# Hopper Clock Messed Up?



## Arya Stark (Mar 17, 2012)

Is it possible for the Hopper's clock to get messed up? My timers default is set to add 3 minutes at the end of every recording so I don't miss anything. And up until yesterday, I never have. But I missed the last minute or so of all 5 shows I recorded yesterday! Surely that can't be coincidence, right? I realize I could add more time to the end of all my timers, but I shouldn't have to do that when it's never been a problem before (and if it is just a temporary problem). 

Anyone else experiencing this, and if so...what did you do?


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

Clock doesn't get messed up, but networks have been known to jockey their clocks to mess with DVRs.


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## patmurphey (Dec 21, 2006)

If the offending recordings were on PTAT channels, you'll find the missing pieces on the next show at the beginning. The next show will be there for 8 days on the PTAT list. If you are using PTAT and want to assure that the 3 minutes extra is part of the permanent recording (i.e. if you want to save it on an EHD) you can set a regular timer, but you have to unskip it and it will use another tuner - a good option if you aren't creating a conflict.

BTW, with a PTAT recording, if you play it from the PTAT list, it will play into the next show (except at 11).


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

RasputinAXP said:


> Clock doesn't get messed up, but networks have been known to jockey their clocks to mess with DVRs.


I have noticed USA doing this lately... Covert Affairs and Suits have been regularly going until 2 minutes past the hour and messing me up at time in being able to switch over and watch the Daily Show at 11pm... so I've had to start recording some shows that I otherwise would have been there to watch live.


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

Stewart Vernon said:


> I have noticed USA doing this lately... Covert Affairs and Suits have been regularly going until 2 minutes past the hour and messing me up at time in being able to switch over and watch the Daily Show at 11pm... so I've had to start recording some shows that I otherwise would have been there to watch live.


I haven't seen this if recording during prime time, but I do see it if recording after midnight.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

I nearly always get this when I also record the following program.
It's annoying.
I've also had a basic cable feed going in one room and Dish in another, and the Dish latency is pretty severe. I'd have to repeat the setup to time it, but I could see it messing up some programming as well. Especially if you don't set the timers to go over by 3 minutes or so.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

garys said:


> I haven't seen this if recording during prime time, but I do see it if recording after midnight.


I see it routinely.

I DVR Covert Affairs because I have been watching Franklin & Bash at the same time... but sometimes I'm watching F&B delayed because of a bathroom break or snack run... so I'm not done at 11pm in time to make the switch to Comedy Central for the Daily Show.

So... I try switching to the Covert Affairs tuner (put the TV on mute so I don't get spoiled too much) and the plan was to stop the timer at the end of the show instead of allowing my +3 minute padding, then switch channels and pause to go back and finish watching F&B.

Except... I find that Cover Affairs is still going until about 11:02... so by the time the show is over and credits start to roll, I've already missed the start of the Daily Show and then have to DVR the later showing to watch the next day.


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

We record Suits, Covert Affairs, Franklin and Bash, and The Daily Show, too, but almost never watch anything on the same day and have had no problems. I have run into issues with Burn Notice running over into the first minute of Suits, though.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

I record The Daily Show +3 minutes, but I get the moment of zen on the front side of the Colbert Report recording every time.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

4HiMarks said:


> We record Suits, Covert Affairs, Franklin and Bash, and The Daily Show, too, but almost never watch anything on the same day and have had no problems. I have run into issues with Burn Notice running over into the first minute of Suits, though.


If you record and pad the end times you won't see the issue unless you watch the clock.

That's why I ended up DVRing Covert Affairs and often Daily Show on those nights as well when I'm watching Bash on delay... Bash will end on time to switch the channel... but Covert Affairs doesn't. At least not for several weeks when I wanted it to!


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## n-spring (Mar 6, 2007)

I've *****ed a couple of times about truncated recordings. I can't tell if the recording itself is short, or playback terminates prematurely. It's annoying as hell.


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## Arya Stark (Mar 17, 2012)

I still feel like my clock is messed up or something. I've added 5 minutes to all my shows and most still get cut off. That NEVER used to happen! I feel like I'm wasting the Hopper's three-tuner potential by adding so many extra minutes after shows.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Arya Stark said:


> I still feel like my clock is messed up or something. I've added 5 minutes to all my shows and most still get cut off. That NEVER used to happen! I feel like I'm wasting the Hopper's three-tuner potential by adding so many extra minutes after shows.


What shows is this happening with? It would be helpful to know, to see if others are having similar issues with those shows or channels.


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## Bill L (May 5, 2008)

EVERYONE that I know with a Dish is having this problem with non prime time shows. TNT, USA and other independents are the problem areas.

I have Royal Pains as #1 in priority and programed with 2 minutes over and do not get the end of the show. You have to remember what comes next and watch it on the end on the next show.

My son recently switched from DTV to Dish and said he did not have this problem with DTV.

I running one Hopper and one Joey. This problem existed on my 922 and 722 and is not new.


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## broeddog (Sep 12, 2009)

I moved from Directv to dish back in April and am happy being with dish, except for this issue. I never had this problem at D and have not read anything about this being an issue in the D threads. My son in law works as a supervisor in one of the call centers at Charter and I asked him about this. He reports not receiving one call from a customer about this issue. He has Comcast because he doesn't live in a Charter area and he records some of the same shows I have problems with and he denies having any issues getting complete recordings. Some of the shows that don't record to the end are Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, Baggage Wars, Counting Cars, Hardcore Pawn, Burn Notice, Covert Affairs and the list goes on. My question is, if others on other providers are not having problems why are we at Dish? I can't remember this being an issue for the first month or two with Dish but it has been an issue since they initiated the auto hop feature. I know the auto hop feature only works with network stations, which by the way start and end on time resulting in complete recordings. Does this happen on other DVR that Dish have or is it specific to just the hopper. I have set my timers in every possible configuration and like others I don't get complete recordings, so what is the problem. I would assume that Dish and Directv receive there signals pretty much the same way so why is there a problem at one and not the other. I don't know the answer but someone does, I just wish the problem would get fixed and quickly.


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## Bill L (May 5, 2008)

This is been a problem since before the installation of all Autohop.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

I've said before... if you watch your clock and your programming... some shows are going past the top of the hour even though the EPG doesn't indicate that there will.

This isn't a failure of the clock or DVR... some networks are trying to get you to stop DVRing their programs by running them long without advertising so.

I routinely see that Covert Affairs goes several minutes past 11pm on Tuesday night and it causes me to not be able to watch the start of another show on time.

It isn't Dish... it is the channels playing with the schedule and sticking in a few extra commercials to run long and retrain you not to DVR their channel.

Fortunately all channels don't do it... but some definitely do... and USA has been one of the worst "offenders" for me lately.


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## Bill L (May 5, 2008)

Why is it not happening on DTV or cable?


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## n-spring (Mar 6, 2007)

Stewart Vernon said:


> I've said before... if you watch your clock and your programming... some shows are going past the top of the hour even though the EPG doesn't indicate that there will.
> 
> This isn't a failure of the clock or DVR... some networks are trying to get you to stop DVRing their programs by running them long without advertising so.


I respectfully disagree. I NEVER had an issue with DirecTV DVRs. Truncated recordings routinely happen with the Hopper.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Bill L said:


> Why is it not happening on DTV or cable?


Do you know for a fact that it isn't?



n-spring said:


> I respectfully disagree. I NEVER had an issue with DirecTV DVRs. Truncated recordings routinely happen with the Hopper.


You're talking about two different things, though... I've seen glitches sometimes where recordings are truncated or corrupted. Those are issues Dish needs to address.

But when a show runs longer than it is scheduled to run in the EPG... not much Dish or anyone can do about that.

That's why I asked for specific show examples... and I have given one of my own.

Every single week I see that Covert Affairs starts at 10pm on USA, but doesn't end until 11:02 or 11:03pm... meanwhile, shows on other channels are still starting at 11pm... so I would miss the beginning of the Daily Show if I didn't set it to record while I was watching Covert Affairs.

I'm sure there are other examples with other shows...

Also... IF I set a timer for Covert Affairs, and used the default 3min padding, sometimes the very end of the show would get cutoff... not because the DVR did something wrong but because USA was airing more commercials and extending the run-time of the show by several minutes.


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## broeddog (Sep 12, 2009)

Stewart I have had my son in law record the shows that I mentioned on his TiVo through Comcast service. He told me that the shows I am having issues with do record in full. He also works for Charter cable and has used their equipment without any recording issues. I was with Directv up until four months ago and never had these issues with their HR series receivers. I just want to know why it is happening with my Dish service and not other providers.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

broeddog said:


> Stewart I have had my son in law record the shows that I mentioned on his TiVo through Comcast service. He told me that the shows I am having issues with do record in full. He also works for Charter cable and has used their equipment without any recording issues. I was with Directv up until four months ago and never had these issues with their HR series receivers. I just want to know why it is happening with my Dish service and not other providers.


I would have to know more about how he is recording on cable vs the way you do it on Dish.

I can guarantee you, though, that he wouldn't get the end of a show like Covert Affairs if his TiVo stops at 11pm!

If you pad your timers by 5 or more minutes, then you probably wouldn't miss the end of any shows... for all I know, that is how his cable DVR is set.

As an example, even though I noted the problems with Covert Affairs running long... I also don't have problems recording it because I know it runs long so I extend my timer accordingly.

Again, there are glitches and some known issues with several Dish DVRs... those are issues to be rectified to be sure... but it still sounds to me like we are talking about problems recording shows that are just running longer than the EPG indicates. This is a channel problem, and not a Dish problem, in my opinion... but one I can workaround by extending the end time on my timers.

FYI... go check out the Comcast support forums... and you'll find this exact same topic there, with the same complaints... and people there saying "other people don't have these problems, why does Comcast"... and you'll see the same suggestions as I have been giving.

_edit:_ Checked again tonight... Put one tuner on 105HD for "Necessary Roughness" and had the other tuner on 107HD for Futurama. Futurama ended a little after 11pm and the Daily Show started. Channel 105 was still going with "Necessary Roughness" until 11:02... so not a clock problem, but a USA running their shows long problem.


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## n-spring (Mar 6, 2007)

So why is it that even On Demand shows from HBO stop playback even a few seconds before the end of the actual recording? Why is it that these problems never occurred on my DirecTV DVR? Instead of blowing this off, Stewart, all we're asking is that Dish look into this and get to the bottom of it. I'm still not convinced that it's just the networks messing around with their scheduled air times.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

n-spring said:


> So why is it that even On Demand shows from HBO stop playback even a few seconds before the end of the actual recording? Why is it that these problems never occurred on my DirecTV DVR? Instead of blowing this off, Stewart, all we're asking is that Dish look into this and get to the bottom of it. I'm still not convinced that it's just the networks messing around with their scheduled air times.


That's why I'm asking for specific shows, channels, and examples.

I've said multiple times that there are issues and such issues should be reported... BUT we need to differentiate between the problems of the Dish receiver vs the problems of scheduling by the networks.

Complaining to Dish about scheduling problems just makes them turn a deaf ear to the other times when the DVR actually fails.

I haven't rented an On Demand event in a while, and certainly not on a Hopper of course... so I can't speak to those issues.

I'm just asking for more info, to help with the problem... and if it is an actual DVR problem it needs to be reported to Dish with more info so they can actually look into it... and if the problem is what I've been talking about where some channels are running their shows longer than the EPG indicates, then that's a different animal that Dish can't really do anything about.


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## Bill L (May 5, 2008)

Stewart,

You mentioned that "If you pad your timers by 5 or more minutes, then you probably wouldn't miss the end of any shows... for all I know, that is how his cable DVR is set."

This is not true. If all three tuners are recording something, they will ignore priority and switch to the next program. 

This is a real annoying issue with Dish. I like Dish much better than DTV or cable but this is a deal breaker is it continues. Missing the end of shows is a real issue.

I searched the DTV forum and see no complaining about this issue. I will check with a neighbor and see if they have it with Verizon FIOS.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Bill L said:


> Stewart,
> 
> You mentioned that "If you pad your timers by 5 or more minutes, then you probably wouldn't miss the end of any shows... for all I know, that is how his cable DVR is set."
> 
> This is not true. If all three tuners are recording something, they will ignore priority and switch to the next program.


What are you talking about here?

IF all 3 tuners are recording something NO other timers can fire. IF you even try to set a 4th overlapping timer you get the "timer conflict" screen asking you how you want to resolve it.

Timers don't interrupt other timers.


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## Bill L (May 5, 2008)

This not what happens in the real world. I have "Royal Pains" set to record 2 minutes over. "Royal Pains" is set to #1 priority. When the next program comes on it cuts "Royal Pains" off and starts recording. The next program is set at priority position 38.

No conflict is indicated. 

This is not the only program that this happens with. I tried setting all of my timers to 2 minutes over. There are no indications of conflicts.


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## n0qcu (Mar 23, 2002)

By design any extension less than 5 min will be dropped to start the next recording.
If you extend 5 min the other recording *will* record at a later time. 
*Works every time*. That is why I set any thing that repeats to a lower priority that than something that airs only once and extend the pad on anything I don't want cut off to 5 min.


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## Arya Stark (Mar 17, 2012)

I recorded the football game Wednesday night (with the automatic 60 minute extension), and it removed the entire 60 minutes to resolve a conflict. So I missed the end of the game. Nobody tell me what happened! 

Seriously though, that's a strange problem. That shouldn't happen!


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

The football game should have been recorded as part of PTAT, which would have stopped at the EPG indicated time, which would have cut off the end of the game.

When you set your specific timer for the game did you also go back and un-skip it? If you didn't do that... then by default the receiver assumes you are ok with the PTAT recording and will probably ignore whatever padding you defined in your other timer.

Also... I set most of my timers to start 2 min early and end 3 min late. On no Dish receiver that I've ever had has another timer interrupted an already recording timer.

Now... IF you use the default padding of the DVRs and set multiple recordings back-to-back on the same channel... then the receiver will stop those on the hour (or half hour) to start recording the next event. That is by design, but it only does that when both recordings are on the same channel back-to-back and you use the default padding.

Even as a glitch, I've never seen the receiver start a new timer and cancel a currently recording one. All conflict resolution either happens when you initially define the timer OR can occur after an overnight update if the EPG info changes that results in a conflict that wasn't there initially... but in either case, it doesn't stop a recording in progress to start another one. I've never heard of that.


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## LarryInSnohomish (Sep 11, 2012)

I can tell you I'm very frustrated, as well, with Hopper's inability to record the shows I like in full. I'm experiencing this problem on several of the non-prime-time channels, such as TNT, USA, MeTV. I've tried, as many of you have, to add a couple minutes to the end of the programming. I figured it would create a conflict with the second show of back-to-back recordings but even when there is no show following a recorded show it still shuts off before the final minute or so of a show. Adding more time to the End doesn't fix the problem for some reason. I'm ready to discontinue Dish and go back to Comcast. I never had this problem -- ever -- with Comcast or DirecTV when I was with them.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

LarryInSnohomish said:


> I've tried, as many of you have, to add a couple minutes to the end of the programming.


Hi, and welcome...

Are you literally just adding a couple of minutes to the end?

I've noted before that USA often runs 3 minutes long... so you'd have to go to 5 minutes end-padding to be sure you catch the end of similar shows.

I wasn't sure if you literally meant just a "couple" or if you were going 5+ minutes long.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I can't speak for USA lately, but I haven't had any trouble with TNT. "Falling Skies" recorded - every episode came through with no glitches, nothing cut off.


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