# The "R))" bug... do we owe DTV an apology?



## subeluvr (Jan 14, 2007)

Those of us who have been wining and *****ing about the R)) bug may owe DTV an apology.

I've been complaining as much as anyone and enjoying(?) my share of recording mishaps since the 10C1 (for R15-300) download that seemed to gift us with this R)) affliction BUT...

I've been monitoring a few things and carefully looking back.

I've noticed that since the screen writers went on strike the guide info has been less than accurate a lot. New and previously unaired episodes of series shows are not marked as so. Repeat episodes of series shows are also not marked as so.

How can the software in the DVRs do their job when they depend on accurate guide info? Perhaps the R)) is the algorithm's way of dealing with the incomplete or inaccurate guide info.

Could the R)) bug really be a guide faux pas?

If so, then I submit that we owe DTV an apology and they need to slap the guide company around and get them on the ball.

This may all be academic as we may never see new programming again, well for quite a while anyway  

Wadda ya think?


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## White_Horse (Jun 26, 2006)

Don't agree. If the R)) bug is the one I think you're talking about....I noticed it in a CE on my R15-500 prior to October, which would have put it before the writer's strike.

Now...by the R)) bug...do you mean where shows in the guide show up with R)) if you have a series link set for that show...even if the series link is for a different channel or the show is clearly a repeat (and it never actually records it)? Basically really bad mis-marking of the guide..is that the bug you are referring to?


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

I saw the bug before the writers' strike (and I do not participate in CE's, so I have only used national release software).

Plus it is hard to think this is anything but a software bug when I have the R))) next to 6:30 pm daily reruns of the Simpsons, which are always repeats, and where the guide information is unlikely to be affected by the writers' strike, and the guide is unlikely to have the first run / repeat information incorrect.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

So the bug... If I am understanding it...

Has the R))) on items you have set as a series link, even though that particular episode is not going to record...

Correct?


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## bjflynn04 (Jul 27, 2004)

Earl Bonovich said:


> So the bug... If I am understanding it...
> 
> Has the R))) on items you have set as a series link, even though that particular episode is not going to record...
> 
> Correct?


That is the one earl and I also have noticed well before the writers strike ever started.


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> So the bug... If I am understanding it...
> 
> Has the R))) on items you have set as a series link, even though that particular episode is not going to record...
> 
> Correct?


Correct.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

subeluvr said:


> Those of us who have been wining and *****ing about the R)) bug may owe DTV an apology.
> 
> I've been complaining as much as anyone and enjoying(?) my share of recording mishaps since the 10C1 (for R15-300) download that seemed to gift us with this R)) affliction BUT...
> 
> ...


It's not happening on the HD receivers, is it?


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## subeluvr (Jan 14, 2007)

qwerty said:


> It's not happening on the HD receivers, is it?


Good question but I'm HD challenged and only have two R15-300s.

If it isn't happening on the HD boxes then... nevermind.

Hey DTV, fix this bug!


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## cawall (Sep 30, 2006)

If it really was guide driven I would think it would actually record the episodes and not just mark them so that leads me to believe it's a bug.


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## Mark20 (Dec 25, 2006)

A while ago I had a recording conflict due to adding a few minutes to the end of recordings. The To Do list noted the shows that wouldn't record and gave a sub-menu with the reason why. I didn't pay attention to the what was indicated in the guide.

You may want to see what the To Do list says. If it says not recording due to a repeat, you have your answer. The software may go down to the wire to see if its still marked as repeat in the guide data.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

Mark20 said:


> You may want to see what the To Do list says. If it says not recording due to a repeat, you have your answer.


That would work great, except that the To Do list won't tell you if it's not recording due to a repeat. At least I've never seen it in my two years with the R15.


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## subeluvr (Jan 14, 2007)

qwerty said:


> That would work great, except that the To Do list won't tell you if it's not recording due to a repeat. At least I've never seen it in my two years with the R15.


I agree with querty.

The to-do list will tell you something is not going to record if there's a conflict but that's all I've seen. Prior to the R)) thing I've never seen a repeat listed to record in the to-do list.

The R)) puzzlement is an entirely different animal.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

Before the "R" bug as I call it appeared, there WAS a bug whereupon shows that SHOULD have been recorded as part of a Series Link were not placed in the TO DO list....but you could bring up the Prioritizer entry for the show and choose the EPISODES menu item and _only the shows that were placed in the TO DO list and actually were going to be recorded appeared with the R))) icon_.

That was bad enough having shows part of a Series Link not being recorded, but users could easily identify them and FIX THEM so they WOULD be recorded.

Meanwhile, the "new R bug" lists every instance of the Series Link show in both the "episodes list" and also in the guide itself. So if you look at tonight's TV listings in your guide, you might see a couple shows that have Series Links flagged with the "R)))" icon. But they may NOT be in the TO DO list and if not they won't be recorded. You also might examine the EPISODES listing by choosing the Prioritizer entry for your Series Link and discover every instance of your show listed with the "R)))" icon. BUT once again they may NOT appear in the TO DO list and if not, they won't be recorded.

This has a goodly number of subscribers very, very unhappy! I find that I have to check my TO DO list each and every day to be sure I won't miss a show because it isn't scheduled to be recorded.


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## lschwarcz (Sep 1, 2006)

ThomasM said:


> Before the "R" bug as I call it appeared, there WAS a bug whereupon shows that SHOULD have been recorded as part of a Series Link were not placed in the TO DO list....but you could bring up the Prioritizer entry for the show and choose the EPISODES menu item and _only the shows that were placed in the TO DO list and actually were going to be recorded appeared with the R))) icon_.
> 
> That was bad enough having shows part of a Series Link not being recorded, but users could easily identify them and FIX THEM so they WOULD be recorded.
> 
> ...


I agree that this certainly is a bug. But, I once (and only once) saw something that leads me to believe that it's a bug in a neat enhancement. One time I saw the R))) but there was also a white circle around the R. So, and this is a WAG (wild a$$ guess) as they say but maybe the intent was to have the "R)))" there to show that you set an SL for that show and the "R)))" with the white circle would indicate that it was actually going to record that episode of the show?

But, like I said, I only saw that happen once.

Thanks,
Larry.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

lschwarcz said:


> I agree that this certainly is a bug. But, I once (and only once) saw something that leads me to believe that it's a bug in a neat enhancement. One time I saw the R))) but there was also a white circle around the R. So, and this is a WAG (wild a$$ guess) as they say but maybe the intent was to have the "R)))" there to show that you set an SL for that show and the "R)))" with the white circle would indicate that it was actually going to record that episode of the show?
> 
> But, like I said, I only saw that happen once.
> 
> ...


If that were the case, it's clearly not working correctly. It was reported in the CE releases. It never should have made it to a national release, as that's the purpose of CE's.


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## Bud33 (Jan 26, 2006)

This R)) thing is really getting confusing..... Tonight, On my local channel 2 which is NBC, Law and Order SVU was listed at 9:00 and Law and Order, was listed at ten. Both were marked with R)) but only Law and Order appeared in the TO DO LIST. Guess what?????? They were BOTH REPEATS


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## tpetri (Feb 4, 2008)

And I thought I was confused about how to operate this service and receiver BEFORE I read this thread. Now my head is spinning and I don't think I can go back in there (the room with the 15!)


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

Bud33 said:


> This R)) thing is really getting confusing..... Tonight, On my local channel 2 which is NBC, Law and Order SVU was listed at 9:00 and Law and Order, was listed at ten. Both were marked with R)) but only Law and Order appeared in the TO DO LIST. Guess what?????? They were BOTH REPEATS


The "Law & Order" series of programs seem to be a particular challenge to the series link software. On my R15's, the plain old "L & O" NEVER seems to get placed in the TO DO list, but it ALWAYS appears in the episode list. Other versions of "L & O" including Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit seem to also baffle the Series Link software. Personally, I think Dick Wolf (the producer) decided to have some fun with electronic program guide providers and others that had to deal with that data.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

tpetri said:


> And I thought I was confused about how to operate this service and receiver BEFORE I read this thread. Now my head is spinning and I don't think I can go back in there (the room with the 15!)


It's OK. They aren't going to install the SkyNet software until the next CE.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

lschwarcz said:


> I agree that this certainly is a bug. But, I once (and only once) saw something that leads me to believe that it's a bug in a neat enhancement. One time I saw the R))) but there was also a white circle around the R. So, and this is a WAG (wild a$$ guess) as they say but maybe the intent was to have the "R)))" there to show that you set an SL for that show and the "R)))" with the white circle would indicate that it was actually going to record that episode of the show?
> 
> But, like I said, I only saw that happen once.
> 
> ...


The R with a white circle around it means the show is currently recording. As the show was a part of a SL, instead of an R it was the R)) symbol.

- Merg


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