# HR34: Spring 2012 Release 0x054A - Issues and Discussion



## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

This is the official Issues and Discussion thread for the Spring 2012 release for HR34, version 0x054A

Release notes: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=204611

_We ask that you keep polite and focused within this thread, and post as much detail as possible. If your receiver is set up for network issue reporting, please post the key generated by the receiver.

Being part of the DBSTalk community means working together to help each other document issues and come up with solutions. While everyone gets upset from time to time, this is not the appropriate place for vents or rants. All off-topic posts and discussion will be deleted.

Thanks!_


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Version 0x054A should be on your device now.


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## seanb61 (Jan 19, 2007)

Got it at 3:29am today in Downers Grove, IL.


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## KK in CT (Jul 13, 2010)

Got it this morning. First time I got one of these and didn't lose visibility to my other HD-DVR. Cool! The reappearing banner seems to be gone.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

So from the past few releases, is it that since there are so few of them out there that they don't need to do the standard rollout?


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## uncrules (Dec 20, 2005)

Some things I wish they fix are this. 

The progress bar at the bottom to be like it is on the other DVRs. It's too big.
Every time the DVR resets I have to reenable the 30 second skip.
When using the 30 second skip, the progress bar appears. It doesn't on the other DVRs.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"uncrules" said:


> Some things I wish they fix are this.
> 
> The progress bar at the bottom to be like it is on the other DVRs. It's too big.
> Every time the DVR resets I have to reenable the 30 second skip.
> When using the 30 second skip, the progress bar appears. It doesn't on the other DVRs.


It'll come. For the first issue, we're basically on the first version of the HD GUI. At some point we'll Move on and get the smaller progress bar, Pandora etc.


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## uncrules (Dec 20, 2005)

dpeters11 said:


> It'll come. For the first issue, we're basically on the first version of the HD GUI. At some point we'll Move on and get the smaller progress bar, Pandora etc.


I know, it's just that I've gotten used to those things on the other DVRs so I'm (patentiely) waiting for them to be added to the HR34. When I got my HR34 I finally retired my old HR20 which I got just a few months after the box debut. And I remember the teething problems we had with it. While I know some have had complaints about the HR34, I feel it's been pretty solid for such a new box. Much more stable than that HR20 was when it came out. But the HR20 turned it out pretty good after a while. I liked it better than the two HR22s I have. But not as much as my two HR24s.


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

Heard about the update and plugged in the 34 for the first time in a week, forcing a S/W update and hoping things will work better.

Pink screen still appears on boot-up "just a few seconds more" screen. After this screen but before the running receiver check, the "restart Receiver" screen shows for about 15 seconds or so with a solid black horizontal line running horizontally across the bottom of screen, just above the very bottom.

When navigating to restart my HR24 and on "restart receiver" screen, TV program appears as normal in upper left window. On the HR34, it does not, program disappears and window shows the DirecTV logo.

Just a few observations so far.


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## azarby (Dec 15, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> It'll come. For the first issue, we're basically on the first version of the HD GUI. At some point we'll Move on and get the smaller progress bar, Pandora etc.


I sure hope 54a has fixed the MRV problem with loss of playlist synchronization. Basic operational issues need to be fixed first before we see new features like Pandora, smaller progress bar etc. If I can keep things synchronized for two or more weeks, I'll call the problem solved and then will gladly accept the new features.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Agreed.


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## tsbrady1 (Jan 6, 2006)

uncrules said:


> Some things I wish they fix are this.
> 
> The progress bar at the bottom to be like it is on the other DVRs. It's too big.
> Every time the DVR resets I have to reenable the 30 second skip.
> When using the 30 second skip, the progress bar appears. It doesn't on the other DVRs.


I agree about having to reset 30skip but I kind of like the progress bar on 30skip it lets you know where you are in the program


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## uncrules (Dec 20, 2005)

tsbrady1 said:


> I agree about having to reset 30skip but I kind of like the progress bar on 30skip it lets you know where you are in the program


If I want to see how far along I am in a program, I just hit the play button while the program is playing normally. This causes the progress bar to appear. I hit it again to make it go away.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

tsbrady1 said:


> I kind of like the progress bar on 30skip it lets you know where you are in the program


Speaking for myself, I'm used to the Hx2x way of doing things. When I want to see where I am in the recording, like *uncrules*, I normally just double-tap PLAY. I find that displaying the progress bar during 30SKIP is not "sports friendly". On the HR34, it usually gets in the way of the action when skipping between plays in a football game or pitches in a baseball game.

Even on an Hx2x box, if the progress bar didn't display during 30SLIP, I'd probably use that for sports, instead of SKIP. I understand the need to show the slip counter, but I'd love an option to just display the counter _without _the progress bar. Just my .02.


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## tonydi (Jul 10, 2010)

I too got the update in the wee hours Tues morning and, as usual, the GUI text wasn't HD. On previous updates I've done a restart but this time I took a hint from the other thread and just cycled though the choices with the Format button and that cleared up the text.

However today when I turned the HR34 on, it was lousy text again and the Format trick didn't work so I had to restart to get it back.

I agree with the complaints about the progress bar. Coming from Tivo I'm used to having it disappear when doing slo-mo or frame by frame and it's incredibly annoying that it doesn't work this way on the HR34. It always seems like what I'm trying to see is behind the bar!

Work in progress, I know....


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

Had to unplug the 34 tonite again, after complaints from wife. After a day, my other HR24's were falling off the network for MRV. 34 is in fam room, would not see bedroom 24, bedroom 24 stopped seeing fam room and kitchen 24, etc.

Once I unplugged 34, all 24's started seeing each other within 15 minutes again without having to reboot, and everything was back to normal.

Maybe its my parallel SWiM-16 again acting up with the 34 in the mix, not sure yet. I may try a single SWiM-16 setup with the 34 and see if I have MRV problems with that route.


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## T-Mac (Feb 16, 2012)

I've been doing a menu restart on the receivers I own (HR34, H25) every time they receive an update.

It may be overkill, but most devices (smart phones, computers, etc.) require a restart after software updates. I just think it's a good idea.


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## sriggins (Jul 1, 2010)

Does not fix the issue where the table cells in the Recordings List end updrawing with the wrong row data, so as you move up and down the list, they draw with the same data as the row you were just on.

So you see:

One
Two
>Four
Four

press up

One
>One
Three
Four

Press up

>One
Two
Three
Four


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## sriggins (Jul 1, 2010)

Wife deleted the show that could not play from the beginning so I cannot see if this release fixed it


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## Jerry_K (Oct 22, 2006)

Got the new update. Now the clock is still off but since I already changed all my Series Links to start two minutes early, at least the recording of the show is there. The second useless HD GUI update at least started the recording at the beginning, not like the first useless HD GUI release that started a few minutes into the show. Now the latest release of the useless HD GUI starts a few minutes into the recording. Have to rewind to get to the beginning. 

One step backwards and four more steps backwards. Seems like never a step forwards.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Jerry_K said:


> Got the new update. Now the clock is still off but since I already changed all my Series Links to start two minutes early, at least the recording of the show is there. The second useless HD GUI update at least started the recording at the beginning, not like the first useless HD GUI release that started a few minutes into the show. Now the latest release of the useless HD GUI starts a few minutes into the recording. Have to rewind to get to the beginning.
> 
> One step backwards and four more steps backwards. Seems like never a step forwards.


Do you put your HR34 in standby or is it always on?


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Jerry_K said:


> Got the new update. Now the clock is still off but since I already changed all my Series Links to start two minutes early, at least the recording of the show is there. The second useless HD GUI update at least started the recording at the beginning, not like the first useless HD GUI release that started a few minutes into the show. Now the latest release of the useless HD GUI starts a few minutes into the recording. Have to rewind to get to the beginning.
> 
> One step backwards and four more steps backwards. Seems like never a step forwards.





RunnerFL said:


> Do you put your HR34 in standby or is it always on?


And if not, I notice you're in an RV. I don't know too much about how time gets sync'd, but I wonder if the HR34 has correctly identified your dish type, in case that has any bearing on what may be going on.


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## tsbrady1 (Jan 6, 2006)

uncrules said:


> If I want to see how far along I am in a program, I just hit the play button while the program is playing normally. This causes the progress bar to appear. I hit it again to make it go away.


I did not know you could do that! I will have to give it a try!


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## Jerry_K (Oct 22, 2006)

Steve said:


> And if not, I notice you're in an RV. I don't know too much about how time gets sync'd, but I wonder if the HR34 has correctly identified your dish type, in case that has any bearing on what may be going on.


I have never and never will put a DVR in standby. Takes too long to come out of standby.

Dish type is identified every time we move. This 34 has been two minutes off ever since we got it in January. Program is two minutes ahead of where this dumb machine thinks it is. So all one hundred (another dumb limit) has been padded with two additional minutes at the start. Then we get two minutes on the end without asking for it.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Jerry_K said:


> I have never and never will put a DVR in standby. Takes too long to come out of standby.


I've heard of folks not putting their DVRs in standby because they use a universal remote. I've never heard of someone leaving them on all the time because it takes too long to wake them up, however.  My HRs all power-up before my TVs do.

Do you use a standard DIRECTV remote for your HR and TV? If so, I'm curious how you're able to keep the HR34 from turning off. Do you move it to the TV-only position each time?


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Jerry_K said:


> I have never and never will put a DVR in standby. Takes too long to come out of standby.


Some people not putting their HR34's in standby are stating that they are experiencing time drift on their boxes. Others of us who do use standby are not.


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## Christopher Gould (Jan 14, 2007)

i also never put my hr34 or hr21s in standby. i have had recordings start about 30 seconds in but i can rewind to the beginning.


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## jrbdvr (May 2, 2012)

Was reading in the 0x548 thread about clearing NVRAM. Can someone tell me what data is being cleared, and what's lost by clearing it? It must do _something_...


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## augisdad (Sep 29, 2011)

Was watching the Royals on 672-1 last night when @ 9pm screen went blank for aout 30secs and then switched to ABC channel 9. I may have had the Royals game going w/ doubleplay (can't recall for sure), but was watching it only a couple minutes behind live. Checked and saw 4 shows recording @ 9pm. Still, no warning this was about to happen and not sure why the Royals game could not stay on as the 5th tuner without being dumped. Was able to change from channel 9 to 672-1 with no problem. This was the 1st time I've actually needed all 5 tuners in operation at the same time.


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## augisdad (Sep 29, 2011)

Last call received in the log has a 4/28 date. I've received several calls since then with the TV on, and no display appears on screen.


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## Jerry_K (Oct 22, 2006)

RunnerFL said:


> Some people not putting their HR34's in standby are stating that they are experiencing time drift on their boxes. Others of us who do use standby are not.


No drift, the HR34 time is always two minutes behind the Guide time.

And I do use a universal remote. The DTV remote is not compatible with our system. No one button on and no one button off. And the ones we have are not lit. Unacceptable if not lit. Cannot use it when watching TV at night. At one point the 24 had that stupid auto sleep mode. I told it to please not do that and it has not done it since then.

I can set up my universal to turn on and off anything. I just don't want that DVR not instantly ready. Never turn off any of my computers either. Always on.


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## KK in CT (Jul 13, 2010)

"augisdad" said:


> Last call received in the log has a 4/28 date. I've received several calls since then with the TV on, and no display appears on screen.


My caller ID has never displayed onscreen since I has the 34 installed. Everything is hooked up correctly, and it worked at that location with the HR-24 when it was there. Must be something to do with the 34.


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## ovityons (Nov 18, 2011)

Callerid is not reliable on my HR34 or my HR24. The HR34 is more reliable at logging calls than the HR24 but even the HR34 only logs about 50% of the calls I get (Nothing shows up on the screen when the phone rings and nothing is added to the call log). I used to have 3 SAT-T60's I installed the Elseed program on them and the callerid worked perfectly and it kept a log of all calls for many years, they were kept in a text file which was easy to search and not limited to 25 calls. I used to rely on the callerid on the SAT-T60 in my computer room because my nice speakerphone that I used for Conference calls did not have callerid. after replacing the SAT-T60 with the HR24 in February 2012 I had to purchase a new phone with callerid because the HR24 just could not be relied on for callerid. 
I even tried the HR24 as the only device connected to the phone line and called from my cell and it could not detect an incoming call. The HR24 detects about 10% of incoming calls. Directv Support stated that Callerid is not a primary service and they don't care if it doesn't work.


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## KK in CT (Jul 13, 2010)

I don't consider caller ID to be important, however it is a function that's "supposed to" work but doesn't. More of a nice to have for me at this point. There are other things they need to fix first IMHO.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Jerry_K said:


> No drift, the HR34 time is always two minutes behind the Guide time.


That IS drift. Try putting it in standby.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

I think the best way to check HR34 time is to put up the "more system info" page, where, unlike the INFO BAR clock, you can see the minutes change in real time. Then go to the time.gov website and compare the times of day.

I just took my HR34 out of standby, and using the above method, it's 8 seconds behind time.gov.


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## azarby (Dec 15, 2006)

Here is an issue that I have never seen before. Last night my wife recorded 'Mentalist". While playing back, especilly durring the last 15 minutes, there were severel instances where there would be a brief interruption and the video and sound from another broadcast would pop up on the screen. The interuptions were about a second in length and I would say there was about a dozen of them, approximately 30 seconds apart. I backed up the recording and they were definitely part of the recorded program, as I could replay and they were there again. Anyone else see this?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I've heard of that happening from a local channels end.


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## Jerry_K (Oct 22, 2006)

RunnerFL said:


> That IS drift. Try putting it in standby.


It is not drift. It never changes. As soon as it boots up it is two minutes behind. After two weeks it is still two minutes behind. Never varies.


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## ovityons (Nov 18, 2011)

Steve said:


> I think the best way to check HR34 time is to put up the "more system info" page, where, unlike the INFO BAR clock, you can see the minutes change in real time. Then go to the time.gov website and compare the times of day.
> 
> I just took my HR34 out of standby, and using the above method, it's 8 seconds behind time.gov.


My HR34 is about 20 seconds fast. I got that with the following procedure: While watching live TV I continuously press and release the info button to bring up the info screen and clear the info screen and bring it up again until the time changes to the next minute. 
I tried the "more system info" screen and it does not update in real time, when I tried it, it updated about 40 seconds later than using info button to toggle the info screen on/off. Per the "more system info" screen the HR34 is about 20 seconds slow.

I don't use Standby. I use a universal remote and I have the DVR power button programmed to turn the TV on and off, If I did want to access the DVR power, I have to press setup and then power (setup plus another button provides alternate functions on my remote)


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

ovityons said:


> I tried the "more system info" screen and it does not update in real time, when I tried it, it updated about 40 seconds later than using info button to toggle the info screen on/off. Per the "more system info" screen the HR34 is about 20 seconds slow.


I just tried the "more system info" screen again, and today I'm about 4 seconds slow. You're right, tho, who knows which method is more accurate? :shrug:


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## Jerry_K (Oct 22, 2006)

Whether the DVR is synced to atomic time really does not matter to me. What matters to me is that the DVR "time" is aligned with Guide "time". That way the recordings start on "time".


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## tonydi (Jul 10, 2010)

Jerry_K said:


> Whether the DVR is synced to atomic time really does not matter to me. What matters to me is that the DVR "time" is aligned with Guide "time". That way the recordings start on "time".


I must be missing something.

My HR34's "info time" and "guide time" match, and both are about 20 seconds ahead of real time. I think it's important that the DVR's time is as close to real time (or "atomic time" as you called it) as possible if you want the recordings to be right.

Under your scenario, where the two internal times match, you could still have messed up recordings if they're far enough off from when the programs actually start (real time, atomic time or whatever you want to call it).


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## Jerry_K (Oct 22, 2006)

tonydi said:


> I must be missing something.
> 
> My HR34's "info time" and "guide time" match, and both are about 20 seconds ahead of real time. I think it's important that the DVR's time is as close to real time (or "atomic time" as you called it) as possible if you want the recordings to be right.
> 
> Under your scenario, where the two internal times match, you could still have messed up recordings if they're far enough off from when the programs actually start (real time, atomic time or whatever you want to call it).


I just put in two extra minutes at the beginning through default and for already set up series links one at a time adjustment. Now I get the beginning of programs on HR34. HR24 has always been synced properly and recordings start on time.

And time is relative. What happens to the various leap times? Why are they not always an addition to the 24 hour clock. If I chose to tell you that it is Thursday today and I have the full power of the federal government behind me than by gosh for sure today is Thursday. It is completely arbitrary. Look at all the various calenders in recorded history.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Just as a point of reference, I keep all my units in standby when I'm not watching them and always use the default 30-second autopad.

I recorded last night's _Bones_ on three different boxes. An HR20-700 (SAT), HR34-700 (SAT) and an HR24-100/AM21 (OTA). After rewinding fully into the pre-pad and hitting play, the actual show started after 42 seconds on the HR20 (or the HR20 started recording 12 seconds early), after 41 seconds on the HR34 (11 seconds early) and after 15 seconds on the OTA recording (15 seconds late).

OTOH, yesterday's _Ellen _at 4PM started after 1-2 seconds on all 3 boxes, so it looks to me like NBC aired it about 28 seconds early.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Issue: Still no buffer when coming out of a recording.


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## jappleboy (Apr 2, 2010)

Since the 5/01 update when I turn on my receiver and change to a new channel only on the first time it takes about 30 seconds to switch.


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## sjord7 (Sep 2, 2007)

I just got the HR34 a week ago. So far it's locked up twice now, forcing me to use the red button to reboot. Is anyone else having this issue? Should I call DirecTV?

Unfortunately last night it didn't record anything, since it was locked up.


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## jrbdvr (May 2, 2012)

No lock-ups, but I've had several pauses in playback, where the video freezes and the box is unresponsive -- comes back in 2 to 10 seconds. Never happened before the update.


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

Mine is unplugged again indefinitely until a future/better S/W version. Wife still complaining too much for me to take. Back using the 24's.


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## azvipers (Jan 19, 2008)

jrbdvr said:


> No lock-ups, but I've had several pauses in playback, where the video freezes and the box is unresponsive -- comes back in 2 to 10 seconds. Never happened before the update.


Having same issue


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## markrubin (Jun 21, 2007)

has anyone noticed:

using RS232 commands: channel up is locked out when the info banner is up (have to hit it twice or hit channel down first)

not so on channel down: channel down works properly


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## augisdad (Sep 29, 2011)

For the 2nd week in a row, *New Girl* did not record @ 8:30 CDT. Checking the History (while it recorded on my HR20), it says it recorded @ 8:00 CDT - same as last week. There was nothing listed showing anything recorded 
at 8:00 for either week. I checked the guide and it did not have a series record icon listed on the episode that was currently showing. Clicking record, got the message that it added it to my Series Manager now and remaining 15mins recorded. Checking Series Manager did not reveal a duplicate.

My bad - had the HR20 set up to record New Girl as Both, whereas the HR34 as First Run. Did not realize they were running reruns @ 8:30.


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

Though minor, is the live ("green colored") buffer progress bar supposed to blink intermittently when displayed? Or is this a bug?

The orange colored bar for recorded or "recording" programs does not do this.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

HoTat2 said:


> Though minor, is the live ("green colored") buffer progress bar supposed to blink intermittently when displayed? Or is this a bug?


Bug


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## texasmoose (May 25, 2007)

This latest release is a step back from the previous national release candidate. I'm hoping the next update captures the stability/speed from the previous release. Ox054A blows...........


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## BadeMillsap (Jan 2, 2008)

Just the last couple of days I have seen several brief (2-3 second) total blackouts ... no sound no picture ... then back to normal viewing. This is 8 days after the 5/1 update which seems odd. I checked signal strength (95+ across the board) and tuners all showed in the green ... others???

Also for the 1st time ... I experienced a case of not recording a series set up show (Last Man Standing) ... it indicated the multiple R's on the guide but it wasn't recording the episode and it was a FIRST RUN episode as I have specified for the series ... hadn't seen that before this update.

And as I believe others have stated ... this update is incredibly SLOW to switch between channels, traverse the guide ...


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Added my AM21 last night. Every channel has a signal strength of 77%. :eek2:


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Herdfan said:


> Added my AM21 last night. Every channel has a signal strength of 77%. :eek2:


I have one like that, you must have been in our test group.


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

BadeMillsap said:


> Just the last couple of days I have seen several brief (2-3 second) total blackouts ... no sound no picture ... then back to normal viewing. This is 8 days after the 5/1 update which seems odd. I checked signal strength (95+ across the board) and tuners all showed in the green ... others???
> 
> Also for the 1st time ... I experienced a case of not recording a series set up show (Last Man Standing) ... it indicated the multiple R's on the guide but it wasn't recording the episode and it was a FIRST RUN episode as I have specified for the series ... hadn't seen that before this update.
> 
> And as I believe others have stated ... this update is incredibly SLOW to switch between channels, traverse the guide ...


Experienced the blackouts on my HR34 last night myself while viewing an OTA local channel (7-1 an ABC O&O) on the AM21N. Video and sound would suffer spells of cycling on and off every 5 seconds or so it seemed. Tuned to the KABC 7 satellite delivered channel and it cleared up. Tuned back to the OTA one and after about an hour it stated again. Put it back on the satellite channel and left it there till morning, then tested OTA again. So far no problems throughout the day. Weird ...

No missed episode recording or speed issues noticed yet though.


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## Vesper (Dec 12, 2011)

Is anyone else having HDCP/Handshake issues since the new update? Whenever turning on my receiver & TV, the screen is almost always purple-hued with no sound. Switching inputs to another source and back fixes it. This is new since the latest update and kind of irritating.


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## Aesculapius (May 10, 2012)

Vesper said:


> Is anyone else having HDCP/Handshake issues since the new update? Whenever turning on my receiver & TV, the screen is almost always purple-hued with no sound. Switching inputs to another source and back fixes it. This is new since the latest update and kind of irritating.


Yep. Same issue here. I get the default lack of signal display from my projector and no sound. Same fix too.


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## jibberyerkibber (Mar 1, 2012)

Here are the issues that I am having with my HR34 running 0x54a. 1. Backspacing when I press PLAY while I am in the FFWD mode. Sometimes the 34 backspaces, sometimes it does not. In fact, sometimes, weirdly. it even jumps forward a few seconds in time. And when it does backspace, it backspaces way way too much. PLAY with FFWD @ speed setting 2 causes the 34 to jump back 10 to 15 seconds. PLAY with FFWD @ speed setting 3 cause the 34 to jump back 20 to 30 seconds. PLAY with FFWD @ speed setting @ 4 causes the 34 to jump back oftentimes about one full minute. For me, that's ridiculous. Before the latest software for my HR24 and 23, they would backspace about 3 seconds from speed setting 2; four seconds from speed setting 3; and 8 seconds from speed setting 4. For me, that is perfect. I wish DTV would go back to those parameters. Unfortunately, now the HR24 and 23 also backspace way way too much like the HR34. Issue 2: Sometimes when I am in FFWD and I press PLAY, nothing happens. The HR34 continues on in the FFWD mode. Sometimes I have to press the PLAY button as many as five or six time to get the 34 to go back into real-time. Issue 3: Sometimes when I am in the FFWD mode, PLAY will simply produce a freeze frame. Then the video plays when I press PLAY again, but often only after I press PLAY several times. Issue 4: Sometimes when I FFWD to the end of a video, the KEEP/DELETE/YES/NO dialog box fails to appear. I then press the BACK arrow and the screen with the choices menu on the left appears (play, resume, keep, delete, etc,). Then I make my choice and everything is fine. Issue 5: Sometimes when I press PAUSE the video pause only for a microsecond on the intended frame, then it jumps back to about six frames earlier. Issue 6: Sometimes, rarely, when I am watching a recorded video and I press PREV to go back go back to a real-time program coming from a tuner, the latent memory (green line) of the tuner program has been erased. Issue 7: Sometime, rarely, when I press PREV to go back to a recorded video, the recorded video comes back at the very beginning of the video instead of the point in time when I switched to the tuner. Then of course I must FFWD to the place where the recorded video should have come back to. Issue 8: Sometimes when I am in real-time and I press FFWD, the picture freezes for a few seconds and then jumps forward to the place the video would have been had the picture not frozen. I didn't get to see the part of the video that was fast forwarding during the few seconds that that the picture was frozen. Although it does not qualify as a full-bore issue, when I press INFO with the HR34, the next screen has INFO highlighted again. Like with my 24 and 23, I feel MORE INFO should be highlighted instead. My HR34 0x54a still does not show channel 501 when I scroll down through the guide. When I scroll up through the guide, channel 501 magically appears. I like the fact that when I change channels not the top banner only appears once. The overall speed of the 0x54a seems good although the GUIDE sometimes goes very slow. Sometimes I have to press the scrolling arrow several times before the GUIDE scrolls. This slowing way down doesn't happen with my 24 and 23, but they are still painfully slow in almost all other functions. For example, when I press LIST on my 24 2nd 23, it takes about 10 seconds before the list appears. Also when I press the BACK arrow to get the LIST back after I finish a recorded video, the 24 and 23 take a very long time. Finally, with the HR34 thanks DTV that the top banner now only appears once when I change channels, but when oh when are you going to get rid of the Horrible Black Cloud (HBC) that still surrounds the time status bar?


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## Dmitry (Jun 12, 2006)

Failed to detect the end of recording or displayed incorrect data. 

On two occasions while playing back a recording the DVR would "reach the end" way before the actual length, like 55 minutes into a 90 minute recording. "Delete/Keep" dialog comes up and there's no way to watch the end of the recording.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

Dmitry said:


> Failed to detect the end of recording or displayed incorrect data.
> 
> On two occasions while playing back a recording the DVR would "reach the end" way before the actual length, like 55 minutes into a 90 minute recording. "Delete/Keep" dialog comes up and there's no way to watch the end of the recording.


If it always does it during that recording it indicates that it's a partial recording either due to loss of signal or some other issue. Check the run time in the info.


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## thomamon (Jul 21, 2008)

I had this receiver installed a couple of weeks ago and have some questions about the playback. I'm noticing two annoying things with it.

1. Sometimes when it cuts from one scene to the next, I notice an extra frame shows with in an instant of changing. It's really fast,but to me it is noticeable and annoying.

2. Less often then above it will skip a few frames for a second or so. It kinda looks like a shutter or slow motion effect.

Anyone else see anything like this?


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## sriggins (Jul 1, 2010)

"Dmitry" said:


> Failed to detect the end of recording or displayed incorrect data.
> 
> On two occasions while playing back a recording the DVR would "reach the end" way before the actual length, like 55 minutes into a 90 minute recording. "Delete/Keep" dialog comes up and there's no way to watch the end of the recording.


Workaround I found was to resume from start, then start to Fred, then hit skip to get to the end, the rewind until it asks to delete, day no, then use resume on the,program. It would always resume past the dead spot.


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## sriggins (Jul 1, 2010)

"sriggins" said:


> Workaround I found was to resume from start, then start to Fred, then hit skip to get to the end, the rewind until it asks to delete, day no, then use resume on the,program. It would always resume past the dead spot.


Lol no glasses typos on iPad. Fred is fast forward. Day is say


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## KK in CT (Jul 13, 2010)

Last night I started noticing strange things with the guide when scrolling. If I start on the first local channel in the guide and hit the channel down button on the remote, it will start to scroll, get stuck for a few seconds, then proceed normally from there. Then when I was scrolling further down, sometimes the channel numbers would appear to shift to the right underneath the program info.


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## jibberyerkibber (Mar 1, 2012)

This is what my GUIDE sometimes looks like when I am scrolling.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

jibberyerkibber said:


> This is what my GUIDE sometimes looks like when I am scrolling.


Have you tried adjusting the horizontal hold? :lol:

All kidding aside and just a thought, but does cycling through resolutions with the FORMAT key correct it? If so, might be an HDMI handshake issue. In that case, I'd report the make and model of the TV or AVR.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Steve said:


> All kidding aside and just a thought, but does cycling through resolutions with the FORMAT key correct it? *If so, might be an HDMI handshake issue.* In that case, I'd report the make and model of the TV or AVR.


It is not an HDMI issue as I have seen the same thing and I am using component. For me it only happen when I have been scrolling. I have not seen it when the guide is initially brought up.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Herdfan said:


> It is not an HDMI issue as I have seen the same thing and I am using component. For me it only happen when I have been scrolling. I have not seen it when the guide is initially brought up.


Well there goes that theory!


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## thomamon (Jul 21, 2008)

Has anybody experienced what I described above? If it a faulty box?


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

Steve said:


> Have you tried adjusting the horizontal hold? :lol:
> 
> All kidding aside and just a thought, but does cycling through resolutions with the FORMAT key correct it? If so, might be an HDMI handshake issue. *In that case, I'd report the make and model of the TV *or AVR.


Done that.

Scrolling has never work correctly on on the HR34 HDGUI.


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

thomamon said:


> Has anybody experienced what I described above? If it a faulty box?


I haven't heard that complaint before. Out of curiosity, what is the make/model of the TV you have it hooked up to? It could be a frame interpolation type thing going on in the TV.


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## sjord7 (Sep 2, 2007)

I've had my HR34 about 9 or 10 days now. Last night, when I turned it on, it took about 4 minutes to get a picture on the screen. The lights came on on the box, but no other response after that. I was hesitant to reboot it, as it was recording three shows. So I was trying a few things, waiting, wondering when all of a sudden the picture came on. I proceeded to watch Idol, although it was horribly slow to respond to commands - it was painful. Getting the guide to come up, or even ffwd over the commercials was painfully slow. Although Idol did record OK. I finished the show and shut it off, as it was still recording some shows.

This morning, it wouldn't come on. I rebooted for the third time. That's a lot of rebooting - anyone else having these total lockup issues every few days?


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Drucifer said:


> Scrolling has never work correctly on on the HR34 HDGUI.


For your setup, I assume. It's not (and never has been) an issue here. I'm connected composite, though.


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## damie45 (Dec 15, 2011)

I had this box since the 2nd week of December and I loved it at first. Now it seems like every new update the box receives the more problems I'm statrting to experience. After the last update almost everyday when I get home i have to reboot the box in order to get it to work. Plus I notice it doesnt record my programs when it froze, because we had went away for a week and I guess it had froze the very same day we left and it didnt record any programs that whole week. Now I wish I had just gotten 2 of the regular DVRs instead of this paper weight that dont even perform the basic of dvr task, which is to record programs.


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## freshmanjs (Jan 31, 2012)

I am still getting a significant number of missed recordings. if i go to settings->reset->restart receiver, (before typing the '-') it indicates a tuner conflict message and lists all of the recordings that were missed. anyone else seeing thiss?


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

So I guess I've been to preoccupied with issues on my HR34 to notice, and I see no one else has mentioned it, but I just happened to notice that the top half of the progress bar is nearly transparent. It still takes up the whole width of the screen but the area from the progress bar on up is so transparent it's almost not there.

I much prefer the smaller progress bar that the Hx2x's have but I like this transparency. Maybe they can merge the 2.


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## KK in CT (Jul 13, 2010)

So I was just in my recordings list and a message pops up saying that my HR-24 has been disconnected from the home network. Guess I'll have to reboot to get it back.


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## Throckmorton (Dec 7, 2007)

Bug:

[PREV] doesn't work right when previous channel was a music channel, goes to previous video channel instead.

Steps to reproduce:

Tune to channel 202 <- Get CNN as expected
Tune to channel 276 <- Get NGC as expected
Hit the [PREV] button <- Get CNN as expected
Tune to channel 863 <- Get Bob Marley as expected
Hit the [PREV] button <- Get CNN as expected
*Hit the [PREV] button <- Get NGC instead of previous music channel*


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

Throckmorton said:


> Bug:
> 
> [PREV] doesn't work right when previous channel was a music channel, goes to previous video channel instead.
> 
> ...


Maybe you can create a gadget for it that works properly?


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

Throckmorton said:



> Bug:
> 
> [PREV] doesn't work right when previous channel was a music channel, goes to previous video channel instead.
> 
> ...


Just did this procedure twice to check on my HR34 with 0x54A FW, and PREV went back to the music channel correctly each time.

Man ... what can you say about this kind of stuff? Same box running the same software, yet these bugs apparently can manifest themselves if at all in different ways and severity on separate boxes of the same model. 

For instance during this test I noticed even though my channel banner time is set for the minimum of 4 sec., after a "PREV" channel switch it remains displayed ridiculously long >10 sec.

Also in my first test of VOD, in two SD VODs I d/l'ed last night they skipped very badly all though the program. What should have been 22 min. for each program ended in only about 15 min with the skips.


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## thomamon (Jul 21, 2008)

"Beerstalker" said:


> I haven't heard that complaint before. Out of curiosity, what is the make/model of the TV you have it hooked up to? It could be a frame interpolation type thing going on in the TV.


Ill have to check the model as I'm not home, but I know it's a Sony...


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## Throckmorton (Dec 7, 2007)

HoTat2 said:


> Just did this procedure twice to check on my HR34 with 0x54A FW, and PREV went back to the music channel correctly each time.
> 
> Man ... what can you say about this kind of stuff? Same box running the same software, yet these bugs apparently can manifest themselves if at all in different ways and severity on separate boxes of the same model.
> 
> ...


Weird.

I rebooted and tried again. I was on a music channel at the time of the reboot so it came back up to it. Went to CNN then hit [PREV]. It went no where. Just stayed on CNN.


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## tonydi (Jul 10, 2010)

HoTat2 said:


> Man ... what can you say about this kind of stuff? Same box running the same software, yet these bugs apparently can manifest themselves if at all in different ways and severity on separate boxes of the same model.


My thoughts exactly. It makes no sense at all (other than the things that are related to how the TV is connected, that I can understand). Computers are like this but they've got so many variables with different hardware and various applications and utility software and customization that it at least is understandable that Windows would react differently.

But just something like how some people have different time stamps than others, there's no way that should be different among the same boxes. No wonder DTV is having problems getting everything dialed in!


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## augisdad (Sep 29, 2011)

While watching the Royals and Nascar Saturday night I had the race on bottom right. Decided to move it around the screen to top right I believe. In doing so resulted in a black screen with audio only from the game. Waited a minute or so to see if it would come back, but it never did. Switching between feeds resulted in picture coming back.


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## sjord7 (Sep 2, 2007)

Besides the locking up issue that happens every few days, I have noticed one other thing. When I turn it on in the morning, I can't go backwards and view what was happening before I turned it on (on the channel it was on). I can only rewind to the point of when I turned it on. My HR20 allowed me to rewind quite a ways, to the start of the show or 90 minutes I think.


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## Jerry_K (Oct 22, 2006)

sjord7 said:


> Besides the locking up issue that happens every few days, I have noticed one other thing. When I turn it on in the morning, I can't go backwards and view what was happening before I turned it on (on the channel it was on). I can only rewind to the point of when I turned it on. My HR20 allowed me to rewind quite a ways, to the start of the show or 90 minutes I think.


Seems like the 34 does not always have a buffer going. I leave mine on all the time and still sometimes there is not a long buffer. Not sure which channel it decides should be displayed of the five it may have had tuned when recording on all tuners. It is all a mystery. At least with the TiVo you knew whatever last two channels recorded were the tuned channels with a full buffer. I would rather have a half hour of for sure buffer than 90 minutes of maybe who knows buffer.


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## bman3333 (Jun 9, 2010)

I have noticed while playing back any and all programs that were downloaded via the on demand channels that the the screen will randomly freeze, then jump ahead, sometimes minutes, before resuming play. This does not occur on content recorded from the satellite stream, just on the on demand content. Anyone else experience this issue with the HR34?


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

I've had my HR34 unplugged for a week now because of issues messing up my cloud, but I plugged in again to take another run at it while the wife is sleeping. 

First thing I noticed is the Sat settings were set on Dish Type....04: Slimline-5. I am adjusting this to 18: Slimline-5S (SWM) to better match my setup running SWiM-16 on a Slimline-5LNB. Do not know if the DirecSat installers incorrectly set this or not.

When I went to Satellite Settings to do this, I had pressed "-" to continue with setup, then got an error message on the screen indicating tuner conflict and if I wanted to continue. However, there was nothing recording and no program indicated on the screen of what would be interrupted, and doubleplay was not on.

Weird.

Hopefully this will help with some of my issues, especially with other HR24's dropping off the cloud over time, etc.


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## texasmoose (May 25, 2007)

please revert back to the previous nat'l candidate! 54a is buggy as hell!


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## I WANT MORE (Oct 3, 2006)

54a has been very stable for me.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

Issue: Keep or Delete Box would not go away

I was at the end of a recorded program and wanted to back up. So I used the RW button. Program backed up, but Keep or Delete Box would not go away until I selected an option. I am pretty sure on the HR2X series that once you begin rewinding the box goes away.


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## T-Mac (Feb 16, 2012)

bman3333 said:


> I have noticed while playing back any and all programs that were downloaded via the on demand channels that the the screen will randomly freeze, then jump ahead, sometimes minutes, before resuming play. This does not occur on content recorded from the satellite stream, just on the on demand content. Anyone else experience this issue with the HR34?


Yes. I have this exact issue. I have seen others comment about it also. link


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## bman3333 (Jun 9, 2010)

T-Mac said:


> Yes. I have this exact issue. I have seen others comment about it also. link


Thought I would update with my experience from last night. I noticed my installer had placed the ODU PI-29 on the same coax line as my directv broadband adapter. While he did put a switch on the line so that it was not running through the power inserter's IRD port, I still thought it wasn't good to pass large amounts of data on the same line as a 29 volt current. So I connected the SWM ODU PI-29 directly to the coax coming from outside my house and in front of the 4 port switch connecting my two receivers and the broadband adapter. I think this is how the PI-29 was designed to be placed all along. To test, I downloaded an on demand program that had previously demonstrated the freezing and skipping (fyi nickjr - olivia), and it played with zero freezes! I didn't have time to try other on demand programs, but will later and post the results.


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

bman3333 said:


> Thought I would update with my experience from last night. I noticed my installer had placed the ODU PI-29 on the same coax line as my directv broadband adapter. While he did put a switch on the line so that it was not running through the power inserter's IRD port, I still thought it wasn't good to pass large amounts of data on the same line as a 29 volt current. So I connected the SWM ODU PI-29 directly to the coax coming from outside my house and in front of the 4 port switch connecting my two receivers and the broadband adapter. I think this is how the PI-29 was designed to be placed all along. To test, I downloaded an on demand program that had previously demonstrated the freezing and skipping (fyi nickjr - olivia), and it played with zero freezes! I didn't have time to try other on demand programs, but will later and post the results.


A PI is actually designed to be placed anywhere on a satellite coax run from a SWiM switch (integrated into the LNB or an external module) to a receiver input (though not too close to it). If placed downstream of the splitter it must obviously be on a line to the "red" DC power passing port.

However, it is not customarily used on the line to the CCK, so maybe it was causing an issue with your VOD downloads.

I have a SWiM-16 with the PI connected to the ext. PWR, port and wired CCK on a coax run right to one of the SWiM splitters and I guess for different reasons initially had problems with VOD downloads on my HR34 after install over two weeks ago. Yet with the exception of an occasional message reporting that there is a problem connecting to the internet with a "Fix Now" or "Later" option, they seemed to have disappeared on the latest program downloads, SD or HD.

BTW: I think you are using the term "switch" for what is actually a "splitter" which can cause confusion (like me  ) for those reading and trying to understand your post.


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## bman3333 (Jun 9, 2010)

BTW: I think you are using the term "switch" for what is actually a "splitter" which can cause confusion (like me  ) for those reading and trying to understand your post.[/QUOTE]

Sorry for using the wrong term. Splitter is what I meant. I just wanted to clarify my original post that blamed my VOD freeze/skip issue on the OX054A, when it could be caused by my hardware wiring scheme.


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## jibberyerkibber (Mar 1, 2012)

For the last little while now, sometime when I press PREV the screen will go black for about 30 seconds. When the picture comes back, sometimes it's on the channel I was already on, sometimes it's on the previous channel. Often times if I press PREV again, the screen will go back again for another 30 seconds. When the PREV function does work properly. it still too slow. Way slower than my HR23 and HR24. As others have noted, sometimes I when I press PREV, the HR34 goes to a wrong channel. Happens with my HR 24, too.


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## Losi b (Nov 26, 2011)

My 34 locked up again. Rbr was past the 10 minute mark so I rbr'd it again. My wife and I are both so pissed at our selfs for buying this pos without doing the proper research. Never again. I'm very disappointed with Direct TV also.


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## augisdad (Sep 29, 2011)

Was watching a recorded show and when it finished I saw I was about 1hr behind Live TV. Pressed FF and then slip a couple times to jump ahead to current, when all of a sudden I was back at the beginning of the buffer. I went from 9:54 to 8:24 without ever hitting rewind. 

I've also noticed that pushing slip a 2nd/3rd time sometimes results in a stuttering of the progress bar. You can watch it go forward, reverse, forward numerous times during 30slip stacking.


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## BigFoot48 (Aug 31, 2007)

0x054b was loaded into my 34 this morning. Always know when this happens as the 30SKIP no longer works when I get up. Don't yet see any obvious changes.


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