picture). Not sure about the recording list or TV guide, never checked it.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Strog said:


> Yes. I saw menu bar, was able to change channels (I think, since I saw numbers changing in the menu bar but I couldn't see the picture). Not sure about the recording list or TV guide, never checked it.


Interesting. And after you changed from HDMI to component, you never had that problem again? I would have thought that if it was an HDMI handshake issue, that you wouldn't have even been able to see the menu bar or clock or anything on the screen.

Obviously I'd prefer an HDMI connection to a component connection, but if using a component cable means that I don't have to reboot my HR34 everyday I'd use that in a heart beat!


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

Drinyth said:


> Interesting. And after you changed from HDMI to component, you never had that problem again?


Nope, not on this TV. I was able to replicate grey screen issue on other TVs using HDMI connections only if I was watching a recording and by accident turned off both the client and the TV, but it doesn't happen all the time either (did few tests). I'm sure there is some work left to be done by D* to fine tune everything and I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to use HDMI with all my TVs. Does the grey screen happen for you on all TVs with the clients? Maybe there is a software update for your particular TVs, you can try that approach.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Strog said:


> Does the grey screen happen for you on all TVs with the clients? Maybe there is a software update for your particular TVs, you can try that approach.


I only have two TVs that the my C31s are connected to but yes, it happens on both TVs. And both TVs are connected via HDMI.

I'll try and get a DirecTV technician to come out sometime and see if he can't give me the cables that will let me connect the TVs via component instead of HDMI to see if that makes any difference.

Thanks for feedback with your experience.


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> I only have two TVs that the my C31s are connected to but yes, it happens on both TVs. And both TVs are connected via HDMI.
> 
> I'll try and get a DirecTV technician to come out sometime and see if he can't give me the cables that will let me connect the TVs via component instead of HDMI to see if that makes any difference.
> 
> Thanks for feedback with your experience.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Directv-H25...Audio-L-R-Breakout-Cable-10-Pin-/300804849342


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Thanks for the link to the cable needed. I think there was another post of that same cable earlier in this thread.

I'll probably have DirecTV out and see if the technician has them and if he'll provide them for free. I've been a DirecTV customer for less than a month still, so I believe it should still be included?


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## dtvsvctech (Nov 18, 2012)

My exp with the clients. Blue/black screen on client. Reboot, works fine until turned off and back on again. Nothing. Turn off and the client wont respond. Change the hdmi to rgb and troubles are gone. Initially we noticed it with emerson brand tvs. Now its happened with a couple of vizio and an older samsung. Its a learning curve as of this point in time...


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## 1080me (Nov 18, 2012)

I will say the problem i'm having is with an older Samsung LCD. Next time it happens i'll be sure to check my other bedroom which has a newer Samsung.


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## harperhometheater (Aug 31, 2012)

Could this issue have something to do with hdmi cec? What about a "hdmi with ethernet" conflict, since the c31 is IP based?

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

1080me said:


> I will say the problem i'm having is with an older Samsung LCD. Next time it happens i'll be sure to check my other bedroom which has a newer Samsung.


For me, it doesn't necessarily happen at the same time. I can have one C31 client working alright while the other has problems. But I am able to reproduce the problem on both TVs so I know it isn't the C31 itself.

In my case, it happens with a Visio that is a few years old but also with a newer Panasonic that was just released in 2012.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

c6duffman said:


> I just got a component cable to replace the HDMI cable on the C31. I'll report back on the outcome.


I've been using the 10 pin component cable for about 5 days now and it has NOT fixed the issue. In fact, it seems worse.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

I just got off the phone with Directv support and the women (who was very nice) said they know of the issue and that they are working around the clock to resolve the problem. She said they're pretty sure it's a software problem and it would be fixed with an update. But she didn't have an ETA. So, this is some good news I suppose. 

I was calling mainly to get the issue noted on my account. She also said there maybe credits issued because of this. So everyone should call support.


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## dtvsvctech (Nov 18, 2012)

Im not saying this is an absolute fix. Between rebooting the 34 without the client attached, wait for it to boot up fully and then reattach the clients or switching out the cables, i havent had any repeat service calls.
Dtv is aware of the problem and it probably is a software issue/codec issue in the clients.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

So, I called in to DirecTV customer support today to report that I am still having this problem (my previous call to them told me to call back if it wasn't resolved). The lady that I spoke with this morning indicated that there was an alarm in her system that has been there since yesterday informing people that this is a wide spread issue and that they're working to fix the problem.

New to the thread, she also walked me through the steps to generate a diagnostics report to send to DirecTV from the Genie unit while my C31 were frozen. So, for those of you having problems, I recommend next time your C31 clients are frozen that you call into DirecTV and submit a report. Maybe they'll use the data from these reports and be able to solve this problem for good?

She said that normally these problems are resolved within 72 hours of having an alarm in the system. She stated that she's never seen an alarm go more than a week in the system without resolution. So hopefully, they're on top of it and we'll get some action soon?


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

That last part, unfortunately, is a lie. When you report issues they are logged, and the SENDREPORT procedure does help, but the CSR was wrong to make a promise that something would be fixed within 72 hours. This is similar to other things that CSRs have said, usually in the interest of getting the customer off the phone. 

Software updates come far less frequently than every 72 hours.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Stuart Sweet said:


> That last part, unfortunately, is a lie. When you report issues they are logged, and the SENDREPORT procedure does help, but the CSR was wrong to make a promise that something would be fixed within 72 hours. This is similar to other things that CSRs have said, usually in the interest of getting the customer off the phone.
> 
> Software updates come far less frequently than every 72 hours.


Oh, she didn't make any promises in terms of timeline of resolution. She just said for as long as she's been there (and I didn't ask how long that was), most of the time these "alarm" type issues get fixed within 72 hours. And she said the longest she has seen it go has been a week. That was me more probing her for her opinion on the issue. She was clear to state that there is currently no estimated time on when this will be fixed.

She also said that she's been getting a lot of calls on this. She estimated almost every other call that she has been taking is about this issue. Take that for what it's worth. Maybe she was just trying to sympathize with me as a customer? Who knows. In any case, it does seem at least that this issue is getting some new attention that it wasn't a few weeks ago. Hopefully, it'll get worked out soon!


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

It looks like I got another download on my C31 tonight. I now have version 0x70A. Maybe this one is a winner?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> It looks like I got another download on my C31 tonight. I now have version 0x70A. Maybe this one is a winner?


You can always hope. :lol:

I got [just] a pink screen on powering up with it last night, which required a RBR.


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

Drinyth said:


> It looks like I got another download on my C31 tonight. I now have version 0x70A. Maybe this one is a winner?


Checked mine, all 3 are at 0x70A also. HDMI still gets a grey screen, back to component for me on the Westinghouse. However it seems that jumping between channels takes a bit longer then it used to. I'll test that again tomorrow after rebooting entire system.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

Hmmm my C31 has 70A but it's dated 11/9/12. So I'm not sure how new that is.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

c6duffman said:


> Hmmm my C31 has 70A but it's dated 11/9/12. So I'm not sure how new that is.


With the 31, you seem to see the build date for the firmware, and not the install date.


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

Just talked with the case management team. The latest software, 70A does not solve the grey/black screen issue. They are still working on that one.


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## tthen (Aug 21, 2006)

For the record this has happened to me twice in the last month. I have three C31's. They are connected 1-HDMI, 1-Component and 1-Composite (Old CRT in the guest bedroom). I hope they fix this soon.

How do you force an update? My software shows Ox5d3, Wed 10/31, 400a.


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## fyrfyter (Nov 24, 2006)

Good and Bad this is a common issue. Good that it is not just me, after switching back to DirecTv the other day. Bad that it still isn't fixed. I have to wait about a minute for the screen to come up while staring at a grey screen. Then I can at least watch TV on the C31, even though the background is always grey for menus. Hope they figure out why I cannot delete items off the 34 from the 31 soon too. I do more watching from the C31 than I do from the 34. The directv tech mentioned the grey screen issue, and seemed to say they were going through lots of C31s, trying to find ones without that problem. Judging by the responses on here, lots of those must be going back to DTV.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

fyrfyter said:


> Good and Bad this is a common issue. Good that it is not just me, after switching back to DirecTv the other day. Bad that it still isn't fixed. I have to wait about a minute for the screen to come up while staring at a grey screen. Then I can at least watch TV on the C31, even though the background is always grey for menus. Hope they figure out why I cannot delete items off the 34 from the 31 soon too. I do more watching from the C31 than I do from the 34. The directv tech mentioned the grey screen issue, and seemed to say they were going through lots of C31s, trying to find ones without that problem. Judging by the responses on here, lots of those must be going back to DTV.


Not being able to delete seems to be from not having MRV on your account.
Start up times are much slower with the C31 than any other "true" receivers.
If you get to listen to the same show while it's on both the C31 & HR34, there are several sec delay on the C31. Not sure if this can be addressed.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Drinyth said:


> It looks like I got another download on my C31 tonight. I now have version 0x70A. Maybe this one is a winner?





dserban said:


> Just talked with the case management team. The latest software, 70A does not solve the grey/black screen issue. They are still working on that one.


Indeed, the issue is still not fixed with 0x70A. I came back after being gone for Thanksgiving and have run into the C31 problem since then.


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

They called me again. Final word, known issue, they are working on it, nothing else they can do.
It doesn't seem to me that we are getting what we are paying for.


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## denpri (Aug 9, 2009)

dserban said:


> They called me again. Final word, known issue, they are working on it, nothing else they can do.
> It doesn't seem to me that we are getting what we are paying for.


Add me to the list of folks who NOW have the grey screen issue. Problem appeared earlier today when I powered C31 off/on to move it (physically but reattached it to the same TV). I've had the unit since early October &, while I had a few minor issues, I did NOT experience this problem until now! I'm more than willing to wait a week or two for new firmware BUT "use composite or component" is NOT an acceptable alternative. FYI - Have a 2011 Series Samsung and it does NOT have HDMI handshake issues with ANY other device so I'm HIGHLY suspicious that the TV, cable, HR34-C31 connectivity (DECA) is the problem since it DID work reasonably well until now.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

I've temporarily fixed my issue by never turning the C31 off. And turning off the power saver in preferences. It's a little inconvenient to manually turn the TV on and off, but it's much better than having to reboot the HR34.

As I'm writing this, I'm wondering if it's the power saver mode that's causing it. I'll try turning my C31 off and keep the power saver mode off.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

c6duffman said:


> I've temporarily fixed my issue by never turning the C31 off. And turning off the power saver in preferences. It's a little inconvenient to manually turn the TV on and off, but it's much better than having to reboot the HR34.
> 
> As I'm writing this, I'm wondering if it's the power saver mode that's causing it. I'll try turning my C31 off and keep the power saver mode off.


It's not the power saving mode. I've had that off for a while (but still turning the C31 on and off with the TV) and it still happens.


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## acm025 (Feb 28, 2008)

Add me to the list, I've been having the same problem as everyone else in the thread. Menu and guide show up when powering on the C31 but no picture or audio. RBR the HR34 fixes it temporarily. Also wanted to add my TV is connected to the C31 via component. Hope they fix this soon...!


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## TheJ3RK (Dec 14, 2009)

One more to add to the list. I just had mine installed on 11/16/2012 and on 11/29/2012 I got the grey screen. I was really disappointed to see that the first post of this thread was on 11/08/2012.


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## i3rown (Sep 4, 2011)

You guys should be looking at the wall plate barrels .. Post the colors


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

i3rown said:


> You guys should be looking at the wall plate barrels .. Post the colors


While a bad barrel wouldn't be a good thing, given the C31 is only using 500-600 MHz, let's not get crazy over the frequency "rated" barrels here.


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## acm025 (Feb 28, 2008)

Curious, how do you read the firmware version # for the C31? I couldn't find it in the setup menus.


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## TMan (Oct 31, 2007)

"acm025" said:


> Curious, how do you read the firmware version # for the C31? I couldn't find it in the setup menus.


I believe you hold SELECT for 10-12 seconds.


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## i3rown (Sep 4, 2011)

"veryoldschool" said:


> While a bad barrel wouldn't be a good thing, given the C31 is only using 500-600 MHz, let's not get crazy over the frequency "rated" barrels here.


I don't care about the frequency rating .tell me this how many service calls have you gone on and replaced a fitting or a barrel and everything is fine ?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

i3rown said:


> I don't care about the frequency rating .tell me this how many service calls have you gone on and replaced a fitting or a barrel and everything is fine ?


I check every connection, every time I make a mating.

I also know a lot of these C31 problems are coming up in testing too.


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## i3rown (Sep 4, 2011)

"veryoldschool" said:


> I check every connection, every time I make a mating.


That's not answering the question but that's fine I guess. I'm sure a customer that is having this sort of issue just wants the problem fixed, why deny them the possibility of fixing the problem because of your confidence that it could not possibly be an incompatible barrel that is causing a reflection issue.

Furthermore there are plenty a ****ty techs out there that don't change out non approved fittings and wall plates,techs that don't care about sin, SOS, and failed qc. As it doesn't cost the customer anything to have this fixed as they are well within 90 days and it will be a repeat , why not just check to see if its right and if its not have it fixed.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

i3rown said:


> That's not answering the question but that's fine I guess.


My first reply started with: While a bad barrel wouldn't be a good thing.

You asked about the color of the barrel, which was more of my point.
A good barrel doesn't need to be any color to work for a C31.


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## i3rown (Sep 4, 2011)

veryoldschool said:


> My first reply started with: While a bad barrel wouldn't be a good thing.
> 
> You asked about the color of the barrel, which was more of my point.
> A good barrel doesn't need to be any color to work for a C31.


the question that i specifically directed to you was.. how many service calls do you go to where the resolution is replace fitting inside..

my original post about this issue.. is not to have a frequency debate, its about if the technician did the install correctly. if the people with this type of issue dont say orange.. then they should be calling for service and showing the tech that the barells arnt orange.

now you may know the quality of the barrels in your house.. but that doesnt mean the OP does or for that matter if his barrels are good quality or not.. on top of that it doesnt matter becuase it was the technicians job to do a quality install with approved parts so the system would work without issue. whats important to me is that the OP doesnt get so frustrated that he cancels his service, that the issue is addressed to the point where he can explain that is system is not to code and hopefully a good tech will be dispatched for the repeat.

i say post the colors.. and he doesnt say orange.. i see an issue.. make sense?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

i3rown said:


> the question that i specifically directed to you was.. how many service calls do you go to where the resolution is replace fitting inside..
> 
> my original post about this issue.. is not to have a frequency debate, its about if the technician did the install correctly. if the people with this type of issue dont say orange.. then they should be calling for service and showing the tech that the barells arnt orange.
> 
> ...


I guess the basic difference here is following [maybe blindly] instructions for a QC standard, verses using a test to find the problem.
Orange, blue, pink, or white shouldn't be a problem. Any one of these could be bad, and for the C31, running the coax networking test from the HR34 should show if there is one.


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## i3rown (Sep 4, 2011)

"veryoldschool" said:


> I guess the basic difference here is following [maybe blindly] instructions for a QC standard, verses using a test to find the problem.
> Orange, blue, pink, or white shouldn't be a problem. Any one of these could be bad, and for the C31, running the coax networking test from the HR34 should show if there is one.


Blindly lol classic .. What actually should happen .. Is the job should be brought to code if its not and and the guided test should be ran on the aim at each ird..


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

i3rown said:


> Blindly lol classic .. What actually should happen .. Is the job should be brought to code if its not and and the guided test should be ran on the aim at each ird..


"Hey" if my paycheck was connected to this, I'd be "blindly" following it too.
This wasn't my point though.

The AIM has no provisions to test the DECA/coax network.
The AIM is a GREAT meter, and every install/service call should pass the VI test before leaving.


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## i3rown (Sep 4, 2011)

"veryoldschool" said:


> "Hey" if my paycheck was connected to this, I'd be "blindly" following it too.
> This wasn't my point though.
> 
> The AIM has no provisions to test the DECA/coax network.
> The AIM is a GREAT meter, and every install/service call should pass the VI test before leaving.


Which is exactly why the job should be brought to code first .. Then guided mode should be ran

Im sure you just mistyped but its iv, and to clarify your statement an eiv should be ran .. on top of that on a service call the tech will need to do an IVR anyways before he can close the OLI and the WO for that matter.

Check out the case management form .. Bringing the job to code is not blindly diagnosing the problem.

Back to the OPs question tho .. If he notes that there isn't an orange barrell at his wall plate I would call for service and ask that the job be brought to code , same story , all that he likely cares about is the system working properly not the dynamics behind it.


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## i3rown (Sep 4, 2011)

"veryoldschool" said:


> "Hey" if my paycheck was connected to this, I'd be "blindly" following it too.
> This wasn't my point though.
> 
> The AIM has no provisions to test the DECA/coax network.
> The AIM is a GREAT meter, and every install/service call should pass the VI test before leaving.


Oh and to clarify you uneducated statement .. A service call is going to pay a flat rate to the tech regardless of how long it takes him.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

i3rown said:


> Oh and to clarify you uneducated statement .. A service call is going to pay a flat rate to the tech regardless of how long it takes him.


Yes I had a typo.

If I'm going to come out to fix a problem, I'm going to use my tools, meters, tests, and my brain to resolve it.

For a coax networking problem, which the C31 require to function, I'm going to run the coax networking tests and see what it shows.

Do you know about this test?


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## i3rown (Sep 4, 2011)

"veryoldschool" said:


> Yes I had a typo.
> 
> If I'm going to come out to fix a problem, I'm going to use my tools, meters, tests, and my brain to resolve it.
> 
> ...


Of course I know about the test ..

Hopeless ... Good luck with helping the guy with his issues


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

i3rown said:


> Of course I know about the test ..


Good, because I had to learn about it from the engineer who was in charge of it.


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## bubbadawg (Oct 12, 2006)

Add me to the list of individuals getting the grey screen. I had the Genie and two clients installed last week and it has occurred every day since, at least once a day on each client's tv. Usually a reset on the client will fix it, however, today, I actually had to reset the Genie - which fixed the issue until probably tomorrow. I have temporarily fixed the issue by not turning on either of the client tvs. DirecTV needs to get their act together and fix this issue!


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## lowgolfer (Dec 8, 2006)

I am also getting the grey screen. But when I get back to the tv after several hours it is asking for the PIN number to log into the network. It also does this after a red button reboot of the genie. It is a new install with three clients as of Tuesday.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

Still no updates. I'm surprised. I expected this to be resolved by now. It must be a complex issue.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

It's definitely a bummer. It's been over a month now for me. 

I've taken to leaving the C31 on all the time which seems to work alright, but isn't ideal. It beats having to reboot the HR34 in the middle of a long block of recordings though...


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

Leaving the C31 on all the time, didn't do it for me. When I turned the TV on next day it was a frozen picture. Maybe just a coincidence. 
I reboot the hr34 every day ahead of recordings. That seems to work.


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## bubbadawg (Oct 12, 2006)

For those having the grey screen of death, try changing the C31 Power Saving mode to 'Off'. This seems to have corrected my issue for the past few days. Before switching the power saving mode, I was getting the grey screen every day on both units.


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## lowgolfer (Dec 8, 2006)

"bubbadawg" said:


> For those having the grey screen of death, try changing the C31 Power Saving mode to 'Off'. This seems to have corrected my issue for the past few days. Before switching the power saving mode, I was getting the grey screen every day on both units.


How is that done?


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## bubbadawg (Oct 12, 2006)

lowgolfer said:


> How is that done?


On the C31, select Menu > Settings > Power Saving > Off

HTH


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## lowgolfer (Dec 8, 2006)

"bubbadawg" said:


> On the C31, select Menu > Settings > Power Saving > Off
> 
> HTH


Thanks.


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

Can some of you with the grey screen issue disconnect your system from the home network (router), reset HR34 and C31 clients using red button and let it run without home network connection for few hours\days? If you can, please report back if you are still having issues.


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

I did that and it came right back.
Also I have the C31 power savings off and the gray screen is back every other day.


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## TMan (Oct 31, 2007)

"dserban" said:


> Leaving the C31 on all the time, didn't do it for me. When I turned the TV on next day it was a frozen picture. Maybe just a coincidence.
> I reboot the hr34 every day ahead of recordings. That seems to work.


Wow. It is ENTIRELY unacceptable to need a DAILY reboot. I bet I've done 20 unplanned reboots of my TiVo in six years.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

bubbadawg said:


> For those having the grey screen of death, try changing the C31 Power Saving mode to 'Off'. This seems to have corrected my issue for the past few days. Before switching the power saving mode, I was getting the grey screen every day on both units.


I tried that a while back to no avail. If I leave the Power Saving mode Off *and* never turn the C31 off, it seems to stay running for me. But with Power Saving mode Off and turning the C31 on and off as needed it still grey screens on me.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

Strog said:


> Can some of you with the grey screen issue disconnect your system from the home network (router), reset HR34 and C31 clients using red button and let it run without home network connection for few hours\days? If you can, please report back if you are still having issues.


I did this as well after it was suggested (I believe by VOS) to disable uPNP on my router (which didn't fix the problem). I still got my C31s to grey screen with the HR34 being completely disconnected from the Internet, so it doesn't seem to be related to the home network.



TMan said:


> Wow. It is ENTIRELY unacceptable to need a DAILY reboot. I bet I've done 20 unplanned reboots of my TiVo in six years.


20 for your TiVo? I'm betting my TiVo crashed less than that one me over about the same duration. That thing is solid.

I don't know if DirecTV just doesn't care much about getting this fixed or what? Maybe those of us that are having the grey screen problems are a very small part of their overall user base and this is way on the back burner for them to fix? It's been over a month now for me and living with this problem. :/


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## tthen (Aug 21, 2006)

Why is this issue taking so long to resolve? I am wondering if it is actually a hardware issue that they are trying to fix via the software. 

How did they do whole home dvr prior to the genie set up? At this point the client isn't worth all the aggrevation.

I am tired of getting the call when the kid tries to watch tv in the other room and I have to reset the dvr again. I had to reset while I was recording the UFC event last night. Missed the ending to one of the earlier fights!


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

tthen said:


> Why is this issue taking so long to resolve? I am wondering if it is actually a hardware issue that they are trying to fix via the software.


That's what I'm starting to think, it might be a hardware issue with some units. I have HR34 with three C31 clients and have no issues at all after fixing my initial problems yet there are so many of you here with grey screen problems. I also know that there are others here that have no issues. Maybe it has to do with the way the systems were installed or maybe bad connectors or switches. Not sure what to think anymore, hopefully problems will be resolved by the software update that is coming sooner then later.

Maybe if those having issues start posting their setups something will stand out.


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## zman15 (Apr 7, 2012)

What kind of tvs do you guys have that get the grey screen? I started with one customer having the grey screen now this last batch of receivers almost every customer calls back with the issue. The most common tv that does it is emerson it does not matter how they are connected. I have not heard of any on samsung or Vizio that I have installed.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

zman15 said:


> What kind of tvs do you guys have that get the grey screen? I started with one customer having the grey screen now this last batch of receivers almost every customer calls back with the issue. The most common tv that does it is emerson it does not matter how they are connected. I have not heard of any on samsung or Vizio that I have installed.


It happens to me on both of my C31 connected TVs. One is Vizio that is around 5 years old or so. The other is a Panasonic LCD that was made in 2012.


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## lowgolfer (Dec 8, 2006)

I have a Panasonic, Sony, and a Westinghouse. It has happened to all three.


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## zman15 (Apr 7, 2012)

God it is so frustrating doing a install that u have to explain to the person how to reset everything when your state of the art Genie does not work. They need to get this fixed ASAP


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## bubbadawg (Oct 12, 2006)

zman15 said:


> What kind of tvs do you guys have that get the grey screen? I started with one customer having the grey screen now this last batch of receivers almost every customer calls back with the issue. The most common tv that does it is emerson it does not matter how they are connected. I have not heard of any on samsung or Vizio that I have installed.


Both are Samsung TVs - LCD and DLP.


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## bubbadawg (Oct 12, 2006)

bubbadawg said:


> For those having the grey screen of death, try changing the C31 Power Saving mode to 'Off'. This seems to have corrected my issue for the past few days. Before switching the power saving mode, I was getting the grey screen every day on both units.


Well the honeymoon was short lived. Had grey screens appear on both client TVs about 2 days after switching Power Saving mode to off. On to the next Hail Mary!


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## DaveC6 (Dec 1, 2012)

I just had the Genie and 5 clients installed last week. I have also had this issue several times. I just started looking into my network settings and there is a setting for DHCP Lease Time. I believe this is the automatic assignment of IP addresses and length of time. Mine was set to 1440 minutes, which happens to be 24 hours. I'm wondering if this is bumping off the clients after 24 hours. 

I just set it to 63,360 minutes, the maximum combination of minutes I could get it to accept in even number days. This is now 44 days rather than 1 day. I'll see if this has any impact. 

What do others have for DHCP Lease Time setting?


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

DaveC6 said:


> I just had the Genie and 5 clients installed last week. I have also had this issue several times. I just started looking into my network settings and there is a setting for DHCP Lease Time. I believe this is the automatic assignment of IP addresses and length of time. Mine was set to 1440 minutes, which happens to be 24 hours. I'm wondering if this is bumping off the clients after 24 hours.
> 
> I just set it to 63,360 minutes, the maximum combination of minutes I could get it to accept in even number days. This is now 44 days rather than 1 day. I'll see if this has any impact.
> 
> What do others have for DHCP Lease Time setting?


I don't think it'll help. I've tried various values from 12 hours, to 24 hours, to 7 days. And have even removed my HR34 from the home network entirely. In all cases, I still get the C31 grey screens.


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## fyrfyter (Nov 24, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> I don't think it'll help. I've tried various values from 12 hours, to 24 hours, to 7 days. And have even removed my HR34 from the home network entirely. In all cases, I still get the C31 grey screens.


All my network components are set to renew at 3600. I still get grey screens. Sometimes once a day, sometimes it is several days but eventually it comes back. I tried changing the setup. The installer used a DECA. I tried just running the CAT5E into the HR34, but it doesn't seemed to have made any difference.


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## bubbadawg (Oct 12, 2006)

To date I have tried all of the following:

- Changing Power Saving mode to Off
- Changing resolution to 720p
- Switching to Component cables
- Leaving the clients on​
All of which have failed to resolve the grey screen of death!


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

bubbadawg said:


> To date I have tried all of the following:
> 
> - Changing Power Saving mode to Off
> - Changing resolution to 720p
> ...


To that I'll add:

Tried both Native resolution settings "on" and "off"
Disabled uPNP on my router as well as tinkering with numerous other network settings (DHCP lease times, QoS, giving the DirecTV equipment static IPs, etc)
Completely unplugging the Genie system from the Internet entirely

At this point, I'm hoping that this problem can actually be fixed via a software update and that it's not a permanent condition that I'm going to have to live with.

I might forgo the daily morning reboot tomorrow and give DirecTV a call again and see what they have to say. If nothing else, to further document that I've been having this problem for over a month now with no resolution.


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## bubbadawg (Oct 12, 2006)

Drinyth said:


> To that I'll add:
> 
> Tried both Native resolution settings "on" and "off"
> Disabled uPNP on my router as well as tinkering with numerous other network settings (DHCP lease times, QoS, giving the DirecTV equipment static IPs, etc)
> ...


You are a much more patient individual than me 

I called them after three days of the issue occurring. It's clear at this point that they have no idea of what's causing the issue or how to correct it. I ended up scheduling a tech to come out and his solution was to switch to component cables - which didn't work. However, what did work was that since the visit didn't fix the issue, I was able to escalate the problem within DTV support, giving me a dedicated support number. Also, I have since been getting nightly calls from them on the issue - although nothing has fixed it yet.


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## Strog (Dec 20, 2011)

Here is my setup\install info:
From 3SWM LNB about 35' RG6 Quad Shield solid copper to the power inserter and about 20" to 8 way splitter. From the splitter all runs are about 10 year old RG6 Clad Cooper Quad Shield:
HR34 about 30'
1st C31 about 20'
2nd C31 about 25' (grey screen issue resolved by using component kit\cable, tried swapping C31 clients, no go. Something about HDMI connection to TV, tried few HDMI cables) 
3rd C31 about 40'
HR34 connected directly to a 1GB switch, switch connected to 1GB router
All wall connectors were replaced with blue 3GHZ connectors
After resolving couple of initial issues I have bo problems at all for past 6-7 weeks or so.

Maybe something stands out in your installs...


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## dielray (Aug 5, 2009)

zman15 said:


> What kind of tvs do you guys have that get the grey screen? I started with one customer having the grey screen now this last batch of receivers almost every customer calls back with the issue. The most common tv that does it is emerson it does not matter how they are connected. I have not heard of any on samsung or Vizio that I have installed.


Certain Emersons, including the black Friday ones, have HDMI hand shaking issues with the C31s. When it's a hand shaking issue removing the HDMI cable and reattaching it temporarily fixes the issue. The cable should be swapped to component in these cases.

The other blank screen issue appears to affect every TV manufacturer, including Vizio and Samsung. It does not appear to be affected by network settings, receiver settings, or cable connection to TV.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

dielray said:


> The other blank screen issue appears to affect every TV manufacturer, including Vizio and Samsung. It does not appear to be affected by network or receiver settings or cable connection to TV.


From my own use of the C31, I'm not so sure that there isn't some network or receiver issue. Not that there is some setting to change that improves this, but that the firmware interaction is much more complex with RVU than non RVU.


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## dielray (Aug 5, 2009)

veryoldschool said:


> From my own use of the C31, I'm not so sure that there isn't some network or receiver issue. Not that there is some setting to change that improves this, but that the firmware interaction is much more complex with RVU than non RVU.


Agreed. The point of my post was that there doesn't appear to be anything a tech can do to solve the issue and that it does not seem to be caused by customer equipment.


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## TMan (Oct 31, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> From my own use of the C31, I'm not so sure that there isn't some network or receiver issue. Not that there is some setting to change that improves this, but that the firmware interaction is much more complex with RVU than non RVU.


I'm glad their equipment establishes its own separate network on the coax for the RVU traffic. How fun would it be if that traffic had to commingle with all the other data people generally have on their home networks?


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## keebler21 (Oct 22, 2011)

I've been having an added problem of not being able to pause from the C31's in the last week. I hit pause and the pause comes up on the on screen display but live TV or recorded show continue to play.


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## harperhometheater (Aug 31, 2012)

I've been having an issue with playing back recorded shows on my c31s where they freeze every minute or so and the only way to get them going again is to FF or RW a little. It's not repeatable at the same place in the recordings either and doesn't do it when playing the same shows via the HR34. I haven't had any time to troubleshoot as of yet, so any info would be helpful.


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## lowgolfer (Dec 8, 2006)

I have the problem if freezing while just backing up live tv to see something again. Sometimes the ff or rw trick works other times have had to change channel.


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## harperhometheater (Aug 31, 2012)

"harperhometheater" said:


> I've been having an issue with playing back recorded shows on my c31s where they freeze every minute or so and the only way to get them going again is to FF or RW a little. It's not repeatable at the same place in the recordings either and doesn't do it when playing the same shows via the HR34. I haven't had any time to troubleshoot as of yet, so any info would be helpful.


I might add that this is a constant issue, not intermittent.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

harperhometheater said:


> I've been having an issue with playing back recorded shows on my c31s where they freeze every minute or so.


If you go back to the national release firmware, this problem will go away.


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## harperhometheater (Aug 31, 2012)

Cool thanks, I was just trying to find this "issue" in the appropriate thread, you saved me lots of my valuable time VOS!


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## harperhometheater (Aug 31, 2012)

Any chance this'll be fixed in about 2 days?


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## TMan (Oct 31, 2007)

veryoldschool said:


> If you go back to the national release firmware, this problem will go away.


How does one revert to a particular firmware version?


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

TMan said:


> How does one revert to a particular firmware version?


One can only download what is available at the time.
The post I replied to shouldn't really have been posted.


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## jsclarke (Jul 10, 2007)

We just got 3 C31's and and HR34 installed Saturday-- for $538 I might add- and since I've called DirecTV once per day over an issue and had to do 1-2 resets of the HR34 every day. Our screen goes black (not gray) from a C31. If you press guide- you can see white text on a black background- but no picture or sound. Red button reset on the C31 doesn't fix it- and I've replaced all cables in the path and bypassed the receiver going straight from C31 to our Sharp 70" LCD (732U series). We're on a 1 year old (new) SWIM16 switch in a new house with 4 year old RG6.



When our great room C31 exhibited this behavior this morning- I took a WORKING 31 from another room to the same physical place and swapped the two. The problem then showed up on the 2nd C31- which makes it seem like it's related to the cable there. Called Direct- a RBR on the HR34 fixed it- for now.



I'm now regretting this change- and see posts about this going back to early November... hmmm....


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

jsclarke said:


> When our great room C31 exhibited this behavior this morning- I took a WORKING 31 from another room to the same physical place and swapped the two. The problem then showed up on the 2nd C31- which makes it seem like it's related to the cable there. Called Direct- a RBR on the HR34 fixed it- for now.


I initially tried swapping out my clients way back when with another that was in a room that wasn't used very often, but both clients will eventually exhibit the problem regardless of the location in the house.

I suppose a better cabling test for me would be swapping the HR34 with a C31 as the HR34 never seems to be stuck when the C31 units are?


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

I wouldn't doubt that non pristine cabling could be a factor. My cables are 30 years old. But, my C31 works perfectly fine, as long as I don't turn it off. So it could be related with the on/off cycle and cabling.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

c6duffman said:


> I wouldn't doubt that non pristine cabling could be a factor. My cables are 30 years old. But, my C31 works perfectly fine, as long as I don't turn it off. So it could be related with the on/off cycle and cabling.


I'd be somewhat skeptical that the cabling is the cause in my case. I had my house rewired in a home run configuration with all new RG6 (and Cat5e) around two years ago or so.

But like you said, my C31 works fine when it works. I left it on for several days straight once and it never had the grey/black screen issue that was described above. But leaving all the C31s on uses up an available tuner for each C31 on the HR34? So that isn't an ideal solution...


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## jsclarke (Jul 10, 2007)

I've gone 24 hours without a RBR on the HR34- and all I've done is disconnected the DECA BB adapter from our wired ethernet. I'll keep watching this.

Also this is the 2nd time I've heard someone report "disable power saving and don't turn off your C31"... can you expand on that a little please? I haven't tried this because leaving a C31 on all the time takes up one of the HR 34 tuners... but... thank you


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

jsclarke said:


> I've gone 24 hours without a RBR on the HR34- and all I've done is disconnected the DECA BB adapter from our wired ethernet. I'll keep watching this.


I completely disconnected mine from the Internet as well, but it didn't resolve the issue.



> Also this is the 2nd time I've heard someone report "disable power saving and don't turn off your C31"... can you expand on that a little please? I haven't tried this because leaving a C31 on all the time takes up one of the HR 34 tuners... but... thank you


Yeah, that's exactly what it is. Just disable the power saving option on the C31 to prevent it from sleeping and just turn off the TV when you're not using that device. The C31 stays on and continues using up a tuner, but at least you don't have to worry about it not coming back on when you want to use that TV later.


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## philiphotog (Nov 28, 2012)

My house just had all new wiring installed after some renovation. 
I have to reset the genie almost every other day when the mini clients have black screens.
I have reported this to Directv's technical and have sent reports to them via the genie. They are aware of it and ones informed that a fix is being worked on. The rep I spoke to was well aware of the problems many of us are having and seemed as frustrated as I was. 
So. We wait.


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## fyrfyter (Nov 24, 2006)

philiphotog said:


> My house just had all new wiring installed after some renovation.
> I have to reset the genie almost every other day when the mini clients have black screens.
> I have reported this to Directv's technical and have sent reports to them via the genie. They are aware of it and ones informed that a fix is being worked on. The rep I spoke to was well aware of the problems many of us are having and seemed as frustrated as I was.
> So. We wait.


Yes we do. I killed off the power saving on my C31, and just leave it on all the time. The fix until a real fix comes out. Hopefully it burns up and they can replace it, which they will do repeatedly at their cost until it is fixed, because I am sure as hell not paying for it. No shipping costs, no replacement costs, this is their problem. Better testing in house would have found this issue.


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## TMan (Oct 31, 2007)

fyrfyter said:


> Yes we do. I killed off the power saving on my C31, and just leave it on all the time. The fix until a real fix comes out. Hopefully it burns up and they can replace it, which they will do repeatedly at their cost until it is fixed, because I am sure as hell not paying for it. No shipping costs, no replacement costs, this is their problem. Better testing in house would have found this issue.


They stay surprisingly warm when they're off, too. I know they're not really "off" when they're off, but still.


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## ebox4greg (Dec 3, 2012)

$20 shipping if you don't have the protection plan.......



fyrfyter said:


> Yes we do. I killed off the power saving on my C31, and just leave it on all the time. The fix until a real fix comes out. Hopefully it burns up and they can replace it, which they will do repeatedly at their cost until it is fixed, *because I am sure as hell not paying for it. No shipping costs*, no replacement costs, this is their problem. Better testing in house would have found this issue.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

Apparently, there's a new update being pushed out. Anyone have it yet?

http://forums.directv.com/pe/action/forums/displaythread?rootPostID=11163705


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

Well, the new update did not do anything for the grey/black screen issue on the C31. Maybe is time to call DTV again.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

Yep, just happened with mine. Oh well.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

I'm here for the party as well. C31s were messed up again this evening. So much for my Xmas gift from DirecTV...


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## fyrfyter (Nov 24, 2006)

Woke up this morning to a frozen HR34. It was trying to download firmware 05FD. Does anybody have any info on this or how I get it to try again?


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## FavreJL04 (Feb 4, 2006)

Hit the red button to reset the receiver. When the "starting up" screen first appears hit 02468 on the remote. After the "almost there" screen goes away it should enter into a forced software update mode. At that point it should find it again and download it. I had to do this cycle on my H20 four times to get it to find the new software so you may have to attempt it a few times.


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## zzaapp (Jan 10, 2013)

I have only noticed a gray screen when I try to schedule a recording online from my work computer. Not sure if that has any bearing or not.


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## c6duffman (Dec 11, 2011)

Well.... It might be fixed. I've been turning the C31 off and on a lot since the last update and so far, no gray screen.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

c6duffman said:


> Well.... It might be fixed. I've been turning the C31 off and on a lot since the last update and so far, no gray screen.


Thanks for the reply. It's been so quiet on this thread as of late, I was wondering how this update affected us. I've gotten so used to leaving my C31 on that it feels weird now to turn it off. 

I'll make it a habit to do so, though and report back if the problem rears its ugly head again for me.


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

I just noticed that my C31 client is running version 0x70e now as well. I'm not sure when that update came through, but it appears that is a new build that just released recently?


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## philiphotog (Nov 28, 2012)

So far so good with the update. I think folks are waiting to see if issues arise as with ours it would happen every 3-4 days although sometimes a couple of times a day. 
The latest software earlier in the week is vastly improved. Quicker response times going though the menu and guide. The c-31s also turn on quicker and overall a pleasing experience. 
If I get the black or grey screen ill update. Knock on wood.


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## philiphotog (Nov 28, 2012)

"Drinyth" said:


> I just noticed that my C31 client is running version 0x70e now as well. I'm not sure when that update came through, but it appears that is a new build that just released recently?


That's interesting. I have that too this morning and its dates 12/21. However, I checked this 2 days ago and instill had the previous c-31 update. Good catch.


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## clueless (Dec 6, 2004)

This thread kind of just died. I'm running the latest software on a pair of C31's and an HR34. I've had it for 10 days and I've had to reboot the HR34 5 times due to the gray screen problem on 2 different C31's connected to 2 different TV's (I also have a video freezing problem simultaneously on the HR34). RBR fixes it for a while. It's gone as long as 3 days without the issue and as short as 12 hours.

Just wondering if software updates fixed everyone's issues on this thread?


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## Drinyth (Nov 9, 2012)

I don't recall exactly what software update it was, but one of them finally fixed the grey screen issues that I was having on the C31 clients. I haven't had to do a RBR on the HR34 since the release of that update.


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## clueless (Dec 6, 2004)

Drinyth said:


> I don't recall exactly what software update it was, but one of them finally fixed the grey screen issues that I was having on the C31 clients. I haven't had to do a RBR on the HR34 since the release of that update.


Good for you. Bad for me.  Thanks for the quick reply.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

clueless said:


> This thread kind of just died. I'm running the latest software on a pair of C31's and an HR34. I've had it for 10 days and I've had to reboot the HR34 5 times due to the gray screen problem on 2 different C31's connected to 2 different TV's (I also have a video freezing problem simultaneously on the HR34). RBR fixes it for a while. It's gone as long as 3 days without the issue and as short as 12 hours.
> 
> Just wondering if software updates fixed everyone's issues on this thread?


Please, what version? And date.


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## clueless (Dec 6, 2004)

Laxguy said:


> Please, what version? And date.


 0x6db dated 6/18 on hr34 and 0x717 on both c31's

haven't had the problem for 3 days. (Knock on wood).


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

OK, I'll knock the wood for ya, too!


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## Bill75080 (Dec 18, 2013)

I just found this thread today. It has been almost 6 months since anyone replied to this thread - so what is everyone's status? I still have this problem (rebooting the HR34 every week to get the C31 client to be able to recognize the server). I have the HR34 directly connected with an Ethernet 5e cable and the C31 that my wife uses is connected to the TV with HDMI. Anyone find a solution or has everyone just given in and adjusted their lives to rebooting every so often?


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## west99999 (May 12, 2007)

You should call for someone to come out and look at your system because no this is not normal and nobody has adjusted their lives to to rebooting everyday. You have a problem somewhere with your installation or the equipment.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

First, it's once a week. Second, just calling doesn't necessarily get a new unit or a truck roll. It'd make more sense to troubleshoot first. 

First step is to make sure all coax connections are tight.


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## dserban (Apr 21, 2008)

At this point mine is working fine.


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## Bill75080 (Dec 18, 2013)

Thanks LaxGuy - I will double check the coax connections for tightness. I was hoping to avoid calling and having to go through all the basic steps again with the level 1 tech support and having to wait a week after working with the level 1 rep only to have to call back again and hopefully get escalated to a level 2 person. Just hoping to find the solution that helped anyone else solve the problem and then peace and harmony can again be found in my household when American Idol or The Voice is interrupted! As the saying goes, when the wife is not happy...


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## Bill75080 (Dec 18, 2013)

Dserban - the last post you made in this thread before yesterday (back in Dec 2012) was that the latest update did not work and that you were thinking of calling tech support. Is that what you did or was there something else? (OK trying to remember 12 months ago may be a challenge but a guy can always hope).


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