# HDVR2 Speed issues



## cnsf (Jun 6, 2002)

I find in my HDVR2s, the guides are ridiculously slow and when you reprioritize shows, it can take way more than the suggested "minute."

I also find sound glitches when pausing and unpausing sometimes like a second or two after starting up again.

Any suggestions on how to improve speed and whether this glitch is common?

btw - Steve M., excellent job setting up this forum. I hope it's very successful.


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## TerryC (Jul 18, 2002)

I'm experiencing all of the issues you describe. From what I understand from reading the tivocommunity boards, this is normal. I've also read there that using wishlists and adding a bigger hard drive (or drives) can add to the lack of speed.


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## cnsf (Jun 6, 2002)

The bigger drives did impact the speed, but negligibly.

I just hope that Tivo is working on this issue. The guides are virtually useless.


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## James_F (Apr 23, 2002)

My HDVR2 guide is as slow as the DirecTiVos, but nothing to the extent you say. You could convert it to the TiVo guide and it would load much faster.. :shrug:


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## cnsf (Jun 6, 2002)

I used the Tivo guide an it's still pretty slow...takes a couple of seconds on each page scroll to fully spell out. The Dish PVR guides were much faster.


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## John Corn (Mar 21, 2002)

Is it the scrolling through the guide thats slow? or is it the channel changing thats slow? or both?

Just curious.


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## James_F (Apr 23, 2002)

Really? Mine is "slow" with the DirecTV guide, but the TiVo guide really moves. I'm not sure what might be the problem. Try a search at http://www.tivocommunity.com and see if someone else has the problem.


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## TerryC (Jul 18, 2002)

> _Originally posted by cnsf _
> *I used the Tivo guide an it's still pretty slow...takes a couple of seconds on each page scroll to fully spell out. The Dish PVR guides were much faster. *


That's the problem. Former Dish subs are gonna be especially frustrated by the DirecTV or Tivo guides. I was shocked, myself, seeing as how Tivo is supposed to be "God's Machine" and all. Even DTV subs who've never seen the Dish guide are disappointed with the speed.

DirecTV must be aware of this situation. As to whether an enhancement is a priority with them or not, I don't know.


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## James_F (Apr 23, 2002)

Well you are right. There is a myth that the TiVo or ReplayTV or Dish is the perfect PVR. The fact is all PVRs have issues. You just have to decide what is important for you and go for it. I don't like my parents 508 menus, but that is because I am so used to TiVo. I'm sure someone who is used to Dish PVRs would feel the same way back...


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## John Corn (Mar 21, 2002)

I wish I could try out a DirecTiVo locally, Im real curious about the guide being so slow. I'm a real channel surfer, so that makes it worse.

On the other hand my biggest pet peeve with Dish's PVR's are time based recordings.....I miss so much stuff or endings because of time shifting or specials. :nono:

I think DirecTiVo calls it the Season Pass, where it's name based recording.......I would LOVE to have that on Dish's PVR's.


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## spanishannouncetable (Apr 23, 2002)

> _Originally posted by John Corn _
> *I wish I could try out a DirecTiVo locally, Im real curious about the guide being so slow. I'm a real channel surfer, so that makes it worse.
> 
> On the other hand my biggest pet peeve with Dish's PVR's are time based recordings.....I miss so much stuff or endings because of time shifting or specials. :nono:
> ...


The thing you discover after using a TiVo for a few weeks is you rarely (if ever) channel surf. You spend some time when you first get it going thru the guide, setting up SP's and one-shot recordings, then you start experimenting with WL's and before you know it you have a hard drive full of stuff to watch. The idea of "what's on TV tonight" becomes almost ... quaint 

I've never even used suggestions, yet my 106 hr Philips DirecTiVo is filling up, as it has 4-5 episodes each of Law & Order (all 3), Without a Trace, CSI, and nearly the whole season of Everwood stored. I've gotten a bit behind in my TV viewing because of my PS2 & XBox (my other obsession  ) but I don't mind - the shows will come in handy when rerun season starts in June, and my Sony gets the light-duty recordings (Daily Show, WWE Raw & Smackdown, etc).

And really, the TiVo Live guide is NOT slow. Compared to E*'s grid guide or Directv's grid on regular receivers, it seems slower but it displays information in a different manner than the grid-style guides we've grown up with. The 2 columns on the TiVo guide are better suited for browsing what's-on-now (on the left) plus a highlighted channel's listings for 8 - 12 hours (on the right) as opposed to the grid's ability to show what's-on-now plus what's-up-next on many channels at once. When looking for shows to record, TiVo's guide works better, and when sorting through 200 channels of stuff looking for something worthwhile right this minute, the grid works better (and the Directv grid on the DirecTiVo really does suck).


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## Weller (Apr 23, 2002)

I just got a DirecTivo last week to replace my DP and my initial reaction to the guide speed was the same, I thought they were way slower than the DP. But the more I thought about it the more I realised it was just that the Tivo displays it's guide as it goes whereas the DP seemed to wait until the screen was ready before displaying it. In the end they are as slow as each other. The Tivo guide is also displaying more channels on a page which makes it less of an apples to apples comparison. I do prefer the DP guide with the PIP though. The other gripe I have with the Tivo is there is no "start over" option when viewing a recording. It is a PITA having to rewind it ewach time. Maybe I am missing something? Also, if you are watching a recorded pogram and hit the guide button it jumps to live TV. I found the DP PTV on channel 1 much simpler and a better idea - it just appears as another channel. I have experienced some problems when pausing and unpausing but that is very minor (compared to the DP!!) Overall, very happy I made the change (so far).


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## spanishannouncetable (Apr 23, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Weller _
> *The other gripe I have with the Tivo is there is no "start over" option when viewing a recording. It is a PITA having to rewind it each time. Maybe I am missing something? *


Do you have the 30 second skip enabled ? If so, hit FF once, then use the skip button to skip ahead 15 minutes a pop using the tick marks. If 30 sec skip is not enabled, use the skip button while playing a recording at normal speed to jump to the end of the recording.

Either way, once you get to the end of the recording, hit the skip button again to jump back to the start immediately.


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## cnsf (Jun 6, 2002)

I think that may be it: I was spoiled by the PVR speed. The D* Grid is really crappy regardless, so I use the Tivo Live Guide. It still takes a little to display all the text. No cache from what I can see.

A "Start Over" option would be nice, but the FF/30sec tick works well two, just one more unnecessary step.

I think the more HD space you have, the slower it goes. I noticed it easily when I upgraded both boxes.

Maybe it's a video or buffer memory issue? Anyone know the PC-type specs on it? GPU, CPU, memory, Video memory, CPU cache, etc.?


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