# Software Update: HR20 - 0xEF Discussion



## Earl Bonovich

New Software 11/15/2006
Manufacture 700 - 0xEB

---------------
Release Notes:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70030

*PLEASE DON"T POST... DIDN'T GET IT, or GOT IT tracking posts in this thread, they will be deleted
*

Note: This is going to be a STAGGERED rollout starting in the Pacific Timezone. It may take a few days for everyone to receive the update.

Note #2: This time; In this thread... Please list your HDMI issues. To help identify them, put *HDMI ISSUE* as the first line of your post. Then list your Make/Model of your TV.. and then describe your issue. As I see them, I will roll them up to the 3rd post in this thread.

Note #3: Please, when listing a problem.... try to get as specific as possible... Saying "It Froze" and that it is, does no good in helping finding the cause. Saying: "It frozen, when I was recording MPEG-4 NBC Chicago, and I was re-organizing my Series Links"... helps in finding a combination that can recreate an issue. As I see an issue, I will roll it up to the 2nd post in this thread.

*Previous Version Thread:*
Version 0xEB (11/07/2006): *Discussion Thread* _Note: 0xEB was never released nationally_
Version 0xE3 (10/19/2006): *Discussion Thread*
Version 0xDC (10/11/2006): *Discussion Thread*
Version 0xD8 (10/04/2006): *Discussion Thread*
Version 0xD1 (9/26/2006): *Discussion Thread*
Version 0xCC (9/16/2006): *Discussion Thread Issue Thread*
Version 0xBE (9/1/2006): *Discussion Thread Issue Thread*

*The Original HR20 Review Thread*
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=61862

*Tips and Tricks Threads*
Official Tips and Tricks
Unoffical Tips and Tricks

*Unoffical Feature Request Survey*
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=68183

*Unoffical eSATA Feature Discussion*
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=66201


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## Earl Bonovich

*Last Update: 11/15/2006 9:45am* As of post (in this thread): 34


Pink FF/Trickplay Icons *Post* _Multiple Reports_
MyPlaylist not populating correctly, after delete.... Shows a BLANK list *Post*


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## Earl Bonovich

HDMI Tracking Post


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## ShapeGSX

Please please roll this out quickly!  I need 4x trickplay and the faster 30s slip! The improved CC would certainly be welcome, as well. 

And the flubbed "jump to tickmark" and the lack of tick marks at the start and end of a program in 0xE3 is driving my wife crazy.


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## Rugged

ShapeGSX said:


> Please please roll this out quickly!  I need 4x trickplay and the faster 30s slip! The improved CC would certainly be welcome, as well.
> 
> And the flubbed "jump to tickmark" and the lack of tick marks at the start and end of a program in 0xE3 is driving my wife crazy.


I'm holding my breath that this one rolls out without incident because I can't stand not having the trick play work properly.

Let's hope this release makes it to the east coast before the weekend.

Yippee!!


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## eengert

Now this release actually sounds promising. If it actually does everything it states in the release notes, I think it'll be a huge step forward. Too bad OTA wasn't ready yet, but sounds like that will likely be in the next release.

I'm pleased to see them using a staggered rollout methodology now, and taking the initial rollout results seriously enough to halt an issue-laden rollout. I'm glad they start on on the west coast and I'm on the east!


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## Wally_Gator

I am pleased to report that the trick play issues I saw with oxEB have been fixed for me on this new release. EB was unbearable on MPEG 2 HD trick play.


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## MikeFL

I assume that they (DirecTV) will wait to see the response and problems from the west coast before rolling it out to everyone as they appear to have done with 0xEB. At least I assume that is why they held off rolling out 0xEB to everyone. This might mean a wait for those of us on the east coast.


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## dervari

Great...no mention of partial/unplayable/BSOD recordings. They need to get this issue resolved and at least get the box RECORDING and PLAYING reliably before addressing 4x FF or faster 30sec slip, IMHO. :nono2:


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## Dusty

I woke up early this morning and found both machines upgraded to 0xEF becausee of 4xFF. I eagerly checked the OTA but I wasn't too disappointed to find it wasn't enabled, yet. I watched MPEG2 SD and HD on both machines for a while. So far so good. I have not run into any problems I had with 0xEB in the last 2.5 hours. Trick play is way better than 0xEB. Video is much smoother in FF. 30 sec slip is completed within 2 seconds. I love the 4xFF, although I overshoot a lot more. I can't really use it to FF through commercials because it takes too many replays to correct a 4xFF overshoot, but pacing through a halftime show was nice.


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## Dusty

MikeFL said:


> I assume that they (DirecTV) will wait to see the response and problems from the west coast before rolling it out to everyone as they appear to have done with 0xEB. At least I assume that is why they held off rolling out 0xEB to everyone. This might mean a wait for those of us on the east coast.


In my opinion, you are better off without 0xEB. I had more problems with it than most other versions. My wife never use the POS comment on HR20 until last weekend when our video froze during playback.


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## blucas95

Can anyone with an eSATA drive hooked up verify that it is still reporting the correct amount of disk space remaining after 0xEF? The parts for my 1TB RAID are due to be delivered today from newegg and I can't wait to try it out. Of course I'm also on the east coast, so I'll have to wait for the release to get to me regardless... Thanks!


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## PoitNarf

Just how much faster is 30 sec slip now? Is it a noticeable difference?


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## Earl Bonovich

PoitNarf said:


> Just how much faster is 30 sec slip now? Is it a noticeable difference?


Nearly day and night, IMHO

With 6-8 30s "qued", slips the average commercial break in about 10-12s...


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## markf

Got 0xEF this morning, after having 0xEB for a week. Repeating manual recordings are still screwed up and not working after box resets. If I look in the History list, all instances are marked as Cancelled. And if I click on that, I get a screen listing all sorts of TV shows along with their times.


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## PoitNarf

Earl Bonovich said:


> Nearly day and night, IMHO
> 
> With 6-8 30s "qued", slips the average commercial break in about 10-12s...


If I remember correctly, previously 8 consecutive 30 sec slips took at least twice as long with 0xE3. Very much looking forward to this improvement.


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## Earl Bonovich

markf said:


> Got 0xEF this morning, after having 0xEB for a week. Repeating manual recordings are still screwed up and not working after box resets. If I look in the History list, all instances are marked as Cancelled. And if I click on that, I get a screen listing all sorts of TV shows along with their times.


With your history listing them all as canceled... that is normal, for a reboot of the box. When ever the unit reboots, "ALL" entries in the todo list are "Canceled", and are reflected as such in the History.

Repeating manual records, should populate as the guide data repopulates and the background scheduler runs to re-populate the todo list.


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## Gbsnplr

I am sorry new here but what is trick play and how do I do the 30 slip?


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## Doug Brott

Color me impressed. 4xFF and 4xRW are Awesome. It will be much easier to move quickly through a recording now. 30-second slip may become my friend. I'm so impressed with the new 30-second slip that I may consider dropping the 30-second skip from the Wish List as having a suitable workaround. It's really that good now.

Unfortunately, I will not have time this morning to check out the new software, but from what I've seen so far I'd give it two thumbs up. Trick play is now great.


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## Earl Bonovich

Gbsnplr said:


> I am sorry new here but what is trick play and how do I do the 30 slip?


Trick Play refers to anything that results in playback outside of normal playback. So FF, RW, Skip To Ticks, Pause, Slow, 30s SLIP... ect

30 SLIP is a fixed length (roughly) FF mode, that will go ~30s of material.
With the latest updates, it "slips" past 30s of material in about 2s

The forward advance button, top right of the play button on your control... .Clockwise arrow


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## Doug Brott

Oh, I forgot to mention also. Jump Back is faster now, too. It also appears that Jump Back goes back roughly 6-seconds on each press. I hit it 5 times and bounced back quickly about 30 seconds.


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## Dyno Don

I am also very impressed with the trick play. Very smooth Leno MPEG4 with regular frame updates, not the hit and miss of last version. 4FF is so fast who needs "go to tick mark"? j/k. 


Very nice DirecTV, Thanks!

Don


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## deebeeeff

Gbsnplr said:


> I am sorry new here but what is trick play and how do I do the 30 slip?


Just another - IMHO unfortunate:nono2: - term for FF, REW etc.:grin: 
Maybe some day they will just call it: "FF, REW etc.":hurah:


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## markf

Earl Bonovich said:


> With your history listing them all as canceled... that is normal, for a reboot of the box. When ever the unit reboots, "ALL" entries in the todo list are "Canceled", and are reflected as such in the History.
> 
> Repeating manual records, should populate as the guide data repopulates and the background scheduler runs to re-populate the todo list.


Since the manual recording is for 8pm M-F, I'll keep an eye on it today and see if it actually works. It didn't with 0xEB. I'd say the Canceled screen is definitely still a bug.


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## Doug Brott

I have having trouble with one of the Trick Play (or Cruise Control) features. I'd appreciate if someone else could verify this or prove my ineptitude. I was trying to Skip-to-tick to get to the END of the Live TV buffer. It may be a design decision to NOT do this, but just going back in forth in the buffer it seemed like the right thing to do. I was able to Skip-to-tick to each of the tick marks, but between the last tick mark and the end of the buffer I was only able to use the ADVANCE button to jump forward. Perhaps someone else could just verify that what I observed is true or not.

Also, regarding Skip-to-tick. My remote does not seem responsive enough to easily get it right. It appears that I have to (1) press FF or RW, then (2) press and hold FF or RW for three seconds to get it jump. Is this the correct operation?


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## Capmeister

Can someone PLEASE test closed captioning? Are words/letters cut off? Garbled? Is live CC scrolling too quickly? Does one line, then another, appear (staggering lines) when someone is talking?


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## LockMD

brott said:


> but between the last tick mark and the end of the buffer I was only able to use the ADVANCE button to jump forward. Perhaps someone else could just verify that what I observed is true or not.


To get to the end, I think your suppose to press and hold the slip button.


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## PoitNarf

brott said:


> Also, regarding Skip-to-tick. My remote does not seem responsive enough to easily get it right. It appears that I have to (1) press FF or RW, then (2) press and hold FF or RW for three seconds to get it jump. Is this the correct operation?


Are you using the remote that came with the HR20?


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## LameLefty

LockMD said:


> To get to the end, I think your suppose to press and hold the slip button.


That's is correct: press and hold the 30-sec Slip button to jump all the way to the end; press and hold the Jump Back button to get to the beginning.


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## VinceV

Earl Bonovich said:


> Nearly day and night, IMHO
> 
> With 6-8 30s "qued", slips the average commercial break in about 10-12s...


I agree. I started using 3x FF instead of the slip. The slip is WAY faster now.

-Vince


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## Earl Bonovich

deebeeeff said:


> Just another - IMHO unfortunate:nono2: - term for FF, REW etc.:grin:
> Maybe some day they will just call it: "FF, REW etc.":hurah:


It is just a term to refer to all of those functions as a whole..
Each individual one, still has it's individual name.


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## cookpr

Anxiously awaiting this update....its 9:30 in Chicago and two pages into this thread there are no "major" problems with this update...

Could it be they finally got one right?? 

New 30sec Slip sounds great....


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## 325xia

I really like the 4x in 0xEF. However, I'm still seeing the random "Pink Box" w/ the FF, RW, etc. Hard to pin-down what causes this in the present or past. I know it's a known issue. Just wanted to state its status in this software on my HR-20.

Native "On"
HDMI
Samsung LN-S4695D


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## Jeremy W

325xia said:


> I'm still seeing the random "Pink Box" w/ the FF, RW, etc. Hard to pin-down what causes this in the present or past.


It's a GUI bug, not (obviously) related to any specific things the user does.

Post #1000. In pink, in honor of the HR20's least serious bug!


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## PoitNarf

Jeremy W said:


> Post #1000. In pink, in honor of the HR20's least serious bug!


Took you long enough :lol:


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## Doug Brott

PoitNarf said:


> Are you using the remote that came with the HR20?


Yes, it's an RC24.


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## Jeremy W

PoitNarf said:


> Took you long enough :lol:


I know, I've been slacking quite a bit lately.


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## Doug Brott

LockMD said:


> To get to the end, I think your suppose to press and hold the slip button.


Yes, this is correct, and this does work if I first press ADVANCE, then press and hold ADVANCE. When I was between the *last* tick mark and the end of the buffer I expect the FF skip-to-tick to take me to the end in addition to the ADVANCE button doing it. Perhaps DirecTV intended this, it just seems awkward to me.


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## grate88

LameLefty said:


> That's is correct: press and hold the 30-sec Slip button to jump all the way to the end; press and hold the Jump Back button to get to the beginning.


Since EB and now into this update the main glitch is the jump back 30 hold down to go back to beginning is not working.

I can jump to the end, which is what I have to do to get to the beginning now. Go to end, srop-don't delete hit play again. Very annoying.

Anyone else having this issue.


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## mooniac

brott said:


> Yes, this is correct, and this does work if I first press ADVANCE, then press and hold ADVANCE. When I was between the *last* tick mark and the end of the buffer I expect the FF skip-to-tick to take me to the end in addition to the ADVANCE button doing it. Perhaps DirecTV intended this, it just seems awkward to me.


I think that is because there isn't a tick at the end to forward to. If you manually put a bookmark at the end, it seems to work.


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## mooniac

grate88 said:


> Since EB and now into this update the main glitch is the jump back 30 hold down to go back to beginning is not working.
> 
> I can jump to the end, which is what I have to do to get to the beginning now. Go to end, srop-don't delete hit play again. Very annoying.
> 
> Anyone else having this issue.


I just tried this after reading your post and it seems to work fine for me, at least in an MPEG4 recorded program from before the update.


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## mooniac

Capmeister said:


> Can someone PLEASE test closed captioning? Are words/letters cut off? Garbled? Is live CC scrolling too quickly? Does one line, then another, appear (staggering lines) when someone is talking?


Seems to be working reasonably well. There was nothing cut off. The scrolling isn't too quick, at least for me. Yes, the staggered lines still appear and there is the occasional garbled word.


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## roguebjp

It's great that they are releasing yet another upgrade...but this whole BS that it gets released in the Pacific time zone first (and only for some updates) is really beginning to bug me.

Whereas the people in the west coast have seen two updates in the past week, us here in the east have not seen anything since October 19th.

The last "staggered" release (0xEB) never made it here, and who knows if this one ever will or if they will, once again, make fixes to it and release it only in the Pacific time zone next Wednesday.

As long as they are not taking any major steps back (which I don't think so), they should be more willing to release these things nationwide. Or, I have an idea, how about doing it staggered but, once in a while, STARTING in the Eastern Timezone??

Bernardo in Miami


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## Just J

mooniac said:


> Seems to be working reasonably well. There was nothing cut off. The scrolling isn't too quick, at least for me. Yes, the staggered lines still appear and there is the occasional garbled word.


I've always believed most of the garbled/misspelled/missing words were the fault of the person typing in the CC data, not the fault of the broadcast system or receiver/DVR.


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## gcisko

325xia said:


> I really like the 4x in 0xEF. However, I'm still seeing the random "Pink Box" w/ the FF, RW, etc. Hard to pin-down what causes this in the present or past. I know it's a known issue. Just wanted to state its status in this software on my HR-20.


I have seen the pink box in older software releases as well. But I have never seen anything bad come from it. Is it a bug simply because it is there? Or does it do something bad?


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## Slip Jigs

roguebjp said:


> It's great that they are releasing yet another upgrade...but this whole BS that it gets released in the Pacific time zone first (and only for some updates) is really beginning to bug me.
> 
> Whereas the people in the west coast have seen two updates in the past week, us here in the east have not seen anything since October 19th.
> 
> The last "staggered" release (0xEB) never made it here, and who knows if this one ever will or if they will, once again, make fixes to it and release it only in the Pacific time zone next Wednesday.
> 
> As long as they are not taking any major steps back (which I don't think so), they should be more willing to release these things nationwide. Or, I have an idea, how about doing it staggered but, once in a while, STARTING in the Eastern Timezone??
> 
> Bernardo in Miami


I can't say for sure, but the reason they went to the next update was because EB was unstable, so isn't it better for those of us who will get the stabillity of EB plus the new features of EF?


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## burnside

Love the 30 second slip! Way better. I can live with that now.


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## deebeeeff

Someone mentioned that channel changes with Native On is "MUCH faster". Man, I sure don't see it. Or, better put, it is still not fast enough for me to warrant leaving it on.:nono2: :nono: 
But the rest of the changes and improvements are greatly appreciated.:balloons: :icon_band


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## grate88

mooniac said:


> I just tried this after reading your post and it seems to work fine for me, at least in an MPEG4 recorded program from before the update.


Thanks for the input. Not sure why this is affecting me. The box is really stable otherwise.


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## roguebjp

Slip Jigs said:


> I can't say for sure, but the reason they went to the next update was because EB was unstable, so isn't it better for those of us who will get the stabillity of EB plus the new features of EF?


I don't think that it was any more unstable than what we already have.

Bernardo in Miami


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## SockMonkey

burnside said:


> Love the 30 second slip! Way better. I can live with that now.


Alright, I am very excited to get this update. I am one of those people who doesn't take my thumb off the 30-slip button when viewing recorded shows. I use it for every commerical break. I was addicted to the 30-skip button with my HR10-250 and I've been really hoping the slip got better. I'm glad to have missed 0xEB, but sometimes the waiting for updates to hit the East Coast really sucks. 

Bob


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## gcisko

roguebjp said:


> It's great that they are releasing yet another upgrade...but this whole BS that it gets released in the Pacific time zone first (and only for some updates) is really beginning to bug me.
> 
> Whereas the people in the west coast have seen two updates in the past week, us here in the east have not seen anything since October 19th.
> 
> The last "staggered" release (0xEB) never made it here, and who knows if this one ever will or if they will, once again, make fixes to it and release it only in the Pacific time zone next Wednesday.
> 
> As long as they are not taking any major steps back (which I don't think so), they should be more willing to release these things nationwide. Or, I have an idea, how about doing it staggered but, once in a while, STARTING in the Eastern Timezone??


As far as I can tell the last update appeared to be a major step back which is why all of us did not get it. I certainly did not want it, and hoped to get this next update instead (assuming it is not broken). So I think you may be a little off in thinking that the people that got the previous update had something better than the rest of us.


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## praneeth

I am glad that I am on the East coast, so only the good /useful updates make their way to me. If they are using the west coast as a beta test ground.. I'm not complaining.. :lol:


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## f300v10

deebeeeff said:


> Someone mentioned that channel changes with Native On is "MUCH faster". Man, I sure don't see it. Or, better put, it is still not fast enough for me to warrant leaving it on.:nono2: :nono:
> But the rest of the changes and improvements are greatly appreciated.:balloons: :icon_band


What resolutions have you defined as allowed for your TV on the HR20? I only have 720P and 1080i set as options, and the change time is not that bad. 480i content comes through as 720P while 720P and 1080i are native. Turning off 480i and 480P cut the switch time greatly for me.


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## Rugged

Wow, from the look of these posts I am really excited to get this update. I just hope that things don't go downhill once the majority of the West Coasters get home tonight and start 'testing' things. But, this is definitely a good sign.


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## gcisko

SockMonkey said:


> Alright, I am very excited to get this update. I am one of those people who doesn't take my thumb off the 30-slip button when viewing recorded shows. I use it for every commerical break. I was addicted to the 30-skip button with my HR10-250 and I've been really hoping the slip got better. I'm glad to have missed 0xEB, but sometimes the waiting for updates to hit the East Coast really sucks.


It doesn't suck if the updates are not up to specifications!

As for the 30 second slip... Does anyone really think it is 30 seconds? With my ultimate TV I would hit the 30 sec skip after a football play and they were lining up for the next play. It was timed perfectly. You can get through a game watching only the action in probably 50 minutes. With the HR20 the 30 sec slip is *WAY* off. The play has already happened and they are starting the next huddle. So either the ultimate TV was a 20 sec skip or the HR20 is not really doing 30 seconds. Maybe this update fixes that, but 30 seconds is 30 seconds skip or slip, it should not matter. Has anyone else wondered about this?


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## GoLaLakers

Just played around with the FF and Rewind and they are definitely improved. The 4x's FF is great. Once we get OTA I will be a happy camper, and my daily visits to this forum may come to an end. :lol:


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## Capmeister

mooniac said:


> Seems to be working reasonably well. There was nothing cut off. The scrolling isn't too quick, at least for me. Yes, the staggered lines still appear and there is the occasional garbled word.


Hmm... I am not optimistic now. The staggered lines should NOT be appearing. The entire sentence should appear, stay long enough, and then disappear.

For example:

*Now is the time*
*for all good men*

should appear on the screen. Not:

*Now is the time*

and then after a moment

*for all good men*

appears.

It's very jarring and doesn't give enough time to really take in what someone is saying.


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## Jeremy W

gcisko said:


> I have seen the pink box in older software releases as well. But I have never seen anything bad come from it. Is it a bug simply because it is there? Or does it do something bad?


It's just a display issue. It doesn't do anything bad.


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## SockMonkey

gcisko said:


> It doesn't suck if the updates are not up to specifications!


Exactly why I said I'm glad to have missed 0xEB.
Bob


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## Capmeister

Just J said:


> I've always believed most of the garbled/misspelled/missing words were the fault of the person typing in the CC data, not the fault of the broadcast system or receiver/DVR.


You're incorrect. I tested the HR20 on RCA connections and played both the passthrough to the TV CC and the HR20's CC.

HR20's closed captioning is sometimes lost, misplaced, garbled, cut off, flashes by too quickly, while the TV's CC is fine. You can see both right on the screen (and it shows how some things are really misplaced especially).


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## Slip Jigs

gcisko said:


> It doesn't suck if the updates are not up to specifications!
> 
> As for the 30 second slip... Does anyone really think it is 30 seconds? With my ultimate TV I would hit the 30 sec skip after a football play and they were lining up for the next play. It was timed perfectly. You can get through a game watching only the action in probably 50 minutes. With the HR20 the 30 sec slip is *WAY* off. The play has already happened and they are starting the next huddle. So either the ultimate TV was a 20 sec skip or the HR20 is not really doing 30 seconds. Maybe this update fixes that, but 30 seconds is 30 seconds skip or slip, it should not matter. Has anyone else wondered about this?


I agree - that's why I was asking on anothe thread if there were a way to stop the update because of the issues that were being reported. So I'm tickled that I don't have to deal with it now.


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## deebeeeff

Earl Bonovich said:


> It is just a term to refer to all of those functions as a whole..
> Each individual one, still has it's individual name.


:lol: - No, I actually meant substituting "FF, REW etc." for "trick play", so us  noobs could understand it...:lol: 
But I wasn't :nono2: too serious about it.


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## deebeeeff

f300v10 said:


> What resolutions have you defined as allowed for your TV on the HR20? I only have 720P and 1080i set as options, and the change time is not that bad. 480i content comes through as 720P while 720P and 1080i are native. Turning off 480i and 480P cut the switch time greatly for me.


Now I am confused ....again.
If I have Native ON, does it matter what I have set for my TV's resolutions?

I have just 1080i set right now.


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## Radio Enginerd

Jeremy W said:


> It's a GUI bug, not (obviously) related to any specific things the user does.
> 
> Post #1000. In pink, in honor of the HR20's least serious bug!


1,000 posts since June? Wow, do you even have time to watch TV?

Congrats! :hurah:


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## bch

gcisko said:


> As for the 30 second slip... Does anyone really think it is 30 seconds? With my ultimate TV I would hit the 30 sec skip after a football play and they were lining up for the next play. It was timed perfectly. You can get through a game watching only the action in probably 50 minutes. With the HR20 the 30 sec slip is *WAY* off. The play has already happened and they are starting the next huddle.


This has not been my experience. The 30 sec slip has always seemed very accurate. Six clicks usually work perfectly for a 3 minute commercial breaks, and 1 slip works for football 95% of the time.


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## Jeremy W

Radio Enginerd said:


> 1,000 posts since June? Wow, do you even have time to watch TV?
> 
> Congrats! :hurah:


It's only 6.74 posts per day.

Thanks!


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## laxcoach

gcisko said:


> .....With the HR20 the 30 sec slip is *WAY* off. The play has already happened and they are starting the next huddle. So either the ultimate TV was a 20 sec skip or the HR20 is not really doing 30 seconds. Maybe this update fixes that, but 30 seconds is 30 seconds skip or slip, it should not matter. Has anyone else wondered about this?


Something is different. I've noticed the same thing. BUT, I also noticed that 8 30s slips gets me through the 4 minute commercial breaks perfectly. I started to wonder if the UTV did something like 26 seconds. The variable is pretty low in the football plays. It used to be skip, 2 seconds, play starts, tackle, skip, 2 seconds, etc. With this box it is play starts, tackle, slip, play started about 2 seconds ago.


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## f300v10

deebeeeff said:


> Now I am confused ....again.
> If I have Native ON, does it matter what I have set for my TV's resolutions?
> 
> I have just 1080i set right now.


The HR20 will only cycle through the resolutions you tell it the TV will accept. If you only have 1080i defined as an allowed resolution, then you are not getting any benefit of native resolution. Are you sure you only have 1080i defined in the HR20? I am not home at the moment so I can't tell you what menu to look at to check, but I think it is under menu->setup->display.


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## SockMonkey

deebeeeff said:


> Now I am confused ....again.
> If I have Native ON, does it matter what I have set for my TV's resolutions?
> 
> I have just 1080i set right now.


Under Setup > Display you have options as to what resolutions your TV supports. Options include 480i, 480p, 720i, 720p, 1080i. You can select any number of them as long as your TV supports them, but you have to select at least one. The more you have selected, the more options native will cycle through trying to determine the correct resolution to use.

Bob


----------



## Stuart Sweet

SockMonkey said:


> Exactly why I said I'm glad to have missed 0xEB.
> Bob


As someone who had 0xEB, I'd say you didn't miss much. It solved that 771 error for most people, although I never had experienced that one anyway. It didn't solve the "partial" bug -- I'd be interested in seeing if this release helps or solves that.

The only real change for me, once I rebooted a couple extra times, was "My Playlist" instead of "MyVod".

I haven't checked to see if I got 0xEF but I will report on my ongoing issues when I get home tonight.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

SockMonkey said:


> Under Setup > Display you have options as to what resolutions your TV supports. Options include 480i, 480p, 720i, 720p, 1080i. You can select any number of them as long as your TV supports them, but you have to select at least one. The more you have selected, the more options native will cycle through trying to determine the correct resolution to use.
> 
> Bob


Not sure if this is 100% accurate. To keep problems to a minimum, I keep only 1080i set as a display option. However, I have had an issue where "Crop" did not work properly (search previous posts) and one solution was turning on native mode. With HR20 set to native, the output was 480i according to my TV.

EDIT: See post 472. I was misled on this. Sockmonkey is correct.


----------



## 04sxwin

gcisko said:


> As far as I can tell the last update appeared to be a major step back which is why all of us did not get it. I certainly did not want it, and hoped to get this next update instead (assuming it is not broken). So I think you may be a little off in thinking that the people that got the previous update had something better than the rest of us.


I've received the new update and so far, so good. The 4x is not only fast, but appears smoother with no video dropout. The slip is definitely faster as well. Believe me, you did not want the prior update. I had major instability with OxEB, often the box would be frozen when first booted up. I'm holding my breath that this release is at least going to provide some stability and if I dare to dream, be enjoyable to use and view.


----------



## grate88

The true test for this will be recordings (partials, dletes etc) but upon first impressions, I give the tech team high marks for this one.

Even my one glitch of return to start is only happening on recording made during EB.


----------



## 911medic

SockMonkey said:


> Under Setup > Display you have options as to what resolutions your TV supports. Options include 480i, 480p, 720i, 720p, 1080i. You can select any number of them as long as your TV supports them, but you have to select at least one. The more you have selected, the more options native will cycle through trying to determine the correct resolution to use.
> 
> Bob


Correct, except for no 720i.

I use 480i, 720p, and 1080i, and the delay in changing resolutions, while longer than it should be, really isn't too bad (0xE3, currently). I found no benefit to 480p; just made things look slightly blurred.


----------



## f300v10

lamontcranston said:


> Not sure if this is 100% accurate. To keep problems to a minimum, I keep only 1080i set as a display option. However, I have had an issue where "Crop" did not work properly (search previous posts) and one solution was turning on native mode. With HR20 set to native, the output was 480i according to my TV.


Bob's description is accurate at least on my HR20. The Native mode only cycles through the resolution I defined in the display section. I only have 720P and 1080i allowed, and I never see 480i on the TV, only 720P and 1080i.


----------



## SockMonkey

911medic said:


> Correct, except for no 720i.


Ah, sorry... was going from memory... I'm at work and haven't looked at that screen in a few weeks. I tried... 

Bob


----------



## mridan

Is OxEF software update in Chicago area?


----------



## SockMonkey

mridan said:


> Is OxEF software update in Chicago area?


Probably only on one particular HR20 (owned by Earl). The word is in the next 48 hours, if all goes well, the rest of us will see it. Right now it's only on the west coast.

Bob


----------



## mridan

Thnks Bob ,2 hr20s getting installed next wed


----------



## jkc120

f300v10 said:


> Bob's description is accurate at least on my HR20. The Native mode only cycles through the resolution I defined in the display section. I only have 720P and 1080i allowed, and I never see 480i on the TV, only 720P and 1080i.


So for the fastest possible switching on my Samsung 42" DLP, I have selected only 720p in the available resolutions. Should I have native mode on/off or doesn't it matter if I have only one resolution selected? (Sorry this is OT for this thread).


----------



## ChromaTick

Wow, 4x FF is FAST! Love it.


----------



## btmoore

Just tried out the new slip and 4xFF and 4xRR. I still want to try it on for a few days to see if they continue to work well with all recording types, but from what I saw with my limited usage the new trickplay features look to be fantastic. I only tested on a live SD stream and a new recorded HDnet mpeg2, but this is a much improved trick play experience. Assuming the trick plays work well on all recording types, kudos for improving the user experience.


----------



## SockMonkey

jkc120 said:


> So for the fastest possible switching on my Samsung 42" DLP, I have selected only 720p in the available resolutions. Should I have native mode on/off or doesn't it matter if I have only one resolution selected? (Sorry this is OT for this thread).


With only one resolution selected, you're telling the HR20 to only display at that resolution so native would not do you any good. You should probably turn it off.


----------



## Jeremy W

jkc120 said:


> Should I have native mode on/off or doesn't it matter if I have only one resolution selected?


Turn native off.


----------



## jaywdetroit

Earl Bonovich said:


> Nearly day and night, IMHO
> 
> With 6-8 30s "qued", slips the average commercial break in about 10-12s...


For the record:

I just tested the 30s Slip on my box - I do not yet have the update.

To queue through 6 'slips' it took 20 seconds on a SD program.


----------



## w6fxj

Capmeister said:


> Hmm... I am not optimistic now. The staggered lines should NOT be appearing. The entire sentence should appear, stay long enough, and then disappear.
> 
> For example:
> 
> *Now is the time*
> *for all good men*
> 
> should appear on the screen. Not:
> 
> *Now is the time*
> 
> and then after a moment
> 
> *for all good men*
> 
> appears.
> 
> It's very jarring and doesn't give enough time to really take in what someone is saying.


Cap - I did not check CC until you asked today. But the CC appears good except for an occasional and obviously mispelled word. No missing words or missing lines as you describe. I should point out the on my "no over-scan" screen the cc lines start outside the "safe" area close to the left bottom edge. If your screen is overscanned you might miss the bottom line of the cc display. That may be what happens to the second line, "for all good men." until it rolls up one line and back into view for you.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

SockMonkey said:


> With only one resolution selected, you're telling the HR20 to only display at that resolution so native would not do you any good. You should probably turn it off.


Confused here -

I thought native mode output the signal at whatever resolution it was originally sent. That's how it seems to work for me...

EDIT: See post 472. I believe I was misled by a bug.


----------



## spidey

Wally_Gator said:


> I am pleased to report that the trick play issues I saw with oxEB have been fixed for me on this new release. EB was unbearable on MPEG 2 HD trick play.


what is trick play so I can know what I am missing?


----------



## timvan

mridan said:


> Thnks Bob ,2 hr20s getting installed next wed


How did you score that? D* said they were out of them when I tried to get one last Friday..and all my local stores are out also.


----------



## Jeremy W

lamontcranston said:


> I thought native mode output the signal at whatever resolution it was originally sent. That's how it seems to work for me...


It will, but only as long as that resolution is enabled in the settings.


----------



## f300v10

lamontcranston said:


> Confused here -
> 
> I thought native mode output the signal at whatever resolution it was originally sent. That's how it seems to work for me...


That is correct, but the HR20 will only try the resolutions you tell it the TV can support or in my case to only use the resolutions I want it to use.


----------



## Rugged

Wow, do all you guys on the West Coast have jobs or do you just work from home in front of the TV? I wish I could be playing around with my TV at 10am on a Wed!


----------



## hasan

mridan said:


> Is OxEF software update in Chicago area?


No, not likely for at least 2 days (unless we get real lucky)


----------



## Earl Bonovich

spidey said:


> what is trick play so I can know what I am missing?


http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=722107&postcount=20


----------



## Stuart Sweet

f300v10 said:


> That is correct, but the HR20 will only try the resolutions you tell it the TV can support or in my case to only use the resolutions I want it to use.


Actually, I specifically have turned off every resolution except 1080i, and with native mode, my TV told me that I was watching a 480i signal at 480i. I will confirm this again tonight.

EDIT: See post #472. I think I found a bug that misled me.


----------



## giant96

Do i have to be connected to a phone line to get these updates?


----------



## avatar230

giant96 said:


> Do i have to be connected to a phone line to get these updates?


No. They download through the satellite.


----------



## mooniac

giant96 said:


> Do i have to be connected to a phone line to get these updates?


No, it comes through the satellite


----------



## 04sxwin

I'm new to this, so please excuse my ignorance and if I there is somewhere else I should post general questions like this, please direct me there. Anyway, would someone please tell me the distinction between MPEG-2 and MPEG-4? Is it just a product of what resolution a broadcast is transmitted and/or recorded in? How does it impact space usage, etc. 

Thanks for educating me


----------



## btmoore

04sxwin said:


> I'm new to this, so please excuse my ignorance and if I there is somewhere else I should post general questions like this, please direct me there. Anyway, would someone please tell me the distinction between MPEG-2 and MPEG-4? Is it just a product of what resolution a broadcast is transmitted and/or recorded in? How does it impact space usage, etc.
> 
> Thanks for educating me


Start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpeg


----------



## SockMonkey

04sxwin said:


> I'm new to this, so please excuse my ignorance and if I there is somewhere else I should post general questions like this, please direct me there. Anyway, would someone please tell me the distinction between MPEG-2 and MPEG-4? Is it just a product of what resolution a broadcast is transmitted and/or recorded in? How does it impact space usage, etc.
> 
> Thanks for educating me


They are different compression methods. MPEG-4 compresses the audio/video more resulting in less bandwith used to deliver the content. Try google and search on "mpeg2 mpeg4 difference" and you'll get tons of articles.

Edit: Or better yet, use btmoore's link. 

Bob


----------



## 04sxwin

btmoore said:


> Start here: QUOTE]
> 
> Thanks for the reference. I took a look and that's helpful, but a little too technical. I'm really just looking to understand how it impacts usage of the HR20. I've seen references to MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 in these forums and I just haven't been able to understand how it factors in to the HR-20.
> 
> I apologize again for my ignorance on this .
> 
> Thanks
> 
> P.S. I had to delete the URL from my reply as I don't have enough posts yet to include URL's.


----------



## deebeeeff

Rugged said:


> Wow, do all you guys on the West Coast have jobs or do you just work from home in front of the TV? I wish I could be playing around with my TV at 10am on a Wed!


:lol: Wed off; Some of us poor devils work on weekends!


----------



## SockMonkey

04sxwin said:


> Thanks for the reference. I took a look and that's helpful, but a little too technical. I'm really just looking to understand how it impacts usage of the HR20. I've seen references to MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 in these forums and I just haven't been able to understand how it factors in to the HR-20.


Basically, the HR-20 is the first *DVR* from D* capable of receiving an MPEG4 signal and processing it. Pretty much all local HD channels from D* are in MPEG4 now so if you had an older HD DVR, you couldn't get HD locals unless you had an off the air antenna.

The D* HD package is all MPEG2 at this time. However, any new HD channels that will be turned on in the future will be MPEG4 (most likely). So as time goes on, it will become more of a necessity to get an MPEG4 capable receiver such as the HR20 or H20 if you want HD.

In short, if you don't have an MPEG4 capable receiver, you can't see the MPEG4 channels.

Bob


----------



## Just J

bch said:


> This has not been my experience. The 30 sec slip has always seemed very accurate. Six clicks usually work perfectly for a 3 minute commercial breaks, and 1 slip works for football 95% of the time.


Same here - been very consistent for me. But suitability for football can depend on the teams and situations. I found that the NY Giants last Sunday were a little quicker to regroup and snap the ball, so I was having more of an issue with 30s Slip when they were on offense.


----------



## npm

I still have the pink icon, also.

I was watching a recorded CBS mpeg4 HD program from two weeks ago.


----------



## Ed Campbell

SockMonkey said:


> I'm glad to have missed 0xEB, but sometimes the waiting for updates to hit the East Coast really sucks.
> 
> Bob


 Think about living in New Mexico -- when _every_ national weather report has the weatherperson standing in front of your state!


----------



## 04sxwin

SockMonkey said:


> Basically, the HR-20 is the first *DVR* from D* capable of receiving an MPEG4 signal and processing it. Pretty much all local HD channels from D* are in MPEG4 now so if you had an older HD DVR, you couldn't get HD locals unless you had an off the air antenna.
> 
> The D* HD package is all MPEG2 at this time. However, any new HD channels that will be turned on in the future will be MPEG4 (most likely). So as time goes on, it will become more of a necessity to get an MPEG4 capable receiver such as the HR20 or H20 if you want HD.
> 
> In short, if you don't have an MPEG4 capable receiver, you can't see the MPEG4 channels.
> 
> Bob


Thanks much for the explanation, that's really helpful. Which one takes up the most hard drive space?


----------



## SockMonkey

04sxwin said:


> Thanks much for the explanation, that's really helpful. Which one takes up the most hard drive space?


MPEG-2. Less compression = More space and more satellite signal bandwidth.

Edit: I'm referring to HD here, not SD.


----------



## LameLefty

04sxwin said:


> Thanks much for the explanation, that's really helpful. Which one takes up the most hard drive space?


MPEG2 HD takes up the most, followed by MPEG4 HD and then MPEG2 SD.


----------



## deebeeeff

Just J said:


> Same here - been very consistent for me. But suitability for football can depend on the teams and situations. I found that the NY Giants last Sunday were a little quicker to regroup and snap the ball, so I was having more of an issue with 30s Slip when they were on offense.


How rude of them not to plan their huddles and snap count so that your slip works perfect every time. :lol:


----------



## deebeeeff

Ed Campbell said:


> Think about living in New Mexico -- when _every_ national weather report has the weatherperson standing in front of your state!


Hahahaha! Does New Mexico even have weather? :lol:


----------



## Mike770

It seems to me that the HDMI issues are gone now with the current updates. 

I have not been able to use the HDMI connection with my LG tv since day one. Can anyone that had HDMI problems with the HR20 chime in. I am just trying to see if they fixed the incompatibilty problems.


----------



## 04sxwin

LameLefty said:


> MPEG2 HD takes up the most, followed by MPEG4 HD and then MPEG2 SD.


Thanks much. Sorry to beat this to death. So if I record Letterman in HD from my local CBS affiliate, it's going to be in MPEG4 and thus use up less hard drive space than an hour long show recorded off HDNET which is broadcast in MPEG2?


----------



## SockMonkey

04sxwin said:


> Thanks much. Sorry to beat this to death. So if I record Letterman in HD from my local CBS affiliate, it's going to be in MPEG4 and thus use up less hard drive space than an hour long show recorded off HDNET which is broadcast in MPEG2?


Correct.


----------



## mcatgt

dervari said:


> Great...no mention of partial/unplayable/BSOD recordings. They need to get this issue resolved and at least get the box RECORDING and PLAYING reliably before addressing 4x FF or faster 30sec slip, IMHO. :nono2:


I agree!! What good is 4xFF and faster 30sec slip if your box freezes on recordings or doesn't play recordings!


----------



## 04sxwin

Received OxEF update during the night. While it was working it seemed a big improvement. However, just as with the OxEB update, the box is freezing up on me. No response to remote or panel front. I'm resetting, but I'm concerned with the continued instability. Anyone else having this issue? Any suggestions.

Thanks


----------



## Doug Brott

mcatgt said:


> I agree!! What good is 4xFF and faster 30sec slip if your box freezes on recordings or doesn't play recordings!


I'll let you know if that happens to me, but so far, so good.


----------



## mvkajsk

04sxwin said:


> Received OxEF update during the night. While it was working it seemed a big improvement. However, just as with the OxEB update, the box is freezing up on me. No response to remote or panel front. I'm resetting, but I'm concerned with the continued instability. Anyone else having this issue? Any suggestions.
> 
> Thanks


I was excited until I got to this post. My main concern is stability. I have 2 boxes which are both unstable (1 more so than the other). Most common: lockup/stuck on 1 channel and system off/unresponsive (needs reset). I was hopeful the new update would address these issues. DirecTV had recommended a complete reset for 1 of the boxes and I'll probably do this for both but it will represent the 3rd time I have to rebuild content (1 dead box, 1 new box, 1 reset box).

Is there any way to get DirecTV to be more direct, explicit, and detailed about the what exact stability fixes have been done in this release? Otherwise, it just looks like pacifier to keep us hopeful that they fixed "my" problem.

-mvkajsk


----------



## 04sxwin

mvkajsk said:


> I was excited until I got to this post. My main concern is stability. I have 2 boxes which are both unstable (1 more so than the other). Most common: lockup/stuck on 1 channel and system off/unresponsive (needs reset). I was hopeful the new update would address these issues. DirecTV had recommended a complete reset for 1 of the boxes and I'll probably do this for both but it will represent the 3rd time I have to rebuild content (1 dead box, 1 new box, 1 reset box).
> 
> Is there any way to get DirecTV to be more direct, explicit, and detailed about the what exact stability fixes have been done in this release? Otherwise, it just looks like pacifier to keep us hopeful that they fixed "my" problem.
> 
> -mvkajsk


I agree it's very frustrating particularly because there doesn't seem to be any discernible pattern to when the box locks up. Repeated resets are not viable in the long term. I'm willing to be patient with this, I just hope to reach the point where I can once again take watching TV for granted. From reading through the posts, it's clear that many folks aren't having these issues, but for those of us who are, it's getting real old.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

04sxwin said:


> Received OxEF update during the night. While it was working it seemed a big improvement. However, just as with the OxEB update, the box is freezing up on me. No response to remote or panel front. I'm resetting, but I'm concerned with the continued instability. Anyone else having this issue? Any suggestions.
> 
> Thanks


Have you ever done a full system format?


----------



## btmoore

Anyone taking odds on if the Unwatchable and Partial bugs are fixed in this release?

On the last release (and the all the past releases) I had the Partial bug in the first few day or so, and the Unwatchable popped up by Sunday night.

The one positive thing I can say about 0xeb is it was the first release that I did not have a lockup, but based on the feedback of others I am chalking that up to luck.

The one thing you can say about the HR20 is, "Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherf#ck!ng snakes in this motherf#ck!ng DVR." 



 Sorry Samuel Jackson, When ever a new release comes out its like a horror thriller, is the bug there is it going to get me and piss off the wife again. Oh the suspense.

So far, all is well, is it the calm before the storm or smooth waters?


----------



## Earl Bonovich

btmoore said:


> Anyone taking odds on if the Unwatchable and Partial bugs are fixed in this release?
> 
> On the last release (and the all the past releases) I had the Partial bug in the first few day or so, and the Unwatchable popped up by Sunday night.
> 
> The one positive thing I can say about 0xeb is it was the first release that I did not have a lockup, but based on the feedback of others I am chalking that up to luck.
> 
> The one thing you can say about the HR20 is, "Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherf#ck!ng snakes in this motherf#ck!ng DVR."
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry Samuel Jackson, When ever a new release comes out its like a horror thriller, is the bug there is it going to get me and piss off the wife again. Oh the suspense.
> 
> So far, all is well, is it the calm before the storm or smooth waters?


I'll take the bet that they are still there....

While they are trying to get them out... as far as I know... they haven't identified a repeatable pattern. So just as they have fixed one of the causes, there are still others.

What I hope, is that some of the reasons are in fact corrected and the frequency decreases.... As for then "why release this", well there are things that have been corrected and improved in this release (and the last).

Should they sit on those for months, while they try to get ever bug fixed?
And I am not belitting the seriousness of the partial and corrupted recordings, not one bit. But every little bit helps. So long as they don't take steps backwards with the release, the end goal gets that much closer.


----------



## DustB

I have always kept the "eye" lights off so that when I see them on, I know there has been a new software update. Are we pretty sure this will always be the case? I assume it worked the same way this time?


----------



## Scrapper

Earl Bonovich said:


> What I hope, is that some of the reasons are in fact corrected and the frequency decreases.... As for then "why release this", well there are things that have been corrected and improved in this release (and the last).
> 
> Should they sit on those for months, while they try to get ever bug fixed?
> And I am not belitting the seriousness of the partial and corrupted recordings, not one bit. But every little bit helps. So long as they don't take steps backwards with the release, the end goal gets that much closer.


I second that one Earl!!!


----------



## ApK

> what is trick play
> ...
> cruise control
> ...
> ff, rew, pause. etc...


In the old tape world, "trick play" was what would have been refered to as "transport controls" but I think "trick play" says it well, and in fewer characters and syllables than "Cruise control" ,"Transport control" or even "FF, rew, etc."

So, somone add "trick play" to the official glossary.
Case closed.
So it is written, so shall it be done.
Man law.

ApK


----------



## timvan

mridan said:


> Thnks Bob ,2 hr20s getting installed next wed


How did you score that? D* said they were out of them when I tried to get one last Friday..and all my local stores are out also.


----------



## rp2955

Can't wait to have the deleted recordings issue fixed with football games...I have never personally had the partial or corrupted issues with the old software (knock on wood).

In meantime...guess I have to rush down to my HR-20 at the end of the ST games I record and "Keep" them 

So can we assume that most of us get the release in the next couple of days?

Is there any discussion (think I know the answer to this) around a true 30 sec skip similar to Tivo? Sounds like the latest software gets us closer?


----------



## spidey

f300v10 said:


> Bob's description is accurate at least on my HR20. The Native mode only cycles through the resolution I defined in the display section. I only have 720P and 1080i allowed, and I never see 480i on the TV, only 720P and 1080i.


I go into setup display and dont see optios to set 720 or 1080 just Native, screen format, bar color, banner time and language. Am I missing something???


----------



## btmoore

Earl Bonovich said:


> I'll take the bet that they are still there....
> 
> While they are trying to get them out... as far as I know... they haven't identified a repeatable pattern. So just as they have fixed one of the causes, there are still others.
> 
> What I hope, is that some of the reasons are in fact corrected and the frequency decreases.... As for then "why release this", well there are things that have been corrected and improved in this release (and the last).
> 
> Should they sit on those for months, while they try to get ever bug fixed?
> And I am not belitting the seriousness of the partial and corrupted recordings, not one bit. But every little bit helps. So long as they don't take steps backwards with the release, the end goal gets that much closer.


Doh! That is too bad, I was hoping that they the diagnostics capabilities to isolate this issue. If they want to tie some kind of diagnostics utility into my box, they are welcome too.

"Should they sit on those for months, while they try to get ever bug fixed?" Well, I have very mixed feelings about this. I would call the unwatchable and partial bugs a high severity problem, it affects the core functionality of what a DVR is and sev 1 problems require dedicated attn from the development team. For example, am I happy that we now have better trick plays, yep that is nice but not at the expense of addressing basic CORE DVR functionality. If it fails to record what I tell it to then all the features have no purpose. IMO CORE DVR reliability is paramount, features can be added later once the product can be trusted to make and play reliable recordings. That being said I will enjoy the new trick play features for the things that do record successfully, and hopefully I will be one of the lucky ones that has a perfect box this time around.


----------



## spidey

how do I force a download of new SW version???


----------



## mjs31

Earl Bonovich said:


> I'll take the bet that they are still there....
> 
> While they are trying to get them out... as far as I know... they haven't identified a repeatable pattern. So just as they have fixed one of the causes, there are still others.
> 
> What I hope, is that some of the reasons are in fact corrected and the frequency decreases.... As for then "why release this", well there are things that have been corrected and improved in this release (and the last).
> 
> Should they sit on those for months, while they try to get ever bug fixed?
> And I am not belitting the seriousness of the partial and corrupted recordings, not one bit. But every little bit helps. So long as they don't take steps backwards with the release, the end goal gets that much closer.


I agree. Continue to work on items you cannot fix immediately, but put out the updates that correct the other issues. Many seem to believe this means that D* is not working on the recording problems, but I definately do not see it that way. I personally have never had any partial recordings so I have lucked out. My main complaint has been the slow 30 second slip and the "searching for sat. signal" during recorded playback. Looks like both may have been fixed so I am very glad they sent this update at this point. will know better when I actually get it though...


----------



## LameLefty

spidey said:


> how do I force a download of new SW version???


You can't. It's a staggered rollout again. You'll get it when D* says you can for your timezone.


----------



## btmoore

rp2955 said:


> Can't wait to have the deleted recordings issue fixed with football games...I have never personally had the partial or corrupted issues with the old software (knock on wood).


You are now doomed as doomed can be.


----------



## SockMonkey

spidey said:


> I go into setup display and dont see optios to set 720 or 1080 just Native, screen format, bar color, banner time and language. Am I missing something???


Sorry, I think it's under TV Type, not display. I was incorrect in my previous post.
Bob


----------



## Jeremy W

spidey said:


> I go into setup display and dont see optios to set 720 or 1080 just Native, screen format, bar color, banner time and language. Am I missing something???


You have to go to TV Type.

Damn, beaten by a SockMonkey!


----------



## Staszek

I am curious will this fix be already included in a brand new unit that I am getting installed on monday? Or will it have to be pushed out?


----------



## spidey

Jeremy W said:


> You have to go to TV Type.
> 
> Damn, beaten by a SockMonkey!


thanx found it


----------



## LameLefty

mjs31 said:


> I agree. Continue to work on items you cannot fix immediately, but put out the updates that correct the other issues. Many seem to believe this means that D* is not working on the recording problems, but I definately do not see it that way. I personally have never had any partial recordings so I have lucked out. My main complaint has been the slow 30 second slip and the "searching for sat. signal" during recorded playback. Looks like both may have been fixed so I am very glad they sent this update at this point. will know better when I actually get it though...


I agree as well.

There's a lesson in engineering of complex systems which can be learned from those who study history. The F-1 rocket engine, used to power the first stage of the Saturn V booster, suffered from a condition known as "combustion instability." In layman's terms, it tended to explode violently, with no repeatable pattern, taking engines, instrumentation and entire rocket test stands with it. NASA and its contractors spent a great deal of time and money trying to determine the root cause of the instability and nip it in the bud as part of the design process. They never succeeded in identifying a single unitary cause but through a process of lots of fairly little fixes, some related to one another and some seemingly not, they managed to somehow eliminate the problem and no F-1 engine ever failed in flight.

If there simply IS no single cause for the "partial" or "unwatchable" bugs, that's going to be the best anyone can hope for: lots of small "cleanup" type fixes to stop the problems.


----------



## SockMonkey

Staszek said:


> I am curious will this fix be already included in a brand new unit that I am getting installed on monday? Or will it have to be pushed out?


No, but after you turn it on and go through the setup, it will automatically download the most recent update your authorized by D* to install.


----------



## 04sxwin

Earl Bonovich said:


> Have you ever done a full system format?


No, I've only done the partial reset which has at least temporarily fixed the lock up problem. I hate to do a full system format unless I really need to. Is there real reason to believe that by doing so I may achieve greater stability?

Thanks


----------



## LameLefty

Staszek said:


> I am curious will this fix be already included in a brand new unit that I am getting installed on monday? Or will it have to be pushed out?


The new software will not be included but will download itself when available in your area.


----------



## mikeharden

One simple request. 
Please turn on OTA


----------



## avatar230

04sxwin said:


> No, I've only done the partial reset which has at least temporarily fixed the lock up problem. I hate to do a full system format unless I really need to. Is there real reason to believe that by doing so I may achieve greater stability?
> 
> Thanks


I had the problem you were experiencing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. Friday night I did a full-format, and was skeptical and not so happy to be doing it. That said, since then my HR20 has been performing reasonably well, still getting partials occassionally, but the lockups have been gone for 4.5 days now.


----------



## 04sxwin

avatar230 said:


> I had the problem you were experiencing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. Friday night I did a full-format, and was skeptical and not so happy to be doing it. That said, since then my HR20 has been performing reasonably well, still getting partials occassionally, but the lockups have been gone for 4.5 days now.


Well, now you've gone and given me a dilemma. I was hoping I'd get the response that it probably wouldn't help. I hate the idea of starting this all over and rescheduling everything. If I have any more freezes in the next day or so, I'll probably bite the bullet and give it a shot.

Thanks for the feedback, misery loves company.....


----------



## kenmoo

I haven't had a missed or partial scheduled recording in at least 2 weeks. Sunday night I didn't check a series link for _Brothers and Sisters_ MPEG4 HD and it did not record. Seemed like the series link for that series had been turned off. All other series links are still there. When I did notice the yellow light not on about 10:30pm I went to the guide and pressed the record button. HR20 did record the last 29 minutes from that point onward and it showed up in My Playlist as 29 minutes. We still haven't watched it and today *after OxEF* it is now listed 3 times in My Playlist? All 3 listings have the same 29 minutes of content?

DD now works for me in the correct mode by just turning in on once and leaving it there. It also seems like the audio starts back up immediately after trick play which it did not before. Closed captioning seems much better. More on that in a few days of usage. Also more later if the pixelation issues have been solved.

I have a less than 30 feet cable run from AT9 to the HR20. I have experienced all of the problems on this forum but not anywhere near the severity as others. I was not able to get DD with HDMI before but it may have been the backwards toggle issue. I switched to optical for audio about 2 weeks ago and DD was available. I'll go back to the total HDMI tomorrow to see if I still have issues with DD using HDMI.

East Coast be glad you got skipped on the last update. It really did seem to de-stabilize the HR20 even more. I think you're all gonna like this update.


----------



## Jeremy W

04sxwin said:


> Well, now you've gone and given me a dilemma. I was hoping I'd get the response that it probably wouldn't help. I hate the idea of starting this all over and rescheduling everything. If I have any more freezes in the next day or so, I'll probably bite the bullet and give it a shot.


If your location is correct, then you should have received the 0xEF update overnight. That may have fixed your stability problem on it's own.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

mikeharden said:


> One simple request.
> Please turn on OTA


Welcome to the forum, and take a look around at some of the other threads.
As you can then see, this is a pretty much standing request.

It will be enabled, when it is ready to be.
It is not like they are sitting there... hmm... do you think they want ATSC..

As for the replies I deleted.... 
Please.... don't reply like that... it doesn't help or improve the discussion.
Because one leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another...


----------



## avatar230

04sxwin said:


> Well, now you've gone and given me a dilemma. I was hoping I'd get the response that it probably wouldn't help. I hate the idea of starting this all over and rescheduling everything. If I have any more freezes in the next day or so, I'll probably bite the bullet and give it a shot.
> 
> Thanks for the feedback, misery loves company.....


Best of luck. One tip for you -- make sure you write down all your Series Links and any custom channel lists you might have programmed. I did, and it saved me a lot of time once my reformat was done. And if it makes you feel any better, much like a trip to the dentist, the reformat ordeal seemed like it was going to be far worse than it turned out to be. It took about an hour of my time, and now I have a DVR that isn't locking up for entire days at a clip.


----------



## Jeremy W

Earl Bonovich said:


> As for the replies I deleted....
> Please.... don't reply like that... it doesn't help or improve the discussion.
> Because one leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another...


Oh Earl, always so level-headed!


----------



## btmoore

LameLefty said:


> I agree as well.
> 
> There's a lesson in engineering of complex systems which can be learned from those who study history. The F-1 rocket engine, used to power the first stage of the Saturn V booster, suffered from a condition known as "combustion instability." In layman's terms, it tended to explode violently, with no repeatable pattern, taking engines, instrumentation and entire rocket test stands with it. NASA and its contractors spent a great deal of time and money trying to determine the root cause of the instability and nip it in the bud as part of the design process. They never succeeded in identifying a single unitary cause but through a process of lots of fairly little fixes, some related to one another and some seemingly not, they managed to somehow eliminate the problem and no F-1 engine ever failed in flight.
> 
> If there simply IS no single cause for the "partial" or "unwatchable" bugs, that's going to be the best anyone can hope for: lots of small "cleanup" type fixes to stop the problems.


The BIG difference is, this is software and not a controlled explosion. Granted these things can be challenging, there is not doubt, but we are in a very advanced age of software development tools. With the proper instrumentation and data samples, when I put my computer scientist hat on, I have difficulty understanding why this problem is such a hard one to resolve. No granted I can only can base my opinion on my background in computer science and the external observations of the side effects of the defects. You would think that if they conducted postmortems on a decent sample of the unwatchable and partial bugs, with their internal knowledge of their software processes, the root cause should be identifiable from the data.

If it were me, I would be sitting down with a debugger and stepping through a few unwatchable recordings to see what causing the hangup. The data is in that recording, there is something in the file header that is causing the hangup, and that data could be used to either fix the playback software to deal with data exception problem and perhaps fix the software that makes the unwatchable or partial recording in the first place. That is just playing back seat programmer, since this is a black box, only they know and have the tools to understand what is going on.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Jeremy W said:


> Oh Earl, always so level-headed!


 Have to be... or I would lose it... and today is even harder... as I had a nice 1.5hr session with my dentist office.... :nono2:


----------



## MasMic

Earl,

Do you know if it's possible the east coast will get the update tonight? I'm busting to see the improved 30 second slip and 4x FF. I always worry when I see a couple people stating problems thinking it may hold up the update.

Regarding those people that continue to have a lot of issues with their HR-700's, wouldn't it be great to take someone's HR20 that works well, yours or mine for instance, and let them have it to see if the problem stems from their feed.



Earl Bonovich said:


> I'll take the bet that they are still there....
> 
> While they are trying to get them out... as far as I know... they haven't identified a repeatable pattern. So just as they have fixed one of the causes, there are still others.
> 
> What I hope, is that some of the reasons are in fact corrected and the frequency decreases.... As for then "why release this", well there are things that have been corrected and improved in this release (and the last).
> 
> Should they sit on those for months, while they try to get ever bug fixed?
> And I am not belitting the seriousness of the partial and corrupted recordings, not one bit. But every little bit helps. So long as they don't take steps backwards with the release, the end goal gets that much closer.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

MasMic said:


> Earl,
> 
> Do you know if it's possible the east coast will get the update tonight? I'm busting to see the improved 30 second slip and 4x FF. I always worry when I see a couple people stating problems thinking it may hold up the update.
> 
> Regarding those people that continue to have a lot of issues with their HR-700's, wouldn't it be great to take someone's HR20 that works well, yours or mine for instance, and let them have it to see if the problem stems from their feed.


Yes, there is a possibility....


----------



## jkc120

avatar230 said:


> Best of luck. One tip for you -- make sure you write down all your Series Links and any custom channel lists you might have programmed. I did, and it saved me a lot of time once my reformat was done. And if it makes you feel any better, much like a trip to the dentist, the reformat ordeal seemed like it was going to be far worse than it turned out to be. It took about an hour of my time, and now I have a DVR that isn't locking up for entire days at a clip.


But since the lockups are seemingly random, I wouldn't assume the reformat has completely eliminated or changed how often it would have locked up had you not formatted it. There is no concrete evidence (that I've seen on here) that a full format completely resolves the lockups or reduces their occurrence significantly. I think they're rather random. Sometimes mine locks up one or two times a day, other times it goes 3-4+ days without a lockup.


----------



## bch

deebeeeff said:


> How rude of them not to plan their huddles and snap count so that your slip works perfect every time. :lol:


I blame D*. They should have the HR20 cull data on each NFL and college team and have an algorithm that calculates in real time each team's average time between plays. Then, you can select your favorite team from a list on the Active channel to be mapped to the 30 sec slip button. Better yet, have it map automatically. It's a damn DVR, after all. It should be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Clearly, this is something D* should have thought about. I guess we'll just have to wait til the next update. As usual.


----------



## SockMonkey

Earl Bonovich said:


> Yes, there is a possibility....


Woo hoo! He didn't say no! :goodjob:


----------



## avatar230

jkc120 said:


> But since the lockups are seemingly random, I wouldn't assume the reformat has completely eliminated or changed how often it would have locked up had you not formatted it. There is no concrete evidence (that I've seen on here) that a full format completely resolves the lockups or reduces their occurrence significantly. I think they're rather random. Sometimes mine locks up one or two times a day, other times it goes 3-4+ days without a lockup.


Mine was reliably locking up 2+ times a day for three days prior to reformat and it's been fine since. I'm hoping this wasn't due to luck or chance.


----------



## 04sxwin

Jeremy W said:


> If your location is correct, then you should have received the 0xEF update overnight. That may have fixed your stability problem on it's own.


Yes, I did receive the update overnight. The most recent freeze occurred after the update. I'll see how it goes over the next couple of days before I get desparate.


----------



## LameLefty

btmoore said:


> The BIG difference is, this is software and not a controlled explosion.


True. But a rocket engine isn't supposed to explode at all, just burn smoothly and evenly. After all, how hard could that be? Rockets have been around for literally centuries. Yet even today some still blow up. Airplanes have been around for almost 103 years and they still crash. Cars for longer than that and engines still fail in amazingly convoluted ways.

I agree with you that having the proper analysis tools makes a tremendous amount of difference in the post-mortem of error analysis. But as Earl pointed out, use of debugging tools sometimes introduced minute timing differences - in a real-time system such as this one those differences may be crucial to understanding the situation. Perhaps the reason why some of these bugs are so hard to stamp out is an over-reliance on non-production hardware and software environments that are not reflected in the boxes being run by the end-user.

To me, the best (and perhaps ONLY) was to analyze these bugs is NOT to do it in real-time. I'd say as soon as a box has a "partial" you pull the plugs to the box, remove the drive and analyze the data bit by bit outside the box, figure out where the errors occurred and what the malformed data consists of, then go from there. What might be interesting, in fact, is to swap drives around in cloned production boxes and see if what is an unwatchable recording in one box is in fact unwatchable in another. That would help eliminate some of the uncertainty about whether or not hardware running "on the edge" of specs has anything to do with these types of errors, at least on playback.

But that's just my off-the-cuff thoughts - I'm fundamentally a nuts and bolts kind of guy and like taking things apart.


----------



## islesfan44

Earl Bonovich said:


> With your history listing them all as canceled... that is normal, for a reboot of the box. When ever the unit reboots, "ALL" entries in the todo list are "Canceled", and are reflected as such in the History.
> 
> Repeating manual records, should populate as the guide data repopulates and the background scheduler runs to re-populate the todo list.


Do you know why this is, and if it might be fixed soon? One of my favorite features of a DVR is to hit record on a future program, then forget about it. This is a particularly annoying bug!


----------



## Earl Bonovich

islesfan44 said:


> Do you know why this is, and if it might be fixed soon? One of my favorite features of a DVR is to hit record on a future program, then forget about it. This is a particularly annoying bug!


"We: have had the debate a few times, and don't want to get into it in this thread...

It is not a bug, it is how they programmed it to be.

Basically, when the system reboots... the system validates all the items that where in to the todo list. In the vast majority of those cases, the guide data for that program hasn't reloaded, so the validator "cancels" the scheduled recording.

The unit then re-adds those programs to the To-Do list, as the guide data loads, and the background scheduler runs.


----------



## avatar230

Earl Bonovich said:


> "We: have had the debate a few times, and don't want to get into it in this thread...
> 
> It is not a bug, it is how they programmed it to be.
> 
> Basically, when the system reboots... the system validates all the items that where in to the todo list. In the vast majority of those cases, the guide data for that program hasn't reloaded, so the validator "cancels" the scheduled recording.
> 
> The unit then re-adds those programs to the To-Do list, as the guide data loads, and the background scheduler runs.


I'm clear that it will re-add Series Links, but will it also re-add any one-time-only recordings that might've been programmed, for instance a movie?


----------



## btmoore

LameLefty said:


> True. But a rocket engine isn't supposed to explode at all, just burn smoothly and evenly. After all, how hard could that be? Rockets have been around for literally centuries. Yet even today some still blow up. Airplanes have been around for almost 103 years and they still crash. Cars for longer than that and engines still fail in amazingly convoluted ways.


Which is why we don't drive rocket cars or have rockets under our HDTVs. 



LameLefty said:


> To me, the best (and perhaps ONLY) was to analyze these bugs is NOT to do it in real-time. I'd say as soon as a box has a "partial" you pull the plugs to the box, remove the drive and analyze the data bit by bit outside the box, figure out where the errors occurred and what the malformed data consists of, then go from there. What might be interesting, in fact, is to swap drives around in cloned production boxes and see if what is an unwatchable recording in one box is in fact unwatchable in another. That would help eliminate some of the uncertainty about whether or not hardware running "on the edge" of specs has anything to do with these types of errors, at least on playback.


That is what I would be doing, I would be wanting to rip through the header data from a few of these unwatchables. Based on my observations of the partial and unwatchable bug, I think they share a root cause. I wonder if you fix the unwatchable bug if it would fix the partial bug.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

avatar230 said:


> I'm clear that it will re-add Series Links, but will it also re-add any one-time-only recordings that might've been programmed, for instance a movie?


It should... and I haven't seen a large amount of posts (especially recently), of people stating the opposite.


----------



## purpledave

mikeharden said:


> One simple request.
> Please turn on OTA


I heartily second that motion !!!

Looking forward to the 0xEF update here in sunny Colorado


----------



## Tyrod

Ed Campbell said:


> Think about living in New Mexico -- when _every_ national weather report has the weatherperson standing in front of your state!


I didn't realize people actually lived in New Mexico, just aliens.


----------



## TonySCV

Earl Bonovich said:


> Have you ever done a full system format?


That's what I would be doing too. In fact, I'd recommend it for most ayone who hasn't done so since the last 3 updates. A full system format has resolved a number of problems for me. Sometimes you just need to start fresh - given that most testing is done with a clean machine - not one loaded up with stuff that was programmed with older software releases.

- T


----------



## islesfan44

Earl Bonovich said:


> It should... and I haven't seen a large amount of posts (especially recently), of people stating the opposite.


I've watched for this, and my one time recordings have never re-populated. Of course, the guide data never really gets all that full, since I have to reset every 2 to 3 days anyway.


----------



## TonySCV

I'll add to comments of others that this release dramatically improves the usability of the system. The 4x FF and 2 second long 30 second skip are most excellent. I haven't had partial recording problems since I did a full system format after the update prior to this release (EB release). I would suggest others do the same. 

I'd like to see discrete remote commands for "skip to tick", "skip to end" and"skip to beginning" so I can set up specific buttons on my Harmony remote to do that. I don't like having to push and hold buttons. Maybe these already exist? 

There is a bug that exists when setting up a keyword series link recording when modifying the start and end times for the recording. They don't seem to "stick". I'll post exact steps later today.


----------



## O2BRich

avatar230 said:


> I had the problem you were experiencing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. Friday night I did a full-format, and was skeptical and not so happy to be doing it. That said, since then my HR20 has been performing reasonably well, still getting partials occassionally, but the lockups have been gone for 4.5 days now.


2nd that. 
Mine got so bad it would only run for 5 to 10 minutes before lock up. I did the complete reset in the menu and had no effect. Did a reformat Monday night and it has been running fine since.


----------



## Peapod

ApK said:


> In the old tape world, "trick play" was what would have been refered to as "transport controls" but I think "trick play" says it well, and in fewer characters and syllables than "Cruise control" ,"Transport control" or even "FF, rew, etc."


Actually TiVo has a Trademark on TrickPlay as a term referring to these features. It's the best way I've found to describe the various time shifting features of a DVR in short, so I use itwith non-TiVos as well.


----------



## kokishin

Earl Bonovich said:


> Have to be... or I would lose it... and today is even harder... as I had a nice 1.5hr session with my dentist office.... :nono2:


Why? Was your dentist complaining about his HR20? !rolling

Just teasing (^_~)


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Peapod said:


> Actually TiVo has a Trademark on TrickPlay as a term referring to these features. It's the best way I've found to describe the various time shifting features of a DVR in short, so I use itwith non-TiVos as well.


Hence why you don't see the term used in Official DirecTV documents.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

kokishin said:


> Why? Was your dentist complaining about his HR20? !rolling
> 
> Just teasing (^_~)


I'll give you some points for that one...


----------



## Dusty

PoitNarf said:


> Just how much faster is 30 sec slip now? Is it a noticeable difference?


I tried to measure it this morning but it's not that easy. A single slip probably is about 1-1.5 sec. If I queue up multiple slips, I believe there is a short pause between every one. In general, I believe it takes about 6-8 seconds to jump 2 minutes. I didn't measure the old ones, but the subjective difference for me is I was impatient with the previous slip, and I am happy with the current speed.


----------



## Freshy

GoLaLakers said:


> Just played around with the FF and Rewind and they are definitely improved. The 4x's FF is great. Once we get OTA I will be a happy camper, and my daily visits to this forum may come to an end. :lol:


Okay... a _really _obvious question here, but I'm a novice so here goes:

I know OTA = over the air, but how will getting this affect me? I have the HR20 connected to my Sony via HDMI. I'm in the LA market and currently get the locals in HD.

Thanks!


----------



## Jeremy W

Freshy said:


> I know OTA = over the air, but how will getting this affect me? I have the HR20 connected to my Sony via HDMI. I'm in the LA market and currently get the locals in HD.


You will be able to receive any digital channels that DirecTV doesn't carry, including subchannels.


----------



## gonzlobo

Ed Campbell said:


> Think about living in New Mexico -- when _every_ national weather report has the weatherperson standing in front of your state!


There's a _New_ Mexico?


----------



## mooniac

I've had VERY few problems with my 2 HR20s but this morning I noticed something odd. After the upgrade I noticed that one of my TVs (Vizio L32HDTV) which is connected to an HR20 via both component and HDMI was now using component rather than HDMI. I had previously been using HDMI without a problem. I tried to switch it back and the TV won't get any picture with HDMI. After several power cycles of turning the TV on first and the the HR20 on first I had no success. I tried both reseating and replacing the cable (with a brand new cable from monoprice) still with no success. Nothing seems to bring the HDMI back  Unfortunately it's a real pain to disassemble my home theater to swap HR20s.

Anybody have any suggestions?


----------



## Ed Campbell

Tyrod said:


> I didn't realize people actually lived in New Mexico, just aliens.


Depends on which kind of alien you're talking about. :lol:

Actually, we do have an official UFO landing pad leased to the county just across the valley from where I live. It's busy most of the time with RC model planes, though.


----------



## Freshy

Jeremy W said:


> You will be able to receive any digital channels that DirecTV doesn't carry, including subchannels.


Will I need to purchase an antenna?


----------



## hasan

Freshy said:


> Okay... a _really _obvious question here, but I'm a novice so here goes:
> 
> I know OTA = over the air, but how will getting this affect me? I have the HR20 connected to my Sony via HDMI. I'm in the LA market and currently get the locals in HD.
> 
> Thanks!


In addition to the sub-channels that D* doesn't carry, I think you will also get PBS in HD, which I don't think D* carries (I might be mistaken...as I don't have HD-Locals yet...I'm going on something pulled out of the back of my....ahhh...addled brain.)

Further OTA-HD is less susceptible to rain/precip fade (in most cases) than the sig from the satellite.

Lastly, the Picture Quality (PQ) is at it's very best OTA-HD. D* does not currently have the bandwidth to produce anything better than HD-Lite (most of the time)....and D* is transcoding local MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 to get the HD-Locals on the satellite, which is another source of loss/distortion.

If you think your LA locals in HD are wonderful and don't have any rain fade issues, then other than sub-channels and possibly PBS, you don't have much use for OTA-HD.


----------



## hasan

Freshy said:


> Will I need to purchase an antenna?


Yes. Google antennaweb.org and put in your zip code. It will tell you what channels you can receive in HD and what kind of antenna you might need.


----------



## Freshy

hasan said:


> Yes. Google antennaweb.org and put in your zip code. It will tell you what channels you can receive in HD and what kind of antenna you might need.


Good tip. I'm going to pass on the OTA. Thanks for clearing this up for me. Now, about those updates...:lol:


----------



## skierbri10

Yea!!!! I can set up series links on my locals now. Now if they could get the trick play to work on the locals all would be good. Oh and if the Office records it will be great.....Here's hoping...


----------



## g4jedi

Yeah... I too am hoping this update FIXES the bugs that the last update GAVE us. I am a bit concerned since the release notes don't mention anything about fixing the unwatchable and partial recording bugs the EB introduced to some customers.


----------



## cuibap

burnside said:


> Love the 30 second slip! Way better. I can live with that now.


Shouldn't be 30 second slip faster with 5x instead of 4x?


----------



## cbearnm

Tyrod said:


> I didn't realize people actually lived in New Mexico, just aliens.


That means there are at least two of us here. (people, not aliens, I mean)
So many people don't realize that this part of the US actually exists between Arizona and Tejas. But we're getting used to it.  
(And you know what, we have mountains too)


----------



## skierbri10

cuibap said:


> Shouldn't be 30 second slip faster with 5x instead of 4x?


It's pretty fast now....


----------



## Rambler

Freshy said:


> I know OTA = over the air, but how will getting this affect me? I have the HR20 connected to my Sony via HDMI. I'm in the LA market and currently get the locals in HD.


Channel 5 (CW), 13 (My 13), and PBS stations 28 & 50 are not on DirecTV's local HD channels for the LA area. Not too much of a loss as ch 13 broadcasts in digital but I've yet to see any actual HD stuff on that channel. But there's a lot of stuff on ch 5 and the PBS stations that I like and now can't get in HD until OTA is activated - I can only afford having (and only want) 1 receiver. 

So basically getting and setting up an OTA antenna will get you more local HD channels, and likely better picture quality if the antenna is pointed correctly. If DirecTV doesn't increase their HD channel lineup when my 4 months of free HD service expires, I'll be cancelling it and will be happy with my locals.


----------



## RunnerFL

04sxwin said:


> No, I've only done the partial reset which has at least temporarily fixed the lock up problem. I hate to do a full system format unless I really need to. Is there real reason to believe that by doing so I may achieve greater stability?
> 
> Thanks


A few updates ago I did a full format after having issues with recordings, trick play, etc. I haven't had a problem since so there may be something to a full system format and those who can should give it a shot.


----------



## RunnerFL

One thing, IMO, that would make 30 sec slip seem even faster is if the counter showing you how many times you hit 30 sec slip would count down instead of just remain the same number until it was done.


----------



## Dusty

Capmeister said:


> Can someone PLEASE test closed captioning? Are words/letters cut off? Garbled? Is live CC scrolling too quickly? Does one line, then another, appear (staggering lines) when someone is talking?


I did test CC. It seems fine with MPEG2 SD and HD. Occasionally, some lines went by fast, but it's not so frequent or so bad that I'd label it as a problem. I went through about 8 recordings MPEG2 recordings. I watched MPEG4 local station for morning news before I came into work. It also seems fine. However, the news are not a real test. I need to wait until tonight when the prime time programs are on in HD. I will report back.


----------



## Doug Brott

RunnerFL said:


> One thing, IMO, that would make 30 sec slip seem even faster is if the counter showing you how many times you hit 30 sec slip would count down instead of just remain the same number until it was done.


This is on the HR20 Wish List. It is currently #19 out of 47.


----------



## RunnerFL

brott said:


> This is on the HR20 Wish List. It is currently #19 out of 47.


Yeah, I see that now. Hadn't checked the wish list in a while.

Good to see that it's there, just wish it was higher.


----------



## davidord

The 30 slip feature and 6 second back feature work much better with the 0xef. Also, FF is much closer to the look of Tivo, less choppy than before. As always, time will tell with this release.


----------



## btmoore

*Edited: Turns out my remote was being over sensitive and issuing 2 command for a single button push which gave the appearance of inconsistent behavior. This is not a 0xEF bug.*

This is a weird one. I wanted to change some of my Series Link info to do first run only, so I went into the prioritizer and selected the program I wanted to change and it was missing any of the controls to change the Series Link data. I started running through all the series in my prioritizer and the all seemed to be acting like they were one off recordings.

I finally found one series that was looked correct and I took a picture of it:










I changed nothing, selected done went back to the Prioritizer menu and took this picture:










I then reselected the same show and I found that the Series Link menus are gone so I took this picture, like this is a one off recording.










All of my series look now to be missing any options to change how the Series is being recorded and as you can see this is a series link and there are lots of episodes.

As I understand it, when I open a series in the prioritizer it is suppose to give me options for that series not just one show in that series and it should act the same way every time.

Check your prioritizer and check to see if you can change the options on the series you have scheduled.

I am thinking this is a bug, because I can find no way now to change things like record first run or both on series and the behavior is non consistent.


----------



## Doug Brott

btmoore said:


> I then reselected the same show and I found that the Series Link menus are gone so I took this picture, like this is a one off recording.


You have to choose "Record" to get the Series Link Tab to show. This has always confused me, too. However, I know when I get to this screen now, I'm confused so that's how I remember.


----------



## Malibu13

stupid question i know but in the last screen, did you select "record" again, to see if the menus came up?


----------



## Herdfan

Getting EF here in WV following a forced download. So it is out there.


----------



## btmoore

Donnie Byrd said:


> stupid question i know but in the last screen, did you select "record" again, to see if the menus came up?


Nope, I didn't but I think my remote did. I have noticed that some times it is over sensitive, executing 2 commands for one press. I just figured out that is what is going on here.

This is not a 0xef bug, rather a over sensitive remote that made it look like the behavior was inconsistent.

Thanks.


----------



## rsblaski

gonzlobo said:


> There's a _New_ Mexico?


It's in the USA--it says so on their license plates...
Amazing how the state has to cater to ignorami.


----------



## Malibu13

btmoore said:


> Nope, I didn't but I think my remote did. I have noticed that some times it is over sensitive, executing 2 commands for one press. I just figured out that is what is going on here.
> 
> This is not a 0xef bug, rather a over sensitive remote that made it look like the behavior was inconsistent.
> 
> Thanks.


Glad you got it cleared up.


----------



## Malibu13

rsblaski said:


> It's in the USA--it says so on their license plates...
> Amazing how the state has to cater to ignorami.


Let's get back to the topic of the thread, which is 0xEF release and not "States"


----------



## Jeremy W

Herdfan said:


> Getting EF here in WV following a forced download. So it is out there.


Well, that was fast. Unfortunately, there is no way in hell I will be allowed to reboot the HR20 right now! :lol:


----------



## btmoore

Donnie Byrd said:


> Let's get back to the topic of the thread, which is 0xEF release and not "States"


Thanks to you guys, I was bumming that I thought I could not get to my series link data, and all this time it was just my remote being hyperactive.


----------



## Rugged

Jeremy W said:


> Well, that was fast. Unfortunately, there is no way in hell I will be allowed to reboot the HR20 right now! :lol:


yeah talk about a tough decision....I'm so excited I can hardly wait


----------



## Doug Brott

Came home this evening and walked in the door and the first thing I see on the screen "Searching for Satellite." The infamous 771 error. I've seen this a couple of times before, so it's not new. However, it is rare for me to see it. I've probably seen it 4 times in the last 6 weeks.

A quick channel change and the problem went away.


----------



## Herdfan

OK, its installed and running. WOW! 4x FF is fast. A huge improvement. Also, the "jump back" is a consistent 6 seconds or so. I checked it using the game clock of the football game.


----------



## btmoore

brott said:


> Came home this evening and walked in the door and the first thing I see on the screen "Searching for Satellite." The infamous 771 error. I've seen this a couple of times before, so it's not new. However, it is rare for me to see it. I've probably seen it 4 times in the last 6 weeks.
> 
> A quick channel change and the problem went away.


try this script to see if you have the same issue:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=719206&postcount=406

I tested it again under 0xef and it still happens. With this script I can consistently cause a 771 error.


----------



## sjniedz

SockMonkey said:


> Alright, I am very excited to get this update. I am one of those people who doesn't take my thumb off the 30-slip button when viewing recorded shows. I use it for every commerical break. I was addicted to the 30-skip button with my HR10-250 and I've been really hoping the slip got better. I'm glad to have missed 0xEB, but sometimes the waiting for updates to hit the East Coast really sucks.
> 
> Bob


Just wondering, are the improvements to the 30 second slip being compared to the old software version for the HR-20 or the R-15? It sounds like it is better now with the HR20 than it is currently for the R-15. Is this accurate?


----------



## Smthkd

Okay East Coast, 0xEF is now available! I just got through a force download in Atlanta!


----------



## Earl Bonovich

mooniac said:


> I've had VERY few problems with my 2 HR20s but this morning I noticed something odd. After the upgrade I noticed that one of my TVs (Vizio L32HDTV) which is connected to an HR20 via both component and HDMI was now using component rather than HDMI. I had previously been using HDMI without a problem. I tried to switch it back and the TV won't get any picture with HDMI. After several power cycles of turning the TV on first and the the HR20 on first I had no success. I tried both reseating and replacing the cable (with a brand new cable from monoprice) still with no success. Nothing seems to bring the HDMI back  Unfortunately it's a real pain to disassemble my home theater to swap HR20s.
> 
> Anybody have any suggestions?


I dont' know if you have tried it....
But unplug your TV... let your TV sit for about 5 minutes so it fully resets.
Then pull both the component and the HDMI...

And then hook up just the HDMI, and try to power everything back up


----------



## mooniac

Earl Bonovich said:


> I dont' know if you have tried it....
> But unplug your TV... let your TV sit for about 5 minutes so it fully resets.
> Then pull both the component and the HDMI...
> 
> And then hook up just the HDMI, and try to power everything back up


Haven't tried that. I will tomorrow morning when my wife isn't around.

Thanks!


----------



## Gbsnplr

After this update I now have a BSOD. Once I reboot the system starts but then shuts itself off. What can I do to fix the issue?


----------



## FilmMixer

Is it just me, or didn't the guide "slide" over to the left after you went to the right.. it jumps now, and is much faster..

The unit as a whole seems a tiny bit sluggish compared to the last relaese, but the new trick play enhancements are cool...

Also, don't know if this is a bug, but the timeline disappears after a bunch of skip back presses.. don't know if it used to do this, as I always used to use rewind instead of skip back..


----------



## jschuman

How long does the download take? I've never done this before but I *think* I initiated a forced download and now it has been at the 'Startup Complete! Preparing to acquire satellite info...' screen for around 10 minutes.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Gbsnplr said:


> After this update I now have a BSOD. Once I reboot the system starts but then shuts itself off. What can I do to fix the issue?


How far does it get into the startup process, before it restarts.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

jschuman said:


> How long does the download take? I've never done this before but I *think* I initiated a forced download and now it has been at the 'Startup Complete! Preparing to acquire satellite info...' screen for around 10 minutes.


From start to finish... ~10 - ~15 minutes


----------



## jschuman

Earl Bonovich said:


> From start to finish... ~10 - ~15 minutes


Thank you. Should I be seeing anything other than this same screen the whole time? It doesn't look like there is any progress meter or anything, just the same 'This will take a few minutes....' screen.


----------



## firehire

Has anyone else gotten a purple hue on their display from the HR20 via HDMI? I have a purple hue that comes up after the initial set-up screen. When the HR20 boots up after a restart (which obviously is pretty common), the first screen comes up in blue (which is good), but as soon as it switches to the next set-up screen, it changes to purple and the display looks crappy. I am newb, but I did try a search before posting with no luck.


----------



## Zamps

I just did a restart through the menu and it took about 10 minutes. But I'm still at the e3 update. Is there a difference between restarting and hitting the reset button? What do you have to do to force the download?


----------



## gcisko

Herdfan said:


> OK, its installed and running. WOW! 4x FF is fast. A huge improvement. Also, the "jump back" is a consistent 6 seconds or so. I checked it using the game clock of the football game.


What about 30 second forward slip?


----------



## gcisko

Zamps said:


> I just did a restart through the menu and it took about 10 minutes. But I'm still at the e3 update. Is there a difference between restarting and hit the reset button? What do you have to do to force the download?


As it is rebooting, hit 02468 on your remote. It will look for a new version of the software.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

jschuman said:


> Thank you. Should I be seeing anything other than this same screen the whole time? It doesn't look like there is any progress meter or anything, just the same 'This will take a few minutes....' screen.


It shouldn't take that long.... you should have gone to an aquiring data progress bar.

I would try resetting... if that doesn't change it... try to swap your SAT signal lines around (SAT2 -> SAT1 and SAT1->SAT2 or even try with out SAT2 connected)


----------



## jkc120

So the new and improved 30 second slip (which is great, by the way!) has me wondering something.

If it's taking 2-3 seconds to skip 30 seconds, that 10-15x right? Why is it with 30 second slip I can hit it 7 times and hit the skip back button when I see the first frame of the show I am watching after a commercial, and it only takes me 3-4 (tops) skip backs to go back to the end of the commercial. But with 4x FFWD, it takes me WAY into the program.

I'm guessing "4x" isn't actually 4x real time. If it is, why can't it land closer to where I land when I use 30 second slip?


----------



## Earl Bonovich

gcisko said:


> What about 30 second forward slip?





firehire said:


> Has anyone else gotten a purple hue on their display from the HR20 via HDMI? I have a purple hue that comes up after the initial set-up screen. When the HR20 boots up after a restart (which obviously is pretty common), the first screen comes up in blue (which is good), but as soon as it switches to the next set-up screen, it changes to purple and the display looks crappy. I am newb, but I did try a search before posting with no luck.


Sounds like some negotiation between the HR20 and the TV didn't go well.

I would disconnect the HDMI connections, and then reconnect them.
Or cycle the power on your TV


----------



## Zamps

gcisko said:


> As it is rebooting, hit 02468 on your remote. It will look for a new version of the software.


Thanks I'll give that a try later tonight.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

jkc120 said:


> So the new and improved 30 second slip (which is great, by the way!) has me wondering something.
> 
> If it's taking 2-3 seconds to skip 30 seconds, that 10-15x right? Why is it with 30 second slip I can hit it 7 times and hit the skip back button when I see the first frame of the show I am watching after a commercial, and it only takes me 3-4 (tops) skip backs to go back to the end of the commercial. But with 4x FFWD, it takes me WAY into the program.
> 
> I'm guessing "4x" isn't actually 4x real time. If it is, why can't it land closer to where I land when I use 30 second slip?


1x, 2x, 3x, 4x are just "icons" to display which of the 4 levels of FF you are in. They are not a multiple of standard playback time (as 1x would be the same as standard playback)


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Zamps said:


> Thanks I'll give that a try later tonight.


Or just let the unit sit over night, and allow it to download on it's own during the night.


----------



## jkc120

Earl Bonovich said:


> 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x are just "icons" to display which of the 4 levels of FF you are in. They are not a multiple of standard playback time (as 1x would be the same as standard playback)


True. So where do you think the 30 second slip fits in?

What would be a nice trick is to use 4x FFD, then hit 30s slip after a few seconds so that when you get skip back you don't have to hit it as many times, I'll have to try that.


----------



## Zamps

Earl Bonovich said:


> Or just let the unit sit over night, and allow it to download on it's own during the night.


Too late!


----------



## Earl Bonovich

jkc120 said:


> True. So where do you think the 30 second slip fits in?
> 
> What would be a nice trick is to use 4x FFD, then hit 30s slip after a few seconds so that when you get skip back you don't have to hit it as many times, I'll have to try that.


My guess is that 30s is running the 4x FF procedure, for a set 30s of content.


----------



## Zamps

I'm hoping it fixes the FFD, skip, etc to my wife's satisfaction. That is the one thing that drives her crazy with the HR20 and I have to hear about it.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Zamps said:


> I'm hoping it fixes the FFD, skip, etc to my wife's satisfaction. That is the one thing that drives her crazy with the HR20 and I have to hear about it.


I now think the TrickPlay motions are just as good, if not better then the HR10's minus the auto-correction feature of the DTivos


----------



## Rugged

it took 13 mins to download and as soon as it finished it started recording Criminal Minds and Daybreak so obviously the guide populates pretty quick.

all I can say is WOW!!!!

I love the improved trick play.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Rugged said:


> it took 13 mins to download and as soon as it finished it started recording Criminal Minds and Daybreak so obviously the guide populates pretty quick.
> 
> all I can say is WOW!!!!
> 
> I love the improved trick play.


The next 6ish hours of guide data load as part of the startup process.


----------



## cybrsurfer

1.My HR20 is running 6 degrees cooler after update. Was 122 now 116.
2.Picture quality seems better on MPEG4 and MPEG2 entire image is better.


----------



## jkc120

Earl Bonovich said:


> My guess is that 30s is running the 4x FF procedure, for a set 30s of content.


Well my trick worked, maybe I'll post it to the Tips and Tricks thread:

1. hit FFWD (to get to 4x)
2. after a second or two, hit 30s slip
3. hit skip back

I think, though, since 30s slip is so fast now, and seems to land more accurately when you hit skip back, that I'll use that from now on.


----------



## jkc120

With 4x FFWD I can get through a commercial in 4-5 seconds but then it takes me like 20 skip backs to get back to the end of the commerical! :lol:

With 30s slip (8 pushes, wait for show and hit skip back), it takes me about 12 seconds to get through the commercial and 4-5 skip backs. Which is about as long as it took before doing the 3x FFWD, then 2xFFWD, then 3-4 skip backs.

So yeah, great improvement on the trick play stuff.

I'm going to test how smooth the FFWD and skip back is now on an mpeg4 feed. In previous releases, the skip back didn't work well queued up (e.g. I had to hit skip back, wait a second, then hit skip back again). This may be a function of my Harmony remote, though.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Depending on the show... I usually get the feel on the first commercial break... I go 5-7 30s slips... and let it go from there.


----------



## ram4784

Just did a forced update.
Couple of things I noticed. 
1. When I tune to mpeg 4 local hd I get the searching for satellite. Change channel up/down it goes away.
2. Playing back an mpeg 4 local recorded under oxe3 the times 4 skips about 20 minutes every second???? Wow, that is a little too fast.
3. CC on mpeg 4 local hd's is still garbled, but better on mpeg 2's.
4. pix's do look better though.


----------



## Peapod

Earl Bonovich said:


> I now think the TrickPlay motions are just as good, if not better then the HR10's minus the auto-correction feature of the DTivos


I'm sure the people monitoring the forums at D* would like to hear some positive feedback, so I will say that the improvements to MPEG4 ff/rew smoothness, speed (4x), and 30 second slip are significant enough that, although somewhat different, they now compare favorably with my TiVos in terms of my personal satisfaction. This is a big positive step for me, and makes me somewhat more inclined to believe there is light at the end of the partial recording tunnel.

Thanks much for these improvements, and hopefully we can knock out these bugs which keep killing my shows!


----------



## FilmMixer

Also noticed something I didn't see here... if you hold down FF or REW (any speed), it jumps minutes at a time.. didn't that that used to skip to tick?


----------



## vsmith30

I have been trying to force the software download - i.e. press the red reset button and then enter 02468 on the remote..... nothing except that the HR20 continues to boot normally. I have tried this 3-4 times and nothing. What am I doing wrong?


----------



## Jeremy W

Have you ever forced a software download before?


----------



## vsmith30

Jeremy W said:


> Have you ever forced a software download before?


several weeks ago... Sucessfully.


----------



## ram4784

vsmith30 said:


> I have been trying to force the software download - i.e. press the red reset button and then enter 02468 on the remote..... nothing except that the HR20 continues to boot normally. I have tried this 3-4 times and nothing. What am I doing wrong?


Enter the 02468 when you see the first message come on your screen.


----------



## jschuman

I've tried (unsuccessfully) here in Northern Virginia several times to force a download of 0xef - to no avail. So either:
A) I'm completely incapable of pressing 02468 at the "right time" (though I've tried pressing that key combination from the moment I see anything pop up after a reboot )
B) It hasn't been 'released' here yet.

Since so many people on the east coast are getting it, it must be (A). What the heck am I doing wrong? I feel like a moron.


----------



## farmermike

I just checked my box and my last update was on 10/21 to v. 0xE3. Seems like I've missed all these updates y'all are talking about. Do I need to do something to get caught up?


----------



## LameLefty

farmermike said:


> I just checked my box and my last update was on 10/21 to v. 0xE3. Seems like I've missed all these updates y'all are talking about. Do I need to do something to get caught up?


The only one you missed was 0xEB last week and that never rolled out past the West Coast. You haven't missed a thing.


----------



## rp2955

forced download didn't work for me either....although not sure if I am doing this right...when I do a red button reset...it takes a good 60 seconds before I see a "blue screen". The first blue screen I see has the DTV HD logo and "startup complete". Then it goes on to "little longer" message and ultimately "acquiring signal". 

I am doing the 02468 as soon as I see blue...so it isn't an issue of not doing it at the right time. Must not be on the "list" yet???

Any word on if this is going out to everyone tonight?


----------



## greenie95125

Earl Bonovich said:


> Nearly day and night, IMHO
> 
> With 6-8 30s "qued", slips the average commercial break in about 10-12s...


I'll give the slip a test tonight. The FF thing was killing me, always over or under-shooting. My wife was very spoiled with skip. We want skip, we want skip... but a lightning fast slip will work in a pinch. 

On a side-note, personally, the commercial skipping has been a step back with each unit. I started with ReplayTV as my first DVR, and the "commercial skip" was awesome! It worked most of the time (~80%), and when it didn't, no big deal to get to the right spot. Then I went with D* and got an HD set-up with the HR10-250... with only 30 sec skip. We got used to it, and it worked just fine. Plus we just love D* over comcast! Now, we're SLIPping (pardon the pun), and it sux. So bad in fact that FF was a better alternative (as most know). Faster slip is a step in the right direction, and I'm glad D* is listening to us 

--Mike


----------



## Jeremy W

rp2955 said:


> it takes a good 60 seconds before I see a "blue screen". The first blue screen I see has the DTV HD logo and "startup complete".


You're just not seeing the first screens. Sounds like you've got the HR20 connected via HDMI, and your TV can't handle 480i over HDMI.


----------



## jamieh1

All of those that are not West coasters check for your update.


Just tried to force the new download here in Eastern NC, its now downloading.
10p must be the time they add the updates to the stream.

Once it loads up Ill check it out.


----------



## cabinfever

I was able to download 0xEF in Minnesota, central TZ.


----------



## Jeremy W

jamielee said:


> Just tried to force the new download here in Eastern NC, its now downloading.
> 10p must be the time they add the updates to the stream.


You're about two hours late.


----------



## Vinny

Before I try to force a d/l; is there anyone in NY that already forced it successfully?


----------



## Jeremy W

It's been released to the entire country, it doesn't matter where you are.


----------



## Vinny

Jeremy W said:


> It's been released to the entire country, it doesn't matter where you are.


Thanks!


----------



## ram4784

greenie95125 said:


> I'll give the slip a test tonight. The FF thing was killing me, always over or under-shooting. My wife was very spoiled with skip. We want skip, we want skip... but a lightning fast slip will work in a pinch.
> 
> On a side-note, personally, the commercial skipping has been a step back with each unit. I started with ReplayTV as my first DVR, and the "commercial skip" was awesome! It worked most of the time (~80%), and when it didn't, no big deal to get to the right spot. Then I went with D* and got an HD set-up with the HR10-250... with only 30 sec skip. We got used to it, and it worked just fine. Plus we just love D* over comcast! Now, we're SLIPping (pardon the pun), and it sux. So bad in fact that FF was a better alternative (as most know). Faster slip is a step in the right direction, and I'm glad D* is listening to us
> 
> --Mike


The new "slip" is amazingly fast and accurate. It's the next best thing to a "skip". 6 second replay is also great. Congrats D* team. Still needs work on Mpeg-4.


----------



## jbstix

Overall cautiously pleased with the steps forward in EF, I still haven't done any testing with the Partial/Failed Recording Bug. (sounds like it's still around)
I have 2 bugs to report.
Not major, and I think I described them somewhere in the E3 discussion.
Here's the descriptions:
1) FF too far past something >press Play> press Replay multiple times - still not far enough - then > press RW to go back more, but RW reacts just like pressing Replay. Make sense? You have to wait a few seconds then hit RW for it to react correctly.
2) Skip to Tick is still not accurate - does not stop exactly on the Tick mark. (stops 30 or so secs. too soon)

Nice progress overall - make it an unquestionable reliable DVR, and we'll be in good shape


----------



## Coffey77

Just tried it here in Chicago and it's going 00EF. Keep your fingers crossed. I seem to have trouble with mine after a download, I have to reset it again to make it "unfreeze". Oh well, keep rolling out the updates!


----------



## hobbes

A cautious :goodjob: to D*

Definitely like what I've seen with 0xef so far.


----------



## ShapeGSX

I just had the 4x FFWD do something odd. It is completely repeatable on this MPEG4 HD recording of letterman from a couple days ago.

If I let the 4x FFWD or RWD go for a couple seconds, the key frames stop displaying on the TV (one frame is frozen on screen) and all of a sudden, the mark will jump forward by ~25minutes then start displaying frames again. The DVR is still responsive when the frame is frozen. I can hit play and it plays.

Edit: Oddly enough, this doesn't appear to be happening with my recording of Day Break MPEG4 in 720p. I wonder if it is a 720p/1080i decoding thing. Like the DVR gets overwhelmed with decoding 1080i at 4x. Doesn't happen with 480i MPEG2, either. It doesn't appear to happen with 1080i MPEG2, either.

So, as far as I can tell, it only happens with 1080i MPEG4 for me.

Actually, now I cant get it to happen on my Heroes MPEG4 recording. Maybe it is just that Letterman recording (just checked, still happens with Letterman)?

I am not currently recording anything.

Also, I notice that when fast forwarding, a grey bar appears at the top of some of the frames. But that is a really minor nit. This happened with 0xEB, too.


----------



## PoitNarf

First bug encountered after just 5 minutes of use. Daily Show was recording, and I was channel surfing just to check stuff out. All of the sudden the conflict menu comes up about canceling a recording (only 1 show was currently recording). I think the other channel it was complaining about was the channel I had tuned to (was one of the ESPNa channels with nothing currently on it, channel 205 I think). I exited out of the menu and changed channels again and everything was fine. Of interest was the Time Remaining listed on the conflict screen; something like 1195643 hours and 4 minutes remaining or something like that. I really should have taken a pic with my camera, but it's late and I'm lazy.


----------



## markf

markf said:


> Since the manual recording is for 8pm M-F, I'll keep an eye on it today and see if it actually works. It didn't with 0xEB. I'd say the Canceled screen is definitely still a bug.


fyi, the manual recording did not happen this evening. I'm going to delete the manual recording set up and redo and see if that fixes it for tomorrow night.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Please... no more posts about forcing the download, or I got it, or didn't get it...


If you are having any issues "forcing" it... just let it go... It should automatically update over night.


----------



## mplumpe

gcisko said:


> As for the 30 second slip... Does anyone really think it is 30 seconds? With my ultimate TV I would hit the 30 sec skip after a football play and they were lining up for the next play. It was timed perfectly. You can get through a game watching only the action in probably 50 minutes. With the HR20 the 30 sec slip is *WAY* off. The play has already happened and they are starting the next huddle. So either the ultimate TV was a 20 sec skip or the HR20 is not really doing 30 seconds. Maybe this update fixes that, but 30 seconds is 30 seconds skip or slip, it should not matter. Has anyone else wondered about this?


Sorry if someone already gave the real answer to this. I didn't see it but I also didn't read through the whole thread. The 30 second skip on the UltimateTV is actually something like 27 seconds, and was timed that long exactly for football.

Personally, I don't watch football, and I hate this. The 30 second skip feature on the UltimateTV hardly ever works right for commercials, and invariably we end up having to hit the back button a few times.

Mike


----------



## 911medic

Another software release, another repeat post regarding my continuing HDMI issue.
I have a Sony KV-32HS420 32" CRT (unknown firmware).
The problem (as previously posted):


> HDMI output causes my TV to recognize ALL programming as 16:9, even if it is SD 4:3. When this happens, my TV's "16:9 Enhanced Mode" kicks in, compressing the output (even if 4:3 content) to widescreen format. You can read about this feature my TV (and I'm sure many other Sony's) has at the bottom of page 7 and on page 59 of the manual, which you can download here, if you like. Using component cables resolves the issue, and 16:9 Enhanced mode only kicks in for widescreen content, as it's supposed to. The HR10-250's HDMI output works just fine with this feature, using the same cable with the same TV.


This has occurred in ALL HR20 software releases thus far.

You can see pics of what I'm talking about in this post.


----------



## Rambler

I really like the new update - great work DirecTV!

I did notice some audio studdering on D*'s ABC HD episode of "Dancing with the Stars" though. This could be a MPEG4 encoding/decoding problem or possibly a local feed problem not related to the update.


----------



## Twosted

Rambler said:


> I really like the new update - great work DirecTV!
> 
> I did notice some audio studdering on D*'s ABC HD episode of "Dancing with the Stars" though. This could be a MPEG4 encoding/decoding problem or possibly a local feed problem not related to the update.


I have had this before too. An easy workaround is to back up the buffer a couple of seconds. Then just watch it a few seconds delayed. There is no stuttering with the buffered or recorded a/v. It seems to be a problem with the live feed.


----------



## laxcoach

btmoore said:


> The BIG difference is, this is software and not a controlled explosion..... You would think that if they conducted postmortems on a decent sample of the unwatchable and partial bugs, with their internal knowledge of their software processes, the root cause should be identifiable from the data.
> 
> If it were me, I would be sitting down with a debugger and stepping through a few unwatchable recordings to see what causing the hangup. The data is in that recording, ....


Complex, multithreaded software is very much like complex engineering systems. Independent subsystems rely on feedback systems to operate properly. The software system in question is more like an OS than some GUI or webservice (not to imply that is what you do).

Also, as to the debugging, I think you understate the problem. In a traditional debugging scenario, you usually have the preconditions and data required to recreate an event. But, all they've got is the results. That huge data pipe that was coming into your receiver cannot be recreated. They can't even recreate a single channel of data. What if some non-content data stream is corrupting a control system? You could never recreate it without capturing a rolling data stream until a controlled unit saw the same scenario.


----------



## Jeremy W

While watching live TV, I got a "Searching for signal on tuner 2" message. The channel I was watching was working just fine, but the screensaver ended up kicking in after a couple minutes. So the screensaver problems are definitely *not* resolved.


----------



## ram4784

ShapeGSX said:


> I just had the 4x FFWD do something odd. It is completely repeatable on this MPEG4 HD recording of letterman from a couple days ago.
> 
> If I let the 4x FFWD or RWD go for a couple seconds, the key frames stop displaying on the TV (one frame is frozen on screen) and all of a sudden, the mark will jump forward by ~25minutes then start displaying frames again. The DVR is still responsive when the frame is frozen. I can hit play and it plays.
> 
> Edit: Oddly enough, this doesn't appear to be happening with my recording of Day Break MPEG4 in 720p. I wonder if it is a 720p/1080i decoding thing. Like the DVR gets overwhelmed with decoding 1080i at 4x. Doesn't happen with 480i MPEG2, either. It doesn't appear to happen with 1080i MPEG2, either.
> 
> So, as far as I can tell, it only happens with 1080i MPEG4 for me.
> 
> Actually, now I cant get it to happen on my Heroes MPEG4 recording. Maybe it is just that Letterman recording (just checked, still happens with Letterman)?
> 
> I am not currently recording anything.
> 
> Also, I notice that when fast forwarding, a grey bar appears at the top of some of the frames. But that is a really minor nit. This happened with 0xEB, too.


I concur with this. Repeatable on my machine.


----------



## tejohnson

So far, so good here based on my watching habits.

To show my appreciatiation to the developers, I dedicate a song:

http://www.jonathancoulton.com/lyrics/code-monkey

May they have a good laugh.


----------



## ram4784

Jeremy W said:


> While watching live TV, I got a "Searching for signal on tuner 2" message. The channel I was watching was working just fine, but the screensaver ended up kicking in after a couple minutes. So the screensaver problems are definitely *not* resolved.


I got the "searching" message also, but only when I tune an mpeg-4 from an mpeg-2. Channel up/down clears the message.


----------



## Jeremy W

ram4784 said:


> I got the "searching" message also, but only when I tune an mpeg-4 from an mpeg-2. Channel up/down clears the message.


It was strange, I was only getting the message on a specific MPEG4 channel. None of the other MPEG4 channels, and none of the MPEG2 channels showed the message. But either way, the screensaver still shouldn't have come up.


----------



## laxcoach

The slip is great.

Here is a bug: I am set to 1080i crop, component inputs. When I slip the aspect ratio changes in a flicker as the slip starts, then when it ends.


----------



## mvkajsk

Well, I came home today and both updated boxes were locked up (stuck on 1 channel). Decided to bite the bullet and did a "reset everything" - we'll see how it does over the next few days. Just don't miss "The Office"...



mvkajsk said:


> I was excited until I got to this post. My main concern is stability. I have 2 boxes which are both unstable (1 more so than the other). Most common: lockup/stuck on 1 channel and system off/unresponsive (needs reset). I was hopeful the new update would address these issues. DirecTV had recommended a complete reset for 1 of the boxes and I'll probably do this for both but it will represent the 3rd time I have to rebuild content (1 dead box, 1 new box, 1 reset box).
> 
> Is there any way to get DirecTV to be more direct, explicit, and detailed about the what exact stability fixes have been done in this release? Otherwise, it just looks like pacifier to keep us hopeful that they fixed "my" problem.
> 
> -mvkajsk


----------



## Intex

New Problems:
With the new update, I again have new problems tHAT i NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.
1. Receiver gets stuck (freezes) and will not respond to remote control, except to change channels. You have to switch back and forth on channels to get it to unfreeze.
2. Puase, play FF and Rewind do not respond from time to time.
3. Recordeded "Dawn" show tonite, but when I went back to play it, it wouldn't play. You could not FF or get it to move, using the "play" button either.

Does anyone get the feeling that we are becoming "Unpaid Beta Testers", Why is each update causing more problems, I liked this unit better right out of the box!!!!


----------



## Intex

PS- This is happening on HD locals, I did not record any other non-HD local show yet.


----------



## Doug Brott

Jeremy W said:


> It was strange, I was only getting the message on a specific MPEG4 channel. None of the other MPEG4 channels, and none of the MPEG2 channels showed the message. But either way, the screensaver still shouldn't have come up.


This was my situation as well. It ONLY showed up on an MPEG4 channel and went away with a channel change. I received it a second time after a few minutes, then with another channel change it went away for the evening. I could not reproduce it with the script from btmoore.

The Screen saver kicked in for me as well. I'm not quite sure why the Screen Saver would start up when something was playing. Even IF the "other" tuner was not working (message on screen), the visible tuner was streaming as expected.


----------



## Gbsnplr

I now no longer have a playlist and the color is off on my system. Way too much hue.


----------



## g4jedi

Latest software hosed our HR20... at least at the moment... it's unresponsive... see my post here:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70224


----------



## Dusty

Earl Bonovich said:


> My guess is that 30s is running the 4x FF procedure, for a set 30s of content.


Your guess sounds very logical. However, the 4xFF appears to advance faster than 30 sec slips. My estimation is 4xFF advances roughly 2 minutes for every second whereas 30 sec slip advances 2 minutes in roughly 6 seconds. This may due to short pauses inserted in between slips and it is indeed using 4x FF as you said.


----------



## Gbsnplr

There is going to be another software update tonight. That is what they told me at tech service.


----------



## jkc120

Gbsnplr said:


> There is going to be another software update tonight. That is what they told me at tech service.


They were almost certainly referring to the 0xEF release, since many people not on the west coast still hadn't received 0xEB.


----------



## btmoore

Intex said:


> New Problems:
> With the new update, I again have new problems tHAT i NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.
> 
> 3. Recordeded "Dawn" show tonite, but when I went back to play it, it wouldn't play. You could not FF or get it to move, using the "play" button either.
> 
> Does anyone get the feeling that we are becoming "Unpaid Beta Testers", Why is each update causing more problems, I liked this unit better right out of the box!!!!


We may have the first winner in the 0xEF unwatchable bug contest!

Congratulations!:balloons:


----------



## drjenk

gcisko said:


> It doesn't suck if the updates are not up to specifications!
> 
> As for the 30 second slip... Does anyone really think it is 30 seconds? With my ultimate TV I would hit the 30 sec skip after a football play and they were lining up for the next play. It was timed perfectly. You can get through a game watching only the action in probably 50 minutes. With the HR20 the 30 sec slip is *WAY* off. The play has already happened and they are starting the next huddle. So either the ultimate TV was a 20 sec skip or the HR20 is not really doing 30 seconds. Maybe this update fixes that, but 30 seconds is 30 seconds skip or slip, it should not matter. Has anyone else wondered about this?


My H10-250 is pretty accurate, I use the skip watching football as well. I sure hope I can do this with the HR20 I am getting this Sunday. Are you sure you were watching during a normal part of the game i.e. no 2-minute offense?


----------



## MasMic

I received the update shortly after 8:00pm last night (forced) and have to say I feel much better regarding the HR20 now. The slip and FF are much better. The only issue I have so far is that after FF through a program and finding I've gone to far, sometimes when I hit rewind it sort of treats it as a replay, rewinding a few seconds and playing, and to get around that I simply hit the replay button several times. I'm not sure if this only happens on pre-EF recordings as I haven't tested it on newly recorded programs. Someone had mentioned this in this thread already.

Anyway I'm so much happier with the HR-20 and will keep my fingers crossed as I know I'll be frustrated if(?) I get any partials/missed/cancelled recordings in the future.

I forgot to mention, I haven't had any out-of-sync issues lately. I'm not sure of the update that fixed that, but that was another huge problem that I'm glad hasn't been an issue as of late.

So, bring on OTA and network this baby and all the cool things that will permit ....

Looking forward to the future.


----------



## Just J

Forced a download at 10:30 last night and got 0xEF. At around 11:10, programmed in a recurring manual recording for Mon-Fri, ch 204, 5:00AM, 30min. As a test, I also programmed in a weekly recording for Thursdays, ch 249, 5:30am, 30min.

For the Mon-Fri recording, it did not record anything this morning. If I go to the prioritizer and pull up the details for the recording, it says that it is set to record next Tuesday at 5:00am, skipping the tomorrow and Monday.

The weekly recording did start recording, and seems to be working properly - the to do list shows entries for the 23rd and 30th at the appropriate times on the appropriate channel (this is an improvement over 0xE3, which did not correctly handle weekly recurring manual recordings properly for me).

Otherwise, loving the many fixes and improvements in this version


----------



## hasan

I was expecting a substantial decrease in available disk space after the 0xEF update at 3:47 a.m. this morning (Iowa), and it didn't happen. I had 84% free before the update and 79% after. I wonder if they changed the disk space available calculation from the prior upgrade we didn't get here in the midwest, to this update, as I don't see the dramatic decrease reported by others. I have five or six shortcut NFL games, 3 or 4 series recordings, and 4 HD movies, all recorded from HD-NET or Universal HD

I just checked FF (at 4x) and 30 sec slip...both worked VERY well. 30 sec slip is much smoother and faster than before. The movie was recorded about 10 days ago, obviously with prior firmware.

Otherwise so far so good. No changes in "behavior" but I haven't played a lot yet. HDMI continues to work fine (as it has from day 1). I've never forced an update. I woke up to the bright shining leds on again (I set them off and leave them off as an "update" alarm.)

N.B. No MPEG-4/HD-Locals here, and that might largely account for the paucity of problems.


----------



## Herdfan

ShapeGSX said:


> If I let the 4x FFWD or RWD go for a couple seconds, the key frames stop displaying on the TV (one frame is frozen on screen) and all of a sudden, the mark will jump forward by ~25minutes then start displaying frames again.


Sort of seeing the same thing. Except mine jumps ahead by 4-5 minutes each time.

Noticed it while watching a recorded show (MPEG-2 SD) last night. I use the FF to move past segments and all of a sudden I was way past where I wanted to be. Went back and watched and sure enough I was getting a jump.

On 4x FF and RW, it will FF for a couple of seconds and then jump ahead 4-5 minutes and then FF for a couple of seconds and then jump ahead again.

OTOH, the pink bug seems to be gone for me now.


----------



## hasan

Some people reported the upgrade changed their Native OFF setting to Native ON. I just checked mine, and it did not change, it remained Native OFF as I had it set.

Dolby Digital 5.1 worked right from the start, and it continues to do so. I've had no reversal issues in the setting, and it still works fine. (Using Ch 79 HD-Net for the test)

Has anyone noticed that the picture seems sharper this morning on SD channels? I may have just caught D* in a "higher bit rate" situation than I have been seeing lately. (I would not attribute the improved PQ to the update, I'm just curious)


----------



## Capmeister

I got the update. 

Results:

30-slip is MUCH MUCH BETTER! I like it very much now. It's fast enough to not be annoying, and yet I can still see the commercial, go back if it is one I have not seen and want to, and yet skip it if I've seen it/am not interested. 

4xFF is just what it should be. On MPEG2 HD and SD, it looks smooth and professional.

The JumpBack is smooth an as it should be. I am very impressed with all the changes to this and the above.

Not seen any closed captioning garbling, but may not have watched enough. Next I assume they'll work on cut off letters and placement/timing issues. One step at a time. 

I am still having the blackout issue, and I've managed to notice it can be repeatable by going back and viewing that moment in a recording again. The screen starts to get lines/get jumpy and then blacks as if there's no input (and the HISENSE screen saver might even come on) and when the picture comes back I see the "componant" message as if the input was just turned on. I believe the HR20 is actually shutting off the componant output sometimes, since the RCA output is fine at the same time.

I took some pictures of how this looks and can post them when I get home from work.

Has ANYONE experienced this on componant or am I the only one?


----------



## hasan

CC seems to work a LOT better (or it's just this morning, who knows), but watching MSNBC, with lots of dialogue it is not garbling, jumping all over the screen or other such anomalies. 

I'm not saying it's fixed...just that something is working a lot better on at least msnbc.


----------



## Capmeister

hasan said:


> CC seems to work a LOT better (or it's just this morning, who knows), but watching MSNBC, with lots of dialogue it is not garbling, jumping all over the screen or other such anomalies.
> 
> I'm not saying it's fixed...just that something is working a lot better on at least msnbc.


CC is very complicated. My main concern has always been not that they could fix it, but that it is a priority. With this release, I feel cautiously optimistic that it IS.

Garbling was the worst problem, and it looks like they're tackling that if not have already.

Next they need timing, and then placement. I will tell you this--if they fix the CC issues, I will be getting 3 more of these units in the spring.


----------



## Mixer

I received the update overnight and just from a quick look I took this morning the FF4 is going to be great but I think the improved 30s slip is going to be what everyone here uses. I pressed it 4 times and before I knew it the 2 minutes had gone by. It also seemed to me that the channel changes were faster with Native "on" which is how I always have mine. 

Once I spend more tie with it tomorrow I will report back any experience I have. So far so good though.


----------



## Chris Blount

Well it looks like everyone is getting the update. That's good news. I messed around with it this morning. Like the improvements. 

I did notice the pink trick play number is still there, sort of. Look closely. The pink can still be seen as a tiny horizontal bar just above the number. No biggy though.


----------



## wakajawaka

Chris Blount said:


> Well it looks like everyone is getting the update. That's good news. I messed around with it this morning. Like the improvements.
> 
> I did notice the pink trick play number is still there, sort of. Look closely. The pink can still be seen as a tiny horizontal bar just above the number. No biggy though.


I still get the full blown pink background occaisionally.

I got my first BSOD complete with the unit resetting itself, that was with 0xE3, lets hope no more with 0xEF.

4x FFWD on MPEG4 recording was stuck on a frame and advanced VERY quickly to the end which resulted in the keep/delete dialog popping up. Not sure if this is the intended behaviour. But it didn't lock up and I was able to re-play the show.


----------



## Mike770

*HDMI ISSUE:* I received the latest update last night and I still get no video or sound via HDMI.

TV: LG 37 Inch HDTV, Model # 37LC2D


----------



## Capmeister

By the way... considering the 4X and the faster/better 30 sec slip, can we all applaud that D* is LISTENING to us, and thank Earl not just for being D*'s unoffocial voice here, but ours back to them? It gives me some confidence that the remaining problems WILL be solved and this box will be kick @$$ when all is said and done.


----------



## jschuman

Playing around with the trick play in 0xef here are my findings:
- 30s slip is really fast. thumbs up
- 4xff works pretty nicely; it's choppy but what can I expect when it is going that fast?
- FF and REW on 1,2 and 3x ff seem to be working a little better BUT they are still just not smooth enough for my tastes. I have a directivo in the other room and just compared the two and (as I suspected) the directivo ff and rew are just much smoother - plain as day. My hope is that with each release the HR20 improves on this.
- I think my only other gripe with FF and REW is the delay before it 'kicks in'.


----------



## Monty23

Got 0xEF last night. Briefly played around with a recorded Mpeg4 program. Trick play functions seem much much better. Love the new 4X and quick 30 slip. Will be running it through the paces this weekend. Now I hope the main problems (skipped or partial recordings) is fixed. Good work so far!!


----------



## eengert

I felt like the Guide scrolling was about twice as fast this morning with EF. Anybody else notice? It could just be initial speed following a reboot, but I hope not. They still haven't removed animations, but it did seem snappier.


----------



## tiger2005

After some quick testing this AM I love the 4xFF. Very nice to scroll through a long program FAST when looking for a specific part. So far so good!

Also, I did notice the pink during the trick play as well, but honestly I couldn't care less about that.


----------



## praneeth

Love the new update... 

But... It deleted a bunch of stuff from my drive though, don't know which one's yet (my wife has 60+ episodes of Little House on the Prairie.. yeah I know.. don't ask me)...
I had 15% free before the update and was 2% free after the update although it had already removed a bunch of stuff automatically.

Well.. I guess that's just a one time thing.. haven't noticed anything else yet.. Best way to know when you get the update is when My VOD changes to Playlist ...


----------



## Gbsnplr

After the latest update I am still not able to use the HDMI. Also my colors seem washed out on the Compnent outputs. I also notice I no longer have the My VOD or whatever they are calling it now and even though the record light is on no programs record. The last udate did this and the new one didn't fix anything.


----------



## Ed Campbell

Capmeister said:


> By the way... considering the 4X and the faster/better 30 sec slip, can we all applaud that D* is LISTENING to us, and thank Earl not just for being D*'s unofficial voice here, but ours back to them? It gives me some confidence that the remaining problems WILL be solved and this box will be kick @$$ when all is said and done.


I'll second that!

I've removed the 5 minute [ending] pad from one of my Saturday football matches. I chickened out on testing for any timing conflict bug. I did leave it in place for a couple others when I know I'll be home and can sort it out in a hurry -- if the conflict appears to be producing a non-recording recording.


----------



## praneeth

Also... hopefully dual buffers is something they are working on now... Any insights Earl?

For those who are still having issues ... i wonder if the boxes are built in multiple places or something like that? How can there be so much variance in them?

Anyway...

Don't give in to the Dark Side....

:S


----------



## Kapeman

Tyrod said:


> I didn't realize people actually lived in New Mexico, just aliens.


Why would the aliens go where there are no people, they have to abduct _somebody_.


----------



## SockMonkey

Around 9pm last night I forced a download of 0xEF. WOW! I love the 30-sec Slip now. Almost as good as the Tivo 30-sec skip. Way to go D*! :icon_bb: :biggthump 

When I was playing around with it, I kept slipping forward and then skipping back. Sometimes pressing the slip button 2, 3 or 4 times. Once I noticed the trick play number go to zero as it was still slipping. I couldn't reproduce it again.

I think someone else mentioned this, but if I use FFx4 on recording I had prior to 0xEF, the FF would jump ahead like 20 minutes at a time. This happened to me when playing with the new functions on Saturday Night Live from this past week (hysterical show last weekend BTW if you didn't see it - the one with Alec Baldwin).

And finally a question... I swear I've read this before on these forums but... if I am on FFx4 and I press FF again, shouldn't I return to normal play? This does not work for me and never has with previous version and FFx3. Pressing FF simply does nothing when I am at the max FF speed. I have to press play to exit FF mode. Of course it's not too big a deal, but I liked that on the Tivo DVRs.

Bob


----------



## Ed Campbell

Gbsnplr said:


> After the latest update I am still not able to use the HDMI. Also my colors seem washed out on the Compnent outputs. I also notice I no longer have the My VOD or whatever they are calling it now and even though the record light is on no programs record. The last udate did this and the new one didn't fix anything.


Try a "component reboot". Some of these boxes think everything should only be controlled via component.

Unplug HDMI. Leave component in place. Do a red button reboot. When complete plug your HDMI cable back in.

It works sometimes.


----------



## fmarullo

I got my 0F update at 3:47 AM - whihc I did nt realize unitl I noticed a few "new quirks". 


1) I could not change the resolution 
2) All my weather was wiped (which usually means a reset was performed or a s/w upgrade). I checked and saw a new upgrade 0x0F @ 3:47 AM CST
3) I reset and it fixed the resolution (note could not change it via remote or front panel prior to reset after s/w upgrade).
4) caller ID show I need to subscribe - yet call history shows all the calls I have received before the new software.
4) I forced another s/w upgrade (o2468) hoping to reslove the caller ID.
It worked!!! Amen.


----------



## firehire

Earl Bonovich said:


> Sounds like some negotiation between the HR20 and the TV didn't go well.
> 
> I would disconnect the HDMI connections, and then reconnect them.
> Or cycle the power on your TV


Earl,

Unfortunately, I tried that to no avail. I am aware of the "handshake" between the Receiver and HR20. Just wondering if it's a frustating bug. I have perfect color coming through my HD-DVD and my XBox 360. I hooked the HR20 up through component and the problem is gone. Any other advice? Thanks for your effort so far.


----------



## RMSko

wakajawaka said:


> 4x FFWD on MPEG4 recording was stuck on a frame and advanced VERY quickly to the end which resulted in the keep/delete dialog popping up. Not sure if this is the intended behaviour. But it didn't lock up and I was able to re-play the show.


A similar thing happened to me. I hit 4xFF and it took me to the end of the show and the keep/delete message popped up. I selected do not delete. However, I am now NOT able to replay the show. Every time I try to replay the show all I get is the keep/delete message. One of two things must have happened: either it's a glitch, or somehow the unit on its own deleted all but a couple of seconds of the show and that is causing the keep/delete message to appear. Either way this is not good. Any thoughts Earl?


----------



## Earl Bonovich

RMSko said:


> A similar thing happened to me. I hit 4xFF and it took me to the end of the show and the keep/delete message popped up. I selected do not delete. However, I am now NOT able to replay the show. Every time I try to replay the show all I get is the keep/delete message. One of two things must have happened: either it's a glitch, or somehow the unit on its own deleted all but a couple of seconds of the show and that is causing the keep/delete message to appear. Either way this is not good. Any thoughts Earl?


Hmmm... the only thing I can suggest is that you try different methods to start the playback.

Go through the MyPlaylist from the QuickMenu when in the Buffer...
Or just hit play when you are on the highlighted MyPlaylist entry (full screen version)
Or select it in MyPlaylist, and select play from the list that comes up.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

FYI... for those of you that listed bugs in this thread... I am going to try to catchup today and get them all into the holding thread....


----------



## UncD2000

As I had hoped, OxEF made my recording of the 11/1 episode of Criminal Minds playable. Previously the HR20 would lock up immediately on that recording, requiring a reset. The other new features are also appreciated. If all goes well around the country, maybe we'll get OTA on the next update.


----------



## BillyT2002

roguebjp said:


> It's great that they are releasing yet another upgrade...but this whole BS that it gets released in the Pacific time zone first (and only for some updates) is really beginning to bug me.
> 
> Whereas the people in the west coast have seen two updates in the past week, us here in the east have not seen anything since October 19th.
> 
> The last "staggered" release (0xEB) never made it here, and who knows if this one ever will or if they will, once again, make fixes to it and release it only in the Pacific time zone next Wednesday.
> 
> As long as they are not taking any major steps back (which I don't think so), they should be more willing to release these things nationwide. Or, I have an idea, how about doing it staggered but, once in a while, STARTING in the Eastern Timezone??
> 
> Bernardo in Miami


I don't like it much either, but I'm glad that they are taking steps to ensure that a "BAD" update is not propogated to their entire customer base. It makes sense to stagger an update just to ensure that you do not hurt your entire customer base with it.

Also, it has to start on the West Coast, because that is where their headquarters is and that is where most of the people who test and do QA for DirecTV probably live.

Also, I might be "smeeking" here, but:

Having said that however, I think that DirecTV should put a hidden, "Easter Egg" screen in the setup where if we do all the "right" things to get to this screen, we can click on a checkbox or something to inform DirecTV that we want to be an "Early Adopter". If we do so, then we get early access to the staggered updates, too and although we'd retain our right to report bugs to them, we would lose our right to complain as we then chose to download the early version of the software and they did not force it upon us.


----------



## gdawg

-After receiving the update I used the trick play buttons while watching a recorded football game. FF1 and FF2 resume play exactly when they should now rather than skipping forward. 

-Scrolling through the Guide menu is much faster. 

-Give me Dual Buffers and I'll forget all about TIVO


----------



## Earl Bonovich

BillyT2002 said:


> Having said that however, I think that DirecTV should put a hidden, "Easter Egg" screen in the setup where if we do all the "right" things to get to this screen, we can click on a checkbox or something to inform DirecTV that we want to be an "Early Adopter". If we do so, then we get early access to the staggered updates, too and although we'd retain our right to report bugs to them, we would lose our right to complain as we then chose to download the early version of the software and they did not force it upon us.


Not so much an "Easter Egg", but they are considering a Release Candidate program... where they will have time windows where you can download the current Release Candidate...

However, they have been soo busy lately... they have not be able to get back to working on the necessary steps on their side of the equation to make that work.


----------



## Entr04y

Hi All,

So far 0xef has been working fairly well for me... I've noticed a couple of things though.

1) There was an instance last night where I was watching live tv with nothing recording. A scheduled recording came up and a message appeared on the screen "the recorder must change the channel", then switched off of what I was watching. Shouldn't the dvr use the tuner that is not in use and leave the one I'm watching alone?

2) there have been random dropouts on the audio that last for about 2 seconds or so every so often...

3) I was watching a recording in progress and went into a menu. At the top of the screen (where the picture in picture is) it said "live tv conflict" and when I left the menu the "do you want to delete this recording now" message popped up like i had reached the end of the recording... there was still about 15 minutes left in the show to record. 

I'm very used to my hr10-250 where you can flip between watching live tv, watching a recorded program, over to another tuner, into and out of menus, etc... it may just be I'm not comfortable with this interface, but it makes me think I'm going to accidentaly cancel a recording everytime I touch the remote while its recording something...


----------



## tfederov

It sounds like we're getting close to Nirvana with this one. I only played with it a little while this morning and I have to say I'm so close to upgrading my other TiVos because of it. Still holding me back:

Dual buffers - Although I would really like this, I read here about a test where pulling a sat cable during a recording did not kill the recording as the receiver failed over to the good cable and kept on chugging along. +1 for D*

FTM - I can't run a third cable to my receivers without tearing my walls apart. OTA to me is useless until this comes out. Earl, do you have any more info/specs as to what I can expect with FTM?

I am really, really stoked after this upgrade. Stoked enough to finally upgrade my last HR10-250 to 6.3a and let my HR20 record Prison Break because of the audio dropouts on Fox with OTA and 6.3a (okay, I'm going to let my TiVo record it on channel 88 as a backup but it'll be watched there only if the HR20 takes a dump).


----------



## Just J

Just J said:


> Forced a download at 10:30 last night and got 0xEF. At around 11:10, programmed in a recurring manual recording for Mon-Fri, ch 204, 5:00AM, 30min....
> 
> ...it did not record anything this morning. If I go to the prioritizer and pull up the details for the recording, it says that it is set to record next Tuesday at 5:00am, skipping the tomorrow and Monday./QUOTE]
> 
> I may know the reason for this. Prior to the new software, I had *non-*recurring manual recordings set up for Ch 204, 5am, 1hr on Thursday, Friday, and Monday. I deleted those from the to do list before setting up a 30 minute recurring manual recording starting at the same time on the same channel. The recurring recording seems to have skipped the 3 similar (though 30 minute longer) non-recurring manual recordings that I previously deleted.
> 
> This may be WAD, but I consider it a bug - if I set up a manual recording I expect it to ignore any previously deleted activities and do what I'm telling it to do.


----------



## Capmeister

praneeth said:


> Also... hopefully dual buffers is something they are working on now... Any insights Earl?


I think they're working on getting things advertised working first.


----------



## btrain

Jeremy W said:


> While watching live TV, I got a "Searching for signal on tuner 2" message. The channel I was watching was working just fine, but the screensaver ended up kicking in after a couple minutes. So the screensaver problems are definitely *not* resolved.


This happened to me too. My unit had been funtioning fine until this last update, now I am receiving the searching for signal on satelite 2 as well. I went thru the red button reboot but this did not change the issue, in fact when the reboot completed it went to screen saver mode.


----------



## Mike770

Earl, Are you aware any other HDMI fix that I can try. I would really like to have this box connected with HDMI cables.

Just Curious.


----------



## jheda

drjenk said:


> My H10-250 is pretty accurate, I use the skip watching football as well. I sure hope I can do this with the HR20 I am getting this Sunday. Are you sure you were watching during a normal part of the game i.e. no 2-minute offense?


for me the 30sec slip worked perfectly from whistle to snap .... wife told me we got EF and will examine after work.................


----------



## FilmMixer

Just watched a recording (MPEG4)... "Would you like to delete?".... hit Yes... Unit locked up... needed Red Button kickkstart... oh will it ever end... 

I know this unit is implimenting MPEG4 for the first time, but, except for the hard drives dying, I don't ever remeber my HR10-250 having this many issues, and I had those from day 1....


----------



## Rugged

gdawg said:


> -After receiving the update I used the trick play buttons while watching a recorded football game. FF1 and FF2 resume play exactly when they should now rather than skipping forward.
> 
> -Scrolling through the Guide menu is much faster.
> 
> -Give me Dual Buffers and I'll forget all about TIVO


You know last night I was thinking how awesome the box was performing and I actually thought that I wouldn't have to come to this forum as much anymore--and then I remembered Dual Live Buffers....

Things were working so good that I almost forgot about them-


----------



## jheda

ok wife at home testing EF, 30 sec slip works great but says ffx4 skipped about 10 mintes per second to end...granted could be "spousal use error"...

1) anyone else experience this?
2) is it reccomended to do a red reset with each new update??


----------



## SockMonkey

jheda said:


> ok wife at home testing EF, 30 sec slip works great but says ffx4 skipped about 10 mintes per second to end...granted could be "spousal use error"...
> 
> 1) anyone else experience this?


Yes, that's what I saw on an MPEG4 recording from last weekend (Saturday Night Live - HD Local). I have not yet had a chance to test out any recordings since after the update. What was the recording your wife experienced this on? MPEG4 or MPEG2? Before or after update?



jheda said:


> 2) is it reccomended to do a red reset with each new update??


Should not be needed since your unit restarts during the install. But I guess it wouldn't hurt if you think it will help something.

Bob


----------



## jheda

the wife just told me she was watching letterman when the errors i previously reported minutes ago occurred.......hmmmm



ShapeGSX said:


> I just had the 4x FFWD do something odd. It is completely repeatable on this MPEG4 HD recording of letterman from a couple days ago.
> 
> If I let the 4x FFWD or RWD go for a couple seconds, the key frames stop displaying on the TV (one frame is frozen on screen) and all of a sudden, the mark will jump forward by ~25minutes then start displaying frames again. The DVR is still responsive when the frame is frozen. I can hit play and it plays.
> 
> Edit: Oddly enough, this doesn't appear to be happening with my recording of Day Break MPEG4 in 720p. I wonder if it is a 720p/1080i decoding thing. Like the DVR gets overwhelmed with decoding 1080i at 4x. Doesn't happen with 480i MPEG2, either. It doesn't appear to happen with 1080i MPEG2, either.
> 
> So, as far as I can tell, it only happens with 1080i MPEG4 for me.
> 
> Actually, now I cant get it to happen on my Heroes MPEG4 recording. Maybe it is just that Letterman recording (just checked, still happens with Letterman)?
> 
> I am not currently recording anything.
> 
> Also, I notice that when fast forwarding, a grey bar appears at the top of some of the frames. But that is a really minor nit. This happened with 0xEB, too.


----------



## Radio Enginerd

So far so good! Had a chance to watch several recordings last night (MPEG-2 and MPEG-4) and was rather impressed by the 30 Slip (as others have mentioned). The 4x FF and RW was ALSO incredibly nice to have...

No issues since the last update except for some minor audio drops which are really hard to nail down. I think a lot of the audio drops we see documented on this board are due to issues at the station/affiliate level, NOT the HR-20. When I see drops, it's usually my local affiliate changing something in the data stream that causes my receiver to drop to PCM for a single commercial and then back to DD for the show which causes a drop in audio.


----------



## SockMonkey

Radio Enginerd said:


> The 4x FF and RW was ALSO incredibly nice to have...


Did you see the 10 or 20 minute time jumps in 4x FF like others have? Or was it smaller jumps for you?

Earl, do you know anything about the specs of the 4xFF? Is it supposed to jump in large chunks of time?

In reality, I don't really see myself using 4xFF too often. Just perhaps to jump to the end of a show quickly.

Bob


----------



## william8004

I upgraded late last night. Functionally everything seems ok. I did notice two things.

1. the disk usage went from 87 to 71 percent (no problem. I understand this is a more accurate number)

2. After the update, I had an old program show up in my play list. I had recorded an HD program last month and was deleted last month. It showed back up, but when I played it , only about 2 minutes was there. I deleted it and all was good.


----------



## greenie95125

ram4784 said:


> The new "slip" is amazingly fast and accurate. It's the next best thing to a "skip". 6 second replay is also great. Congrats D* team. Still needs work on Mpeg-4.


Yup, I checked it out last night. I can certainly live with it now.


--Mike


----------



## Intex

Why is page 3 of this thread going to a whole different thread ?????


----------



## cookpr

So far so good with this update...30 sec slip is a lot better.

Like the new "Playlist" text versus the asinine "My VOD"...

4x FF and RW is nice to have, but my testing with the Today Show in MPEG 4 this morning proved it still needs work, pretty choppy, taking 2-4 minute chunks out here and there....cant see myself using this yet.

All in all, for all the crabbing I have done on this box, I have to give a thumbs up for this update. The programmers can have their jobs back for this week...


----------



## wakajawaka

SockMonkey said:


> Did you see the 10 or 20 minute time jumps in 4x FF like others have? Or was it smaller jumps for you?
> 
> Earl, do you know anything about the specs of the 4xFF? Is it supposed to jump in large chunks of time?
> 
> In reality, I don't really see myself using 4xFF too often. Just perhaps to jump to the end of a show quickly.
> 
> Bob


I had this happen too, it would fast forward in BIG chunks of time. If this is how it is supposed to work I don't see myself using it except to go quickly to the end of a program.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Intex said:


> Why is page 3 of this thread going to a whole different thread ?????


Not sure what you mean... if click on Page 3, I am still in this thread.


----------



## Jeremy W

Earl Bonovich said:


> they are considering a Release Candidate program... where they will have time windows where you can download the current Release Candidate...


That's excellent news!


----------



## islesfan44

I'm sorry to report that the sports package bug is not fixed with this release.  There seems to be some progress, however. I tried recording the Isles @ Stars game last night. It started recording at 5:30 (this is an improvement). I started watching at 6:30. All was fine until the start of the third period, when the picture froze. The bar said 1:47 of 6:00. I hit list, and the game was there (another improvement, as it used to juet get automatically deleted at this point). However, when I selected the game to watch, it listed it as a 1:47 recording. Apparently, when the game ended, it stopped the recording at the point where I was, and dumped the rest.

I think this might be related to the delayed payment for PPV "feature." While this feature is pretty cool, it may have to go or be modified to accomodate the sports package subscribers.


----------



## gaperrine

After the update, I tried recording channel 840 and was surprised to see the recording light come on. The recording appeared in MyPlaylist but would not play. The timeline shows the length of the recording. When I FF, the blue lights are spinning, but the marker on the timeline doesn't move. I can advance to the end and get the delete/don't delete option. Also, when I tune to channel 840, I get a gray screen. The song information displays correctly. None of the other XM channels can be recorded. 

Are there plans to allow recording of XM channels? This is one feature I miss from my R15.


----------



## mooniac

Earl Bonovich said:


> I dont' know if you have tried it....
> But unplug your TV... let your TV sit for about 5 minutes so it fully resets.
> Then pull both the component and the HDMI...
> 
> And then hook up just the HDMI, and try to power everything back up


Earl, I just spent about an hour trying every combination of things I've seen here. I first tried exactly what you suggested, then I tried rebooting (both TV and HR-20) with just the component hooked up, then adding the HDMI, then tried a reboot of each device individually with the different cable hook ups. No luck. Can this be a hardware problem? I guess I'll need to borrow another HDMI source to verify the TV/cable combination is still working properly.


----------



## Doug Brott

Another positive to report. The Live TV buffer seemed nebulous in the earlier releases. On multiple occasions, I was able to create a Live TV buffer much longer than 90 minutes. While in this extended buffer (outside of the 90-minute expected buffer), Trick Play functions did not work properly.

NOW, I paused a show for an extended period. When I returned about 2 hours later, it was playing and it was at the front-end of the expected 90-minute buffer. I tried to rewind and after a short blip, it started to play again - This is expected. In the past, it could remain paused forever, but now it can remain paused for only 90 minutes. Thanks for this fix.


----------



## eengert

Earl, Just curious as to what made D* release EF nationally so quickly as compared to EB? How did they determine it was ready so quickly vs. taking almost a week to observe EB on the west coast? I can't figure out their pattern (maybe they don't have one).


----------



## Earl Bonovich

eengert said:


> Earl, Just curious as to what made D* release EF nationally so quickly as compared to EB? How did they determine it was ready so quickly vs. taking almost a week to observe EB on the west coast? I can't figure out their pattern (maybe they don't have one).


EB has a SIGNIFIANT update, underneath the GUI.......
So they where being much more cautious with it...

EF was built on the EB base, with the improvements they change.

EF had been in testing before EB was released.... So EF's future, drastically hinged on EB's results.


----------



## Jeremy W

brott said:


> NOW, I paused a show for an extended period. When I returned about 2 hours later, it was playing and it was at the front-end of the expected 90-minute buffer. I tried to rewind and after a short blip, it started to play again - This is expected. In the past, it could remain paused forever, but now it can remain paused for only 90 minutes. Thanks for this fix.


I thought that the buffer was supposed to extend up to 4 hours when paused?


----------



## mvkajsk

Some good news - woke up this morning and both boxes were still alive and active (after full reset last night)



mvkajsk said:


> Well, I came home today and both updated boxes were locked up (stuck on 1 channel). Decided to bite the bullet and did a "reset everything" - we'll see how it does over the next few days. Just don't miss "The Office"...


----------



## jheda

islesfan44 said:


> I'm sorry to report that the sports package bug is not fixed with this release.  There seems to be some progress, however. I tried recording the Isles @ Stars game last night. It started recording at 5:30 (this is an improvement). I started watching at 6:30. All was fine until the start of the third period, when the picture froze. The bar said 1:47 of 6:00. I hit list, and the game was there (another improvement, as it used to juet get automatically deleted at this point). However, when I selected the game to watch, it listed it as a 1:47 recording. Apparently, when the game ended, it stopped the recording at the point where I was, and dumped the rest.
> 
> I think this might be related to the delayed payment for PPV "feature." While this feature is pretty cool, it may have to go or be modified to accomodate the sports package subscribers.


is this the sports pack or nhl ticket? i have no problems when games are on sportspack...


----------



## rrwantr

Jeremy W said:


> It was strange, I was only getting the message on a specific MPEG4 channel. None of the other MPEG4 channels, and none of the MPEG2 channels showed the message. .


 +1


----------



## btmoore

Last night, I got 2 quick flashes where the screen went black and said something like "invalid access card" with a serial number after it. There were just 2 and they lasted a fraction of a second each.


----------



## bonscott87

Radio Enginerd said:


> I think a lot of the audio drops we see documented on this board are due to issues at the station/affiliate level, NOT the HR-20. When I see drops, it's usually my local affiliate changing something in the data stream that causes my receiver to drop to PCM for a single commercial and then back to DD for the show which causes a drop in audio.


You are correct. Not saying there aren't HR20 receiver problems with this but I see this all the time OTA with my HD locals. 3 of the big 4 networks are always dropping out of HD to SD and non-DD5.1 for local commercials because they lack the equipment or knowhow to do it right. When it comes back to HD and 5.1 (if they don't forget to flip the switch) I'll sometimes get a quick audio "pop" as the 5.1 kicks in.

All normal in the world of HD local networks.


----------



## Slip Jigs

I saw this morn that the update came through, but haven't had time to check things out. The sluggisness of the guide is one of few beefs I have with this device, but I don't know if that's even considered an issue - that the repsonse time is expected due to the guide data that must be processed.


----------



## Monty23

Slip Jigs said:


> I saw this morn that the update came through, but haven't had time to check things out. The sluggisness of the guide is one of few beefs I have with this device, but I don't know if that's even considered an issue - that the repsonse time is expected due to the guide data that must be processed.


Guide speed seems the same to me.


----------



## avatar230

Monty23 said:


> Guide speed seems the same to me.


I disagree; my guide seems noticeably snappier. Maybe I'm hallucinating.


----------



## btmoore

avatar230 said:


> I disagree; my guide seems noticeably snappier. Maybe I'm hallucinating.


You may be it is as slow as when I first got it, it is all of that lovely animation. I can't make any judgments about hallucinating, as I am in Berkeley. :alterhase


----------



## eengert

Monty23 said:


> Guide speed seems the same to me.


I thought it was about twice as fast in scrolling a page up/down command.


----------



## anthony06

I grew up in Berkeley. I am now in the middle of nowhere Madison WI. :grin: Oh and my guide is as slow as ever.


----------



## bonscott87

Hmmm, my guide has never been what I would consider "slow". Much faster then either of my DirecTivo's (SD units). We'll see what the update brings when I get home.


----------



## btmoore

bonscott87 said:


> Hmmm, my guide has never been what I would consider "slow". Much faster then either of my DirecTivo's (SD units). We'll see what the update brings when I get home.


My Dtivo guide is light speed faster that the HR20. I use the TiVo style guide.

The HR20 spends a lot of time animating and then it pauses after every page up or down. The DTiVo guide does not do that.

We were having a discussion about it here:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=69243


----------



## islesfan44

jheda said:


> is this the sports pack or nhl ticket? i have no problems when games are on sportspack...


Sorry, I meant NHL Center Ice. The Sports Pack would always work since those stations only go dark for NHL, NBA, MLB games.


----------



## Reggie3

I did not know I had gotten the update till I went and looked at the settings - anyone know how you access the tick marks when playing a recording. what buttons are the ones that froward to the next one? and reverse it? Don't remember reading it.


----------



## bonscott87

btmoore said:


> My Dtivo guide is light speed faster that the HR20. I use the TiVo style guide.
> 
> The HR20 spends a lot of time animating and then it pauses after every page up or down. The DTiVo guide does not do that.
> 
> We were having a discussion about it here:
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=69243


I've seen that thread. I didn't want to post in it because it would loook like "I don't have the problem so there" which is what I want to avoid.

I just don't notice it I guess.


----------



## avatar230

Reggie3 said:


> I did not know I had gotten the update till I went and looked at the settings - anyone know how you access the tick marks when playing a recording. what buttons are the ones that froward to the next one? and reverse it? Don't remember reading it.


Press and hold FF = Next Tick
Press and hold RW = Previous Tick
Press and hold skip back = Go to Beginning
Press and hold 30-second-slip = Go to End

On Harmony remotes, change all of the above to "press and hold for 3 seconds, then tap." You may find these functions slightly inconsistent from recording to recording, esp. ones made on earlier versions. This is how they're _supposed_ to work.


----------



## Reggie3

avatar230 said:


> Press and hold FF = Next Tick
> Press and hold RW = Previous Tick
> Press and hold skip back = Go to Beginning
> Press and hold 30-second-slip = Go to End
> 
> On Harmony remotes, change all of the above to "press and hold for 3 seconds, then tap." You may find these functions slightly inconsistent from recording to recording, esp. ones made on earlier versions. This is how they're _supposed_ to work.


thanks - yeah I have a harmony


----------



## avatar230

Reggie3 said:


> thanks - yeah I have a harmony


I also believe the database for either the 30-slip or the skip-back was/is wrong, so you may have to learn that one. I forget which.


----------



## Pacerprice

Got OxEF yesterday (Wednesday) in early morning and did a red button reset mid morning. Tried to record three different shows last night, and two of them got the "unwatchable" error (black screen, negative time code at left of position bar). Doesn't look to me that OxEF fixed the problem. Will be interested to see how it handles NFL Sunday Ticket this weekend.

Two weeks ago (granted, that's under the old OS), recorded HD football game on NBC (Bay Area local - NOT PPV) and got the "partial" error in the history screen. Talked to tech support, and they "played dumb". Cannot believe that the "partial/deleted" error hasn't gotten fixed yet!


----------



## tstarn

A lot of good stuff so far with new download, but the channel changing is much slower (more gray screen between changes). And no, I don't have it set to native (use 1080i full-time). Really pokey, but if that is the only problem, good.


----------



## mtnagel

avatar230 said:


> I disagree; my guide seems noticeably snappier. Maybe I'm hallucinating.


Guide is definitely faster. There is still a pause and the animation is still there but it's faster (the animation). Definitely.

Get rid of that pause and it would be awesome!


----------



## jschuman

mtnagel said:


> Guide is definitely faster. There is still a pause and the animation is still there but it's faster (the animation). Definitely.
> 
> Get rid of that pause and it would be awesome!


This is what I am experiencing as well. The Guide _animation_ is faster but there is a noticeable pause before the animation begins.


----------



## GADA

jschuman said:


> This is what I am experiencing as well. The Guide _animation_ is faster but there is a noticeable pause before the animation begins.


What is this animation you're all talking about?


----------



## avatar230

tstarn said:


> A lot of good stuff so far with new download, but the channel changing is much slower (more gray screen between changes). And no, I don't have it set to native (use 1080i full-time). Really pokey, but if that is the only problem, good.


I was noticing this last night (having to wait sometimes up to seven seconds from button press to signal appearing.) I reset my unit and it seemed to go back to normal -- somewhere between two and four second delays generally.


----------



## btmoore

GADA said:


> What is this animation you're all talking about?


http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=69243


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Pacerprice said:


> Got OxEF yesterday (Wednesday) in early morning and did a red button reset mid morning. Tried to record three different shows last night, and two of them got the "unwatchable" error (black screen, negative time code at left of position bar). Doesn't look to me that OxEF fixed the problem. Will be interested to see how it handles NFL Sunday Ticket this weekend.
> 
> Two weeks ago (granted, that's under the old OS), recorded HD football game on NBC (Bay Area local - NOT PPV) and got the "partial" error in the history screen. Talked to tech support, and they "played dumb". Cannot believe that the "partial/deleted" error hasn't gotten fixed yet!


Which shows... which channels.


----------



## mtnagel

I posted this in the E3 issue thread, but I bet it got lost.

When watching South Park, which I have padded by 1 minute, at 29 minutes in, the "enter the password" thing came up again. I enter the code and it plays until the end. I'm pretty sure I've seen this on every show that is blocked and is padded, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Earl, can you respond so that at least I know someone has seen this. In the grand scheme of things, it's pretty minor issue, but it's an issue nonetheless.


----------



## fpd917

avatar230 said:


> I disagree; my guide seems noticeably snappier. Maybe I'm hallucinating.


I agree also, my guide speed is also much faster, which is nice!


----------



## fpd917

After using the HR20 with the new software, I am pretty pleased with the results. I agree with others on the 30 sec slip, much much better and the 6 sec slip is much smoother. The FFx4 is nice, but while watching a recorded MPEG4 show (Letterman) I noticed that the FFx4 would jump about 20 minutes or more, and it also happened with RWx4. The guide on my system is much faster. I rarely had audio dropouts before with HDMI, and I haven't had any so far with the new update. I definitely like the My-Playlist better than MyVOD, just sounds better. I do wish we could get Dual Buffers soon, but it is understandable that D* has other issues to fix. Although, I wonder where Dual Buffers is on D* list of To Do's. This receiver has work left to do, but it is much better now than when we all first got it


----------



## Rambler

mtnagel said:


> When watching South Park, which I have padded by 1 minute, at 29 minutes in, the "enter the password" thing came up again. I enter the code and it plays until the end.


Doesn't South Park have a MA rating? If so, and you have Parental Controls on and MA blocked - then it's working as advertised.


----------



## ktabel01

Wanted to give D* their due. This one seems to be right on. Faster guide, love the trick play speed. Haven't had a 771 error in quite a while, and now cautiously optimistic for the near future.


----------



## jaywdetroit

Earl Bonovich said:


> EB has a SIGNIFIANT update, underneath the GUI.......
> So they where being much more cautious with it...
> 
> EF was built on the EB base, with the improvements they change.
> 
> EF had been in testing before EB was released.... So EF's future, drastically hinged on EB's results.


Hey Earl -

Care to fill us in on the SIGNIFICANT update?  ...and perhaps the hack to switch it on?


----------



## jamieh1

maybe with the success of this update that this means OTA is on the next update, hopefully it will come next week.


----------



## jamieh1

what does GUI stand for?


----------



## mtnagel

Rambler said:


> Doesn't South Park have a MA rating? If so, and you have Parental Controls on and MA blocked - then it's working as advertised.


Yes, and it asks for the password when I first start playing it. At 29 minutes into the show, the screen goes black and the password prompt comes up and I have to enter in the password to watch the last 1-2 minutes. It's asking twice. I'm pretty sure this does it whenever I pad, but I'm not 100% sure without testing some more.


----------



## mtnagel

jamielee said:


> what does GUI stand for?


Graphical User Interface.


----------



## Capmeister

Attached are two pics of my screen just before the componant input loses signal from the HR20. This is only in the last two software updates I received (I never got EB) and not before, and it never happened with my H20.

Notice the lines and curving picture at the top of the screen. It only does that just before a losed of audio/video.


----------



## cookpr

SMALL BUG:

I have noticed when coming out of a 1080i (or another resolution) show from my playlist, the resolution light stays on 1080i , even if I am watching ABC (which is 720P). Noticed this on several occassions.

HR20, AT9, Sony SXRD through HDMI


----------



## elvisizer

so, my experience with 0xEF has been mostly positive so far, but I did have 2 bugs rear up last night.
First- I attempted again to set up a manual recording for an NBA League Pass game (Bucks v Nets, channel 754, 4:30 pm PST). Set the recording to start at 4:35 to avoiud possible problems with the channel not starting. At 4:45, i checked the hr20. Like always, the yellow light was on, and the manual recording was listed in my playlist. Unfortunately, the bug from previous releases is still here in 0xEF- though the recording was listed as being channel 754, another channel was actually being recorded. Not BBC America this time though. Not sure what channel it was since there was no logo bug onscreen. 
I canceled the manual since it wasn't recording the correct channel, and then found that one of the hr20's tuners was now locked- i had one other show recording at the time, and if i tried to switch channels, the hr would say that both tuners were in use, even though only one show was actually recording. the tuner 'unlocked' itself exactly at 5 pm.

So, the NBA League Pass manual bug is still with us. Now, if directv would only stop allocating a 6 HOUR BLOCK of time for each NBA game, we wouldn't be in this situation. As it stands, your options are to either dedicate a tuner to a 3 hour NBA game for 6 hours, or watch it live. Bah.

Second, i had an unwatchable recording yesterday as well. Family Guy, cartoon network, 8pm. The recording shows up in my playlist, but attempting to play it gives a black screen with a timeline. The timeline lists the start point as -:21 minutes. So, yes, it did list negative numbers. After a few seconds of sitting at that screen, the delete prompt appears. 

Other than those two glitches, EF has been very good.


----------



## 21hawk

Before I recieved the latest download, I had scheduled Colts vs. Cowboys Ch. 725 this coming Sunday. I recieved 0xEF late last night? I noticed this afternoon that it was no longer on my ToDo List, so I checked the history tab and it was there showing "canceled". I rescheduled it and will keep an eye on it.


----------



## jheda

LOVE THE EF !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ffx4 and 30sec rocks!!!!!!!!! guide fast enough 4me!! ff1 real smooth

Now, give me dual buffers and its tivo who?????????


----------



## avatar230

21hawk said:


> Before I recieved the latest download, I had scheduled Colts vs. Cowboys Ch. 725 this coming Sunday. I recieved 0xEF late last night? I noticed this afternoon that it was no longer on my ToDo List, so I checked the history tab and it was there showing "canceled". I rescheduled it and will keep an eye on it.


This is technically not a bug. When the recorder reboots after an update, it has to repopulate the "To Do" list, but the Guide has only loaded the next six hours or so, as that data is wiped during the restart. Thus, the recorder cancels the game because it can't yet "see" that's it's going to be on. Supposedly, after the guide loads completely, these recordings all re-schedule. This seems to work for Series Links all the time; people have reported mixed results with sports and other manual events.


----------



## Doug Brott

21hawk said:


> Before I recieved the latest download, I had scheduled Colts vs. Cowboys Ch. 725 this coming Sunday. I recieved 0xEF late last night? I noticed this afternoon that it was no longer on my ToDo List, so I checked the history tab and it was there showing "canceled". I rescheduled it and will keep an eye on it.


This may or may not be because of the update. Sometimes the Guide data gets screwy and causes issues. It could be as simple as them changing the text in the description of the show. The first version is canceled and then a new version pops up. Likely in those cases, the underlying program identification number has changed and as such the DVR really does think that it's canceled.

Edit: avatar230's explanation is another, more likely, reason as well.


----------



## LameLefty

My box updated automagically at 5:47 central time this morning.

Initial impressions tonight: 30-sec Slip now officially ROCKS in this household.  Both my wife and I are VERY pleased with new speed and the precision of the Jump Back now. The Guide seems a bit snappier which is fine (I never thought it was particularly slow and since I hate the Tivo-style guide I never missed it), but one thing I really like is the snappiness of the menu - the response is quicker to all commands and screen re-draws seem faster. 

Overall we're very pleased so far - we just hope we don't lose our NFLST HD recording this weekend due to some mysterious deletion again. We're 1-for-2 on those over the last two weekends.


----------



## O2BRich

Great improvements. However MPEG4 FFW1 is still not smooth enough.:nono2: MPEG2 is perfect.


----------



## avatar230

brott said:


> This may or may not be because of the update. Sometimes the Guide data gets screwy and causes issues. It could be as simple as them changing the text in the description of the show. The first version is canceled and then a new version pops up. Likely in those cases, the underlying program identification number has changed and as such the DVR really does think that it's canceled.


Again, it's actually because the guide data is erased during reboots and then rebuilds itself.


----------



## Tim Sly

gcisko said:


> It doesn't suck if the updates are not up to specifications!
> 
> As for the 30 second slip... Does anyone really think it is 30 seconds? With my ultimate TV I would hit the 30 sec skip after a football play and they were lining up for the next play. It was timed perfectly. You can get through a game watching only the action in probably 50 minutes. With the HR20 the 30 sec slip is *WAY* off. The play has already happened and they are starting the next huddle. So either the ultimate TV was a 20 sec skip or the HR20 is not really doing 30 seconds. Maybe this update fixes that, but 30 seconds is 30 seconds skip or slip, it should not matter. Has anyone else wondered about this?


Some NFL games I will also SLIP through the action and watch just the play. The variance may be the offenses. Some get up to snap the ball quickly almost like a hurry up offense others use up all the play clock so you easily see each play. What I do is when the guy is getting tackled and going down I will hit the 30 second slip and then I almost always see them snap the ball on the next play. I love this feature! And I am going to love the faster 30 sec. slip to get through commercials quicker.


----------



## btmoore

avatar230 said:


> This is technically not a bug. When the recorder reboots after an update, it has to repopulate the "To Do" list, but the Guide has only loaded the next six hours or so. Thus, the recorder cancels the game because it can't yet "see" that's it's going to be on. Supposedly, after the guide loads completely, these recordings all cancel. This seems to work for Series Links all the time; people have reported mixed results with sports and other manual events.


I think you are on to something. I was trying out to figure out why my Purdue game was canceled in the todo list. That makes sence, if it is runing through the todo list and the guide data is missing, that might be why it is showing cancled.

Does anyone have any idea it the HR20 is smart enough to fix its own problem, or do you need to reschedule it.

Maybe this is another good reason to cache the guide data on persistent storage.


----------



## 21hawk

brott said:


> This may or may not be because of the update. Sometimes the Guide data gets screwy and causes issues. It could be as simple as them changing the text in the description of the show. The first version is canceled and then a new version pops up. Likely in those cases, the underlying program identification number has changed and as such the DVR really does think that it's canceled.
> 
> Edit: avatar230's explanation is another, more likely, reason as well.


It was the only one that showed up canceled, everything else was still there?


----------



## avatar230

btmoore said:


> I think you are on to something. I was trying out to figure out why my Purdue game was canceled in the todo list. That makes sence, if it is runing through the todo list and the guide data is missing, that might be why it is showing cancled.
> 
> Does anyone have any idea it the HR20 is smart enough to fix its own problem, or do you need to reschedule it.
> 
> Maybe this is another good reason to cache the guide data on persistent storage.


I wish the guide would be cached, for sure. Series Links seem to come up again no problem. With the EF reboot, I saw some one-time-only shows re-schedule themselves correctly (DAN RATHER REPORTS on HDNet) while some others (I forget which) didn't make the cut. I'm not sure if this is some sort of a bug, or if the shows that didn't reschedule just aired too close to the reboot time and hadn't repopulated in the guide.

In the end, it's safest to go through the To Do List and History and just double-check everything, but I'd be very much in favor of a cached guide. If it wants to run a background script post-reboot to verify said cache, fine, but don't make me rebuild from scratch every time we reset!


----------



## avatar230

21hawk said:


> It was the only one that showed up canceled, everything else was still there?


Did you already re-schedule? If not (if you feel like experimenting) wait a day or so since you've got till the weekend and see if it repopulates itself shortly...


----------



## 21hawk

avatar230 said:


> Did you already re-schedule? If not (if you feel like experimenting) wait a day or so since you've got till the weekend and see if it repopulates itself shortly...


Already rescheduled, just wanted to throw it out there, may still be issues with Sunday Ticket not resolved by 0xEF.


----------



## gator5000e

I received the update today while at work. I know cause My VOD is now My Playlist. 

Anyway I am now having significant lip sync issues and Upcoming:Title Not Available in a lot of my guide, especially in the sports packages. ST does not list a single game only the Upcoming error. Center Ice does the same thing as do the HD channels in 90s. 

My unit worked fine before this (except for the Upcoming:Title Not Available error which I received before the update.

I have restarted the box 3 times to no avail.

Is there anything that can be done? Thanks.


----------



## jheda

my season passed letterman was cancelled for tonight and tonight only after the download........no biggie i just checked the whole list...........


----------



## Jeremy W

Capmeister said:


> Attached are two pics of my screen just before the componant input loses signal from the HR20. This is only in the last two software updates I received (I never got EB) and not before, and it never happened with my H20.


There's either something wrong with your HR20, or your TV. Try replacing the HR20 first.


----------



## avatar230

gator5000e said:


> I received the update today while at work. I know cause My VOD is now My Playlist.
> 
> Anyway I am now having significant lip sync issues and Upcoming:Title Not Available in a lot of my guide, especially in the sports packages. ST does not list a single game only the Upcoming error. Center Ice does the same thing as do the HD channels in 90s.
> 
> My unit worked fine before this (except for the Upcoming:Title Not Available error which I received before the update.
> 
> I have restarted the box 3 times to no avail.
> 
> Is there anything that can be done? Thanks.


Dunno about the lip sync, but re: the TITLE NOT AVAILABLE, the guide was erased at reboot. Every time you've done a restart, you actually erased it again. Give it time to repopulate. FYI, for better or wose this is how the unit is designed to work.


----------



## Sher1958

Got the update at 4 a.m. today. Right now my HR 20 says it is recording the West Virginia - Pitt game. However, there is no yellow light on on the front of my box and the program isn't showing in My Programs list. So, we'll see when the game is over if it actually recorded. Fortunately, I have it recording on my old Tivo Directv box as a backup.


----------



## Bajanjack

Got the update at 4:46am today......I notice the internal temp is at 129F...prior to the update the temp was running at 122F......any possible connection to the update?....any cause for concern?


----------



## bonscott87

So far all is good with the update. The guide is faster although I didn't think it was slow before but I do notice it a bit faster.

FFW4 is very fast. Skips about 2 minutes every couple seconds or so. I still prefer FFW2 myself but it's a good addition.

Trick plays are much faster and smoother.

All in all nice job DirecTV!


----------



## tiger2005

Bajanjack said:


> Got the update at 4:46am today......I notice the internal temp is at 129F...prior to the update the temp was running at 122F......any possible connection to the update?....any cause for concern?


I wouldn't think so. My HR20 typically ranges anywhere from 120F to 129F. Currently my HR20 is running at 129F.


----------



## GADA

btmoore said:


> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=69243


I should have done a search. Thank you!


----------



## cybrsurfer

Capmeister said:


> Attached are two pics of my screen just before the componant input loses signal from the HR20. This is only in the last two software updates I received (I never got EB) and not before, and it never happened with my H20.
> 
> Notice the lines and curving picture at the top of the screen. It only does that just before a losed of audio/video.


I didn't get EB either... after getting EF, my picture is better for both SD and HD content. I hope you are able to resolve the bug.


----------



## Avery

I am and have been having Lip Sync issues which this update still has not addressed. I notice it the worst when I watch any local mpeg-4 and on occasion on mpeg-2 HD. All other SD stations work with no problem at all. I have tried to pause the show for a few seconds then hit play but that only works half of the time. I am using optical out to my receiver and have tried switching the cable which did not help. I have also tried turning DD of and on but that didn't help either.


----------



## LameLefty

Avery said:


> I am and have been having Lip Sync issues which this update still has not addressed. I notice it the worst when I watch any local mpeg-4 and on occasion on mpeg-2 HD. All other SD stations work with no problem at all. I have tried to pause the show for a few seconds then hit play but that only works half of the time. I am using optical out to my receiver and have tried switching the cable which did not help. I have also tried turning DD of and on but that didn't help either.


So your problem isn't consistent from source to source? I guess adjusting any audio-delay setting on your receiver won't help then, huh?


----------



## rp2955

Got the update in Cincy last night...played around with it a little tonight and everything seems to be in working order.

I am holding my reservations on this release until I record the Sunday Ticket games this weekend and still see them on the box a couple hours later...

Earl, do we know if the fix in this update was specifically to fix the sports package issues being deleted inadvertently (from the release notes?)


----------



## bobkatF

Well, everything was looking good, until I tried to watch "My Name Is Earl", recorded on local HD and the screen FROZE when I hit SELECT to play from my list.

Resetting now.........


----------



## mu2doug

Help, wife is going nuts...Got OxEF this morning...When selecting from my playlist, a screen to delete or not comes up instead of being able to view pre recorded show. Pressing dont delete brings you back to live tv instead of the recorded show. Sometimes when selecting from playlist it looks like it will work but then goes to a blank screen. This is with 2 week old recorded programs or newly recorded ones. When watching live tv, my wife watched greys anatomy and after that was watching csi. She tried to rewind a few minutes and it went to beginning of greys anatomy and screen freezes. Using channel up or down and changing channel is only way to unfreeze. She was watching csi....There are more issues but I probably have confused everyone already....Any ideas


----------



## shankin

I came to see if anyone had an answer to the problem I've experienced three times since I got my HR20 last week. Two of the times I was deleting a show; the third time I was just pausing for a bit on a show I'd recorded.

The first two times the HR20 returned to a blue screen with live TV in the upper right corner; the third time the progress indicator bar displayed and wouldn't go away. In all cases the remote was completely unresponsive, as were all the buttons on the front panel. In all cases TV continued to play, both live the first two times and recorded the third.

The only way I could get the machine to recover was to disconnect the power from the box and reconnect it. I've since discovered from this thread and the manual that there's a reset button behind the right hand access panel.

I've also learned that this is not an uncommon problem, and that there is no solution. The first two lockups happened with the previous software; the most recent with the latest stuff.

It's depressing. While I'm very impressed with the frequency and quality of the updates, I'm disappointed at the general stability of the unit. This is particularly disappointing because, in general, I love HD! I've had my HDTV for almost a year and this is the first time I've seen what it's capable of.

And it's awesome.

But my wife is anticipating having folks over for Super Bowl, and having the box lock up on us. She is not pleased, especially since I have a history of being an early adopter and buying stuff before the bugs are worked out. I'm not that happy myself - I expect this from new computer systems, but it never occurred to me that I'd encounter it in a DVR (though it should have.)

Please DTV - I really appreciate all you're doing to make it work more conveniently. But please just make it work first.

Apologies for the rant.

- Scott


----------



## mu2doug

Reset seems to have fixed problems but all of todays recordings were lost. I should have tried reset before post...


----------



## GA_SteelersFan

Hi,

Received this update this morning and had no issues watching previousily recorded shows on older version. However, tonight I attempted to view Survivor about 45 minutes in. With the TV on ESPN, went to quick menu, clicked on My Playlist -> Survivor, saw the orange bar with what it had recorded but only displayed black screen. Went to the live station, saw the show and saw it recording. Tried to rewind it, and the current picture froze. Same exact thing happened with CSI. Reset box after CSI was over, and both shows were removed from playlist but do not show as canceled in History. I have not seen the BSOD since August. 

Second issue, with Native off/HDMI connection , I notice a 2 - 3 second delay when I switch to another station (HD or SD) after the channel changes before the picture displays. Prior to this release there was no more than a 1 second delay, if that. Not a big deal, just annoying. 

Thanks


----------



## bobkatF

bobkatF said:


> Well, everything was looking good, until I tried to watch "My Name Is Earl", recorded on local HD and the screen FROZE when I hit SELECT to play from my list.
> 
> Resetting now.........


All better after reset. Watched Earl without any glitches.


----------



## aguadulce

Received EF last night.

My first ever hang :icon_cry: since my unit was installed 3 weeks ago went like this:

I was looking at items in my Active menu and went back to live TV and my screen was blank, but the banner showed the channel and the show title. I used my RC24 remote (that came with the unit) to change channels up and down using the channel button and the channel number changed, but the show title did not. I could only go up a few channels (5 I think) and no more. I could also go down and again, the channel number changed, but not the title. All throughout this the screen was blank. The only way to clear it was the red button reset, which worked.

I'm using HDMI with Native On and only 1080i selected, audio to my TV. A quick check of MyPlaylist after my reset showed everything still in my list and my "to-do" list was accurate. I consider myself a fairly light user at this point and my disk usage was 16%. I attempted to recreate the hang by going to the Active menu again and back to live TV - worked fine every time since.

The only other trouble I've seen was a picture only freeze while a program was being (pre)recorded (Apollo 13 in HD). Audio continued. A channel up and back down resolved the picture freeze. Saw this behavior in E3.


----------



## EMoMoney

First day with the EF software and it was 0-3 recording NBC shows tonight. Went to watch Earl and the progress bar showed 36 minutes recorded, but it showed the last minutes of the show when they were lying in bed then the first couple minutes of the office before the theme song came on then prompted to delete or not.
Went to watch The Office and the progress bar said it recorded 44 minutes, but it started with the last 10 minutes of the show then prompted to delete.
ER I don't watch, but my wife said it only recorded 21 minutes. 

All 3 shows recorded on the HR10 just fine.


----------



## jsnable

I experienced my first lock-up since installing the unit on 10/1. Everything was fine yesterday with EF installed, but today came home to a black screen. Bringing up the list showed nothing recorded today - should have been national news from local (MPEG 4) station and then local news in MPEG 2. Exiting the list then caused total unresponsiveness. Red button reset restored operation.

Jay


----------



## markf

After having my repeating manual recording of the Daily Show not work last night, I deleted it and redid it this morning (M-F, 8-8:30pm, channel 249). Unfortunately, it didn't record the Daily Show tonight, and no instances of it are in the Todo list.


----------



## tfederov

I watched the super sized Earl and Office without any issues. When we watched South Park, the screen saver kicked in about 5-10 minutes into the show. It happened twice during the playing. The "main" tuner was on XM channel 805 for what it's worth. It was also on that channel during the other two playbacks so I'm not sure if having an XM channel on when watching something recorded counts for anything or not. 

I still like this version very much.....


----------



## banthes

Forced the update last night. Everything went well, like the new 4x and faster slip. Had 2 shows recording on locals (ABC & CBS) and went to my playlist and pressed play to make sure they were recording and both played from the beginning perfectly. Went to watch them a few minutes ago (hour or so after they finished recording) and black screen recordings on both of them. Checked a non local recording I had scheduled and it recorded and played perfect. Even with the old version, mine would record non locals every time but most of the locals were black screen recordings. I'm doing a full reset now. I'll let you know if that helps. Does anyone know how to do a hard drive reformat so I can start from a completely new machine?


----------



## pappys

Issue:

I was recording Survivor and Til Death at 7pm and Office at 7:30. I stopped the recording of survivor about 10 minutes into program because I was watching live and wanted to flip back and forth to the Bulls game.

I had to pause the TV for a child related issue (the whole reason DVR's were invented anyway ), I noticed that the progress bar meter was set at the beginning of the buffer, but paused at the point I paused it. Trick play was disabled from there. I could not do anything. I could not change to any other channel. I did however manage to change to The Office because that was on the other tuner. That worked to establish the other tuner back. I started recording Survivor again.....

Had to pause again about 15 minutes later, same issue started. I got the channels working again, and tried to hit play from My Playlist to watch everything I missed from the 1st time this happened. No luck, after hitting play, it automatically asked me to delete or keep recording. Nothing was obviously recorded. My Playlist said it was still recording it.

I do have it backed up on my Tivo upstairs,or my wife would have thrown a fit. WAF is -50 at least. She hates it. 

The heat is on D*, get it right. I will give you plenty of backbone and stand up for you, but get it going. I don't know how much more my wife will take of this, and me defending you.:nono2:


----------



## shendley

Got the update last night and the slip and 4xff are working great. But I had two problems I've never had on my machine before. 

1) Went to watch a recording of The Daily Show and I just got a blank screen and the option to delete (or not) the recording. Restarted the machine and the recording was no longer listed in Playlist.

2) I was switching channels to see if it was moving more quickly between channels with native on. I accidentally hit a channel that didn't exist (99 I think) and got a blank screen, naturally. But when I tried to tune in another channel I kept getting blank screens. I turned the machine off and back on and everything went back to normal.


----------



## 911medic

Earl Bonovich said:


> FYI... for those of you that listed bugs in this thread... I am going to try to catchup today and get them all into the holding thread....


Earl, have you seen the few HDMI Issue posts (including mine)? That holding post is still empty...


----------



## Satster

Stability Issues: unwatchable recordings, recorder lock-up.

I got the latest update last night, and was reasonably happy with it until the stability problems started again.

Here is what just happened.

I was recording the replay of NHL game (Toronto-Boston) on HDNET 79 which started at 10:30 pm.
20 minutes into the broadcast, I selected the game from MyPlaylist and started watching it from the beginning. No problems.
Then I decided to check out Letterman. 
I paused the game and used the guide to highlight and tune to Late Night with David Letterman (local HD CBS11-Dallas)
While watching, I hit the record button to record the appearance by Frank Caliendo
When his segment was over, I hit stop and selected "stop and keep".
Then went to myplaylist and the Letterman segment was there (7 mins long)
I started playing it from the start. So far so good.
Then I decided to tune back to Letterman live.
When Christopher Guest Came on, I hit record again and stopped and saved the segment when it was over.
I went back to Myplaylist. Now I had two Letterman recordings: one 7 mins long and the other 19 minutes long. 
The longer recording was long enough to contain both segments (Caliendo and Guest).
However neither segment would play back. Black screen, no sound. I could move the record cursor around at will using FF, RWD, skip and back functions, but without audio or video.
Also, my HDNET recording would also no longer play. When I selected it and hit play, the image from when I paused it would continue to display, even as the time cursor moved backward and forwards on the recording in response to my using the trick play buttons.
Live TV worked fine, however hitting any trick play button would freeze the image and I would have to change channels up/down to get the picture back.
Also, none of my previously recorded SD programming would play.

I stopped the HDNET recording, but still could not watch any of my prerecorded programs.

Using the menu, I "restarted the recorder". It checked the Sat settings, received sat info.

This fixed some of the problems: I could then watch my HDNET recording and my older SD programs, but not the Lettermans (same symptom as above).

I deleted the Letterman segments.

But then I could no longer watch the HDNET or SD recordings (same as before).

Live TV worked fine (I forgot to check trick play).

Using the menu I selected "restart the recorder" again.

I could then watch all the recordings again, both HDNET and SD and functionality seems to be back to normal.

So the stability issues remain. They are much more important to address than any FF, 30 sec slip improvements.


----------



## 911medic

I don't know if this has been covered already, but I continue to have problems trying to set up a Series Link for The Daily Show. I set it to record first run episodes only, maximum of 5, and it suddenly adds every showing every day to the To Do List (I think it's re-run about 5 times a day). I don't know if this is an issue with the guide not reflecting first run vs. repeats, or a software issue.


----------



## jkc120

911medic said:


> I don't know if this has been covered already, but I continue to have problems trying to set up a Series Link for The Daily Show. I set it to record first run episodes only, maximum of 5, and it suddenly adds every showing every day to the To Do List (I think it's re-run about 5 times a day). I don't know if this is an issue with the guide not reflecting first run vs. repeats, or a software issue.


Yeah, I just added that to test and sure enough the "episodes" entry shows a slew of them being recorded (for the same episode even). Smells like bad/incomplete guide info.


----------



## forum junkie

tfederov said:


> I watched the super sized Earl and Office without any issues. When we watched South Park, the screen saver kicked in about 5-10 minutes into the show. It happened twice during the playing. The "main" tuner was on XM channel 805 for what it's worth. It was also on that channel during the other two playbacks so I'm not sure if having an XM channel on when watching something recorded counts for anything or not.
> 
> I still like this version very much.....


If you are watching something even though it is recorded you wouldn't think so but with software bugs it could be, since there is no motion on most XM perhaps it triggers the screen saver.


----------



## Jeremy W

911medic said:


> I don't know if this has been covered already, but I continue to have problems trying to set up a Series Link for The Daily Show.


The Daily Show is a problem on the Tivos as well. It's always been that way. I just set up a M-F manual recording, and dump the Friday ones.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

911medic said:


> Earl, have you seen the few HDMI Issue posts (including mine)? That holding post is still empty...


I had to unexpectedly take a buisness trip today... and I just got to my hotel room (about 11:45pm)... I have been in the car since about 3pm.. 

I will be working in our stores most of the day tomorrow (and driving), so I will try on Saturday to go through the thread, and pull all the problems and HDMI listed...


----------



## Jeremy W

Earl Bonovich said:


> I had to unexpectedly take a buisness trip today... and I just got to my hotel room (about 11:45pm)... I have been in the car since about 3pm..
> 
> I will be working in our stores most of the day tomorrow (and driving), so I will try on Saturday to go through the thread, and pull all the problems and HDMI listed...


You know what Earl? All I see are excuses. The fact is that you're slacking, and I don't like it one bit. This is unacceptable, and I think you need to get to work NOW.


----------



## Intex

More problems again. This new upgrade has created a slew of problems for me:
1. Audio stops for a couple of seconds at a time, then resumes.
2. Lip synce issues at times.
3. Sometimes audio just starts to buzz.
4. Did not record 4 shows today,
5. The MyPlaylist listed a show that said it recorded 1 hour of, but after playing 5-10 minutes, it just stopped and gave the "Delete This" message.
6. Right now with the OC, volume just dissapeared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it me, or is each consecutive release getting WORSE?


----------



## 911medic

Jeremy W said:


> The Daily Show is a problem on the Tivos as well. It's always been that way. I just set up a M-F manual recording, and dump the Friday ones.


Yeah, that's what I ended up doing just now. Thanks!


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Jeremy W said:


> You know what Earl? All I see are excuses. The fact is that you're slacking, and I don't like it one bit. This is unacceptable, and I think you need to get to work NOW.


You're right... So where is that button to ban a user.......


----------



## 911medic

Jeremy W said:


> You know what Earl? All I see are excuses. The fact is that you're slacking, and I don't like it one bit. This is unacceptable, and I think you need to get to work NOW.


Really. Priorities, Earl, priorities...


----------



## Jeremy W

Earl Bonovich said:


> You're right... So where is that button to ban a user.......


Come on now, don't be so hard on yourself! You don't need to be banned, a warning will do.


----------



## jbstix

911medic said:


> I don't know if this has been covered already, but I continue to have problems trying to set up a Series Link for The Daily Show. I set it to record first run episodes only, maximum of 5, and it suddenly adds every showing every day to the To Do List (I think it's re-run about 5 times a day). I don't know if this is an issue with the guide not reflecting first run vs. repeats, or a software issue.


Some others have mentioned this as well, but I'm beginning to think alot of these scheduleing/SL issues are a result of the Guide Data info. 
I posted a while ago about not seeing "Repeat" in the info section of a program.
see here: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70320
Also, I rarely see "First Run" in the program info as well. Obviously the HR20 knows what programs are First Run and Repeats (usually) b/c when my units are behaving, it records correctly. 
This def. seems like a quircky Guide Data issue - but who knows?
Like tonigt I thought Grey's Anatomy was a repeat, but the Info about the show said nothing about it the last word in Info was "Series". 
Why doesn't "First Run" and "Repeat" not show up correctly? I'm pretty sure those 2 show up on my DTivo's (usually)? 
Isn't the Guide Data all the same?
Any ideas?


----------



## JLove336

I have had the a problem 2 or 3 times where I go to the stop time to 1 hour late on a scheduled recording on FSN South and both times it says please wait and then never does anything...any suggestions?


----------



## JLove336

Regarding the post above, I can press back and get it to stop saying please wait, but I still can't get the scheduled program to switch to stopping an hour later without getting the nonstop please wait.


----------



## AirShark

Chiming in with a bug report.

Unresponsive HR20.

Situation: Watching Battlestar Galactica in 1080i recorded from the Universal HD channel. I did do some fast-forwarding towards the end of the show. I chose not to delete the episode at the end.

When returning to live TV, local channel 5 480i, the DVR became unresponsive to the remote or to front-panel buttons. For a few minutes I noticed that the pause button on the remote still made the front panel light flash, but did nothing. Then this button also became unresponsive.

Red button reset cleared the problem.

Using HDMI, Native=ON


----------



## ODiN91

Intex said:


> More problems again. This new upgrade has created a slew of problems for me:
> 1. Audio stops for a couple of seconds at a time, then resumes.
> 2. Lip synce issues at times.
> 3. Sometimes audio just starts to buzz.
> 4. Did not record 4 shows today,
> 5. The MyPlaylist listed a show that said it recorded 1 hour of, but after playing 5-10 minutes, it just stopped and gave the "Delete This" message.
> 6. Right now with the OC, volume just dissapeared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Is it me, or is each consecutive release getting WORSE?


I noticed the audio dropouts too, generally at the beginning of play back (SD and HD) for a few seconds. I've also noticed audio took a few seconds to catch up for playback (SD recording) when doing the 30 sec slip. Seemed like it took about 1.5-2 seconds to start audio playback after the video was playing.


----------



## rsonnens

I too have noticed audio dropouts. 

I also notice that when I get to the end of viewing a show and select delete it that it DOES NOT delete from my playlist. If I then go to the playlist and delete it from there it deletes just fine.


----------



## wpbond69

*HR20 Version EF Bug Report*

I got my HR20 about 3 weeks ago and initially set it up with a spare TV. It loaded v. E3 right off the bat before any usage.

I'm still using a 3-LNB oval dish; my 5-LNB AT-9 is due to be installed this Friday (later today).

I got version EB and everything continued to be ok. Then last weekend I moved the HR20 from testing to use on main TV and connected it to a UPS power supply. I received latest EF version on Wednesday AM.

After being bug free, I got hit with 2 bugs on Thursday.

1. Blue Screen Lock up: In the morning when I turned it on, it was frozen with a blue screen. It was unresponsive to remote controls. I had to use reset to get it going again. Unfortunately, reset requires rebuilding guide and to do list.

2. Partial Recording: Thursday night set unit to record Survivor, CSI, The Office and 30 Rock off Seattle SD, MPEG 2 locals. All 4 appear to have recorded. However, when playing Survivor, it only recorded the first 38 minutes. I am guessing that having The Office start at 8:40 may have caused this problem. Perhaps the unit thought it would have to record Survivor, The Office and CSI all at 9 with only 2 tuners. In my Prioritizer, Survivor is #1 though, so even if it thought it had too many shows to record with the 2 tuners, I'd think it would not have dropped Survivor. By the way, all of these shows are set to the defaults to start and stop at the show's scheduled times.

Very disappointing to screw this up. I was concerned that the box might mess up The Office or 30 Rock since they had odd start/stop times scheduled. However, it screwed up a show that was running in its normal 8-9 slot.

It's also possible that the box reset Thursday morning (in #1) affected guide or to do list data and contributed to the problem.

Fortunately, we were able to watch the end of Survivor on HR10-250 recording on bedroom tv.


----------



## MasMic

It looks like we may have had the same problem. I assume since you're in Maryland you receive the feed from WRC, the NBC HD feed out of Washington DC. I'm in Northern Virginia, Leesburg and was not recording but watching these same shows last night. During each one there were problems. When the video froze during Earl, I switched to my OTA antenna to see if there was a problem there and there was no problem. When I switched back to my HR20, Earl was playing again, I tried to rewind (live buffer) from the point of the problem but it showed the screen freeze and then the audio dropped out and I just decided to watch the show so my family wouldn't give me death stares the rest of the night.
If I remember right, it froze again briefly during The Office and ER as well, but it wasn't as noticeable as it was with Earl.

Who else gets their feed from WRC and can state if they had problems last night?



EMoMoney said:


> First day with the EF software and it was 0-3 recording NBC shows tonight. Went to watch Earl and the progress bar showed 36 minutes recorded, but it showed the last minutes of the show when they were lying in bed then the first couple minutes of the office before the theme song came on then prompted to delete or not.
> Went to watch The Office and the progress bar said it recorded 44 minutes, but it started with the last 10 minutes of the show then prompted to delete.
> ER I don't watch, but my wife said it only recorded 21 minutes.
> 
> All 3 shows recorded on the HR10 just fine.


----------



## patsrule316

MasMic said:


> It looks like we may have had the same problem. I assume since you're in Maryland you receive the feed from WRC, the NBC HD feed out of Washington DC. I'm in Northern Virginia, Leesburg and was not recording but watching these same shows last night. During each one there were problems. When the video froze during Earl, I switched to my OTA antenna to see if there was a problem there and there was no problem. When I switched back to my HR20, Earl was playing again, I tried to rewind (live buffer) from the point of the problem but it showed the screen freeze and then the audio dropped out and I just decided to watch the show so my family wouldn't give me death stares the rest of the night.
> If I remember right, it froze again briefly during The Office and ER as well, but it wasn't as noticeable as it was with Earl.
> 
> Who else gets their feed from WRC and can state if they had problems last night?


I get the Washington feed, and recorded Earl, the Office and 30 Rock, but haven't watched them yet. I will post if I had a problem.

I did have one extremely minor thing with the new update. I watch on 1080i pillar box set to dark grey. For some unknown reason, after the update, my pillar box switched to black, although it still said dark grey in the menu. I switched to grey and back to dark grey and things were back to normal.

Love the new 30 second slip!!!!


----------



## EMoMoney

MasMic said:


> It looks like we may have had the same problem. I assume since you're in Maryland you receive the feed from WRC, the NBC HD feed out of Washington DC.


I'm actually north of Baltimore, I get WBAL. I know this had nothing to do with the rain as I was able to watch The Office just fine from the buffer. CSI recorded fine on WJZ though.


----------



## cawgijoe

patsrule316 said:


> I get the Washington feed, and recorded Earl, the Office and 30 Rock, but haven't watched them yet. I will post if I had a problem.
> 
> I did have one extremely minor thing with the new update. I watch on 1080i pillar box set to dark grey. For some unknown reason, after the update, my pillar box switched to black, although it still said dark grey in the menu. I switched to grey and back to dark grey and things were back to normal.
> 
> Love the new 30 second slip!!!!


Same issue with me last night. Thought I was seeing things. Switched to gray and it came back. problem solved.


----------



## Capmeister

Jeremy W said:


> There's either something wrong with your HR20, or your TV. Try replacing the HR20 first.


Well, the TV was fine not only for the H20 but until the verision before EB hit. Also, if I can rewind and make it do it again, it tells me its something in the playback.

Earl, really think I should call and have it replaced?


----------



## GeekDude

Earl Bonovich said:


> HDMI Tracking Post


Panasonic 50PX60U Plasma with HR20 using HDMI

When playing back any recorded HD video on local MPEG4 Channels (2, 11,13,and26 in Houston, TX) their is intermintent loss of audio for about 3 seconds. This happens about 3-4 times per hour of recorded video. This has been happening all along and I was hoping it would be fixed. I have had the HR20 since Early September.


----------



## SockMonkey

Got 0xEF on Wednesday evening via a forced download. This morning woke up and turned on the TV to check the weather. Found that I could not use the remote. HR20 was not responding to any commands (power light was not blinking). And, the buttons on the front of the HR20 would not do anything. :nono2: :nono: 

Red button reset fixed the problem.
Bob


----------



## yamaham

Got EF automatically 4am yesterday, didn't notice and did a force update 6pm yesterday. Still has the pink FF bug, 4x FF is nice but all FF still choppy.

If I could request 3 things from the HR20 dev team it would be:
1 - Dual buffers
2 - Fix pink FF bug
3 - How playback begins after a FF/RW. When I FF/RW at 2x/3x/4x things go by quickly, so when I hit 'PLAY' it's because I've recognized that the show has come back from commercial, and the audio takes 1-3 seconds to catch up. So I miss part of the show due to reaction time and another bit due to audio sync. TiVo handles this nicely by starting playback a few seconds prior to where you hit 'PLAY'. An example for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of TiVo: You're doing a 3xFF through commercials, which end at 15m:10s and show begins at 15:11, but you can only react fast enough to hit 'PLAY' at 15:15. No problem, TiVo corrects for this and starts you at roughly 15:10. Good form!


----------



## SockMonkey

EMoMoney said:


> I'm actually north of Baltimore, I get WBAL. I know this had nothing to do with the rain as I was able to watch The Office just fine from the buffer. CSI recorded fine on WJZ though.


I recorded Earl, The Office, and 30 Rock off of WBAL last night and had no problems. This morning the box was still tuned to WBAL but would not accept any commands from the remote or the front buttons.

Bob


----------



## mtnagel

yamaham said:


> 3 - How playback begins after a FF/RW. When I FF/RW at 2x/3x/4x things go by quickly, so when I hit 'PLAY' it's because I've recognized that the show has come back from commercial, and the audio takes 1-3 seconds to catch up. So I miss part of the show due to reaction time and another bit due to audio sync. TiVo handles this nicely by starting playback a few seconds prior to where you hit 'PLAY'. An example for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of TiVo: You're doing a 3xFF through commercials, which end at 15m:10s and show begins at 15:11, but you can only react fast enough to hit 'PLAY' at 15:15. No problem, TiVo corrects for this and starts you at roughly 15:10. Good form!


It's a tivo patent. Will not happen on the HR20 (though Time Warner's DVR does it).


----------



## iceburg02

MasMic said:


> It looks like we may have had the same problem. I assume since you're in Maryland you receive the feed from WRC, the NBC HD feed out of Washington DC. I'm in Northern Virginia, Leesburg and was not recording but watching these same shows last night. During each one there were problems. When the video froze during Earl, I switched to my OTA antenna to see if there was a problem there and there was no problem. When I switched back to my HR20, Earl was playing again, I tried to rewind (live buffer) from the point of the problem but it showed the screen freeze and then the audio dropped out and I just decided to watch the show so my family wouldn't give me death stares the rest of the night.
> If I remember right, it froze again briefly during The Office and ER as well, but it wasn't as noticeable as it was with Earl.
> 
> Who else gets their feed from WRC and can state if they had problems last night?


I'm in the DC area too and had Earl freeze up just as you mentioned - WRC-HD. I didn't notice any glitches in The Office and didn't watch or record ER.


----------



## paul01463

I'm traveling and cannot get to my HR20, but I'm curious to find out if the new release can be configured to limit the search function to the favorite channels or channels I receive list. The lack of that feature is my main peeve with the unit.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

paul01463 said:


> I'm traveling and cannot get to my HR20, but I'm curious to find out if the new release can be configured to limit the search function to the favorite channels or channels I receive list. The lack of that feature is my main peeve with the unit.


No, the new software version does not introduce that option


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Capmeister said:


> Well, the TV was fine not only for the H20 but until the verision before EB hit. Also, if I can rewind and make it do it again, it tells me its something in the playback.
> 
> Earl, really think I should call and have it replaced?


How are you connecting? HDMI or component?
Does this happen quickly? Regularly or sporatically.

What happens if you turn off Closed Caption and playback the same segment 
(BTW... what where you watching that had a whip snapping... :goodandba )

Does it only do this for MPEG-4? MPEG-2? ect...
Does it do it on say channel 100 (the default channel)...

And if so... what happens if you temporarly hook up your H20

I am pretty much not going to be back on till late tonight if not till tomorrow... so...


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## paul01463

Earl Bonovich said:


> No, the new software version does not introduce that option


Thanks, Earl - any idea when we will see this feature?


----------



## bjdku

When I try to turn on my HR20 in the morning, it is completely unresponsive. No lights. I tried turning the power on with the remote and with the button on the front. The first time this happened, I considered it a fluke, did a red button reset, and moved on. But it happened again. And, it is repeatable. Every time I power off the HR20 after getting EF, I cannot power it back on.

In addition, I had "My Name is Earl" scheduled to record. I didn't try to turn the HR20 back on until that show supposedly had 20 minutes recorded. However, the HR20 had no lights on, not even the yellow record light. I tried to turn the HR20 on, no response. I could hear the loud screech of the fans and the hard disks, but that was it. I had to reset. When it booted back up, it started recording Earl from that point. There was no recorded snippet from before the reboot. I don't know how the box behaves when you reset in the middle of a recording, but my guess is that I should have a segment of the recording before the reset if it was recording. If my assumption is right, that means not only can i not turn it on, but it also is not recording anything.

Anyone else having this experience?

I am afraid you all are going to so "no" which means I have to do the dreaded "format" of the HR20 and lose everything


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## banthes

banthes said:


> Forced the update last night. Everything went well, like the new 4x and faster slip. Had 2 shows recording on locals (ABC & CBS) and went to my playlist and pressed play to make sure they were recording and both played from the beginning perfectly. Went to watch them a few minutes ago (hour or so after they finished recording) and black screen recordings on both of them. Checked a non local recording I had scheduled and it recorded and played perfect. Even with the old version, mine would record non locals every time but most of the locals were black screen recordings. I'm doing a full reset now. I'll let you know if that helps. Does anyone know how to do a hard drive reformat so I can start from a completely new machine?


No luck on a full reset, dont waste your time. If anything I believe it is more unstable now.

Infocus n76/HDMI input
Phillips surround sound/digital input
Native/off
Owner/irritated


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## Stuart Sweet

I decided to pad "My Name is Earl" and "30 Rock" by a couple of minutes for last night only.

Before I did, I changed channels and got a "Searching for Satellite [771]" message for about a second, followed by a black screen, followed by it actually working correctly.

I used 
 / [Yellow] to go into the To Do List and attempted to set both to start 2 minutes early and finish 5 minutes late. "For My Name is Earl", this worked fine.

However, for "30 Rock" I got the following behavior:

-I was able to set 2 minutes early, no problem. 
-When I told it 5 minutes late and pushed [OK] to update, I got the please wait bar for about 2 seconds but the ending time changed back to "On Time". 
-When I selected 5 minutes late again and pushed [OK] again, I got the please wait bar for at least 3 minutes. While this was happening Live TV continued to show but the remote was unresponsive. The only option was red-button reset.

*Most importantly I was able to repeat this exact behavior 3 times before I finally gave up, deleted the list item and set a manual record.* I know that "Earl" recorded fine but I haven't checked "30 Rock" yet.

Note: I do not record "The Office" on this HR20. "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's Anatomy" were scheduled to record on the is HR20 concurrently, as was last night's Barbara Walters special. As far as I can see there was no recording conflict; nothing else would have recorded at that time even if I had more tuners.

I would have written this off as a random occurrence if it weren't repeatable. I haven't seen the problem with any other recordings.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

I believe this is an HDMI issue, please correct me if you believe I am wrong.

I had posted earlier that I believed that regardless of the resolutions selected, Native mode would always show programming in the resolution it was recorded. Others disagreed and I set about checking it.

*The other posters were right and I was wrong.* However I discovered a bug which is what led me astray.

HR20 is set to show only 1080i. However, the following steps cause the resolution to switch to 480p:

-Set the tuner to an MPEG4 HD channel (In my case KNBC-DT, Los Angeles]
-Push [Menu], [Help and Settings], [Setup]. Set Native to On.
-Exit and return to Live TV. 
-Set the tuner to an MPEG2 SD channel (In my case SciFi)
-Push 
.

At this point the resolution changes to 480p.

When I turn Native off, the resolution stays at 480p. However, pushing the [Format] button changes the resolution from 480p Pillar Box to 1080i Crop. Repeated pushes of the [Format] button simply cycle through 1080i options.

This behavior has been repeatable 4 times out of 7. However the other times it has not repeated.

I have done my best to document this issue. If you have other questions, I'll edit the post with the answers.


----------



## Doug Brott

brott said:


> Another positive to report. The Live TV buffer seemed nebulous in the earlier releases. On multiple occasions, I was able to create a Live TV buffer much longer than 90 minutes. While in this extended buffer (outside of the 90-minute expected buffer), Trick Play functions did not work properly.
> 
> NOW, I paused a show for an extended period. When I returned about 2 hours later, it was playing and it was at the front-end of the expected 90-minute buffer. I tried to rewind and after a short blip, it started to play again - This is expected. In the past, it could remain paused forever, but now it can remain paused for only 90 minutes. Thanks for this fix.


OK, I accidentally left one of my HR20s paused last night. Guess what!? It was still paused. Actually, it may have paused itself because it was paused sometime in the 3am hour (I wasn't awake then). Either way, I had to FF (4xRocks) from 3am through until 7am to catch up to LiveTV. The 3 hour buffer should have started to Play @ 90-minutes back rather than remaining paused indefinitely.


----------



## avatar230

bjdku said:


> When I try to turn on my HR20 in the morning, it is completely unresponsive. No lights. I tried turning the power on with the remote and with the button on the front. The first time this happened, I considered it a fluke, did a red button reset, and moved on. But it happened again. And, it is repeatable. Every time I power off the HR20 after getting EF, I cannot power it back on.
> 
> In addition, I had "My Name is Earl" scheduled to record. I didn't try to turn the HR20 back on until that show supposedly had 20 minutes recorded. However, the HR20 had no lights on, not even the yellow record light. I tried to turn the HR20 on, no response. I could hear the loud screech of the fans and the hard disks, but that was it. I had to reset. When it booted back up, it started recording Earl from that point. There was no recorded snippet from before the reboot. I don't know how the box behaves when you reset in the middle of a recording, but my guess is that I should have a segment of the recording before the reset if it was recording. If my assumption is right, that means not only can i not turn it on, but it also is not recording anything.
> 
> Anyone else having this experience?
> 
> I am afraid you all are going to so "no" which means I have to do the dreaded "format" of the HR20 and lose everything


This bug has been around since at least the EB update which is when my HR20 got hit with it. I've seen a number of users with the same problem since in both EB and EF. Sadly, the only fix I've seen is the reformat through the "RESET EVERYTHING" option. If the lockup is repeating (which you say it is), I'd bite the bullet. Remember to write down all your settings, custom channels and series links. The good news is I haven't heard anyone complain that the problem kept occurring after a reformat.


----------



## Doug Brott

I just had a thought. My "Extended Buffer" problem could possibly be causing some of the lockups that people are getting - especially the ones that folks have noticed in the morning after they wake up. In my case, I have a fair amount of disk space available. It's unlikely that I have filled up the disk with my buffer recording. When I checked this morning, one of my systems was paused and had the extended buffer problem. I wonder if the software just gets really, really confused if the drive fills up with Buffer data? Once full, either (1) something has to be deleted or (2) nothing else can be recorded.


----------



## amigq

I originally turned off native mode because the pauses when switching channels was so unbearable. After receiving EF, I was messing around last night and decided to try native again for fun. Seems like its MUCH faster when switching channels now, at least enough to be bearable. 

Anyone else noticed that the native setting is much better after EF?


----------



## Wally_Gator

Watching Survivor both recordedn and live last night.
Channel 2 here on the west coast. Connected to my TV via Component.
DD via TOS link to my Audio System.
I started to get drop outs on the recorded part. Then I got static and some loud pops. I decided to stop recording and go to live tv. Still there. Then I went to the MPEG 2 broadcast of Survivor and no problems. Back to the MPEG 4 and the problems were still there.
This happened on LA 2 HD and LA 11 HD.. (Same thing for Grey's Anatomy.)
Turning DD off had no effect on the sound problems.

I called into support and the CSR did not want to take a report on the issue unless it happened on all of my boxes ( I have two other H20 non dvr's.)


----------



## jsevinsk

rsonnens said:


> I also notice that when I get to the end of viewing a show and select delete it that it DOES NOT delete from my playlist. If I then go to the playlist and delete it from there it deletes just fine.


I saw that issue last night. I hit the end of the recording and I selected "delete", yet it still showed up in the list. I had to delete it from the list. But, it worked OK with the second show that I watched.

John


----------



## bovac97

brott said:


> I just had a thought. My "Extended Buffer" problem could possibly be causing some of the lockups that people are getting - especially the ones that folks have noticed in the morning after they wake up. In my case, I have a fair amount of disk space available. It's unlikely that I have filled up the disk with my buffer recording. When I checked this morning, one of my systems was paused and had the extended buffer problem. I wonder if the software just gets really, really confused if the drive fills up with Buffer data? Once full, either (1) something has to be deleted or (2) nothing else can be recorded.


For a week now I have been putting my HR20 into standby mode, pressing the power button so all the LED lights go out. When I am ready to watch something I press power again and I notice there is no live buffer. The buffer starts when I bring it out of standby mode. Since I have been putting it into standby mode I haven't missed one recording yet. Before that I was missing on average one night of entire recordings a week. Any chance this is related to the above quote?


----------



## mwhip

I don't want to read 20 pages but is up with the weird video lines in SD and sometimes is HD?


----------



## hasan

mwhip said:


> I don't want to read 20 pages but is up with the weird video lines in SD and sometimes is HD?


You need to give us more info. What are the lines like? Are they horizontal and scroll up the screen, or vertical and move across? Are they stationary?

Have you looked at the TV directly (no satellite, just internal tuner)?

"wierd video lines" is just too cryptic to get any info from, so we can try to help.


----------



## JohnMav

amigq said:


> I originally turned off native mode because the pauses when switching channels was so unbearable. After receiving EF, I was messing around last night and decided to try native again for fun. Seems like its MUCH faster when switching channels now, at least enough to be bearable.
> 
> Anyone else noticed that the native setting is much better after EF?


Yes, I agree native mode is much faster with EF


----------



## Intex

Is anyone else experiencing the same problems with the newest release:

1. Audio freezes for several minutes on either HD or Reg locals. You have to change channels, then change back to get it to work again.

2. HR20 misses programs to record (on either local HD or Reg stations, ei: Oprah, CSI, etc...)

3. Unit records a show (HD or non-HD series on local stations), then upon playback, it only allows you to watch 3-10 minutes, then ends, even though the recording bar shows one full hour recordeed. This happened last night on Shark,Greys Anatomy, CSI(Thurs))

4.Unit all of a sudden freezes on a blue screen, and you have to change channels to get it to unfreeze.

I just would like to know ifg this is now my machine, or these are still reported problems.


----------



## mwhip

hasan said:


> You need to give us more info. What are the lines like? Are they horizontal and scroll up the screen, or vertical and move across? Are they stationary?
> 
> Have you looked at the TV directly (no satellite, just internal tuner)?
> 
> "wierd video lines" is just too cryptic to get any info from, so we can try to help.


Yeah I know it was I figured if someone else was having the issue they would know exactly what I was talking about.

They are horizontal and go away when the camera switched shots but comes back when it switches back. They move horizontally also and very slowly vertically.


----------



## KapnKrunch

Well, just got version 0XEF, and when both my Vizio P50HDM and the HR20 are powered on simultaneously (using the DTV remote), I get a picture of snow, and no audio. If I power recycle power on the HR20, I get the picture back. This problem is intermittent.

The problem does not appear when I use component video.


----------



## wmschultz

Sounds like the HDMI handshake. Have you tried changing resolutions via the front
panel instead of rebooting?


----------



## KapnKrunch

Just got 0xEF, and was working with the Prioritizer, and have about 10 shows in the list. As I was juggling priorities, the screen went blank and the HR20 reset itself. This has never happened before.

I am hooked up via HDMI to a Vizio P50HDM.


----------



## hasan

KapnKrunch said:


> Well, just got version 0XEF, and when both my Vizio P50HDM and the HR20 are powered on simultaneously (using the DTV remote), I get a picture of snow, and no audio. If I power recycle power on the HR20, I get the picture back. This problem is intermittent.
> 
> The problem does not appear when I use component video.


You have an HDMI compatibility issue between the HR20 and the TV. Instead of powering on/off, hit the front panel Res button and cycle it through the settings, coming back to the setting you like (720p or 1080i). See if that restores the pix.

If you are running the HR20 with Native ON...turn Native OFF in the HR20 and set your resolution to either 720p or 1080i, whichever you like the looks of better.

Then you just have to wait for the HR20 update that resolves your HDMI issue so you don't have this problem.


----------



## KapnKrunch

wmschultz said:


> Sounds like the HDMI handshake. Have you tried changing resolutions via the front
> panel instead of rebooting?


I did not "reboot" to rectify the problem - I simply powered off/on the HR20. Yes, I think it is a HDMI handshake problem. It just blows me away that this same monitor worked flawlessly with my HR10 using HDMI.

Also, I am set to one resolution - 720p.


----------



## mooniac

KapnKrunch said:


> Well, just got version 0XEF, and when both my Vizio P50HDM and the HR20 are powered on simultaneously (using the DTV remote), I get a picture of snow, and no audio. If I power recycle power on the HR20, I get the picture back. This problem is intermittent.
> 
> The problem does not appear when I use component video.


Since the last update I can't get HDMI to work at all with my Vizio L32HD. No matter the order of turning things on I get no HDMI signal at all as far as the TV is concerned.


----------



## NoGoSlo

I have the 0exf and been generally pleased. Last night after survivor, the screen froze to blue, but with live TV in the small square upper right corner. I wasn't home, and my wife couldn't get it to resolved itself.

I then used a red button reset this morning and everything is okay.  It even recorded OC and Grey's Anatomy in that state.


----------



## Stevesdigi

Seems to me that the CC is now working worse than before. It was fairly usable on the movie channels before but now it is showing one line at a time or scrolling with a blank line between text lines or just scrolling too fast to read. The local channels, both SD and HD are mostly crap, text obliterated, overwritten, jumps from top of screen to bottom for no reason. Still no CC on our local Fox affiliate, Channel 13 Tampa, never has been so expect this is a feed problem and not the HR20 but who knows. If you need CC then forget this box!


----------



## Reggie3

I have had my HR-20 seize up twice after watching a recorded program. In both cases I had to reboot with the button. The HR-20 would revert to the channel that I last was watching before the recorded program - and no buttons would work either on the remote or the machine itself. I am using component out.

I had no problems previously.


----------



## ChromaTick

NoGoSlo said:


> I have the 0exf and been generally pleased. Last night after survivor, the screen froze to blue, but with live TV in the small square upper right corner. I wasn't home, and my wife couldn't get it to resolved itself.
> 
> I then used a red button reset this morning and everything is okay. It even recorded OC and Grey's Anatomy in that state.


Weird, the EXACT same thing happened to me. I had just finished Survivor and clicked the "don't delete" button and the screen went to blue, but I still had live TV in the upper corner. The box was still recording my two 9pm shows also.

No response from the remote or buttons on the box and had to do a red button reset.

Three weeks with the box, no missed recordings, no partials, two red button resets and the pink FF/Play/Pause. (component, MPEG4 and SD)


----------



## LameLefty

ChromaTick said:


> Weird, the EXACT same thing happened to me. I had just finished Survivor and clicked the "don't delete" button and the screen went to blue, but I still had live TV in the upper corner. The box was still recording my two 9pm shows also.
> 
> No response from the remote or buttons on the box and had to do a red button reset.
> 
> Three weeks with the box, no missed recordings, no partials, two red button resets and the pink FF/Play/Pause. (component, MPEG4 and SD)


We had that happen about 2 weeks ago under 0xE3, exiting an MPEG2 SD recording. That has been our sole lockup since we got the box a month ago.


----------



## GoLaLakers

Wally_Gator said:


> Watching Survivor both recordedn and live last night.
> Channel 2 here on the west coast. Connected to my TV via Component.
> DD via TOS link to my Audio System.
> I started to get drop outs on the recorded part. Then I got static and some loud pops. I decided to stop recording and go to live tv. Still there. Then I went to the MPEG 2 broadcast of Survivor and no problems. Back to the MPEG 4 and the problems were still there.
> This happened on LA 2 HD and LA 11 HD.. (Same thing for Grey's Anatomy.)
> Turning DD off had no effect on the sound problems.
> 
> I called into support and the CSR did not want to take a report on the issue unless it happened on all of my boxes ( I have two other H20 non dvr's.)


I had the same problem last night with Gray's Anatomy as well. Popping/Ticking occured about 15 minutes into program, and lasted only a few minutes. Stopped playing and went to live TV, and then back into the recording and the problem was still there. It went away after 2 minutes. This was on the MPEG 2 recording, channel 87. Never had this problem before but it seems others had the same problem.


----------



## TomF

This has happened several times since I received EF on Wednesday, 11/15. It's happened for the last two mornings and has happened when I switch from my HR10 to the HR20.

The usual scenario is I turn on my system or switch to the HR20 from the HR10 and the HR20 appears to be working normally. I try to use the remote and it won't respond to any button. I try the buttons on the front panel, no response. I have to do a RBR (red button reset) and after it comes back up it works fine. I've had EB for two days now and this has happened at least five times. *This did not happen before EB*.


----------



## TomF

GoLaLakers said:


> I had the same problem last night with Gray's Anatomy as well. Popping/Ticking occured about 15 minutes into program, and lasted only a few minutes. Stopped playing and went to live TV, and then back into the recording and the problem was still there. It went away after 2 minutes. This was on the MPEG 2 recording, channel 87. Never had this problem before but it seems others had the same problem.


The popping and ticking happened to me yesterday while watching local news (MPEG4) live. This morning I experienced audio dropouts while watching local news live on a different channel. They were very short in duration, almost like stuttering, not like the audio problem on the HR10. Again, I never experienced this prior to EF.

I like that EF makes the trick play features faster and smoother. I also like that native mode switching is much faster and smoother. But I don't like having to do frequent RBRs, which I had only done once or twice in the five weeks I've had the HR20.


----------



## JerryShain

Earl Bonovich said:


> Trick Play refers to anything that results in playback outside of normal playback. So FF, RW, Skip To Ticks, Pause, Slow, 30s SLIP... ect
> 
> 30 SLIP is a fixed length (roughly) FF mode, that will go ~30s of material.
> With the latest updates, it "slips" past 30s of material in about 2s
> 
> The forward advance button, top right of the play button on your control... .Clockwise arrow


So Earl, what button on the remote do you push for skip to tick marks?
Thanks in advance,
Jerry


----------



## mtnagel

JerryShain said:


> So Earl, what button on the remote do you push for skip to tick marks?
> Thanks in advance,
> Jerry


Not Earl, but press and hold FF.


----------



## JerryShain

mtnagel said:


> Not Earl, but press and hold FF.


Thank you also.


----------



## avatar230

TomF said:


> This has happened several times since I received EF on Wednesday, 11/15. It's happened for the last two mornings and has happened when I switch from my HR10 to the HR20.
> 
> The usual scenario is I turn on my system or switch to the HR20 from the HR10 and the HR20 appears to be working normally. I try to use the remote and it won't respond to any button. I try the buttons on the front panel, no response. I have to do a RBR (red button reset) and after it comes back up it works fine. I've had EB for two days now and this has happened at least five times. *This did not happen before EB*.


I had this same problem last week when I got the EB update. Three days in, I reformatted my unit. I have not had the problem again since -- as of tonight, it's been a week since I reformatted. I've seen no other solution to fix the lockups, which seem to be very common on the last two software updates (EB & EF). People who leave their unit powered all day find it stuck on one channel; people who put it in standby find it refusing to turn back on.


----------



## Calebrot

TomF said:


> The popping and ticking happened to me yesterday while watching local news (MPEG4) live. This morning I experienced audio dropouts while watching local news live on a different channel. They were very short in duration, almost like stuttering, not like the audio problem on the HR10. Again, I never experienced this prior to EF.
> 
> I like that EF makes the trick play features faster and smoother. I also like that native mode switching is much faster and smoother. But I don't like having to do frequent RBRs, which I had only done once or twice in the five weeks I've had the HR20.


I've had the popping and ticking before and with this software release, I call it a hiccup. Anyway, the way I have in the past and now with this release overcame the issue is to hit the 6-second back button and then for some reason the hiccuping goes away.


----------



## h0ckeysk8er

04sxwin said:


> btmoore said:
> 
> 
> 
> Start here: QUOTE]
> 
> Thanks for the reference. I took a look and that's helpful, but a little too technical. I'm really just looking to understand how it impacts usage of the HR20. I've seen references to MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 in these forums and I just haven't been able to understand how it factors in to the HR-20.
> 
> I apologize again for my ignorance on this .
> 
> Thanks
> 
> P.S. I had to delete the URL from my reply as I don't have enough posts yet to include URL's.
> 
> 
> 
> This is a nice overview of HDTV and the evolution of TV in general.
> http://www.yale.edu/tp/HDTV.htm
Click to expand...


----------



## tnorris

HR20, LG 37" LCD. 

I have the OXEF software but it has not addressed my hdmi problem. When powering on the TV and HR20, I get snow or green screen. I have to push the RES button on the HR20 to get the HDMI to sync.


----------



## h0ckeysk8er

btmoore said:


> Doh! That is too bad, I was hoping that they the diagnostics capabilities to isolate this issue. If they want to tie some kind of diagnostics utility into my box, they are welcome too.
> 
> "Should they sit on those for months, while they try to get ever bug fixed?" Well, I have very mixed feelings about this. I would call the unwatchable and partial bugs a high severity problem, it affects the core functionality of what a DVR is and sev 1 problems require dedicated attn from the development team. For example, am I happy that we now have better trick plays, yep that is nice but not at the expense of addressing basic CORE DVR functionality. If it fails to record what I tell it to then all the features have no purpose. IMO CORE DVR reliability is paramount, features can be added later once the product can be trusted to make and play reliable recordings. That being said I will enjoy the new trick play features for the things that do record successfully, and hopefully I will be one of the lucky ones that has a perfect box this time around.


I have to agree on the diagnostics piece. I think one simple thing would be to allow selection of a history item and then display a more detailed explanation dialog. So, if a recording of Lost at Tues 9pm is listed as Deleted in the history, I could highlight that entry, click select, and see the exact reason why the DVR thought it had to delete it. It would take adding some code to create the dialog capability and touching the routines that cause recordings to be aborted or deleted, but would go a LOOONNNGGG way in helping to isolate the source(s) of partial/deleted recordings.


----------



## wmschultz

tnorris said:


> HR20, LG 37" LCD.
> 
> I have the OXEF software but it has not addressed my hdmi problem. When powering on the TV and HR20, I get snow or green screen. I have to push the RES button on the HR20 to get the HDMI to sync.


What happens if you just leave the HR20 on? I haven't had any (knock on wood) hdmi issues but I never turn my HR20 off. Just wondering.


----------



## shendley

I started out so pumped by this new update when I saw how well the 30 slip and 4xff worked (it's been working flawlessly for me). But I've now had to restart the machine twice now under circumstances I've never experienced before: once, as I posted earlier, because of recordings that wouldn't play and, when the machine restarted, disappeared. Today I tried to turn on the machine with my remote and it was unresponsive. Did a red button reset and now everything is fine, but geez! 

I'm willing to be patient while they work the bugs out of this machine because when it works I really like it (more than my old HDTivo, I think). But I'm curious: does anyone have an opinion as to whether we should be calling DTV to inform them of the problems we're seeing with this update or do you think posting here is sufficient?


----------



## monkeypimp

I am curious why I cannot get the "list By" function to stick. I prefer to view the list in alphabetical order not in order of when the shows recorded. If I switch it it just goes back to the original setting. Is there a way to fix this or is it a flaw in the software?


----------



## gcisko

shendley said:


> I'm willing to be patient while they work the bugs out of this machine because when it works I really like it (more than my old HDTivo, I think). But I'm curious: does anyone have an opinion as to whether we should be calling DTV to inform them of the problems we're seeing with this update or do you think posting here is sufficient?


Calling Dtv will probably get you in an argument with them. It is clear that the programers are moniroting this site and we are essentially their beta testers. Dtv has as much as stated this site is fictional and the problems listed here are not real. I had a Customer Support representative tell me as much. So if your box smokes or otherwise blows up call them for a replacement. Otherwise sit tight with everyone else and monitor this site, report problems and hope they actually can get it programed. This really seems to be programming the basic stuff from the ground up.


----------



## tnorris

wmschultz said:


> What happens if you just leave the HR20 on? I haven't had any (knock on wood) hdmi issues but I never turn my HR20 off. Just wondering.


I've tried leaving the DVR on and experimenting with the order in which I turn each device on but none have any effect. I still have to push the RES button.


----------



## mtnagel

monkeypimp said:


> I am curious why I cannot get the "list By" function to stick. I prefer to view the list in alphabetical order not in order of when the shows recorded. If I switch it it just goes back to the original setting. Is there a way to fix this or is it a flaw in the software?


To my knowledge, there is no way to make it stick.


----------



## monkeypimp

mtnagel said:


> To my knowledge, there is no way to make it stick.


If you can't make it stick I don't really see the point in giving the option to view the list by so many different options. If you like to look at it in alphabetical or by any other way then they should make it an option that you can keep.

I think that whoever designed this did it for how they like it rather than creating useability.


----------



## byron

i fell asleep watching the HR20 last night (tv was on a timer) and this morning i i went to turn of the HR20 and it wouldn't turn off.... i could change channels, watch recorded programs... what not... but i couldn't turn it off. not with the remote, not with the front power button. odd.


----------



## btmoore

byron said:


> i fell asleep watching the HR20 last night (tv was on a timer) and this morning i i went to turn of the HR20 and it wouldn't turn off.... i could change channels, watch recorded programs... what not... but i couldn't turn it off. not with the remote, not with the front power button. odd.


Why would you want to turn it off?


----------



## illini

Got the update yesterday...

Recorded Ugly Betty, Survivor and Grays.

Wife went to watch Ugly Betty, no speaking audio but the backround audio (music) was there. Very strange. Rebooted box just to make sure and same. Speaking audio came in after like 10 minutes then went back off 15 minutes or so later.

I started grays and survivor for the first couple of minutes and they seemed fine.

I began to wonder if it had something do to with survivor and uguly betty both being at the same time to record but never had an issue before.

Odd.

- Panasonic 50PX600U Plasma with HR20 using HDMI


----------



## yamaham

mtnagel said:


> It's a tivo patent. Will not happen on the HR20 (though Time Warner's DVR does it).


As a consumer, I don't care how they make it happen. Either steal it the Microsoft way or license it from TiVo. The technology world revolves around borrowing ideas from the competition. Find a loophole in the patent or something, it really doesn't matter to me. Just do it. 

But first let's have those dual LIVE buffers. Pretty please?


----------



## avatar230

illini said:


> Got the update yesterday...
> 
> Recorded Ugly Betty, Survivor and Grays.
> 
> Wife went to watch Ugly Betty, no speaking audio but the backround audio (music) was there. Very strange. Rebooted box just to make sure and same. Speaking audio came in after like 10 minutes then went back off 15 minutes or so later.
> 
> I started grays and survivor for the first couple of minutes and they seemed fine.
> 
> I began to wonder if it had something do to with survivor and uguly betty both being at the same time to record but never had an issue before.
> 
> Odd.
> 
> - Panasonic 50PX600U Plasma with HR20 using HDMI


This was most likely due to a patching problem at your local affiliate, not a screw-up by D* or the HR20. HD Broadcast masters generally have multiple channels of audio and are usually striped something like this:

Ch. 1 = Left (5.1)
Ch. 2 = Right (5.1)
Ch. 3 = Center (5.1)
Ch. 4 = Sub (5.1)
Ch. 5 = Left Surround (5.1)
Ch. 6 = Right Surround (5.1)
Ch. 7 = Dialogue (Clean Track)
Ch. 8 = SFX (Clean Track)
Ch. 9 = Music Left (Clean Track)
Ch. 10 = Music Right (Clean Track)

There are obviously a lot of variations on the above, but the problem you're describing is most likely due to someone in transmission patching the feed wrong and sending out one of the dedicated music tracks in place of the some/all of the 5.1 mix. The last few channels (the clean tracks) are generally only meant to be used by editing departments for making promos and whatnot. You should search for contact info on your ABC afil. and file a complaint.


----------



## LameLefty

> Wife went to watch Ugly Betty, no speaking audio but the backround audio (music) was there. Very strange. Rebooted box just to make sure and same. Speaking audio came in after like 10 minutes then went back off 15 minutes or so later.


If the center channel was dropping in and out the same points in the recording, it's almost certainly an issue with your local affiliate or the network's feed, not the HR20.


----------



## jclark

illini said:


> Got the update yesterday...
> 
> Recorded Ugly Betty, Survivor and Grays.
> 
> Wife went to watch Ugly Betty, no speaking audio but the backround audio (music) was there. Very strange. Rebooted box just to make sure and same. Speaking audio came in after like 10 minutes then went back off 15 minutes or so later.
> 
> I started grays and survivor for the first couple of minutes and they seemed fine.
> 
> I began to wonder if it had something do to with survivor and uguly betty both being at the same time to record but never had an issue before.
> 
> Odd.
> 
> - Panasonic 50PX600U Plasma with HR20 using HDMI


This may have been a problem with the broadcast. I have had problems like that on ABC before with Desperate Housewives. I had background music, birds chirping outside, but no voices. This was on my HR10 several months ago.


----------



## darting1

Was really looking forward to upgrading to HD with DVR. This morning, tried to watch Survivor from my playlist and no matter whether I choose "select" or "play" the darn thing only gives me the option to delete. Cannot watch any recorded programs at all. I've seen where some of you can watch several minutes, but has anyone had the problem I'm describing?

Ann


----------



## mjburton

Disk Space/Use

I saw several posts regarding this issue, but none seem to have had as large an effect on disk space as my update did.

prior to 0xEF I had approx 15 hrs (HD) marked KEEP, 15 Hrs (HD) Other assorted stuff (not marked keep), and disk showed 65% used

after 0xEF I have 15 hrs (HD) marked KEEP, and ONLY 5 Hrs (HD) Other stuff remain, and the disk shows 98% used!

IT DELETED A LARGE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL (like 10 hrs worth of Jericho and Friday Night Lights)... ARGHHH, 

and now approx 20 Hrs of HD Fills the Disk.

Where'd all the space Go??? Can I get it back?


----------



## m_jraj

darting1 said:


> the darn thing only gives me the option to delete. Cannot watch any recorded programs at all. Ann


I had the exact problem you describe last night. Did a red button restart and it worked fine.


----------



## bjdku

avatar230 said:


> This bug has been around since at least the EB update which is when my HR20 got hit with it. I've seen a number of users with the same problem since in both EB and EF. Sadly, the only fix I've seen is the reformat through the "RESET EVERYTHING" option. If the lockup is repeating (which you say it is), I'd bite the bullet. Remember to write down all your settings, custom channels and series links. The good news is I haven't heard anyone complain that the problem kept occurring after a reformat.


Thanks for the response...but couldn't you give me better news 

I am going to bite the bullet. Probably just not turn the thing off for a few days until I am committed to format it.

I will update everyone after I jump of a clifff...errr....I mean format everything.


----------



## avatar230

bjdku said:


> Thanks for the response...but couldn't you give me better news
> 
> I am going to bite the bullet. Probably just not turn the thing off for a few days until I am committed to format it.
> 
> I will update everyone after I jump of a clifff...errr....I mean format everything.


Not to give you more bad news, but I suspect that when you stop using standby, you'll see a variation on the same problem. Instead of not powering up (as it'll already be on), the unit will lock in on a particular channel and then refuse to change the channel, respond to the remote or record any programs. This usually happens when, like with the standby problem, the HR20 has been left alone unsupervised for a long period of time, for instance when you're sleeping. Good luck.


----------



## Intex

Brand New Problem - This is driving me crazy

1. I am watching soap opera on Local channel for 30 minutes. I try to rewind, using the rewind button, when I do the red bar comes up as usual, but this time it says "Barbara Walters Special" a program I taped last nite, but it didn't work. Then I go to press play- nothing happens, it is still frozen on the last image I saw of the soap. Then I press FF 1x, 2x 3x, 4x : Nothing. To unfreeze this, I have to change channels and then go back to it. I have now lost all my recording.

2. This makes my unit almost 100% unreliable.

Is anyone else experiencing this??????


----------



## avatar230

Intex said:


> Brand New Problem - This is driving me crazy
> 
> 1. I am watching soap opera on Local channel for 30 minutes. I try to rewind, using the rewind button, when I do the red bar comes up as usual, but this time it says "Barbara Walters Special" a program I taped last nite, but it didn't work. Then I go to press play- nothing happens, it is still frozen on the last image I saw of the soap. Then I press FF 1x, 2x 3x, 4x : Nothing. To unfreeze this, I have to change channels and then go back to it. I have now lost all my recording.
> 
> 2. This makes my unit almost 100% unreliable.
> 
> Is anyone else experiencing this??????


Are you actively recording the program or just watching it live using the buffer? The fact that changing channels acts like you're clearing the recording suggests a buffer, but the "red bar" suggests a scheduled recording.


----------



## Intex

Today I was just using the buffer, but something must be really wrong, if when I want to rewind in the buffer, and it gives me Barbara Walter, as well as freezes.


----------



## avatar230

Intex said:


> Today I was just using the buffer, but something must be really wrong, if when I want to rewind in the buffer, and it gives me Barbara Walter, as well as freezes.


Definitely agree something is wrong, but was the buffer bar orange or green? It should've been green; if it was orange then other crazy stuff is going on too.


----------



## Sher1958

Well, last night the HR 20 didn't record a progam I had scheduled to record. The yellow light wasn't on, so I tried to start the recording manually. But, when I hit the record button it said it was recording and only gave me the option to stop the recording and delete or save. I did nothing on the off chance it was recording. But when the program was over, nothing in the My Programs box.

Today, came home from work and turned my HR 20 on. All I had was a black screen and it would not respond to the remote. Ended up hitting reset. It's working now.

Did not have these problems before the latest update downloaded Thursday a.m.


----------



## Intex

I just tried it again. Watching local channel, I put it in pause (using buffer), then 8 minutes later, went and pressed play: Nothing happened- frozen, had to cahnge channels to unfreeze.

Now the interesting thing:
When I went to the Program Menu, and changed the channel to another local channel, the DTV took about4-5 seconds of blank black screen, then momentarily went to a still shot of the last recording made 8 minutes ago, then flickered on/off for a second, then finally grabbed and started the channel I chose.

I yearn for the first revision!!!!


----------



## Intex

The buffer bar for Barbara Walters was red (orange). What does orange mean??


----------



## Intex

What does Earl have to say about DirecTV's reaction to this revision??


----------



## jayzfelon

After the update had several audio drop outs from hdmi. resolution was change channel or view a recording then go back. MY tv is lg 60pc1d.


----------



## Veloce

With the new release, my callerID has stopped working. I saw a while back in the thread someone else noticed this, so it's a real bug for the "bug list".
C


----------



## gobucks100

I have set up a series link on Medium and it should of recorded this week however it is not in my playlist. I checked the guide for next weeks show and it indicates that it will be recorded with the series link R symbol on it. I then checked the to do history and it indicates that the show was recorded, but it is not in my play list. This would of been recorded in this version of the software. Has anybody else had this happen? I am so glad that I still had this on my tivo box set to record. It will be nice when one is able to trust the hr20 to record the shows you want it to. 

Along with the lock up on the record screen while trying to set up the box to record the Thursday night football game which I documented in its own thread, I am not having very much luck with this box this week.

Jeff


----------



## haggis444

I have been having lip sync issues going back a few releases but they were manageable, this one seems to be worse (albeit still manageable). AFAIK it only happens on the Mpeg-4 channels--what happens is it is not sync'd out of a series of 30-sec slips. I have to pause then hit play and it syncs back up. Now, I have to pause and wait a few seconds then hit play. If it hit pause then play immediately it is only remotely better. 

Sounds like they "tweaked" the read-ahead buffers. I can deal, but just wanted the powers that be to hear about it.


----------



## btmoore

Sigh, 0xEF still is unstable. PIL video plays but blue screen and no ability to control the HR20.

I did this many times since the upgrade but this time the HR20 locks up requiring the red one finger salute.


----------



## Dave2052

0xEF Start-time mod "freeze-up" 

On my HR20 - 0xEF update, I had a "freeze-up" last night (Thursday 11/16) that I've never seen -- partially my fault, but it still shouldn't have happened. About 8:37PM, I was recording "Survivor" (San Francisco KGO HD; 8-9PM) and had "The Office" (San Francisco KPIX HD; 8:40-9:20PM) scheduled. I decided to bump up the start time for "The Office" by 2 minutes. (I wasn't sure that I could just put the station on, and hit "record" like on the TiVo....and I thought I had enough time.) While it was trying to update the start time, The Office started and the "please wait" scrolling note on the bottom never stopped and continued for the 45 minutes that I let it. The Office was "live" in the little upper-right hand corner box, so I thought it might be recording okay. After the show was over, I did a red button reset....I lost the recording, although Survivor completed its recording okay. Definitely a bug...(it shouldn't freeze up - it should just record whatever it can given my suggestion, even if the show already started).

PS...thanks for all of the good tips....it's been great to know that these updates were coming and that these are all common problems.


----------



## btmoore

I knew it couldn't last. Here is our friend the Partial Bug.


----------



## Doug Brott

Intex said:


> Brand New Problem - This is driving me crazy
> 
> 1. I am watching soap opera on Local channel for 30 minutes. I try to rewind, using the rewind button, when I do the red bar comes up as usual, but this time it says "Barbara Walters Special" a program I taped last nite, but it didn't work. Then I go to press play- nothing happens, it is still frozen on the last image I saw of the soap. Then I press FF 1x, 2x 3x, 4x : Nothing. To unfreeze this, I have to change channels and then go back to it. I have now lost all my recording.
> 
> 2. This makes my unit almost 100% unreliable.
> 
> Is anyone else experiencing this??????


Could you check your Disk usage bar?


----------



## btmoore

brott said:


> Could you check your Disk usage bar?


34%


----------



## avatar230

btmoore said:


> I knew it couldn't last. Here is our friend the Partial Bug.


I feel badly about jumping the gun and posting that poll earlier today. That's really unfortunate. I'll stay on the lookout for it on my end. I would say with the other fixes that have been made, this is clearly the #1 problem facing the unit right now, and it demands to be fixed before the HR20 can be called a working DVR.


----------



## ohills

I just had my first bug with EF. While watching a recorded show the audio started to break up, it sounded like a machine gun, tat tat tat tat tat......... Changed imputs, same thing, then FF for a minute and it went back to normal. Otherwise it has been a great update


----------



## btmoore

avatar230 said:


> I feel badly about jumping the gun and posting that poll earlier today. That's really unfortunate. I'll stay on the lookout for it on my end. I would say with the other fixes that have been made, this is clearly the #1 problem facing the unit right now, and it demands to be fixed before the HR20 can be called a working DVR.


Unwatchable and Partial Bugs are examples of








@


----------



## gbleezy

Ever since the 0xEF update, when I have Dolby Digital turned on, it makes my A/V receiver flicker when I change channels. I don't know if it's supposed to be this way or what. 

For example, if DD is turned on in my HR-20, it says "Dolby Digital" on my A/V receiver. When I change the channel, the display on my A/V receiver flickers between "Dolby Digital" and "Neural Sound." If I turn off DD on the HR-20 it doesn't flicker. The receiver I'm using is a Yamaha HTR-5960. Is this a fault on my receiver or is it the HR-20?


----------



## Pakratt

ohills said:


> I just had my first bug with EF. While watching a recorded show the audio started to break up, it sounded like a machine gun, tat tat tat tat tat......... Changed imputs, same thing, then FF for a minute and it went back to normal. Otherwise it has been a great update


I was watching Greys Anatomy live last night on local Mpeg 4 and got the same machine gun rat tat tat sound. Changed channels and then switched back but the noise was still there. Changed to Mpeg 2 channel and did not have the rat tat tat sound. After about 5 minutes returned to the Mpeg 4 channel and the sound was OK. Did not return again. Have Samsung 4095 with HDMI connection direct from Direct TV receiver to the TV.


----------



## Intex

Brott,
Disk usage bar is at 72% used , 28% available


----------



## Veloce

"Regression Testing" - This is what D* needs. Google it if you aren't familiar with the term.


----------



## btmoore

Veloce said:


> "Regression Testing" - This is what D* needs. Google it if you aren't familiar with the term.


In order to regression test it they would of had to of fixed it in the first place.

DirecTV's New HR20 the DRV (Don't Record Video)


----------



## LameLefty

> DirecTV's New HR20 the DRV (Don't Record Video)


Getting a little bitter?

Sorry to see so many problems pop up but I note that many (not all, but many) of the people with unwatchables and partials are those that had them before 0xEF. Perhaps it IS hardware, or at least triggered by marginal internal components of some boxes?

In a month we haven't had any partials or unwatchables, and that hasn't changed with EF.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

LameLefty said:


> In a month we haven't had any partials or unwatchables, and that hasn't changed with EF.


...and some of us haven't had any problems since our HR20's got installed....

214 recordings, 26 NFL Ticket Games....all recorded perfectly, stored, and played great.


----------



## houskamp

It 'The Great HR-20 Mystery' :lol: 
p.s. mines been good so far also...


----------



## william8004

btmoore said:


> In order to regression test it they would of had to of fixed it in the first place.
> 
> DirecTV's New HR20 the DRV (Don't Record Video)


*Actually regression testing needs to be done with every release.*

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=710581#post710581


----------



## jbstix

It is difficult to know the exact problem(s) at times, but I agree that some of the
"bug" reports about MPEP4 audio drop outs, pops, etc. are most times local feed issues. I can't say that with 100% assurance, but I do know on my HR10-250 the local OTA HD feeds still seem to have audio issues primarily DD 5.1, more often than not, it's the local ABC and CBS that have the most issues. I've read some techs at the stations forget to "flip the switch" which is ridiculous...

I would suggest checking out some other forums like http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=45
and check your local area HD threads and see if some of the same issues are being posted there, that may keep some of the "bug" reports down a little.

EF has a few nice fixes, but I agree whole heartadly that, if this machine can't record what is scheduled 100% of the time w/o issue, it is NOT a DVR - yet.
Keep at it D*, the improvements you've made, are quickly being forgotten when people get home and their programs haven't recorded as expected, or recorded but can't be played back!

good luck


----------



## btmoore

LameLefty said:


> Getting a little bitter?
> 
> ...
> 
> In a month we haven't had any partials or unwatchables, and that hasn't changed with EF.


I have moved beyond bitter, I just want this damn thing to work.

Good luck in your HR20 staying that way.


----------



## RJC49

I've noticed most of these threads are from CA. and since a majority of us are not seeing the same PROBLEMS. I have to conclude hardware or operator error.
Stop whining!


----------



## btmoore

RJC49 said:


> I've noticed most of these threads are from CA. and since a majority of us are not seeing the same PROBLEMS. I have to conclude hardware or operator error.
> Stop whining!


You have, well arn't you special. What I have concluded about you is not polite to post in a public forum.


----------



## avatar230

RJC49 said:


> I've noticed most of these threads are from CA. and since a majority of us are not seeing the same PROBLEMS. I have to conclude hardware or operator error.
> Stop whining!


Hardware, maybe, but I'm still skeptical. And how exactly is a missed recording caused by an automated series link "operator error?" Asking a product to work as advertised isn't whining.

Good luck with your problem-free system. And if you haven't got anything constructive to add, try being a little more courteous to those of us who have been suffering through a hellacious couple of months. Thanks again for your thoughtful input.


----------



## RJC49

KapnKrunch said:


> Well, just got version 0XEF, and when both my Vizio P50HDM and the HR20 are powered on simultaneously (using the DTV remote), I get a picture of snow, and no audio. If I power recycle power on the HR20, I get the picture back. This problem is intermittent.
> 
> The problem does not appear when I use component video.


Then stay on component, there is very little if any difference in PQ.


----------



## I.M. Nobody

I have a problem now with audio drop out. When it starts to happen I hit the fast foward and the problem stops so I don't think the problem is with the local feed.
It is just another bug that comes with no charg.

But this seems to be the only problem I have now other than some person that is not allowed to live in California telling me to stop whining. May be some kind of parole restriction is his state.:lol:


----------



## RJC49

btmoore said:


> You have, well arn't you special. What I have concluded about you is not polite to post in a public forum.


Can't stand a little reality check, every post of yours is negative.


----------



## Doug Brott

RJC49 said:


> I've noticed most of these threads are from CA. and since a majority of us are not seeing the same PROBLEMS. I have to conclude hardware or operator error.
> Stop whining!


Hey, I'm in CA and I'm really not seeing these exact problems either, but to summarily dismiss them a operator error is simply wrong. Clearly the two most vocal about this subject are very knowledgeable and are just providing data points. Simply put, it's not their fault that the HR20 is having problems.


----------



## avatar230

RJC49 said:


> Can't stand a little reality check, every post of yours is negative.


When your HR20 melts down, will your posts be roses and sunshine?


----------



## avatar230

brott said:


> Hey, I'm in CA and I'm really not seeing these exact problems either, but to summarily dismiss them a operator error is simply wrong. Clearly the two most vocal about this subject are very knowledgeable and are just providing data points. Simply put, it's not their fault that the HR20 is having problems.


Thanks, Doug. And btw, thanks for your help and input on both the partial problems and the ongoing survey/wishlist. Much appreciated.


----------



## Ed Campbell

brott said:


> Hey, I'm in CA and I'm really not seeing these exact problems either, but to summarily dismiss them a operator error is simply wrong. Clearly the two most vocal about this subject are very knowledgeable and are just providing data points. Simply put, it's not their fault that the HR20 is having problems.


Repeat posting about the same problem doesn't add to the base of knowledge for D* or anyone else. Telling everyone else -- 17 times -- that the same bug is there is what provokes negative responses from forum members.

True, this is the place to post the problems for D* to see -- which is why I haven't had much to say about "F" -- because my critter is running just fine. I'm waiting for the barrage of recordings I throw at it on a Saturday to see if that holds.

And the following Saturday.


----------



## btmoore

RJC49 said:


> Can't stand a little reality check, every post of yours is negative.


Again you demonstrate that you don't know what you are talking about

11/15/06 http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=722296&postcount=83



btmoore said:


> Just tried out the new slip and 4xFF and 4xRR. I still want to try it on for a few days to see if they continue to work well with all recording types, but from what I saw with my limited usage the new trickplay features look to be fantastic. I only tested on a live SD stream and a new recorded HDnet mpeg2, but this is a much improved trick play experience. Assuming the trick plays work well on all recording types, kudos for improving the user experience.


This is a place to discuss issues and problems. The RH20 has issues and problems. You are more than welcome to discuss the HR20 and say positive or negative things about it. When you start insulting people by calling them things like whiners because they don't say or believe what you want them to, you are at best rude and inconsiderate and at worst ... well you know what you are.


----------



## cybrsurfer

avatar230 said:


> When your HR20 melts down, will your posts be roses and sunshine?


Some units will be missed in QC by the manufacturer in Mexico. So some good customers are going to wind up getting lemons. But that doesn't mean that all are lemons and you should generalize.

Why waste our breath trying to explain to a pessimist. We just have to trust every negative statement that's posted, there is no way for people to verify someone's integrity and honesty. Some of these complainers could just be competitors trying to fowl DirecTV.


----------



## RJC49

Ed Campbell said:


> Repeat posting about the same problem doesn't add to the base of knowledge for D* or anyone else. Telling everyone else -- 17 times -- that the same bug is there is what provokes negative responses from forum members.
> 
> True, this is the place to post the problems for D* to see -- which is why I haven't had much to say about "F" -- because my critter is running just fine. I'm waiting for the barrage of recordings I throw at it on a Saturday to see if that holds.
> 
> And the following Saturday.


Right on!!!!


----------



## forum junkie

Intex said:


> I just tried it again. Watching local channel, I put it in pause (using buffer), then 8 minutes later, went and pressed play: Nothing happened- frozen, had to cahnge channels to unfreeze.
> 
> Having seen so many mention hitting play after putting it in pause I can't help but be curious why. As far back as I can remember, (VCR, tape player, DVD and so on ) after hitting pause you hit it again to start play. I have always done it this way with this unit and never had a problem. But then having seen the problems mentioned I'm not sure I want to test it either.


----------



## avatar230

Ed Campbell said:


> Repeat posting about the same problem doesn't add to the base of knowledge for D* or anyone else. Telling everyone else -- 17 times -- that the same bug is there is what provokes negative responses from forum members.
> 
> True, this is the place to post the problems for D* to see -- which is why I haven't had much to say about "F" -- because my critter is running just fine. I'm waiting for the barrage of recordings I throw at it on a Saturday to see if that holds.
> 
> And the following Saturday.


Ed, with all due respect, if a problem as severe as the partial/unwatchable recordings isn't being fixed, I think that each person that encounters it should submit their experiences every time the software is updated to let D* know that it's still there and that it still being there is, frankly, unacceptable, especially since apart from second-hand information through Earl (who's legitamately a Godsend to everyone on these forums), they seem to have problems acknowledging this problem even exists.

It's also worthwhile to hear from users experiencing no problems, because then we could investigate and isolate what makes one person's system different from anothers. The truly un-constructive comments are the one's glibly dismissing a technical problem that, for the users experiencing it, is frustrating beyond belief. If it's trying to hear about the problem, imagine living with it.

Thanks.


----------



## btmoore

Ed Campbell said:


> Repeat posting about the same problem doesn't add to the base of knowledge for D* or anyone else. Telling everyone else -- 17 times -- that the same bug is there is what provokes negative responses from forum members.


Same bug, new version of software so new report of the problem.

What would you say to new users like this:



natebg said:


> I set a show to record, then try to watch it "delayed".
> When I try watch it (from 'List'), the program tries to start from the beginning and I can't watch it. I can't fast forward or anything, just black screen stuck at 0:00. I can try to fiddle with switching programs, then select the currently recording show from the guide and watch it from the live feed, but I want to back up and watch the whole thing, I press 6 sec back and goes back to 0:00 and same problem - can't watch it (black screen and can't advance time).
> Is anyone else experiencing this? Any way to fix it?
> 
> Thanks.


Who just posted today, and is wondering what is going on


----------



## avatar230

cybrsurfer said:


> Some units will be missed in QC by the manufacturer in Mexico. So some good customers are going to wind up getting lemons. But that doesn't mean that all are lemons and you should generalize.
> 
> Why waste our breath trying to explain to a pessimist. We just have to trust every negative statement that's posted, there is no way for people to verify someone's integrity and honesty. Some of these complainers could just be competitors trying to fowl DirecTV.


You misunderstood me. I'm not saying every HR20 is horrible or that this guy's is doomed to failure. Obviously a lot are working great, as mine has been for about a week now. What I am saying is that it's at best horrifically disrespectful for the people with working units to glibly dismiss those of us who have experienced problems and at worst...

My point is: the jokers in the audience would be singing a different tune if they did have a problem unit.


----------



## cybrsurfer

avatar230 said:


> You misunderstood me. I'm not saying every HR20 is horrible or that this guy's is doomed to failure. Obviously a lot are working great, as mine has been for about a week now. What I am saying is that it's at best horrifically disrespectful for the people with working units to glibly dismiss those of us who have experienced problems and at worst...
> 
> My point is: the jokers in the audience would be singing a different tune if they did have a problem unit.


----------



## avatar230

Thanks, man. Sorry if my original post was poorly-worded.


----------



## opelap

It just cancelled the timberwolves game tonight. We got home before the end of the game so it is not a "Dead" channel problem, unless the channel was dead when it started to record and it then cancelled. We have another game set to start at 1030, so we'll see if I have the same problem.


----------



## mikeny

When I came off standby tonight, there was just a blank screen. I pressed INFO and a guide blip came up but without any info. I switched to component, same thing. Pressing other buttons on the remote yielded no response. Couldn't go to the Playlist or anything...Power OFF wouldn't put it into standby.

I guess this is a lockup?

RED BUTTON RESET

OK now.


----------



## drjenk

shendley said:


> I started out so pumped by this new update when I saw how well the 30 slip and 4xff worked (it's been working flawlessly for me). But I've now had to restart the machine twice now under circumstances I've never experienced before: once, as I posted earlier, because of recordings that wouldn't play and, when the machine restarted, disappeared. Today I tried to turn on the machine with my remote and it was unresponsive. Did a red button reset and now everything is fine, but geez!
> 
> I'm willing to be patient while they work the bugs out of this machine because when it works I really like it (more than my old HDTivo, I think). But I'm curious: does anyone have an opinion as to whether we should be calling DTV to inform them of the problems we're seeing with this update or do you think posting here is sufficient?


I am of the opinion that each and every person that sees a problem with the unit, especially with losing recordings, should be at least reporting the problem to directv, if not demanding a replacement unit. How else will they know?

The fact that they have not been able to fix the fundamental recording function in a timely manner (months)suggests a problem with the software development process itself, whether it be management, procedures, lack of competence, whatever. I'm afraid this unit is going to have problems for some time to come, but I hope not.

I'm still no 100% convinced it's not a hardware problem, and I'm hoping they are not discounting that possibility.


----------



## banthes

banthes said:


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by banthes
> Forced the update last night. Everything went well, like the new 4x and faster slip. Had 2 shows recording on locals (ABC & CBS) and went to my playlist and pressed play to make sure they were recording and both played from the beginning perfectly. Went to watch them a few minutes ago (hour or so after they finished recording) and black screen recordings on both of them. Checked a non local recording I had scheduled and it recorded and played perfect. Even with the old version, mine would record non locals every time but most of the locals were black screen recordings. I'm doing a full reset now. I'll let you know if that helps. Does anyone know how to do a hard drive reformat so I can start from a completely new machine?
> 
> No luck on a full reset, dont waste your time. If anything I believe it is more unstable now.
> 
> Infocus n76/HDMI input
> Phillips surround sound/digital input
> Native/off
> Owner/irritated


Update: Talked to D* tech and they are sending me a new unit by Fedex in 1 to 2 days. According to them, the new version was supposed to fix my particular problem. Since it did not, they concluded I have a hardware problem. Hope I get a good one this time. Still not sure it's hardware. Guess I'll find out.


----------



## cybrsurfer

banthes said:


> Update: Talked to D* tech and they are sending me a new unit by Fedex in 1 to 2 days. According to them, the new version was supposed to fix my particular problem. Since it did not, they concluded I have a hardware problem. Hope I get a good one this time. Still not sure it's hardware. Guess I'll find out.


Hope it works for you, but I have a feeling it's software.


----------



## shendley

I'm looking for some insight into what appears to be a growing problem with my HR 20 since the update. I have, on occasion, seen glitches in recordings which do not look like rain fade. It looks like different lengths of horizontal lines of the picture go missing, scrambling the picture for a few seconds. But tonight two recordings (both HD - After Hours and Dead Like Me both from HDNet) had this problem for a more extended period of time (up to a minute, I would guesstimate, on Dead Like Me) (By the way, After Hours was recorded after the update, Dead Like me before). 

Does this sound like a problem anyone else has been seeing since the update? Or could it be something else. For instance, I'm at about 25% disc space available. Could it be that as you push toward the limits of the hard drive that break ups in the picture like this simply become more common? I really have no idea, so any suggestions would be appreciated.


----------



## laxcoach

Sheesh. I would hate to be the architect or a lead developer on that team right now.

I think the unit is darn good, and I have seen very little wrong. It's no fun to be those guys when a significant portion of the user base hates you, and so does mgmt.


----------



## mrshermanoaks

shendley said:


> I'm looking for some insight into what appears to be a growing problem with my HR 20 since the update. I have, on occasion, seen glitches in recordings which do not look like rain fade. It looks like different lengths of horizontal lines of the picture go missing, scrambling the picture for a few seconds...
> 
> Does this sound like a problem anyone else has been seeing since the update? Or could it be something else. For instance, I'm at about 25% disc space available. Could it be that as you push toward the limits of the hard drive that break ups in the picture like this simply become more common? I really have no idea, so any suggestions would be appreciated.


Yes, I see this once in awhile. Not sure when it started, but it happens. Not the most annoying thing I've seen, but will catch my eye.


----------



## Gbsnplr

The disinformation comming from D* is amazing. I had an issue with the HDMI and the colors looking washed out. Made 8 call about 5 reformats, 15 red buttom resets.

I finally asked for a new unit and they told me they couldn't give me one since there were none left in thier system. I ask about one from Costco and the supervisor told me when those were gone there would not be anymore for a while. They were evaluating another manufacturer.


----------



## btmoore

Came back from dinner, TV was playing, but no ability to control it from the remote or from the buttons on the front. Lets call it lockup number 2 under 0xef in less than 5 hours.

Red button reboot, and all is working again.


----------



## bootylactin

Long time lurker, and up until tonight, I hadn't really had much difficulty at all with the HR20. I few glitches here and there, like playback freezing which I'd have to fastforward past, but nothing major.

Tonight we left and I set it to record the Detroit Red Wings vs. Calgary Flames game. I don't recall the exact channel at the moment, but it was in the high 700's, where all of the other NHL Center Ice games are at (yes I'm a subscriber).

I got home and decided to check the recording. It started at 8:00 (correctly) and only recorded for 14 minutes. We didn't have any power outages or inclement weather, so I really don't know what happened.

I'm hoping this is an isolated incident and not something that's going to be an issue with the Center Ice package.


----------



## jkc120

Gbsnplr said:


> They were evaluating another manufacturer.


Do you have proof of that? What new manufacturer? I highly doubt they'll just scrap the HR20, given all the time and resources they put into the unit.


----------



## sb999

bootylactin said:


> I got home and decided to check the recording. It started at 8:00 (correctly) and only recorded for 14 minutes.


Similar issue with NBA League Pass. I scheduled a game to be recorded starting at 8:30 last night. At 8:35 I looked over and saw no record light on so I switched to the channel and hit the record button. The record light came on and I went back to what I was doing. An hour and a half later I went to watch the game and it had only recorded 19 minutes. The game was still on but wasn't being recorded. I was not happy. Thank god I have my old reliable Tivo in the bedroom as backup. So we have two issues here. First it didn't record what I had scheduled it to record only 2 hours earlier and second it didn't record the show to the end that I manually told it to record.


----------



## ljwhitmire

Well, I got 0xEF two days ago and while the fastforward seems a lot better, the only two HD recordings that were made since were total crap. 

I recorded Ugly Betty and Medium. Ugly Betty had no voice sync at all. The pause thing would sync the voices for about two seconds, then they were way off. At points the voice sync was 10 seconds off! Also the video was glitchy and at times seemed to fastforward on it's on. 

Medium was better, it had a consistent slight voice sync delay. The pause trick mostly worked with it, but it was off the whole show. 

I hope these were just unusual. I had to hard reset the box just after the update because it locked up while switching from Live TV to a recorded show (via the Back button). I may hit it again to make sure the cob webs have been shaken out. 

I know how hard it is to get all the bugs out of software (that's what I do for a living), but these guys really need to sit down with a Tivo and spend some quality time seeing how smooth everything worked. 

That said, I love this box, when it works.  My wife is about ready to throw it off the deck!


----------



## vonzoog

I have been reading every morning all of the different software update threads including this one.

I have a strong feeling that a large percentage of the problems here are related to HDMI connections. When I got a HR10-250 back in the beginning I went thru three units and all kinds of weird problems until I finally gave up and starting using the component connections only. Never had a problem again with this unit.

Now I have the HR10 and the new HR20 connected to my Yamaha A/V receiver by component and then to my Samsung DLP by component. The only HDMI connection I have is with my Panasonic S97 DVD player connected directly to the TV. The TV recognizes the DVD player (hand shake) every time.

My HR20 as been great unit and I am very please with it. I keep reading everyones problems here and am afraid of every up an coming software update.

So far every update has made my HR20 an even better running unit. Maybe everyone should be posting if you are a HDMI user or a NON-HDMI user. There has got to be some common denominator here and I believe it to be the HDMI interface. It's not just D*. Comcast & E* users have had many HDMI issue also.

Just my opinion and .02 worth.


----------



## Clint Lamor

RJC49 said:


> I've noticed most of these threads are from CA. and since a majority of us are not seeing the same PROBLEMS. I have to conclude hardware or operator error.
> Stop whining!


Well CA got the initial release of the unit so it stands to reason there are more likely more of them there. As for OE I seriously doubt that many of the problems that have been addressed and found have anything to do with anyone who is using it.


----------



## LameLefty

btmoore said:


> Came back from dinner, TV was playing, but no ability to control it from the remote or from the buttons on the front. Lets call it lockup number 2 under 0xef in less than 5 hours.
> 
> Red button reboot, and all is working again.


Have you tried the format/erase everything option yet? As many problems as you're having with unwatchable recordings and partials, it might be time to try. After all, what have you got to lose but an hour or so of time? 

This is really a quandary - why the heck to do some have so many troubles and others don't have any? Even the DD reversed bug is gone now with ours - everything we've ever told it to record HAS recorded and with the exception of that one mysterious HD Superfan game deleted two weekends ago, we haven't missed anything. One red-button reset after a lockup over two weeks ago. I mean, that's as close to "perfect" as it gets for most people.

As for my ever-reliable TiVos, well after being out of town for the weekend, the one in our master bedroom had two recordings that were showing in the Now Playing list as in-progress from Saturday but of course they weren't - when you tried to play them they jumped straight to the "Keep or Delete" dialog screen and you couldn't delete them from the Now Playing list either. Had to unplug the unit and reboot it. So even our near-perfect TiVos aren't always perfect. Just a point of comparison.


----------



## munangst

Last night we had the HR20 set to tape DEAL OR NO DEAL (8pm-9pm), LAS VEGAS (9pm-10pm), and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (9pm-10pm). We watched DOND live and it was fine. LAS VEGAS started and it was time to put the baby to bed, so we left the room (HR20 & TV stayed on). ~20 minutes later we went to start watching LAS VEGAS from the beginning, so I tried "skip to beginning" (hold down replay for 3 sec) and it jumped to a frozen black screen. The time bar at the botton said "Wheel of Fortune 7:30pm-8pm" and had just a hair of green on the right edge. FF/REW didn't work. I tried going into the list and playing LV from there. Got another frozen black screen, 0:00-1:00 time bar but the current position was marked as "-1:00". Going back to live TV, we could watch the show live from the current point, but any attempt to rewind would jump back to the "Wheel of Fortune" screen and freeze.

We switched to the backup DVR (Sony T-60, so much for HD) and watched LV from there. Once both LV & BG were over I did a red-button reset on the HR20. When it came back up, none of the shows it had supposedly recorded that night were in the playlist (i.e., no DOND, LV, or BG). In the History they all show as "Recorded" (not "Partial" or "Deleted"). However, the HR20 grabbed the 2nd showing of BG at 11pm, so it must have realized somewhere that it didn't tape.

This is the first failed recording I've had since the 0xEF update.


----------



## giden

HDMI ISSUE

Never had this happen before. I have "ER" set to record all first runs. In my VOD list, the episode of last thursday is there. When I select PLAY, I get the black screen with only choices "DELETE" or DON"T DELETE. It says there is 1hr 1min. of recording, but nothing plays. I did the red button reset and now the program is gone from the list. I DO like the faster 30 tick however  it ain't ALL bad, although my wife is ready to toss it out the window. The "Beta Testing" quote is no longer working with her ))


----------



## NoGoSlo

I am in the "my wife is ready to throw it out the window" club. We have had mucho audio dropouts, a frozen screen needing a red button reset, and last night the famous clicking and popping during a recorded episode of Grey's Anatomy. We couldn't hear over it, so went in our daughter's room to watch it on SD Tivo.

All of these since 0eXF.

Is there a thread or a fix for the clicking and popping?


----------



## FKandt

Two total lockups in 24 hours  . First was last night - while viewing live. Picture and audio on channel being watched were OK. Went to change channels but no response to any remote or front panel buttons. Red button reset got it going again.

Second was this morning. Tried to turn it on and it wouldn't respond to any remote or front panel buttons. Red button reset.

Been reading here for a long time but first real problem and first post to document it. No idea if related, but I am using HDMI with no problems until EF.

Gonna' reformat - I have little recorded so little downside.


----------



## bjdku

bjdku said:


> When I try to turn on my HR20 (0xEF) in the morning, it is completely unresponsive. No lights. I tried turning the power on with the remote and with the button on the front. The first time this happened, I considered it a fluke, did a red button reset, and moved on. But it happened again. And, it is repeatable. Every time I power off the HR20 after getting EF, I cannot power it back on.
> ... snip ....





avatar230 said:


> Not to give you more bad news, but I suspect that when you stop using standby, you'll see a variation on the same problem. Instead of not powering up (as it'll already be on), the unit will lock in on a particular channel and then refuse to change the channel, respond to the remote or record any programs. This usually happens when, like with the standby problem, the HR20 has been left alone unsupervised for a long period of time, for instance when you're sleeping. Good luck.


avatar230, you were exactly right!!! I was trying to avoid the problem with standby by leaving the HR20 on, but when I left it on, what you described occurred!!!

I "reset everything" on the box and started over. First time since 0xac that I have done that. Definitely not fun, but so far the box has been problem free, with the exception of the audio dropouts on MPEG4 channels. I cannot believe that DirecTV is doing this to their customer base at large. If this doesn't get better soon, I am going to jump this sinking ship called DirecTV along with Rupert Murdoch.


----------



## w6fxj

NoGoSlo said:


> Is there a thread or a fix for the clicking and popping?


The Rat-tat-tat problem is NOT an HR20 problem! It happened on my HR10-250 recording of Grey's as well. And that was MPEG2 channel 87. This has happened infrequently even before the HR20 was released. Probably a problem with the ABC feed.


----------



## bonscott87

gbleezy said:


> Ever since the 0xEF update, when I have Dolby Digital turned on, it makes my A/V receiver flicker when I change channels. I don't know if it's supposed to be this way or what.
> 
> For example, if DD is turned on in my HR-20, it says "Dolby Digital" on my A/V receiver. When I change the channel, the display on my A/V receiver flickers between "Dolby Digital" and "Neural Sound." If I turn off DD on the HR-20 it doesn't flicker. The receiver I'm using is a Yamaha HTR-5960. Is this a fault on my receiver or is it the HR-20?


No, it's the Yamaha, I have one as well. Basically it's flickering as it doesn't have a lock yet on what kind of signal is coming in. It will do this when set to auto detect the signal for DD. It does it on my non DVR HD receiver (E-86) as well especially with OTA HD locals when they drop out of HD/DD for local commercials. Basically the Yamaha is a lot more sensitive then my old Sony and it's working as designed.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Wow... I am gone for a day......

Here is the deal... I am going to "try" to go through this thread and pull out the issues and HDMI links... however... I heave heard from a little birdie, that all of the items you haev listed have been seen by someone at a keyboard in a development center...  

And that a few of them have been corrected in a version that has been given to the testing teams....


----------



## Bajanjack

bjdku said:


> avatar230, you were exactly right!!! I was trying to avoid the problem with standby by leaving the HR20 on, but when I left it on, what you described occurred!!!
> 
> I "reset everything" on the box and started over. First time since 0xac that I have done that. Definitely not fun, but so far the box has been problem free, with the exception of the audio dropouts on MPEG4 channels. I cannot believe that DirecTV is doing this to their customer base at large. If this doesn't get better soon, I am going to jump this sinking ship called DirecTV along with Rupert Murdoch.


I just had a very similar problem......I turned the unit on, blue lights went on but just had a black screen, the unit was totally unresponsive to the remote...did a red button reset.......all ok for now......I had no problems like this prior to the update.....


----------



## Argee

No recording problems here with this version or the last version. Last night recorded two network, one scifi channel, a Showtime broadcast and an HBO broadcast w/o a problem. Hooked with optical for sound and HDMI-DVI cable.


----------



## TheRatPatrol

Gbsnplr said:


> .... they told me they couldn't give me one since there were none left in their system.  I ask about one from Costco and the supervisor told me when those were gone there would not be anymore for a while. They were evaluating another manufacturer.





jkc120 said:


> Do you have proof of that? What new manufacturer? I highly doubt they'll just scrap the HR20, given all the time and resources they put into the unit.


Maybe thats why there are none left. Maybe they're throwing in the towel, finally realizing that they shouldn't be trying to build they're own in house DVR, its costing them too much money, and are going back to Tivo.  j/k


----------



## jclark

Just watched my shows last night after getting eh EF update. Wow! I didn't have any problems, and the 30sec slip is great and FF is much smoother. No issues so far.


----------



## opelap

opelap said:


> It just cancelled the timberwolves game tonight. We got home before the end of the game so it is not a "Dead" channel problem, unless the channel was dead when it started to record and it then cancelled. We have another game set to start at 1030, so we'll see if I have the same problem.


Well did a red button reset and the set the recording for 1030. It started recording and then stopped at 42 minutes.

D* of course says to do a reformat.

Earl, from your last post is this an issue at the dev team or should I try the reformat?

The unit is not locking up, and records everything else just fine.

Would the reformat help with the guide data for the 700s coming and going?


----------



## purpledave

One more compliment... one more time to Milominderbinder2 for the latest version [2.8]. Excellent work just a few days after the latest [0xEF] release !!!

Again, to EARL.... "Thanks !!!" for communicating with HR20 users.

Dave


----------



## Earl Bonovich

opelap said:


> Well did a red button reset and the set the recording for 1030. It started recording and then stopped at 42 minutes.
> 
> D* of course says to do a reformat.
> 
> Earl, from your last post is this an issue at the dev team or should I try the reformat?
> 
> The unit is not locking up, and records everything else just fine.
> 
> Would the reformat help with the guide data for the 700s coming and going?


I wouldn't re-format because of those reasons.

It won't change the Guide data issue with the 700's... as that is something with the guide data stream...


----------



## csdan

don't know if anyone has reported this, but since my update to EF the last two mornings I have not been able to power on my receiver via remote or the power button. I hit reset but that didn't work so I unplugged and replugged, then hit reset and it worked. This morning it happened again, reset only worked after removing and replacing the Access card. Any one else have this problem??


----------



## AceGopher

Earl,

You had mentioned previously to let you know when/if the DD audio issues I was experiencing returned.

Here is the original reference:
Optical DD Audio problems with 0xDC

When I noticed that DD on/off was fixed, I turned DD off and then back on. My guess was that when it was "on" before, it was really "off", and the fact that my audio problems didn't really go away. The reciever is in a closet, so I didn't check that it was actually in DD when DD was set to on.

Anyway, with 0xEF, turned DD off and back on in settings, verified that DD was being recieved (watching a recording of Heroes), fast forwarded and sound stopped. Turning the reciever on and off restores sound. Then I stopped the Heroes recording and it went back to normal TV and sound stopped again (the channel was not broadcasting DD).

This is with a Marantz SR5300 reciever with optical digital audio cable. Please let me know if you'd like me to test anything!!

Everything else with 0xEF seems fine...things are quite snappy.

-Ace


----------



## Earl Bonovich

AceGopher said:


> Earl,
> 
> You had mentioned previously to let you know when/if the DD audio issues I was experiencing returned.
> 
> Here is the original reference:
> Optical DD Audio problems with 0xDC
> 
> When I noticed that DD on/off was fixed, I turned DD off and then back on. My guess was that when it was "on" before, it was really "off", and the fact that my audio problems didn't really go away. The reciever is in a closet, so I didn't check that it was actually in DD when DD was set to on.
> 
> Anyway, with 0xEF, turned DD off and back on in settings, verified that DD was being recieved (watching a recording of Heroes), fast forwarded and sound stopped. Turning the reciever on and off restores sound. Then I stopped the Heroes recording and it went back to normal TV and sound stopped again (the channel was not broadcasting DD).
> 
> This is with a Marantz SR5300 reciever with optical digital audio cable. Please let me know if you'd like me to test anything!!
> 
> Everything else with 0xEF seems fine...things are quite snappy.
> 
> -Ace


What model Audio Receiver do you have?


----------



## rbootss

Earl Bonovich said:


> What model Audio Receiver do you have?


Earl - I have the same problem as Ace outlined..This has been the case since day-1
of my use with the HR20..

I have a Pioneer Elite - VSX-49TX receiver connected via optical to HR20..BTW when I turn DD off on the HR20..My receiver does not show that the DD is being sent from the HR20..But sounds coming thru my speakers seem to indicate otherwise..

Roy in Miami


----------



## Malibu13

could it be that your Pioneer is converting it to "Pro-Logic" ?


----------



## ODiN91

I thought I saw another post about it, but I've been seeing a lot of the following after the EF release:

"Searching for signal on Satellite In 2... (771)"

First it was on ABC (7) and wouldn't go away. I reset, and now it looks like it's on NBC (4). Anyone else?


----------



## soccercoach61

ODiN91 said:


> I thought I saw another post about it, but I've been seeing a lot of the following after the EF release:
> 
> "Searching for signal on Satellite In 2... (771)"
> 
> First it was on ABC (7) and wouldn't go away. I reset, and now it looks like it's on NBC (4). Anyone else?


I did too, initially, with the 0xEF update on 11/16, for about the first 24 hours. It was only with the MPEG-4 stations.

I also had no response from the remote or the front panel buttons on first use after the update (which was about 5 hours after the update at 3:40am), which required one red-button-reset to clear. Since then, it's actually been working great! (knock on wood...)


----------



## rbootss

Donnie Byrd said:


> could it be that your Pioneer is converting it to "Pro-Logic" ?


Hey Donnie and Earl - I forgot to mention that this audio problem exists for "All"
DTS outputs, DD, DPL,Stereo etc..It doesn't matter, the audio does not sync up
correctely when DD option is turned on..It only reconizes it correctly when I power off/on the receiver..But when I change channel the HR20 cannot re-sync the audio correctly and in fact I get NO sound at all..

Roy


----------



## Calebrot

I had my first lockup ever last night and it really wasn't a lockup. 

I had watched and recorded Ghost Whisperer last night on CBS, was a little behind and then got far behind because of the dog walk. All was fine and when I was finished watching at about 9:30 I deleted the episode. I then changed my TV input and switched over to my DVD player and watch the DaVinci Code. After I was finished watching the DVD I went back over to my TV's HR20 input and noticed that Letterman was on. Since it was, I tried to rewind to the beginning of Letterman, but the unit was completely unresponsive to the remote or the front panel. I tried everything and the unit was completely unresponsive. Nothing worked, but it wasn't locked up because I could watch Letterman from the point I turned back to it, but couldn't rewind. All was well after a red button reset but the buffer was gone. I even tried to press the record button on the remote and the front panel before I reset but to no avail.


----------



## btmoore

Calebrot said:


> I had my first lockup ever last night and it really wasn't a lockup.
> 
> I had watched and recorded Ghost Whisperer last night on CBS, was a little behind and then got far behind because of the dog walk. All was fine and when I was finished watching at about 9:30 I deleted the episode. I then changed my TV input and switched over to my DVD player and watch the DaVinci Code. After I was finished watching the DVD I went back over to my TV's HR20 input and noticed that Letterman was on. Since it was, I tried to rewind to the beginning of Letterman, but the unit was completely unresponsive to the remote or the front panel. I tried everything and the unit was completely unresponsive. Nothing worked, but it wasn't locked up because I could watch Letterman from the point I turned back to it, but couldn't rewind. All was well after a red button reset but the buffer was gone. I even tried to press the record button on the remote and the front panel before I reset but to no avail.


That is what I and I think other have been calling a lockup, the video keeps working either full screen or in the PIL but you have no to only partial control via your remote or front panel. The only way to fix this problem has been to red button reboot.

A crash would be a complete halt of the system, I have not seen a behavior like this on the HR20.


----------



## clay_w

soccercoach61 said:


> I did too, initially, with the 0xEF update on 11/16, for about the first 24 hours. It was only with the MPEG-4 stations.
> 
> I also had no response from the remote or the front panel buttons on first use after the update (which was about 5 hours after the update at 3:40am), which required one red-button-reset to clear. Since then, it's actually been working great! (knock on wood...)


Since the latest upgrade, I have also experienced the "Searching for signal on Satellite In 2... (771)" message a few times. I did not really pay attention to what channels it happened on but will take note if/when it happens again.


----------



## btmoore

clay_w said:


> Since the latest upgrade, I have also experienced the "Searching for signal on Satellite In 2... (771)" message a few times. I did not really pay attention to what channels it happened on but will take note if/when it happens again.


I came up with a script where I can create the 771 error at will (80 - 90)% of the time on my system.

I would be interested it others see the same thing. Earl sent it on the the D* guys. If you want to try it, it is located here http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=719241&postcount=7


----------



## ODiN91

soccercoach61 said:


> I did too, initially, with the 0xEF update on 11/16, for about the first 24 hours. It was only with the MPEG-4 stations.


Yeah so far I've only noticed it on MPEG-4 channels. Sometimes I'll be able to get rid of the message by switching channels, and othertimes it comes right back.


----------



## LameLefty

btmoore said:


> I came up with a script where I can create the 771 error at will (80 - 90)% of the time on my system.
> 
> I would be interested it others see the same thing. Earl sent it on the the D* guys. If you want to try it, it is located here http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=719241&postcount=7


I just tried your script and it did NOT create a 771 error, with two caveats.

First, I had not punched in my ZIP code since my last reboot (when I got updated to 0xEF a couple days ago) and second, I am not subscribed to HBO or Showtime so those give a 721 "Call to Subscribe" message - channel 346 as described in your script does not appear in my Guide.

Just FYI.


----------



## VTerp

Intex said:


> Today I was just using the buffer, but something must be really wrong, if when I want to rewind in the buffer, and it gives me Barbara Walter, as well as freezes.


I'm having the same problem that you stated. I am recording Tombstone and cannot rewind using jump back or the rewind button. The orange record status line goes back to the very begining and won't budge from there. I've seen this with other recordings post EF update. Did you do a reset? Did it work? Thanks.


----------



## avatar230

csdan said:


> don't know if anyone has reported this, but since my update to EF the last two mornings I have not been able to power on my receiver via remote or the power button. I hit reset but that didn't work so I unplugged and replugged, then hit reset and it worked. This morning it happened again, reset only worked after removing and replacing the Access card. Any one else have this problem??


Lots of people have. This is variation # 1 -- Unit won't power up. As for variation # 2--



Calebrot said:


> I had my first lockup ever last night and it really wasn't a lockup.
> 
> I had watched and recorded Ghost Whisperer last night on CBS, was a little behind and then got far behind because of the dog walk. All was fine and when I was finished watching at about 9:30 I deleted the episode. I then changed my TV input and switched over to my DVD player and watch the DaVinci Code. After I was finished watching the DVD I went back over to my TV's HR20 input and noticed that Letterman was on. Since it was, I tried to rewind to the beginning of Letterman, but the unit was completely unresponsive to the remote or the front panel. I tried everything and the unit was completely unresponsive. Nothing worked, but it wasn't locked up because I could watch Letterman from the point I turned back to it, but couldn't rewind. All was well after a red button reset but the buffer was gone. I even tried to press the record button on the remote and the front panel before I reset but to no avail.


Unit locks on one channel. It has been around since at least the EB update. It is going to keep happening to you frequently. The only fix people seem to have found is to reformat the system through "RESET EVERYTHING." If you search for posts I wrote in the EB and EF discussion threads, you'll find more info and more reports of this problem...

And not to gloat, but after seeing this problem in scattered areas in the early days of EB last week, I predicted on these boards that it was going to get a lot worse when the software update rolled out nationally which is exactly what happened (as EF seems to have not fixed whatever is causing it). Even though I've found my solution (reformat), I would say for the people experiencing this error, it's up there with the "partial/unwatchable" bug in terms of the most damning HR20 failures that D* needs to find a way to address if at all possible.


----------



## rhweimer

btmoore said:


> I came up with a script where I can create the 771 error at will (80 - 90)% of the time on my system.
> 
> I would be interested it others see the same thing. Earl sent it on the the D* guys. If you want to try it, it is located here http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=719241&postcount=7


Tried your script and did not come up with error. Did it three times.


----------



## Calebrot

rhweimer said:


> Tried your script and did not come up with error. Did it three times.


Same here, I tried it a few times, bu no searching for satellite message.

Not when doing this script but I have noticed it flash on and off, but have no problems recording 2 shows at one time.


----------



## hoss713

LockMD said:


> To get to the end, I think your suppose to press and hold the slip button.





LameLefty said:


> That's is correct: press and hold the 30-sec Slip button to jump all the way to the end; press and hold the Jump Back button to get to the beginning.


:biggthump

Finally I know how to skip to the end! 

A little counter-intuitive - seems like press-and-hold to get to the next hashmark or end of recording if no hashmarks would be more logical...

lj


----------



## jpcullen70

I had high hopes for the new software release. I've had by DVR for the past month and have experienced many lock ups. My latest lockup came sometime this morning. Last night, I recorded 3 1 hours programs (all MPEG2). After they recorded, I watched some other MPEG2 channels. I left the DVR on all night & when I woke up, the screen was black, would not change channels and would not power down. The only solution was a reset.

This was the same type of lockup that I've experienced since getting the DVR. I record some shows and it locks up sometime in the next 6 hours. On Friday morning I did a reformat hoping to fix things, but it still is as buggy as before.

Forgot to add. I'm connected via component cables, and I do not receive any MPEG4 signals because of my location


----------



## mjs31

Dang...I really wanted to love this update and even gave it big thumbs up. I must have jinxed myself since I have had two lock ups that required reset in the last 12 hours. This is the first time I have had any problems of this nature.

I am connected HDMI as always. Was not doing anything during either lock up and nothing was recording. First one was Friday night and Vegas was set to record, but it locked up before it could even start that. Next time (earlier today)...a show was playing on live tv and we went to change channels on remote did not work. Remote would control the TV but not he dvr. Tried buttons on the DVR and they would not work at all. Had to reset system.


----------



## terrapin

In playback of a recorded mpeg4 hd show, in a few seconds the picture and sound break up. I get a blue screen for about five seconds, then the picture returns without audio. Audio returns after a few more seconds. It is really annoying and unfortunately a consistent occurrence.

I'll have to do some more testing (when the family isn't around) to see if audio is still present through the optical to my recevier (HarmanK 325). This would indicate the problem may be HDMI. It doesn't happen on my h10 (component/optical --my tv has only one hdmi port; haven't splurged for a switch yet). Then again, there is no mpeg4 via h10.

I'm also not sure if its just mpeg4 locals or if the problem is more widespread, including other hd feeds or even sd shows (have I even recorded any sd shows???)

PS. D*, thanks for hearing us and responding. 4ff is awesome... howabout them dual live buffers so I can move my h10 to my rv?

hr10 component/ optical
hr20 hdmi/ optical
Harman K 325
Panny TH 42PX500U


----------



## btmoore

I don't know if they improved the software or I have just been lucky, but I notice that I am not having Dolby Digital losses when exiting trick plays any more. Under prior version of the software, after exiting a trick play there were times (maybe 5%) I had no audio, requiring an additional trick play like the replay button to get the HR20 to restart the digital audio stream. Under 0xeb I have not had to do this once, every time I exit a trick play the audio returns as expected. I am using SPDIF for my audio.


----------



## avatar230

btmoore said:


> I came up with a script where I can create the 771 error at will (80 - 90)% of the time on my system.
> 
> I would be interested it others see the same thing. Earl sent it on the the D* guys. If you want to try it, it is located here http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=719241&postcount=7


Tried three times but to no avail -- didn't get the error. BT, out of curiosity, do you have any lines coming off your multiswitch into your home that are NOT connected to a receiver?


----------



## premio

On MPG4 playback I get sound/video desync anytime I queue up a bunch of 30second slips. If I hit pauase, and then play, the audio is restored in sync.


----------



## ODiN91

premio said:


> On MPG4 playback I get sound/video desync anytime I queue up a bunch of 30second slips. If I hit pauase, and then play, the audio is restored in sync.


I've seen this as well. Usually takes about 2-5 seconds to recover.

Component
Vizio 42" GVL


----------



## jbstix

premio said:


> On MPG4 playback I get sound/video desync anytime I queue up a bunch of 30second slips. If I hit pauase, and then play, the audio is restored in sync.


Pleae post your setup specs:

HDMI, Component, TV, Receiver, etc.


----------



## Bajanjack

I had an HR20 swapped out this morning for my HR10. This is my second HR20, for the most part the first one works fine. Within an hour of the install the software was updated to OxEF. My tv supports HD up through 1080i. With "Native on" when I switch HD stations I am getting a blue screen on my tv. If I manually change the format I get the picture back. Any suggestions? Should I leave native off and leave it on 1080i? Problem #2 is I am getting audio drops for several seconds preceded by a strange noise.......


----------



## opelap

Earl Bonovich said:


> I wouldn't re-format because of those reasons.
> 
> It won't change the Guide data issue with the 700's... as that is something with the guide data stream...


Thanks for the advice. I wasn't optimistic about a reformat. Does D* know there is a problem with the guide data?

My R15 has no problems with the guide in the 700s.


----------



## SockMonkey

Bajanjack said:


> I had an HR20 swapped out this morning for my HR10. This is my second HR20, for the most part the first one works fine. Within an hour of the install the software was updated to OxEF. My tv supports HD up through 1080i. With "Native on" when I switch HD stations I am getting a blue screen on my tv. If I manually change the format I get the picture back. Any suggestions? Should I leave native off and leave it on 1080i? Problem #2 is I am getting audio drops for several seconds preceded by a strange noise.......


How do you have the HR20 connected to the TV? If it's HDMI, you may be having HDMI handshake issues. What resolutions do you have selected under Setup > TV Type > Resolutions? You might have a resolution selected that your TV does not support.

Bob


----------



## btmoore

avatar230 said:


> Tried three times but to no avail -- didn't get the error. BT, out of curiosity, do you have any lines coming off your multiswitch into your home that are NOT connected to a receiver?


nope. I have not seen a 771 error outside of that script, for about a month. In that script, it is critical that step 1 (hit the record on a channel) with out doing that I never get the error. I also don't know if it is important what channels you choose, What works for me is to start recording of g4, change channel's to MSNBC and then look up the weather.

My configuration goes Dish, ~80ft rg6 copper core, zimwell switch, 4 foot of rg6 copper core, hr20. But like I said I only see the 771 error now when I use this script. Did you have the 771 error before?


----------



## Stuart Sweet

With 0xEF, I have not been having any problems with using Crop and Stretch. I was having the issue where Crop was stretching the picture 2x vertically but I didn't see it at all while watching Battlestar Galactica last night. Prior to last night I had the issue pretty consistently and to not see it for an entire hour gives me hope.


----------



## Bajanjack

SockMonkey said:


> How do you have the HR20 connected to the TV? If it's HDMI, you may be having HDMI handshake issues. What resolutions do you have selected under Setup > TV Type > Resolutions? You might have a resolution selected that your TV does not support.
> 
> Bob


Thanks for the feedback... the tv hookup is component.....I have all formats enabled...the problem seems to be with 720p....I'll check my tv manual....it's a 4 year old 55 inch mitsubishi projection tv.........


----------



## rhweimer

Bajanjack said:


> Thanks for the feedback... the tv hookup is component.....I have all formats enabled...the problem seems to be with 720p....I'll check my tv manual....it's a 4 year old 55 inch mitsubishi projection tv.........


I have a Mitsubishi 55" (WS-55907) and it does not support 720P.


----------



## Cyrus

I haven't had a chance to read every post in this thread, so my apologies if this has been mentioned already.

I haven't had any problems with HR20 since the E3 release but today I encountered a relatively minor problem:

When I tried to tune to the Los Angeles ABC HD station (channel 87) it kept saying "Channel not purchased (721)" even though it was actually showing the channel. Doing a red button reset resolved the problem.


----------



## Bajanjack

rhweimer said:


> I have a Mitsubishi 55" (WS-55907) and it does not support 720P.


Thanks, that must be the problem.....question....if I do not enable 720p on the HR20 and turn native on what resolution will be displayed?


----------



## rhweimer

Bajanjack said:


> Thanks, that must be the problem.....question....if I do not enable 720p on the HR20 and turn native on what resolution will be displayed?


I think Mits would upscale to 1080i. I find mine works better if I turn off native and set HR20 to 1080i.


----------



## LameLefty

rhweimer said:


> I think Mits would upscale to 1080i. I find mine works better if I turn off native and set HR20 to 1080i.


I wouldn't count on that; if the TV doesn't support the resolution, it doesn't necessarily have to do anything with it. My 4-1/2 year old Toshiba RPTV doesn't support 720p either. Feed it a 720p signal and you get a blank screen. 480i, 480p or 1080i work fine however.

I would turn Native "Off" and just feed it 1080i. The HR20's scaler does a pretty decent job with most 480i SD stuff - it's still going to pale in comparison to HD but it's not much worse than most TV's internal scalers. And again, an older TV may very well simply be unable to handle a 720p signal.


----------



## rhweimer

LameLefty said:


> I wouldn't count on that; if the TV doesn't support the resolution, it doesn't necessarily have to do anything with it. My 4-1/2 year old Toshiba RPTV doesn't support 720p either. Feed it a 720p signal and you get a blank screen. 480i, 480p or 1080i work fine however.
> 
> I would turn Native "Off" and just feed it 1080i. The HR20's scaler does a pretty decent job with most 480i SD stuff - it's still going to pale in comparison to HD but it's not much worse than most TV's internal scalers. And again, an older TV may very well simply be unable to handle a 720p signal.


My Mits will handle 720P as ABC broadcast 720P and I can receive it no problem in HD.


----------



## induna

Since EF I have had distorted sound when powering on my system with the Harmony remote, which turns on the TV before the DVR. I have had no HDMI issues prior to this. The only way I have found to fix the problem is to toggle through the inputs on my TV. When it returns to HDMI, the sound is normal. Changing channels, audio track, and Dolby digital setting have no effect. The TV is an Olevia 532H firmware VCCD66010071 and is connected directly to the HR20 by a 3' HDMI cable.


----------



## LameLefty

rhweimer said:


> My Mits will handle 720P as ABC broadcast 720P and I can receive it no problem in HD.


Your Mitsubishi isn't the issue, it's the four-year old model owned by the other poster, referred to above. From a TV manufacturer's perspective, 720p was a standard pushed mostly by LCD and DLP makers before 1080p panels became more cost-effective. Many older CRT-based sets didn't support that standard, either as an input or a display mode. Newer sets do, but older ones often don't.


----------



## rhweimer

LameLefty said:


> I wouldn't count on that; if the TV doesn't support the resolution, it doesn't necessarily have to do anything with it. My 4-1/2 year old Toshiba RPTV doesn't support 720p either. Feed it a 720p signal and you get a blank screen. 480i, 480p or 1080i work fine however.
> 
> I would turn Native "Off" and just feed it 1080i. The HR20's scaler does a pretty decent job with most 480i SD stuff - it's still going to pale in comparison to HD but it's not much worse than most TV's internal scalers. And again, an older TV may very well simply be unable to handle a 720p signal.





LameLefty said:


> Your Mitsubishi isn't the issue, it's the four-year old model owned by the other poster, referred to above. From a TV manufacturer's perspective, 720p was a standard pushed mostly by LCD and DLP makers before 1080p panels became more cost-effective. Many older CRT-based sets didn't support that standard, either as an input or a display mode. Newer sets do, but older ones often don't.


My Mits is a 2001 model. You are correct that it does not support 720P as input from HR20. But I think any HDTV tv will support 720P as a broadcast signal.


----------



## EMoMoney

I've had nothing but problems since the EF update. I've only had 1 out of 4 good recordings and I got my first blue screen lockup today. (right in the middle of the OSU Michigan game nonetheless.) The bulk of what we watch is on mondays and Tuesdays. If I have the same problems as I did this past Thursday, I'll live with the audio dropouts on 6.3a and return this in a heartbeat.


----------



## Just J

Watching the OSU/UM game (Go Bucks!!!) on Chicago's local ABC HD channel. Had the recording set to start at 2:30 and run for 4 hours (guide entry, plus a 1 hour pad IIRC). Was watching the recording, but I was caught up and watching that recording in real time. At around 6:10 (20 minutes early, and with a minute or two left in the game) the screen froze, the sound went out, and the record light went out. No "Delete or Keep" or any other on-screen message.

A Channel-Down followed by a Channel-Up restored normal functioning (did not resume recording).


----------



## jrembree

Since I got the new release things seem worse. I have to reset 5 plus times a day in order to get the recorded programs to play. Most times I get a Screen stating do you want to delete or save it. I have reformatted the Disk and still have problems including freezes. I know you need more information such as what format the programs are in. I don't know how to tell if it is in MPEG4 or what. How can you determine that?

I have ordered a new DVR so maybe it will help. I am trying to live with it knowing it is new with a lot a features, but it is getting harder.


----------



## LameLefty

jrembree said:


> Since I got the new release things seem worse. I have to reset 5 plus times a day in order to get the recorded programs to play. Most times I get a Screen stating do you want to delete or save it. I have reformatted the Disk and still have problems including freezes. I know you need more information such as what format the programs are in. I don't know how to tell if it is in MPEG4 or what. How can you determine that?
> 
> I have ordered a new DVR so maybe it will help. I am trying to live with it knowing it is new with a lot a features, but it is getting harder.


Five times a DAY? We have had ONE red-button reset in four weeks. Something's not right. I think you've gotta have some hardware problems or something else going on.

As for MPEG4 vs. MPEG2, local HD channels are the only ones using MPEG4 so far. National HD channels and all SD channels are using MPEG2.


----------



## mrshermanoaks

jrembree said:


> Since I got the new release things seem worse. I have to reset 5 plus times a day in order to get the recorded programs to play. Most times I get a Screen stating do you want to delete or save it. I have reformatted the Disk and still have problems including freezes. I know you need more information such as what format the programs are in. I don't know how to tell if it is in MPEG4 or what. How can you determine that?
> 
> I have ordered a new DVR so maybe it will help. I am trying to live with it knowing it is new with a lot a features, but it is getting harder.


Yikes. I would reformat at that point.


----------



## Radio Enginerd

It's clear 100% of the bugs have not been resolved but it sure seems that the last update was a major step forward IMO. The subject of this email is how I feel, should I reboot my HR20? I've had it running since the update was applied WITHOUT a single reboot. No missed recordings and no BSOD. In all fairness, I don't record any football or ST so I don't fall into that category but I do a lot of primetime SD and MPEG-4 HD recordings and I've had lots of success. Compared to 6-10 reboots and a bunch of failed recordings on the last software (don't remember the number, the one that DIDN'T go national), I'm relieved.

Trick play improvements make the box A LOT more desirable. I've started using SLIP and it's actually usable now and the SKIP BACK function also seems improved. So at a time when DTV has had their feet to the coals, looks like this last update was a HUGE improvement. We still have a ways to go to perfection, BUT it's actually usable for me at least.


----------



## btmoore

Radio Enginerd said:


> It's clear 100% of the bugs have not been resolved but it sure seems that the last update was a major step forward IMO. The subject of this email is how I feel, should I reboot my HR20? I've had it running since the update was applied WITHOUT a single reboot. No missed recordings and no BSOD. In all fairness, I don't record any football or ST so I don't fall into that category but I do a lot of primetime SD and MPEG-4 HD recordings and I've had lots of success. Compared to 6-10 reboots and a bunch of failed recordings on the last software (don't remember the number, the one that DIDN'T go national), I'm relieved.
> 
> Trick play improvements make the box A LOT more desirable. I've started using SLIP and it's actually usable now and the SKIP BACK function also seems improved. So at a time when DTV has had their feet to the coals, looks like this last update was a HUGE improvement. We still have a ways to go to perfection, BUT it's actually usable for me at least.


While they made the interface better, it appears the core bugs still exist. While the better trick plays are nice but if it fails to record what you tell it to or even worse locks up, what good is it. The first and foremost thing a DVR needs to do is record based on a programmed schedule, right now it is failing and continues to fail. If you use the history of all the prior release these same core bugs show up in every release and there is no real sign of improvement. I was one of the first here who gave kudos to D* for improved trick play performance, but I will give it all up and go back for stability. Last version I had zero lockups and it worked great for 3 or 4 days, then it was a storm of unwatchables or partials bugs. This release I go a few days and get a partial then 2 lockups within a few hours of each other and a few thing are showing up as canceled, never recorded and I don't know why. Every day I see some one new come here and they make a post about problem that is one of the same core bugs that have been in this box from the start. We also see people returning their boxes 3,4 or 5 times just to continue to have problems. It is clear there are some people who seem to have blessed boxes, hell if my HR20 ran like it did the first couple of days I would be happy, but it is equally clear that this box has some serious issues, and Earl even posted that developers at D* have seen every issues and bug that have been posted up to his post. Well thats great, but what they are they doing about it, it certainly doesn't appear that any of the prior releases addressed these core defects. IMO if it cant support the core requirement of recording what you tell it to then all these improved features are just lipstick on a pig.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

It is not that the "core" defects are being addressed.... 

As most of you software and hardware developers are aware... unless it can be recreated on command... it is significantly more difficult to debug and eliminate. 

It is not like they are NOT trying to solve the issues... but sometimes to get to the "root" cause, you have to cure a lot of the symptoms and other top level issues, before you can get to the bottom of it.


----------



## iacas

Earl Bonovich said:


> It is not that the "core" defects are being addressed....
> 
> As most of you software and hardware developers are aware... unless it can be recreated on command... it is significantly more difficult to debug and eliminate.
> 
> It is not like they are NOT trying to solve the issues... but sometimes to get to the "root" cause, you have to cure a lot of the symptoms and other top level issues, before you can get to the bottom of it.


Indeed. I am a software developer and understand that.

But I also understand the user side of things. DVRs are like backup software or other mission-critical type software. It's *got* to work. Buggy backup software is worthless, and a buggy DVR is nearly so.

I'm awaiting my HR20, and while I realize that most people posting on a forum do so to complain (i.e. if you have no problems, you have little incentive to post to say "everything is great," thus complaints are disproportionate), I am a bit nervous. I've had a TiVo for five years, so shows not recording, the unit locking up, etc. would be a completely new - and entirely unwelcome - experience for me.


----------



## diana

I just bought a new HDTV and have had directv tivo for years and of course like it.
I realize I have to buy a new HD receiver. I have been reading about all the problems on this board and a few others. Are the problems common or are they rare? do I take a chance to see if I get a "good one" or wait a few more months for the bugs to be hopefully cleared up.
i am certainly in the camp that cannot believe that a major company would be selling something that sounds so buggy where you often lose programs or you cannot watch what you thought you recorded.
at any rate...would most of you wait if you had to do it again?
another option would be to get the HR20 and if it is a lemon return it and start using my old box and fan HDTV for awhile.......
diana


----------



## Tom Robertson

I can also understand how D* could have teams assigned to various problem groups. The UI problems might have been easier to reproduce, find, and therefore, solve so they got done first. 

And while the core functionality problems might have more teams (or larger teams of programmers), if D* can't reproduce them reliably or find the underlying problems for these most critical problems, they will be delayed. Alas, in most programming environments, after a certain point, more people does not help solve problems faster. 

But, as every manager must ask, can the existing teams work smarter? Using data from already solved defects as a source of information. For example, to see if a poor programming technique in one area is also used in other sections of the code. Buffer under/overflows, poor real-time or multi-threading techniques, or a lack of data validation can show up in multiple sections of code--if a group of programmers all have similar backgrounds or training. Or if a corporate coding standard allows or, worse yet, fosters poor coding. Especially in an embedded, real-time system. This is not simple application programming.

None of this is meant to excuse or give D* a pass. My first VCR (yeah, I'm bringing that up again) never missed a recording from software defects. And always tried even if there were hardware issues (like a bad tape.) And would restart recording no matter how many times the power went out and returned during a recording slot...And would record whatever crap came in thru the antenna lead...(Ok, I'll get of that soapbox again.) D* will likely live or die with the reputation they earn from whatever execution they show developing new products and services.

Cheers,
Tom
(Hoping for better HR20 execution soon)


----------



## Tom Robertson

diana said:


> I just bought a new HDTV and have had directv tivo for years and of course like it.
> I realize I have to buy a new HD receiver. I have been reading about all the problems on this board and a few others. Are the problems common or are they rare? do I take a chance to see if I get a "good one" or wait a few more months for the bugs to be hopefully cleared up.
> i am certainly in the camp that cannot believe that a major company would be selling something that sounds so buggy where you often lose programs or you cannot watch what you thought you recorded.
> at any rate...would most of you wait if you had to do it again?
> another option would be to get the HR20 and if it is a lemon return it and start using my old box and fan HDTV for awhile.......
> diana


Welcome to the forums Diana! :welcome_s

Since each situation and tolerance for problems is different, I can suggest some thoughts you might consider. I have a nice setup with working HR10s, solid OTA, and enought receivers to accomplish the TV viewing in my household that I wanted. But as I talked to D* about one thing, the discussion shifted to my asking about an update on the HR20. Cuz they like my standing, nicely sized account, and regular on-time payments, they gave me offers on the HR20 I could not refuse. Nearly free was as good as I expected to get, so I jumped earlier than I would have otherwise.

And since I didn't pay much for the units and I do like some of the features that look promising with the HR20, I am far, far more willing to be patient about the poor experience I've had with recordings. I've gone back to D* and asked for a small monthly credit since I'm not able to turn off my existing receivers until the HR20 is more stable.

You might see if D* gives you a kickass opportunity on the HR20. If not, I would look closely at the Tivo-based HR10 units either off ebay or thru other sources. Mine have been rock solid for both HD and SD recording from D* as well as OTA.

Good luck,
Tom


----------



## Wire Paladin

HDMI Issue
Sony Sxrd KDS-R60xbr1

No video or sound when using HDMI (blank screen). Switching to components and I get audio and video. This problem has existed in all the previous releases.

NOTE: I also switched the TV back to my H20 DIRECTV receiver and it works with HDMI. I did this to verify that there was no problem with the TV. Switching back to the HR20 and I got no image or audio using HDMI. Just a blank Screen.


----------



## avatar230

btmoore said:


> nope. I have not seen a 771 error outside of that script, for about a month. In that script, it is critical that step 1 (hit the record on a channel) with out doing that I never get the error. I also don't know if it is important what channels you choose, What works for me is to start recording of g4, change channel's to MSNBC and then look up the weather.
> 
> My configuration goes Dish, ~80ft rg6 copper core, zimwell switch, 4 foot of rg6 copper core, hr20. But like I said I only see the 771 error now when I use this script. Did you have the 771 error before?


Never had the 771 myself, but I have had partials (obviously) and I was wondering they were somehow connected to a weak signal from the dish. Not sure if I'm just being superstitious, but I did have one drop coming into my house that had no receiver on it -- wondered if this might be sapping voltage off the dish, so I connected an old STB to it and turned it on to channel 100. I have not had the partial issue since then, but it could be pure coincidence.


----------



## LameLefty

btmoore said:


> While they made the interface better, it appears the core bugs still exist.


For you and some others. NOT for everyone.

Call mine a "blessed box" if you must, but I'd venture to guess there are THOUSANDS (if not tens of thousands) of these boxes out there now. Clearly the problems you are experiencing are NOT the norm, except perhaps here on this forum where problem units will be over-represented. For instance, several of us have pointed out that your script to produce a 771 error doesn't work for us. That points to a problem with YOUR box or your particular switch/wiring/box combo, not ALL boxes. This is a point that seems to be overlooked.

To date I've had two glitches worth discussing: one "deleted" Superfan HD NFLST game two weeks ago (tempered by another the next week that worked fine) and exactly one GUI lockup that required a red-button reset two weeks ago. That's it. I would venture to guess more users have rare glitches like mine than have the multitude of issues you seem to have.

I'm not saying this to be confrontational, just to keep things in perspective.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

LameLefty said:


> For you and some others. NOT for everyone.
> 
> Call mine a "blessed box" if you must, but I'd venture to guess there are THOUSANDS (if not tens of thousands) of these boxes out there now. Clearly the problems you are experiencing are NOT the norm, except perhaps here on this forum where problem units will be over-represented.


I've also had 2 of the "blessed" HR20 boxes now for a while with NO problems at all - everything records as requested, plays everything with no problems at all - all audio and video are great. No automated deletes, no Dolby issues, no HDMI issues. As you pointed out - you tend to hear only the folks with problems and not the majority of us who have no or little issues. I suspect that after 19 NFL Ticket games and 214 recorded programs (all played back), any such problems would have surfaced.


----------



## rbootss

Earl and Directv Developers...

NOTE - Serious problem when remote keys fail to function after a few key functions and requires a reset for remote to function..

PROBLEM so far tonight..

I was switching between channel 10-ABC and 206 ESPN using prev key..After only a few times switching back and forth..The HR20 fails to repond to the command..I try channel up/down and/or enter channel number and no response with HR20..I try to power it off/on via remote key and this works but the other keys still do not get a response from the HR20..However using the key functions on the box do work..I had the remote set for IR..I had to reset the HR20 to get the remote keys to respond correctly..I have new batteries in the remote..However..

.....THIS SAME PROBLEM OCCURED 3-TIMES IN JUST 30-MINUTES.....

This is very frustrating..

My patience with this is unit is wearing very thin..

Roy in Miami..


----------



## wakajawaka

Thanks hdtvfan001 for telling us for the thousandth time you have perfect HR20's

Now for an 0xEF bug report (thats what this thread is for right?) I padded MI/OH ST game by an hour it only padded 10 minutes (thus missing the end of the game). I use component video, red/white RCA jacks for audio. Recorded local mpeg4 from Charlotte, NC. I set it to record via the guide then went into the Record menu from To Do list to add the extra time. I've not had many problems, 1 NFL ST deleted, 1 Partial Deleted, 1 BSOD all with 0xe3, now not padding correctly with 0xEF.


----------



## rbootss

rbootss said:


> Earl and Directv Developers...
> 
> NOTE - Serious problem when remote keys fail to function after a few key functions and requires a reset for remote to function..
> 
> PROBLEM so far tonight..
> 
> I was switching between channel 10-ABC and 206 ESPN using prev key..After only a few times switching back and forth..The HR20 fails to repond to the command..I try channel up/down and/or enter channel number and no response with HR20..I try to power it off/on via remote key and this works but the other keys still do not get a response from the HR20..However using the key functions on the box do work..I had the remote set for IR..I had to reset the HR20 to get the remote keys to respond correctly..I have new batteries in the remote..However..
> 
> .....THIS SAME PROBLEM OCCURED 3-TIMES IN JUST 30-MINUTES.....
> 
> This is very frustrating..
> 
> My patience with this is unit is wearing very thin..
> 
> Roy in Miami..


...UPDATE...

Just tried using the remote again and it failed the FIRST TIME..Same situation and key strokes as before..

EARL - What the **** is going on here??????????????

A very unhappy camper..


----------



## cohbraz

It really seems that there may be a few hardware issues with some of these problems that are being reported. If it was all software it would seem that more people would have the same problem.


----------



## houskamp

anybody having problems check out the thread about auto record?


----------



## Earl Bonovich

rbootss said:


> ...UPDATE...
> 
> Just tried using the remote again and it failed the FIRST TIME..Same situation and key strokes as before..
> 
> EARL - What the **** is going on here??????????????
> 
> A very unhappy camper..


I saw in your first post... that you had it in IR mode...
What if you try it in RF mode.

What happens if you just try to bring up the My Playlist, and play a previous recording


----------



## rbootss

Earl Bonovich said:


> I saw in your first post... that you had it in IR mode...
> What if you try it in RF mode.
> 
> What happens if you just try to bring up the My Playlist, and play a previous recording


Earl - The last time I had switched to RF mode..And when I hit menu and My Playlist appeared..I could NOT play a recording because nothing came up..I kept hitting My Playlist again still NO response..BTW..I did not have such remote lockups with the previous software version..

Roy - Earl..I appreciate what you are doing to help get the HR20's working OK..


----------



## thekochs

Earl,

Two bugs.......

1) I recorded Ohio State/Michigan & Auburn/Alabama game to watch tonight. All went well with the recordings except I had setup them to go for 1.5 hours past scheduled stop time....I've been burned before by OT games. Anyway, both did not extend the 1.5 hours. They both stopped recording at 3hours, 40minutes.

2) When watching the Ohio State/Michigan game I realized USC was playing live...already evening. So, I decided to try to use the TIPS/Tricks and see if I could watch both.....one recorded playback....one live. I paused the Ohio/Mich recording and tuned to the USC live feed....watched a little bit and hit pause. I then hit the Previous button and the HR20 worked great in going back to the Ohio State/Michigan recording and it started automatically. After a little bit I paused here and went back to USC game....which started at the point I left. OK, so at that point the USC game should be behind real-time/Live. I hit the FF button and the timeline came up with green showing me I'm real time....no way. I went ahead and paused and went back-n-forth a couple of times. No matter what I did the USC game would not let me FF. Obviously, with the pauses I was not real-time anymore. So, I figured this may be a quirk of the infamous *oversight* of D* to not put in dual buffers. So, as a test I went back to the Ohio/Mich game, stopped and got out of it. I then went back to the USC game figuring the single buffer may now be free. Anyway, to my surprise I *still* could not FF and I must have been at least 15 minutes or more behind real-time. Obviously the HR20 was recording the USC game but somehow it was lost that it could not FF. Anyway, unless this is some very wierd mode of operation it is most definitely a bug.

Regards.

EDIT: Forgot to add important data point...HDD had over 90% free space.


----------



## rbootss

rbootss said:


> Earl - The last time I had switched to RF mode..And when I hit menu and My Playlist appeared..I could NOT play a recording because nothing came up..I kept hitting My Playlist again still NO response..BTW..I did not have such remote lockups with the previous software version..
> 
> Roy - Earl..I appreciate what you are doing to help get the HR20's working OK..


UPDATE - Earl, I have a second HR20 (With a third one being put into service
on Monday) which I just spent several minutes trying to see if I could re-create the problem and it did not re-occur..I could not test it earler because it was recording a 4-hr porgram on ScFi which worked fine..It is in IR mode with HDMI directly connected to a Sony KDL-V40XBR1 with Native off and no receiver involved..

Roy - Again thanks for your efforts..I greatly appreciate it..


----------



## gator5000e

My box was great before EF came out. Since the update I now have lipsync problems, Guide issues with Upcoming:Title Not Available on a significant number of channels - like right now, all my Sunday Ticket Channels say this - and guide freezes requiring reboots. 

The lipsync problem is pretty bad. My buddy was here watching the USC game and at one point Erin Andrews was speaking and he goes what wrong with the picture? Her mouth does not match the words? The lips are ahead of the voice. Its happening right now on ESPN. 

The guide problems is frustrating as well. I can't tell what's coming up!! Reboots do not help. the data may show up after a reboot but it will revert to the Upcoming:Title Not Available soon enough. Appears to be most problematic on the channels in the 90s, FSN Regional channels and Sports packs, like ST and Center Ice. The regular channels seem to be ok, so something is up.

Sorry for the long post. Just want to make sure my issues get documented. I have called and complained to D* who told me they know the latest software has caused issues for some boxes and they are working on it. The CSR sounded like she has heard a lot of complaints after the last download.


----------



## diana

Is that the HR10-250 you are talking about?
so, if i buy one on ebay from and individual, directv will allow me to use it and support the Tivo?
diana


----------



## Tom Robertson

diana said:


> Is that the HR10-250 you are talking about?
> so, if i buy one on ebay from and individual, directv will allow me to use it and support the Tivo?
> diana


Yes and Yes. They might tell you to pay for a replacement access card for a nominal fee (I think $20), but I've also had several units switch move around the various accounts our family has and not required any new access cards.

D* has licensed the Tivo software and support for at least three more years. By then, hopefully D* will have the HR20 fixed (and I'm really hoping for the new 4 tuner network server dvr working by then too!)

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## btmoore

LameLefty said:


> For you and some others. NOT for everyone.


Did I ever say everyone is seeing the problems?



LameLefty said:


> Call mine a "blessed box" if you must, but I'd venture to guess there are THOUSANDS (if not tens of thousands) of these boxes out there now. Clearly the problems you are experiencing are NOT the norm, except perhaps here on this forum where problem units will be over-represented. For instance, several of us have pointed out that your script to produce a 771 error doesn't work for us. That points to a problem with YOUR box or your particular switch/wiring/box combo, not ALL boxes. This is a point that seems to be overlooked.
> 
> To date I've had two glitches worth discussing: one "deleted" Superfan HD NFLST game two weeks ago (tempered by another the next week that worked fine) and exactly one GUI lockup that required a red-button reset two weeks ago. That's it. I would venture to guess more users have rare glitches like mine than have the multitude of issues you seem to have.
> 
> I'm not saying this to be confrontational, just to keep things in perspective.


I used "blessed" because you and other here proclaim to have boxes with few to no problems, from my perspective you are lucky, blessed, whatever you want to call it. I think that would be considered a good thing, wish I was so lucky, I wish I was confused by the people posting about the issues they are having too. There have been many posts of people with the unwatchable and partial bug. How many in the total population is an unknown,but via this forum I know I am not alone, just as you know you are not alone with a box that appears to be working fine. How many have problems or don't, is data none of us have, the only data we have is what is shared here.

Many people have posted about seeing the 771 message pop up. A few release ago I had it pop up a few times too. Now it only happens in that odd corner case I posted, I have no idea why, since I could repeat it, I posted it so others could see if they see it too. If you never had a 771 message, maybe you wont see it or maybe you will if you run that script. I put it up so others could try to repeat it if they desired. Is it related to the partial or unwatchable bug, I don't think so, but who knows it is out there for some one to look at if they want. If it is related to the other 771 problems that people are seeing maybe it will help D* figure it out. Maybe there is a run of systems with some marginal hardware, maybe this script might help D* figure it out. It is just data, you can do a search yourself and you will see people who are seeing the 771 issue. This is not a negative reflection on you or anyone who has not seen it.

I don't know why you feel you need to address me by telling me not everyone has these problems, I have never said everyone does but yet you imply that I do. Why are you so defensive by making statements about not everyone having these problems to me. Do you think some how the issues I and others have documented paint you in a bad light some how. I have never said LameLefty has problems with his box and wont admit it, I have never questioned your personal credibility. It is clear and even Earl has admitted so in this posts that D* has seen these problems. Why does it upset you, you have a working box you should be happy? My post was about my 2 cents on enhancing features when there are core bugs that are hitting many users, maybe not all, but a big enough subset, that it is reported with consistency between those people. I am not sure why you feel you need to defend those who say they have no problems, good for you, you have a box that works for your needs. If you do a search you will see there there are many posts by many people who are having the same problems I have. No one is taking away from you that your box is working well for you. You should be happy, I wish I was so lucky.


----------



## pappys

I had the "771 error in sat 2" 3 times tonight. I haven't seen that for a long time. I also had it last night, and finally took off the b-band converters. I really didn't expect to see them any more.


----------



## LarryInAz

thekochs said:


> Earl,
> 
> Two bugs.......
> 
> 1) I recorded Ohio State/Michigan & Auburn/Alabama game to watch tonight. All went well with the recordings except I had setup them to go for 1.5 hours past scheduled stop time....I've been burned before by OT games. Anyway, both did not extend the 1.5 hours. They both stopped recording at 3hours, 40minutes.


I've seen several other folks mention that they padded this game an extra hour or 90 minutes and the game ended at 3 hours and 40 minutes.
:nono2: 
I also had the same issue even though I padded it 90 minutes. FWIW I had at least 60% available space on the drive. :box:


----------



## jheda

local mpegs out here in fort lauderdale - am i alone?????????


----------



## SockMonkey

I can't add padding to a keyword search autorecord. This is easily repeatable on my HR20 and (to me at least) needs to be fixed. I don't know how long this problem existed (ie: which other releases) since I just tried this today for the first time.

I happen to be a big fan of the band U2. So, I have a keyword search autorecord setup for keyword "U2" on my HR20. Last night a show recorded off of VH1 twice... one time the first few minutes were cut off and the second time the last few minutes were cut off. So, I went to the prioritizer and was going to add 5 minute padding to the beginning and end for all programs recorded for my "U2" keyword search.

When I got to the prioritizer, I selected the entry for my keyword search. Then I selected autorecord and it showed the record options. At this point I tried to change the "Start" and "End" settings. The first time I edit the settings, the "Update all" option on the right is available, but when selected, nothing is saved. When I go back to check, the menu option to the right does not change to "Update all." It remains at "Record as set." And when selected, nothing is saved. Even changing the "Keep until" or "Type" settings does not save. So, basically no changes can be made at all.

So, next I tried deleting the keyword search autorecord completely and recreating it. When I got to the autorecord settings during the setup, I changed the start and end padding and selected "Update all" but the HR20 will not respond to the command. The light on the front blinks so the HR20 is recieving the signal, but the "Update all" will not do anything. I can move to another option and change things, but the only way I can set the autorecord is to have every setting at the default.

I am able to select an individual show found in the to do list and change the settings for that recording. I am also able to change the padding settings on any other series linked show.

Can someone else please try this and confirm my findings?
Thank you.
Bob


----------



## rtphokie

I've not had the myriad of problems others have had until this update. I've had it for 3 days and have now (front panel) reset 6 times.

Symptoms are and the remote and front panel do nothing. It's tuned to whatever it was left on but wont change channels, bring up the list, menu, or anything.

Ideas? Is pulling the plug any different of a reset? I'm not eager to wipe the thing and start over.


----------



## SockMonkey

jheda said:


> local mpegs out here in fort lauderdale - am i alone?????????


My HD locals in Baltimore, Maryland went out for about 15 minutes this morning but are now back.


----------



## jheda

can you guys who recently posted check your tvs and tell me if you have locals?


----------



## SockMonkey

jheda said:


> can you guys who recently posted check your tvs and tell me if you have locals?


I just did.  And incidentally, my SD locals never went out.


----------



## jheda

SockMonkey said:


> I just did. And incidentally, my SD locals never went out.


thanks so much for checking .......we must have been simultaneously typing........Im up again too!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## jheda

and i never lost sd locals either


----------



## billt1111

LarryInAz said:


> I've seen several other folks mention that they padded this game an extra hour or 90 minutes and the game ended at 3 hours and 40 minutes.
> :nono2:
> I also had the same issue even though I padded it 90 minutes. FWIW I had at least 60% available space on the drive. :box:


I forgot to add padding and my recording ended at the START of the 4th quarter. I am not sure my usual 30 minutes of pad would have made any difference. I also think that it stopped recording at the point that the guide says the game should have ended. For those that managed to guess correctly, how much recording time would have been required for the whole game?


----------



## Calebrot

jheda said:


> local mpegs out here in fort lauderdale - am i alone?????????


Yes you are, my HD locals are fine.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

wakajawaka said:


> Thanks hdtvfan001 for telling us for the thousandth time you have perfect HR20's
> 
> Now for an 0xEF bug report (thats what this thread is for right?) I padded MI/OH ST game by an hour it only padded 10 minutes (thus missing the end of the game).


# 1001 - somebody's gotta represent the majority!

Mich - Ohio State - great game, recorded perfectly, but then...you knew it would (I did).

After re-reading through this thread...it appears that 80% of the issues are tied to the following 3 items:

1) Remote responses, including quick trick buttons (this would seem to indicate this may potentially be a result of defective remotes themselves, as button presses don't seem to do what they should for some folks)

2) Local MPEG4 recordings (this could be a result of local retransmissions or other issues unrelated to the HR20 itself, and may be specific to certian localities)

3) Intermittent signal losses or pixelation (could be related to Dish installs and/or HDMI cable issues)

Based on these, perhaps Earl can send feedback that a remote and perhaps signal strngth diagnositcs loop test could be added to the software (which might narrow down the vast majority of any remaining issues for those who have issues).

If after the next firmware update things don't get narrowed down to nearly nothing, it would appear that folks need to start looking at other sources of the problem besides the HR20 box itself. It would be nice to see everyone enjoy this thing like many of us already do. Rumor has it OTA is just around the bend.....


----------



## Phil T

I got my HR20 October 3rd and had no issues with the 3LNB dish. I got my Slimline dish installed Friday. I have no multiswitch.

Yesterday I had the 771 message 3 times and a complete lockup (first one) forcing me to do a red button reset.

I am showing signal strength on all satellites in the 90"s except 103 which shows 100% on transponder 3.

Makes me think that most of these issues are MPEG4 related.


----------



## Canis Lupus

Just returned from out of town and am using the new update. Trick play MAJORLY improved. This brings the HR-20 totally up to par with Tivo's "trick play" (minus of course the patented stuff). 

Faster 6 second replay, much faster 30s slip, 4x speed works great. I'm very happy. Give me OTA and I'm completely satisfied..


----------



## raggededge

*BUG REPORT*

1.) I am in the Nashville DMA, selecting "2" on the remote to take me to WKRN MPEG4 HDTV local channel, gives me the dreaded 771 bug almost every time. Channel up and back down gets rid of it about 80% of the time.

2.) I have 24 hours of MPEG4 recordings with only 34% left free. Might not be a bug, but that is quite a bit off from the 50 hours or so we are supposed to get.


----------



## LameLefty

Phil T said:


> I got my HR20 October 3rd and had no issues with the 3LNB dish. I got my Slimline dish installed Friday. I have no multiswitch.
> 
> Yesterday I had the 771 message 3 times and a complete lockup (first one) forcing me to do a red button reset.
> 
> I am showing signal strength on all satellites in the 90"s except 103 which shows 100% on transponder 3.
> 
> Makes me think that most of these issues are MPEG4 related.


Perhaps, but the KaKu dishes have multiswitches built in. It's possible the dish/LNB assembly is faulty. There's a sticky thread talking about powering the dish - suggesting that some HR20's have trouble signaling the switches, or that some switches are slowe to respond than they could be, giving the 771 error. Static signal strength readings won't tell you if the switch in the dish (or the second multiswitch that most of us have) is taking too long to respond - the cause of that 771 error.


----------



## WolfpackSully

Before the EF upgrade, I had about 0% success at recording. Almost all would show up as partial, would not replay, and then would disappear after a reboot.

With EF, it _seems _the partial problem has gone away, but now my receiver freezes quite frequently (3 or 4 times a day?). I haven't figured out what makes it freeze yet - has frozen when watching ESPN (mpeg2) and local programming (mpeg4), when recording, when not recording.

Yesterday the recorder seemed to succeed. I recorded The Longest Yard (HBO) and Walking Tall (I think) on one of the other HD channels. The recordings seemed to record properly - proper length, etc. When I woke up this AM, the HR20 was frozen - no picture, no response, bright blue lights on. I had to unplug it to reset. After the reboot, yesterday's recordings were gone. Rebooted (unplug and thru menu) a couple more times, no change. 

I am currently recording Fatal Instinct (SHO HD), just as a test. The recording seems to be working properly, but when I try to watch the recording (it is still recording) from the beginning, nothing plays and I can't FF. I can just turn to the Showtime HD channel and watch it live.

My latest...

Sully


----------



## LameLefty

raggededge said:


> *BUG REPORT*
> 
> 1.) I am in the Nashville DMA, selecting "2" on the remote to take me to WKRN MPEG4 HDTV local channel, gives me the dreaded 771 bug almost every time. Channel up and back down gets rid of it about 80% of the time.


That could be an issue with your wiring, a slow or perhaps defective multiswitch or a finicky LNB. I've got no problems with any of the Nashville locals.



> 2.) I have 24 hours of MPEG4 recordings with only 34% left free. Might not be a bug, but that is quite a bit off from the 50 hours or so we are supposed to get.


The recorded capacity estimates are just that: estimates. How much capacity you have depends on what you're recording. A program with lots of motion, for instance, will take up MUCH more space than a recording of a quiet mountainscape seen from a distance.


----------



## Entr04y

Hi all,

I may have missed the explanation, but what is the logic behind deleting the guide data when the box reboots? It seems like it just messes with the recording schedules (canceling anything pending, then rescheduling) and opens up a potential to miss recordings if the guide data doesn't fill in... 

Is it just in volatile memory and goes away by default? It's a pain if the box reboots on monday, and after it is done rebooting I see something i want to schedule for later in the week or next week since it takes up to 24 hours to repopulated the data... by then i've completely forgotten about it 

I had an interesting problem when I first installed my hr20-700 that could have caused the second problem... there was something wrong with the grounding block that was causing odd transponders (especially transponder 1) on the 101 satellite to be recieved weak and it was unable to lock. All other transponders / satellites were reading 80+ This meant that the box would take ~30 minutes to boot and would never quite get the guide data. The odd thing was my hr10-250 never got less than 95% signal on the same transponders at the same time. Replacing the grounding block fixed the problem, and the HR20 now shows 95% on that transponder. Anyone who is getting 771 problems or other weird signal issues, I highly recommend that you check every connection from the dish to the tv... I think the HR20-700 may be very sensitive to connection issues and fail in odd ways if the cabling / connecters aren't near-perfect...

HR10-250
HR20-700
AT9 dish
No multiswitch (besides the one in the dish)


----------



## badlydrawnboy

2nd sunday morning in a row, I have had to do a red button restart, I Thought that it was because Last Saturday I paused SNL while it was being recorded, watched some of it live, left the DVR Paused and went to bed.

Today I get up, and it won't start, so I red button it, I paused it during live tv around 330pm yesterday. I can't see how this could be happening.


----------



## delfuego

One problem I'm seeing today, after being upgraded to 0xEF: I can't get my Sunday Ticket channels to show in Pillar Box mode. At all. Nothing will make it happen.

I have my display setup as Native, with black bars, and fixed in 1080i Pillar Box; all non-Sunday Ticket channels (e.g., my non-HD locals, things like TBS, whatever) show in Pillar Box no problem. Sunday Ticket, though, stretches, and there's nothing I can do to change it. It's honestly maddening, since things like football look AWFUL stretched.

Any ideas? Is this something new to 0xEF, or is it something I never noticed before but has always been a problem?


----------



## delfuego

Nevermind me -- I just found the two threads that talk about this. It's not specific to 0xEF, but *is* still a bug/"feature" that prevents the SD Sunday Ticket channels from respecting my settings. Ugh.


----------



## raggededge

LameLefty said:


> That could be an issue with your wiring, a slow or perhaps defective multiswitch or a finicky LNB. I've got no problems with any of the Nashville locals.


There are way to many reports of this bug for this to be a wiring issue. Channels change quickly and I never loose video, just the 771 error saying that tuner 2 is not receiving a signal. Also, it only happens on one MPEG 4 channel, it would happen on all of them if it was a wiring or a switch issue.


----------



## pdvale

raggededge said:


> There are way to many reports of this bug for this to be a wiring issue. Channels change quickly and I never loose video, just the 771 error saying that tuner 2 is not receiving a signal. Also, it only happens on one MPEG 4 channel, it would happen on all of them if it was a wiring or a switch issue.


I am still getting the sat 2 message on MPEG4 channels.

Plus last night MPEG2 chan 654, the sharks game had sticking video, audio was fine. reboot and the playback was ok...


----------



## Bajanjack

rhweimer said:


> My Mits is a 2001 model. You are correct that it does not support 720P as input from HR20. But I think any HDTV tv will support 720P as a broadcast signal.


Your comments & those of "Lamelefty" have been helpful...I have now "turned off" the 720p in the HR20 set up & also turned native off and left the HR20 at 1080i & all seems fine...regarding your comments above..are you referring to receiving "OTA" in 720p?....I am a somewhat confused.........(not unusual for me)


----------



## TampaGator

Current Bug-Currently trying to watch the Buc's-Skins game om Tpa channel 13-HD mpg4, lots of pixilation, green blotches and stuttering video.

Earlier Bug-Recorded The Office on Thursday- Tampa ch. 8 HD mpg4, first recording since the latest sofware upgrade. During playback several instances of frozen blank screen and garbled 2 or 3 second looping, could FF past it , but missed significant parts of the show.

Earl Question- why not get the OTA enabled so many of us can enjoy local HD without the Mpg4 isssues that are not yet resolved. From a customer satisfaction perspective it would at least take a little pressure off, and my wife would quit asking me, "Why did we get this new one?", "Can you return it?"


----------



## rhweimer

Bajanjack said:


> Your comments & those of "Lamelefty" have been helpful...I have now "turned off" the 720p in the HR20 set up & also turned native off and left the HR20 at 1080i & all seems fine...regarding your comments above..are you referring to receiving "OTA" in 720p?....I am a somewhat confused.........(not unusual for me)


Yes, I was referring to OTA. (Note the HR20 does not receive OTA at this time).
When it does it will or should output 720P OTA as 1080i to your TV. As far as I know both ABC and Fox broadcast HD as 720P. NBC and CBS broadcast HD as 1080i.


----------



## DStern

0xEF Bugs Orlando Florida - 11/18/06

Native Mode - Component Cables - Rear Projector 720P

1) Pre 0xEF recordings - ("Show Me the Money" 4:3 source ABC - MPEG4 Local as an example) now playback squashed, almost 3:3 in the center of the screen.

During the U of M / OSU game the following occurred :

2) Full system lockup and crash - Required power cycle during 3rd quarter

3) First time during the HD Allstate ad, the picture glitches and then the lower 1/3 of the screen stays frozen as the Allstate add. Changing channels, trick plays, etc did not fix this. Switching out of native mode and back to native mode fixed the problem.

4) Second time during the HD Allstate ad, picture and audio glitches, slight freeze but the machine survives.

5) The pink fast-forward icon showed up quite a few times.

6) After the reboot during the crash the first part of the game was erased.

Recommendation : Keep the unit in beta longer, not ready for consumers yet.

Oh wait.....


----------



## Tom Robertson

hdtvfan0001 said:


> # 1001 - somebody's gotta represent the majority!


I inquire: what is the source of your information that you are in the majority?



> Mich - Ohio State - great game, recorded perfectly, but then...you knew it would (I did).
> 
> After re-reading through this thread...it appears that 80% of the issues are tied to the following 3 items:
> 
> 1) Remote responses, including quick trick buttons (this would seem to indicate this may potentially be a result of defective remotes themselves, as button presses don't seem to do what they should for some folks)
> 
> 2) Local MPEG4 recordings (this could be a result of local retransmissions or other issues unrelated to the HR20 itself, and may be specific to certian localities)
> 
> 3) Intermittent signal losses or pixelation (could be related to Dish installs and/or HDMI cable issues)
> 
> Based on these, perhaps Earl can send feedback that a remote and perhaps signal strngth diagnositcs loop test could be added to the software (which might narrow down the vast majority of any remaining issues for those who have issues).
> 
> If after the next firmware update things don't get narrowed down to nearly nothing, it would appear that folks need to start looking at other sources of the problem besides the HR20 box itself. It would be nice to see everyone enjoy this thing like many of us already do. Rumor has it OTA is just around the bend.....


Because of what I paid for my HR20s, I have been very patient. But I grow extremely tired of posters' repetitive claims of "perfect operation (well..._except for a couple reboots_)"; or "it must be user error"; or "it must be MPEG4". And I grow tired have reminding people that the HR20 is, at its most basic purpose, a gilded VCR. And if it can't record and playback for EVERYONE each and EVERY time, then it is no better than a standard receiver at best. When it locks up, then it is a boat anchor. (Yes, I do want to use stronger language.  )

I don't consider myself as being likely to commit this much user error--not when a whole week's set of recordings capture only 1 minute each while I was on vacation. Clearly it tried to record everything, but it FAILED. (and I never had this much "user" error in 25 years of VCR and Tivo use.

The remote "issues" are sounding most often like system lockups. I know mine was, as the unit would not respond to either remote or front panel.

I do see some potential in analysis of the switch/dish/cable configurations. But that still does not excuse the lockups with the unit.

I also think there might be some value in exploring MPEG4, but there are still plenty of errors with non-MPEG4 recordings. (and again, the unit should never lockup.)

I kindly request the members that do have reliable and stable experiences with the hr20: please do not gloat; minimalize us or our problems; or otherwise try to place the blame on anyone other than directv. It shows a lack of class and tends to inflame rather than solve.

Thank you,
Tom


----------



## avatar230

tibber said:


> I kindly request the members that do have reliable and stable experiences with the hr20: please do not gloat; minimalize us or our problems; or otherwise try to place the blame on anyone other than directv. It shows a lack of class and tends to inflame rather than solve.
> 
> Thank you,
> Tom


Well said, Tom. I'd also like to note that even if the problems people are experiencing are system-dependent (cabling, switch, et cetera) most of us upgraded to an HR20 from either an R10 or HR10 -- systems that seemed to work fine of late with largely the same cabling/switch configs. A new piece of equipment should (one would hope) not be _less_ tolerant of environmental variables than the ones that preceeded it. And this is not meant to be a TiVo-or-bust post, just meant to say that the problems most of us are experiencing are _new to the HR20_ and so, obviously, that's where most of the frustration is going to be aimed.

Bottom line: this is a tech support forum. The growing number of posts from users with working units telling users with problem units to "stop whining" et cetera is tantamount to a going to a doctor's office and hearing, "I'm really sick of listening to all these sick people complaining about their ailments." A little more respect, courtesy and empathy never hurt anyone.


----------



## btmoore

WolfpackSully said:


> Before the EF upgrade, I had about 0% success at recording. Almost all would show up as partial, would not replay, and then would disappear after a reboot.
> 
> With EF, it _seems _the partial problem has gone away, but now my receiver freezes quite frequently (3 or 4 times a day?). I haven't figured out what makes it freeze yet - has frozen when watching ESPN (mpeg2) and local programming (mpeg4), when recording, when not recording.
> 
> Yesterday the recorder seemed to succeed. I recorded The Longest Yard (HBO) and Walking Tall (I think) on one of the other HD channels. The recordings seemed to record properly - proper length, etc. When I woke up this AM, the HR20 was frozen - no picture, no response, bright blue lights on. I had to unplug it to reset. After the reboot, yesterday's recordings were gone. Rebooted (unplug and thru menu) a couple more times, no change.
> 
> I am currently recording Fatal Instinct (SHO HD), just as a test. The recording seems to be working properly, but when I try to watch the recording (it is still recording) from the beginning, nothing plays and I can't FF. I can just turn to the Showtime HD channel and watch it live.
> 
> My latest...
> 
> Sully


Sully, sure sounds like the partial bug, I documented it with photos when I had one happing in process. Is this what you are seeing.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70045


----------



## houskamp

*Please* people with problems..check out this thread... http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70426


----------



## WolfpackSully

btmoore said:


> Sully, sure sounds like the partial bug, I documented it with photos when I had one happing in process. Is this what you are seeing.
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70045


I don't think so. The recording showed up in My Playlist while recording and after the recording finished. The entire 1.5 hours were recorded. I cannot seem to watch the recording though though - black screen, no commands work (won't ff, etc.).

Sully


----------



## btmoore

WolfpackSully said:


> I don't think so. The recording showed up in My Playlist while recording and after the recording finished. The entire 1.5 hours were recorded. I cannot seem to watch the recording though though - black screen, no commands work (won't ff, etc.).
> 
> Sully


Oh, that is the unwatchable bug, see http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=69951&highlight=unwatchable

I think that the partial and unwatchable bug are potentialy releated. http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70034&highlight=flawed

There are reports of the unwatchable bug going back to when the box was released: 
Here is a report from 8/30/06 that sounds like the unwatchable bug:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.ph...ack#post641100

and another on 9/13 that is the exact description of the unwatchable bug
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.ph...ighlight=black


----------



## btmoore

New idea on the Unwatchable bug. 

As some of you may have noticed when you delete a program at the end of playing it you may notice that it is still in your PlayList sometimes. My guess is that they are using an asynchronous process and are not properly semaphoring that the file has been deleted and it need to update the PlayList. What is interesting is if you try to play that deleted program again it looks and behaves exactly like a recording that has been hit by the unwatchable bug. I am now wondering if the unwatchable bug is perhaps a symptom of a an invalid file handle and/or invalid pointer to the content on the hard drive.


----------



## thekochs

LarryInAz said:


> I've seen several other folks mention that they padded this game an extra hour or 90 minutes and the game ended at 3 hours and 40 minutes.
> :nono2:
> I also had the same issue even though I padded it 90 minutes. FWIW I had at least 60% available space on the drive. :box:


Oh....forgot to add that............I had over 90% free on HDD.


----------



## WolfpackSully

btmoore said:


> Oh, that is the unwatchable bug, see http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=69951&highlight=unwatchable
> 
> I think that the partial and unwatchable bug are potentialy releated. http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70034&highlight=flawed
> 
> There are reports of the unwatchable bug going back to when the box was released:
> Here is a report from 8/30/06 that sounds like the unwatchable bug:
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.ph...ack#post641100
> 
> and another on 9/13 that is the exact description of the unwatchable bug
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.ph...ighlight=black


No negative numbers under the playback bar - I did have a ton of those before the EF release. I just can't play the recording (black screen that will not move forward).

On another note, The Sports Reporters seemed to record correctly this AM. It also shows in My Playlist. When I try to watch it, I am asked if I would like to delete the program. I guess a reboot is in my near future. Maybe after the football games...

Sully


----------



## mrshermanoaks

avatar230 said:


> Bottom line: this is a tech support forum. The growing number of posts from users with working units telling users with problem units to "stop whining" et cetera is tantamount to a going to a doctor's office and hearing, "I'm really sick of listening to all these sick people complaining about their ailments." A little more respect, courtesy and empathy never hurt anyone.


Really? I should never post here unless I need tech support? Is that in the read-me somewhere that I missed?

I agree that "stop whining" posts are inappropriate. And I've always said that the unabashed cheerleaders here are one-missed-important-recording away from being bitter complainers. But also inappropriate are "stop saying that yours is working fine" posts. Knowing what's working is as important as knowing what's not working when troubleshooting. If you want to bully this forum into a "complaint log", people are going to get tired, and it's not going to be representative of the real world.


----------



## skierbri10

Interesting, in guide mode the blue background is gone, it is pure black as the background. I like the look, but don't think it is right.


----------



## btmoore

WolfpackSully said:


> No negative numbers under the playback bar - I did have a ton of those before the EF release. I just can't play the recording (black screen that will not move forward).


I have seen it with just zeros too. I have no idea what the numbers mean if anything, but they appear to be anything from 0:00 to -hour:-Min, I have never seen the hour be more than a negative 1. But the behavior is always the same, no trick plays work, black screen, and if you happen to catch the show live in progress the trick plays will not work in the live broadcast. Assuming you are watching live, as soon as the failed recording finishes, trick plays will return to normal.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

TampaGator said:


> Earl Question- why not get the OTA enabled so many of us can enjoy local HD without the Mpg4 isssues that are not yet resolved. From a customer satisfaction perspective it would at least take a little pressure off, and my wife would quit asking me, "Why did we get this new one?", "Can you return it?"


OTA is such a major subsystem to the HR20... "enabling" it before it is ready, could introduce more issues, then fix... or at least make it "that" much more difficult to resolve.


----------



## 325xia

mrshermanoaks said:


> Really? I should never post here unless I need tech support? Is that in the read-me somewhere that I missed?
> 
> I agree that "stop whining" posts are inappropriate. And I've always said that the unabashed cheerleaders here are one-missed-important-recording away from being bitter complainers. But also inappropriate are "stop saying that yours is working fine" posts. Knowing what's working is as important as knowing what's not working when troubleshooting. If you want to bully this forum into a "complaint log", people are going to get tired, and it's not going to be representative of the real world.


Well put! I'm one of those that has not had a problem with this latest Update, (except the minor Pink FF, RW, etc. box). I think the fact that everything in the chain is New. HR-20, Samsung LN-S4695D, Sony AV System, 5LNB dish and all new wiring. HDMI and Optical connections. Everything works/looks great with this set-up. I can imagine if a was piece mealing an old TV, wiring, dish and audio system, that I might be experiencing many or some of the problems others are having. Just a thought.


----------



## hasan

mrshermanoaks said:


> Really? I should never post here unless I need tech support? Is that in the read-me somewhere that I missed?
> 
> I agree that "stop whining" posts are inappropriate. And I've always said that the unabashed cheerleaders here are one-missed-important-recording away from being bitter complainers. But also inappropriate are "stop saying that yours is working fine" posts. Knowing what's working is as important as knowing what's not working when troubleshooting. If you want to bully this forum into a "complaint log", people are going to get tired, and it's not going to be representative of the real world.


We need both the "works" and "doesn't work" information equally. Absence of either is of very little help. It would also help if people, when listing a problem (or a system that is working) would list the common variables....this has been mentioned many times, and people still just post a problem with no additional info, and we end up playing 20 questions before we have any idea what we might be working with.

I sure wish there were a 'general' troubleshooting form that would list most of the standard variables along with the problem. Apparently there is no easy way to do this, or it would have been done already. Certainly a person with a problem doesn't want to have to retype their system variables over and over and over again, either.


----------



## AceGopher

Earl Bonovich said:


> What model Audio Receiver do you have?


Earl,

I have a Marantz SR5300, connected via toslink.

-Ace


----------



## avatar230

mrshermanoaks said:


> Really? I should never post here unless I need tech support? Is that in the read-me somewhere that I missed?
> 
> I agree that "stop whining" posts are inappropriate. And I've always said that the unabashed cheerleaders here are one-missed-important-recording away from being bitter complainers. But also inappropriate are "stop saying that yours is working fine" posts. Knowing what's working is as important as knowing what's not working when troubleshooting. If you want to bully this forum into a "complaint log", people are going to get tired, and it's not going to be representative of the real world.


I'm not trying to bully anyone. Re-read my post. Where did I say I didn't want to hear from users with working units? What I am tired of hearing is exactly what you said is inapporpriate -- posts that basically have as much tact and nuance as, "My unit works, so everyone else must just be stupid." I just wish people would stop acting like gloating first graders who made out better at Christmas than their peers. I think we're basically in agreement on this point. People with working units should report that. People with malfunctioning units should report that. Both reports should occur without acting like the other side is a bunch of **********, especially since on a Q&A forum wherein people are often looking for help, we're going to hear about problems in the field.

Just FYI, this is coming from someone who has had major problems in the past but whose HR20 has been working nearly flawlessly for a week-and-half, since the EF launch. And for that I feel fortunate.


----------



## firemed509

The optical out is still on when my unit is placed in standby.


----------



## jkc120

houskamp said:


> *Please* people with problems..check out this thread... http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70426


I don't think that's the only cause, or even the most likely cause. I haven't had any autorecord stuff from day 1, but I was having major problems (lockups, missed recordings, partial bug). So far (*knock on wood*) the 0xEF version has been good to me.


----------



## houskamp

jkc120 said:


> I don't think that's the only cause, or even the most likely cause. I haven't had any autorecord stuff from day 1, but I was having major problems (lockups, missed recordings, partial bug). So far (*knock on wood*) the 0xEF version has been good to me.


Well thats what we need to know! please post in the list on the thread.....


----------



## jkc120

houskamp said:


> Well thats what we need to know! please post in the list on the thread.....


Already did that a few days ago.


----------



## houskamp

Thanks


----------



## WolfpackSully

WolfpackSully said:


> No negative numbers under the playback bar - I did have a ton of those before the EF release. I just can't play the recording (black screen that will not move forward).
> 
> On another note, The Sports Reporters seemed to record correctly this AM. It also shows in My Playlist. When I try to watch it, I am asked if I would like to delete the program. I guess a reboot is in my near future. Maybe after the football games...
> 
> Sully


After a red button reset, the unplayable recording (Fatal Attraction) disappeared. The "would you like to delete this" recording (Sports Reports), is watchable.

FWIW...
Sully


----------



## Peapod

Since downloading 0xef, I am so far 36 of 36 on recordings. No unwatchable, no partial. This is a huge improvement over where I previously was. However, just now I finished watching one show, and got returned to a menu screen with video in the upper right hand corner, and a big blue screen, without it populating with anything. Remote is unresponsive, but video and audio in the small window still show. I believe it is supposed tobe the MyPlaylist view. As I currently have a recording going, I am going to wait until the hour is up before rebooting.


----------



## btmoore

Peapod said:


> Since downloading 0xef, I am so far 36 of 36 on recordings. No unwatchable, no partial. This is a huge improvement over where I previously was. However, just now I finished watching one show, and got returned to a menu screen with video in the upper right hand corner, and a big blue screen, without it populating with anything. Remote is unresponsive, but video and audio in the small window still show. I believe it is supposed tobe the MyPlaylist view. As I currently have a recording going, I am going to wait until the hour is up before rebooting.


Look familiar?


----------



## opelap

Well since I have been complaining here, I should say good things too. It sucessfully recorded the NFL ST game at 1 pm today. Of course we were back home in time and watched it live as well. (How does it know?:lol: ) I will try the NBA LP game tonight as well.


----------



## Peapod

btmoore said:


> Look familiar?


Other than that my tv says Sony instead of NEC, pretty much. I'm rebooting now.


----------



## Peapod

After reboot, I came up with my very first 771 message, which cleared as soon as I changed the channel. The recording which was underway appears to be intact.


----------



## RJC49

btmoore said:


> Look familiar?


You must have the worst HR20 in the whole world!! Since your every post is negative.


----------



## Peapod

RJC49 said:


> You must have the worst HR20 in the whole world!! Since your every post is negative.


I don't think it's exactly negative in a discussion forum about a specific software release to post a screenshot matching an issue I just reported, but that's just my opinion.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

btmoore said:


> Look familiar?


Yes it does, as I have seen that a few times.

I normally just hit EXIT on the remote, and wait about 5 seconds or so, and the unit comes back up as normal.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

jkc120 said:


> I don't think that's the only cause, or even the most likely cause. I haven't had any autorecord stuff from day 1, but I was having major problems (lockups, missed recordings, partial bug). So far (*knock on wood*) the 0xEF version has been good to me.


But even then.... it is a method to reproduce a problem... and possible that same problem is triggered by other "events" as well. So if you fix that one... maybe... it fixes others...


----------



## Peapod

Earl Bonovich said:


> I normally just hit EXIT on the remote, and wait about 5 seconds or so, and the unit comes back up as normal.


When I got it, the unit was completely locked up. I tried exit, channel up, and pretty much any other button I could think of for about 10 minutes before deciding to wait for the recording to finish before hitting the red button. The record light went off normally, and the recording appears to be completely fine.


----------



## btmoore

Earl Bonovich said:


> Yes it does, as I have seen that a few times.
> 
> I normally just hit EXIT on the remote, and wait about 5 seconds or so, and the unit comes back up as normal.


I don't recall if I hit exit or not, I did try quite a few key combos including power. Eventually I just hit the reset. If it happens again I will try the exit and waiting 5 seconds or so.


----------



## btmoore

RJC49 said:


> You must have the worst HR20 in the whole world!! Since your every post is negative.









His past gems include such clasics as:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=707737&postcount=34


RJC49 said:


> We're not all fat and not as stupid as people like you who criticize those of us who offend you nitpickers by being happy with the box as delivered.


or 
http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=714621&postcount=15


RJC49 said:


> Why waste everbodys time? They were trying to help and you shoved it up their butt.


Or my favorite
http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=703804&postcount=42


RJC49 said:


> If you cannot commicate in our national language, don't waste our time.


----------



## Gmaxx

I have had my box for about 2-3 weeks and have had 5 lockups the most recent one happening today. I am using the latest software oxef. I have had the lockups almost exclusively during some sort of mpeg4 usage. The first of which happened when trying to use trick plays on a live mpeg4 local channel buffer. (This was using oxeb I believe.) I could not get to the end of the buffer after going all the way back to the beginning. The program was being recorded so I tried to watch the recorded portion of the show as it was still recording the remaining part. It froze the frame of the program on the screen and brought up the keep/delete dialog. No matter what channel or recorded program I tuned to, the screen was stuck on the Pats game's frame asking me if I wanted to delete the program. A red button reset fixed the problem and I was able to watch all of the recorded programs including the Pats game. (This happened with oxeb software I believe.)

The first real lockup happened to my wife so details are scarce save for the fact that the remote would not work and neither would the buttons on the face of the unit. Red button reset again fixed the issue, for the time being.

Since then I have received the oxef software and have had 2 lockups, one occurence of my local mpeg4 channels not working at all, and earlier today had all of my locals disappear from my favorite channels custom list. This includes all of the locals I receive, including the mpeg2 channels. Hope all this info helps out Earl. 

Todays lockup went like this. I set the Patriots game to record on my local mpeg4 nbc channel. I left the house for about 90 minutes and came back. I did my usual Tivo habit and went into the playlist to start watching the game from the beginning even though the recording was not finished yet. (I did not know the score so I didn't want to see any screenshots of the game.) When I pushed the play button on my remote...nothing but a blank screen. Completely locked up unit that would not respond to the remote or the buttons on the front of the hr20. A red button reset fixed the issue while losing me 10 minutes of the game. The hr20 did resume recording the game once rebooted. 

On the brighter side of things. The new trickplay features are great. I have yet to miss a recording. I have not had the partial recording bug. All recordings have been watchable except for a couple of Bruins recordings from NESN. (This problem has already been fixed.) The unit is a whole lot better looking than the r10 or hr10 250.


----------



## Tom Robertson

While btmoore doesn't need my defense, he has earned it.

I reviewed several of his posts and I don't find extreme negativity at all. In fact, he's brainstormed solutions, educated users, and enumerated with helpful detail the problems his HR20 has exhibited. That isn't negative to me at all.

Perhaps i've missed earlier posts that might have been negative, but each of us who has had problems with deserves right to the occasional rant. When someone then comes back to suggesting and helping, they show class.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## rcwebb

I have had my box for quite some time now, and I have not experienced many of the problems I've read about here. In the past, I did have some recordings that couldn't be played, but after the 0xE3 update, I had no problems whatsoever. I have been very pleased with the improvements in the 0xEF software, but tonight I had my first missed recording ever.

The Amazing Race is set up as a series and has been listed in the To Do List all day. Earlier today I went into the To Do List and told the DVR to stop recording an hour later to account for football. After I clicked Update, it said please wait, and it immediately returned to the same screen where you set the stop time, but it was back to "on-time". I tried to update the stop time again, and this time "Please Wait" never went away. I waited about 10 minutes and then hit the red button. I've updated stop times often with 0xE3 with no problems and no delays. After the reset, the Amazing Race was still in my To Do List, and it even said it was recording, but it wasn't in the Play List. I clicked Watch Now from the To Do List, and it only had the current part of the show in the buffer. 
Question: After the system restart, the program guide was not populated for the Amazing Race yet. It was in the To Do List though. Would it still record it? In the past it seemed to record everything in the To Do List even if it wasn't in the Program Guide yet after a restart. 
Overall, I've been happy with this DVR, but now I have to find alternative methods to view my show before I hear the results. I don't like doing that. I hope there is a new update coming soon.
Oh, and this forum is great. I have 2 other people with the HR20 that I keep updated on what is going on. Thanks!


----------



## Ed Campbell

Well, progress reports are great when there is progress.

No mpg4 in my neck of the woods; but, since OxEF, no problems. Still HDMI -- awaiting OTA. Nothing worth remembering, anyway. There may have been the occasional hiccup that lasted 1-2 seconds; but, since that's no worse than the HR10 -- no problem.

This weekend, recorded 20 programs. Some via SL, some individual choice.

Everyone either skimmed and deleted -- usually because the program sucked -- or watched all the way through and deleted. A couple saved to share with folks arriving for the holidays later in the week. Everyone worked fine, trick play worked fine. Still going.

My special concern was time periods with overlapping or simultaneous recordings. Needn't have been. Doesn't mean the critter won't collect enough small hiccups to make one big one, someday. That will be the point where I do a total clear and delete format -- rewatt the critter via component -- plug the HDMI back and go from there.

But, not yet.


----------



## 911medic

tibber said:


> While btmoore doesn't need my defense, he has earned it.
> 
> I reviewed several of his posts and I don't find extreme negativity at all. In fact, he's brainstormed solutions, educated users, and enumerated with helpful detail the problems his HR20 has exhibited. That isn't negative to me at all.
> 
> Perhaps i've missed earlier posts that might have been negative, but each of us who has had problems with deserves right to the occasional rant. When someone then comes back to suggesting and helping, they show class.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


Extreme negativity, no. But subtle digs at those reporting their boxes working well, like this:


btmoore said:


> I used "blessed" because you and other here *proclaim* to have boxes with few to no problems...*I wish I was confused by the people posting about the issues they are having too.*


and this:


tstarn said:


> ...if they don't get this issue straightened out soon for ALL subscribers (not just the ones who *allegedly* haven't had a single problem recording)...


will definitely rub people the wrong way.

While I totally understand the frustration those having major issues must be experiencing, there are a few people on this board that question the credibility of anyone who posts they have a working unit. Its as if some people believe we're lying. And, yes, the repeated "if you don't like it, get cable" or "it must be operator error" type posts have the same effect.

My worst problem--and most frustrating and angering by far--was a deleted ST game that I was really looking forward to watching. Othewise my box only has had some minor annoyance-type issues.

The frustration from both sides, those with mostly working boxes and those who have major issues, gets out of hand sometimes, and does nothing but cloud the picture WRT finding solutions.

And I agree that btmoore has been very helpful on this forum; this post is not meant to be an attack on him, just used his quote to illustrate a point. I think we all need to be a little more careful regarding the posts we make (me included), regarding what we're implying about other members here.

Back on-topic, 0xEF hasn't done much for me, other than the great improvements to trickplay smoothness/functionality.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Enough with the personal digs... period... 

Report the threads if you think they go too far.
And duke it out in PM... enough of the public personal digs.


----------



## tejohnson

I guess I have been one of the lucky few that has NOT had issues with stability. Of course, I have a fairly virgin HR20 which has only had 3 weeks of use. I would be curious to know how long many of the folks whom experience more significant issues have had their HR20. (I think this due to more saved data to the HDD, customization, etc.)

The other thing I have been curious about is issues suffered due degredation in infrastructure the HR20 relies on. (i.e., clean cabling, well pointed dish, grounding, good signal, etc.)

Have the folks at D* pondered the ability to store statistics, etc for later retrieval from the HR20 through the modem, or other network connectivity? (Kinda like the Mozilla Quality Feedback Agent) Something that can be sent upon a major system fault...


----------



## isaacm

I've owned our HR20 for a bit more than 2 months now. My wife and I have been experiencing consistent lockups that seem to happen overnight during the past week. When locked up, the box is unresponsive to any keypress on the unit or remote. We've been pushing the red reset button to regain functionality in the box.

Although there have been other problems with the box that range from annoying to troublesome, this is the first problem we've experienced that is causing great frustration in the household.

For reference, the box is hooked up via HDMI and I do not yet have the MPEG4 dish setup yet (that's another story...)

I am certainly hoping the problem gets fixed ASAP.


----------



## bubbadawg

Received the latest software the day after it was 'officially' released. Since the update I have noticed a lot of audio dropouts as well as occasional loud hissing/reverberating when watching my mpeg4 locals. I also noticed tonight that a recording was scheduled was somehow strangely cancelled.


----------



## litzdog911

I haven't seen this problem for a few weeks, but it struck again today ....

Tried to watch several standard definition recordings that were recorded last night and today. When selecting these shows from My Playlist, the recordings immediately produce the "Keep/Delete" menu. Checked the History and they show as "Recorded" (not "Partial"). But nothing recorded last night or today will play back. Reset the DVR and all of those recordings disappeared from My Playlist. Recordings since the Reset seem to play back fine. 

Note that these were all SD recordings and my hard drive has ~50% free. I remember seeing this problem several releases ago, but my HR20 has been relatively problem-free for the past few weeks, until today.


----------



## giden

litzdog911 said:


> I haven't seen this problem for a few weeks, but it struck again today ....
> 
> Tried to watch several standard definition recordings that were recorded last night and today. When selecting these shows from My Playlist, the recordings immediately produce the "Keep/Delete" menu. Checked the History and they show as "Recorded" (not "Partial"). But nothing recorded last night or today will play back. Reset the DVR and all of those recordings disappeared from My Playlist. Recordings since the Reset seem to play back fine.
> 
> Note that these were all SD recordings and my hard drive has ~50% free. I remember seeing this problem several releases ago, but my HR20 has been relatively problem-free for the past few weeks, until today.


Earl, I have had the same problem as stated above. Do you have any idea if this is being looked at by developers? For the sake of all of us (with wives who delight in "digs" at our new toys), when will a new release be deployed? I'm holding down the fort, but I fear a hostile take over any day now


----------



## mtnagel

I had only my second unwatchable in 5 weeks now (first on EF). I had set up the Bengal's game on the local channel and the Bills game on the ST channel. At around 1:15, I tried to play the Bills game and all I got was a black screen. I dumped that recording and changed the channel and changed it back and then I started the Bills game recording. I was flipping between the Bills and Bengals games up until about the beginning of the 4th quarter and we had to go out. When I came home, both games were there, but when I tried to play the Bills game, all I got was a black screen. It's weird that it didn't work at first, then worked, then didn't work. 

Sony KDF-46E2000 hooked up via HDMI. Only a few issues in 5 weeks (a few reboots and 2 unwatchables).


----------



## mtnagel

A very minor bug/issue. When you pad something, there are no tick marks in the padding. I have 60 Minutes padded for an extra hour because of football and there are no tick marks in that extra hour.


----------



## redbirdruss

Padding Issue:

I padded 30 minutes to my scheduled recorcing of 60 minutes at about 5:58 PM. The receiver locked up with the prcessing status bar. I could still watch the channel in the small window but after 15 minutes I had to do a red button restart.


----------



## crockett

Running current firmware.

Here is a bug that popped up this past weekend.

I was recording the UM vs. OSU game and watching it at the same time. While I was watching it I was about 15 minutes behind "real time."

When I originally set up the recording I had extended it by one hour (I think, maybe it was 30 minutes) while watching the game and nearing the end I saw that if the game were to go into O.T. that I would probably not have enough extra time added.

So I went in to the "Record. . ." section and tried to extend it even furthur. From 1 hour beyond scheduled time to 2 hours beyoned scheduled time." When I selected the update box and hit enter it freaked out, the box in the upper corner went black for a second and then it jumped me to live T.V. and of course showed me the game, which was now over and the final score and it aborted and ended the recording. Lovely!.

It was dealing just fine with my original extension because it was made before the program passed the guides "scheduled timeframe" however since the recording was already past the scheduled time it couldn't handle my second request for changing the extension because the original scheduled time period no longer existed in the guide.

My other TiVo DVR handles this scenario just fine. I will try and repeat this bug in the next few days to see if it is a 100% repeatable bug.


----------



## hasan

mtnagel said:


> I had only my second unwatchable in 5 weeks now (first on EF). I had set up the Bengal's game on the local channel and the Bills game on the ST channel. At around 1:15, I tried to play the Bills game and all I got was a black screen. I dumped that recording and changed the channel and changed it back and then I started the Bills game recording. I was flipping between the Bills and Bengals games up until about the beginning of the 4th quarter and we had to go out. When I came home, both games were there, but when I tried to play the Bills game, all I got was a black screen. It's weird that it didn't work at first, then worked, then didn't work.
> 
> Sony KDF-46E2000 hooked up via HDMI. Only a few issues in 5 weeks (a few reboots and 2 unwatchables).


I also got a "cancelled" indicator on the Bengals/Falcons game. It started recording properly, wnet perhaps half an hour and I noticed the record light was OFF. It did not show up in the Playlist, but History showed it as "cancelled". I restarted the recording and it finished the game just fine.

This is the 2nd time I've lost an NFL-ST game in 8 weeks. The previous one was with earlier firmware. (EB).

The NFL-ST bug is still there (not all the time for me, just occasionally)

HDMI
No MPEG-4's
AT-9
UPS (no possible power interruptions)
Very Good signals
Single Recording from Guide Set Before Game Started

Da Bears!!! (Thankyou Cowboys, way ta go Tuna)


----------



## ddem

recorded Desperate Housewives last night......watched the first 3/4's of it, including FF and Skip thru the commercials (but never used 4x). 
At the last commercial, used 4x FF and unit froze.....would not recognize remote commmands...red button reset was required.

This is the first problem I've had with the new software, and have recorded and watched a number of progams. All, including DH, were in HD in the Wash DC area.


----------



## Skip1216

This is an annoying (not fatal) issue that I've consistently encountered with this release and previous ones. I waited to report the issue until now because I thought perhaps EF would fix it.

The situation is this:
1. Watching a recorded or live show on one channel.
2. Another program is scheduled to begin recording sometime during the time span that I am watching the aforementioned live or previously recorded program.
3. When the scheduled program begins recording, the HR20 switches the channel to the one that has just begun recording.

I've scanned this forum (which is great!) for the same or a similar issue but have not come across anything.

I'd like to think that I'm a reasonably savvy user of the equipment but I suppose it's possible that this is somehow a user error. Has anyone encountered this problem, and if so is it an HR20 software issue?

PS The workaround (easy but annoying) is to press the <previous> button which changes the channel back to the one I was previously watching and does not seem to affect the channel which just started recording.

Thanks!

HR20
H20
HR10
Ancient TiVo
D11
Sony 55" Grand Wega
Samsung 23" LCD HD


----------



## gcisko

bubbadawg said:


> Received the latest software the day after it was 'officially' released. Since the update I have noticed a lot of audio dropouts as well as occasional loud hissing/reverberating when watching my mpeg4 locals. I also noticed tonight that a recording was scheduled was somehow strangely cancelled.


This is my first bug report for version EF. I had the bears game and the dallas/colts game scheduled to record. Both were off of the local HD channels. The bears recorded just fine. The colts game was not in my playlist. If I look at the "to do" yellow button, I see the colts game listed but no orange R on it. So I selected that listing and hit the record button. The game dissapeared from the list. The history said the game was canceled... Which of course it was not.

I am also trying to record the first run's of StarTrek Enterprise. When I find it in the guide, it will not allow me to hit the record button twice for series recording. THe second time I hit the record button, the R goes away. Then when I tell it I want only first runs (each episode is run zillions of times) it seems to cancel everything.

This next once concerns 1080i crop in general and not just HDMI becaus e it also happens on composite. The aspect ratio will change so everything looks tall. This is only on mpeg2 recordings. Any HD 16:9 video is not affected. Pausing and unpausing will randomly seem to toggle the aspect ratio so you can futz around until you accidentially get a normal aspect again. red button reset will fix it until you do enough trick play that it starts coming back.


----------



## LameLefty

Earl Bonovich said:


> Yes it does, as I have seen that a few times.
> 
> I normally just hit EXIT on the remote, and wait about 5 seconds or so, and the unit comes back up as normal.


That was the only time I did a red-button reset. Next time (if there is one), I'll do as Earl suggests and see what happens.


----------



## Bajanjack

bubbadawg said:


> Received the latest software the day after it was 'officially' released. Since the update I have noticed a lot of audio dropouts as well as occasional loud hissing/reverberating when watching my mpeg4 locals. I also noticed tonight that a recording was scheduled was somehow strangely cancelled.


I have had exactly the same thing with the audio dropouts & 
the "reverberating".....almost sounds like the hard drive....both problems seem to diminish over a lengthy program.....


----------



## mjburton

mjburton said:


> Disk Space/Use
> 
> I saw several posts regarding this issue, but none seem to have had as large an effect on disk space as my update did.
> 
> prior to 0xEF I had approx 15 hrs (HD) marked KEEP, 15 Hrs (HD) Other assorted stuff (not marked keep), and disk showed 65% used
> 
> after 0xEF I have 15 hrs (HD) marked KEEP, and ONLY 5 Hrs (HD) Other stuff remain, and the disk shows 98% used!
> 
> IT DELETED A LARGE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL (like 10 hrs worth of Jericho and Friday Night Lights)... ARGHHH,
> 
> and now approx 20 Hrs of HD Fills the Disk.
> 
> Where'd all the space Go??? Can I get it back?


For anyone who had this problem, I found my answer. One of the programs in my Playlist was occupying over 60% of the hard drive (1 Hr of MPEG4 should only be 2% or so...). Once I deleted it, Poof, I was back to 36% HDD in use.

Michael


----------



## realfan

I have an LG 42 inch HDTV (42LP1D) which doesn't synch with the HR 20 through the HDMI connection. I've got it running on components right now.


----------



## Calebrot

delfuego said:


> One problem I'm seeing today, after being upgraded to 0xEF: I can't get my Sunday Ticket channels to show in Pillar Box mode. At all. Nothing will make it happen.
> 
> I have my display setup as Native, with black bars, and fixed in 1080i Pillar Box; all non-Sunday Ticket channels (e.g., my non-HD locals, things like TBS, whatever) show in Pillar Box no problem. Sunday Ticket, though, stretches, and there's nothing I can do to change it. It's honestly maddening, since things like football look AWFUL stretched.
> 
> Any ideas? Is this something new to 0xEF, or is it something I never noticed before but has always been a problem?


I had the same problem with Sunday Ticket. My game was not broadcast in HD so I was watching the SD broadcast. I think the problem with this is for the Superfan options of bringing up the scores and stats from other games the DVR forces a 16:9 aspect ratio and overrides the pillar box settings. The way I overcame it was to use my TV's aspect ratio button instead of the DVR's. Then I was able to watch the game without the stretching, which is awful.

I did have other problems however with the Superfan portion. The little box that appears on the screen that tells you to press the red key for scores, green key for stats or yellow key for clear, kept popping up every 15 minutes or so and would disappear after a minute or so. Also one time the unit changed channels to another game without me even being near the remote, just randomly changed channels. I think the DVR must have wanted to save me from watching my season and next season ruined because of a torn ACL to McNabb. LOL, well actually not laughing at all, I'm still sick to my stomach.

Also if you are watching an HD game how come you don't have access to the stats and only can bring up the scores of the other games? Is this because of data restriction because of the size of the information required just to carry the game?


----------



## Argee

I think the HD % left is more borked now than before they changed it .


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Argee said:


> I think the HD % left is more borked now than before they changed it .


Okay... but why do you think it is "more" broken now, then before the update.


----------



## Ed Campbell

gcisko said:


> I am also trying to record the first run's of StarTrek Enterprise. When I find it in the guide, it will not allow me to hit the record button twice for series recording. THe second time I hit the record button, the R goes away. Then when I tell it I want only first runs (each episode is run zillions of times) it seems to cancel everything.


I noticed this, again, yesterday; but, went and checked if Guide data contained next weekend's listings for STE -- and it didn't.

When the Guide doesn't contain more than one episode -- including repeats -- it doesn't recognize this as something that fits a SL. You can override that within the Record menu. You just can't do it with the Record button on the Guide.


----------



## Calebrot

Ed Campbell said:


> I noticed this, again, yesterday; but, went and checked if Guide data contained next weekend's listings for STE -- and it didn't.
> 
> When the Guide doesn't contain more than one episode -- including repeats -- it doesn't recognize this as something that fits a SL. You can override that within the Record menu. You just can't do it with the Record button on the Guide.


Star Trek Enterprise is not a first run show to begin with. It aired originally around 2001. Don't know if this may be a problem, since all episodes airing are technically repeats.


----------



## gusbuf

I just got the updated software a couple days ago. No major problems other than the time between channel changes seems like a full 5 or 6 seconds now, as opposed to previously switching channels very quickly, like 1-2 seconds max. Anyone else have issue?


----------



## avatar230

gusbuf said:


> I just got the updated software a couple days ago. No major problems other than the time between channel changes seems like a full 5 or 6 seconds now, as opposed to previously switching channels very quickly, like 1-2 seconds max. Anyone else have issue?


A lot of other users have been reporting the same thing actually.


----------



## gcisko

Calebrot said:


> Star Trek Enterprise is not a first run show to begin with. It aired originally around 2001. Don't know if this may be a problem, since all episodes airing are technically repeats.


OK another thing I noticed. If I have a series recording set, Earl said the only way I can view it is to look at the priority screen for Playlist. Once I see the series there it says there are 0 to be recorded. At that point how am I supposed to delete the series recording. I see no way possible.


----------



## avatar230

gcisko said:


> OK another thing I noticed. If I have a series recording set, Earl said the only way I can view it is to look at the priority screen for Playlist. Once I see the series there it says there are 0 to be recorded. At that point how am I supposed to delete the series recording. I see no way possible.


You're correct that there's no GUI menu option, but you can hit DASH-DASH on the remote and the series link will delete.


----------



## gcisko

Calebrot said:


> Star Trek Enterprise is not a first run show to begin with. It aired originally around 2001. Don't know if this may be a problem, since all episodes airing are technically repeats.


OK great. Forget first run. Search for Star Trek Enterprise in the guide on a HD channel (I think HDnet). Select it and hit the record button twice. Do you see the symbol for series recording on the show? I think you will not.

Now back to first run  Is the HD20 setup right now to not record programs you have previously recorded, watched and deleted? Or will it record all of the cable shows that repeat several times a week? My ultimate TV had an option to not record something again for something like 30 days once you previously recorded it.


----------



## gcisko

avatar230 said:


> You're correct that there's no GUI menu option, but you can hit DASH-DASH on the remote and the series link will delete.


DASH is the 5 button? I see a raised dash on that button.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

gcisko said:


> DASH is the 5 button? I see a raised dash on that button.


No bottom left button on the controller... where the * would be on a phone pad.


----------



## steff3

gcisko said:


> DASH is the 5 button? I see a raised dash on that button.


On my control the dash is below the 7 and to the left of 0 .


----------



## SCgrad98

HDMI ISSUE 

I wanted to post here so there is a record of my HDMI problem:

I recently upgraded my projector to a Panasonic PT-AX100U. Since doing so, my HR-20 100 video output using HDMI connection doesn't work anymore. There is no video displayed at all. I know it's not the HDMI cable itself becuase I've tried 2 of them adn they work with other components and my projector. The HR-20 will work using component cables. 

After calling D*, I was told that this is a known problem with some display devices (TVs, projectors, etc.) and the HR-20. I was also told that a software fix is "in the works" but they weren't sure when my HR-20 would get it. The last software update I received was on 8/26 (which is 100C), the day I first became a D* customer. There are no updates "scheduled," according my my HR-20.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

SCgrad98 said:


> After calling D*, I was told that this is a known problem with some display devices (TVs, projectors, etc.) and the HR-20. I was also told that a software fix is "in the works" but they weren't sure when my HR-20 would get it. The last software update I received was on 8/26 (which is 100C), the day I first became a D* customer. There are no updates "scheduled," according my my HR-20.


Are you sure you are referring to the HR20 and not the H20

There hasn't ben a 100C version for the HR20... and there have been 6 software updates since then, which you should have on your system.

If you don't, then you will need to force an update using the 02468 method (do a search for more details)


----------



## avatar230

gcisko said:


> OK great. Forget first run. Search for Star Trek Enterprise in the guide on a HD channel (I think HDnet). Select it and hit the record button twice. Do you see the symbol for series recording on the show? I think you will not.
> 
> Now back to first run  Is the HD20 setup right now to not record programs you have previously recorded, watched and deleted? Or will it record all of the cable shows that repeat several times a week? My ultimate TV had an option to not record something again for something like 30 days once you previously recorded it.


I believe it is set to not record duplicate copies of episodes you've recently watched _but this is entirely dependent on guide data._ i.e. If the cable shows that are repeating several times a week aren't supplying enough info to D* so that the guide recognizes them as discrete episodes repeating over and over, the HR20 is just going to record everything since it doesn't have enough info to know it's already recorded any given episode. The DirecTiVos also suffered from this problem, and it is definitely NOT the DVR's fault.


----------



## npm

I had my first unwatchable recording last night.

Mpeg2, Ch. 73 - Sportscenter @ 7:30 PM (Pacific)
One time recording
The program was in MyPlaylist and when I selected play I immediately recieved the delete messages.

I have had the box since August and have had very few problems.


----------



## gcisko

SCgrad98 said:


> HDMI ISSUE
> After calling D*, I was told that this is a known problem with some display devices (TVs, projectors, etc.) and the HR-20. I was also told that a software fix is "in the works" but they weren't sure when my HR-20 would get it. The last software update I received was on 8/26 (which is 100C), the day I first became a D* customer. There are no updates "scheduled," according my my HR-20.


Sorry, but there are a couple of things here that sound iffy to me.

Are you sure about the 8/26 date? I got mine around 9/18 and was told the unit was on the market for less than 2 weeks. Also are you sure you are a Directv customer with a good access card? You should have automatically gotten every update. Does anyone know of any circumstances where someone does not get these updates? The ability to block updates may come in handy if they release new code that does something bad...

You can force the software update by hitting the reset button and punching in 02468 from the remote at the first reboot screen.


----------



## gcisko

avatar230 said:


> I believe it is set to not record duplicate copies of episodes you've recently watched _but this is entirely dependent on guide data._ i.e. If the cable shows that are repeating several times a week aren't supplying enough info to D* so that the guide recognizes them as discrete episodes repeating over and over, the HR20 is just going to record everything since it doesn't have enough info to know it's already recorded any given episode. The DirecTiVos also suffered from this problem, and it is definitely NOT the DVR's fault.


Maybe ultimate TV was the ultimate then :lol:


----------



## Gmaxx

Hey Earl this one's for you. I have been having some lockups and strange gui freeze ups under oxef. I did have a couple of lockups under the previous version.

I discovered this strange bug as I was setting something to record a few minutes ahead of time and as that time arrived, the message that states "the channel will be changed in order to record" came up. Now I know I did not have anything else set up to record so...I went looking through the scheduler and find that the todo list is filled up with BTB episodes. So I decided to go through the guide and access BTB that way. I found that Bob the Builder is showing the staggered R's in circles just like a series link. Next I check the prioritzer and Bob the Builder is not there at all. It shows the 6 of 6 dialog on the bottom.



















I then go back to the guide and find BTB again, select it, select record, and it brings up the record menu. I find in there that all episodes are set to record and are on the todo list but the series link is not in the prioritizer. I took pics to show how BTB shows up as a series link when accessed through the guide>record menu. It shows itself as prioritizer 7 of 6!










I did not set up this series link. Im sure that my 4 year old didn't do it either. Even if he or I did, it should show up in the prioritizer. I believe the reason all of the episodes show as cancelled now is because when I was in the series link setup section I selected do not record which I think cancelled them all. You can see how it populated the todo list with all those episodes. This happened the day after oxef installed itself. I went back in the history and there were no episodes of Bob the Builder. Hope this info helps out.




























I posted this in here and on the main page as I'm not sure everyone comes to this thread and I'd like to see if anyone else had a phantom Series Link.


----------



## JackRelahan

Is having the optical output on when unit is in standby considered normal ?
I am unable to use optical switch because of this. My HR10-250 optical output is off when unit is in standby.
Thanks
Jack


----------



## Avery

Earl Bonovich said:


> *Last Update: 11/15/2006 9:45am* As of post (in this thread): 34
> 
> 
> Pink FF/Trickplay Icons *Post* _Multiple Reports_
> MyPlaylist not populating correctly, after delete.... Shows a BLANK list *Post*


Earl, Do you think you could work on getting this updated with a easy list of every one's issues as well as HDMI issues. Just makes it easier to take a glance and see what issues every one is having with the latest update or issue that still haven't been fixed yet.

Thanks.


----------



## rlockshin

It has become quite apparent to all that the latest software has not cured the ills with this receiver.
I went to my playlist clicked on a show that I recorded yesterday and unit FROZE. Nothing worked. Show did not come on,remote and front buttons did not work and could not power off unit.
What gives?
Did a reset and show played fine later
DEFINITLY the HR 20 is far from being fixed
Ideas?
I use component connection
Thanks
Rick


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Avery said:


> Earl, Do you think you could work on getting this updated with a easy list of every one's issues as well as HDMI issues. Just makes it easier to take a glance and see what issues every one is having with the latest update or issue that still haven't been fixed yet.
> 
> Thanks.


Yes... as that is the intent on that post in the thread.

But sadly I had no where near enough time to do it over the weekend (to catch up)....

And trying to do it tonight, may turn out to be pointless... as it may just needed to be reset to a blank slate really soon...


----------



## gcisko

I measured the 30 second slip against some NFL game clocks yesterday. It seems to really be 33-34 seconds, not 30. And yes the entire slip functions is faster with no pausing, but I know for sure now it is not 30 seconds. 

Also how come you do not get a status bar when you do any reverse trick play? Seems like you should have the status bar regardless of fast forward, or reverse. There was nothing on the reverse or the instant 7 second back.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

gcisko said:


> I measured the 30 second slip against some NFL game clocks yesterday. It seems to really be 33-34 seconds, not 30. And yes the entire slip functions is faster with no pausing, but I know for sure now it is not 30 seconds.
> 
> Also how come you do not get a status bar when you do any reverse trick play? Seems like you should have the status bar regardless of fast forward, or reverse. There was nothing on the reverse or the instant 7 second back.


On Jump Back, you should not get a status bar.
But on RW you should.


----------



## SockMonkey

Earl Bonovich said:


> And trying to do it tonight, may turn out to be pointless... as it may just needed to be reset to a blank slate really soon...


Update tonight????


----------



## Gmaxx

rlockshin said:


> It has become quite apparent to all that the latest software has not cured the ills with this receiver.
> I went to my playlist clicked on a show that I recorded yesterday and unit FROZE. Nothing worked. Show did not come on,remote and front buttons did not work and could not power off unit.
> What gives?
> Did a reset and show played fine later
> DEFINITLY the HR 20 is far from being fixed
> Ideas?
> I use component connection
> Thanks
> Rick


you just have to wait it out like the rest of us. :grin:


----------



## dpfaunts

SockMonkey said:


> Update tonight????


You noticed the hint as well, that Earl, he's just too sly :hurah:


----------



## gcisko

rlockshin said:


> It has become quite apparent to all that the latest software has not cured the ills with this receiver.
> I went to my playlist clicked on a show that I recorded yesterday and unit FROZE. Nothing worked. Show did not come on,remote and front buttons did not work and could not power off unit.
> What gives?


We are beta testing the unit? That is all that comes to mind for me.



> Did a reset and show played fine later
> DEFINITLY the HR 20 is far from being fixed
> Ideas?
> Rick


Hunker down, sit back and hope they can program it. As bad as this seems, I think you may find that every HD-DVR solution has issues. The issues range from HD-DVR not even available yet, to what we are experiencing.


----------



## gcisko

Earl Bonovich said:


> On Jump Back, you should not get a status bar.
> But on RW you should.


I will do a quick check tonight to confirm. If it works as you state, I will not reply.


----------



## btmoore

SockMonkey said:


> Update tonight????


Wow that would be brave, push new code 2 days before a major holiday and a high football holy day.


----------



## SockMonkey

btmoore said:


> Wow that would be brave, push new code 2 days before a major holiday and a high football holy day.


Sucks for you to be on the west coast. LOL. Just kidding btmoore! :lol: :grin:


----------



## RussFor

gusbuf said:


> I just got the updated software a couple days ago. No major problems other than the time between channel changes seems like a full 5 or 6 seconds now, as opposed to previously switching channels very quickly, like 1-2 seconds max. Anyone else have issue?


Yes - I've got that problem as well. Takes an extremely long itme to swtich channels - perhaps 5-7+ seconds. Well long in terms of how much time it used to take.

Doesn't matter the content - SD, MPEG-4, etc....


----------



## btmoore

SockMonkey said:


> Sucks for you to be on the west coast. LOL. Just kidding btmoore! :lol: :grin:


Not as much as it would for their CSRs if they pushed code and bombed on football turkey day. :grin:

Very exciting prospect for us here on the west coast beta team.


----------



## rkester

ARGH! I was out of town thurs-sunday and my unit got this update some time while I was out. Now my digital optical is no longer working!  

I had to plug in the RCAs to get sound again.

I tried skimming through this thread (30+ pages is alot of chatter to wade through) and searching it and I did not see anyone else having this problem.

I tried turning the unit on and off, unplugging it, changing the DD setting to off, then back on, etc. Nothing worked.

Help ::whimper::


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Double check your AMP to make sure that it didn't switch itself to another input type for Audio


----------



## SockMonkey

btmoore said:


> Not as much as it would for their CSRs if they pushed code and bombed on football turkey day. :grin:


This is true.


btmoore said:


> Very exciting prospect for us here on the west coast beta team.


Hmmm... what are the chances that OTA is in this one? Getting mighty close to 12/1 now. (I'm half-way kidding here guys. Half-way.) :lol:


----------



## rkester

I tried that. I tried everything I could think of... including swapping my DVD player's optical with the HR20's to make sure that optical port was not busted on the receiver.

I am going to try some more things tonight I guess. But I am running out of ways to try to remedy this.


----------



## btmoore

SockMonkey said:


> This is true.
> 
> Hmmm... what are the chances that OTA is in this one? Getting mighty close to 12/1 now. (I'm half-way kidding here guys. Half-way.) :lol:


OTA might turn the HR20 in to a thermal nuclear device.  The deployment might destroy the entire west coast.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

SockMonkey said:


> This is true.
> 
> Hmmm... what are the chances that OTA is in this one? Getting mighty close to 12/1 now. (I'm half-way kidding here guys. Half-way.) :lol:


Slim to None... and Slim just got on a plane...


----------



## mtnagel

Deperate Housewives was a blank recording. All I got was a black screen but I could still fast forward and exit out. Unit wasn't locked up. Happened twice yesterday and it's never happened in the 5 weeks I've had it. Very weird.

Connected via HDMI to KDF-46E2000.

Poor me had to watch DH in SD on the R10  Heros better record tonight on the HR20, or heads are going to roll.


----------



## Peapod

Earl Bonovich said:


> Slim to None... and Slim just got on a plane...


Where exactly has Slim been taking these jaunts to, and are they at taxpayer expense?


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Peapod said:


> Where exactly has Slim been taking these jaunts to, and are they at taxpayer expense?


I don't know... but I know he has been traveling for the last 30+ years, when ever I asked my parents for something.


----------



## btmoore

mtnagel said:


> Happened twice yesterday and it's never happened in the 5 weeks I've had it. Very weird.


Not so weird, thats the unwatchable bug, so far there appears to be no rhyme or reason to when or why it hits. People have been reporting it since Aug. So far I have not had it this release, but I have seen other report it in this release, but it nailed me all over the place in the last release.


----------



## SockMonkey

Earl Bonovich said:


> I don't know... but I know he has been traveling for the last 30+ years, when ever I asked my parents for something.


Slim's probably been going to the place where Hell Freezes Over and Pigs Fly. :lol:

Okay... sorry, I'm :backtotop now.


----------



## Intex

I consider myself very tech savy, and I am still having problems, even with the help of those on this site, I can only wonder what the thousands of others, that can barely program a vcr are doing now? Tech support at DirecTV must be hell now. I can't imagine them even selling any of these to the public now.


----------



## mtnagel

btmoore said:


> Not so weird, thats the unwatchable bug, so far there appears to be no rhyme or reason to when or why it hits. People have been reporting it since Aug. So far I have not had it this release, but I have seen other report it in this release, but it nailed me all over the place in the last release.


I just went through my recordings from yesterday and I had 3 unwatchables

- Bills game on ST channels
- Desperate Housewives on mpeg4 local HD ABC
- DIY Weekend (local show on mpeg4 local HD ABC)

and one missed recording of Sports Center. I have a manual recurring recording for 6 am on Monday morning and it's not there.

But I had several things that did record fine, like 60 Minutes and Funniest Home Videos and Oprah today.

A 5 week old box that has been very stable just crapped the bed. And here I was getting confident in the HR20 and I wasn't confirming everything on the R10 before. I guess I will have to now.


----------



## kokishin

Hi Earl,

Please request D* to provide known errata with the Release Notes, along with a work around for each bug (if known), and a comment for each bug that the item is planned to be fixed in the next release, or a future release, or no plans to fix.

Thx


----------



## Earl Bonovich

kokishin said:


> Hi Earl,
> 
> Please request D* to provide known errata with the Release Notes, along with a work around for each bug (if known), and a comment for each bug that the item is planned to be fixed in the next release, or a future release, or no plans to fix.
> 
> Thx


Those are good ideas, however...

Other then possible re-listing our previous list of issues, and stating if they have been fixed or not (which people do already).

I don't get a list of what is comming in the next release, or what exactly is being worked on, in what order, ect.....


----------



## kokishin

Earl Bonovich said:


> Those are good ideas, however...
> 
> Other then possible re-listing our previous list of issues, and stating if they have been fixed or not (which people do already).
> 
> I don't get a list of what is comming in the next release, or what exactly is being worked on, in what order, ect.....


Earl,

Usual engineering development practice is to track bugs, prioritize them, and schedule them for resolution. I presume the HR20 engineers do this. However, if they will not share the information with you, I understand.

If they were to share the errata with you, it would help set our expectations as well as inform us as to what bugs they are aware of.

Anyway, I know you are doing what you can do.

Rgds


----------



## WolfpackSully

Okay, it does seem that I have the "Unwatchable Bug." Good news is that all of the programs I set to record yesterday actually seemed to record properly: Chuck Amato Show (SD, MPEG2), Brothers & Sisters (MPEG4), and Desperate Housewives (MPEG4).

Bad news, is that they all seem to be unwatchable. The Chuck Amato Show just gives me a grey screen that I can't play, ff, etc. Brothers & Sisters is the same way, except that I have those negative numbers on the play bar (-1:-5). Ditto for Desperate Housewives (0:-4). The Sports Reporters program that previously had recorded properly and was watchable (MPEG2) now gives the delete/no delete message.

Reboot coming...

Sully


----------



## FredMig

Sorry if this was already answered, but I can't find it:


In my TiVo past, I used to toggle between two simultaneous NFL games by (1)recording a game on each tuner and then (2) playing a game in progress then at a break in the action would (3) go to the Now Playing List (4) Select the other game (5) and then by repeating (3) & (4), be able to watch both games in a leap frog fashion.

I can not seem to pull this off with the HR20. If I use the Prev button, the games reset to the beginning of the recording. 

Yesterday I resorted to exiting to live broadcast, blurring my vision, loudly sing "LaLaLaLa" as I went back to the list to choose the other game. Otherwise I would see the score of a game I was watching from 2 hours behind.:bang 

Now my wife and kids won't talk to me or be seen with me!:shrug: 

Is there a better way??


----------



## WolfpackSully

WolfpackSully said:


> Okay, it does seem that I have the "Unwatchable Bug." Good news is that all of the programs I set to record yesterday actually seemed to record properly: Chuck Amato Show (SD, MPEG2), Brothers & Sisters (MPEG4), and Desperate Housewives (MPEG4).
> 
> Bad news, is that they all seem to be unwatchable. The Chuck Amato Show just gives me a grey screen that I can't play, ff, etc. Brothers & Sisters is the same way, except that I have those negative numbers on the play bar (-1:-5). Ditto for Desperate Housewives (0:-4). The Sports Reporters program that previously had recorded properly and was watchable (MPEG2) now gives the delete/no delete message.
> 
> Reboot coming...
> 
> Sully


Unfortunately, a red button reset left me with only the Sports Reporters in My Playlist. 

Sully


----------



## ShapeGSX

I've had two lock-ups with a black screen since 0xEF.

It hasn't impacted anything yet since I was able to reset it soon after the lock up.


----------



## rkester

Whew! I got my optical out to work again. Not really sure what I did. Or what fixed it. All I know is I tried everything I could think of, again, and it started working when I had given up.

I took all 3 of my optical cables off, and took turns plugging them all into my DVD player and its input on the receiver to verify they all worked. All 3 worked. So I then tried them all on the HR20's optical spot, they all worked. So I then tried each of them on the HR20 in other spots, nothing. So I just plugged the old cable back in, put the other cables where they went and sat down to watch DPLII tv. I was going thru my recorded stuff and decided to look thru the Nothing But Trailers that had recorded. While playing the first trailer (Casino Royale) the audio just came back on.


----------



## jasontrouble

I don't really have time to go through all 30 pages here but here is my experience with this last update:

A lot of my series link recordings seem to be bombing. All I'm getting is the black screen when I go to view the recordings from my playlist. Today when I got home from work and attempted to watch the Fox Sunday night shows, all of them gave me the keep or delete message as soon as I hit play. I did a red button reset and when it came back up, they were gone from my list. Awesome....

My box seems way more unstable from a recording standpoint since this last update. I am not pleased.


----------



## elvisizer

i had endless summer 2 recording off of HBO at 9-ish am. checked it before leaving for work, and the hr20 had the movie listed in my playlist. did not try to play the recording, i just checked my playlist, then hit exit, and the hr-20 went back to displaying the live picture from HBO. Came home from work, and found the hr20 still tuned to HBO. uh-oh. hit the play button to get the timeline up, and it was still labeled endless summer2. tried to change channels, but no response from the hr20. hit the list button, and my playlist did come up. it had 4 or 5 programs listed that it had recorded during the day, but choosing them from the list brought up a black screen with the delete prompt. uh-oh. Did a reset from the gui. upon reboot, all the shows that were previously listed from that day were gone, including endless summer 2. history lists them as 'recorded', yet they appear nowhere. argh.


----------



## CharlesSchwab

Since receiving the last update, when I try to extend a recording by 30 minutes it will freeze into a "Please Wait" message after selecting the update button. Then, no other functions will work and it will not exit. So, you have to hit reset button.

Is anyone else having this problem?


----------



## tfederov

Interesting sidenote - I'm looking how to put my playlist in alphabetical order so I went to the "Help" section on my DVR. Might want to let the programmers know that it's still listed as My VOD in "Help" and not My Playlist. It could possibly confuse new users that never saw My VOD

Also, so how do you put your shows in alphabetical order? Slow, 0, Record, Thumbs... oh I give up 

Okay, really.... how do you do it?


----------



## hasan

tfederov said:


> Interesting sidenote - I'm looking how to put my playlist in alphabetical order so I went to the "Help" section on my DVR. Might want to let the programmers know that it's still listed as My VOD in "Help" and not My Playlist. It could possibly confuse new users that never saw My VOD
> 
> Also, so how do you put your shows in alphabetical order? Slow, 0, Record, Thumbs... oh I give up
> 
> Okay, really.... how do you do it?


Don't expect it to stick...it will revert to its default order after you leave it and come back. Since it doesn't stick, I don't play with it much, but someone will tell ya, sorry.


----------



## mtnagel

FredMig said:


> Sorry if this was already answered, but I can't find it:
> 
> In my TiVo past, I used to toggle between two simultaneous NFL games by (1)recording a game on each tuner and then (2) playing a game in progress then at a break in the action would (3) go to the Now Playing List (4) Select the other game (5) and then by repeating (3) & (4), be able to watch both games in a leap frog fashion.
> 
> I can not seem to pull this off with the HR20. If I use the Prev button, the games reset to the beginning of the recording.
> 
> Yesterday I resorted to exiting to live broadcast, blurring my vision, loudly sing "LaLaLaLa" as I went back to the list to choose the other game. Otherwise I would see the score of a game I was watching from 2 hours behind.:bang
> 
> Now my wife and kids won't talk to me or be seen with me!:shrug:
> 
> Is there a better way??


I just answered this today in this thread. Respond to that thread if you want more info (or the previous thread I linked to in that thread).


----------



## nocturnalis

I have the unwatchable bug as well 13 unwatchable programs. I have 0xEF update as well. This is crazy. If this carries on any longer CANCEL!


----------



## hasan

nocturnalis said:


> I have the unwatchable bug as well 13 unwatchable programs. I have 0xEF update as well. This is crazy. If this carries on any longer CANCEL!


More info, please.

Are they all MPEG-4/HD-Locals?

Do you have MPEG-4?HD-Locals and are any of them in the missed recordings?

Are you using auto-record? (If so, turn it off after you get the box working again)

Are you using HDMI? (If it has been at all glitchy, switch to component after you get the box working again)

Have you tried a red button reset? If so, what happened (all disappear?)?

Have you tried unplugging the unit, letting it set a few minutes and then plugging it back in?

Last resort, to a full format, you may have a corrupt file on the hard disk that is causing the problem. (you will lose all your settings and programs, but if the box is behaving as badly as you indicate, you're not really missing much.)


----------



## DishDog

mtnagel said:


> I just went through my recordings from yesterday and I had 3 unwatchables
> 
> - Bills game on ST channels
> - Desperate Housewives on mpeg4 local HD ABC
> - DIY Weekend (local show on mpeg4 local HD ABC)
> 
> and one missed recording of Sports Center. I have a manual recurring recording for 6 am on Monday morning and it's not there.
> 
> But I had several things that did record fine, like 60 Minutes and Funniest Home Videos and Oprah today.
> .


I just got hit with my first "unwatchable." I noticed that the keep at most was set to 1 episode. Has anyone noticed a correlation?

I changed all the series episodes to keep 2 at most but if a work-around was this easy I'm sure someone would have stumbled upon it by now!


----------



## badhutx

My MPEG 4 FOX station has some strange issue. The colors are all off and when people move it appears that there are ghost chasing them around. This happend once before during the World Series but it was fixed with in a few hours. I am more than 24 hours into this current issue. Is anyone else seeing this or is it just me?


----------



## rpage935

isaacm said:


> I've owned our HR20 for a bit more than 2 months now. My wife and I have been experiencing consistent lockups that seem to happen overnight during the past week. When locked up, the box is unresponsive to any keypress on the unit or remote. We've been pushing the red reset button to regain functionality in the box.
> 
> Although there have been other problems with the box that range from annoying to troublesome, this is the first problem we've experienced that is causing great frustration in the household.
> 
> For reference, the box is hooked up via HDMI and I do not yet have the MPEG4 dish setup yet (that's another story...)
> 
> I am certainly hoping the problem gets fixed ASAP.


I to have the same issue. I called DTV and asked for level 2 support directly. They informed me that there is no such issue. The problem has not been reported.

I requested a new box. My first box was nothing but trouble. The second box has been stable until the EF upgrade.


----------



## forklifter

I got the update and still the hdmi donest work should I get a new one or is there an update that will help me.


----------



## SCgrad98

Earl Bonovich said:


> Are you sure you are referring to the HR20 and not the H20
> 
> There hasn't ben a 100C version for the HR20... and there have been 6 software updates since then, which you should have on your system.
> 
> If you don't, then you will need to force an update using the 02468 method (do a search for more details)


OMG, I'm so embarrassed!  You are absolutely right, I do have the H20. The software version I have is 100C, what should it be? Can I force the updates with the H20 using the 02468 method?


----------



## TomF

I posted earlier in this thread about the no-response state where the HR20 stops responding to input from either the remote or the front panel. The only option is to do a red button reset.

This has now occurred every morning since last Wednesday and as many as four times a day. I'm about to call DirecTV and ask that $5.99/mo "DVR service fee" be waived retroactively from 10/9 when my HR20 was installed and continue to be waived until this thing actually functions reliably as a DVR.


----------



## SCgrad98

gcisko said:


> Sorry, but there are a couple of things here that sound iffy to me.
> 
> Are you sure about the 8/26 date? I got mine around 9/18 and was told the unit was on the market for less than 2 weeks. Also are you sure you are a Directv customer with a good access card? You should have automatically gotten every update. Does anyone know of any circumstances where someone does not get these updates? The ability to block updates may come in handy if they release new code that does something bad...
> 
> You can force the software update by hitting the reset button and punching in 02468 from the remote at the first reboot screen.


Earl was right, I have the H20 receiver and not the HR-20, but I have not received an update since 8/26! I hope that I have a valid access card... I'm not plugged into a phone line but thought that didn't matter anymore. My D* account was activated/installed on 8/26. If I am blocking updates I have no idea how (lol). Would you recommend doing the 02468 software update push on my receiver?


----------



## gcisko

SCgrad98 said:


> Earl was right, I have the H20 receiver and not the HR-20, but I have not received an update since 8/26! I hope that I have a valid access card... I'm not plugged into a phone line but thought that didn't matter anymore. My D* account was activated/installed on 8/26. If I am blocking updates I have no idea how (lol). Would you recommend doing the 02468 software update push on my receiver?


Nope. But I am curious why you are following this thread. This has nothing to do with your hardware...


----------



## btmoore

nocturnalis said:


> I have the unwatchable bug as well 13 unwatchable programs. I have 0xEF update as well. This is crazy. If this carries on any longer CANCEL!


Wow, you win the worst recording day ever award. I thought I had a bad day with 5 unwatchables and 1 partial bug under 0xeb. My 5 unwatchables were all recorded on the same channel in sequence, were your 13 from the same channel in sequence?

BTW while I have not had an unwatchable yet under 0xef I have had a couple of partials bugs and a new one I have not had a opportunity to document where a recurring manual recording was canceled even though it was a the top of the prioritizer. I have found no correlation of if it is a SD, MPEG2 or MPEG4 recording. They just happen, so far I have found no precursor to the unwatchable or partial.


----------



## gcisko

TomF said:


> This has now occurred every morning since last Wednesday and as many as four times a day. I'm about to call DirecTV and ask that $5.99/mo "DVR service fee" be waived retroactively from 10/9 when my HR20 was installed and continue to be waived until this thing actually functions reliably as a DVR.


Heavy Metal tip of the week: Go for 3 months basic service for free instead.


----------



## SCgrad98

gcisko said:


> Nope. But I am curious why you are following this thread. This has nothing to do with your hardware...


I realize that now. I posted in the wrong thread. I just saw that there were HDMI issues with the HR20 and got mixed up with my H20 HDMI issues.


----------



## elvisizer

ok, just got home from work, and tried to watch the slew of sunday night programming that the hr20 had ostensibly recorded for me (yeah . . . RIGHT!!!). Goblet of Fire from HBO recorded and is watchable. EVERYTHING i had scheduled after that from 4PM Sunday, until 6 PM monday (when i came home and rebooted the hr20) has the unwatchable bug in both 'grey screen with timeline' and 'black screen with the delete prompt' versions- Family Guy, The Venture Brothers, Morel Orel, Metalocalypse, Robot Chicken, American Dad (x2), The Simpsons (x4), South Park (x2), The Colbert Report (x3), The Daily Show (x3), Pardon the Interruption, Smart Travels, Rick Steve's Europe, Andy Richter, Aqua Teen Hungerforce (x2), Futurama, Iron Chef America, and Battlestar Galatica.

So that's, what, 28 shows in a row? Yeah. Lovin' life!!! My wife's pleased as well.

All of those shows are scheduled via series link. Goblet of Fire was a one-shot done from the guide. All the unwatchables disappeared from My Playlist after rebooting, and are still listed in the history as 'Recorded'. My hard drive is currently showing about the same amount of used space as it did yesterday- 32% available. I've never set up an 'Auto Record'. I've rebooted every day since EF came out due to unwatchable recordings.  

when will this madness end???


----------



## npm

npm said:


> I had my first unwatchable recording last night.
> 
> Mpeg2, Ch. 73 - Sportscenter @ 7:30 PM (Pacific)
> One time recording
> The program was in MyPlaylist and when I selected play I immediately recieved the delete messages.
> 
> I have had the box since August and have had very few problems.


Aaaargh... Make it two... Mpeg4, LA7 (ABC) - Desparate Housewives (no comments please  )
Series Link. Component.

Again, these are the FIRST unwatchable shows I have had since I received the box right after they were released in August.

Disappointing.

I hope there is an update tonight, but I hope it does not do more damage!

I also experienced the snapping popping sound during last nigts Greys Anatomy. LA7 (mpeg 4.) I fast forwarded a minute or so and it went away.


----------



## avatar230

Well, after no partials in over a week and no unwatchables in close to a month, I knew it had to come to an end eventually. Today, I had two variations on the unwatchable bug:

1. THE DOG WHISPERER // National Geographic MPEG-2 SD @ 6:00pm
2. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER // KCBS MPEG-4 HD @ 8:00pm

THE DOG WHISPERER episode came up with the "Do you want to delete?" dialogue box as soon as it was played. This was the first time I'd seen this bug on my HR20, though I've heard about it; it was also noted in the EB/EF release notes as a "fix" in this version. Obviously not so much fixed.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER was a more traditional unwatchable. The show appeared in the Playlist, but playing it resulted in an all-gray screen. The box responded to the commands for FF and RW and showed that it was performing a 1x, 2x, 3x or 4x FF in the time indicator bar. The counter remained at 0:00 no matter what -- no negative numbers. I could not get the 30-second slip icon to appear however, only FF & RW.

I reset my box using the software triggered reset instead of the red button, as it hadn't locked up. *Upon reset BOTH of the above programs had been deleted from My Playlist.* History simply lists both shows as "RECORDED" and makes no mention of their deletion. Both shows were set up to record via Series Link. I think that about covers it. Very disappointing.

ADDENDUM: Just as an aside, forgot to mention that until tonight I did still have one "Auto Record" setup: for the director Howard Hawks. Just for kicks, I'm removing this from my Prioritizer so the only thing I have left for the HR20 to deal with is Series Links.


----------



## JKOUGEL

I have had my HR20 DVR since Saturday. So far I have only had two problems. The jump back/ 6-second button when pressed does not stop, just keeps going back. The other problem is the jerky FFWD mode. The record , replay and 5.1 Dolby have all worked great. My set up is with an HDMI cable hooked up to a Sony SXRD HDTV. I have seen post for the jerky FFWD problem, but none for the replay 6-second back button. Does anyone else have the replay problem?

Jerry

Sacramento, Ca


----------



## drjenk

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I've also had 2 of the "blessed" HR20 boxes now for a while with NO problems at all - everything records as requested, plays everything with no problems at all - all audio and video are great. No automated deletes, no Dolby issues, no HDMI issues. As you pointed out - you tend to hear only the folks with problems and not the majority of us who have no or little issues. I suspect that after 19 NFL Ticket games and 214 recorded programs (all played back), any such problems would have surfaced.


I think it's important to note that it seems the blank recording problems seem to be isolated to local HD channel recordings (are these the only ones broadcasting mpeg4?). So if you don't record any local HD, I'd venture to guess you haven't seen issues, and would appear to have a "blessed" box.


----------



## litzdog911

drjenk said:


> I think it's important to note that it seems the blank recording problems seem to be isolated to local HD channel recordings (are these the only ones broadcasting mpeg4?). So if you don't record any local HD, I'd venture to guess you haven't seen issues, and would appear to have a "blessed" box.


No. I've had "blank recordings" where the Keep/Delete Dialog pops up immediately when recording standard definition channels, not just MPEG4 HD channels.


----------



## litzdog911

elvisizer said:


> ok, just got home from work, and tried to watch the slew of sunday night programming that the hr20 had ostensibly recorded for me (yeah . . . RIGHT!!!). Goblet of Fire from HBO recorded and is watchable. EVERYTHING i had scheduled after that from 4PM Sunday, until 6 PM monday (when i came home and rebooted the hr20) has the unwatchable bug in both 'grey screen with timeline' and 'black screen with the delete prompt' versions- Family Guy, The Venture Brothers, Morel Orel, Metalocalypse, Robot Chicken, American Dad (x2), The Simpsons (x4), South Park (x2), The Colbert Report (x3), The Daily Show (x3), Pardon the Interruption, Smart Travels, Rick Steve's Europe, Andy Richter, Aqua Teen Hungerforce (x2), Futurama, Iron Chef America, and Battlestar Galatica.
> 
> So that's, what, 28 shows in a row? Yeah. Lovin' life!!! My wife's pleased as well.
> 
> All of those shows are scheduled via series link. Goblet of Fire was a one-shot done from the guide. All the unwatchables disappeared from My Playlist after rebooting, and are still listed in the history as 'Recorded'. My hard drive is currently showing about the same amount of used space as it did yesterday- 32% available. I've never set up an 'Auto Record'. I've rebooted every day since EF came out due to unwatchable recordings.
> 
> when will this madness end???


I had the same problem this past weekend .... 
Seems that once this bug appears, all subsequent recordings are affected until the DVR is reset. I lost several recordings until I figured it out late on Sunday and reset the DVR. It's been behaving fine since then.


----------



## NewsTechie

dervari said:


> Great...no mention of partial/unplayable/BSOD recordings. They need to get this issue resolved and at least get the box RECORDING and PLAYING reliably before addressing 4x FF or faster 30sec slip, IMHO. :nono2:


Agreed! And with the improvements to TrickPlay, you mighta thought they would have included FF auto-correction. sigh...

-Brian


----------



## NewsTechie

LameLefty said:


> Call mine a "blessed box" if you must, but I'd venture to guess there are THOUSANDS (if not tens of thousands) of these boxes out there now. Clearly the problems you are experiencing are NOT the norm, except perhaps here on this forum where problem units will be over-represented.


Granted, but what's an "acceptable" percentage of problem units? 1%? .01%? That's still a lot of unhappy customers who, like me, are ready to start using HR20s as boat anchors just so we can get _some _value out of them. Many of us have come from the TiVo platform which, admittedly, set our expectations high. But it was DirecTV that made the choice to drop TiVo and create their own DVR. Although there is no doubt a high percentage of HR20s that work just fine, I would submit that the number of these boxes with basic functionality problems is significant.

The good news is that in most cases it's in the code, which means it can be fixed. And it's good to see DirecTV appears to be making improvements with regular sw updates.


----------



## Tyrod

My previously fairly reliable HR20 has started to show some blemishes with EF. A local MP4 recorded program showed a Black SOD upon playback. I was watching another chanel while HEROES was recording. The yellow light was on the appropriate amount of time. After HEROS finished recording, I went to watch it and BLACK BLACK BLACK. Trick play buttons wouldn't make it play. I did a red button reset and then HEROES was missing from the playlist. Anybody know anything about "save the cheerleader, save the world"?

I recorded Star Trek Enterprise on one of the HD channels last night. I had a series link for it. I was watching it while it recorded. About half way through, I went to bed. When I got up the next morning I went to watch the remainder and started playback. I FF4 to the place I left off and now no audio. Trick play buttons didn't help. I went back to live TV and audio returned. I then tried to watch the recorded program. It took me to where I left off and audio was back.

I also switched from component/optical to HDMI and that has been working fine.


----------



## mtnagel

Wow. Seems like quite a few people without issues are suddenly having issues (myself included). I wonder what changed? Hopefully F6 will fix it.


----------



## 69RoadRunner

Gmaxx said:


> I found that Bob the Builder is showing the staggered R's in circles just like a series link. Next I check the prioritzer and Bob the Builder is not there at all. It shows the 6 of 6 dialog on the bottom.


Can we fix it? Yeah!!!

(Um, yeah, I think so).


----------



## LameLefty

NewsTechie said:


> Agreed! And with the improvements to TrickPlay, you mighta thought they would have included FF auto-correction. sigh...
> 
> -Brian


That's a TiVo patent - no D*-designed DVR will have it.


----------



## sigma1914

NewsTechie said:


> Agreed! And with the improvements to TrickPlay, *you mighta thought they would have included FF auto-correction.* sigh...
> 
> -Brian


You mighta thought it'll never happen because it's Tivo's patent.


----------



## crockett

Current Firmware

Another Partial Bug

HDNet
Battlestar Galictica
Sunday Night

Listed as a partial in my history. Box seems fine otherwise.

This is my personal thank you to D* because it was the only showing of this episode.

Finally, from a programming standpoint why don’t the programmers have the partials dump to our Playlist? It obviously identifies the show, does something and puts it in the history as a partial. If it can do all that why not just change the code so it puts whatever it records, be it nothing, garbage, 5 seconds or 5 hours in our playlist. Then when we go to play it back we can at least report what is there to D*. 

Maybe from this info it will help them identify what is causing these partials. They could even get fancy and program the box so that every single time it is about to write partial to my history instead it would put the recording in my playlist with a bluescreen tacked on the end with some error codes they have put in as traps.


----------



## hancox

69RoadRunner said:


> Can we fix it? Yeah!!!
> 
> (Um, yeah, I think so).


LOL!


----------



## warkon

I have noticed that since this last update on my HR20, my high-definition viewing has become more standard-definition. Has anyone experienced this problem. My tv plays DVD's in High-definition still.


----------



## Bajanjack

Two unpleasant things last night....the first was the Giants game (Eli was horrible). The second was...as I was watching the recording, after 5-8 minutes the screen saver came on!.....I found that if I pressed the "stop" button on the remote the screen saver went away and the recorded program continued without interruption....this happened several times. Is there anyway to turn the screensaver function off?....anyone else experience this?


----------



## hasan

Bajanjack said:


> Two unpleasant things last night....the first was the Giants game (Eli was horrible). The second was...as I was watching the recording, after 5-8 minutes the screen saver came on!.....I found that if I pressed the "stop" button on the remote the screen saver went away and the recorded program continued without interruption....this happened several times. Is there anyway to turn the screensaver function off?....anyone else experience this?


0xF6 appears to be downloading on the West Coast this morning, so...the cycle starts all over again (evaluating/reporting). It will be interesting to see if it gets as far as the midwest this time (unlike EB).


----------



## sigma1914

hasan said:


> 0xF6 appears to be downloading on the West Coast this morning, so...the cycle starts all over again (evaluating/reporting). It will be interesting to see if it gets as far as the midwest this time (unlike EB).


Don't you love the cycle...."I love the new insert new feature." ----> "One minor issue..." ----> "Well the update didn't fix insert old issue." ----> "This box is a POS."


----------



## Radio Enginerd

hasan said:


> 0xF6 appears to be downloading on the West Coast this morning, so...the cycle starts all over again (evaluating/reporting). It will be interesting to see if it gets as far as the midwest this time (unlike EB).


This is true... I'm VERY suprised to see an update this morning especially before Thanksgiving!


----------



## hasan

sigma1914 said:


> Don't you love the cycle...."I love the new insert new feature." ----> "One minor issue..." ----> "Well the update didn't fix insert old issue." ----> "This box is a POS."


Yep, it's just part of the process we are stuck with, although I don't much care for the "your incompetent, mine works fine" vs. "this is a POS"....not useful and it brings out the worst in all parties.

In 8 weeks I've had no freezes, lockups, bsod, required resets, etc. All of my recordings have gone fine with the notable exception of 2 NFL-ST recordings. I've seen lots of improvements, but am dismayed by the lack of progress for those people who are having major issues. I really suspect data errors/hard disk corruption/file corruption on a lot of these things. For some, I think MPEG-4/HD-Local misbehavior (box and/or source) is a contributor. The error handling/error trapping in the HR20 does not appear to be very robust.

The unwillingness (or reticence) to do a full format in the face of a badly behaving box mystifies me. If I had a box that was acting as squirrely as some people report, I would:

0. Simplify my setup as much as possible: no HDMI (if I ever had even the slightest glitch with HDMI), no autorecords, no padding, etc.

1. Red button reset: retry. If no go >
2. Uplug and let sit for 5 minutes: retry. If no go > Another reset: retry > No go >
3. Full format: retry. If no go and no software issue identified as cause >
4. Demand a new box.... and start the cycle all over again.
(Continue testing while waiting for the new box, hope for update.)

I just don't see any other alternatives to attacking a misbehaving box. I sure wouldn't sit by and watch my box fail in a major way (BSOD, etc) and not reformat. What does one have to lose (in the mean time, consider all recordings as "optional" because you're going to lose them when you reformat and you are likely to lose them with a simple reset as well.)

I certainly wouldn't sit by and do nothing but watch my blood pressure go up and call an inanimate object a bunch of silly names.

The old cartoon of the two vultures in a tree with the caption, "Patience my ass, I want to kill something" may apply but a more appropriate course of action would be "Patience my ass, I need to DO SOMETHING." Taking action, actually doing something instead of talking about it is much more likely to produce a cure or at least inform the problem than stewing in passive disappointment.


----------



## sigma1914

Amen, hasan, A-freakin-men


----------



## mtnagel

Well, in my case, I had a perfectly well behaved box, but then all of the sudden it had 3 unwatchables. I'm not ready to do the full format because my wife still has a ton of shows that are perfectly fine that she would lose.


----------



## Ed Campbell

Just to second Hasan.

Last couple of updates seem to have removed any serious problems > HR20 now behaves as well as did the HR10 including improvements over HR10.

BUT -- if the new update gives me problems, I'll do exactly the same as he suggested to get myself to the cleanest possible install. Then, I'd probably re-plug HDMI. I am happier with PQ with it.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

This thread will remain open until 0xF6 goes national.


----------



## FilmMixer

Before everyone asks Earl...

New software on 11/21 = No OTA.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

FilmMixer said:


> Before everyone asks Earl...
> 
> New software on 11/21 = No OTA.


Look for that in the next update.......or so a little bird told me.....


----------



## billt1111

hasan said:


> Yep, it's just part of the process we are stuck with, although I don't much care for the "your incompetent, mine works fine" vs. "this is a POS"....not useful and it brings out the worst in all parties.
> 
> In 8 weeks I've had no freezes, lockups, bsod, required resets, etc. All of my recordings have gone fine with the notable exception of 2 NFL-ST recordings. I've seen lots of improvements, but am dismayed by the lack of progress for those people who are having major issues. I really suspect data errors/hard disk corruption/file corruption on a lot of these things. For some, I think MPEG-4/HD-Local misbehavior (box and/or source) is a contributor. The error handling/error trapping in the HR20 does not appear to be very robust.


I too am mystified while some people seem to have chronic problems while both my boxes work absolutely fine, upgrade after upgrade. There certainly has been improved performance and noticable bugs fixed since I got them in August, but there has been nothing that warrants the bitterness seen in many posts. Personally I subscribe to the "incompetence" theory. If my boxes were as bad as what is alleged by some, I would have swapped it out or reformatted long ago. And of course, I have control over the HD and DVR scene in my house, NOT my wife. She controls other things.


----------



## spivey

Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever noticed the temperature reading of their HR20? It's under system info just past the software version (I think). Mine runs around 120 - 127 degrees (F). I've only had to RBR (red button reset) once since I got the unit (end of Sept, beginning of Oct) and have never had any issues with the recordings; but I do not have HD locals in my area. I did record 1 movie off of HDNet but that played fine. 

I've never seen any specs for operating temperatures, but some people might want to check this out. Not everyone knows that if a PC gets to hot it becomes bugging; the same would be true for the DVR.


----------



## tstarn

Under improvements, it lists "time to tune a channel" as an improvement. Just went down to test it out, and with the new firmware, it still takes 4 seconds (used watch to time it). On my Hitachi, it has a gray screen between channels, and a 4-second wait, whether SD, HD or whatever. Small issue, I guess, but why list that as an improvement? I didn't time it before, but I guess moving from 5-6 seconds to 4 is technically an improvement, but it still isn't good.

Other than that, I've been flying under the radar with my HR20, mainly because it's been behaving. I never use padding (just record the show after the recorded show), or any other complex functions, mainly because they seem to cause most of the problems (though they are supposed to work). Also, still using component (moved from HDMI) and never reconnected my BBCs. I have to say, the thing started working after I did a "resent everything" (complete reformat) following a lockup two firmware versions ago (or was it three, it's getting foggy). Of course, I have no idea if that was the solution, as these machines are completely flaky in terms of what causes what, who has issues, etc.


----------



## tstarn

spivey said:


> Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever noticed the temperature reading of their HR20? It's under system info just past the software version (I think). Mine runs around 120 - 127 degrees (F). I've only had to RBR (red button reset) once since I got the unit (end of Sept, beginning of Oct) and have never had any issues with the recordings; but I do not have HD locals in my area. I did record 1 movie off of HDNet but that played fine.
> 
> I've never seen any specs for operating temperatures, but some people might want to check this out. Not everyone knows that if a PC gets to hot it becomes bugging; the same would be true for the DVR.


Tons of posts on this front. 120-127 is normal. Some of us (me included) use a Targus "chill mat" to cool it down a bit (available for $20 at Walmart.com). It plugs into your USB port on the HR20.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

127 is the normal opperating temperature for the HR20


----------



## tstarn

Earl Bonovich said:


> This thread will remain open until 0xF6 goes national.


It's national, because I got it here in Philadelphia at 4:46 a.m. EST. I have to say, the downloads are like clockwork (every one has been either 4:45 or 4:46 a.m.).


----------



## Earl Bonovich

tstarn said:


> It's national, because I got it here in Philadelphia at 4:46 a.m. EST. I have to say, the downloads are like clockwork (every one has been either 4:45 or 4:46 a.m.).


I guess the toggled the switch faster then I was expecting...


----------



## giden

Earl Bonovich said:


> I guess the toggled the switch faster then I was expecting...


Still waiting for the update here in Virginia. Patiently


----------



## genap

Warkon....My picture quality isn't as crisp as it use to be and seems darker too. Taking alot longer to change channels now. ( native off, set to 1080i ) I have not recieved F6 yet.


----------



## tbackus

1. When I changed the recording options on Heroes a full hour before it was supposed to come on, it ended up not recording. I luckily happened to be on the channel and was able to watch it. I tried to hit record while in live TV and it would not let me record it! I've noticed that when I modify a season pass, i.e. change it so it ends 5 minutes after, it doesn't record the program even though it is in to do list! It did it last night with Heroes, Sunday night with The Amazing Race, and Saturday with the K-State vs. Ku football game.... all different channels. None in High-def. 

2. After all this happened and we watched Heroes, it locked up to an extent. I tried to go to myVOD, and it said there were no programs there. Then I tried to pull up the guide, nothing! Finally, I just unplugged the machine. 


It still seems to be locking up regularly (at least once every other day). This is increasingly frustrating for someone who doesn't know a whole lot about these things, and I certainly wished i hadn't paid 300 bucks for it! What is the Retention Phone Number?


----------



## Earl Bonovich

tbackus said:


> What is the Retention Phone Number?


There is no longer a phone number for rentention directly.
You must call the first line CSRs first.


----------



## tbackus

YAY! a 30 minute wait and 4 transfers are in my future!


----------



## Milominderbinder2

tbackus said:


> It still seems to be locking up regularly (at least once every other day). This is increasingly frustrating for someone who doesn't know a whole lot about these things, and I certainly wished i hadn't paid 300 bucks for it! What is the Retention Phone Number?


A few questions...
1. When did you last Reset?
2. When did you last Reformat?
*3. Do you have any Autorecords set up?*
4. Do you use HDMI?
5. How many items are in your prioritizer?

Padding is a known issue. Prior to the last release, there were problems with recording a live show.


----------



## tbackus

Milominderbinder2 said:


> A few questions...
> 1. When did you last Reset?
> 2. When did you last Reformat?
> *3. Do you have any Autorecords set up?*
> 4. Do you use HDMI?
> 5. How many items are in your prioritizer?
> 
> Padding is a known issue. Prior to the last release, there were problems with recording a live show.


1. Saturday
2. I haven't, is this different than Reset?
3. If meaning Series Link, then yes. If not, then I'm not sure what you mean.
4. No, I've read about the problems, so I'm using componet cables.
5. 20 or so.

I've noticed that if I change the options on the series link, it screws up when it is supposed to record the episode next.


----------



## mlyle

Here is my one bug, which is frankly quite annoying. 

I want to record 3 news shows every day. (times are CST) -- All are set to retain 3 shows
--My local news at 5 on channel 5, is set up as a series link.
--Fox (360) 5pm to 6pm. Set as manual, because a series link would capture both Brit Hume news shows.
--CNN Headline (204) 6pm to 7pm. Set as manual, because as series link it recorded the 6,8 and 11 broadcasts the first two days.

It gets the Channel 5 about 50% of the time. Not since I got EF has it got one recording of the other two. I deleted the entries from ToDo, and reentered them. Still nothing. On ToDo, it shows "none scheduled". Well I have it set recurring Mon-Fri for the exact time, by that very definition it is scheduled.

What is weird, is that I get Heroes, L&O, Battlestar, Monk, SNL, 30 Rock, Family Guy, Simpsons, Meet the Press, Star Trek, Andy Richter, Smallville, and SouthPark without fail on the Series Link (ok, one Star Trek screwed up with blackscreen before I got EF).

I canot believe that I get all the SL without fail after reading of other folks problems, except the "Action News 5 at 5" and I cannot get the Manual to work at all. 

Maybe F6 will fix. but does anyone else get this problem?


Also, on a side-- I thought I had a screwed up black screen recording, of HD Enterprise last night. I could not get the first 5 minutes to play, I could fast forward past it (clunkily), and it seemed fine. But after some time passed (actually the recording finished completely, and tried to play from the "LIST" and it played normally like nothing had ever happened. 

Here is one feature I wish was there:
-- a macro which I can hit which switches between having 1080i only enabled, and having 480p, 720p, 1080i all enabled. When outputting in native, and changing channels or playing back, I don't mind the TV and DVR taking a few moments to resynch-- but for just everyday flipping, I like to have it in 1080i only to minimize that time-- but I would like to be able to change available resolutions with a single button or two.


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## diana

well, after reading this forum for the last week or so, i solved my HR20-700 phobia by purchasing a HR10-250....Someone on this board suggested it and it sounds like a good idea to me.
Hopefully Directv will either swollow their pride and pocketbooks and restart a partnership with Tivo or by the time I have to give up the HR10, all the glitches will be solved 
thanks diana


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## Vinny

diana said:


> well, after reading this forum for the last week or so, i solved my HR20-700 phobia by purchasing a HR10-250....Someone on this board suggested it and it sounds like a good idea to me.
> Hopefully Directv will either swollow their pride and pocketbooks and restart a partnership with Tivo or by the time I have to give up the HR10, all the glitches will be solved
> thanks diana


I guess not having HD MPEG4 locals plus spot beams of RSN's isn't that important to you. If not, then good move.


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## giden

diana said:


> well, after reading this forum for the last week or so, i solved my HR20-700 phobia by purchasing a HR10-250....Someone on this board suggested it and it sounds like a good idea to me.
> Hopefully Directv will either swollow their pride and pocketbooks and restart a partnership with Tivo or by the time I have to give up the HR10, all the glitches will be solved
> thanks diana


Yes, the HR10-250 was pretty solid, however, if you want (or can get) local MPG4 programming, you must have the newer box.


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## apfrost

Hello,

I've been reading these forums for a while, but never needed to post because I have not had any real problems. Unfortunately a pretty bad bug popped up which made me feel like I needed to post.

TV: 32" Samsung LCD TV (LNS3251DX/XAA)

Problem: I was recording prison break in HD 11/20 while watching last weeks prison break in HD. When finished watching last weeks I went to play the new episode and the picture was awfull. The colors were off and everything was giving off a light blue shadow.


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## Doug Brott

With both 0xEB and 0xEF I had occasional problems with my HR20 that was connected via Composite. In my case, the Blue wire (of the Red Green Blue) was not working properly. My solution had been to restart the HR20 and it would fix it for a while, but on one occasion when I could not restart the receiver, I simply removed and then replaced the blue cable from the back of my TV. That seems to have fixed the problem completely. I never had this problem with the versions prior to 0xEB. If you are seeing a similar situation, perhaps my problem was software related when I originally concluded that it was my hardware.

In any event, I am now @ 0xF6 and (even with 0xEF), it's been since Monday a week back since I last saw the problem.


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## hasan

spivey said:


> Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever noticed the temperature reading of their HR20? It's under system info just past the software version (I think). Mine runs around 120 - 127 degrees (F). I've only had to RBR (red button reset) once since I got the unit (end of Sept, beginning of Oct) and have never had any issues with the recordings; but I do not have HD locals in my area. I did record 1 movie off of HDNet but that played fine.
> 
> I've never seen any specs for operating temperatures, but some people might want to check this out. Not everyone knows that if a PC gets to hot it becomes bugging; the same would be true for the DVR.


I track my temp religiously (old habits die hard). It ran predictably at 127 in my open equipment rack. I like things cooler, so I put a laptop cooling pad on it (upside down so it would pull the air out the top). Ever since then it runs 102 +/- 2 degrees and I feel better. I'm sure 127 is well within spec, I just have a "thing" about heat. I check it probably twice a day, every day that I am home.


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## jhindmon

yup. welcome to the "Houston FOX MPEG4 ghosting" bug. I do not think this is related to any hardware problems. So far as I am aware, this specific problem has ONLY been seen 1) In Houston, 2) on FOX 26, 3) Via MPEG4 only. (I have checked my OTA feed from fox while this was happening before and it was ok.

See http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70650
and
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=67559


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## DishDog

hasan said:


> \ so I put a laptop cooling pad on it (upside down so it would pull the air out the top). Ever since then it runs 102 +/- 2 degrees and I feel better. I'm sure 127 is well within spec


What model cooling pad do you have?


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## btmoore

Your picture looks like an extreamly serious chroma or luma delay problem. Based on your picture I would say chroma delay.

Chroma Delay Example 









Luma Delay Example









Highly likely this problem is caused at the source or in the transcoding process. Although it is possible that the problem is in the decoding. It is not your cables because you would see it in the overlays, but just because it does not show it the overlays does not mean it is not happening inside your box because overlays come after the video codec . Best thing you can do is to find someone with a HR20 that receives your locals and compare.


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## earthymoon

If you haven't had the issue again it probably was a broadcast problem. If it's an issue you're having all the time then it is your cables or inputs.


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## btmoore

earthymoon said:


> If you haven't had the issue again it probably was a broadcast problem. If it's an issue you're having all the time then it is your cables or inputs.


Can not be cables, his overlays do not have the delay. Likely a source problem but this could easily happen in the local codec or even in hardware. He needs a control partner to baseline this problem and determine if it is from the source or it his box having the problem.


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## tejohnson

Bug - Blue Screen/BSOD

Active Tuner was on Discovery HD
Other tuner was/currently is recording "The Unit" on channel 380, previously recording "NCIS" on the same channel.

-Started watching "NCIS" at ~20:35 EST, paused & used trick play quite a few times
-Finished watching "NCIS" at ~21:20 EST, selected to delete the recording, while "The Unit" is already recording.
-BSOD, with Discovery HD in the upper right. Remote and front panel of the HR20 unresponsive (until I hit the red button at 22:00 EST & enter 02468).


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## cybrsurfer

tejohnson said:


> Bug - Blue Screen/BSOD
> 
> Active Tuner was on Discovery HD
> Other tuner was/currently is recording "The Unit" on channel 380, previously recording "NCIS" on the same channel.
> 
> -Started watching "NCIS" at ~20:35 EST, paused & used trick play quite a few times
> -Finished watching "NCIS" at ~21:20 EST, selected to delete the recording, while "The Unit" is already recording.
> -BSOD, with Discovery HD in the upper right. Remote and front panel of the HR20 unresponsive (until I hit the red button at 22:00 EST & enter 02468).


Eastern US should be getting update to 0xf6... do a forced update if you want...


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## cybrsurfer

Hopefully you will get the update to f6 which is nationally available now...


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## warkon

genap said:


> Warkon....My picture quality isn't as crisp as it use to be and seems darker too. Taking alot longer to change channels now. ( native off, set to 1080i ) I have not recieved F6 yet.


I am also waiting for the next update too. I put my HDMI cable back in and it did not make any difference at all.


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## giden

In Virginia: got the update to 0xf6 at 4:44am today! NOW, let's see what's fixed.....


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## hasan

DishDog said:


> What model cooling pad do you have?


I got mine at Best Buy, it has its own wal wart power supply and two fans. It's silver in color, matching the HR20.

I'd recommend going to some of the internet sites and getting the same thing, but in USB powered version...also a lot cheaper. I've seen them for 20 bucks...I paid double that for mine (way too much, but I was in a hurry, and knew I could use it on my laptop if not satisfied.)


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## jgrade

Recorded the Simpson over the weekwnd and tried to view last night; got the searching for authorized content error. I know it has been reported, but what does it mean? First real glitch ever.


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## RMSko

I've never reported this bug, but it has existed with every software version so I thought it would make sense to post it. I am using DD and every time I turn on the HR20 there is no sound. However, once I change the channel or play something from the playlist, the sound works fine. It is really only a significant issue when I want to use the buffer for a show that is on when I turn on the unit b/c I'll lose it if I change the channel. The only recourse is to watch something from the playlist for a second and then return to live TV, which is a bit of a pain. Earl or anyone else - any thoughts?


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## Earl Bonovich

0xFA was a national release, so the 0xEF discussion is closed.

Continue the discussions in it's release discussion thread.
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=70790

If you had an issue with 0xEF... please check it with the latest release, and if it is continuing... please report it.


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