# HR21-700 Slow to Respond to remote Commands



## somguy (Oct 2, 2006)

*Over the last several months I have noticed that my Black HR21-700 responds very slowly to remote commands and will act like this for several minutes at a time, usually once per day.

For example, if you try to change it to channel 401, it take 10 seconds to recognize the #4, never getting the 0 and 1, and then it will change to channel 4 but around a minute or two later.

It happens with any command, not just going to change channels although that's the most common thing one does with their remote.

I had recently done a full reset on the machine, setting it back to factory defaults but it still behaves the same way. I have only had the dvr in my home since November of 2007.

I would like to know if others experience this as well and if you feel that this is a software issue, a possibly known Directv issue, or maybe a hardware issue?

Is it recommended that I ask for a new dvr or will it make no difference and I, and maybe others will have to live with this issue until one day Directv resolves it?

All comments and opinions are welcome and thank you for reading my post!!

Black HR21-700
HDMI connected to my Sony HDTV
Networked to my pc using TVersity
Harmony Remote 659*


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

Somehow you are getting remote interference. Are you using a remote repeater with your Harmony remote, too? Can direct sunlight fall on your DVR at one point during the day? Do you notice any delays with any other equipment at the same time, like your TV?

I doubt there is anything wrong with your DVR.


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## wxguy (Feb 17, 2008)

somguy said:


> *Over the last several months I have noticed that my Black HR21-700 responds very slowly to remote commands and will act like this for several minutes at a time, usually once per day.
> 
> For example, if you try to change it to channel 401, it take 10 seconds to recognize the #4, never getting the 0 and 1, and then it will change to channel 4 but around a minute or two later.
> 
> ...


Mine does the same thing. It is acting like the box is going through a disk cleanup routine that is using up all the resources. Cable boxes do the same thing. I would lay it off to the disk, except I've got an H21-200 that won't respond to the remote for at least a minute after it has been turned on. I think I have narrowed it down to poor software design by the whole industry. Fortunately they aren't sending people into outer space with this software onboard to control things.


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## bpratt (Nov 24, 2005)

I have two HR21-700s and until a few days ago, they both were very responsive. A few nights ago one of them became unresponsive to 30 second skip forward and skip back commands. When I press the skip forward button, nothing happens for 4 or 5 seconds, then the picture freezes and 2 or 3 seconds later it skips. The other HR21-700 still works great.

This is not an occasional happening on the one box, it is slow to respond to all skip commands all the time. I have tried resetting the box, but it made no difference. Since both HR21s are located together and use the same remote, it must be something in the one HR21 that is causing this problem.

Update: I just spent some time trying to analyze the problem and found that I only have the slow response on one 3 hour 2 minuite recorded OTA show. Other recordings, including a 30 minuite OTA recording respond normally to skip forward and back commands.


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## oldengineer (May 25, 2008)

My HR21-100 remote response used to be slow and jerky at startup and then too sensitive to keypushes, like there was no debounce, after warmup. It drove my wife nuts so I didn't do anything about it. Lately its been good. I noticed that the software was upgraded to 0X235 on June 12 so that probably had something to do with it.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

someguy, let me give you a test that will determine whether it is something inside the DVR or external interference, which was my guess:

Next time you finish a roll of toilet paper, don't throw away the tube. Instead, keep it handy, along with a roll of tape. When your DVR starts to act sluggishly, take the cardboard tube and put it over the remote window of your DVR. That is the black circle on the left side of your front panel. Tape it in place temporarily so that the remote eye will only see commands if they are being shot down the cardboard tube. What we have done is effectively isolated your remote eye from external interference. At this point, try and operate your DVR by shooting remote commands down the tube. Don't get the remote too close to the front of the tube; a foot away would be good. We don't want to overload the eye. But still, make sure it's pointing right down the tube. If it still seems sluggish, then the problem is inside the DVR. If it now works properly, then interference is the problem.


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## somguy (Oct 2, 2006)

Carl Spock said:


> someguy, let me give you a test that will determine whether it is something inside the DVR or external interference, which was my guess:
> 
> Next time you finish a roll of toilet paper, don't throw away the tube. Instead, keep it handy, along with a roll of tape. When your DVR starts to act sluggishly, take the cardboard tube and put it over the remote window of your DVR. That is the black circle on the left side of your front panel. Tape it in place temporarily so that the remote eye will only see commands if they are being shot down the cardboard tube. What we have done is effectively isolated your remote eye from external interference. At this point, try and operate your DVR by shooting remote commands down the tube. Don't get the remote too close to the front of the tube; a foot away would be good. We don't want to overload the eye. But still, make sure it's pointing right down the tube. If it still seems sluggish, then the problem is inside the DVR. If it now works properly, then interference is the problem.


I appreciate all of the comments and advice that everyone here has given me.
I will definitely try this test out and will let you guys know what the verdict is.

Now lets say that there is no interference and it is narrowed down to the dvr, given what others have said here, are we going to say that it's the software or all Directv HR21 hardware or are we going to say that I should ask for a new hd dvr, even though it's only 7 months old and just had a full reset?

Thank you again guys for all of your help and suggestions and I should post back within a week or so with an update!!


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## somguy (Oct 2, 2006)

Carl Spock said:


> someguy, let me give you a test that will determine whether it is something inside the DVR or external interference, which was my guess:
> 
> Next time you finish a roll of toilet paper, don't throw away the tube. Instead, keep it handy, along with a roll of tape. When your DVR starts to act sluggishly, take the cardboard tube and put it over the remote window of your DVR. That is the black circle on the left side of your front panel. Tape it in place temporarily so that the remote eye will only see commands if they are being shot down the cardboard tube. What we have done is effectively isolated your remote eye from external interference. At this point, try and operate your DVR by shooting remote commands down the tube. Don't get the remote too close to the front of the tube; a foot away would be good. We don't want to overload the eye. But still, make sure it's pointing right down the tube. If it still seems sluggish, then the problem is inside the DVR. If it now works properly, then interference is the problem.


Well the sluggishness happened again to me early this morning. I grabbed a toilet paper tube that I had, I did what you suggested, but unfortunately the dvr still behaved sluggishly. So now we can rule out interference and from what others have said here too, I would say it is the software. COuld it be a setting on my Harmony Remote? I gather since it normally behaves fine, and since others have had this issue I would gather not but what do you guys think?

With the other issue I have of Title Not Available or To Be Announced on many shows after doing an rbr and waiting 2-3 days when the problem returns, should I swap out the box or is this all blammed on bad Directv software as usual?! I feel as if I am damned if I do and damned if I don't!! After doing a full factory default reset of my HR21-700 and these 2 problems returning, I gather that we can only blame the software or the machine itself.

Once again I welcome all opinions and comments!!


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## somguy (Oct 2, 2006)

Carl Spock said:


> Somehow you are getting remote interference. Are you using a remote repeater with your Harmony remote, too? Can direct sunlight fall on your DVR at one point during the day? Do you notice any delays with any other equipment at the same time, like your TV?
> 
> I doubt there is anything wrong with your DVR.


No I am not using a remote repeater; just my Harmony Remote 659 which is about 4-5 years old but I update the firmware on it constantly as well as replace the batteries. It is no where near any sunlight and is basically under an a/c vent. My tv nor my Harmon Kardon receiver have any delays or issues like this whatsoever, just the HR21-700.

From what others have said here, it seems like Directv's software, or maybe a hardware issue; but thanks for your comments!


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## grandpaken (Feb 4, 2006)

somguy said:


> No I am not using a remote repeater; just my Harmony Remote 659 which is about 4-5 years old but I update the firmware on it constantly as well as replace the batteries. It is no where near any sunlight and is basically under an a/c vent. My tv nor my Harmon Kardon receiver have any delays or issues like this whatsoever, just the HR21-700.
> 
> From what others have said here, it seems like Directv's software, or maybe a hardware issue; but thanks for your comments!


 It's not interference, sunlight, microwaves. The fact that you push a button and the DVR reacts 10-30 seconds later indicates that the command has been received into the DVR's buffer but for some reason the processing is delayed. I assume that, just like a PC, there are interrupts assigned to different inputs and some process is hogging more than it's share or the DVR is too busy doing something else to process the command. More than likely there's more than one cause of the problem and since it's intermittent ,is hard for the developers to debug the issue.


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## boilerjt (Jan 12, 2007)

somguy said:


> No I am not using a remote repeater; just my Harmony Remote 659 which is about 4-5 years old but I update the firmware on it constantly as well as replace the batteries. It is no where near any sunlight and is basically under an a/c vent. My tv nor my Harmon Kardon receiver have any delays or issues like this whatsoever, just the HR21-700.
> 
> From what others have said here, it seems like Directv's software, or maybe a hardware issue; but thanks for your comments!


Do you use the Media Share features? In the past, I've seen the sluggish remote response after playing a lot of music through Media Share. I haven't seen this issue in over a month, though.


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## somguy (Oct 2, 2006)

boilerjt said:


> Do you use the Media Share features? In the past, I've seen the sluggish remote response after playing a lot of music through Media Share. I haven't seen this issue in over a month, though.


No, I do not use Media Share. This issue happens just when I am watching tv and I go to change the channel, pull up the guide, or basically hit any dvr command on my remote!! The dvr takes it's sweet a** time to recognize the command and do what it's told. It has been going on for several months now.

Do we think maybe it can be the Network Cable Installed?

The next time this problem occurs, I'll check to see if my dsl box light is blinking rapidly as well as in the back of the dvr to see if there's a pattern;.....just a thought!!

Maybe the dvr can't chew gum and change channels at the same time??!!


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

somguy said:


> COuld it be a setting on my Harmony Remote?


Could be. The Harmony default setting for the inter-key delay with the HR-2x is 100ms. I have mine set for 400ms. I find my DVR and Harmony work well together at 400ms. At only 100ms it was missing commands. You will find this setting under each Device. The path you want is _Devices > DVR > Settings > Adjust the delays (speed settings)._ You then want to lenthen the inter-key delay. We aren't talking long here. I'm recommending going from a tenth of a second between key pushes to four tenths of a second.

Another test would be to use the DirecTV remote when things get buggy and see if it works fine. Do wait for the unit to settle down. Don't just grab the DirecTV remote and start pressing buttons. It may still be trying to execute old commands sent by your Harmony (see below).

When you experience your lag, do you do the thing that most folks do, which is press the button again, then once more, and maybe again, too? Very natural and very bad. The Harmony is continuing to send out all of those commands. The DVR is continuing to receive them. That can take many seconds. Thus, lag. The natural thing to solve the problem is the worse thing you can do. With some customers, I've seen this cause lag problems, on systems that don't have DirecTV. (This has nothing to do with your DVR.)



> With the other issue I have of Title Not Available or To Be Announced on many shows after doing an rbr and waiting 2-3 days when the problem returns, should I swap out the box or is this all blammed on bad Directv software as usual?!


And why do you think either better software or swapping out the unit will solve this problem? I've never seen a post here where either better software or a new unit gave someone better guide data. I could be wrong, and if I am, I'm sure somebody will point it out. 

Can I make a suggestion here, too? Next time this happens, go to DirecTV's website and see if there is accurate guide data for that particular show on their website. If you can find information on that specific show on their website but not have it on your DVR, then I would be more likely to believe the fault isn't just poor guide data from Tribune Media Services.

You also know it can take up to 24 hours to fully populate the guide after a reboot, right?


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## ncsercs (Oct 12, 2007)

This is unacceptable and there's no reason for this. I've always said DTV software stinks. Maybe hiring programmers who actually know what they're doing would help.


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## flogduh (Nov 4, 2005)

Same problem here, happend to coincide with enabling my network connection to access On Demand. If you've enabled networking, try disabling it and removing the network connection. Test it over a couple of days and see if you still experience this slow response.

I did this and sure enough, no more slow command responses


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

You may be onto something here, flogduh. someguy, I see you are networked. Have you seen this thread?


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

somguy, I read that you're using a Harmony. Just to be clear, you're having the problem when you use DIRECTV's remote, too, right?


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## JonW (Dec 21, 2006)

DirecTv finally seems to be aware of and focused on solving this problem. It's been going on for the last couple of national releases.


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

I am having a very similar issues. But, I am also having the 771 problem on top of it. I have swapped the location of this receiver with my HR20-700 that is not having any problems and see if the issue follows the receiver.


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## jodyguercio (Aug 16, 2007)

ncsercs said:


> This is unacceptable and there's no reason for this. I've always said DTV software stinks. Maybe hiring programmers who actually know what they're doing would help.


And this is helping how?:nono: :nono2: :nono:


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## somguy (Oct 2, 2006)

JonW said:


> DirecTv finally seems to be aware of and focused on solving this problem. It's been going on for the last couple of national releases.


Well I am glad that DTV is aware of the issue; now let's see what they do about it and how long it takes to resolve it!!

Anyways, although I only use my Harmony Remote and I am networked, when I was finishing watching a pre-recorded show yesterday, it was at the end and I was waiting to get the delete message and it took several minutes to come up and then the dvr was running very sluggishly. So this goes to show that it had nothing to do with the remote because no keys were touched; it just forever for the delete option to pop-up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen!! Of course the issue can still be with the Network connection. No, I have not yet disabled it, and I shouldn't have to, DTV needs to fix this issue instead of us having to work-around it, but I may do so anyways to test the theory that's in this thread out. If I do then I will let you guys know what the verdict is.

IMHO, the problem lies within the dvr itself, the software I would assume, and nothing to do with any remote. Thank you guys again for contributing to my thread and I look forward to more comments and to a resolution to this issue once and for all!!

P.S.: ARE THERE ANY PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO HAVE THE LATEST CE STILL EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE?


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

I am on the CE from the week before and still having the problem. But, I did some messing around with it last night and I think I might have it fixed. So, far, so good for lastnight and today. I am going to give it the rest of today and tonight to make sure it doesn't pop up anymore. But, it is looking like it might of been a cable problem. I will give more details if this works. I am keeping my fingers crossed.


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## Bill Broderick (Aug 25, 2006)

I'm having the same issue with my HR-21. It happens a couple of times a week. Typically, it will happen when I am using the 30 second skip where the light on the unit confirms that it received an infrared code but it takes a while for the command to actually occur.

After a short time, the command takes place and the problem disappears (until the next time). I agree with grandpaken that the problem seems very similar to running a program on your PC that is hogging resources and not allowing another process to run until it is done using those hogged resources.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Carl Spock said:


> Somehow you are getting remote interference.


If the receiver eventually responds to the first keypress after an extended period of time, it is likely that the receiver itself is having issues. The Harmony doesn't spend more than a few of seconds rattling off its commands, so there shouldn't be any reason for the receiver to be confused for 60 seconds.

I suspect that this receiver is actively thinking about things other than responding to remote commands.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

jodyguercio said:


> And this is helping how?:nono: :nono2: :nono:


The current system isn't getting the job done. Whether it is bad programmers or a feeble platform, something needs to change to address and fix these issues; especially those that keep recurring or haven't been whacked since the HR20-700 first shipped.


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## MalibuRacing (Mar 2, 2007)

This issue has been brought up a few times. I also have a HR21 and have been experiencing this issue from day-one. I've tried different remotes, etc., doesn't matter. Like others have reported, I most commonly experienced this when the receiver was powered up after being shut down for a period of time. So, I reprogrammed my Harmony to leave power on all the time. I don't experience it as much, but it does seem to happen when the receiver has been sitting idle for a long period, then I try to access the guide, change channels, etc. It's definitely an issue with the box. Hardware or software, not sure, but there is an issue. I just hate having to replace it and dealing with re-programming all my shows on a new receiver....


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## jodyguercio (Aug 16, 2007)

harsh said:


> The current system isn't getting the job done. Whether it is bad programmers or a feeble platform, something needs to change to address and fix these issues; especially those that keep recurring or haven't been whacked since the HR20-700 first shipped.


I was commenting on the lack of helpful info in the post I quoted; thats why someone starts a thread, they are looking for answers to a problem. They arent looking for someones OPINION as to why the problem is there. SO again I ask how did the post that I quoted address the OPs problem? It didnt.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

OK, let's get back to topic... we have a member who wants our help. Helpful suggestions are always appreciated.


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## MalibuRacing (Mar 2, 2007)

I did some testing, and it seems that I may be getting some interference from my flat panel LCD. Could this be a fluorescent backlight issue?? The receiver is very close to the TV. Anyways, I did some testing with the TV power on and off. The HR21 seemed to work fine when the TV power was off. I could tell by the blinking power LED on the HR21 when it was receiving a IR signal. When I turned the TV on, it was causing problems of the HR21 not seeing the remote signals or delayed reaction. So, this leads me to believe I have found the problem, but really don't know what I can do for a solution at this point (because of my setup)? Here is a crappy cell phone picture of my setup:









What's got me confused is that it will eventually work fine after a few minutes of initially turning power on to the TV. Strange.


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## robroth (Nov 17, 2007)

flogduh said:


> Same problem here, happend to coincide with enabling my network connection to access On Demand. If you've enabled networking, try disabling it and removing the network connection. Test it over a couple of days and see if you still experience this slow response.
> 
> I did this and sure enough, no more slow command responses


I'm pretty sure this is it. I enabled networking last night, immediately afterwards and today there were moments of sluggishness when the HR21 simply wouldn't respond to the remote. I had it fast forwarding at 3x, then tried to stop, it kept going, then eventually the picture froze for a few seconds, then it resumed play. I'm also using a Harmony (880) but never had any issues until enabling networking.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

MalibuRacing, I've seen this same thing with Panasonic LCD TVs. I've heard about the problem with other sets, too. I don't know what kind of radiation your DVR is receiving from your TV, but it is interfering with your DVR understanding remote control commands. The strangest thing is, as you've found out, the problem goes away after 5-10 minutes. Bizarre.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Carl Spock said:


> The strangest thing is, as you've found out, the problem goes away after 5-10 minutes. Bizarre.


It sounds like this may have something to do with the power cycle of the lamp power supply/ballast.


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## somguy (Oct 2, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> OK, let's get back to topic... we have a member who wants our help. Helpful suggestions are always appreciated.


Yes Stuart, I do need some help. The issue seems to be with the dvr, not any remote. The box intermitently gets sluggish even without using the remote. You can tell more so if you're watching a pre-recorded show and it starts to play funny. It also happens more often when the other tuner is recording a program. The show that you are not recording will play funny as well. Maybe one day Directv will get their act together. It took Microsoft 5-6 years to go from Win 95 to a much more stable XP so we may have to wait another couple of years before all is well;....who knows?!


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## RxMan1 (Jun 1, 2005)

LCD tvs are notorious for having strong output when first turned on. I have one that floods my ir receiver for about 1 minute on startup. There is one thing to try. You could take some masking tape or blue painters tape and put a piece or two over the ir remote eye on the HR21. This worked for me.


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## schorner (Oct 20, 2007)

I just received an HR21-700 2 days ago (replaced a bum HR20) and I get the sluggish response and I am using the DirecTV remote. It almost acts like a computer whose processor is peaked out and processes commands when resources frees up. My guess is there is some bad coding in this last release and until the DTV programmers figure it out, we are chasing our tail on this one.


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

Welcome to the club. It seems with each update, D* is adding more and more code bugs which is gumming up the works. I had plastic Mattel toys in the 50's that worked better and more reliably than this junk. 

Maybe their IT chief is the guy who devised Win ME. I seem to sense a commonality of function.


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## scooby2 (Nov 29, 2005)

Same issues here on three hr21-700's. Two are networked and one is not so networking is definitely not an issue. Rebooting seems to help for a short period of time.

Has anyone found a way to delay the sluggishness from popping up? I was hoping to grab the latest CE but was away from the house this weekend.

I'm sure DirecTV is aware of this issue but I would like them to make it the number one issue until it is fixed! Channel surfing or guide browsing is nearly impossible when it takes up to 30 seconds to change channels/page down.


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## chutta (Sep 20, 2006)

This has nothing to do with the remote. It is clearly the DVR taking its sweet time as evidenced by the button on the remote only being pushed once, and the function not occuring until later. It is noticeable to those of us experiencing it, because it does not occur all the time and b/c we can see the remote indicator light on the DVR. That does not mean there is inteference, only that the DVR is not slow all the time. It is a similar experience to that found on Windows computers when you don't have enough RAM. Please stop confusing these posts with comments about the remotes. If you have an interference issue, start another post.


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

chutta said:


> This has nothing to do with the remote. It is clearly the DVR taking its sweet time as evidenced by the button on the remote only being pushed once, and the function not occuring until later. It is noticeable to those of us experiencing it, because it does not occur all the time and b/c we can see the remote indicator light on the DVR. That does not mean there is inteference, only that the DVR is not slow all the time. It is a similar experience to that found on Windows computers when you don't have enough RAM. Please stop confusing these posts with comments about the remotes. If you have an interference issue, start another post.


People are just trying for figure out what the problem is and discussing all options. Remote interference is a legitimate issue to explore. I see no problem with discussing remotes in this tread.


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## luckydob (Oct 2, 2006)

Why would the command work about 85 seconds later if there was interference? If interference was the problem, wouldn't the command from the remote just not work? I had this happen today on my HR20-100. It happens about once or twice a week. It is a DVR issue...the analogy with a computer with too little RAM is a great example of what this probably is.


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## MalibuRacing (Mar 2, 2007)

chutta said:


> This has nothing to do with the remote. It is clearly the DVR taking its sweet time as evidenced by the button on the remote only being pushed once, and the function not occuring until later. It is noticeable to those of us experiencing it, because it does not occur all the time and b/c we can see the remote indicator light on the DVR. That does not mean there is inteference, only that the DVR is not slow all the time. It is a similar experience to that found on Windows computers when you don't have enough RAM. Please stop confusing these posts with comments about the remotes. If you have an interference issue, start another post.


In most all cases that this issue has been reported, the person having problems can go to the receiver and manually access guide, etc. without any lag, but if they use the remote it lags or doesn't respond. So, YES it IS a remote issue for most people. It could be software or hardware, but there does seem to be a remote problem. Whatever.... 

I felt like my post would assist some that were having problems. I've been battling this issue from the first day with my HR21-700 and thought this may be an issue with some others experiencing remote issues.


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## MalibuRacing (Mar 2, 2007)

BTW, when I see this problem, I can place the remote about 1" from the IR window and it will work fine. So, in my case it DOES seem to be an interference issue.


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## vikecowboy (Jul 30, 2007)

I have seen this when trying to view my play list. I noticed that I did not have much space available so I started to delete folders/shows. As I got more dish space available, the remote response got better.


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## rey_1178 (Dec 12, 2007)

same problem here with my HR21-100 . i've tried the remote up close, tried the harmony up close, changes settings, moved the box and still the response to command is horrible. my H21 is in the same setting and responds super quick. i believe it's a software issue,hopefully. i have no remote interference either. it's really annoying. just continue to try the latest updates to see if the speed of the box improves. i've heard others claim after a CE update improvements on speed while others like me are still the same and others have claimed to be worse after a download. good thing is you can always go back to the national release if necessary.


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## holemania (Nov 8, 2007)

i had my tivo unit upgraded to the hr21-100 about a month ago and have had the same issues with the receiver being very slow to respond to remote commands (using 2 different remotes).

about 50% of the time when i enter a command, i'll see the small blue led on the left side of the receiver flash, but the unit does not respond for several seconds.

i usually get frustrated and re-enter the command several times. the delay still occurs and then it will quickly go thru all the commands.

i tried the new CE software last night, but no improvement.

i just spoke with directv and surprisingly i wasn't told to put new batteries in the remote or to unplug the unit and restart the receiver...

directv will send me an exchange unit (i requested the hr20) and hopefully this will resolve my "sluggish" response problems.

i do believe it is isolated to interrupt requests being delayed in getting to the dvr processor in my case.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

MalibuRacing said:


> BTW, when I see this problem, I can place the remote about 1" from the IR window and it will work fine. So, in my case it DOES seem to be an interference issue.


MalibuRacing,

I realize that this is an old posting, but for others .. and you if you are still having this problem .. try lowering the brightness on your LCD just a bit. I've had this problem and the solution was to back off on the brightness .. interestingly enough, the picture started looking better, too .


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## RandCfilm (Aug 17, 2006)

bpratt said:


> Update: I just spent some time trying to analyze the problem and found that I only have the slow response on one 3 hour 2 minuite recorded OTA show. Other recordings, including a 30 minuite OTA recording respond normally to skip forward and back commands.


I have had my HR21-100's for a few weeks and this has happened twice to me, on separate weeks. OTA only was effected, when I played another show recorded via satellite the receiver responded as expected. I restarted the receiver thru the menu and still had slow response from unit on the OTA recording.


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## chutta (Sep 20, 2006)

I have found that leaving the receiver on does seem to help. The delays and unresponsiveness occur less now, but still happen. Hopefully Directv is working on an upgrade to address these delay issues. If not, I may be asking for a different unit in the near future.


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## chutta (Sep 20, 2006)

The operations are also frequently delayed, not just the input. For example, when the List button is pushed, the unit may display the blue background of the menu, and place the current programming in the PIP window, however the actual menu options do not show up for another 15 seconds. When this happens, the navigation through the list of recorded program names on the menu will also be extremely slow or delayed.


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## mattpol (Aug 20, 2006)

I am having this exact same problem on my HR21-700. I have ruled out remotes, and an confident that it's a software or hardware problem with the unit. It is intolerable and make watching TV unbearable. Is DirecTV aware of this problem? Is there a fix in the works? Do I just have a bad unit, perhaps?

Cheers


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## bobbyv (Sep 29, 2007)

I'm having this same issue on my HR20-700. The slow response time is most evident during RW or FF of recorded programs. My DTV remote works great with my TV but not so great with the receiver. I think it just started within the last 3 weeks or so.

Has anyone actually called DTV for assistance?


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## mattpol (Aug 20, 2006)

Maruuk said:


> Maybe their IT chief is the guy who devised Win ME. I seem to sense a commonality of function.


I think you are on to something, Maruuk.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

For most people (certainly those using DLP), the problem is not radiation from the TV. I've seen it here a lot and it has all the symptoms of a busy processor. The processor is busy doing something else that is stealing all the available cycles, and won't process the command or even draw the screen until it gets some free time. Why this seems to be confined to the HR21-xxx, I have no idea. 

On my system, it's clearly the DVR's ability to process the command, not the remote itself. My HR20-700 and HR20-100 do not exhibit this problem at all.

There are times (when no recording is going on and after long periods of non-use), when it becomes so sluggish that I can't tolerate using it. I never turn it off.

Sooner or later I'm sure they will hit on what the cause is. For now, it's tedious. If the HR21-200 were my only or primary DVR, I'd be pretty annoyed. 

BTW my HR21-200 is networked and has the AM21 tuner on it. Both of these functions work very, very well, considering the stage of development with Media Share (which does a beautiful job of streaming internet radio, although not without a few gremlins).

All these boxes have gotten pretty hairy in terms of ancillary features...it's a wonder anything works right. (and quite a compliment to what has been accomplished with the HR20 series.)

We need to keep D*'s feet to the fire on the HR21-xxx series GUI sluggishness, and be a bit patient at the same time. I'm virtually certain they aren't all that happy about the sluggishness and will work to get it taken care of. They have fixed so many things in the past, I have no doubt they will get this worked out...just not as quickly as many of us would like.


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## mattpol (Aug 20, 2006)

How on earth can they be adding new features and not fixing this issue?! All of the fancy features are moot when you can't control the freakin' box!


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

It's called progress. 

Seriously, I'm sure there is some sort of strategy that actually makes sense that permits working on a problem, while at the same time working on others and adding features. Then there is the priority/frequency/intensity ranking that only the D* people are aware of. I'm not sure how many people have the problem I've listed. I see it mentioned fairly often, but I can't say it is universal. 

Like I said before, a certain amount of patience is involved, whether we like it or not. It's not like there is another alternative. We provide feedback, they assess it and determine priorities. If we keep their feet to the fire, it will eventually get fixed.

Is it a sign I've been in front of the computer too long that I just tried to respond to the "Would you like to delete this recording".....with my mouse?!?


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## tnflyboy (Dec 9, 2007)

I am having the same problems. Slow to respond to remote. Jerky FF/RW. It seems like general hardware performace issues to me.


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## scooby2 (Nov 29, 2005)

Same problem on my sisters just installed HR21-100 which i networked over the weekend. I did notice the CE's are working on this issue. I missed the current CE but the previous one was zooming fast for a while and then slowed down to nearly unusable again after 24 hours.

It seems like DirecTV is trying to work on it. Maybe they just need to get everyone to work on it until its fixed and then go back to the other features.


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## bobbyv (Sep 29, 2007)

Knock on wood, but things seem to be working better . . .


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

I think Hasan has it exactly right. You can sense this is a processor in overload, same thing happens to PCs, especially those with old-skool CPUs. On my AM21 OTA recordings, the processor goes WAAAAAAAY into overload. It'll take a few inputs with zero response, freeze, then spew em all out in random order about a minute later. Complete meltdown.

Hopefully this is a firmware issue that can be dealt with in future updates, but if their hardware is inadequate or manufactured in a faulty manner, there's nothing they can do. Knowing D*, if it's hardware, they'll never admit it and make the customers suffer. This is not a customer-friendly operation.


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## bodlfed66 (Mar 16, 2007)

My hr20-700 hdmi plug crapped out so *tv sent me a hr21-700. Nice receiver but responses from the remote definately hesitates for 2-3 seconds. If you hit several buttons it will do several things 2-3 seconds later. I have no idea but it seems to come and go.


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## Maruuk (Dec 5, 2007)

Very common problem, I have that in spades. Maybe someday they can hack around it in software.


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## spunkyvision (Oct 12, 2006)

> I have no idea but it seems to come and go


You must be lucky, mine has never gone.
I have 3 Hr20-700 with nearly filled (85% full) 1 TB drives and they are instant at responding. The only HR21-700 is 35% full (same drive as the others, 1TB) and it is slow as a dog. Pushing List takes 10 seconds or so to bring up. Deleting programs takes a long time too.


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## Shield (Dec 24, 2007)

tnflyboy said:


> I am having the same problems. Slow to respond to remote. Jerky FF/RW. It seems like general hardware performace issues to me.


I have the same poor remote response on both HR21-700's I have, and the nearest TV is on the other side of a brick wall. Other components in my laundry room/AV room respond quickly always. It's so weird because sometimes it'll work great; other times I just hit the remote and it seems like it "catches up" with my key presses. Thank goodness I'm going back to the non-DVR HD boxes and using the Hauppage HD-DVR's and Sage TV now.:nono:


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## Shield (Dec 24, 2007)

spunkyvision said:


> You must be lucky, mine has never gone.
> I have 3 Hr20-700 with nearly filled (85% full) 1 TB drives and they are instant at responding. The only HR21-700 is 35% full (same drive as the others, 1TB) and it is slow as a dog. Pushing List takes 10 seconds or so to bring up. Deleting programs takes a long time too.


I have now pulled the external drives and reset it back to the defaults and the sluggishness of the remote continues.
I started a thread a while back about how slow it deletes programs, and was semi-chastised by the Directv DVR apologists.


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## spunkyvision (Oct 12, 2006)

> I have now pulled the external drives and reset it back to the defaults and the sluggishness of the remote continues.


Wow! glad I saw this, I thought about putting the original drive back in. My Hr20-700 is an internal 1TB, the other 2 are external. The only HR21-700 that I have is an internal 1TB Drive that I installed and its unbearably slow all the time. I thought it was slow before because the drive was near full so I deleted almost everything but the slowness continues. To delete a 2 hr hd movie takes over 30 seconds.


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## scooby2 (Nov 29, 2005)

Shield said:


> I have now pulled the external drives and reset it back to the defaults and the sluggishness of the remote continues.
> I started a thread a while back about how slow it deletes programs, and was semi-chastised by the Directv DVR apologists.


Do you have it attached to the network? If so, I've heard pulling that works eventually. Yes there seems to be a whole lot of DirecTV DVR apologists around here. Its a shame we have to put up with this.


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## Shield (Dec 24, 2007)

scooby2 said:


> Do you have it attached to the network? If so, I've heard pulling that works eventually. Yes there seems to be a whole lot of DirecTV DVR apologists around here. Its a shame we have to put up with this.


Yeah I just came on and said it takes way to long to delete a show, and someone said I was "whining".

Anyway, last night I unplugged my two Cat5e patch cables from both HR21-700's so I'll let you know if the speed improves.


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## spunkyvision (Oct 12, 2006)

I will remove my network connection as well...thanks for the heads up.


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## pikespeakhiker (Jul 27, 2008)

I have removed my network connection and RBR/menu reset. The problem remained. In fact, it actually got much worse with frequent black screen hangs. Once I plugged the network cable back in and RBR'd I went back to the same sluggishness but fewer hangs. Maybe one has to remove network and disable network settings (or perform a full reset).


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## spunkyvision (Oct 12, 2006)

Mine is slow as ever after removing the Network connection and Menu reset..oh well. I chose the option to reset network connections (not really sure what that does) while the network cable was unplugged.


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## GregM5 (Feb 17, 2007)

We have two HR21's that are slow also. They are not connected to a network (yet) and are not using external drives. The worst part is that the remote response is inconsistent. It is very easy to stack remote commands and not know it since the receiver doesn't respond with the same speed each time you use the remote. 

The HR21's IR reception seems pretty touchy also. It is very frustrating when trying to enter a three digit channel number and it only recognizes two of the numbers. I have developed a habit of looking at the receiver to see if it recognized the remote command (the power light blinks) and then I know whether to wait for it to respond or to try it again. We do find that the Harmony One seems to work a little bit better than the remote that came with the HR21. I do hope that DTV is working on this...

The HR10-250 that we still use does not have this problem, so the problem shouldn't have anything to do with the HR21's having to handle all of the HD data.


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## mattpol (Aug 20, 2006)

GregM5 said:


> We have two HR21's that are slow also. They are not connected to a network (yet) and are not using external drives. The worst part is that the remote response is inconsistent. It is very easy to stack remote commands and not know it since the receiver doesn't respond with the same speed each time you use the remote.
> 
> The HR21's IR reception seems pretty touchy also. It is very frustrating when trying to enter a three digit channel number and it only recognizes two of the numbers. I have developed a habit of looking at the receiver to see if it recognized the remote command (the power light blinks) and then I know whether to wait for it to respond or to try it again. We do find that the Harmony One seems to work a little bit better than the remote that came with the HR21. I do hope that DTV is working on this...
> 
> The HR10-250 that we still use does not have this problem, so the problem shouldn't have anything to do with the HR21's having to handle all of the HD data.


You're spot on about the remote command stacking.

The problem is clearly the buggy DirecTV DVR software.

I also would like to know if DirecTV is working on this. Every time I've seen this issue brought up here, it's seems that there is a small group of people who come around and deny that it's a widespread issue.


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## belogical (Nov 14, 2006)

same issue here as well. i worked with DirecTV, they shipped another remote, thinking that was the issue. i told them it wasn't, because i saw the same issue as others. the receiver gets the signal as indicated by a blinking light on the receiver. it "stacks" the commands and processes them when it's CPU is free. they sent me a new receiver, same issue. 1st receiver was a HR20. this one is an HR21-700 software version 0x255.

what is the latest national release for my model?


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

mattpol said:


> You're spot on about the remote command stacking.
> 
> The problem is clearly the buggy DirecTV DVR software.
> 
> I also would like to know if DirecTV is working on this. Every time I've seen this issue brought up here, it's seems that there is a small group of people who come around and deny that it's a widespread issue.


There are always some people that really don't experience a given issue for whatever reason. It is no more fair to disparage them, than for others to call you a whiner. Let's keep this on an even keel.

There is, without the slightest doubt, a problem with the HR21 series GUI sluggishness (including processing of remote commands). Let's keep the feedback going, be civil, and try not to become histrionic, as it will not help solve anything. There is also no doubt that they are working on it. If it were easy, it would have been done by now.

Does anyone really think that D* is unaware of the problem? I certainly don't.

Does anyone really think if they had a fix that could be safely and effectively implemented by next Friday, we wouldn't see it in a CE? I certainly don't.

The issue has been off and on since shortly after the HR21 series came out. I had one before they were sold, for evaluation and testing purposes. Initially the HR21-200 did not have a significant problem with sluggishness. It wasn't as snappy as the HR20-700, but it was not problematic. Over time, it has gotten very, very sluggish.

All we can do is keep up the feedback, and let those of us in the CE program test the attempts to address this issue. As I said earlier, it isn't easy, or it would have been fixed a long time ago. The one thing I'm sure of is if we continue to report *objectively* about this problem, it will eventually be resolved. In the mean time, we either have to be a bit patient. let the CE'rs and D* do their work, or just stew in our own juices.

I don't much care for that stew, so I'm going to continue to help D* work on the problem and firmly and clearly indicate whether any progress has been made, or when we are stuck in a sluggish state, as we are right now.


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## mattpol (Aug 20, 2006)

Any word on this?


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## luckydob (Oct 2, 2006)

Yes...it's still broken. I anticipate a fix in about 3-18 months.


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## shenefie (Dec 15, 2006)

i know that a lot of people like to bash the programmers here when it comes to software issues, but in a way, is that so wrong to expect? these dvr's have been out for a while now, and in my opinion, i think they keep trying to bite off more than they can chew with more and more crazy add-ons. things like changing of channels and guide response has improved with this last CE release for me, but it has taken waaaay to long for this to become the norm. instead of worrying about crazy networking schemes, the basics of the box should have been the priority. and ill bring it up again here. i believe that there should be a bare bones software that all DVR's use, then if you wanna add something on, like networking, download it as a widget and add it on. some people dont want or need all the bells and whistles, just basic functionality, like channel changing and recording functions. i have my hr21-100 networked up and all, but as for like the mediashare stuff? never touched it. so why am i forced to have it if i dont want it? just some thoughts from the sidelines here....


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## mattpol (Aug 20, 2006)

luckydob said:


> Yes...it's still broken. I anticipate a fix in about 3-18 months.


Sweet! Just in time to to ditch this box of bugs for a TiVo. Our long national nightmare that that is the DirecTV DVR is _almost_ over.


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## WebDev511 (Oct 6, 2007)

mattpol said:


> Sweet! Just in time to to ditch this box of bugs for a TiVo. Our long national nightmare that that is the DirecTV DVR is _almost_ over.


We've been having the same problem with both harmony and dtv remote. TiVo IS the fix.


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## GregM5 (Feb 17, 2007)

WebDev511 said:


> We've been having the same problem with both harmony and dtv remote. TiVo IS the fix.


Sadly, you may be correct.

I don't think that D* believes that there is a remote response issue. I hope I am wrong.


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## SoccerNutt10 (May 7, 2008)

I had a HD go out in my HR20-700 and they sent me a refurbished HR21-200 and it's sluggish from the start. I wish I had my HR 20 back.


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## mattpol (Aug 20, 2006)

Did any HR20's exhibit this issue?


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## SoccerNutt10 (May 7, 2008)

mine did awhile ago then a software update fixed it. I called Dave and they are sending me a new box. I guess we'll see.


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

mattpol said:


> Did any HR20's exhibit this issue?


Not to any great extent. I have the HR20-700 and HR20-100 and both are pretty snappy...while my HR21-200 is very slow to respond. It needs work, and they are working on it. If it were easy, it would have been fixed by now. No one in their right mind would believe that D* would allow one of their current DVRs to perform so poorly compared to others.

The problem is well known and wide spread. It just isn't easy to fix. Those of us with HR21 series boxes have three choices:

1. Be patient and do what we can to help improve the box (as in participating in the CE program).

2. Get a different box.

3. Get a different provider and hope for the best.

I'm committed to option #1, as I have seen dramatic progress in the HR20 series over a two year period and I very much enjoy those boxes. When the HR21 catches them in performance level, all will be well.


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## njmurvin (Oct 17, 2006)

mattpol said:


> Did any HR20's exhibit this issue?


My HR20 does this and my two HR21s do not. I don't think it's interference. Mine only appears to do this after waking up from sleep mode for about 10 minutes and then it works fine. Maybe my issue is different. My DVR is totally unresponsive to the remote until it "wakes up". Then, it works fine.

I think I'll try just leaving it on all the time and see if that makes a difference.


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## HarryD (Mar 24, 2002)

My HR21 does this but not often... I do think it's busy doing something else (like disk cleanup).


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## rw99 (Aug 27, 2008)

I'm trying to gauge how widespread this problem is... anyone have a sense of the percentage of HR21's that suffer?

NJMURVIN, can you provide any details on your "happy" HR21's that may help in identifying the cause of this lag in other's units?

For those of you experiencing the lagging response, did it manifest immediately after installation of your HR21? Or has it grown worse over time (perhaps as more and more material was stored on the drive)? It sounds similar to CPU "suck" that one sees on a system with a drive that's fragmented and constantly trying to fix itself.

Good thread, thanks to all for posting. I'm (finally) going HD and I need to decide on which DTV HD DVR to purchase... to tide me over until the Tivo box is available, of course.


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## sabro (Nov 28, 2007)

I have the same problem on one of my two HR21s. I use the Dtv remote, set to radio. Maybe not coincidentally, the DVR that is sluggish is the one I use far more frequently than the other. 


I assume there's no fix forthcoming and I'll just wait for the tivo.


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## PalluX (Nov 11, 2007)

I had the exact same issue. I found the network connection to be the cause. I unplugged the ethernet, reset and haven't had a problem since.

I do have multiple media servers running on my network. I'm guessing the media share app is causing the issue.

Hopefully the next software release fixes this.


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## vurbano (May 15, 2004)

My HR21 is very sluggish to respond to remote commands and I keep it relatively clean of material and participate in the CE program.


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## Altcool (Jun 11, 2007)

hasan said:


> Not to any great extent. I have the HR20-700 and HR20-100 and both are pretty snappy...while my HR21-200 is very slow to respond.


+1

My HR20-700 is snappy... while my HR21-700 is very slow to respond


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