# Why is changing the channel so difficult?



## stlmike (Aug 24, 2007)

Sorry to vent, but I can't remember the last time I was able to change the channel in one try. It usually takes three attempts. How is something like typing in a channel not simple for our DVR's? /sigh  :nono2:


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

What exactly happens? I have no issues changing the channel on any of my 3 DVR's, either by using the channel up/down or by entering the channel number directly.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

I feel your pain, it really sucks. It seems to have gotten worse with the most recent software download. I hope it has been solved in the 24 series box.


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## stlmike (Aug 24, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> What exactly happens? I have no issues changing the channel on any of my 3 DVR's, either by using the channel up/down or by entering the channel number directly.


On any of my 4 HR20/21 boxes, entering the channel number is horrible. I point the remote at the box, enter the three numbers, wait 2 seconds, see the first number appear and watch it either go to the first number (if there is a channel there) or tell me there is no channel and goes "boop". Then the last two numbers I entered show up. It usually "boops" again. Then it seems to pay attention and I can enter it again. All boxes are in IR mode. RF is far worse.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

stlmike said:


> On any of my 4 HR20/21 boxes, entering the channel number is horrible. I point the remote at the box, enter the three numbers, wait 2 seconds, see the first number appear and watch it either go to the first number (if there is a channel there) or tell me there is no channel and goes "boop". Then the last two numbers I enterd show up. it usually "boops" again. Then it seems to pay attention and I can enter it. All are in IR mode. RF is far worse.


It's weird. I know this is a problem, because enough people talk about it. I just can't figure out why I'm not effected. Now, every once in awhile, I have a problem entering channels, but I'd guess that it happens maybe once every couple of weeks, and usually I attribute it to the fact that I'm using IR extenders and controlling the DVR from another room sometimes.

I've heard before that it helps to reset the box occasionally (via the menu). I don't do that, but I do participate in the CE's, which in effect means I'm rebooting my box every weekend.

Maybe you should try that once or twice per week and see if it helps. Obviously, it's just a work around, but if it works, it works.


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## stlmike (Aug 24, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> It's weird. I know this is a problem, because enough people talk about it. I just can't figure out why I'm not effected. Now, every once in awhile, I have a problem entering channels, but I'd guess that it happens maybe once every couple of weeks, and usually I attribute it to the fact that I'm using IR extenders and controlling the DVR from another room sometimes.
> 
> I've heard before that it helps to reset the box occasionally (via the menu). I don't do that, but I do participate in the CE's, which in effect means I'm rebooting my box every weekend.
> 
> Maybe you should try that once or twice per week and see if it helps. Obviously, it's just a work around, but if it works, it works.


I've rebooted frequently for other reasons (MRV, mediashare, tvapps, etc) 

What boxes do you have? I have to two 20-700's and two 22-100's. All boxes behave more or less the same. There isn't one box that I say "boy is that fast and responsive!"


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## Go Beavs (Nov 18, 2008)

Try hitting 'Info" first, then enter the channel #'s. For whatever reason, that seems to help the keybounce... for me anyway.


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## stlmike (Aug 24, 2007)

Go Beavs said:


> Try hitting 'Info" first, then enter the channel #'s. For whatever reason, that seems to help the keybounce... for me anyway.


Cool! That worked! Thanks much.

So it seems the first button press (info in this case) is what is "waking" the box up. Wonder if that is fixable or not.


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## Go Beavs (Nov 18, 2008)

Yeah, not sure why it works, but it does. Glad it worked for you too!


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

stlmike said:


> What boxes do you have?


HR21-700 is the main box.

HR21-100 is secondary.

HR20-700 is rarely used (mostly for MRV)


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## ntwrkd (Apr 19, 2006)

Go Beavs said:


> Try hitting 'Info" first, then enter the channel #'s. For whatever reason, that seems to help the keybounce... for me anyway.


One should not need another keystroke to key in a channel number- It's a damn STB. Were talkin' basic functions here! TWC's horrendous dvr could at least do this. Why can't they fix this?


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## Go Beavs (Nov 18, 2008)

ntwrkd said:


> ...Why can't they fix this?


I'm not sure why it is the way it is. I suspect it's on the list to be fixed but I'm not "in the loop" on DIRECTV's STB priorities.

All I can say is "Soon" :grin:


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> It's weird. *I know this is a problem, because enough people talk about it.* I just can't figure out why I'm not effected. Now, every once in awhile, I have a problem entering channels, but I'd guess that it happens maybe once every couple of weeks, and usually I attribute it to the fact that I'm using IR extenders and controlling the DVR from another room sometimes.
> 
> *I've heard before that it helps to reset the box occasionally* (via the menu). I don't do that, but *I do participate in the CE's, which in effect means I'm rebooting my box every weekend*.
> 
> Maybe you should try that once or twice per week and see if it helps. Obviously, it's just a work around, but if it works, it works.


Emphasis added

What is the point of this post?

If you are not running the standard national release, your comments about how well your DVRs purportedly work on an unsupported CE release are not very helpful to the rest of us.

The rest of us live with the National Release, which currently has serious problems with routine channel changes entered via the number key pad on the remote.

Who writes this software?

Why can't they fix this basic problem?


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

if you read the post you attacked you might see its being worked on.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Nicholsen said:


> Emphasis added
> 
> What is the point of this post?
> 
> ...


The point of the post is that sometimes reseting the box on a regular basis helps the performance. It was a suggestion to try. If you don't want to try it, don't.

And for the record, I've been on numerous NR's over the last couple of years and never had a problem on them either. The fact that I'm not experiencing the same problem is not because of the CE's, because they all become NR at some point.

I can't figure out the point of your post.


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## shmengie (Apr 12, 2007)

for those of you asking, "why can't they fix this?" think about this: this is a new bug in the latest nr. maybe they already *have* fixed it, but the fix hasn't rolled out yet.


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## dcowboy7 (May 23, 2008)

Yep that why i never key in channel #s....always pop up the guide & go into the channel from there.

Takes longer but less fustrating.

I think its the remote buttons wearing out....when i replaced the directv remote with the same model but just new it worked better but i still just use the guide.


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## RoyGBiv (Jul 24, 2007)

shmengie said:


> for those of you asking, "why can't they fix this?" think about this: this is a new bug in the latest nr. maybe they already *have* fixed it, but the fix hasn't rolled out yet.


The problem is this isn't a new bug. This has happened periodically with my HR22 since I got it about a year and a half ago, and it's been reported previously in many other threads. It does not happen with either of my two HR20's.

SMK


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## leww37334 (Sep 19, 2005)

I have reached the point where I do all my tuning through the guide, inputting channel number into the guide seems to work better than trying to type it in while watching another channel, I don't like having to use a workaround, but what are you going to do.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

stlmike said:


> Sorry to vent, but I can't remember the last time I was able to change the channel in one try. It usually takes three attempts. How is something like typing in a channel not simple for our DVR's? /sigh


Are you using RF or IR?


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

This problem has been happening since the day my HR22s were installed. Sometimes it works fine sometimes not. Sometimes a ‘New and improved’ firmware release will make the problem worse then the next release improves the problem… At least for a while then the trouble returns.

They are no doubt aware of this problem because it has been around for at least 2 years maybe longer.

If they are working on it the problem must be a very very low priority. 

I wouldn’t count on these types of troubles going away – at least with the HR21/22/23 receivers…. For the most part the HR20s don’t seem to exhibit this problem. Hopefully the HR24 is fast enough that it can pay attention to the remote while it is doing something else.

My suggestion would be as above – hit ‘info’ first then the channel you want.


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## bird13 (Nov 3, 2009)

Mike Greer said:


> They are no doubt aware of this problem because it has been around for at least 2 years maybe longer.


Only 2 years? Hey, c'mon people let's cut DTV a little slack here and have some patience. They oughta have this taken care of in another year or so.....


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## ajc68 (Jan 23, 2008)

On my HR22 I can almost never key in a triple-digit channel that starts with a two. It's beyond frustrating. I've never had these issues on my HR20's.


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## stlmike (Aug 24, 2007)

TheRatPatrol said:


> Are you using RF or IR?


I've used both. About 6 months ago RF was completely unusable, so I switched to IR. Now IR is about the same. The "info" trick does seem to work, but why do we need tricks for simple things on a box this mature?


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## shmengie (Apr 12, 2007)

RoyGBiv said:


> The problem is this isn't a new bug. This has happened periodically with my HR22 since I got it about a year and a half ago, and it's been reported previously in many other threads. It does not happen with either of my two HR20's.
> 
> SMK


well, my bad, then. i never had this problem until the latest nr, so i assumed it was new.


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## Avder (Feb 6, 2010)

This is also an issue I'm having with my HR21-700. It seems to get worse if I'm using doubleplay or an OTA channel through my AM21.

Youd think they'd make processing remote commands a higher priority within the box up to a small percentage of the CPU's capacity.

They shoulda made the HR series use upgradeable CPU and memory components so they could upgrade the processor and RAM each time they refurbish them.

There are so many things I would do differently if I were designing the next DVR...


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

I agree it's a PITA when the box acts like this and hopefully one day it will be fixed.


As a circumvention before entering the channel number press INFO to get the channel banner up and then enter the channel number, that works better for me.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

stlmike said:


> I've used both. About 6 months ago RF was completely unusable, so I switched to IR. Now IR is about the same. The "info" trick does seem to work, but why do we need tricks for simple things on a box this mature?


I've used that and I've also typed in "0" before the channel number.


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## Nicholsen (Aug 18, 2007)

David MacLeod said:


> if you read the post you attacked you might see its being worked on.


Really? Where?

-----------------------------------------

"It's being worked on."

"The check is in the mail."

"The plane is on time."

And.......(well, I won't go there, but all of us know a few fibs get told from time to time, especially in sales).

I think we are well beyond the trust me, the next national release will fix the problem, phase. It gets better, it gets worse, but there always seems to be an issue with the slowness of channel changes on the HR21/22/23. Right now, the channel change by entry of the channel number function does not seem to work properly for a number of people. Mine is essentially unusable.

If you can point to any real evidence to support your claim that its being "worked on," blaze away.

Otherwise, I stand by my original post.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

shmengie said:


> for those of you asking, "why can't they fix this?" think about this: this is a new bug in the latest nr. maybe they already *have* fixed it, but the fix hasn't rolled out yet.


Not sure where you are getting this being a "new bug". Keybounce issues have been going on for a far longer time than the latest NR. Do a search for the issue.

Personaly, they have improved for me in the latest NR, that doesn't mean it still doesn't happen frequently.


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

Nicholsen said:


> Really? Where?
> 
> -----------------------------------------
> 
> ...


not sure how far I can go here due to ce rules, but in last month I can now take any remote to any dvr and enter 3-4 digit channels with zero failures. 
whether you trust me or not, who cares. you want to complain, go right ahead does not bother me.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

David MacLeod said:


> not sure how far I can go here due to ce rules, but in last month I can now take any remote to any dvr and enter 3-4 digit channels with zero failures.
> whether you trust me or not, who cares. you want to complain, go right ahead does not bother me.


David, the problem is, this isn't the first time those doing the CEs have told those on NRs the problem has been fixed, only to see that not pan out when the NR hits, for whatever reason, so I wouldn't be harsh on those that have grown skeptical.


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## camo (Apr 15, 2010)

I've had my system for 3 weeks now and was having a problem also with the remote in IR mode. Went to RF mode in setup on receiver and works perfectly now. My receiver is a rebuilt from China HR20-700 model and the remote is RC65R. Make sure you have a RF remote, the model number will have a R or RB at the end. Not all receivers are capable of RF but if you go into the setup and the option is there for RF you do have a RF receiver. Just followed the instruction on turning on the RF. 
If you continue having problems in RF it may be weak batteries.


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

raott said:


> David, the problem is, this isn't the first time those doing the CEs have told those on NRs the problem has been fixed, only to see that not pan out when the NR hits, for whatever reason, so I wouldn't be harsh on those that have grown skeptical.


I am fully aware of that, often it has been said its been worked on and is better only to have NR see no gain.
I've made sure units run 2 weeks w/o reboot and issue, on all my units and remotes, is fixed. ymmv .


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## ddingle (Aug 19, 2006)

I am seeing these channel number entering problems on a big project we are working on.Clunky is the best word to describe these DVRs. All HR23s.The client is none too pleased about it.Cable tv options have been discussed. I am switching to HR24s as soon as they are available.We are taking heat because Directv can't seem to solve these issues on the existing DVRs
Actually at home with an HR20, I dont have any real issues.


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## shmengie (Apr 12, 2007)

raott said:


> Not sure where you are getting this being a "new bug". Keybounce issues have been going on for a far longer time than the latest NR. Do a search for the issue.
> 
> Personaly, they have improved for me in the latest NR, that doesn't mean it still doesn't happen frequently.


i haven't had a keybounce problem for forever. i thought this thread was about key non-recognition. at least, that's what the op is talking about, and that's what i and others were responding to. meanwhile, a couple of people brought up the keybounce issue. or maybe they're lumping it in with keybounce.


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

I grew frustrated with the same issues mentioned here. Then I decided to buy a Harmony 650 mainly because I liked the play/pause button being unified. To my surprise it also completely solved all of my remote response issues. Instant response every time on every button. Best of all, no "active" button.

My point: Is it really the box that's the issue? Worn out remotes could be the culprit.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

shmengie said:


> i haven't had a keybounce problem for forever. i thought this thread was about key non-recognition. at least, that's what the op is talking about, and that's what i and others were responding to. meanwhile, a couple of people brought up the keybounce issue. or maybe they're lumping it in with keybounce.


stlmike was describing keybounce


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## spedinfargo (Oct 6, 2005)

You forgot my favorite: "We've got our best guy on it."



Nicholsen said:


> Really? Where?
> 
> -----------------------------------------
> 
> ...


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## Steveknj (Nov 14, 2006)

SPACEMAKER said:


> I grew frustrated with the same issues mentioned here. Then I decided to buy a Harmony 650 mainly because I liked the play/pause button being unified. To my surprise it also completely solved all of my remote response issues. Instant response every time on every button. Best of all, no "active" button.
> 
> My point: Is it really the box that's the issue? Worn out remotes could be the culprit.


That's interesting....my Harmony 510 STILL has the same issues as using the D* remote, so I KNOW it's the STB, not the remote. I have an HR21. The thing that's annoying is they get it fixed and the next NR, it's effed up again. Then they fix it, and then it's effed up again...So my thought is, this is a memory issue and that everytime they change the code, they wind up being up against the memory restraints of the box.

All I know, is it's very frustrating. The great features these boxes have, and changing channels, a basic function, doesn't work right.


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## stlmike (Aug 24, 2007)

Steveknj said:


> That's interesting....my Harmony 510 STILL has the same issues as using the D* remote, so I KNOW it's the STB, not the remote. I have an HR21. The thing that's annoying is they get it fixed and the next NR, it's effed up again. Then they fix it, and then it's effed up again...So my thought is, this is a memory issue and that everytime they change the code, they wind up being up against the memory restraints of the box.
> 
> All I know, is it's very frustrating. The great features these boxes have, and changing channels, a basic function, doesn't work right.


I have a Harmony 670. I don't think I had more luck with that than the stock remote, but it is way more powerful than the D* remote so it works more reliably from bigger angles. I will try to notice tomorrow if that makes a difference as I use that and the D* remotes in my set-up.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

RoyGBiv said:


> The problem is this isn't a new bug. This has happened periodically with my HR22 since I got it about a year and a half ago, and it's been reported previously in many other threads. It does not happen with either of my two HR20's.
> 
> SMK


It happens with all my HR20-700s, my HR21s, and my HR22s, and has been for a year or more, with or without my downloading for CEs.


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## ftdmlk (Sep 29, 2007)

The last 6 months or so have been frustrating to say the least. RF has been so sporadic on my HR23. I have a remote in each of 4 rooms with one receiver in my living room. It used to work very well but not so much any more. Sometimes i can point it towards the ceiling and it will work, come back the next day and the only way it will work is towards the floor. Very delayed sometimes also. Called retention dept yesterday and they are sending out a replacement receiver. Keeping my fingers crossed.


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## johnp37 (Sep 14, 2006)

I have both the Harmony 688 and Harmony One remotes and have the same channel number entry issues on both as other posters in this thread report. Not a problem on my HR20, just my 21s. This has been going on for about a year now and either D* is oblivious to this issue which I doubt or takes the position of "deal with it". Some posters have suggested "work arounds". Are you kidding me? This should not be happening at all.


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## ftdmlk (Sep 29, 2007)

Same application, but with Dish network 7 years ago, UHF remote worked flawlessly, even in my garage (detached) all over the house. C'mon D, we know you can take care of this issue.


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## MartyS (Dec 29, 2006)

SPACEMAKER said:


> I grew frustrated with the same issues mentioned here. Then I decided to buy a Harmony 650 mainly because I liked the play/pause button being unified. To my surprise it also completely solved all of my remote response issues. Instant response every time on every button. Best of all, no "active" button.
> 
> My point: Is it really the box that's the issue? Worn out remotes could be the culprit.


I have both a Harmony One and the Harmony 650 which I got earlier this week. I have no issues at all with the 650. However, periodically the Harmony ONE has this problem. I get it about 10% of the time with the One.


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## Sim-X (Sep 24, 2009)

My roommate has chucked the remote across the room before because the boxes are so junky. Can't wait for the 24


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

In my case it was my remote that was the culprit. In other cases the box is to blame. Without buying a new remote to see if it is indeed the remote that's causing the issue, how will this be solved?


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## mjbvideo (Jan 15, 2006)

I have zero confidence that DTV will fix the BASIC remote or DVR functions. I am so tired with people 'in the know' saying they are working hard on it and statements like 'trust me, it'll be addressed in the next NR' make me want to throw my remote at my TV. NR's come and go and the only thing I have seen are cool features like double play and MRV but I would gladly opt out of those 'bells and whistles' for a more stable basic operation of the DVR. Either the hardware is underpowered for their software or their software is poorly coded. Maybe a combo of the two. I think they need (from the fictional world) the boys from 'The Big Bang Theory' or Spock and Scotty from 'Star Trek' to get into DirecTv and fix their bugs. I can dream, right???


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## vicmeldrew (Aug 22, 2007)

This week with my HR23 is the worst since i got the box last summer; it takes forever to change channels; i have the issues of not being able to enter a channel number on the first or second attempt and when i press a button for the guide or info it takes literally 5 seconds to respond; i, like everyone else have been hoping for a fix, however, now i assume it cannot be fixed. I find it totally unacceptable. If you cannot fix this, then how about a shortcut to the scheduled recordings. it takes six button presses to see what is scheduled to record. This is probably one of the most used areas so why not a one or two buton shortcut to this area? then i might be a little happier. In any case, do something about this paper weight. (and by the way - i did the reboots and used new batteries in the remote and this made no difference)(i have a second HR23 which I use less frequently and it also has the same problems.


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## ftdmlk (Sep 29, 2007)

I feel your pain vicmeldrew, I have been so frustrated also. New batteries, rebooting machine does no good. Replacement unit should be arriving today.


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## Chuck W (Mar 26, 2002)

stlmike said:


> On any of my 4 HR20/21 boxes, entering the channel number is horrible. I point the remote at the box, enter the three numbers, wait 2 seconds, see the first number appear and watch it either go to the first number (if there is a channel there) or tell me there is no channel and goes "boop". Then the last two numbers I entered show up. It usually "boops" again. Then it seems to pay attention and I can enter it again. All boxes are in IR mode. RF is far worse.


I am with you on this one. I have been complaining about this for at least a year, if not more in the cutting edge forum, but it seems to go in one ear and out the other and the problem persists.

For all this thing can do, it can't to the simple things like change the channel RELIABLY. I don't care if this thing can make me dinner, if it can't change channels properly and reliably, it is JUNK. Both my wife and I have just about tossed these boxes out the window because it it. And as mentioned, the recent software update has made this worse. I have an HR20-100, -700 and HR21-100 and ALL THREE do the same thing. One uses infrared(Harmony), one uses the Directv remote thru RF and one uses infrared thru an RF receiver(URC).

Can you tell my frustration level with this issue and Directv's failed ability to fix it???



shmengie said:


> for those of you asking, "why can't they fix this?" think about this: this is a new bug in the latest nr. maybe they already *have* fixed it, but the fix hasn't rolled out yet.


This has never been "fixed". The issues has been lessen a bit at times, but it has always been there.


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## mark_winn (Nov 3, 2005)

I am right there with you. I use RF and it is awful ! I would not call it key bounce however. As sometime it just misses a number and becomes unresponsive, i.e let say I hit 6-0-3. It may give 0-3 or 6-0 or 3 or 6-3, or just may actually give 603. Sometimes it can take me 4 or more trys just to get it right. I will try the INFO button trick as I had not heard of that before.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

All of my DVRs work Flawlessly including my New HR24-500 which works Great with IR or now RF. My 2 HR23-700s work Flawlessly as well as my 2 HR21-700s as well so I feel your pain but this problem is not Universal.

Could there be something interfering with the transmission of the IR or RF Signal such as radiation from your TV or Lights?


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## Wilhite (May 5, 2004)

richierich said:


> All of my DVRs work Flawlessly including my New HR24-500 which works Great with IR or now RF. My HR23-700 work Flawlessly as well as my HR21-700s as well so I feel your pain but this problem is not Universal.
> 
> Could there be something interfering with the transmission of the IR or RF Signal such as radiation from your TV or Lights?


There could be, but there are enough people complaining about it in* just this thread alone* for it to be that to be the final answer.


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## SkersR1 (Jul 10, 2007)

Add me to the list for my HR20. The thing that annoys me the most is going to local channel 10 and getting pushed over to that info channel 1. Takes forever to come on and get off of it.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Try this which is what I did when mine wasn't working properly.

Hit the Guide Button and then Enter Your Channel Number and then hit the Enter Button and you are there. It works like a champ. You will not have to worry about going to channel 1 or whatever as once you are in The Guide the DVR accepts the input channel numbers like it should.


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## tas3986 (Feb 6, 2008)

Yes, Directrv fixed my remote problem, but they do not seem too willing to admit that they did it. All I can tell you is that remote life was miserable, and now life is fine. See this post for what they did, or did not do. You be the judge.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=175958

Just to be politically correct, I should probably say that you may not get the same results.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

richierich said:


> Try this which is what I did when mine wasn't working properly.
> 
> Hit the Guide Button and then Enter Your Channel Number and then hit the Enter Button and you are there. It works like a champ. You will not have to worry about going to channel 1 or whatever as once you are in The Guide the DVR accepts the input channel numbers like it should.


Or type in a 0 before typing in the 3 digit channel number. Works for me.


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## SkersR1 (Jul 10, 2007)

I've read the whole thread and realize there are ways around it, but don't you find it stupid that this is even an issue? It's not that big of a deal I was just stating that I as well have the issue.


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## roadrunner1782 (Sep 28, 2008)

Hopefully, Directv will fix this issue soon. I have the same issue as most here have with changing the channel, more so on my HR22-100 than my HR20-700. But the 20 has it as well.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

This problem has been coming and going for years. If they haven't fixed it by now why would you think they would fix it now?

The majority of people don't care, don't notice or don't have the problem and that's good enough for the bottom line. It sucks and its all I can do to not smash my POS HRs everyting I pick up the remote but we are stuck.... Sorry


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## SWORDFISH (Apr 16, 2007)

The left turn signal on my car won't turn on until the third try. But if I roll down the passenger side window first, it works just fine. However, if I accidently roll down the drivers side window instead, I have to start over from the beginning. 

The push button for my garage door opener usually won't work unless I press it twice. But if I try to just push it twice immediately, the door opens then closes. Then I have to wait five seconds before I try again or it stops halfway up. However, I discovered that if I turn the light on first, the opener works just fine. 


Seriously, a basic function of the DVR is not working correctly. Fix it.



SF


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

It's really gotten horrible now. I'm on the latest NR, and my beloved 2 HR20's are becoming almost unusable.


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## cody21 (Sep 26, 2007)

OK, FWIW -- We've had the HR20-700 for something like 3 years now. We've had this "delay when entering channel numbers" or simply prssing the CHANNEL UP/DOWN function on the remote. Once it started to happen, there was very little if anything we could do about it except 1 thing: We watched or caught up on everything we recorded (or just deleted everything) then did a full system reset/reformat. Of course we lost everything by doing this and had to re-enter all of our scheduler items (a camera picture helps here), but this fixed the problem every time. Over the last 3 years I'd say we had to do this maybe 3 times. Sucks, yea. On occasion, a pull-the-plug power reset has fixed it - but not always, hence the drastic approach.

So how does this explain it? Not sure ... maybe the disk gets a bit screwed up over time? (I'm avoiding the word "fragmented" since this is LINUX.) I know that many people suggest it starts with a new NR. Not sure. Certainly not apparent in my case. But D* can't seem to help when it starts happening.

So that's our story ..

YMMV


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

cody21 said:


> OK, FWIW -- We've had the HR20-700 for something like 3 years now. We've had this "delay when entering channel numbers" or simply prssing the CHANNEL UP/DOWN function on the remote. Once it started to happen, there was very little if anything we could do about it except 1 thing: We watched or caught up on everything we recorded (or just deleted everything) then did a full system reset/reformat. Of course we lost everything by doing this and had to re-enter all of our scheduler items (a camera picture helps here), but this fixed the problem every time. Over the last 3 years I'd say we had to do this maybe 3 times. Sucks, yea. On occasion, a pull-the-plug power reset has fixed it - but not always, hence the drastic approach.
> 
> So how does this explain it? Not sure ... maybe the disk gets a bit screwed up over time? (I'm avoiding the word "fragmented" since this is LINUX.) I know that many people suggest it starts with a new NR. Not sure. Certainly not apparent in my case. But D* can't seem to help when it starts happening.
> 
> ...


One of the problems when trying to diagnose this problem is that more than one thing can cause it. One thing I've noticed (and been able to observe many, many times) is the processor is busy doing other things. The inputting of channel numbers is encumbered by an ongoing process and there just aren't enough processor cycles available to process that input.

However priorities are assigned in the code, one thing that has worked for some people is to hit info prior to entering a number. What this appears to do is capture the processing and allow unfettered channel number input.

Clearly, as the code is currently written (in the NR), there just isn't enough processor horsepower available to allow smooth channel number input. You can verify that this is the problem by watching the power button as you make key presses. What I have observed, in the vast majority of channel input issues is that there is no ack of the key press (blink) by the power light. *Every key press should be ack'd by the power light, with a blink.* In other words, the unit is not even aware that a key press took place, or it only acks it (and acts on it) several seconds after the actual key press. So, we are observing both delayed acking and completely missed key presses.

The problem has been around a long, long, long time, sometimes getting better or worse based on a release. It got very bad when a lot more indexing was adding to the code, then it improved a bit with later releases.

All of this points at: (assuming no demonstrable hard disk issue)

1. Inefficient coding

and/or

2. Inadequate horsepower.

Fixing 1 above will ameliorate 2, but 2 is still a limit that is going to plague these boxes until such time as better processors (read as "new boxes") populate the installed user base. The HR24 is supposed to be quite a bit better in this regard, but very few users have these boxes yet.

There is no magic bullet. It's both a developmental and hardware issue, that we are going to be dealing with for some time.

In response to this vexing problem, I stopped trying to channel surf years ago. Direct channel entry is still a big problem, more on than off. My sanity compromise is to change channels mostly from the Guide, and do the occasional "previous channel", when it meets my needs.

As always, patience is invaluable.


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## bemenaker (Jan 6, 2008)

This problem has come and gone with different releases (NR) on my HR21-700. I honestly believe it is do to either weak CPU in the box, or lack of RAM. I think these boxes were just built with inadequate specs.

Knowing what I do of systems, being a sys admin, I would say more RAM in the boxes would have probably fixed the problem.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

bemenaker said:


> This problem has come and gone with different releases (NR) on my HR21-700. I honestly believe it is do to either weak CPU in the box, or lack of RAM. I think these boxes were just built with inadequate specs.
> 
> Knowing what I do of systems, being a sys admin, I would say more RAM in the boxes would have probably fixed the problem.


For their original functions (at least the HR20-700) it was fine, and became quite snappy within a few months. As processor demand has gone up (as well as RAM requirements), the problems noted have emerged, so yes, I think RAM would help, assuming it could be addressed. The later models are not typically as fast as the HR20-700, until you get to the H24 series (from a few reports).

More RAM can cure a lot of things, but considering how much stuff has been added that requires more processing horsepower, I no longer believe that RAM would do the job. It would, no doubt, help, but I no longer think it is a cure. (This is speaking from having an original 20-700 from over 3 years ago. It still runs fine, but with the processor starving issues noted in my prior post.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

hasan said:


> For their original functions (at least the HR20-700) it was fine, and became quite snappy within a few months. As processor demand has gone up (as well as RAM requirements), the problems noted have emerged, so yes, I think RAM would help, assuming it could be addressed. The later models are not typically as fast as the HR20-700, until you get to the H24 series (from a few reports).
> 
> More RAM can cure a lot of things, but considering how much stuff has been added that requires more processing horsepower, I no longer believe that RAM would do the job. It would, no doubt, help, but I no longer think it is a cure. (This is speaking from having an original 20-700 from over 3 years ago. It still runs fine, but with the processor starving issues noted in my prior post.


+1. I have stated for several years now that the CPU is inadequate along with the RAM requirements and thankfully that has Finally Been Solved with the Release of the HR24 which I just Love for the Speed it has.


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## tas3986 (Feb 6, 2008)

If it were a problem in the code, or underpowered CPU, then it would affect everyone. 

So those of us that have the problem, what do we all have in common? Stock Drive/Additional Drive, Internet/No Internet/ HDMI/Analog , TV Type, Resolution, recording 1/2 tuners, % disk used? Some setting? When we find out what makes us different from the rest, then maybe somebody will fix the problem. Unfortunately, nobody believes that replacing my LNB fixed my remote problem. We will never figure out the problem.

Directv Suggestion: My box is connected to the internet. Take a snapshot when the box detects that a possible channel entry problem is happening, or when I enter 2 'enter' keys in a row. I never had a problem with 2 enter. 2-8-0- enter was a problem. It would switch to 2, or 28, sometimes 20. Before I hit the final 'enter', I would most always know that there was going to be a problem. So it appears that I could signal you with 2 enters, that a problem just happened. Let's use the box and technology to get to the root cause of the problem.


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## kbtv (Apr 11, 2010)

I don't know if this is related to others problems, but about a month ago with the new software, I started having very bad channel entry problems and overall very slow response on my HR20-700. I was also getting audio dropouts on playback from buffer and recorded material. I disconnected the network cable from the DVR and restarted the receiver (from the menu, not red button) and everything was back to normal (I was not really using the network anyway).


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Well, it has been reported some time ago that the Ethernet Cable being plugged in sometimes caused these units to experience problems and to become slower in responsiveness and I have wondered if it might be because of 'Static Electricity Buildup' or just something to do with the Ethernet Port.


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## The Keymaster (Jan 30, 2008)

I can tell you I have 6 units of different manufacturers and vintages, and they all do it. 4 are running IR, and 2 are running RF. Only 4 are connected to the network, the other 2 have no ethernet connection. Only 1 unit gas an external drive. This was an ongoing issue, but it got MUCH worse after the last software update. That is only a part of the issue though, surfing the guide is REALLY slow also. That has gotten worse with every update for the last 2 years. I have also noticed it takes a really long time for the channels to pop in when switching from an HD channel to a non HD channel and vice versa.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

At various times, channel entry becomes both tedious and cumbersome when the processor is busy servicing other demands.

It really is quite simple, the busier the box is, the less receptive it is to input (channel change requests).

This isn't rocket science. Any computer I've ever used has suffered from exactly the same problem(s), no matter how fast. There are some activities that will so compromise the abilities of the processor, that keystrokes are slowed down dramatically. I will say, the HR20-700 I have is far more vulnerable to this kind of problem than any of the 6 computers I have running in the house.

Sorting all this out for our HR boxes is not an easy task (as the problem has been around a long time, and gotten better and worse repeatedly in the developmental cycles of these DVRs)

At least with the HR20-700, which I've had since the fall when they came out, I'd be surprised if nearly everyone hasn't seen this problem now and again. I'd be hard pressed to figure out how something so predictable and commonly reported as occasional sluggishness (which manifests as a lack of responsiveness to channel number inputs), could be completely absent 100% of the time for an individual box. Maybe that's why (if it is indeed accurate that some people have never seen channel number input issues), it isn't easy to fix on a more permanent basis.

In summary, all 3 of our DVRs experience the problem off and on. The single stand-alone receiver (non-DVR), never experiences it, or it happens so infrequently that my subjective evaluation says it doesn't happen at all.

HR20-700, HR21-200, HR20-100 (DVRs)
H21-200 (receiver only)


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## satguy22 (Oct 1, 2006)

Mine does it does that make a difference no its broke please fix it. DTV fix it while you are stealing from your installers and all the people who arent new customers.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

satguy22 said:


> Mine does it does that make a difference no its broke please fix it. DTV fix it while you are stealing from your installers and all the people who arent new customers.


Huh?


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

hasan said:


> At various times, channel entry becomes both tedious and cumbersome when the processor is busy servicing other demands.
> 
> It really is quite simple, the busier the box is, the less receptive it is to input (channel change requests).
> 
> ...


Just my thoughts here...

Non-DVRs store up to 72 hours of guide data.
DVRs are up to 14 days.

Thats a heck of a lot more data. Also, I'm pretty sure that all locals from everywhere are constantly streaming in. The box just hides the ones that arn't yours. That is a lot of data that needs to be parsed out.

I do think they could see a noticeable speed boost if they did one or both of the following:
1) Drop DVR guide down to 7 to 10 days.
2) Move all local guide data off of the conus transponder and put it on the respective spot beams.

As to the speed...
Do I notice things getting sluggish. Yes, I won't deny that. However, as much as I use these boxes, I have a choice. I can either whine constantly about it, adding more unneeded angst in my day. Or I can adapt to how fast I mash the buttons on the remote. I chose to adapt. I really don't have a problem getting the channel I want on the first try.


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## stlmike (Aug 24, 2007)

RobertE said:


> Just my thoughts here...
> 
> Non-DVRs store up to 72 hours of guide data.
> DVRs are up to 14 days.
> ...


I don't think expecting and asking for ultra-basic DVR box functionality is whining. Especially when that box is what now, 3+ years old? I believe most of us are hoping threads like these will read by the "right" people at D* so improvements can be made. Sticking our heads in the sand on issues like this will not help things improve.


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## dminches (Oct 1, 2006)

RobertE said:


> Do I notice things getting sluggish. Yes, I won't deny that. However, as much as I use these boxes, I have a choice. I can either whine constantly about it, adding more unneeded angst in my day. Or I can adapt to how fast I mash the buttons on the remote. I chose to adapt. I really don't have a problem getting the channel I want on the first try.


This comment is insulting. These DVRs are a piece of crap. We all know that. Why do you have the need to defend Directv by saying that someone unhappy with the performance of the box is "whining?" I have never had an issue changing channels with the FIOS DVR. I shouldn't have to improve my dexterity to tune into a station. On my HR22 I have to wait a couple minutes before it is responsive. That is not acceptable and no one should be ok with that.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

stlmike said:


> I don't think expecting and asking for ultra-basic DVR box functionality is whining. Especially when that box is what now, 3+ years old? I believe most of us are hoping threads like these will read by the "right" people at D* so improvements can be made. Sticking our heads in the sand on issues like this will not help things improve.


The threads that get read are the issues threads for the various software releases. You may want to check them out. I noticed that you have NOT made a single post to any of the issues threads concerning the speed or responsiveness of your HR2x in all 173 of your posts going back to 8/24/07.



dminches said:


> This comment is insulting. These DVRs are a piece of crap. We all know that. Why do you have the need to defend Directv by saying that someone unhappy with the performance of the box is "whining?" I have never had an issue changing channels with the FIOS DVR. I shouldn't have to improve my dexterity to tune into a station. On my HR22 I have to wait a couple minutes before it is responsive. That is not acceptable and no one should be ok with that.


See my comment to STLMike, you also have not made a single comment in the issues threads in your 158 posts going back to 10/01/06. You say they are pieces of crap, yet your lack of posts of issues say otherwise. My experience also says otherwise. Differences of opinion are not a bad thing.

So is this speed/responsiveness a new issue for you guys? Or have you just been sticking your heads in the sand?

In no way am I defending the speed of the HRs or DirecTv. As I said, I have choices to make. I can either report the issue in the appropriate threads, I can adapt to it to minimize the issue or I can get upset about the issue, whine about it but not report the problem in the appropriate thread.

The choice is yours to make. You can be part of the solution, or you can be part of the problem.


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## dminches (Oct 1, 2006)

RobertE said:


> See my comment to STLMike, you also have not made a single comment in the issues threads in your 158 posts going back to 10/01/06. You say they are pieces of crap, yet your lack of posts of issues say otherwise. My experience also says otherwise. Differences of opinion are not a bad thing.
> 
> So is this speed/responsiveness a new issue for you guys? Or have you just been sticking your heads in the sand?


Did I not read my service agreement with DTV correctly? I didn't realize that I needed to post complaints in the issues forum. I think there has been enough "whining" by others where if DTV cared (and I am not saying they don't) they would know by now. I did not need to pile on and say "yea, me too."

Just to be clear, I did not say that your description of your experience was inaccurate. So, there is no need to defend yourself. I just didn't think that calling someone's complaint about the unit as "whining" was unnecessary.

It seems to me that all you CE guys are more often than not defending DTV, their hardware and their software. Maybe if I was in the club I'd do the same, but I just sense a bit of bias. I never felt this way when things were being discussed in the TiVo forums.

P.S. Full disclosure. I've been a customer of DTV for well over 15 years. I love the system and have supported them for all these years. But when their hardware lags in quality I call it like I see it. There is no reason why it should be difficult to change channels. And too many people have that issue.


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## VaJim (Jul 27, 2006)

...let me add my 2 cents to this topic.

I'm currently on my 4th call within the last week concerning slow remote response to my 2 HR-21-700. Some of the things DTV said to do are;

1. Change all native settings to OFF. OK...done

2. Unplug the DVR from the surge protector. This was after it completely locked up. The unlpug/replug amounts to nothing more than another way to do a reset. 

3. This afternoon DTV told me to do the scandisk (down arror/record). The CSR said it would reformat the disk. It scanned the disk but left all of the recordings intact. Another fancy way to get me to reboot. No errors.

So now I'm waiting which will probably be another 3-4 days before it bogs down again. I wonder what the next step I will told to perform?

These machines are 2 years old.

DTV acts like they HATE to send me a replacement DVR.:nono2:

...the other things that bugs me, is when you call DTV, they make it sound like I'm the only one having this problem. That's not true is it?


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

dminches and VaJim, I agree that the HD DVR's can be trying at times. Some times no problems changing channels at all, other times it can take 6 or 7 times entering the channel number before it takes. 

To help get this resolved maybe you might be interested/willing to join in the Cutting Edge program, if you aren't already. This would allow you to assist in the testing of new versions of the software and report problem/issues with it while it's still in the development stage. Maybe the more people that can provide feedback on this issue would help DirecTV fix it quicker. If interested check out the Cutting Edge section of this forum.


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## dminches (Oct 1, 2006)

RAD said:


> dminches and VaJim, I agree that the HD DVR's can be trying at times. Some times no problems changing channels at all, other times it can take 6 or 7 times entering the channel number before it takes.
> 
> To help get this resolved maybe you might be interested/willing to join in the Cutting Edge program, if you aren't already. This would allow you to assist in the testing of new versions of the software and report problem/issues with it while it's still in the development stage. Maybe the more people that can provide feedback on this issue would help DirecTV fix it quicker. If interested check out the Cutting Edge section of this forum.


Thanks for your fair comment. I thought about doing this at one point but didn't because I only had 1 HD DVR. I am game. How do I join?


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

dminches said:


> Thanks for your fair comment. I thought about doing this at one point but didn't because I only had 1 HD DVR. I am game. How do I join?


Your welcome. If you want to find out more review the threads at http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=171 for how the program works and the rules if you decide you want to proceed. If you do, welcome to the group.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

First, I rarely have this problem, and when I do, I attribute it to a fat finger. If we're lucky, I won't crash the stock market trying to punch in ESPN.

Beyond that, IR is just plain funky. Sometimes it simply doesn't want to work. I've used IR extender and repeating systems for over 30 years now, having installed and trouble-shooted dozens of them, and even the best of them get weird every now and then. I will be _SO_ glad when we get to the next technology and every piece of electronics in your house has an IP address. It should make remote control much more reliable.

Clearly from posts here DirecTV has an intermittant problem with channel change, but if yours is more of a problem than not, I would strongly suggest you look for some interference affecting your system. Where that interference would be coming from is a conversation we could have here, but might be more appropriate in another thread.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

RobertE said:


> The threads that get read are the issues threads for the various software releases. You may want to check them out. I noticed that you have NOT made a single post to any of the issues threads concerning the speed or responsiveness of your HR2x in all 173 of your posts going back to 8/24/07.
> 
> See my comment to STLMike, you also have not made a single comment in the issues threads in your 158 posts going back to 10/01/06. You say they are pieces of crap, yet your lack of posts of issues say otherwise. My experience also says otherwise. Differences of opinion are not a bad thing.
> 
> So is this speed/responsiveness a new issue for you guys? Or have you just been sticking your heads in the sand?


DirecTV is fully aware of the slow response troubles of their HR boxes. Anyone that doesn't have some religious belief in DirecTV knows about the troubles. I know this only because this has been a wide spread intermittent trouble spot for years. If they were stupid enough to not know about it they would have been out of business years ago.

If they haven't fixed it yet they are not going to fix it.

It sucks - I hate it right along with many others that have problems with their receivers - but the HR2x boxes have had performance troubles from day 1. And the last day of the last HR21/22/23 in service will still have performance troubles.

I don't know why this is - maybe the engineers that designed the things could explain but it is not causing any financial pain to DirecTV so they are not going to spend any money fixing it.

Here's to hoping that the HR24 is quick and doesn't introduce any new troubles!


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Mike Greer said:


> DirecTV is fully aware of the slow response troubles of their HR boxes. Anyone that doesn't have some religious belief in DirecTV knows about the troubles. I know this only because this has been a wide spread intermittent trouble spot for years. If they were stupid enough to not know about it they would have been out of business years ago.
> 
> If they haven't fixed it yet they are not going to fix it.
> 
> ...


The strange thing/part is while some have these problems, others don't at all. I'd be here *****ing my head off if any of mine were too, but any issues I ever had went away in the spring of '07.
I use RF because my LCD TV outputs so much IR that any remote using it has problems.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

RAD said:


> dminches and VaJim, I agree that the HD DVR's can be trying at times. Some times no problems changing channels at all, other times it can take 6 or 7 times entering the channel number before it takes.
> 
> To help get this resolved maybe you might be interested/willing to join in the Cutting Edge program, if you aren't already. This would allow you to assist in the testing of new versions of the software and report problem/issues with it while it's still in the development stage. Maybe the more people that can provide feedback on this issue would help DirecTV fix it quicker. If interested check out the Cutting Edge section of this forum.


I've been a member of the CE group for some time, and I can say that it doesn't matter. My HR20s, HR21s, and HR22s all experience painfully slow responsiveness.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

veryoldschool said:


> The strange thing/part is while some have these problems, others don't at all. I'd be here *****ing my head off if any of mine were too, but any issues I ever had went away in the spring of '07.
> I use RF because my LCD TV outputs so much IR that any remote using it has problems.


Yep - tried *****ing my head off! I finally just gave up and accepted that my 3 HR22s will always be slow and unresponsive at least 50% of the time!

Oh and it doesn't matter if you use RF or IR - problem is both ways....


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Mike Greer said:


> Yep - tried *****ing my head off! I finally just gave up and accepted that my 3 HR22s will always be slow and unresponsive at least 50% of the time!
> 
> Oh and it doesn't matter if you use RF or IR - problem is both ways....


"I guess" it doesn't matter for you, but it sure did/does for me.
My HR21 was "slightly" slower than my HR20, but this was like a half sec longer, or what I needed to do was slow down the button pressing by about a half sec compared to when I was using my HR20.
The HR22 & 21 are the same but for the larger drive.
Now that I use my HR24 mostly, going back to the HR20 "feels like" my old 21 did.
I guess only time will tell if those that have this slowness will also find it with the HR24. "I'd say" if they do, it would tend to suggest it has more to do with the environment these are being used in than the hardware itself, but :shrug:
If all the receivers were as bad as some seem to feel theirs are, then there wouldn't be as many sold/leased as there are.


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## camo (Apr 15, 2010)

My HR20-700 changes within 3 seconds even going through AV Onkyo receiver. I turned off native and matched the Onkyo output 1080i and everything works wonderful. Hope my new HR24 works just as well. Should be here this week. When I had the HR20 in native it took 5-7 seconds changing channels.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

veryoldschool said:


> "I guess" it doesn't matter for you, but it sure did/does for me.


Didn't mean to suggest that no one had trouble with LCD backlights etc causing interference just that the remote 'delay' doesn't change either way.

I think that there are plenty of people that have 'slow' HR2x receivers but are not bothered by it. My neighbor's HR23 is just as painful to use as my HR22s are but he doesn't notice. Go figure! Some people care some people don't. DirecTV is obviously not hurting for $$$ or customers and because money is the bottom line there is no need to spend any money or time speeding them up.

I'm not sure how some people have super-charged boxes. I have yet to see any HR21/22/23 anywhere (neighbors, Best Buy, other retailers) that I would consider 'acceptable' in the speed department.

I ordered an HR24 and have high hopes that they were able to overcome the response problems by using faster hardware. If the HR24 turns out to have the same troubles I'll trade the troubles of DirecTV for the troubles of Dish Network to get the speed and a few things I miss from Dish. From reports here I suspect I'll be happy with the speed of the HR24 - my only concern is that the reports of 'speed' on the HR24 have only come from people that don't see a problem with the speed of the other receivers.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

camo said:


> My HR20-700 changes within 3 seconds even going through AV Onkyo receiver. I turned off native and matched the Onkyo output 1080i and everything works wonderful. Hope my new HR24 works just as well. Should be here this week. When I had the HR20 in native it took 5-7 seconds changing channels.


Channel changes are slow but that's not the trouble we are talking about here. We are talking about the inability to always be able to pick up the remote, hit 337 and have the recevier go to channel 337. Many get 3 or 37 or 3 then 37....


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## camo (Apr 15, 2010)

After I changed my remote over to RF it no longer does that. But I'm only 8' from the receiver. It was pain when in IR mode.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

I don't consider anyone posting channel entry hiccups, whining.

Whether an individual has posted the problem in the "issues" section is not a fair test of whether they are genuinely interested in seeing and helping the box performance improve. The issue is so old, and so often reported, that many have stopped reporting it, or have just accepted that the problem will come and go, and resign themselves to work-arounds. 

Further, it is always a slippery slope to assign motivation to someone's posts, not to mention negatively characterizing (whining) people's legitimate concerns.

We always face the problem of hyperbole in these forums. For one person, the boxes are pieces of crap, for another, legitimate concerns are characterized as whining.

Neither of these approaches is particularly helpful, nor in my experience are they accurate. The HR series is far from crappy, and most complaints/criticism is just as far from whining.

Let's play nice together and move the development of these boxes forward.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

Mike Greer said:


> Channel changes are slow but that's not the trouble we are talking about here. We are talking about the inability to always be able to pick up the remote, hit 337 and have the recevier go to channel 337. Many get 3 or 37 or 3 then 37....


I still suggest typing in a 0 before the channel number. I just typed in 5 different random channel numbers with a 0 and all came up correctly. When I went to type in the 6th channel number with no 0 I had issues. I know having to type a 0 before the channel number is an extra step, but it works, at least for me.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

Go Beavs said:


> Try hitting 'Info" first, then enter the channel #'s. For whatever reason, that seems to help the keybounce... for me anyway.





TheRatPatrol said:


> I still suggest typing in a 0 before the channel number. <snip> I know having to type a 0 before the channel number is an extra step, but it works, at least for me.


This is a standard trick with IR programming. Some pieces respond well to it. I have a Sony CD changer that completely ignores any IR command when it hasn't seen one in a while, even if it is active and playing music. I have to use this trick (I use Power On as the first, dummy command as that's always appropriate) to get it to even pause when it's playing a CD. I've ended up making many remote commands two step macros, with the dummy command coming first to wake up the changer.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

My HR24-500 works Flawlessly when Keying in the numbers and the channel changes in about 3 seconds so it is definitely Faster and Better than my other HR2X DVRs.

With my other DVRs I Hit the Guide Button and then Enter the Numbers and it accepts them that way with no problem and then I Hit The Enter Button and it changes the channel. 

I believe the Faster CPU solves that Remote Sluggishness Problem as well as other inherent problems related to an Overworked CPU!!!


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## dminches (Oct 1, 2006)

Hasan, thanks for your comments.

It is good to hear that the HR24 may be a nice improvement. How are people dealing with the fact that a change to a new receiver means you lose all your recordings? That's the part that is most painful for me. Maybe this is the biggest reason to embrace MRV. Record everything on at least 2 DVRs so if you have to swap out one you don't lose everything.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

dminches said:


> Hasan, thanks for your comments.
> 
> It is good to hear that the HR24 may be a nice improvement. How are people dealing with the fact that a change to a new receiver means you lose all your recordings? That's the part that is most painful for me. Maybe this is the biggest reason to embrace MRV. Record everything on at least 2 DVRs so if you have to swap out one you don't lose everything.


There's a few suggestions:
Keep both your new HR24 and old HR2X on the same TV.
Move your old one and use MRV.
Don't archive. 
Watch what's important in "marathon" sessions. (ie, watch a whole season in a weekend.
Check Netflix for tv shows available on streaming or DVD/BR, and delete them off your DVR.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

Mike Greer said:


> Channel changes are slow but that's not the trouble we are talking about here. We are talking about the inability to always be able to pick up the remote, hit 337 and have the recevier go to channel 337. Many get 3 or 37 or 3 then 37....


My problem exactly and I'm using RF. But it's an intermittent problem that doesn't happen every time I change channels. When it happens, though, it generally requires quite a few key presses to finally get to the channel I want. Not a reason to switch to FiOS but still an annoyance.


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## NFLnut (Sep 29, 2006)

ajc68 said:


> On my HR22 I can almost never key in a triple-digit channel that starts with a two. It's beyond frustrating. I've never had these issues on my HR20's.


MY HR20 is plagued with this problem. I have tried both IR and RF. No difference. I can sit 6 feet from the receiver and almost no channel input works on the first twelve tries.

The HR2* is a boat anchor.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

NFLnut said:


> MY HR20 is plagued with this problem. I have tried both IR and RF. No difference. I can sit 6 feet from the receiver and almost no channel input works on the first twelve tries.
> 
> The HR2* is a boat anchor.


I've mentioned this trick before in case you missed it, press info first then enter the channel number, that works the vast majority of the time, at lease on my receivers when it starts to act like that.


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## NFLnut (Sep 29, 2006)

dminches said:


> This comment is insulting. These DVRs are a piece of crap. We all know that. Why do you have the need to defend Directv by saying that someone unhappy with the performance of the box is "whining?" I have never had an issue changing channels with the FIOS DVR. I shouldn't have to improve my dexterity to tune into a station. On my HR22 I have to wait a couple minutes before it is responsive. That is not acceptable and no one should be ok with that.


Agreeance.

My lowly, 9.25 year old DSR6000 SD DirecTiVo with the stock drive has ALWAYS, to this day, provided clean, crisp channel changes on the FIRST try. EVERY time!

My Piece 'o Carp HR20 that I've had for 3.6 years now STILL can not perform BASIC DVR functionality without at least a half dozen attempts.

Guess WHO cannot code a DVR if their lives depended on it?! :nono2:


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## NFLnut (Sep 29, 2006)

RAD said:


> I've mentioned this trick before in case you missed it, press info first then enter the channel number, that works the vast majority of the time, at lease on my receivers when it starts to act like that.


Well .. at least you didn't suggest standing on my head wearing foil booties and citing the Emancipation Proclamation before entering channel numbers on a DVR that after ~3.5 years STILL hasn't been programmed correctly! I guess that's progress?

But, at LEAST weve got MRV (which I never use because I'm not dumb enough to pay DirecTV for ANOTHER boat anchor in my home!)

I've said it before .. hoping that some higher-up with clout at DirecTV will read these posts and try and fix things .. HEY DIRECTV .. how 'bout we stop working on creating bells and whistles BEFORE we get BASIC FUCTIONALITY working on these pigs?! But after 3.6 years, I guess you can call me jaded.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

NFLnut said:


> Well .. at least you didn't suggest standing on my head wearing foil booties and citing the Emancipation Proclamation before entering channel numbers on a DVR that after ~3.5 years STILL hasn't been programmed correctly! I guess that's progress?


Well, guess you could do that if you want?

BTW, I have a HR20-700, got it when it first came out and while it does have the missed number entry problem it doesn't happen that often, maybe 5% of the time. If yours is doing it all the time like your posts seem to indicate there is something else going in in the box causing the problem.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

NFLnut said:


> Well .. at least you didn't suggest standing on my head wearing foil booties and citing the Emancipation Proclamation before entering channel numbers...


Wow - I've even tried that and it still didn't work!

The info thing does work but why should this be needed?


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

RAD said:


> Well, guess you could do that if you want?
> 
> BTW, I have a HR20-700, got it when it first came out and while it does have the missed number entry problem it doesn't happen that often, maybe 5% of the time. If yours is doing it all the time like your posts seem to indicate there is something else going in in the box causing the problem.


That's weird... It happens on your HR20-700 but not on the slower HRs that you have? I thought this problem was just a side-effect of the sluggish performance but you'd think you see it more on your newer slower HRs and not so much on your HR20-700.


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## NFLnut (Sep 29, 2006)

Mike Greer said:


> The info thing does work but why should this be needed?


That was my point.

RAD: I do appreciate the suggestion. I'm not barking at you for presenting a workaround!

I *AM* barking at the NOTION that after 3.5 years, we STILL have to post "workarounds" to BASIC functionality that these boxes STILL cannot, and will obviously NEVER perform!


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Mike Greer said:


> That's weird... It happens on your HR20-700 but not on the slower HRs that you have? I thought this problem was just a side-effect of the sluggish performance but you'd think you see it more on your newer slower HRs and not so much on your HR20-700.


Don't recall saying that, I see it most on my HR21-100, it comes and goes though. Some software releases don't do it at all, others are a real PITA with this problem.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

NFLnut said:


> That was my point.<snip>
> I *AM* barking at the NOTION that after 3.5 years, we STILL have to post "workarounds" to BASIC functionality that these boxes STILL cannot, and will obviously NEVER perform!


While I understand a user not having the user experience they want, "NEVER" just seems incorrect, as it suggests all receivers have these issues, which simply isn't the case.
Could this be related to "your receiver", and by this I mean have you had this poor responding receiver replaced?
Not counting replacements, I currently have seven receivers which don't have "your" problem, "but" I've got one that simply has a weak RF reception. Since I've had another of these I know it's just "this one" and not the whole model line.
Could yours be the same?


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

NFLnut said:


> That was my point.
> 
> RAD: I do appreciate the suggestion. I'm not barking at you for presenting a workaround!
> 
> I *AM* barking at the NOTION that after 3.5 years, we STILL have to post "workarounds" to BASIC functionality that these boxes STILL cannot, and will obviously NEVER perform!


Could be that it isn't high enough on the priority list of things to fix since, at least in my case, it's intermittent. It's not like in those 3.5 years they haven't done anything with the software, they've added a bunch of new features that run on all the HR2X series (unlike the other DBS company that sometimes makes you get a new STB to get a new feature).

IMHO, the HR2X does provide the basic functionality, it records everything I've asked it to record and I can watch the program I want to watch when I want to watch it. Now is the user interface not as fast as some other STB's out there, yep. Does it drop numeric entry for changing channels, yep, every now and then. I know if it was me and I was upset as you sound about how DirecTV receivers perform I would have cancelled them and moved to someone else that has DVR's that meet your needs.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

One of the reasons that I have 6 DVRs with 12 Tuners and 9,000 Gigabytes of Storage Capacity is so I can Back Up every Recording that I deem Important enough to Back Up because I don't want to lose that Recording.

I also can Record 12 Events Simultaneously if I wanted to plus I have 300 Series Links so I don't have to worry about that either.

I Watch What I Want When I Want To Watch It!!! :lol:


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

RAD said:


> Don't recall saying that, I see it most on my HR21-100, it comes and goes though. Some software releases don't do it at all, others are a real PITA with this problem.


Sorry - I misread your post and thought you were saying you only see it on your HR20.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

richierich said:


> One of the reasons that I have 6 DVRs with 9,000 Gigabytes of Storage Capacity is so I can Back Up every Recording that I deem Important enough to Back Up because I don't want to lose that Recording.
> 
> I also can Record 12 Events Simultaneously if I wanted to plus I have 300 Series Links so I don't have to worry about that either.
> 
> I Watch What I Want When I Want To Watch It!!! :lol:


Geez - I thought I was a freak!:lol:


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

richierich said:


> One of the reasons that I have 6 DVRs with 12 Tuners and 9,000 Gigabytes of Storage Capacity is so I can Back Up every Recording that I deem Important enough to Back Up because I don't want to lose that Recording.
> 
> I also can Record 12 Events Simultaneously if I wanted to plus I have 300 Series Links so I don't have to worry about that either.
> 
> I Watch What I Want When I Want To Watch It!!! :lol:


I feel better now, knowing that I am not the only one who backs everything up. I have four DVRs with capacity for about 750 hours of HD. I really enjoy _not _watching a particular show just to clear space, and I am beginning to understand the vision of recording all eps of an entire series and watching it all at once over a week or two. I am doing that right now with _24 _and it improves the experience significantly.

I mean, after all, people read books cover to cover. No one reads a chapter in one book, then puts that down and reads a chapter in another, over and over for 25 different books. You read one book (maybe two at once), finish the damned thing, and move on to another. Trying to follow an episodic drama like _Lost _or _Flash Forward_ is ridiculous the way we are fed it in drips and drabs.

The 300 Sls might be a little freaky tho. As long as we're playing Truth or Dare here, my particular freak show is an outgrowth of recording a backup copy; I play back both copies on two HDTVs side by side, one a little bit behind the primary one and with CC on (audio from the primary one only). If I miss a line of dialog on the primary display, I just glance over and pick it up off the other set 4 seconds later from CC; no rewinding, no pausing, no bother. This setup also works well for sports. It also modulates the ambient light in the room perfectly (most of the ambient light coming from the other set).

And it seems to help when some ugly guy is having a conversation with some hot girl; if you time the delay just right the hot girl is usually available on one set or the other most of the time (so that ends up like watching a ping-pong match). I'd rather see the hot actress do her thing twice than watch her interspersed with closeups of whatever stiff she is talking to .

Freaky? Who cares, it works for me. You have to make twice the effort on the remote (and on programming the DVRs), but after a bit it all becomes second nature; I wouldn't have it any other way.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

richierich said:


> One of the reasons that I have 6 DVRs with 12 Tuners and 9,000 Gigabytes of Storage Capacity is so I can Back Up every Recording that I deem Important enough to Back Up because I don't want to lose that Recording.
> 
> I also can Record 12 Events Simultaneously if I wanted to plus I have 300 Series Links so I don't have to worry about that either.
> 
> I Watch What I Want When I Want To Watch It!!! :lol:


I've got one DVR with 70% free HD space reported on it. In 3 1/2 years there was one instance where I would have liked to record three programs at the same time. Other than that and a few audio dropouts and occasional channel changing hiccups I've been reasonably happy with the unit.

Bill


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## slam22 (May 14, 2007)

Geez it's sounds like I'm not the only one. We've had our HR20 for over three years and generally it has been pretty decent changing channels along with most operations. However during the past month in particular it has just become godawful slow. I can press 501 for HBO and it takes 10-15 seconds for the channel to change. Even paging down the guide there is a significant delay. I don't know if this is a software issue or what. It does it with our universal remote as well as the DTV remote. Anyway, my three cents.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Slam, how full is your drive? How many Series Links do you have?

The more work the CPU has to do the Slower this Puppy gets because it is Underpowered and Directv corrected that mistake with the HR24-500.


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## iamqnow (Dec 26, 2007)

So right. Just one more annoying thing to deal with. And sometimes, it works on the first attempt, go figure!


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

richierich said:


> Slam, how full is your drive? How many Series Links do you have?
> 
> The more work the CPU has to do the Slower this Puppy gets because it is Underpowered and Directv corrected that mistake with the HR24-500.


I've had drives 100% full on HR20s, and that makes no difference. Of course that makes sense, because the DVR only deals with one (two, maybe three) program(s) at a time when recording or playing back. The fact that there are a lot of files on the HDD that are not in play should have no real affect on speed, especially since modern HDDs can handle 12 HD streams at once, according to WD. Lots of files resident on the HDD that are not being recorded or played back should also not affect the CPU at all.

SLs may be another matter. DVRs index every available program on every available channel in the background, which is what makes the guide work. It also compares each program against every program in the SL list, and does an "if..then" regarding whether it sets a record session for it, and whether there is a conflict (of course that's still a little bit broken on the HR2x at the moment). This means that there are low-level processes going on all of the time regarding these issues, but they are supposed to throttle down in respect to high-level processes like starting a recording, and to mid-level processes like responding to a remote. It would be unlikely that background processes could make the mid-level processes sluggish _if the code is written efficiently._

But even that comparison routine should not take much CPU power at all. Figure the number of channels and the number of new programs a day times the number of SLs, and even 50 should mean less than 100,000 tasks, which should be child's play for any microprocessor. When a new day's shows come in at 2 AM, the guide for that day is rebuilt usually within 12 hours of that, even with 45 SLs, in my experience, so throttling down background processes to allow a remote to work should not be problematic. But it appears that for some, it is.

With that in mind it really does make one wonder why there even is sluggishness, as there really isn't much that should be eating CPU cycles. I guess it is also a function of how efficiently the code is written; Tivo was a pig before 6.x, and lots of SPs could slow it down, but it was written when HDDs were 9 GB and could record for 14 hours. Once rewritten, the sluggishness disappeared. One would assume that code written in the era of 500 GB drives and HD-sized files would be written to be efficient enough to not bog down. This seems to be the one area where DISH DVRs shine.


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## vicmeldrew (Aug 22, 2007)

just wanted to awaken this thread again; last night was the slowest response yet and is getting no better. yes, i rebooted and checked batteries. Anyone else still have the extremely slow dvr problems?


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## riprecked (Oct 11, 2009)

vicmeldrew said:


> just wanted to awaken this thread again; last night was the slowest response yet and is getting no better. yes, i rebooted and checked batteries. Anyone else still have the extremely slow dvr problems?


Two of my three DVRs are brutal. One is a 22 and the other a 21. It took me literally three minutes to get it to accept a three digit channel number.

Yes, I know about the Info trick. This is beyond pathetic.

My next plan is to get a 24 and see if that is better.


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## azarby (Dec 15, 2006)

One of the things that a lot of users forget is that having IR remote problems can sometimes be environmental. Flourescent lights (CFLs ) and flat panel displays (LCD backlights) sometimes interfer with IR controllers. This type of lighting send out interference that just plays havoc with the remotes. It alos doesn't hurt to frequently replace batteries. Be surprised how many people forget to do that.

This is not to say that any of your problems are caused by this, but is just somethning to think about.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

This might sound crazy, but I noticed my HR20 is a little faster when the blue lights are turned off on the front panel.


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## riprecked (Oct 11, 2009)

TheRatPatrol said:


> This might sound crazy, but I noticed my HR20 is a little faster when the blue lights are turned off on the front panel.


Yes, it sounds crazy, but I am desperate and tried is anyways!

It actually appears to make a difference. I'll need to try it some more, but my HR22 was more responsive. I'll give it a few more days, the HR22 can be moody. (Note -- I am using Harmony rechargeable remotes with all of my HR** units)

My bedroom HR21 has always had the lights off and ironically I've never had any real issues with it. My other two units have been terrible lately.


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## Guest (May 30, 2010)

riprecked said:


> Yes, it sounds crazy, but I am desperate and tried is anyways!
> 
> It actually appears to make a difference. I'll need to try it some more, but my HR22 was more responsive. I'll give it a few more days, the HR22 can be moody. (Note -- I am using Harmony rechargeable remotes with all of my HR** units)
> 
> My bedroom HR21 has always had the lights off and ironically I've never had any real issues with it. My other two units have been terrible lately.


Where do you turn the lights off? I tried to find it in the menu. Thanks.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

Doesn't make one bit of difference to me. Mine are still SLOOOOOOWWWWWWW!


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## matt (Jan 12, 2010)

CraigerCSM said:


> Where do you turn the lights off? I tried to find it in the menu. Thanks.


Hold down the left navigation button and press and let go the right navigation button on the face of the receiver. You can also hold right and press left.


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## djrobx (Jan 27, 2009)

azarby said:


> One of the things that a lot of users forget is that having IR remote problems can sometimes be environmental. Flourescent lights (CFLs ) and flat panel displays (LCD backlights) sometimes interfer with IR controllers. This type of lighting send out interference that just plays havoc with the remotes. It alos doesn't hurt to frequently replace batteries. Be surprised how many people forget to do that.
> 
> This is not to say that any of your problems are caused by this, but is just somethning to think about.


I don't think this is an environmental problem. If it were, users would also have trouble fast forwarding and changing channels without pressing info first.

When you press the first digit, the box needs to pull up the channel banner so it can show you what you're entering. But since the box is over-taxed (most likely, not enough memory), it takes too long to do this, and by the time the banner finally comes up to show you the first key you've entered, you're close to the timeout period and/or the box was too busy processing to accept the next digit you entered with the remote.

Pressing Info first works because it gets you past this load period and puts the box in a state where it doesn't need to do a lot of work to accept and display the channel numbers you're typing.

DirecTV could fix this in a number of ways. The simplest would probably be a more minimalistic banner exclusively for entering digits. The better fix would be to optimize the overall code to eliminate the performance problem, but at this point I doubt we'll ever see this.


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## greggo (May 12, 2009)

General responsiveness is HORRIBLE. Changing channels is a primary feature of any STB. We've gotten used big time. Certainly, solutions must be understood by now. Most likely a proper implementation is somehow unacceptable, at least right now- this issue is too old and too easy to reproduce for it to not be already fixed in a lab somewhere, and without changing the hardware.

Even the info button trick won't work all the time. For such an overall competent company, I'm surprised at the ignorance of the design. But I will be thoroughly impressed if they can squeak out a software fix. Good luck D. Make me want to keep you since sunday ticket is losing value.
G.


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## SlimyPizza (Oct 14, 2006)

Thought I'd chime in here... My HR20-700 which I've had for 4 yrs is extremely s-l-o-w in responding to channel changes. Also v-e-r-y sluggish when in guide mode and trying to page up/down, enter a channel, or change channels. Seems strange that the same DVR responds adequately to FF/REW/PAUSE commands - so the channel changing delay isn't due to interference or low batteries or other similar causes. VERY frustrating to have the DVR behave so sluggishly. It isn't a HD space issue either as I have more than half the drive available/unused. The INFO button "trick" doesn't always work and I'm beginning to resent having to resort to tricks anyway just to try and get the channel changed in a decent time frame. Sometimes from guide mode I'll select a channel then the guide disappears and the station I changed FROM stays on screen for several seconds until the DVR decides that I really did request a channel change. One thing about the U-Verse STBs that I've seen is the instant response time. Why can't the DTV boxes behave similarly?


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

SlimyPizza said:


> One thing about the U-Verse STBs that I've seen is the instant response time. Why can't the DTV boxes behave similarly?


Simple. U-Verse boxes are newer and have more advanced and technologically superior software.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

Lord Vader said:


> Simple. U-Verse boxes are newer and have more advanced and technologically superior software.


UVerse DVRs may change channels pretty quick but they have other issues...which extends to just about every other DVR out there I guess.

However, the ability to easily change channels is definitely one feature that should operate cleanly. I sort of think it's possible the hardware isn't up to all the features in the firmware. My HR24 never has problems with this but my HR21 always does.

Mike


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## yooper99 (Mar 6, 2008)

1. Go to any channel that utilizes any type of "overlay programming", ie: score card or weather pop-ups.
2. All these channels will experience the long delay.
3. Press the exit button to disable the extra programming.
4. Notice that the circle of lights on the STB indicate activity when the exit button is pressed.
4. These channels will now respond to your remote without delay.
5. This demonstrates to me that the extra programming is causing the delay.
6. For proof, go to a channel with no "overlay", try 379 PBS or 245 TNT, The STB will respond rapidly every time.
7. Turning off the "overlays" every time you want to change channels is not a cure. I only offer this to show what I consider to be the cause of the problem. 

I do have an occasional (rare) temporary freeze up (R15-300) that requires waiting for the STB to finish whatever it is doing. This freeze is accompanied by the circle of lights going crazy until the processor catches up to reality. But that is for another discussion. The picture and sound are unaffected.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

yooper99 said:


> 1. Go to any channel that utilizes any type of "overlay programming", ie: score card or weather pop-ups.
> 2. All these channels will experience the long delay.
> 3. Press the exit button to disable the extra programming.
> 4. Notice that the circle of lights on the STB indicate activity when the exit button is pressed.
> ...


On my HR21-100 it doesn't matter where I start from. It's still slow...even to the point of missing the occasional button press...even on a channel that doesn't have any interactive features. I'm just sayin' :grin:

Mike


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

David MacLeod said:


> if you read the post you attacked you might see its being worked on.


Perhaps it's being worked on, but this has been a problem for many of us for many months. Pretty basic stuff, if you ask me...


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

billsharpe said:


> Perhaps it's being worked on, but this has been a problem for many of us for many months.* Pretty basic stuff, if you ask me...*


Apply for a job at Directv if it's basic stuff.


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## SlimyPizza (Oct 14, 2006)

sigma1914 said:


> Apply for a job at Directv if it's basic stuff.


Well, I think responding to channel changes -is- basic and something which is easily accomplished by other STBs. Even my HR20-700 used to respond instantaneously but got bogged down by the bells and whistles and other apps that got added to the firmware the last couple of years. Those features are fine when they don't affect basic functionality but when they do then it's a headache for users and a source of discontent to those of us who pay premium rates. When I have to push numbers 7-8 times just to get a channel change over and over again I start to look around for HD providers who offer better DVRs. I like DTV's channel line-up, I like the quality of reception DTV has, I like the effort they've made to improve the functionality of their STBs from a firmware perspective, but I don't like how that effort has nearly crippled my STB and negatively impacted my viewing experience.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

SlimyPizza said:


> Well, I think responding to channel changes -is- basic and something which is easily accomplished by other STBs. Even my HR20-700 used to respond instantaneously but got bogged down by the bells and whistles and other apps that got added to the firmware the last couple of years. Those features are fine when they don't affect basic functionality but when they do then it's a headache for users and a source of discontent to those of us who pay premium rates. When I have to push numbers 7-8 times just to get a channel change over and over again I start to look around for HD providers who offer better DVRs. I like DTV's channel line-up, I like the quality of reception DTV has, I like the effort they've made to improve the functionality of their STBs from a firmware perspective, but I don't like how that effort has nearly crippled my STB and negatively impacted my viewing experience.


Since you like DirecTV that much, then you should get a HR24...A 2 year extension shouldn't bother a happy customer.


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## kramer (Jun 6, 2007)

sigma1914 said:


> Since you like DirecTV that much, then you should get a HR24...A 2 year extension shouldn't bother a happy customer.


Are the H24 shipping from D* for free yet? Do not want to spend more money to fix a problem that should not be happening.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

kramer said:


> Are the H24 shipping from D* for free yet? Do not want to spend more money to fix a problem that should not be happening.


Call & ask for a free upgrade or a credit if you buy/lease from an online vendor.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

sigma1914 said:


> Apply for a job at Directv if it's basic stuff.


Changing channels is about as basic as you can get. My first wired remote for a 36-channel system included changing channels. That was back in the late 60's and yes, there was a wire between the remote and the cable box.

Fortunately it's only an intermittent problem for me, but it is irritating when the delays occur.


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## dinotheo (Sep 22, 2006)

Happens to me all the time. It is FRUSTRATING!!!!! Here is a typical scenario for me. I will want to tune channel 642 to watch a hockey game. 

1st attempt: Type 6-4-2. Result: 6-4.....delay......Tries to tune channel 64. Channel Not Available....2 Tries to tune Channel 2. Channel Not Available

2nd attempt: Type 6 wait...6 shows, type 4 wait...4 shows, type 2, wait, nothing shows hit 2 again....now 22 shows twice. Tries to tune channel 6422. Channel Not Available

3rd attempt: (go back to normal typing) Type 6-4-2. 6 shows.......tries to tune ch. 6 Channel Not Available. Then 4-2 shows up, It tunes to channel 42.

This can go on and on with many different variations.

I kid you not. This happens to me all the time. On and on and on. I've gone a good 2-3 minutes without being able to tune the darn channel. (I know because I'll miss an entire power play) 

Usually it can take 15-30 seconds to finally tune the channel. If the DVR is recording something (on 1 tuner)....forget it. It can and will go into the 1 minute plus timeframe to get the channel tuned.

This happens to me typically on my HR21's and 22's. My HR20's are better. On the HR20's a missed channel tends to be the exception whereas on the 21's and 22's it tends to be the rule.

I'd love to get HR24's.....but I've got 10 HR series DVRs. Not really cost effective for me to do so. (Though it would be the same amount as what I paid for my 2 HR10-250 preorders 7-8 years ago from Bryn Mawr....later Tweeter.....man I miss those DVRs)


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

It happens on my HR24, too, so don't think that that IRD is some godsend.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

I sometimes have all sorts of problems. Press 229 and 22 shows up. Press another 9 and 2299 shows up. 

It drives me nuts. Except for single digit channels, I do must my channel via the guide up and down.


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## compac (Oct 6, 2006)

You must be in our home... same here and getting worse
+1



dinotheo said:


> Happens to me all the time. It is FRUSTRATING!!!!! Here is a typical scenario for me. I will want to tune channel 642 to watch a hockey game.
> 
> 1st attempt: Type 6-4-2. Result: 6-4.....delay......Tries to tune channel 64. Channel Not Available....2 Tries to tune Channel 2. Channel Not Available
> 
> ...


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

Tonight's game was -- Hit 264 in rapid order. 26 appeared. Hit 4 again, nothing. Hit 4 again, nothing. Hit 4 again, nothing. Hit 4 again. Goes to channel 264 for a second. Looks for channel 4444. No such channel. Goes back to 264.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

Geez guys - don't you know that all you need to do is replace the batteries in your remote?:lol:

But seriously folks - the only real fix is going to be to see if DirecTV will replace your receivers with HR24s or get new leases from a dealer/retailer that will tell you what you're going to get. The fix is not around the corner and changing the batteries isn't going to help.

Sorry but that's the cold hard truth.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

HR24s are *NOT *the answer. I have one and the problem is rampant on mine. To say it irritates the hell out of me is an understatement.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

Lord Vader said:


> HR24s are *NOT *the answer. I have one and the problem is rampant on mine. To say it irritates the hell out of me is an understatement.


Boy - that's a bad deal. I've had other issues with the updates since the first week of October. All three of my HR24-500s worked much better before they started screwing with them but even at their worst a revision or two ago they were still a 300% improvment over my HR22s.

Are you having the 'ignore the remote' problem or other troubles?


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

I don't know what you'd call it, but it's ridiculous--slow, unresponsive commands. It's the dance of the channel numbers!


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

Lord Vader said:


> I don't know what you'd call it, but it's ridiculous--slow, unresponsive commands. It's the dance of the channel numbers!


Not the greatest situation when the latest whiz bang processor and enhanced memory can be brought to their knees, eh?

I knew when the 24 series began its appearance that sooner or later, the same problems (sluggishness) that plagued the prior series of boxes would eventually manifest themselves.

Every time I saw the "ya gotta have it, everything else is junk and shouldn't be sent out by D*", "don't accept anything else", "send the installer away if they don't bring a 24 series.", ad nauseum, I just knew it was only a matter of time for the warts to start showing up.

It was all too predictable. Sooner or later it will get fixed. The 24 series is not immune to the process. We've seen it before. We are starting to see it now. We will see it again. Reality, what a concept!


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## armchair (Jul 27, 2009)

Sorry guys, I haven't read this whole thread but I thought this issue was gone long ago. It's a mystery many don't have the same issue.

I conducted a poll back in May and those that voted say it's never an issue by a wide margin, 73%. Only 15% agreed that the latest f/w seemed to be correcting the issue, IMO that is. Of late, it hasn't been an issue for me; my quick tune guide is not even full. You can program 9 channels with the green button and nav arrows, use the up arrow to launch. Yes, I get it; the number pad is the natural choice and Directv should know this. But when I was frustrated, I started using either info+numbers or QT. Hint: program the channel you want as a default in the middle, especially if you want to use QT in a macro power-down sequence or step to tune to default channel for buffering purposes.

There is one issue that I see that contributes to the channel change issue. If you try to launch TV APPS while in a scoreguide channel, the UI will slow to remote control input. That's the only thing I see that slows the UI unless the guide cache' has been dumped and guide is repopulating. To resolve the slowness, I simply tune back to a SG channel and wait for the pop-up for SG. As long as I don't launch TV APPS while on those channels, the UI is fine. I don't know if the same applies to TWC?

One thing that helps with DVRs is to make it a habit to go to STANDBY when not viewing. This helps the DVR focus on it's scheduling and guide, more info & TOS caching, particularly overnight while you're sleeping or away from home. 

I did have this issue for a long time with the HR22-100s but it seemed to be going away for me just before the HR24 upgrades. I still have one HR22-100 here that I test from time to time. The only complaint my daughter has with it is that it sometimes ignores a RC command. I won't say that the HR24 upgrade will solve anything but like others have suggested, Directv may help with upgrade costs with credits.


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## Barry in Conyers (Jan 14, 2008)

My two HR24-500's can be just as slow to respond to the remote as my HR20-700 was at it's worst. The difference is that my HR24-500's respond quickly most of the time. For whatever reasons, they occasionally get very lazy and respond slowly if at all. The sinking spells typically last a day or two and then things are OK again. Very frustrating.


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

Is it a HR24-500 issue only, or are the HR24-200's having issues too? I don't see any issues with my HR24-200 when changing the channel.


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

stlmike said:


> On any of my 4 HR20/21 boxes, entering the channel number is horrible. I point the remote at the box, enter the three numbers, wait 2 seconds, see the first number appear and watch it either go to the first number (if there is a channel there) or tell me there is no channel and goes "boop". Then the last two numbers I entered show up. It usually "boops" again. Then it seems to pay attention and I can enter it again. All boxes are in IR mode. RF is far worse.


This happens on my HR22-100 sometimes and I am using RF. A real pain in the butt that I wish that D* will fix soon! Sometimes it actually takes me 10~15 secs to actually get to the channel that I want by directly entering the exact channel number.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Yea, I know it's a PITA when the STB drops the digits when you're entering them.

Not a fix but hit the INFO button first to get the channel banner up then enter the channel number as a circumvention to get around the problem.


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

wonder if people with this issue are using ethernet and if so does unplugging it help.
if it helps wonder if its something in network.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Has anyone tried the 963 trick?

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=184693&highlight=963


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

dpeters11 said:


> Has anyone tried the 963 trick?
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=184693&highlight=963


I mentioned this earlier in this thread...and it does indeed work and help.

In some cases, there are a limited number of legitimate situations where some units are not as responsive as they should be. Efforts continue to work to improve those.

In the mean time, it can only help to use the recommended "tweak" that dpeters suggested.


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## seltech (Feb 5, 2008)

My HR22 has been like this for several months now, Last night it was so bad, I had literally 20 sec lag when using any function on the remote, scrolling through the guide, entering channels, even going through my recorded programs list. A reboot of the receiver makes it tolerable for a couple days then its back to 5-10 sec lag, last night was very unusual.


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