# All receivers dead this morning! (6/8) Had to RBR



## F1 Fan

Not sure what happened as I was watching two of them last night and this morning none would turn on via remote or power button on front.

I guess an update went wrong overnight? Although I had a national update on the weekend too.

This happened to 2 HR21s and 1 HR20-100. I havent tried the H21 yet.

Anyone else get this?


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## MBlue72

I had similar experience between 7AM and 7:30AM EDT. We have one HD DVR and one SD DVR. Both needed to be reset but are still not operating normally yet.

Dave


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## todd.scallions

I just woke up to two dead DVR's as well. 6:36AM in Bartlett, TN.


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## nyzorro99

All 6 of my HR-22 are out also...Concord,NC


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## dparisoe

Same here my HR21 and R22 both dead this morning did a RBR and they came up, they both updated @ 3:28am. After receiving a couple of commands both quit functioning and had to be RBR again. After the second reset the R22 seamed to be working correctly, I did not get a chance to check the HR21.


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## TANK

My HR 23 was dead also, had to RBR .


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## juventuz

Same thing is happening to my HR21


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## mikey6719

Had to remove power, still didnt wake up, held in the front cvr pwr button and it woke up to reset, BUT no response to remote commands? Trying rbr now.....


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## MysteryMan

My HR22/100 received their latest download (0x3de) last night. Twenty minutes ago all control functions (manual and remote) froze up. Did a reset but problem returned. Did a second reset, system working so far.


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## cartrivision

F1 Fan said:


> Not sure what happened as I was watching two of them last night and this morning none would turn on via remote or power button on front.
> 
> I guess an update went wrong overnight? Although I had a national update on the weekend too.


There was no prompt for a SW update on the one I was watching when it stopped responding to remote commands. The recorded program just kept playing and live TV continued to play on the others until I did a RBR.


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## Fluthy

I had the same issue this morning... both receivers where locked up. RBR corrected the problem.


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## STEVEN-H

Box would not turn on either remote on on box itself. RBR'd it is now booting up. HR24 working fine. 

HR21 came back up with gray screen and not responsive to remote or front panel controls. Unplugged unit waited and have now plugged it back in it is rebooting again. Came up this time and seems OK. Sent in error report 20100608-3413

Running latest CE.


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## Steveknj

My son reported the same thing here too.


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## Robert Simandl

There are two threads on this issue now. I'd say they need to be combined and made sticky until DirecTV fixes this.


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## Rob77

Yes...same on HR22, had to reset twice


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## Terry740

My living room HDDvr worked until I tried to delete the Colbert Report after viewing it. Haven't RBR it because it's recording Valkyrie I hope! My bedroom receiver is frozen and is freezing during resets.Does DirecTV ever test these "upgrades" before downloading them?


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## camo

HR20-700 was dead. Had to unplug it and went through the setup. HR24 was not effected. No software updates here.


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## JACH

Thank god it's not just me. I was freaking out for a while thinking my box was dying before my eyes. Both HR21s wouldn't respond to remote or front panel buttons. Was watching live TV on one of them and it froze after I pressed menu and selected "manage recordings," but the picture was still running in the upper right corner. RBR brought it back but it froze again soon after. Only receiver working is my D12. BTW, both HR21s have been on the latest software x03DE since it first released.


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## MarkN

F1 Fan said:


> Not sure what happened as I was watching two of them last night and this morning none would turn on via remote or power button on front.
> 
> I guess an update went wrong overnight? Although I had a national update on the weekend too.
> 
> This happened to 2 HR21s and 1 HR20-100. I havent tried the H21 yet.
> 
> Anyone else get this?


same here HR20/21/22 all dead, h20 no problem


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## doctrsnoop

All HR-2X's are dead this am, 21, 2-22's and 2-23's. Had to unplug all, and still unclear whether they'll come up or not. Stuck on "rebuilding scheduler list for many minutes" might have to reset again


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## syphix

My R22 is refusing to turn on remotely via Slingbox. When my wife wakes up, I'll have her RBR all the boxes..


Odd...


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## KAL

JACH said:


> Thank god it's not just me. I was freaking out for a while thinking my box was dying before my eyes. Both HR21s wouldn't respond to remote or front panel buttons. Was watching live TV on one of them and it froze after I pressed menu and selected "manage recordings," but the picture was still running in the upper right corner. RBR brought it back but it froze again soon after. Only receiver working is my D12.


Basicially have had the same problems as you and others here since early this morning. Not sure if this is a coincidence or not but my HR2100 downloaded the latest update overnight. I really got worried when it froze up several times in screen saver mode or whatever its called. I have had problems with getting it out of screen saver mode in the past with the remote. Just had to manually do it from the box itself. Still, nothing like this. I re-booted the box several times. So I take it then its a direct tv problem and not our boxes dying a slow painful death?


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## cptpez

My three HR's were all dead this mornign - trying to get them up - but it appears they are all stuck at step one after RBR

Last night i delayed a notification for an update while watching one - I guess that update came and this is the result.


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## perkolater

I had the same problem this morning too after the software update downloaded last night. RBR didn't fix the problem. Pulled the power for a couple of minutes, plugged back in and all seems to be working now.


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## jal

All mine are dead also. One I got working after several red button resets. After all this time, and after the CE program, one would think Directv could finally get these boxes working correctly. Bring back TIVO!


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## miketorse

Same problem with an HR-22 this morning. Not sure about my HR-21 because I didn't check it before I left for work. "Same problem" meaning locked up, no front panel or remote buttons working.


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## mx6bfast

All 3 HR20's wont power on. rbr one of them but after rebuilding schedule list stuck at a grey screen. 

Good job D*!


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## camo

My HR20 is still messed up. I turned it off and won't start up again. Front buttons and remote will not turn receiver on. Had to do another unplug and going through setup again.


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## Tygh

Got both of mine to reset except for one problem. My bedroom unit is showing the time as an hour earlier than it should be. So, the channel guide is screwed up....guess another reset.


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## MizzouTiger

Had the same issue with both of my HR20's (-700 & -100) this morning. First RBR on both, had "receiver self test" come up on screen and then the rest of the rebooting screens. They both came out of that with only black screens. Lights on the front of the receivers were on, but neither receiver would respond to remote or front panel buttons. Had to RBR again on both receivers again. Both are up and running again.

The -100 had received the national update on 6/3. The -700 just received it over night last night.


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## JACH

My HR21s been on NR x03DE since it first rolled out and they're frozen just like those of you who got the download this morning, so I think it's just a coincidence.


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## nn8l

My HR20 and 21 both took two RBR's to get working again.


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## mechman

Both dead here. Rebooted both. HR20-700 wouldn't respond to remote even after reboot. Time to go to work...


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## Xsabresx

Both of mine were dead. HR20-700 got the firmware update last night.


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## jdh8668

HR20-700 wouldn't turn on here either in Illinois. Had to unplug it twice before it finally booted up. HR21 was fine however. The HR20 got the new software download at 2:28 am this morning, so I am pretty sure that was the culprit. My HR21 had received it's new download last week, but didn't experience the same problem. Directv...you have some splainin to do! UPDATE....I just tried to change channels on HR21 and the remote wouldn't get any response. Time to reboot. Geesh!!!


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## alant40

Resetting twice back to back seems to be working! All of my receivers are up and running again. What a f$%$$ joke!!!


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## MysteryMan

UNRESPONSIVE UNITS...Had this problem with my HR22/100 this morning. Try doing two back to back resets. This seems to correct the problem.


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## donbean

me too... update time was around 3am nyc time for me... i had to reboot twice but its working fine now..


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## JayB

Had a picture on one this morning, but otherwise unresponsive. RBR fixed the problem. The other (my main unit), won't boot - says there's a problem with the hard drive (or, as they put it, "storage device"). 2 RBRs, 2 unplug and reboot and no joy. 

Customer service appears to be getting hammered - when I finally get to the technical support menu selection to get a person, I get a "we are unable to complete your call" and DTV hangs up on me.


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## DEF

Downloading x03DF now. Will see if that helps.


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## Indiana627

Glad this isn't just me. My HR21-100 got the update last night but is now stuck. Unplugged it once but is stuck again. My HR21-200 got the update last week and had been working fine, but now I can't even get it to turn on.

Thank goodness I get basic cable channels through my Road Runner wire.


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## camo

My HR24 was not effected. Makes me think other HR receivers were getting something the HR24 all ready had.


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## PhilS

Had to reboot two HR20-700's


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## donbean

the notice once i rebooted was the update was for 3D tv.... i dont own one so i dont care so much about it right now...


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## Maleman

Wow, do you think this was nationwide? Ouch! I RBR now and I see power.


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## oldfantom

I know this is not the forum to illicit sympathy, but think of all the calls the CSR's are getting from the folks not on this forum. Hold times will be crazy this morning. Also, somewhere there is a developer who is practicing a speech that he or she know will need to be delivered to management on why code made it out the door that shut down a sizable chunk of the customer base.


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## alant40

DEF said:


> Downloading x03DF now. Will see if that helps.


So weird. One of my receivers got 3DF on 6/3 according to setup. That receiver is fine. One other got 3DE this morning at 3:31 am. That one locked up. Others got 3DF at 3:27 am. They all locked up. What the hell is going on??


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## OptimusPrime

Same here. All three of my receivers weren't working this morning. Had to do two RBR on each unit to get them working again.


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## Dolly

Wow I have never had anything like this happen since we have had D*
And you can't get anybody to talk to at all at D*. I tried Tech Support, Protection Plan, and even Billing and Payment--no person ever came on the line anywhere! And believe me when you can't get anyone in Billing and Payment things must really be bad :eek2: :girlscrea Do you think DBSTALK sank D* after all those calls about the HD Fee :lol: Sorry I couldn't resist that one


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## DarinC

oldfantom said:


> somewhere there is a developer who is practicing a speech that he or she know will need to be delivered to management on why code made it out the door that shut down a sizable chunk of the customer base.


The last couple of times this happened, it had nothing to do with a firmware update, but rather, just bad guide data. May or may not be the case here, but these things do seem "designed" to malfunction when they get information they don't seem to like.


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## stlcardsblues

JACH said:


> Thank god it's not just me. I was freaking out for a while thinking my box was dying before my eyes. Both HR21s wouldn't respond to remote or front panel buttons. Was watching live TV on one of them and it froze after I pressed menu and selected "manage recordings," but the picture was still running in the upper right corner. RBR brought it back but it froze again soon after. Only receiver working is my D12. BTW, both HR21s have been on the latest software x03DE since it first released.


I don't know what was worse-That my machine was not working when I got up, or it was stuck on an infomercial. Both were torture.


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## Richard Casto

One HR21 and one HR22. Both locked up this morning. Both received 0x3de early this AM.

HR21

After first RBR I received the update/new feature screen. Locked up after selecting "OK". Seems to be fine after second RBR

HR22

After first RBR still no response to front panel or remote control input. After second RBR it responded to remote and front panel controls for a few minutes then locked up. Performed a complete power cycle and after start up it responded to front panel and remote control input. After a few minutes it eventually popped up the update/new feature screen. Still seems to be working Ok.

Clearly someone screwed something up today at DirecTV.


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## MountainMan10

I don't think it is a software download issue. My HR21 was updated on 5/26 and it locked up this morning at about 5:30 MDT.

After rbr appeared OK, then froze on rewind. When finally rewound to start of buffer it starting playing was not responding to remote or front panel. Pull the plug for a few minutes. Now appears to be OK. Need to check other receivers.


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## JayB

As I posted above, this seems to have killed my main receiver (yes, I understand that I probably already had an hard drive problem and this just exposed it). So, I'm wondering if I can just run over to Costco, get a new receiver (that, BTW, has double the capacity of the current one) and use it as a replacement and send the dead one in without DTV sending me a new one. Can I get away with this strategy?


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## DEF

3DF is working now.


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## DogLover

2 reboots within 30 minutes seems to have solved the problem on my HR22 and HR20. This appears to be bad guide data. I like some other people did not get the national download and still had the problem. Also, 2 reboots within 30 minutes flushes the guide cache on the hard drive, and forces the machine to re-download the data. This seems to have gotten rid of the bad data that was causing the lockup.


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## DogLover

JayB said:


> As I posted above, this seems to have killed my main receiver (yes, I understand that I probably already had an hard drive problem and this just exposed it). So, I'm wondering if I can just run over to Costco, get a new receiver (that, BTW, has double the capacity of the current one) and use it as a replacement and send the dead one in without DTV sending me a new one. Can I get away with this strategy?


You should be able to do that. Just activate the new one and deactivate the old one. (I assume you aren't looking for them to reimburse you on the new one, which would be harder to get them to do.)


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## camo

DogLover said:


> 2 reboots within 30 minutes seems to have solved the problem on my HR22 and HR20. This appears to be bad guide data. I like some other people did not get the national download and still had the problem. Also, 2 reboots within 30 minutes flushes the guide cache on the hard drive, and forces the machine to re-download the data. This seems to have gotten rid of the bad data that was causing the lockup.


Also had to do the double boot everything working now.


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## PhilS

DarinC said:


> The last couple of times this happened, it had nothing to do with a firmware update, but rather, just bad guide data. May or may not be the case here, but these things do seem "designed" to malfunction when they get information they don't seem to like.


I think it was bad guide data, since I did not get an update last night. Required two reboots, which means the bad guide data was nuked.


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## JACH

So guide data isn't the same for all receivers? Cuz my D12-500 was unaffected.


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## JayB

DogLover said:


> You should be able to do that. Just activate the new one and deactivate the old one. (I assume you aren't looking for them to reimburse you on the new one, which would be harder to get them to do.)


That's correct - I don't expect them to reimburse. I don't have the extended care and I knew going in that if a receiver died, I'd just have to suck up the costs associated with that. Unless I can get a hold of D* by lunch, I guess I'll just go with the Costco option.

Thanks for the response.


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## MysteryMan

stlcardsblues said:


> I don't know what was worse-That my machine was not working when I got up, or it was stuck on an infomercial. Both were torture.


Could have been worse. The infomercial could have been on the benefits of suscribing to DirecTV!


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## Castlebill

Mine too - nice update.


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## bjdotson

I got the update on 5/26. Had to reboot HR23-700 twice this am to get them to work. Didn't check other receivers as I had to go to work. I have "new" HR22 in my sons room and an r15-100 downstairs. I assume my son will be calling me later.


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## employee3

I know nobody here would call, but I bet Tech Support is blowing up. "Extended wait times" to say the least.

Keep that in mind if you need to call for any other reason.


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## TDK1044

I didn't check mine this morning. Would it require two full reboots by unplugging or two soft resets if it's dead when i get home?


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## Directvlover

Same here too. I figured this would be widespread. 2 reboots fixed one of my HR-23's completely. 2 Reboots brought my HR20 up and responsive to remote commands...but i think one more reboot is needed on that as only the over the air channels were viewable and not channels from the sat...Rebooted my other HR-23...but I had to leave for work so I couldn't verify if that one is back to normal now. Will have to wait till lunch to go home and make sure everything is back to normal. I'm sure the tech support phone number is ringing off the hook this morning.


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## onan38

doctrsnoop said:


> All HR-2X's are dead this am, 21, 2-22's and 2-23's. Had to unplug all, and still unclear whether they'll come up or not. Stuck on "rebuilding scheduler list for many minutes" might have to reset again


Same here on my Hr21-100 stuck on rebuilding scheduler list for over 1 hour had to reboot 2nd time by pulling the power. I'm on the latest CE release. 2nd reboot brought the unit back to life.


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## CTJon

Me too - had the software update last night.
Power off and on didn't complete - had to do RBR.
Nice job. Good thing I am home this am because if wife had faced this I'D BE IN TROUBLE. 

It is nice to be able to go to this board and see it wasn't me or my systems.


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## JayB

employee3 said:


> I know nobody here would call, but I bet Tech Support is blowing up. "Extended wait times" to say the least.
> 
> Keep that in mind if you need to call for any other reason.


Since I've been calling about a dead hard drive this morning, I can say that yes, they're in a bad way there. About half the time the call simply doesn't go through at all and the other half the time the D* system disconnects you at the last step, probably because the queue is completely full 100% of the time.


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## Lee L

PhilS said:


> I think it was bad guide data, since I did not get an update last night. Required two reboots, which means the bad guide data was nuked.


Yeah, probably bad guide data. The one box I was watching this AM needed a couple of reboots. Its funny, because the box seemed to work, I had sound and picture, but if I gave it a command or two from teh remote, it locked up, so I thought it was the Hard drive going bad. But the second RBR fixed it and the guide was nuked when it finally got up and running.


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## TheRatPatrol

Mine was dead too this morning. Rebooting now.

Could we get a "one thread sticky for all" to report this in?

Thanks


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## Prince Oz

I had same issue. Do you think they moved evrything back to D10 from D12 and tried firing it up this morning? Maybe


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## onan38

onan38 said:


> Same here on my Hr21-100 stuck on rebuilding scheduler list for over 1 hour had to reboot 2nd time by pulling the power. I'm on the latest CE release. 2nd reboot brought the unit back to life.


Rebooting now for the 3rd time unit came back up on the 2nd reboot but no remote commands or front button commands.
I bet Directv will hear about this one.


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## secondclaw

Had same issue with my HR23 last night, but weird thing is that it happened about a week ago as well, having me resort to RBR (which fixed the issue). When it happened again last night I was in the middle of watching a recording, and when I tried to rewind it I realized there is no response to the remote. A week ago the symptom was the same - I tried to do something while watching a recording ...


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## jal

RBR wont work on two of my boxes, no matter how many times I tried. Unplugging the receivers worked. What a bunch of bs.


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## onan38

Just rebooted for the 3rd time no remote or button commands at all what do i do now?


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## prospero63

jal said:


> RBR wont work on two of my boxes, no matter how many times I tried. Unplugging the receivers worked. What a bunch of bs.


As I posted in this thread I hope that you, and everyone else this happened to, calls DirecTV and demands a service credit. Because you are correct. This is a bunch of bs. In fact, while you do it, get the free HD for life credit as well.


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## MarkN

1st reboot did not work, 2nd one did, however had to reprogram the remotes


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## Kishore

I am having same issues too. Morning noticed that HR20-700 is completely off. I mean it is as good as no power. After unplugging it and plugging it again, it booted, but after a while remote control buttons are not responsive. I am RBR now. Hopefully it will comeback.

- Kishore


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## msmith

It looks like this problem generates an unusual reboot the first time - no lights and no TV signal until "just a few seconds more". It looks like a dead box.

Press the red button and WAIT a few minutes.


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## DarinC

onan38 said:


> Just rebooted for the 3rd time no remote or button commands at all what do i do now?


Honestly, unless there's something you REALLY have to watch, I'd just wait until it's posted that it's fixed. My recollection from the last times this happened was even those people who "fixed" it by resetting their receivers eventually locked up again, once they re-acquired the corrupt data. In the past, they had to identify and correct the bad guide data, then once they did, they sent out a command that caused everyone's receivers to reset. So even if you get it going, it might lock up again, and it might reboot again later on it's own.


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## Mike Bertelson

Try to do a menu restart immediately after doing the initial RBR/unplug. It seems that if you hit the Guide button it will lock up again any you’ll have to do another RBR.

After it comes back up go right to the restart menu and restart the receiver.

Menu->Parental, Fav's & Setup->System Setup->Restart

We might be able to avoid a second RBR which is better for the receiver.

Mike


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## Janice805

Same here in central California. Had to both unplug and do a very quick RBR as it started to power up to bring them back to life.


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## joed32

MicroBeta said:


> We should try to do a menu restart immediately after doing the initial RBR/unplug. It seems that if you hit the Guide button it will lock up again any you'll have to do another RBR.
> 
> After it comes back up go right to the restart menu and restart the receiver.
> 
> Menu->Parental, Fav's & Setup->System Setup->Restart
> 
> We might be able to avoid the RBR which is better for the receiver.
> 
> Mike


The receivers are all unresponsive in these cases. It's RBR or nothing I had to do 2 on one DVR and the other ones came up on the 1st try.


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## prospero63

msmith said:


> It looks like this problem generates an unusual reboot the first time - no lights and no TV signal until "just a few seconds more". It looks like a dead box.
> 
> Press the red button and WAIT a few minutes.


One of my receivers did this exact thing. The other didn't. TV actually worked for a few minutes before the console lockup occurred. A second RBR fixed both of them.


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## TheRatPatrol

MarkN said:


> 1st reboot did not work, 2nd one did, however had to reprogram the remotes


What do you mean you had to reprogram your remotes? Are you in IR or RF mode?

Thanks


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## oldengineer

I had to RBR both HR21s at 9:15 EDST. My H21 was OK

After RBR the HR21-200 seems to be OK.
The HR21-100 won't power off. Another RBR in progress.

Latest:
After 2 successful on-off cycles the HR21-200 now won't power on. RBR in progress.

Latest:
Second RBR seems to have fixed the HR21-100.
It took about 5 minutes for the HR21-200 to respond to RBR.

The 1-800-531-5000 line to D* is overloaded.


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## CopyCat

2 dead HR20-100s and 1 HR21-200 this AM. rebooted and no remote or front panel response. Pulled the plugs and waiting

FOLLOWUP: Pulled the plugs waited 10 minutes and powered up. Once we had TV we used setup to reboot again and now they appear to be working correctly.


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## Stanley Kritzik

dparisoe said:


> Same here my HR21 and R22 both dead this morning did a RBR and they came up, they both updated @ 3:28am. After receiving a couple of commands both quit functioning and had to be RBR again. After the second reset the R22 seamed to be working correctly, I did not get a chance to check the HR21.


My HR21/AM21 was dead this morning -- did not respond to the remote to turn on. I finally had to unplug/replug it. Then, after it came up, it was unresponsive to the remote. Another restart (RBR) did it.

Somebody did something bad -- and massive, maybe?

Stan


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## michaelruggeri

I called up MDU. The tech said we have to upplug everything for 45 seconds, let the system re-build, then, if it still does not work, upplug again for 45 seconds and let it rebuild again. Then it should work.

I got mine working after the first upplug. So unplugging and not just pushing the re-setting is the key.

Mike


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## Mike Bertelson

joed32 said:


> The receivers are all unresponsive in these cases. It's RBR or nothing I had to do 2 on one DVR and the other ones came up on the 1st try.


True, but you may be able to avoid the second RBR if you immediately do a menu restart before it locks up again.

It's better for the DVR so it's worth a shot. It's nearly certain that we'll have to do the RBR the first time but for the second restart it's preferable to avoid it.

Mike


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## Captain Spaulding

Pulling the plug, waiting about 30 seconds, and then plugging it back in did the trick for our receivers.


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## Drucifer

I was in the same boat this morning. And here I am blaming my cats.

I checked Software and *0x3de* was installed at 3:30 AM EDT on my HR21-100.

BTW, all I did to fix it, was unplug and replug.

Lost remote after one use.

RBR

Lost remote after pressing OK to 3D upgrade

RBR

When straight to Setup to Reset Everything

Remote now working


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## TheRatPatrol

MicroBeta said:


> True, but you may be able to avoid the second RBR if you immediately do a menu restart before it locks up again.
> 
> It's better for the DVR so it's worth a shot. It's nearly certain that we'll have to do the RBR the first time but for the second restart it's preferable to avoid it.
> 
> Mike


I wasn't able to this because mine got stuck on the grey screen after the 1st reset, however, I am doing what you suggested now, a 3rd reset, just in case.

Thanks


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## cartrivision

JACH said:


> So guide data isn't the same for all receivers? Cuz my D12-500 was unaffected.


More like, different receivers are running different software, so something in the guide data that hangs one up may have no effect on a different model receiver.


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## lgsvette

HR20 700 OK after power off and 2 reboots. Still have problem with HR20 700. RBR for the third time?


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## gfrang

H21 fine HR23 resetting now.

update:took two times.


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## sschr

Mine worked fine this morning. Oh wait, I switched from Direct to uVerse 3 months ago. :lol:


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## PennHORN

I woke up this morning to find my 3 HR20-700s with the same problems listed on this thread. I have done a RBR and pulled the plug and still no response.

DirecTV is becoming a disgusting joke. Following the MRV rollout fail and non-support of those of us who invested in wiring Ethernet cables in our homes in favor of DECA only, DirecTV proceeds to make things worse.

DirecTV, Comcast and Dish all suck. I wish I could get FiOs in Houston


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## Mike Bertelson

Captain Spaulding said:


> Pulling the plug, waiting about 30 seconds, and then plugging it back in did the trick for our receivers.


That seems to work but some have reported that once they went to the guide it locked up again, or even locked up on it's own.

I would suggest you do a menu restart just to make sure.

Mike


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## Mike Bertelson

sschr said:


> Mine worked fine this morning. Oh wait, I switched from Direct to uVerse 3 months ago. :lol:


Ummm....yeah.


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## DogLover

cartrivision said:


> More like, different receivers are running different software, so something in the guide data that hangs one up may have no effect on a different model receiver.


And the "D" series are SD receivers, so they probably don't process the HD guide data at all.

I've mostly seen reports of HD DVRs having the problems, except for the HR24s. Has anyone had an HR24 lock up this morning? What about "H" receivers?


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## HDTVFreak07

Aww, shucks. I was hoping that my HR20-100 died this morning. Had to unplug, plug back in, wait a long time only to come to a black screen. Push red button reset, wait a long time and voila! It's back on again. I was hoping it died so DirecTV might possibly send me a new HR24 receiver with AM21.


----------



## David MacLeod

cartrivision said:


> More like, different receivers are running different software, so something in the guide data that hangs one up may have no effect on a different model receiver.


dvr have more requirements from the guide data then a standard receiver. most that does is tune to a channel at a specific tme while the dvr's maintain sl's.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

DogLover said:


> And the "D" series are SD receivers, so they probably don't process the HD guide data at all.
> 
> I've mostly seen reports of HD DVRs having the problems, except for the HR24s. Has anyone had an HR24 lock up this morning? What about "H" receivers?


When I left my house at 5:50 this morning, my HR24-500 was working fine.

Mike


----------



## Hdhead

What a disaster! All 4 of my HR's out. Trying to restore now. Can only imagine what's going on at the D* call center right now, especially because one RBR doesn't do the job. Gonna be a lot of pissed off people when they come home from vacation this weekend!


----------



## Aztec Pilot

2 HR23's, HR20, and HR21 were dead this morning. The HR23's took two RBR to get them going. Must have been a rough night!


----------



## onan38

MicroBeta said:


> Try to do a menu restart immediately after doing the initial RBR/unplug. It seems that if you hit the Guide button it will lock up again any you'll have to do another RBR.
> 
> After it comes back up go right to the restart menu and restart the receiver.
> 
> Menu->Parental, Fav's & Setup->System Setup->Restart
> 
> We might be able to avoid a second RBR which is better for the receiver.
> 
> Mike


Thank you so much Microbeta! That did the trick unit back up with remote and front button commands working now.


----------



## camo

I noticed all the banners and advertisements in the program guide are missing. So the guide must of been corrupt like others mentioned.


----------



## DodgerKing

sschr said:


> Mine worked fine this morning. Oh wait, I switched from Direct to uVerse 3 months ago. :lol:


How is it watching 3 HD programs at the same time, or recording 2 at a time and watching another live HD program in another room? That's right, you can't. :lol:


----------



## mdwood

HR20-700 and HR20-100 both no response to the remote after two RBRs. Got one channel on each DVR clear as a bell though! H23-600 is fine.

edit:
another rbr and the 700 is back, 3D update. 100 still junk, finally got it to even turn on by unplugging for a bit and three rbrs later no fix yet. Nothing more fun than a kid waking you up an hour early to tell you "Dad the TV doesn't turn on again".


----------



## RobertSeattle

Me too - all four of mine we stuck on the prior channel and unresponsive to front panel or remote commands. HR 20/21/22 series. No HR 24s.


----------



## canesice

DirecTV Tweet:



> DIRECTV: If your HDDVR will NOT power on, unplug the unit from the wall, wait 15sec, then replug, & repeat 1x to restore service.


----------



## ThePrisoner

Mine is resetting now. I tried to call D* to get the HD credit before I even read about this problem. That explains why I kept getting a busy signal.


----------



## NewView

I Woke up to the same issue early this morning on my HR21-200.

Remote & front buttons unresponsive and stuck on one channel (accidentally fell asleep on the sofa last night and TV was on all night).

I did the reset which did nothing . . . and then went to the DirecTV Forums to see if anyone else was having the same issues. There were numerous posts about the same thing happening and one post indicated they had to reset twice to get the receiver responsive again.

I followed the advice & reset mine again & then it came back to life . . . remote & front buttons working again.

Oddly . . . the DirecTV Forums are now unavailable to view now as of this posting.


----------



## Stewpidity

me too, just saw this on Twitter...

DIRECTV HDDVR customers: If your HDDVR will NOT power on, unplug the unit from the wall, wait 15sec, then replug, & repeat 1x to restore service. 
less than 10 seconds ago via web


----------



## hobie346

Both of my HR2X boxes hung this AM (HR20-700, HR23-700). The HR20-700 just needed a RBR, the HR23-700 powered up OK but a few minutes later it failed to respond to the remote and the front panel. The only thing that worked was a RBR. After the box was back up and running it locked up again. Another RBR. My H23-600 box at times failed to respond to the remote.


----------



## prospero63

canesice said:


> DirecTV Tweet:


Gotta give them credit for trying to make an effort here.


----------



## Vader14

All three DVR's needed to be unplugged this morning as well...


----------



## dwcolvin

Add my two HR22s to the garbage heap.


----------



## cartrivision

sschr said:


> Mine worked fine this morning. Oh wait, I switched from Direct to uVerse 3 months ago. :lol:


Sorry, but downgrading to one single HD program at a any time coming into my home isn't a viable alternative for avoiding HR2x freeze-ups. :down:


----------



## Tygh

prospero63 said:


> Gotta give them credit for trying to make an effort here.


How about they send out an email as well. I have no desire to follow DTV on Twitter and be spammed even more with ads.


----------



## Hdhead

All telephone lines down to Directv now. Phone will not even ring! God help them!


----------



## dacoop2

Looks like the "double reboot" trick will do the trick. I had to unplug and replug my HR 20-700 this morning as it was completely unresponsive. Power button wasn't even working. After the power cycle it went through the reboot steps and then just went to a black screen. A RBR after that got me back up and running.


----------



## harley3k

PennHORN said:


> I woke up this morning to find my 3 HR20-700s with the same problems listed on this thread. I have done a RBR and pulled the plug and still no response.
> 
> DirecTV is becoming a disgusting joke. Following the MRV rollout fail and non-support of those of us who invested in wiring Ethernet cables in our homes in favor of DECA only, DirecTV proceeds to make things worse.
> 
> DirecTV, Comcast and Dish all suck. I wish I could get FiOs in Houston


Haha - the FIOS DVRs have had plenty of their moments too, which is why I only use TivoHDs on my FIOS service now.


----------



## Mr. Bungle

From their Twitter account:

HDDVR customers: If your HDDVR will NOT power on, unplug the unit from the wall, wait 15sec, then replug, & repeat 1x to restore service.


----------



## harsh

JACH said:


> So guide data isn't the same for all receivers? Cuz my D12-500 was unaffected.


Non-DVR guides don't go as far into the future (3-1/2 days on the D12), so they may seem immune initially.


----------



## Grydlok

nevermind been posted


----------



## prospero63

Tygh said:


> How about they send out an email as well. I have no desire to follow DTV on Twitter and be spammed even more with ads.


You are preaching to the choir. A basic tenet of good customer service is to over-communicate. They should use all medium available. Twitter, facebook, support.directv.com, emails, whatever is available (and that folks have agreed to use, for example opt in for email notification of TS issues). It will reduce calls and improve customer perception.


----------



## CTJon

Assuming this is bad guide data which it seems to be - the last time I remember this happening, several years ago, they had put guide data up which needed later software or hardware which may explain why HR24's don't seem to be affected. 
Nothing like a little testing before anything is loaded or updated.


----------



## harley3k

What exactly is "doing a RBR" people refer to in this thread?

A friend of mine is having this problem and asking me to help him out.
2 of his boxes are locked up; one powered off and back on seems to work although the REMOTE now does not function?!?! Does that make any sense?

-h


----------



## bigmac94

MountainMan10 said:


> I don't think it is a software download issue. My HR21 was updated on 5/26 and it locked up this morning at about 5:30 MDT.
> 
> After rbr appeared OK, then froze on rewind. When finally rewound to start of buffer it starting playing was not responding to remote or front panel. Pull the plug for a few minutes. Now appears to be OK. Need to check other receivers.


 Did RBR on all 3 HR21-700s that Froze no joy... Then Pulled plug on all 3 ...1 came up good to go... still working on other 2...
whats up with this?


----------



## Dave Carney

Red Button Reboot


----------



## Hdhead

prospero63 said:


> You are preaching to the choir. A basic tenet of good customer service is to over-communicate. They should use all medium available. Twitter, facebook, support.directv.com, emails, whatever is available (and that folks have agreed to use, for example opt in for email notification of TS issues). It will reduce calls and improve customer perception.


Yup, time to bring out the CEO! Really.


----------



## David MacLeod

harley3k said:


> What exactly is "doing a RBR" people refer to in this thread?
> 
> A friend of mine is having this problem and asking me to help him out.
> 2 of his boxes are locked up; one powered off and back on seems to work although the REMOTE now does not function?!?! Does that make any sense?
> 
> -h


red button reset.
the small reset button under cover on dvrs used to reboot unit when menu is not available.
after doing this do a normal (if possible) menu reset to flush the guide data out.


----------



## Athlon646464

harley3k said:


> What exactly is "doing a RBR" people refer to in this thread?
> 
> A friend of mine is having this problem and asking me to help him out.
> 2 of his boxes are locked up; one powered off and back on seems to work although the REMOTE now does not function?!?! Does that make any sense?
> 
> -h


RBR = Red Button Reboot

Do it twice within 30 minutes to force a guide data refresh.

The first time, unplug the unit and plug it back in 30 seconds later.

For the second time, as soon as you have picture and sound after plugging it back in, reboot from the menu.

All should be fine after you do that.

EDIT: Dave M. - we must have been posting at the same time........ :lol:


----------



## Hutchinshouse

Around 4:30 AM PST my bedroom HR20-700 automatically rebooted. I’m at work now, my wife just called me. Too funny!

When I answered the phone I said "DVR", she said "how did you know"? :lol:

FIX IT!


----------



## susanandmark

Same problem here. 5 HR units (all HR20, one HR22) in the house, all dead when we got up. Pulled plug to reset and no dice. Had to pull plug and hold power button. Restarting now. I know the HR22 got the 3D update earlier this week, because there was a splash screen announcing it. Anyone ever figure out what's going on?


----------



## harley3k

Dave Carney said:


> Red Button Reboot


Thanks!


----------



## BJM

My HR20-700 wouldn't power up this AM. RBR briefly restored function until I paused a program (was able to check system menus prior), then unresponsive again.
Power off (unplug, wait, plugin) seems to have restored normal function. 

I suggest RBR, then if still frozen, Power off.

I thought after 03DF update last week the box was sluggish.


----------



## mganga

just a few more seconds...


----------



## Xsabresx

Athlon646464 said:


> RBR = Red Button Reboot
> 
> Do it twice within 30 seconds to force a guide data refresh.
> 
> The first time, unplug the unit and plug it back in 30 seconds later.
> 
> For the second time, as soon as you have picture and sound after plugging it back in, reboot from the menu.
> 
> All should be fine after you do that.
> 
> EDIT: Dave M. - we must have been posting at the same time........ :lol:


Have folks been able to do the second reboot from the menu? When my boxes came up after the first reboot they were frozen (on the last channel they were on). Had to actually do a RBR the second time as well.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

harley3k said:


> What exactly is "doing a RBR" people refer to in this thread?
> 
> A friend of mine is having this problem and asking me to help him out.
> 2 of his boxes are locked up; one powered off and back on seems to work although the REMOTE now does not function?!?! Does that make any sense?
> 
> -h


Red Button under the access card door. If at all possible tell your friend to try to do a menu restart for the second restart. It's prefered over the red button reboot.

Mike


----------



## Athlon646464

susanandmark said:


> Anyone ever figure out what's going on?


Bad guide data. Two restarts in thirty minutes force a guide data refresh, and the guide data has been fixed.


----------



## vtfan99

HR20-700 unresponsive this morning. Unplugged for few minutes and then turned it back on only for it to freeze after a minute of viewing. Did a RBR after that and it appears to be working now. Updated at 3:28am this morning. At least I didn't lose anything.


----------



## Hutchinshouse

MicroBeta said:


> Red Button under the access card door. If at all possible tell your friend to try to do a menu restart for the second restart. *It's prefered over the red button reboot*.
> 
> Mike


Not having to reboot at all is the preferred method.:lol:


----------



## Athlon646464

Xsabresx said:


> Have folks been able to do the second reboot from the menu? When my boxes came up after the first reboot they were frozen (on the last channel they were on). Had to actually do a RBR the second time as well.


You may have to do it that way. Some have been lucky enough to use the menu. I was, but I did it right away, before it locked up again.


----------



## kiknwing

Well now I'm on my 5th restart. Let's see if it will respond once the restart is done , I don't want to watch PBS all day.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

Athlon646464 said:


> Bad guide data. Two restarts in thirty minutes force a guide data refresh, and the guide data has been fixed.


We think it's the guide data. We don't know that for sure. While it reacts like corrupted data it's possible it could be something else. I doubt it but it's possible. 

Mike


----------



## Athlon646464

MicroBeta said:


> We think it's the guide data. We don't know that for sure. While it reacts like corrupted data it's possible it could be something else. I doubt it but it's possible.
> 
> Mike


If it walks and sounds like a duck........ :lol:


----------



## AceGopher

Before I knew there was an upgrade to 0x3de, my HR-22 was locked up this morning with no picture (but receiver had turned itself on over night).

RBR'ed, picture came up, but neither remote nor front buttons worked. Unplugged and came up, buttons worked. So went to self test, started it, and it locked up after pressing menu item. That's when I noticed on the info screen that it had been updated.

Trying to unplug again and see what happens.

My HR-20 also was turned on, no picture, and frozen. Power button on box worked and system powered down. However would not power back up. Unplugging now to see if that fixes.

I'm thinking of leaving unplugged for a while to see what people suggest.

Crazy...was an early HR-20 user and remember the early instability, but things have been rock solid for a year or two now.

Feel sorry for all the CSR's today.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

Xsabresx said:


> Have folks been able to do the second reboot from the menu? When my boxes came up after the first reboot they were frozen (on the last channel they were on). Had to actually do a RBR the second time as well.


You may or may not be able to do a menu restart. If it comes back up and you can't access the menu from the remote or the front panel then you have no choice but to do the RBR.

Mike


----------



## Grydlok

LOL why guy tweeted about this


----------



## lgsvette

All is well finally after a forced update and 3rd reset on my HR20 700. Time for a purchase of the HR24?


----------



## David MacLeod

over 2 hours and all 4 units ok here, key is the twice within 30 minutes or sooner for the reboots.
flush the crap (guide data) down the toilet


----------



## jimbop99

Double reboots on both HD boxes. Silly.


----------



## mikeinthekeys

Double reboot worked for both HR20-700s. Irony: only one banner ad, $100 referral program!


----------



## Gary16

Had 4 bad boxes this morning. A hard reset (unplugging the box) twice on some and three times on another fixed everything. I still have 2 more boxes to check tonight.


----------



## Carl Spock

People, help me here.

I remember an incident a couple of years ago when DirecTV had bad guide data and they did a nationwide software download for the HR20 (the only DVR at that time) in the middle of the afternoon to flush the system clean. Anybody else remember this? I wonder if DirecTV will have to do it again?


----------



## ptuck874

havent checked the r22's, but the living room hr23 stuck, 1 rbr so far


----------



## spidey

Both HR20-700 and HR21-200 needed RBR, all looked like recovering but neither HR20-700 recovered. HR21 looks fine


----------



## Hutchinshouse

Carl Spock said:


> People, help me here.
> 
> I remember an incident a couple of years ago when DirecTV had bad guide data and they did a nationwide software download for the HR20 (the only DVR at that time) in the middle of the afternoon to flush the system clean. Anybody else remember this? I wonder if DirecTV will have to do it again?


I remember. :nono2:


----------



## Chris Blount

I did two RBR's and that did the trick.


----------



## rocket68

Give me a break. Not 1% of DirecTV subscribers will have 3D by Saturday. At least give us a chance to choose if we want the 3D upgrade and cause these kind of issues this morning.


----------



## Doug Brott

JACH said:


> So guide data isn't the same for all receivers? Cuz my D12-500 was unaffected.


yes and no .. It's the same stream, but the HR2x systems make use of significantly more data than the D12 does.


----------



## Athlon646464

spidey said:


> Both HR20-700 and HR21-200 needed RBR, all looked like recovering but none responding to remote or any picture


You have to restart twice within 30 minutes to force a guide data flush. Wait for picture and sound before the second restart.


----------



## max1

Same thing happened to mine has well I did hard reboot and then also hit the reset button. She seems to be working fine now. Something must have happened overnight. We had storms here last night thats what i thought but must have been a download problem. Shes working now. Am sure D is aware of it.


----------



## onan38

Just spoke to someone at Directv they told me " power failure at the Denver service center might be to blame for the issue" and to reboot twice.


----------



## Athlon646464

rocket68 said:


> Give me a break. Not 1% of DirecTV subscribers will have 3D by Saturday. At least give us a chance to choose if we want the 3D upgrade and cause these kind of issues this morning.


It's likely not related to the update, just coincidence. It's most likely bad or corrupt guide data.


----------



## Doug Brott

jal said:


> RBR wont work on two of my boxes, no matter how many times I tried. Unplugging the receivers worked. What a bunch of bs.


The Red Button is behind the Access Card door on the front of the receiver. It is NOT the red button on your remote control.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

rocket68 said:


> Give me a break. Not 1% of DirecTV subscribers will have 3D by Saturday. At least give us a chance to choose if we want the 3D upgrade and cause these kind of issues this morning.


Who said anything about this being a 3D problem? :scratchin

AFAIK, this has nothing to do with 3D. Besides, there will only be one firmware version for a given receiver so having the option isn't going to happen.

Mike


----------



## lost4now

actually good news for me, I just got a "new" HR20-700 on Friday and thought I had killed it already was dreading the call to D*


----------



## DogLover

Carl Spock said:


> People, help me here.
> 
> I remember an incident a couple of years ago when DirecTV had bad guide data and they did a nationwide software download for the HR20 (the only DVR at that time) in the middle of the afternoon to flush the system clean. Anybody else remember this? I wonder if DirecTV will have to do it again?


I think that's why they added code to flush the guide data when 2 reboots are performed within 30 minutes. So my guess would be no.


----------



## Athlon646464

MicroBeta said:


> Who said anything about this being a 3D problem? :scratchin
> 
> AFAIK, this has nothing to do with 3D. Besides, there will only be one firmware version for a given receiver so having the option isn't going to happen.
> 
> Mike


You know, I didn't put my glasses on before I did my first reboot - maybe it *was* working and I couldn't see it. :grin::grin:


----------



## spidey

hr20s recovered after 2 rbrs


----------



## Doug Brott

Tygh said:


> How about they send out an email as well. I have no desire to follow DTV on Twitter and be spammed even more with ads.


They probably will, but unfortunately I don't think that they can push that out as quickly. Yeah, I know it seems crazy, but they still have to follow certain protocols and procedures for the e-mails and e-mail deliver isn't always instantaneous anyway.

Heck, I found out about it here when I got in to work this morning .. :lol:


----------



## ChrisPC

My HR20-700 is frozen at the lowest channel, even after reboot. My mother-in-law's HR23 is doing the same thing.


----------



## kareztt

Had to do 2 RBR's to get it to work on the HR's. After the first the unit was totally unresponsive to remote or front panel commands. Seem that the CE process was not used here, clearly a mistake. I hate to think of the support headache this caused.:nono2:


----------



## Carl Spock

onan38 said:


> Just spoke to someone at Directv they told me " power failure at the Denver service center might be to blame for the issue" and to reboot twice.


It also could be caused by oil in the gulf, but I doubt it.

I'm sure DirecTV has sufficient generator and battery back-up in their main upload center to not have issues with a power failure.


----------



## Athlon646464

ChrisPC said:


> My HR20-700 is frozen at the lowest channel, even after reboot. My mother-in-law's HR23 is doing the same thing.


Do 2 reboots within 30 minutes to force a guide data refresh. Be sure to wait for picture and sound before initiating the second reboot.


----------



## DogLover

onan38 said:


> Just spoke to someone at Directv they told me " power failure at the Denver service center might be to blame for the issue" and to reboot twice.


Hmm. When I first read this, I thought "just a CSR making things up." But then I thought if power went out during the processing or uploading of guide data, perhaps that corrupted the data.

Since guide data corruption has happened before, I wondered why more data checks haven't been put into place. However, maybe they were, but the data was corrupted after it had been checked.

We'll probably never know. As a programmer, I'm curious. As a customer, I'm just glad I know about this place to find out the fix.


----------



## Doug Brott

Carl Spock said:


> People, help me here.
> 
> I remember an incident a couple of years ago when DirecTV had bad guide data and they did a nationwide software download for the HR20 (the only DVR at that time) in the middle of the afternoon to flush the system clean. Anybody else remember this? I wonder if DirecTV will have to do it again?


Anything is possible ..


----------



## Talos4

HR-22 one RBR did not clear it up, controls still frozen, Pulled power 15 sec, rebooted and then fine. 

Quite annoying.


----------



## prospero63

http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2010/06/08/directv-rushes-3d-for-world-cup-angers-customers/


----------



## Earlyadopt

First things first - This is the FIRST problem I've had in a really long time. Maybe over 18 months or more. I just can't remember. 

_______________________________________________________
PROBLEM - 3 DVRs all DOA this morning (2xHR22, 1xHR21).

I wasn't recording MATT LAUER talking to the president . . . Not that I'm a fan of Obama's politics, but he's the President of the USA . . . and he was talking to Matt. . . . oh c'mon . . .

1 of the HR22s came up on the first rbr. 

The other 2 had picture after the first rbr, but required a second rbr to get the remote control working.

BALLS!!!!!

What is the world coming to when we can't watch TV. . . :nono2:

Thanks to all you DBS folks as I was crawling out of my skin that there was a problem.

I'll be enrolling in a 12 step program for TV addiction soon. . .


----------



## m4p

I woke up to the blue ring all lit up so I knew there was probably an update. Everything worked fine until I tried to dim the blue light. The front panel on my HR20-700 froze up and would not respond to physical touch or to the remote. I did a RBR.

Left the room for a few and when I came back, the tv screen was blank. After waiting a while, I did another RBR. Things went well that time. However, I started watching a recorded show. It played for about 30 seconds, and then the show stopped playing and the screen went back to regular live tv. I played the show again, and this time all seems okay.

So is this update only for 3D on sports channel? I don't see anything different or improved.


----------



## Piratefan98

I'm no expert, so this question is asked from a purely lay-person standpoint ...... When an update like this is developed and eventually pushed out, wouldn't DirecTV first have tested it on at least a couple hundred units to make sure that no particular model experienced any issues? I have no idea what the protocol is for sending out software updates .... but it just seems as if there must be some sort of comprehensive testing first, isn't there?


----------



## ChrisPC

Athlon646464 said:


> Do 2 reboots within 30 minutes to force a guide data refresh. Be sure to wait for picture and sound before initiating the second reboot.


I tried that already, and it worked.


----------



## Doug Brott

rocket68 said:


> Give me a break. Not 1% of DirecTV subscribers will have 3D by Saturday. At least give us a chance to choose if we want the 3D upgrade and cause these kind of issues this morning.


This issue, while not good, has zero to do with the software update ... Folks that received the update 2 weeks ago were working fine until the issue today.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

Piratefan98 said:


> I'm no expert, so this question is asked from a purely lay-person standpoint ...... When an update like this is developed and eventually pushed out, wouldn't DirecTV first have tested it on at least a couple hundred units to make sure that no particular model experienced any issues? I have no idea what the protocol is for sending out software updates .... but it just seems as if there must be some sort of comprehensive testing first, isn't there?


It's independent of firmware version. It doesn't matter which version you have, you DVR is most likely locked up this morning.

IMHO, this has nothing to do with any update.

Mike


----------



## c152driver

The fact that there is no notice on DirecTV's website is a pretty big fail on their part. Once they determined the solution to the problem, you'd think that would be the first thing they'd do. It would deflect a lot of call center calls.


----------



## Athlon646464

Doug Brott said:


> Anything is possible ..


I thought this was supposed to happen on 6-16-10. :grin:


----------



## bigmouthindc

double boot worked, HR21-700


----------



## susanandmark

Third reboot worked on 2 of 5 receivers (or so it seems at first glance). Still working on other 3, on 4th reboot bow (by the way the 2 that came up were HR20s). When those two that came up, BOTH had 3D splash screen for first time. So, yeah, I think this IS the 3D update, no matter what DirecTV tries to say.


----------



## jcc

Nothing worked until I unplugged the receiver and plugged it back in but I need a HR23-700 remote control code as I had to replace my batteries. I went to DirecTV's website and can't find one?! Please help/ thanks.


----------



## Doug Brott

ChrisPC said:


> My HR20-700 is frozen at the lowest channel, even after reboot. My mother-in-law's HR23 is doing the same thing.


Reset it one more time .. You have to do it twice total, not just once.


----------



## prospero63

Doug Brott said:


> This issue, while not good, has zero to do with the software update ... Folks that received the update 2 weeks ago were working fine until the issue today.


This is my observation as well. My receivers all updated at least a week ago. The first one that locked up, I was actually watching TV about the time it happened, so around 3AM or so central time. I don't know if that's the time that something routinely gets pushed or not, but it definitely didn't seem to be a "download occurred in the middle of the night and boom goes the dynamite" kind of thing. It was much more a "land of the lost has to be the stupidest movie I have ever seen. Wait. What kind of fresh hell is this that I can't change the channel".


----------



## Doug Brott

prospero63 said:


> http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2010/06/08/directv-rushes-3d-for-world-cup-angers-customers/


Still has zero to do with the software update .. The article may be bad press, but it's also inaccurate.


----------



## dlvh

I had these troubles with my HR21 & HR23, but not with my HR24...anyone else?


----------



## Hutchinshouse

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you all about the refer a friend program. :lol:










Take a breath, this will be over before you know it.


----------



## Athlon646464

This is corrupt Guide Data. Two restarts in 30 minutes will flush the bad Guide Data.

Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.

:icon_peac


----------



## t_h

Carl Spock said:


> People, help me here.
> 
> I remember an incident a couple of years ago when DirecTV had bad guide data and they did a nationwide software download for the HR20 (the only DVR at that time) in the middle of the afternoon to flush the system clean. Anybody else remember this? I wonder if DirecTV will have to do it again?


It was just last year, and it happened twice just a few months apart from each other. A change was made to the guide data and a new software release was pushed out before its time. A subsequent guide data glitch screwed up most customers and a second patched software update came out just a few days from the previous one that corrected it. A few months later a plain guide data glitch caused a similar problem and required resets and guide data flushing to recover.

So thats three times in about a year. Anyone else feel like it'd be a better idea to work on core stability from simple input errors rather than stuff like 3d?


----------



## susanandmark

I had 3D update on HR22 a week ago. It worked fine afterwards but every HR20 that I'm getting to come up after this issue (2 of 4 so far) are coming up with the 3D update splash screen which they have NOT had before.


----------



## Doug Brott

Athlon646464 said:


> I thought this was supposed to happen on 6-16-10. :grin:


That is something else entirely .. (not DIRECTV related )


----------



## n3ntj

I've reset my HR22-100 3 times (RBR) to no avail. Still dead. Haven't checked out my HR20-700 yet. Can't turn it on or off. Dead DVR. Watched TV on it fine last night.


----------



## mudtoe

My HR20 was completely dead this morning. Had to unplug for a few minutes, then upon reset it went from "rebuilding scheduler list" to blank screen. Had to power off again before it finally worked. My HR21 wasn't dead, but the remote control wouldn't work. Like the HR20 I had to reboot it twice in order to get it working. The first reboot resulted in getting a picture, but the remote still didn't work. After the second reboot I got the message about being enabled for 3D. 

Somebody at DirecTV needs to fired for pushing out updates with no notice that cause these kinds of problems. I'm sure that their tech support line is just getting swamped. Also, if you are out of town and are recording shows or using a slingbox you could be screwed. I'm out of town, but fortunately I have an internet enabled powerstrip so that I can remotely power off and back on my equipment at home.


----------



## alv

do you need to reset twice in short succession. I had problems when I was leaving for work and I am not sure if I fixed it.


----------



## Car1181

It took two reboots for the HR21 and three for the HR20 but both are working now.


----------



## prospero63

Doug Brott said:


> Still has zero to do with the software update .. The article may be bad press, but it's also inaccurate.


Ah, but the point is that it's as accurate as DirecTV has officially shared any kind of explanation.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

alv said:


> do you need to reset twice in short succession. I had problems when I was leaving for work and I am not sure if I fixed it.


Twice with in 30 minuets.

Mike


----------



## Xsabresx

prospero63 said:


> http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2010/06/08/directv-rushes-3d-for-world-cup-angers-customers/


Isnt that pretty irresponsible to immediately attribute this to an update that many got over 10 days ago?


----------



## geaux tigers

All four of my DVRs had this problem. 3 HR20-700s and 1 HR22-100 + AM-21. Had to disconnect the power cord, wait a few minutes, and then reconnect the power cord. I am waiting for my DVRs to go through the paces now.


----------



## veryoldschool

alv said:


> do you need to reset twice in short succession. I had problems when I was leaving for work and I am not sure if I fixed it.


My two affected DVRs needed a double reboot.


----------



## merhow89

R22 and HR22 are both non-responsive to remote commands as of this morning. New batteries in both remotes and one RBR on each unit, did not fix it. Unfortunately, I had to get going on my drive to work, ran out of time to troubleshoot, will try again later.

Why on earth does Directv make their customers QA their software/firmware? They're a big company, surely they have a DEV Dept. & QA Dept. where they can do their own tests before rolling out to PRODUCTION systems. God, we have all that at our small NY firm.

Many Directv customers went through h3ll in October 2008 with a very similar firmware/software upgrade fiasco, I was one of them and was not a happy camper. It took them 6 months to completely fix. Grrrrrrr......will they ever learn?:nono2:


----------



## keith_benedict

HR20-700 was dead here also. Had to unplug the power to get it to respond.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

prospero63 said:


> Ah, but the point is that it's as accurate as DirecTV has officially shared any kind of explanation.


Except that it affects receivers with different firmware version which would blow that explaination out of the water.

THIS IS NOT A FIRMWARE UPDATE PROBLEM.

Mike


----------



## Doug Brott

susanandmark said:


> Third reboot worked on 2 of 5 receivers (or so it seems at first glance). Still working on other 3, on 4th reboot bow (by the way the 2 that came up were HR20s). When those two that came up, BOTH had 3D splash screen for first time. So, yeah, I think this IS the 3D update, no matter what DirecTV tries to say.


You have to do 2 reboots within 30 minutes .. If your first & second reboots were more than 30 minutes apart, then that is why you had to do a third reboot.

YES, there were a lot of receivers that updated last night. The fact that it locked up this morning is coincidence. Receivers that updated 2 weeks ago have been running fine .. also until this morning .. the empirical evidence alone is enough to show that the update did not cause this .. The fact that you'll likely run fine now for many months will also show that.

This was not directly related to the software update even though there was one last night on a lot of the HR2x systems.


----------



## Athlon646464

alv said:


> do you need to reset twice in short succession. I had problems when I was leaving for work and I am not sure if I fixed it.


This is corrupt Guide Data and not the latest software update.

Two restarts within 30 minutes will flush the bad Guide Data.

Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.

:icon_peac


----------



## prospero63

MicroBeta said:


> Except that it affects receivers with different firmware version which would blow that explaination out of the water.
> 
> THIS IS NOT A FIRMWARE UPDATE PROBLEM.
> 
> Mike


You crack me up Mike. You keep making my point. DirecTV isn't telling anyone what the problem is, so everyone is trying to guess as to the problem and the solution. That's the point.


----------



## merhow89

Hutchinshouse said:


> I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you all about the refer a friend program. :lol:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Take a breath, this will be over before you know it.


LOL - now that was funny!


----------



## Nickee

Definitely not related to the software update - I got the update on both of my receivers last night and both worked perfectly at 5:00am this morning.

I leave for work at 6:30am and they were working then as well. So whatever happened happened after that.

I guess I'll do all my rebooting when I get home!


----------



## camo

It's exciting being a new Direct tv customer. Free HD one day and receiver freeze ups another. I hope we are talking about the new HD channels tomorrow.


----------



## shaun-ohio

my hr22 was dead and not responsive either, had to do the reboot


----------



## prospero63

Xsabresx said:


> Isnt that pretty irresponsible to immediately attribute this to an update that many got over 10 days ago?


No more irresponsible than maintaining utter silence about the problem. When folks don't know, they start to guess. The guesses might be right, they might be wrong, but there's no way for them to know. And that's my point. DirecTV's lack of response is making this even worse than it needed to be.


----------



## susanandmark

mudtoe said:


> Somebody at DirecTV needs to fired for pushing out updates with no notice that cause these kinds of problems. I'm sure that their tech support line is just getting swamped. Also, if you are out of town and are recording shows or using a slingbox you could be screwed. I'm out of town, but fortunately I have an internet enabled powerstrip so that I can remotely power off and back on my equipment at home.


We happen to be leaving tomorrow for 10 days and I thought of this morning. Of course, it's just TV, and not the end of the world if I miss it, but what a PITA to deal with when I came home ... Especially since I might not be able to get the info I'm getting now (only on this forum, not from DirecTV) to fix it fast. Heck it's likely, if I wouldn't have come here, that I wouldn't have known it was ALL my DirecTV receivers anyway, since we don't watch TV in five rooms on most days (or weeks for that matter). It could have been months before I figured it all out ... long after information disappeared from the front page and DirecTV reps would, I'm gonna guess, be utterly clueless about my issue.

Like someone else said, this is the third time, that I can remember, in a YEAR that this has happened to DirecTV because of a "glitch" on their end (whatever the cause). In general, I probably have to reset my receivers one every month or so for some reason, because they're completely unresponsive. It's just annoying. Especially when, as in the above scenario, you find out it hasn't been working for weeks when you finally discover it. That's happened to me many times. Sat down hoping to watch a movie in the theatre room, which we haven't been able to do in a month, and find out the receiver has been dead all that time. Spend 20-30 minutes getting it up and running again only to discover it hadn't recorded what we'd been planning to watch. Can't even reschedule it for another showing because there's no guide data for 24 (or at least 12) hours. Doh! If my computer worked that poorly I'd throw it away.


----------



## Athlon646464

prospero63 said:


> No more irresponsible than maintaining utter silence about the problem. When folks don't know, they start to guess. The guesses might be right, they might be wrong, but there's no way for them to know. And that's my point. DirecTV's lack of response is making this even worse than it needed to be.


Well, not complete silence. They did an announcement on Twitter, and likely have several folks working on some sort of release.


----------



## Bob Coxner

HR20-700 took two reboots to recover, R22 took three.


----------



## Carl Spock

I love days like this on DBSTalk. You get to see posters both at their best and at their predictable worst.


----------



## Doug Brott

t_h said:


> It was just last year, and it happened twice just a few months apart from each other. A change was made to the guide data and a new software release was pushed out before its time. A subsequent guide data glitch screwed up most customers and a second patched software update came out just a few days from the previous one that corrected it. A few months later a plain guide data glitch caused a similar problem and required resets and guide data flushing to recover.
> 
> So thats three times in about a year. Anyone else feel like it'd be a better idea to work on core stability from simple input errors rather than stuff like 3d?


The second incident was not directly a guide data issue .. although it may have looked as such .. It too was unrelated to the software on the receivers but did require corrective actions on DIRECTVs end ..


----------



## Stanley Kritzik

c152driver said:


> The fact that there is no notice on DirecTV's website is a pretty big fail on their part. Once they determined the solution to the problem, you'd think that would be the first thing they'd do. It would deflect a lot of call center calls.


Agreed -- the notice/cure should be on the web site. Also, e-mails to their registered customers would help, along with a posting here (an OFFICIAL posting). They should rig their phone system to "press 5 if you have a non-responsive DVR" with a canned explanation. That would save tying up the CSRs.

After Tylenol, Toyota and BP as good and bad examples, companies need to learn to be open and responsive concerning problems. As for testing updates -- that's another issue altogether. When you have the ability to wipe out your entire customer base overnight, "measure twice and cut once" is a heck of a good idea.

Stan


----------



## prospero63

Athlon646464 said:


> Well, not complete silence. They did an announcement on Twitter, and likely have several folks working on some sort of release.


Point taken on twitter.


----------



## HarleyD

My HR20-700 was completely bricked this morning. 

After the first RBR it came up with video and audio but still unresponsive to the remote control.

A second RBR corrected everything...I think. I was on my way out the door and did not do extensive exercising and validation of all functions. It did come up with a notice about 3D functionality having just been added on the second RBR.

I never got around to trying my R22-200. As I said I was getting ready to leave for work. It may be in need of some attention as well.


----------



## Athlon646464

susanandmark said:


> We happen to be leaving tomorrow for 10 days and I thought of this morning. Of course, it's just TV, and not the end of the world if I miss it, but what a PITA to deal with when I came home ... Especially since I might not be able to get the info I'm getting now (only on this forum, not from DirecTV) to fix it fast. Heck it's likely, if I wouldn't have come here, that I wouldn't have known it was ALL my DirecTV receivers anyway, since we don't watch TV in five rooms on most days (or weeks for that matter). It could have been months before I figured it all out ... long after information disappeared from the front page and DirecTV reps would, I'm gonna guess, be utterly clueless about my issue.
> 
> Like someone else said, this is the third time, that I can remember, in a YEAR that this has happened to DirecTV because of a "glitch" on their end (whatever the cause). In general, I probably have to reset my receivers one every month or so for some reason, because they're completely unresponsive. It's just annoying. Especially when, as in the above scenario, you find out it hasn't been working for weeks when you finally discover it. That's happened to me many times. Sat down hoping to watch a movie in the theatre room, which we haven't been able to do in a month, and find out the receiver has been dead all that time. Spend 20-30 minutes getting it up and running again only to discover it hadn't recorded what we'd been planning to watch. Can't even reschedule it for another showing because there's no guide data for 24 (or at least 12) hours. Doh! If my computer worked that poorly I'd throw it away.


You know what's interesting - on my HR23 (which was locked), it *was* taping a show for me. I guess that means that your recordings may have been there when you got back......


----------



## GregLee

Athlon646464 said:


> Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.


If feasible. My HR20-700 hung on Rebuilding Scheduler List after the first RBR, so I did a second RBR at that point. Now it seems fine, except the Guide is not complete of course.

I hope that whatever D* does to get out of this jam doesn't foul up my DVR, now that it is working again.


----------



## Doug Brott

n3ntj said:


> I've reset my HR22-100 3 times (RBR) to no avail. Still dead. Haven't checked out my HR20-700 yet. Can't turn it on or off. Dead DVR. Watched TV on it fine last night.


Both reboots MUST occur within 30 minutes .. If they don't then each reboot is as if the one before it never happened. Additionally, you have to make sure that after the first reboot it comes all the way back up to Live TV .. When it does, just hit the red button again .. After the second restart you should be good.


----------



## Xsabresx

prospero63 said:


> No more irresponsible than maintaining utter silence about the problem. When folks don't know, they start to guess. The guesses might be right, they might be wrong, but there's no way for them to know. And that's my point. DirecTV's lack of response is making this even worse than it needed to be.


When cable tv goes out you dont get notification why it is out. You either have to call them just to hear about outages in your area or you wait and it comes back on.


----------



## Doug Brott

alv said:


> do you need to reset twice in short succession. I had problems when I was leaving for work and I am not sure if I fixed it.


Yes .. both resets within 30 minutes ..


----------



## susanandmark

Athlon646464 said:


> You know what's interesting - on my HR23 (which was locked), it *was* taping a show for me. I guess that means that your recordings may have been there when you got back......


We record the Today Show in our bedroom and it wasn't recording (I didn't notice the red light wasn't on until I saw the forum posts). Neither were my son's PBS cartoons. As far as I know, that's the only thing that should have been recording that early at my house. Turning on the TV for him to watch "Caillou," his wake-up tradition, is how I discovered the problem. (And, in the past, when my DirecTV's have been unresponsive, they have also not been recording during that time.)


----------



## georule

Tried power resets (turn off power at the surge protector) first. That got the HR22 working, but no ability to command the stb with the remote. Tried that twice.

Then I went to the Reset button. The first time I almost sorta got there --the box was up, and it responded to the remote enough to start to change channels by direct input of the channel number. . . and then froze with a black screen on the channel I was turning to (335, which was actually a mistake on my part as I meant to put in 355).

On the second Reset button try, once the stb was up and responding to the remote, I used the guide to go to a different channel (355, but by selecting from the guide), and that time it didn't freeze and seems to be working now.

Got an HR23 upstairs I haven't tried to deal with yet, but based on this thread presumably it is borked too.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

prospero63 said:


> No more irresponsible than maintaining utter silence about the problem. When folks don't know, they start to guess. The guesses might be right, they might be wrong, but there's no way for them to know. And that's my point. DirecTV's lack of response is making this even worse than it needed to be.


1 - Check the clock... most of the people that are authorized to make a public statement... are just getting up to speed on the issue.

2 - DIRECTV's official Twitter support page, has been working on supporting the issue for the last hour

3 - The people here are using their experience and knowledge to help diagnose the problem, and propose a solution for those comming here for an answer. Are they 100% guaranteed they know the exact issue... no, but based on the symptoms...

As for me... I am doing what I can... getting information into those that need it, following the trends and trying to help where I can.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

Stanley Kritzik said:


> Agreed -- the notice/cure should be on the web site. Also, e-mails to their registered customers would help, along with a posting here (an OFFICIAL posting). They should rig their phone system to "press 5 if you have a non-responsive DVR" with a canned explanation. That would save tying up the CSRs.
> 
> After Tylenol, Toyota and BP as good and bad examples, companies need to learn to be open and responsive concerning problems. As for testing updates -- that's another issue altogether. When you have the ability to wipe out your entire customer base overnight, "measure twice and cut once" is a heck of a good idea.
> 
> Stan


This is television, not a life threating situation. 

IMO, it's probably not best to let the general subscriber try to fix this problem on their own. Some would probably be uncomfortable with doing this procedure without guidance and an email is probably not enough. Besides, who knows if this is really the long term fix. It could be that once the guide data starts to re-populate we could continue to have problems. I suspect DirecTV is trying as we "type" to determine the exact cause before they start telling people what to do about it.

Just because it seems to work doesn't mean the double restart is the final fix.

I'm just sayin' :grin:

Mike


----------



## Doug Brott

prospero63 said:


> Ah, but the point is that it's as accurate as DirecTV has officially shared any kind of explanation.


perhaps they are still diagnosing the problem and reacting to all of the calls that they are getting. It's bright and early here in California and while I'm sure folks were awakened, it's not like they can magically appear at work the second this started.

The report you linked gives the wrong reason, plain and simple. We already know that much. Don't expect DIRECTV to ever tell you why it happened specifically .. They'll probably send out an apology for a "glitch" .. which I'd say :shrug: to myself .. If you expect more of a response than that, then I think you are expecting too much.


----------



## Athlon646464

susanandmark said:


> We record the Today Show in our bedroom and it wasn't recording (I didn't notice the red light wasn't on until I saw the forum posts). Neither were my son's PBS cartoons. As far as I know, that's the only thing that should have been recording that early at my house. Turning on the TV for him to watch "Caillou," his wake-up tradition, is how I discovered the problem. (And, in the past, when my DirecTV's have been unresponsive, they have also not been recording during that time.)


In thinking more about it, the show started before the issue, and the show continued into the issue time at around 7am. (The show I tape in the AM is on from 6 to 9.) Maybe it just locked on that show and continued to tape.


----------



## prospero63

Xsabresx said:


> When cable tv goes out you dont get notification why it is out. You either have to call them just to hear about outages in your area or you wait and it comes back on.


Ah, the DirecTV apologists. In what world does improving customer service revolve around the idea that as long as you suck as bad as your competition, you are doing good? Seriously. Great, cable doesn't do a notification. So what. I don't have cable. I have DirecTV. I expect DirecTV to be better than their competition, not merely to suck as much or suck on an equal level.


----------



## toofastgtp

Woke up and my HR20 and HR21 are both unresponsive remote and front panal. Tried RBR then the first thing popped into my head if both are like this we had a software download. Logged on here and first thing i saw was the front page news 

Now my dvr is stuck on food network and now im really hungry.


----------



## SDimwit

Athlon646464 said:


> Well, not complete silence. They did an announcement on Twitter, and likely have several folks working on some sort of release.


Not everyone uses twitter.
almost everyone uses the internet.
therefore, there should be an oops we goofed and are working to correct the issue statement on the website as well...
I'm just sayin'


----------



## Doug Brott

prospero63 said:


> You crack me up Mike. You keep making my point. DirecTV isn't telling anyone what the problem is, so everyone is trying to guess as to the problem and the solution. That's the point.


2 things here .. folks here figured out that that is the solution .. DIRECTV did send out a Twitter message with the exact same solution ..

I don't think there is any guesswork on what the solution is ..


----------



## jford951

I had same type of problem also hr22 was still on so could watch what was on but would not respond in any other way


----------



## wilbur_the_goose

Thanks, Earl!


----------



## bjamin82

two reboots worked here... HR22

Maybe this update fixes the audio drop outs


----------



## smimi10

My HR20-700 was locked up this morning. Fortunately, saw this thread on Twitter and D*'s tweet on double unplugs. That is what it took for me. 

I unplugged, counted to 30, plugged in and was going to do a menu reset, but it locked up right at the point live picture and sound should have appeared. So, I unplugged, counted to 30, and plugged in again (basically D*'s instructions) and everything is fine to this point.

Thank goodness for dbstalk!


----------



## Mike Bertelson

toofastgtp said:


> Woke up and my HR20 and HR21 are both unresponsive remote and front panal. Tried RBR then the first thing popped into my head if both are like this we had a software download. Logged on here and first thing i saw was the front page news
> 
> Now my dvr is stuck on food network and now im really hungry.


Except that receivers that didn't get an update, like mine, were also affected.

Mike


----------



## Bowtaz3

Bob Coxner said:


> HR20-700 took two reboots to recover


Same here, I thought mine croaked lol


----------



## prospero63

Earl Bonovich said:


> As for me... I am doing what I can... getting information into those that need it, following the trends and trying to help where I can.


Earl, unfortunately the Dougs and the you's are few and far between with DirecTV. Y'all are the exception that proves the rule if you will.


----------



## Doug Brott

prospero63 said:


> No more irresponsible than maintaining utter silence about the problem. When folks don't know, they start to guess. The guesses might be right, they might be wrong, but there's no way for them to know. And that's my point. DirecTV's lack of response is making this even worse than it needed to be.


posted more than an hour ago ...
link


> HDDVR customers: If your HDDVR will NOT power on, unplug the unit from the wall, wait 15sec, then replug, & repeat 1x to restore service.


It's not "utter silence" ..


----------



## prospero63

Doug Brott said:


> 2 things here .. folks here figured out that that is the solution .. DIRECTV did send out a Twitter message with the exact same solution ..
> 
> I don't think there is any guesswork on what the solution is ..


Point taken, although some folks are reporting that it's not working for them (but that could well be that they aren't doing it correctly).


----------



## Hutchinshouse

Doug Brott said:


> Both reboots MUST occur within 30 minutes .. If they don't then each reboot is as if the one before it never happened. Additionally, *you have to make sure that after the first reboot it comes all the way back up to Live TV *.. When it does, just hit the red button again .. After the second restart you should be good.


For what it's worth, after the first reboot, my DVR froze on the "rebuilding the scheduler" screen. After 15 minutes my wife did another RBR. This time it rebooted fine. I just wanted to give peeps a heads up in case it doesn't return to live TV after the first RBR.


----------



## prospero63

Doug Brott said:


> posted more than an hour ago ...
> link
> 
> It's not "utter silence" ..


Yep, already acknowledged my error on that point. See, it's really not that hard to do.


----------



## Carl Spock

Prospero, Earl's remark about the time in California is also very valid. We want an instant response and the corporate world doesn't work that way.


----------



## Athlon646464

prospero63 said:


> Point taken, although some folks are reporting that it's not working for them (but that could well be that they aren't doing it correctly).


This is corrupt Guide Data and not the latest software update.

Two restarts within 30 minutes will flush the bad Guide Data.

Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.

:icon_peac


----------



## gully_foyle

Guide data should not be able to do this. Doesn't it get validated on the way in? Doesn't matter how the data got corrupted, the box should have rejected it. Pretty sure that this point is being made at DirecTV this morning.


----------



## love that tv

SDimwit said:


> Not everyone uses twitter.
> almost everyone uses the internet.
> therefore, there should be an oops we goofed and are working to correct the issue statement on the website as well...
> I'm just sayin'


Yup! lots of peeps aren't aware of this great site either. If you go to Google Trends, it will tell you what people are googling consistently at that time. And Direct Tv Customer Service is a hot number 3.


----------



## dbalone

I just knew they would find a way to get me back for asking for lifetime free hd!!!


----------



## susanandmark

Doug Brott said:


> posted more than an hour ago ...
> link
> 
> It's not "utter silence" ..


Agreed. But the vast majority of users will either 1) call or 2) go to DirecTV's own website for answers. Twitter is no one's (and shouldn't be) first stop.


----------



## DogLover

MicroBeta said:


> This is television, not a life threating situation.
> 
> IMO, it's probably not best to let the general subscriber try to fix this problem on their own. Some would probably be uncomfortable with doing this procedure without guidance and an email is probably not enough. Besides, who knows if this is really the long term fix. It could be that once the guide data starts to re-populate we could continue to have problems. I suspect DirecTV is trying as we "type" to determine the exact cause before they start telling people what to do about it.
> 
> Just because it seems to work doesn't mean the double restart is the final fix.
> 
> I'm just sayin' :grin:
> 
> Mike


You make a good point, Mike. The double reboot has removed the offending guide data off our receivers, so that they are currently functioning. However, over the next 24 hours the guide data will repopulate. If they have not fixed the bad guide data, then we will see some more lockups and the bad data redownloads.

Most of us are not willing to wait for the final fix. We want our DVRs back now, and have them for the moment. If they lock up again, I'll double reboot again. That's better than being down all day (for me at least).

I guess we'll wait and see.


----------



## mdavej

So what's the best solution that doesn't require grandma to move a 200 LB piece of furniture, crawl behind the tv and unplug her HR23 twice? Will multiple RBR's work? Are the reports of remote reboots true? Is it best just to wait?


----------



## dkraft

3 HD DVRs down this morning. No responds to remotes. 2 Reboots in a row seems to have fixed it. Then I got on DBStalk and seen everyone was having the same issue.

I was smart enough to reboot my DVR's until the problem went away, but what about the average Joe? I guess they have to call customer support and find out from Direct what to do.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

prospero63 said:


> Earl, unfortunately the Dougs and the you's are few and far between with DirecTV. Y'all are the exception that proves the rule if you will.


But I am part of DIRECTV.... There are many DIRECTV people that are trying to help, and fix the situation. However, we do have rules and guidelines that have to be followed during a situation like this... and they are.

I know it is frustrating that there is official information as of yet...


----------



## biggie4852

I can't get past Searching for signal (771) when I do my reset. Do I need to see a picture before I do second RBR or just force another reset?


----------



## azphi

2 reboots did the trick here, 1 HR23, 2 R22's. Reminds me of the pirate days.

LouPenya


----------



## susanandmark

love that tv said:


> Yup! lots of peeps aren't aware of this great site either. If you go to Google Trends, it will tell you what people are googling consistently at that time. And Direct Tv Customer Service is a hot number 3.


It's No. 1 right now. So much for DirecTV getting the word out and doing all they can. This is a major "fail" in the language of the web!


----------



## prospero63

Carl Spock said:


> Prospero, Earl's remark about the time in California is also very valid. We want an instant response and the corporate world doesn't work that way.


That's an excuse. There are companies all over the place that most assuredly work that way. Call Cisco at 4AM sometime when you have 24x7x4 support and be in awe when replacement equipment shows up before 8AM.


----------



## usnret

I got updates on both my R22 and HR22 this am (knew that because the blue lites came on, etc.). Now neither DVR will work with either remotes (put new batteries in too).


----------



## Athlon646464

biggie4852 said:


> I can't get past Searching for signal (771) when I do my reset. Do I need to see a picture before I do second RBR or just force another reset?


If you are seeing that, then do another restart.


----------



## Carl Spock

dbalone said:


> I just knew they would find a way to get me back for asking for lifetime free hd!!!


:lol: It's all _your_ fault!


----------



## jcc

Never mind. I unplugged it and plugged it back in so now the recceiver works again. No programming necessary.


----------



## Athlon646464

usnret said:


> I got updates on both my R22 and HR22 this am (knew that because the blue lites came on, etc.). Now neither DVR will work with either remotes (put new batteries in too).


This is corrupt Guide Data and not the latest software update.

Two restarts within 30 minutes will flush the bad Guide Data.

Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.

:icon_peac


----------



## syphix

Don't think I'll even _try_ calling DirecTV today about the Free HD promotion!!


----------



## Starz26

DRB worked, first reboot stuck on rebuilding scheduler, second reboot worked.

Interesting that it seems to be guide data as the software update specifically mentioned and upgrade to guide information in the "good news" information box...


----------



## Prince Oz

My wife called me on my way to work and told me our HR23 was locked up and it would not turn off. I told here to push the little red button to reset. She told me it reset and I hung up. When she got to work, she said that it was still locked up and had to leave for work and that it was still powered on. My question is it will be like that until I get home late afternoon. After reading you should do the reset within 30 minutes, am I Screwed, or will I be able to do it when I get home in 8 hrs?


----------



## Earl Bonovich

prospero63 said:


> That's an excuse. There are companies all over the place that most assuredly work that way. Call Cisco at 4AM sometime when you have 24x7x4 support and be in awe when replacement equipment shows up before 8AM.


Not an excuse... but fact of the situation.
Your Cisco example is Apples <> Oranges, completely and totally different.

Plain and simple... there are people that are monitoring the sytem all night long. Procedures are being followed.

My response was to your statmenet that you are expecting a public statement already on the situation... but as I noted, it is early morning in LA. Those that are authorized to make a public statement, are now getting up to speed on the situation... while the overnight procedures did what they were supposed to.


----------



## fdglsg

One of my HR24 Stop last night after reset it works ok....


----------



## MoMo

Two reboots a success here too. The first reboot eventually led to a black screen with no responsiveness from remote or buttons on receiver. After a second reboot via Red Button receiver came up with the "your receiver has been updated" blue screen and everything was fine.

HR20-700


----------



## love that tv

susanandmark said:


> It's No. 1 right now. So much for DirecTV getting the word out and doing all they can. This is a major "fail" in the language of the web!


WOW! in 2 minutes it went from 3 to 1. MAYDAY MAYDAY!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## onan38

syphix said:


> Don't think I'll even _try_ calling DirecTV today about the Free HD promotion!!


I was going to call today to :lol: but i may just wait for another day.


----------



## Hutchinshouse

Earl Bonovich said:


> Not an excuse... but fact of the situation.
> Your Cisco example is Apples <> Oranges, completely and totally different.
> 
> Plain and simple... there are people that are monitoring the sytem all night long. Procedures are being followed.
> 
> My response was to your statmenet that you are expecting a public statement already on the situation... but as I noted, it is early morning in LA. Those that are authorized to make a public statement, are now getting up to speed on the situation... while the overnight procedures did what they were supposed to.


Thanks big E!

It's all good!


----------



## DogLover

mdavej said:


> So what's the best solution that doesn't require grandma to move a 200 LB piece of furniture, crawl behind the tv and unplug her HR23 twice? Will multiple RBR's work? Are the reports of remote reboots true? Is it best just to wait?


If the menu reset is available, that's the best. However, it the machine is locked up, that's not available.

The red button on the front of the receiver (in the access card section) is next best, but didn't work for me for the first reboot.

Unplugging is last resort. If she can't get behind the furniture, can she throw a breaker switch? I know that will affect other components, but if she really can't get to the plug, that may be an option.


----------



## prospero63

dbalone said:


> I just knew they would find a way to get me back for asking for lifetime free hd!!!


OK, I don't care who ya are, that's funny right there :lol:


----------



## Herdfan

gully_foyle said:


> Guide data should not be able to do this. Doesn't it get validated on the way in? Doesn't matter how the data got corrupted, the box should have rejected it. Pretty sure that this point is being made at DirecTV this morning.


Maybe not, but if it is Guide Data, then this is the third time it has caused issues.


----------



## geaux tigers

How long is the rebuilding scheduler taking for everyone? I believe mine is hung up on that.


----------



## 1948GG

FYI it appears that the guide data is not 'rebuilding' past about 3 days into the 'future'; most channels are blank past about 1 day. This after dual RBR's and power cycles, and 3hrs+. 

Think that they've stopped feeding the guide past that. I'm not going to ding with my personal things, I've told others to stop if they've gone to the double RBR's, and still have a couple dozen customers that have bricked units even after (multiple) power cycles. 

Black Tuesday for DirecTV. I'll stick with my 'worst failure since 1994' comment in another thread. It's already hit major news outlets (won't repeat it here), also think that perhaps a system wide reset is due for later today, IF they can narrow down what the problem is.


----------



## Rojma

Wife called saying our DVRs are also having the lock up issues. Told her to try the double reboot and see what happens.


----------



## NorfolkBruh

nnn


----------



## Doug Brott

susanandmark said:


> Agreed. But the vast majority of users will either 1) call or 2) go to DirecTV's own website for answers. Twitter is no one's (and shouldn't be) first stop.


No .. That should be DBSTalk


----------



## Hutchinshouse

geaux tigers said:


> How long is the rebuilding scheduler taking for everyone. I believe mine is hung up on that.


mine too. Press the red button again


----------



## Carl Spock

geaux tigers said:


> How long is the rebuilding scheduler taking for everyone. I believe mine is hung up on that.


 My HR20-700 hung up the first time, too. I ended up doing three reboots followed by a new software download to get things right.


----------



## GregLee

Doug Brott said:


> Don't expect DIRECTV to ever tell you why it happened specifically .. They'll probably send out an apology for a "glitch" .. which I'd say :shrug: to myself .. If you expect more of a response than that, then I think you are expecting too much.


Why is that expecting too much?


----------



## SDimwit

mdavej said:


> So what's the best solution that doesn't require grandma to move a 200 LB piece of furniture, crawl behind the tv and unplug her HR23 twice? Will multiple RBR's work? Are the reports of remote reboots true? Is it best just to wait?


I'm honestly NOT trying to be a smart aleck here:
IF you or "grandma" know which circuit breaker or fuse supplies the outlet that the DVR is plugged into, you could (after turning off all electronic devices on the circuit) cycle power by tripping the breaker or pulling the fuse.

I realize this isn't an ideal solution as many people are not comfortable working inside their electrical panels, but there really isn't anything "ideal" about this whole situation...

Joe


----------



## DogLover

prospero63 said:


> That's an excuse. There are companies all over the place that most assuredly work that way. Call Cisco at 4AM sometime when you have 24x7x4 support and be in awe when replacement equipment shows up before 8AM.


How much do you pay Cisco for that type of support? (Either directly or through equipment prices.) Do you want to pay that much for DirecTV?

I'm not trying to be combative, but to expect the same customer support from both companies doesn't seem realistic to me.


----------



## love that tv

Free "access directv magazine" for all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Xsabresx

prospero63 said:


> Ah, the DirecTV apologists. In what world does improving customer service revolve around the idea that as long as you suck as bad as your competition, you are doing good? Seriously. Great, cable doesn't do a notification. So what. I don't have cable. I have DirecTV. I expect DirecTV to be better than their competition, not merely to suck as much or suck on an equal level.


Has nothing at all to do with being an apologist and everything to do with it not being that big of a deal. My point in bringing up cable is that most companies dont notify you and just as Earl said, even if they DID want to notify you this happened when most of the people arent even in the office yet (short of a skeleton crew)

Doing some quick math, my service costs me $4.93 per day or 20.5 cents per hour. My service was out for 2hrs max. I have better things to do than fight for even a $5 credit. Feel free to have at it though.


----------



## Villager

mdavej said:


> So what's the best solution that doesn't require grandma to move a 200 LB piece of furniture, crawl behind the tv and unplug her HR23 twice? Will multiple RBR's work? Are the reports of remote reboots true? Is it best just to wait?


Sometimes it is easier to pull the plug from the back of the receiver (AM21 or HR-2X.) I'm certain that it is better to unplug from the wall socket, but it does work this way as well.


----------



## camo

MicroBeta said:


> This is television, not a life threating situation.


!rolling


----------



## wilbur_the_goose

I wonder who's the lucky QA person that signed off on this change. They're NOT going to have a good day! 

In the immortal words of Dan Collins, "It's just TV"


----------



## Dradran

My HR21-700 was also out this morning. After a single RBR it seems all well. Glad I read these forums or I would have been confused. 

Actually it just became unresponsive again. RBR'ing again.


----------



## Doug Brott

prospero63 said:


> That's an excuse. There are companies all over the place that most assuredly work that way. Call Cisco at 4AM sometime when you have 24x7x4 support and be in awe when replacement equipment shows up before 8AM.


Ah, but we're not talking about reacting to a problem .. We're talking about communicating the problem to 18 million subscribers .. That's a different type of problem.

While folks may be having trouble getting through, I have to believe that CSRs actually know the answer to this problem .. if folks call in to find out, they should be getting the solution.

If folks just google DIRECTV .. I suspect they can now find the solution to the problem.

The "working on it" part has undoubtedly been going on since it started .. Communication is lagging as it always does, but we can already see that Twitter has proven to be a valuable quick-hit resource for situations like this.


----------



## Athlon646464

Prince Oz said:


> My wife called me on my way to work and told me our HR23 was locked up and it would not turn off. I told here to push the little red button to reset. She told me it reset and I hung up. When she got to work, she said that it was still locked up and had to leave for work and that it was still powered on. My question is it will be like that until I get home late afternoon. After reading you should do the reset within 30 minutes, am I Screwed, or will I be able to do it when I get home in 8 hrs?


If all is not well when you get home, just do the following:

This is corrupt Guide Data and not the latest software update.

Two restarts within 30 minutes will flush the bad Guide Data.

Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.

(If it gets hung up on re-building the scheduler, then do a red button reboot.)

:icon_peac


----------



## love that tv

MicroBeta said:


> This is television, not a life threating situation.


Let's not say things we cant take back. :grin:


----------



## prospero63

DogLover said:


> How much do you pay Cisco for that type of support? (Either directly or through equipment prices.) Do you want to pay that much for DirecTV?
> 
> I'm not trying to be combative, but to expect the same customer support from both companies doesn't seem realistic to me.


It depends. For some equipment I've paid thousands. For others it's been about $150 or so. That said, the illustration is there only to make the point that there are plenty of companies that do business that way.


----------



## camo

susanandmark said:


> It's No. 1 right now. So much for DirecTV getting the word out and doing all they can. This is a major "fail" in the language of the web!


Twitter page is busy: http://twitter.com/DIRECTV


----------



## tonyd79

Earl Bonovich said:


> Not an excuse... but fact of the situation.
> Your Cisco example is Apples <> Oranges, completely and totally different.
> 
> Plain and simple... there are people that are monitoring the sytem all night long. Procedures are being followed.
> 
> My response was to your statmenet that you are expecting a public statement already on the situation... but as I noted, it is early morning in LA. Those that are authorized to make a public statement, are now getting up to speed on the situation... while the overnight procedures did what they were supposed to.


SOP 101.

1. Diagnose the problem.
2. Fix the problem.
3. Report to the masses

In that order, unless you need people to do something or stop doing something to accomplish 1 and 2.

The plain and simple fact is that, despite there being many people involved, it usually comes down to one or two pivotal people to do 1 and at least set up 2. But those same people need to do something to make 3 happen. Well, you want them concentrating on 1 and 2 rather than 3. Once they can get to the point where something that makes sense can be communicated and not hold up progress on fixing the problem, THEN you report it.

The best they can (and should do) right now is just send a message to the CSRs that "the problem has been reported and we are working on it. Tell all calling customers to remain calm."

Sending out a notice to customers is LAST in the queue. How do you do that? The systems are not working right, so TV Mail is not the way (and I have no idea how long the cycle for getting that out is). Emailing all of DirecTV's customers must take an awful long time and if you think you are going to have it fixed before it can be fully sent and/or read, it is not worth the bother.

The realistic fact is that this happened when most people are not watching TV. Many were not even awake. You fix the problem, THEN worry about communication.


----------



## Doug Brott

1948GG said:


> Black Tuesday for DirecTV. I'll stick with my 'worst failure since 1994' comment in another thread. It's already hit major news outlets (won't repeat it here), also think that perhaps a system wide reset is due for later today, IF they can narrow down what the problem is.


So far .. it seems to me first failure last year was worse than this one .. Although this one does have a unique characteristic that the other didn't. This one could be a problem for some folks.


----------



## susanandmark

Two hours later I'm still working to get all five receivers going. Do you think any consumer reporters have DirecTV HD DVRs? If so, I smell a bunch of (well deserved) bad press coming DirecTV's way!


----------



## djrobx

> Guide data should not be able to do this. Doesn't it get validated on the way in? Doesn't matter how the data got corrupted, the box should have rejected it.


Garbage in, garbage out. I don't think these boxes have the CPU chutzpah to verify that every T is crossed and every i is dotted. They probably just do some minimal validation (hash check) to ensure that the chunk of data they got is what DirecTV intended. Given that it's a closed system, all other validation should be done on DirecTV's end. If you've ever run something like Bounds Checker on a software application, you know just how slow validating data is.

What I find more interesting is that the HR24s weren't affected.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

susanandmark said:


> Two hours later I'm still working to get all five receivers going. Do you think any consumer reporters have DirecTV HD DVRs? If so, I smell a bunch of (well deserved) bad press coming DirecTV's way!


If it is the guide data then we might need to point the finger at Tribune first and DirecTV second...I'm just sayin' :grin:

Mike


----------



## Doug Brott

GregLee said:


> Why is that expecting too much?


only because it's not going to happen .. If you want to expect it .. go for it. You will be disappointed.


----------



## jerrylove56

Two HR21-200's had same problems. RBR did not work had to unplug. Software download occured on June 2. Both up and working now.


----------



## Greg Alsobrook

camo said:


> Twitter page is busy: http://twitter.com/DIRECTV


No kidding. I counted about 90 posts this morning alone.


----------



## wilbur_the_goose

Google Trend search graph for D* Customer Service:


----------



## Ed Campbell

Bowtaz3 said:


> Same here, I thought mine croaked lol


Ditto. Did 2 reboots, looks mellow, so far.


----------



## Carl Spock

Doug Brott said:


> Don't expect DIRECTV to ever tell you why it happened specifically .. They'll probably send out an apology for a "glitch" .. which I'd say :shrug: to myself .. If you expect more of a response than that, then I think you are expecting too much.





Doug Brott said:


> If folks just google DIRECTV .. I suspect they can now find the solution to the problem.


If you Google DIRECTV, you get the website. It would be a major step forward for DirecTV to put up something about this today on the home page of their website.

It won't be an apology. Corporations have to be pushed into corners to do that, and even then, they're usually only grudging mea culpas. But a website notice telling people about the double RBR solution would be a huge change in corporate openness for DirecTV.


----------



## prospero63

tonyd79 said:


> You fix the problem, THEN worry about communication.


Then you figure out how the problem happened and how to keep it from happening again. Let's assume that it's guide data that did this. Why should guide data cause the entire DVR to lock up? Shouldn't any "fix" of the problem be extended to making sure that the guide data can't result in a hard lock of the DVR? Let's continue to explore examples. Numerous people have pointed out that this isn't the first time that guide data has caused a lock up. That would imply to me that the process for ensuring that the guide data is solid may well be flawed. So shouldn't any "fix" of the problem be extended to making sure that before the guide data is pushed, it has had to go through some kind of validation process to ensure that the data itself is solid?

With regards to process, the beautiful thing about process is when it works exactly like it should. Many folks have, rightly, pointed out that the DirecTV process went just like it is supposed to. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's the correct process or that the process doesn't need improvement. It merely means things happened like they were supposed to. Twitter got updated. Facebook didn't though. The website didn't. So shouldn't any "fix" of the problem involve examining the process and even if it went exactly like it was supposed to, if the process can be improved, go ahead and improve it?

Again, I know DirecTV folks read this forum. I hope they take these kinds of customer concerns back to their management and improve the process. I mentioned to someone else that I remember when DirecTV had commercials that simply pointed out how they were the best in customer service. I'd love nothing more than for them to get back to being able to have those commercials, instead of the petty "DISH sucks" commercials they currently have.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Google Trend search graph for D* Customer Service:


Wow! :eek2:

I'd hate to be a CSR today. I wonder how well their phone system is handling the traffic.

Mike


----------



## HIGHWAY

HR20-700 was dead had to unplug it works


----------



## Mike Bertelson

HIGHWAY said:


> HR20-700 was dead had to unplug it works


Make sure you restart is a second time within 30 minutes of coming back up.

Mike


----------



## t_h

MicroBeta said:


> THIS IS NOT A FIRMWARE UPDATE PROBLEM.


These are not the droids you're looking for... :lol:


----------



## Hdhead

Where's Swanni?


----------



## bossfan50

I had 2 dead DVR's. I did 2 back to back red button resets. All is well at the moment.

A quick solution to my problem and finding out about the free HD promotion. Thanks for being here DBSTALK, I don't know what people do that don't know that forums like this exist.


----------



## billsharpe

Doug Brott said:


> perhaps they are still diagnosing the problem and reacting to all of the calls that they are getting. It's bright and early here in California and while I'm sure folks were awakened, it's not like they can magically appear at work the second this started.
> 
> The report you linked gives the wrong reason, plain and simple. We already know that much. Don't expect DIRECTV to ever tell you why it happened specifically .. They'll probably send out an apology for a "glitch" .. which I'd say :shrug: to myself .. *If you expect more of a response than that, then I think you are expecting too much.*


Unfortunately I've got agree with that. It's not just DirecTV, it's airlines, cable companies, BP, and even the government that doesn't want to tell you what's going on...

I'm sure DirecTV is "working on it," but if they'd been a bit quicker in getting the word out they may not have gotten their phone lines quite so clogged.

Who knew two (or three) restarts would be required, unless they came here or had a Twitter account that they remembered to check?


----------



## Bit_fiddler

Greg Alsobrook said:


> No kidding. I counted about 90 posts this morning alone.


NO KIDDING!!! Just got a "Twitter is over capacity" error "Too many tweets -Please wait a moment and try again in a few minutes!"


----------



## afulkerson

Doug Brott said:


> posted more than an hour ago ...
> link
> 
> It's not "utter silence" ..


Doug, just tried the link and I get message "Twitter is over capacity."


----------



## Athlon646464

bossfan50 said:


> A quick solution to my problem and finding out about the free HD promotion. Thanks for being here DBSTALK, I don't know what people do that don't know that forums like this exist.


They don't know what they don't know, or they've all turned green with envy.


----------



## FHSPSU67

I'm retired so I just got done canvassing my neighborhood (5 families w/ Directv) and telling/showing them how to do two resets within 30 min. It's really nice when us dbstalkers can help out our neighbors and Directv when these things happen


----------



## manofsteele

unplugged twice and everything is fine for me so far. I will say I was "WTF" this morning but went straight to DBSTALK and all is fine now, thanks.

J


----------



## B Newt

Same here! Way to go D*:nono2:

Ok I tried to a red button reset. The power light came on for about 2 seconds. I had to unplug the unit. It rebooted fine but still didnt respond to the remote. I tried the red button reset again and the unit worked fine after the reboot.


----------



## sigma1914

Hdhead said:


> Where's Swanni?


He's giggling and snorting while typing his "article." It's a dream come true for him.


----------



## Athlon646464

Bit_fiddler said:


> NO KIDDING!!! Just got a "Twitter is over capacity" error "Too many tweets -Please wait a moment and try again in a few minutes!"


California is waking up. Now the whole country is awake........


----------



## eckhart

All three of my HD DVRs required 2 RBRs. The second was required to regain remote control responsiveness.


----------



## dclarke

CNN reporting that D12 crashed into D10 and both exploded, nothing to worry about


----------



## Athlon646464

eckhart said:


> All three of my HD DVRs required 2 RBRs. The second was required to regain remote control responsiveness.


This is corrupt Guide Data and not the latest software update.

Two restarts within 30 minutes will flush the bad Guide Data.

Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.

(If it gets hung up on re-building the scheduler after the first restart, then do a red button reboot.)

:icon_peac


----------



## t_h

Doug Brott said:


> The second incident was not directly a guide data issue .. although it may have looked as such .. It too was unrelated to the software on the receivers but did require corrective actions on DIRECTVs end ..


Whatever makeup you want to put on the pig, its three times in a relatively short time period that many of their customers were all hosed at the same time, requiring corrective action by the customer with limited information from directv.

This particular iteration got me out of bed 2 hours before I had planned and it appears we lost a handful of morning shows. The last two times it happened, my wife didnt get a couple of Oprah's. Thats a firing offense. 

Its simple: there ought to be a deadman timer in these things that if they've burped up a smurf, they reboot themselves, then clear their guide data if that didnt work, then redownload the software if that didnt work, then reboot themselves a few more times. Getting killed by guide data and laying dead in the water until the customer figures out that they have to manually reboot twice to (maybe) get it working isnt adequate.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

eckhart said:


> All three of my HD DVRs required 2 RBRs. The second was required to regain remote control responsiveness.


Just to be clear, if you can get to menu from the front panel, it's better to do a menu restart than an RBR.

It sounds like most people can't do that to day but a menu restart is preferable to an RBR when ever possible.

Mike


----------



## Mike Bertelson

dclarke said:


> CNN reporting that D12 crashed into D10 and both exploded, nothing to worry about


Ummm...yeah. 

actually i chuckled at that one. :lol:

Mike


----------



## Doug Brott

afulkerson said:


> Doug, just tried the link and I get message "Twitter is over capacity."


Guess DIRECTV lockups result in Twitter lockups  :shrug: :lol:


----------



## sacalait

Doug Brott said:


> Guess DIRECTV lockups result in Twitter lockups  :shrug: :lol:


I noticed that too and thought the same thing. Pretty funny. I've never seen Twitter over capacity before. :lol:


----------



## Stuart Sweet

Yeah, I get it. Stuff like this shouldn't happen. Still, my satellite service goes out far less than cable ever did, and I never have to jigger with the satellite dish because the reception is bad (like I did with an antenna.) 

If happens, and I'm willing to bet that for many folks it will be fixed automatically by end of day. And, in the end, people may not be so smart but most of them will figure out how to unplug something and plug it back in.


----------



## Rojma

Does this mean we don't get any new HD channels this week? :grin:


----------



## Stuart Sweet

One thing has nothing to do with another.


----------



## wanderer666

Please help! My receiver locked up when they dloaded the new software but after a rbr it goes into a scandisk mode! It has been scandisking for 6 hours now and is only 12% done!!! At this rate it will take 2 days to complete! Why did mine go in this scandisk mode after rebooting?


----------



## texasbrit

Looks like it's a guide data issue rather than a software issue as such. 
DirecTV's own support forums are down although DirecTV on twitter is VERY active! http://twitter.com/DIRECTV


----------



## Athlon646464

Doug Brott said:


> Guess DIRECTV lockups result in Twitter lockups  :shrug: :lol:


Hey - I wonder if Twitter has communicated to the masses exactly what went wrong with Tweets and exactly what they will do to prevent it from ever happening again. If they haven't, then well, they suck.

:hurah::hurah::lol::hurah::hurah:


----------



## susanandmark

MicroBeta said:


> I'd hate to be a CSR today. I wonder how well their phone system is handling the traffic.


According to reports here, and on Twitter, it's not.

Again, they've had plenty of time to get a message up on their website or a notice on their automated call system, but they have done neither. (When my power is out, my electric company is able to put a message on their phone system saying they already know about the outage and are working on it. From what I remember of cable, they did the same.) Perhaps DirecTV is too busy constantly rewording their online "free" HD offer (wording changed three times in three days and I have screen shots) to keep from giving existing customers in good standing discounts?

The person who talked about DirecTV's cost to them per hour is missing the point. The point is how much of OUR time, and its value, we had to spend diagnosing and fixing the problem. For me it's right at two hours when I finally got all five receivers up and running, I hope. When I do freelance work, I charge $40/hour for my time. Do you think DirecTV is going to give me $80 for my trouble. And, before you answer, no, neither do I. (Nor do I plan to bother to ask.) But that math makes at least as much sense as the previous poster's.

And for those that are adamant that the 3D update couldn't possibly have caused this. I think it's then a HUGE coincidence that all four of my HR20s got them the same time this happened. It's totally possible that software that worked on newer models, didn't work correctly on older. Sure, such coincidences do happen (hence the term) but that seems at least as likely an explanation as anything else I've heard.

Look, a year or so ago, we lost Internet from our small-time provider (Windstream DSL) for a few days. Turned out it was due to a hurricane in the Gulf. Without prompting, once service was restored, they sent out an email to all affected customers apologizing and saying we'd been credited for a free MONTH of service for the trouble. Did they have to? No. In fact, we don't even have another high speed option where I live, so it's not like we could switch. They just did it because it was good customer service.

Will DirecTV do something similar (or anything) for customer's that don't call and complain? I think we all know the answer to that. Heck, I'd be SHOCKED if they even reached out to consumers (who don't seek them out) with an apology. (And, by the way, I'm not planning to call. I've wasted enough time on this problem already.)


----------



## onan38

Doug Brott said:


> Guess DIRECTV lockups result in Twitter lockups  :shrug: :lol:


As long as DBStalk is up its all good.


----------



## irock

Stuart Sweet said:


> Yeah, I get it. Stuff like this shouldn't happen. Still, my satellite service goes out far less than cable ever did, and I never have to jigger with the satellite dish because the reception is bad (like I did with an antenna.)
> 
> If happens, and I'm willing to bet that for many folks it will be fixed automatically by end of day. And, in the end, people may not be so smart but most of them will figure out how to unplug something and plug it back in.


I totally agree. Charter used to do this 2-3 times a month, and I went through 6 MOXI boxes.

When I couldn't change channels this morning or turn off the box, I simply unplugged it, and it worked.


----------



## Caddo-Miller

Two HR22-100's and an HR20-700 will not respond to remotes other than volume and on/off controls. RBR nor resend authorizations to all boxes did not resolve problems.

*I then turned off all equipment at the surge protectors, powered up again and all 3 receivers are now working properly*.


----------



## Doug Brott

t_h said:


> Whatever makeup you want to put on the pig, its three times in a relatively short time period that many of their customers were all hosed at the same time, requiring corrective action by the customer with limited information from directv.
> 
> This particular iteration got me out of bed 2 hours before I had planned and it appears we lost a handful of morning shows. The last two times it happened, my wife didnt get a couple of Oprah's. Thats a firing offense.
> 
> Its simple: there ought to be a deadman timer in these things that if they've burped up a smurf, they reboot themselves, then clear their guide data if that didnt work, then redownload the software if that didnt work, then reboot themselves a few more times. Getting killed by guide data and laying dead in the water until the customer figures out that they have to manually reboot twice to (maybe) get it working isnt adequate.


Just trying to put some facts in order ..

I could apologize for your troubles, but since I don't work for DIRECTV it would really be meaningless .. so I simply leave it as .. bummer, that sucks dude!


----------



## love that tv

dclarke said:


> CNN reporting that D12 crashed into D10 and both exploded, nothing to worry about


the funny thing about your post is that you saw it on CNN. We know your tv isnt working!


----------



## Athlon646464

Caddo-Miller said:


> Two HR22-100's and an HR20-700 will not respond to remotes other than volume and on/off controls. RBR nor resend authorizations to all boxes did not resolve problems.


This is corrupt Guide Data and not the latest software update.

Two restarts within 30 minutes will flush the bad Guide Data.

Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.

(If it gets hung up on re-building the scheduler after the first restart, then do a red button reboot.)

:icon_peac


----------



## GregLee

DogLover said:


> How much do you pay Cisco for that type of support? (Either directly or through equipment prices.)


Amazon has a pretty amazing phone support system now. I doubt it could handle a massive problem like this, but for more ordinary things, I wish D* had something like it. I open a "call me" page online and type in my phone number -- the two times I've used it, my phone has rung within 3 seconds.


----------



## susanandmark

t_h said:


> Whatever makeup you want to put on the pig, its three times in a relatively short time period that many of their customers were all hosed at the same time, requiring corrective action by the customer with limited information from directv.
> 
> This particular iteration got me out of bed 2 hours before I had planned and it appears we lost a handful of morning shows. The last two times it happened, my wife didnt get a couple of Oprah's. Thats a firing offense.
> 
> Its simple: there ought to be a deadman timer in these things that if they've burped up a smurf, they reboot themselves, then clear their guide data if that didnt work, then redownload the software if that didnt work, then reboot themselves a few more times. Getting killed by guide data and laying dead in the water until the customer figures out that they have to manually reboot twice to (maybe) get it working isnt adequate.


Have nothing to add ... But that this is my favorite post of the thread.  Agree 1000 percent.


----------



## Chris Blount

DBSTalk is coming up on 9 years old and it's still great to see so many people getting the help they need in situations like this. Thank you all for making this such a great place.


----------



## prospero63

billsharpe said:


> Unfortunately I've got agree with that. It's not just DirecTV, it's airlines, cable companies, BP, and even the government that doesn't want to tell you what's going on...


So to totally take this down a rabbit hole, IMO the reason for that is simple. Folks have become accustomed to accepting less and paying more. The beauty of free enterprise is that you can affect change with how you spend your money (and how you make companies spend theirs). But if no one bothers to go after their $5 service credit, then it doesn't mean anything. I mean, with 18 million subscribers, even if only 25% of them call for a credit, that's still what, 15 mil? It adds up. But only when folks use the power they have as a consumer.


----------



## t_h

tonyd79 said:


> SOP 101.
> 
> 1. Diagnose the problem.
> 2. Fix the problem.
> 3. Report to the masses
> 
> In that order, unless you need people to do something or stop doing something to accomplish 1 and 2.


Hmm, my Harvard Business School training said otherwise. Its been awhile so I might have a poor recollection but I believe the first four things were to communicate to the customer that you were aware of the problem, what you knew about it, and that you were working on a fix along with a time/date when you would communicate again.

Then fix it.

The biggest problem in any business relationship is uncertainty. The more doubt and uncertainty exist, the more strained the relationship. The best ones have no doubt and no uncertainty.

A 'BBB' rating of "F". Sliding in customer service ratings. Stunning most of their customers receivers into a non functional state three times in about a year.

Its time for a change of direction.


----------



## prospero63

Chris Blount said:


> DBSTalk is coming up on 9 years old and it's still great to see so many people getting the help they need in situations like this. Thank you all for making this such a great place.


QFT


----------



## sammib

Earl and Doug: For all you do, this Bud's for you. I wonder how many of the 18m subs know about this site. I rarely post a message but I'm on this site daily getting valuable info. I spoke to a very nice CSR getting my HD credit and even she didn't know about this site.


----------



## Doug Brott

susanandmark said:


> The person who talked about DirecTV's cost to them per hour is missing the point. The point is how much of OUR time, and its value, we had to spend diagnosing and fixing the problem. For me it's right at two hours when I finally got all five receivers up and running, I hope. When I do freelance work, I charge $40/hour for my time. Do you think DirecTV is going to give me $80 for my trouble. And, before you answer, no, neither do I. (Nor do I plan to bother to ask.) But that math makes at least as much sense as the previous poster's.


If DIRECTV paid me for a fraction of my time .. I'd be a rich man ..


----------



## FHSPSU67

Caddo-Miller said:


> Two HR22-100's and an HR20-700 will not respond to remotes other than volume and on/off controls. RBR nor resend authorizations to all boxes did not resolve problems.


Also remember that RBR uses the red button inside the access card door, not the remote's red button.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

prospero63 said:


> So to totally take this down a rabbit hole, IMO the reason for that is simple. Folks have become accustomed to accepting less and paying more. The beauty of free enterprise is that you can affect change with how you spend your money (and how you make companies spend theirs). But if no one bothers to go after their $5 service credit, then it doesn't mean anything. I mean, with 18 million subscribers, even if only 25% of them call for a credit, that's still what, 15 mil? It adds up. But only when folks use the power they have as a consumer.


A subject probably better discussed in it's own thread.

:backtotop

Mike


----------



## camo

susanandmark said:


> According to reports here, and on Twitter, it's not.
> 
> Again, they've had plenty of time to get a message up on their website or a notice on their automated call system, but they have done neither. (When my power is out, my electric company is able to put a message on their phone system saying they already know about the outage and are working on it. From what I remember of cable, they did the same.) Perhaps DirecTV is too busy constantly rewording their online "free" HD offer (wording changed three times in three days and I have screen shots) to keep from giving existing customers in good standing discounts?
> 
> The person who talked about DirecTV's cost to them per hour is missing the point. The point is how much of OUR time, and its value, we had to spend diagnosing and fixing the problem. For me it's right at two hours when I finally got all five receivers up and running, I hope. When I do freelance work, I charge $40/hour for my time. Do you think DirecTV is going to give me $80 for my trouble. And, before you answer, no, neither do I. (Nor do I plan to bother to ask.) But that math makes at least as much sense as the previous poster's.
> 
> And for those that are adamant that the 3D update couldn't possibly have caused this. I think it's then a HUGE coincidence that all four of my HR20s got them the same time this happened. It's totally possible that software that worked on newer models, didn't work correctly on older. Sure, such coincidences do happen (hence the term) but that seems at least as likely an explanation as anything else I've heard.
> 
> Look, a year or so ago, we lost Internet from our small-time provider (Windstream DSL) for a few days. Turned out it was due to a hurricane in the Gulf. Without prompting, once service was restored, they sent out an email to all affected customers apologizing and saying we'd been credited for a free MONTH of service for the trouble. Did they have to? No. In fact, we don't even have another high speed option where I live, so it's not like we could switch. They just did it because it was good customer service.
> 
> Will DirecTV do something similar (or anything) for customer's that don't call and complain? I think we all know the answer to that. Heck, I'd be SHOCKED if they even reached out to consumers (who don't seek them out) with an apology. (And, by the way, I'm not planning to call. I've wasted enough time on this problem already.)


WOW they did reword the free too all. Glad I called when I did. New wording:
" 
What is HD Access?

HD Access is the name of DIRECTV's HD service. If you have a High-Def TV, you need HD service to get an HD picture. Your TV alone won't give you an HD picture. HD Access provides the HD service you need to see the HD channels available in your TV package. This service is now FREE if you're a new DIRECTV customer. No matter how many HD receivers you have in your DIRECTV system, there's no extra charge to receive HD channels. "


----------



## Doug Brott

susanandmark said:


> And for those that are adamant that the 3D update couldn't possibly have caused this. I think it's then a HUGE coincidence that all four of my HR20s got them the same time this happened. It's totally possible that software that worked on newer models, didn't work correctly on older. Sure, such coincidences do happen (hence the term) but that seems at least as likely an explanation as anything else I've heard.


Think what you want .. I've now been told specifically by DIRECTV that this is unrelated to the download and that they are indeed working on it.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

All I can say is, I'm glad people do find us when they need us.


----------



## damondlt

Doug Brott said:


> Just trying to put some facts in order ..
> 
> I could apologize for your troubles, but since I don't work for DIRECTV it would really be meaningless .. so I simply leave it as .. bummer, that sucks dude!


 Clearly no excuse for this . D* has been doing this long enough. If they can't do a software update without disturbing the customer then someone needs to be let go.
Billion dollar business aren't ran like this.

D* get your act together.


----------



## Dradran

The second RBR worked. 

Thanks everyone.


----------



## t_h

Doug Brott said:


> Just trying to put some facts in order ..
> 
> I could apologize for your troubles, but since I don't work for DIRECTV it would really be meaningless .. so I simply leave it as .. bummer, that sucks dude!


I understand. However the facts you presented weren't meaningful.

Its entirely possible that the most recent release introduced a new code snippet and that is what choked on the guide data. The last time this happened there was a 3-4 day lag between getting the software and the guide data problem that stunned all of the receivers.

The primary point remains. I've probably owned more consumer electronics products than anyone on earth and ran the IT shop for one of the largest companies in the world. Never had a problem like this with anything, including Windows PC's where almost every customer got jammed up and had to fix it.

I know for sure if all my customers got hosed like this three times in a year, I'd be looking for a job. So would a lot of other people within the blast radius.

So I guess if theres a new software release sometime in the next week or so that it was something in the most recent release. Or maybe not. :lol:


----------



## Mike Bertelson

susanandmark said:


> <snip>
> And for those that are adamant that the 3D update couldn't possibly have caused this. I think it's then a HUGE coincidence that all four of my HR20s got them the same time this happened. It's totally possible that software that worked on newer models, didn't work correctly on older. Sure, such coincidences do happen (hence the term) but that seems at least as likely an explanation as anything else I've heard.
> <snip>


Except that my DVRs didn't get that update, and they have the same problem.

This problem happened regardless of firmware version, so yes it is a coincidence that it happened when your receivers got the update. Otherwise only those with the update would have this problem.

Mike


----------



## Inches

onan38 said:


> As long as DBStalk is up its all good.


Well said!! What's a couple of restarts among friends


----------



## susanandmark

Doug Brott said:


> Think what you want .. I've now been told specifically by DIRECTV that this is unrelated to the download and that they are indeed working on it.


I never doubted that they're working on it. And the explanation also might be true. It also might just be what they want to tell you because, as that earlier blog post listed, it's a mighty bad PR spin to update for 3D and torch your customer base, the vast (VAST) majority of whom can't use it.

Oh and the difference between DirecTV paying you for your time in posting (and I absolutely agree you help a lot of people, me included) is that you ELECT to do this, while DirecTV FORCED customers like me to spend their mornings in reboot h-e-double hockey sticks. It wasn't a choice, it was a necessity.


----------



## skierbri10

If anyone is keeping track, mine froze twice (so far) 2 RBR so we will see...


----------



## Carl Spock

susanandmark said:


> The point is how much of OUR time, and its value, we had to spend diagnosing and fixing the problem. For me it's right at two hours when I finally got all five receivers up and running, I hope. When I do freelance work, I charge $40/hour for my time. Do you think DirecTV is going to give me $80 for my trouble. And, before you answer, no, neither do I.


As an old employee of mine used to say, "Too bad. So sad."

Buck it up, cowboy. Life, not only DirecTV, doesn't work this way.


----------



## wanderer666

Again does ANYONE know what this scandisk thing is which is what my unit went into after it froze up!!!!


----------



## Athlon646464

skierbri10 said:


> If anyone is keeping track, mine froze twice (so far) 2 RBR so we will see...


This is corrupt Guide Data and not the latest software update.

Two restarts within 30 minutes will flush the bad Guide Data.

Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.

(If it gets hung up on re-building the scheduler after the first restart, then do a red button reboot.)

:icon_peac


----------



## damondlt

skierbri10 said:


> If anyone is keeping track, mine froze twice (so far) 2 RBR so we will see...


 4 Times Reboot, 1 Forced download from D* Tech Support, and 45 minutes on hold. That was my morning with my 1 month old HR23.:nono:


----------



## Earl Bonovich

wanderer666 said:


> Again does ANYONE know what this scandisk thing is which is what my unit went into after it froze up!!!!


Scandisk, occurs when the system is rebooting.

Your system detected some issue on it's standard restart issue.
(Would have happened regardliess if you told it to restart, power cycle, or software update).

It is taking a long time, as the system is attempting to recover the error.


----------



## MalibuRacing

I guess D* defenders can blame Liberty or whoever does the guide data, but the bottom line is these receivers do not handle corrupt guides gracefully. the receiver going into lock down is not an acceptable method of handling a guide error. This needs to be addressed immediately by D*.


----------



## Athlon646464

wanderer666 said:


> Again does ANYONE know what this scandisk thing is which is what my unit went into after it froze up!!!!


Possibly unrelated to what everyone else is experiencing. It can take as many as 9 hours to complete. If it goes a lot longer, then your box may be dead, and you should call for a replacement.


----------



## gary900

Both of my HR22's were unresponsive to the remote this moring. Each one needed two RBR's to start working again. Update gone bad?


----------



## camo

wanderer666 said:


> Again does ANYONE know what this scandisk thing is which is what my unit went into after it froze up!!!!


If it was windows OS, I would say you have a hard drive near failure and tell you to back it up. Coarse it won't work with the encrypted material with direct.


----------



## billsharpe

onan38 said:


> I was going to call today to :lol: but i may just wait for another day.


Most of us may have to wait for another day. The line was BUSY when I tried to call -- three times, then gave up. :nono2:


----------



## usnret

Quick question. Both of my receivers were locked and remote didn't work. I did an "unplug and wait 30 sec" and now they are both working, but no guide data past this Friday. Do I need to do the unplug thing twice to make the guide data come back?


----------



## wanderer666

OK so it has been 6 hours now and I am only at 14%. In your opinion, should I try a reboot or just let it go chugging along? At this rate it will take 2 days!
It was working fine before the software dload this morning!



Earl Bonovich said:


> Scandisk, occurs when the system is rebooting.
> 
> Your system detected some issue on it's standard restart issue.
> (Would have happened regardliess if you told it to restart, power cycle, or software update).
> 
> It is taking a long time, as the system is attempting to recover the error.


----------



## breevesdc

I work in the software industry. I'm by no means a "guru". But I would say that a software application that crashes because it received "bad guide data" needs some major quality updates. Simple edit checking of the guide data, and rejecting a faulty entry rather than loading it if it's not in the right format, would prevent the DVR from crashing in the event that this happens again (which we all know it will).

I love all of the features that D* has put into these DVRs. But ulitmately, the critical function is that it record all of the programs you asked it to record. If it can't do that reliably, then what good is it really?

Brian


----------



## hilmar2k

gary900 said:


> Both of my HR22's were unresponsive to the remote this moring. Each one needed two RBR's to start working again. Update gone bad?


No. As has been pointed out several times, this is unrelated to an update. Bad guide data.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

wanderer666 said:


> Again does ANYONE know what this scandisk thing is which is what my unit went into after it froze up!!!!


Sorry, your post was lost in the quick flow.

The receiver found problems with your hard drive and is trying to repair it without losing your programming. I would let it alone but if it's still chugging after 12-18 hours you'll need to call for a replacement.


----------



## MysteryMan

May I remind everyone that the more complex you make something the greater the possibility something can and will go wrong!


----------



## Athlon646464

gary900 said:


> Both of my HR22's were unresponsive to the remote this moring. Each one needed two RBR's to start working again. Update gone bad?


No.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

usnret said:


> Quick question. Both of my receivers were locked and remote didn't work. I did an "unplug and wait 30 sec" and now they are both working, but no guide data past this Friday. Do I need to do the unplug thing twice to make the guide data come back?


No... it can take up to 24 hours for all the giude data to cycle back through.

The guide data is sent in a rolling fashion (near time is sent frequently and often, further down the 14days is sent less frequently).

In a typical situation, a complete set of guide data is sent out in a 24 hour period.


----------



## billsharpe

DogLover said:


> If the menu reset is available, that's the best. However, it the machine is locked up, that's not available.
> 
> The red button on the front of the receiver (in the access card section) is next best, but didn't work for me for the first reboot.
> 
> Unplugging is last resort. If she can't get behind the furniture, *can she throw a breaker switch? * I know that will affect other components, but if she really can't get to the plug, that may be an option.


I'm 79 and I know what a breaker switch is, but does Grandma? 

And what might that do to the rest of the household appliances?


----------



## Stuart Sweet

wanderer666 said:


> OK so it has been 6 hours now and I am only at 14%. In your opinion, should I try a reboot or just let it go chugging along? At this rate it will take 2 days!
> It was working fine before the software dload this morning!


as I said, if you can let it go for 12-18 hours then make a decision, that's probably best.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

billsharpe said:


> I'm 79 and I know what a breaker switch is, but does Grandma?
> 
> And what might that do to the rest of the household appliances?


I think people are smart enough to unplug something by themselves. Seriously.


----------



## FRANKDK2

I pulled the plug and did the restart... now I do not get any signal to my tv. The box is doing something but there is not sound or video


----------



## Darcaine

I'm actually kind of glad this happened. It gave me the ambition to finally cancel Directv and stop being ripped off.

Crappy company, crappy service, and really crappy hardware. Good riddance.


----------



## Athlon646464

wanderer666 said:


> OK so it has been 6 hours now and I am only at 14%. In your opinion, should I try a reboot or just let it go chugging along? At this rate it will take 2 days!
> It was working fine before the software dload this morning!


It means that your receiver did have a problem, and now it is trying to heal itself. You may not have noticed whatever it was, but it was there.

The restart discovered the problem with your box, and hopefully it will fix itself.


----------



## wanderer666

Stuart Sweet said:


> as I said, if you can let it go for 12-18 hours then make a decision, that's probably best.


Thank you. It shows Errors Found 6252 Errors corrected 6252 and keeps finding more though it is only at 14%!


----------



## Xsabresx

t_h said:


> Whatever makeup you want to put on the pig, its three times in a relatively short time period that many of their customers were all hosed at the same time, requiring corrective action by the customer with limited information from directv.
> 
> This particular iteration got me out of bed 2 hours before I had planned and it appears we lost a handful of morning shows. The last two times it happened, my wife didnt get a couple of Oprah's. Thats a firing offense.
> 
> Its simple: there ought to be a deadman timer in these things that if they've burped up a smurf, they reboot themselves, then clear their guide data if that didnt work, then redownload the software if that didnt work, then reboot themselves a few more times. Getting killed by guide data and laying dead in the water until the customer figures out that they have to manually reboot twice to (maybe) get it working isnt adequate.


I dont even agree with half of this, but I have to laugh every time I read "burped up a smurf"


----------



## hilmar2k

Darcaine said:


> I'm actually kind of glad this happened. It gave me the ambition to finally cancel Directv and stop being ripped off.
> 
> Crappy company, crappy service, and really crappy hardware. Good riddance.


Bye. You'll be missed.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

FRANKDK2 said:


> I pulled the plug and did the restart... now I do not get any signal to my tv. The box is doing something but there is not sound or video


It is most likely the boot-up cycle is at a TV resolution that your TV/Connection type can not handle. Wait about 5 minutes to let it finish the startup cycle, and then check again.


----------



## susanandmark

wanderer666 said:


> OK so it has been 6 hours now and I am only at 14%. In your opinion, should I try a reboot or just let it go chugging along? At this rate it will take 2 days!
> It was working fine before the software dload this morning!


You can try but, as others have pointed out, it's likely your hard drive is dead. In the past, I've had this message and gotten it to reboot and work ... For a few days. From what I understand (and I'm sure someone will quickly tell me I'm full of it) but updates can trigger hard drive failure just by using (or trying to use) sectors of the disk the previous software didn't. Bad sectors, obviously. Since that is the software is needed to run the unit ... Well, you probably get the idea.

The good news is that DirecTV will probably replace the unit for you either for free, or a small S&H fee. The bad new is that, with today's trouble, no way you're getting through on the phone without the patience of Job. Oh and, yeah, you'll lose all your data/recordings/series links/etc. and have to start over, no small task. (Don't know about you, but usually takes me an hour or two to set-up DirecTV DVR with channel lists, series links, etc.)


----------



## FRANKDK2

Earl Bonovich said:


> It is most likely the boot-up cycle is at a TV resolution that your TV/Connection type can not handle. Wait about 5 minutes to let it finish the startup cycle, and then check again.


My TV is an 1080P, the audio just came on, but still no video.


----------



## Piratefan98

I was planning on calling today to get my Free HD for 24 months taken care of ..... guess that'll have to wait a day or two. :lol:


----------



## Earl Bonovich

FRANKDK2 said:


> My TV is an 1080P, the audio just came on, but still no video.


Then something probably didn't sync up on the video connection.

Try hititng the format button, to force a resolution change.

I have this happen with my older 720p, but it shows snow.
I have to turn the TV on/off, to get it to resync.


----------



## MysteryMan

hilmar2k said:


> Bye. You'll be missed.


LMAO


----------



## Athlon646464

FRANKDK2 said:


> My TV is an 1080P, the audio just came on, but still no video.


If you haven't done your 2cond restart, do it now.

Then try to change channels when it starts again to a SD channel.


----------



## gully_foyle

susanandmark said:


> And for those that are adamant that the 3D update couldn't possibly have caused this. I think it's then a HUGE coincidence that all four of my HR20s got them the same time this happened. It's totally possible that software that worked on newer models, didn't work correctly on older. Sure, such coincidences do happen (hence the term) but that seems at least as likely an explanation as anything else I've heard.


Believe what you will. I have an HR20-700, from VERY early on, and it has had the updated code for a week. It died this AM right along with my HR-21 which has had the new code for 2 weeks.

I believe the guide data explanation. What I have issue with is that the firmware should have bounds testing on data if it can do things like this.

Gross example: don't accept a data record that claims to be 10000003 bytes long. Probably not that obvious, but any guide data that locks up remotes has got to be really off the reservation, and should be detected. It's more than having the wrong channel for ABC.


----------



## joed32

Piratefan98 said:


> I was planning on calling today to get my Free HD for 24 months taken care of ..... guess that'll have to wait a day or two. :lol:


My thoughts too.


----------



## t_h

Xsabresx said:


> I dont even agree with half of this, but I have to laugh every time I read "burped up a smurf"


Whats not to agree with?

This has definitely happened 3 times in recent memory, thats a fact.

I definitely had to get up this morning and try to resolve a directv problem that affected much of their customer base, thats a fact.

So the only remainder is that you feel the box should just roll over and die if it gets bad guide data and require that the customer figure it out on their own and play with plugs and buttons for an hour to get it to work again and that it shouldnt either try to avoid these sorts of problems nor should it try to recover from them?


----------



## Athlon646464

gully_foyle said:


> Believe what you will. I have an HR20-700, from VERY early on, and it has had the updated code for a week. It died this AM right along with my HR-21 which has had the new code for 2 weeks.
> 
> I believe the guide data explanation. What I have issue with is that the firmware should have bounds testing on data if it can do things like this.
> 
> Gross example: don't accept a data record that claims to be 10000003 bytes long. Probably not that obvious, but any guide data that locks up remotes has got to be really off the reservation, and should be detected. It's more than having the wrong channel for ABC.


What if the folks supplying the data sent stuff that was crazy wrong, like Comcast's info.


----------



## billsharpe

irock said:


> I totally agree. Charter used to do this 2-3 times a month, and I went through 6 MOXI boxes.
> 
> When I couldn't change channels this morning or turn off the box, I simply unplugged it, and it worked.


That's absolutely amazing!

You unplugged it and it worked. What new model DVR do you have?


----------



## opfreak

Earl Bonovich said:


> Plain and simple... there are people that are monitoring the sytem all night long. Procedures are being followed.


What procedure is that: Wait until the morning crew shows up?

How about another procedure: before pushing stuff out nationally test it internal first.... Delay if errors found, sit on hands for morning crew.


----------



## bigcementpond

2 RBRs fixed mine. I didn't even know there was a problem yet, as I was checking in here before I turned on the TV.


----------



## Carl Spock

t_h said:


> Whats not to agree with?
> 
> This has definitely happened 3 times in recent memory, thats a fact.
> 
> I definitely had to get up this morning and try to resolve a directv problem that affected much of their customer base, thats a fact.
> 
> So the only remainder is that you feel the box should just roll over and die if it gets bad guide data and require that the customer figure it out on their own and play with plugs and buttons for an hour to get it to work again and that it shouldnt either try to avoid these sorts of problems nor should it try to recover from them?


 I agree with you, t_h.

It's just that I can't get that worked up over this. Yes it's a pain in the ass, but then, so is getting my car fixed by the end of the week.


----------



## syphix

I knew it was useless trying to get the Free HD promotion today:


> "All circuits are busy now. Please try your call later. 054T."


F5...er...redial...


----------



## Athlon646464

opfreak said:


> What procedure is that: Wait until the morning crew shows up?
> 
> How about another procedure: before pushing stuff out nationally test it internal first.... Delay if errors found, sit on hands for morning crew.


It was likely Guide Data, not an update.

This is corrupt Guide Data and not the latest software update.

Two restarts within 30 minutes will flush the bad Guide Data.

Be sure to wait for picture and sound from your first restart before initiating your second restart.

(If it gets hung up on re-building the scheduler after the first restart, then do a red button reboot.)

:icon_peac


----------



## mishababy

grrrr my HR 22 wont work so I am in the process of rebooting taking for freakin ever but hopefully this fixes it. I always come in here first if i have a problem instead of calling those idiots at direct because they never know anything. hopefully my remote will be working in a few.


----------



## Drucifer

onan38 said:


> Just spoke to someone at Directv they told me " power failure at the Denver service center might be to blame for the issue" and to reboot twice.


That's bull. My three DVRs have two different download times.


----------



## elbyj

Totally amazing!!!! And I thought it was just my HR22 that had the problems. Yes, it took two reboots to get things working. The download % on the first reboot went flying by and then no audio/video with the receiver frozen in time. Second reboot went normal, but a longer delay in getting the video/audio to come on line. It appears to be working fine right now.


----------



## Yog-Sothoth

Connected to my H24 via Slingbox (using PdaNet on my Droid) and found one of my HR23-700s (using MRV) to be non responsive. Luckily, we have a housesitter.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

opfreak said:


> What procedure is that: Wait until the morning crew shows up?
> 
> How about another procedure: before pushing stuff out nationally test it internal first.... Delay if errors found, sit on hands for morning crew.


I hope you are just venting with the "wait for the morning crew" comment.
It obviously is not just a "staff switch" procedure.

As for the software update, as several have indicated here... this is impacting systems, that 
1 - Don't have the update, 
2 - Systems that have been running fine on the update for several weeks now

And yes, the software is internally tested... more than most of you would even hazard a guess at.


----------



## Piratefan98

This is one of those situations where I'm sure DirecTV will cough up some perks for those that ask. If you call and tell them that you lost two hours of your morning to this mess, and that your wife missed Oprah and proceeded to smack you in the head with a shovel, certainly some credits or free movie channels are reasonable compensation. Let the CSR-roulette begin!


----------



## john18

usnret said:


> Quick question. Both of my receivers were locked and remote didn't work. I did an "unplug and wait 30 sec" and now they are both working, but no guide data past this Friday. Do I need to do the unplug thing twice to make the guide data come back?


No, the Guide data will re-populate over the next 12-24 hours.


----------



## sticketfan

my hr20-100 and hr20-700 got update 0x3df at 7:30am eastern time. the 100 needed to be unplugged and it seems fine the 700 was worse and needed to be unplugged 2 times before anything started..


----------



## Prince Oz

Is this the fastest growing thread in DBSTALK History?


----------



## Doug Brott

damondlt said:


> Clearly no excuse for this . D* has been doing this long enough. If they can't do a software update without disturbing the customer then someone needs to be let go.
> Billion dollar business aren't ran like this.
> 
> D* get your act together.


I'm not DIRECTV .. I am a DBSTalk moderator .. I don't run DIRECTV's business .. I don't work for DIRECTV.

Also, the software update had zero to do with the problem that is occurring this morning. They are unrelated.


----------



## FHSPSU67

mishababy said:


> grrrr my HR 22 wont work so I am in the process of rebooting taking for freakin ever but hopefully this fixes it. I always come in here first if i have a problem instead of calling those idiots at direct because they never know anything. hopefully my remote will be working in a few.


Remember to reboot a second time within 30 mins to flush the guide data.


----------



## Drucifer

mishababy said:


> grrrr my HR 22 wont work so I am in the process of rebooting taking for freakin ever but hopefully this fixes it. I always come in here first if i have a problem instead of calling those idiots at direct because they never know anything. hopefully my remote will be working in a few.


You'll need to RBR (Red Button Reset) twice within 30 minutes, but not before the picture and sound returns after the first RBR.


----------



## Doug Brott

Prince Oz said:


> Is this the fastest growing thread in DBSTALK History?


Nope .. There was one faster for sure .. It was similar to this one, though ..


----------



## camo

FRANKDK2 said:


> My TV is an 1080P, the audio just came on, but still no video.


Is there a chance that your tv inputs on remote got changed to a different mode? If your getting sound most likely not unless you are going through a AV receiver first.


----------



## gully_foyle

Athlon646464 said:


> What if the folks supplying the data sent stuff that was crazy wrong, like Comcast's info.


Then it shouldn't pass the laugh test. The headers would be nonsense and the firmware should reject it.

Look, I'm sure that it's a subtle fault, and possibly in a new function. I'm also sure that the bug will be fixed by the end of business today. Whenever that is.


----------



## syphix

Drucifer said:


> That's bull. My three DVRs have two different download times.


The Denver service center may be sending guide data, and during a power failure the data became corrupt on all HD DVR's up and running.

The download time you are referencing is the download time for the new firmware, which may come from a different center.


----------



## circadianswing

and one more reason I'm happy to be going to U Verse next week!


----------



## FriscoJohnny

Whah! People really seem to be in a bad mood. Before I even knew there was a widespread issue, I was RBRing boxes. Didn't even miss my morning cup of coffee. This, too, shall pass.


----------



## joeyo720

Doug Brott said:


> No .. That should be DBSTalk


yep! that was my first choice. my hr22 froze up this morning. i did a rbr, but when it rebooted and then froze again , i came to our site to get info, had to do 2 more rbr's then got 3d screen about new software, i just got the update today. everything working fine now. in a way i was hoping my hr22 was bad so i could get a hr24 for the replacement reciever because i have the protection plan. o well... dbstalk rocks!!!


----------



## Mike Bertelson

opfreak said:


> What procedure is that: Wait until the morning crew shows up?
> 
> How about another procedure: before pushing stuff out nationally test it internal first.... Delay if errors found, sit on hands for morning crew.


As has been thoroughly discussed, it has nothing to do with any updates. There are DVRs that didn't get any kind of update last night, and DVRs that have different firmware versions then what was pushed last night.

Let it go people. There exactly zero evidence to say it's an update issue and plenty to say it's not.

Mike


----------



## Earl Bonovich

circadianswing said:


> and one more reason I'm happy to be going to U Verse next week!


You don't think U-Verse has their own issues?


----------



## circadianswing

Earl Bonovich said:


> You don't think U-Verse has their own issues?


Oh I'm sure they do, but at least it doesn't take 4 seconds to change a channel. I know... go buy an HR24... no thanks!


----------



## mluntz

HR20-700, dead this morning! Tried to unplug, started sat setup, never finished. Went to schedule rebuilder, and then a blank screen. Tried an RBR, that brought it back to life.
(0x03df)

All this just for 3D, give me a break!


----------



## Doug Brott

susanandmark said:


> I never doubted that they're working on it. And the explanation also might be true. It also might just be what they want to tell you because, as that earlier blog post listed, it's a mighty bad PR spin to update for 3D and torch your customer base, the vast (VAST) majority of whom can't use it.
> 
> Oh and the difference between DirecTV paying you for your time in posting (and I absolutely agree you help a lot of people, me included) is that you ELECT to do this, while DirecTV FORCED customers like me to spend their mornings in reboot h-e-double hockey sticks. It wasn't a choice, it was a necessity.


Watching television is a choice .. not a necessity. Many people in the country choose to NOT pay for TV and NOT have a TV at all .. They are all alive and well today.


----------



## syphix

mluntz said:


> All this just for 3D, give me a break!


3D has nothing to do with today's issues.


----------



## Jon J

circadianswing said:


> and one more reason I'm happy to be going to U Verse next week!


Best of luck with that.

And posts like this really don't help the information exchange.


----------



## aukevin

What's the difference between unplugging from the wall a couple times and just doing a RBR a couple times?


----------



## Doug Brott

wanderer666 said:


> Again does ANYONE know what this scandisk thing is which is what my unit went into after it froze up!!!!


Hmmm .. You may have an HDD issue. Let the scan finish. It may take a long time, but it may fix issues that can affect the quality of your programs. This is initiated after a restart .. When it completes, if you haven't restarted a second time, you may have to restart twice again within 30 minutes to flush the GUIDE data from your cache.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

circadianswing said:


> Oh I'm sure they do, but at least it doesn't take 4 seconds to change a channel. I know... go buy an HR24... no thanks!


Not really going to debate the merits of U-Verse here... but be sure you hae done your homework on it, if it is right for you... then as a consumer I am glad you have found something that you enjoy.


----------



## Carl Spock

aukevin said:


> What's the difference between unplugging from the wall a couple times and just doing a RBR a couple times?


At this point, not much.


----------



## inferno

The double reboot worked for me on my HR20-100 but for some reason I cannot get the USA channel. It says searching for satellite signal in 2...(771)
I tried unplugging and rebooting a few more times but still no USA.
Anyone else experiencing this?


----------



## curt8403

aukevin said:


> What's the difference between unplugging from the wall a couple times and just doing a RBR a couple times?


 RBR does not power down the electronics inside, an unplug does power down.


----------



## syphix

Doug Brott said:


> Watching television is a choice .. not a necessity. Many people in the country choose to NOT pay for TV and NOT have a TV at all .. They are all alive and well today.


I think many people's gripe today is that this has happened twice before in recent history, and DirecTV hasn't solved the issue (i.e., patched the boxes to ignore corrupt data or force a reboot when corrupted). We pay all pay hefty bills to DirecTV (some over $1200 per year) and its frustrating when the service is not working, regardless of the reasoning.


----------



## Doug Brott

aukevin said:


> What's the difference between unplugging from the wall a couple times and just doing a RBR a couple times?


It's usually harder to reach the power cord than the red button .. If the cord is significantly easier for you, go that route. Most should just use the red button behind the little door flap on the front of the receiver.


----------



## rhurson

Darcaine said:


> I'm actually kind of glad this happened. It gave me the ambition to finally cancel Directv and stop being ripped off.
> 
> Crappy company, crappy service, and really crappy hardware. Good riddance.


I've had most of the others (AT&T Uverse, DishNetwork, Charter, Time Warner, Comcast). DirecTV has been the best product / service of the bunch. I guess it's a best of the worst situation. When I get mad at them I call and complain, then they bribe me with 3 mths free or a credit and i deal with it. At least they will throw you a bone to keep you as a customer. I actually had Dish Network kill a receiver and require that a new receiver was purchased because they thought that we were using it at a different location. How's that for customer service!


----------



## Drucifer

Rojma said:


> Does this mean we don't get any new HD channels this week? :grin:


But we do get 3D!


----------



## FHSPSU67

aukevin said:


> What's the difference between unplugging from the wall a couple times and just doing a RBR a couple times?


Menu resets are less shocking to the receiver, and provide a "controlled" shut-down and resart.
[edit] In my haste I was comparing a RBR to a menu reset. Still good info, though.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

aukevin said:


> What's the difference between unplugging from the wall a couple times and just doing a RBR a couple times?


Cold reboot vs a Hot reboot.

A power cycle ensures that EVERTHING in the box starts over.
On a hot reboot, there could be components (by design) that don't restart.


----------



## sdirv

FriscoJohnny said:


> Whah! People really seem to be in a bad mood. Before I even knew there was a widespread issue, I was RBRing boxes. Didn't even miss my morning cup of coffee. This, too, shall pass.


I finished my coffee first........


----------



## onan38

inferno said:


> The double reboot worked for me on my HR20-100 but for some reason I cannot get the USA channel. It says searching for satellite signal in 2...(771)
> I tried unplugging and rebooting a few more times but still no USA.
> Anyone else experiencing this?


USA channel fine here HR21-100.


----------



## runner26

I have three HR21-700 DVRS. All dead this morning, all will reboot but will not respond to remote at all. I think the wizards at Directv software have struck again. It wasn't broke and they fixed it!


----------



## Milkman

I hope that DirecTV is going to take precautions to prevent this from happening in the future, especially since this isn't the first time it has happened.

Some of the posts I have read here are really something. Some of you are making this sound like the end of the world. We should really try to keep this situation in perspective. After all, there are a lot more severe things happening right now that we should be focusing on, such as:

















Let's just relax and take a step back for the moment. I am just as critical of DirecTV a lot of the time, but in the grand scheme of things, this is nothing.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

mluntz said:


> HR20-700, dead this morning! Tried to unplug, started sat setup, never finished. Went to schedule rebuilder, and then a blank screen. Tried an RBR, that brought it back to life.
> (0x03df)
> 
> All this just for 3D, give me a break!


Just what does 3D have to do with it...oh yeah, nothing that's what.

Mike


----------



## Xsabresx

FriscoJohnny said:


> Whah! People really seem to be in a bad mood. Before I even knew there was a widespread issue, I was RBRing boxes. Didn't even miss my morning cup of coffee. This, too, shall pass.


Post of the day so far!


----------



## GregLee

gully_foyle said:


> Gross example: don't accept a data record that claims to be 10000003 bytes long. Probably not that obvious, but any guide data that locks up remotes has got to be really off the reservation, and should be detected.


No, it's not obvious at all. You've given a good example of data checking, but to be made foolproof, you need to detect all possible problems that can cause the system to bomb. It's possible in principle, since there is only a finite number of possible 2-week spans of guide data to examine, but it would probably take quite a long time.


----------



## Drucifer

FriscoJohnny said:


> Whah! People really seem to be in a bad mood. Before I even knew there was a widespread issue, I was RBRing boxes. Didn't even miss my morning cup of coffee. This, too, shall pass.


Yeah, I got my Living Room box up and running too before I got here, but it was here that brought my attention that my remote might not be working and it wasn't.


----------



## xmguy

My mom's R22-100 and our HR21-700 (both on National Release) were locked up. Neither would respond to remote or on box commands. RRB brought it back. The HR21-700 would not reboot for a while after pressing RRB. It flashed all lights on unit when RRB was pressed. Took 30+ seconds. Seems both got a SW download last night (0X3de) at 2am CDT. My HR21-700 is now fully locked up when trying to pull up menu after doing RRB. R22-100 is ALSO crashing when trying to play recordings AFTER previous RRB. My R22-200 is working fine as it's on a CE.


----------



## Doug Brott

breevesdc said:


> I work in the software industry. I'm by no means a "guru". But I would say that a software application that crashes because it received "bad guide data" needs some major quality updates. Simple edit checking of the guide data, and rejecting a faulty entry rather than loading it if it's not in the right format, would prevent the DVR from crashing in the event that this happens again (which we all know it will).
> 
> I love all of the features that D* has put into these DVRs. But ulitmately, the critical function is that it record all of the programs you asked it to record. If it can't do that reliably, then what good is it really?
> 
> Brian


No doubt .. Microsoft should be the same way .. 

I don't know what the true root of the problem was this time around. If it's simply the GUIDE data being corrupted .. yeah, there should be some better error checking. Totally agree. I'm sure that whatever caused this glitch will be addressed, but clearly it's too late for today.


----------



## runner26

What would would I do without DBStalk, they should charge. I did a double reboot (disconnecting power both times) and all si working right. THanks!!!!!


----------



## Doug Brott

opfreak said:


> What procedure is that: Wait until the morning crew shows up?
> 
> How about another procedure: before pushing stuff out nationally test it internal first.... Delay if errors found, sit on hands for morning crew.


The software download last night is unrelated to the lockup problem this morning. Once you restart twice, the problem is gone.


----------



## txfeinbergs

circadianswing said:


> Oh I'm sure they do, but at least it doesn't take 4 seconds to change a channel. I know... go buy an HR24... no thanks!


You might want to check into that. If you know how Uverse works then you know that only one or two channels are being delivered to your house at any one time. At least with sat, all channels are available at your dish all the time.


----------



## t_h

Carl Spock said:


> It's just that I can't get that worked up over this. Yes it's a pain in the ass, but then, so is getting my car fixed by the end of the week.


I understand. Different people have different priorities and some are more adversely affected than others. My wife stopped calling it the "directv box" when it didnt get her Oprah episodes, the new name is unfortunately Not Safe For Work. In the mornings, she likes to watch the news over coffee and then my son wants to watch his favorite show while eating his breakfast. That didnt happen this morning and it cost me two hours of sleep and most of my morning. And its something that really shouldnt happen. I can get a little bit worked up about that.



Doug Brott said:


> Watching television is a choice .. not a necessity. Many people in the country choose to NOT pay for TV and NOT have a TV at all .. They are all alive and well today.


Besides communicating a problem poorly and leaving doubt and uncertainty, the next worst thing you can do is minimize the problem and suggest the customer is overreacting to the matter. The only outcome of that is an angry customer who feels marginalized.

I know, I know. You dont work for them. But it seems that you either stayed in a holiday inn last night or play a directv employee on television or something.


----------



## FHSPSU67

runner26 said:


> What would would I do without DBStalk, they should charge. I did a double reboot (disconnecting power both times) and all si working right. THanks!!!!!


Not a charge, but you could always think about becoming a paying "dbstalk club member". $15 for one yr or $25 for 2 yr membership.


----------



## rhurson

circadianswing said:


> and one more reason I'm happy to be going to U Verse next week!


I tried that. Uverse was horrible. Changes channels with no warning to record. Only 2 HD streams at a time to the house and you can't add a second DVR. I was throughly disappointed with AT&T not to mention that they screwed up the install, the programming, the billing, and the rebate visa. I spent more hrs on the phone with them than I have with any other service provider. Thankfully I only suspended my DTV account so I could switch back easily. I recommend you do the same!


----------



## rayjoe2

about like nmci :lol:


----------



## syphix

runner26 said:


> What would would I do without DBStalk, they should charge. I did a double reboot (disconnecting power both times) and all si working right. THanks!!!!!


There's a tip jar! 
http://www.dbstalk.com/payments.php


----------



## prospero63

FHSPSU67 said:


> Not a charge, but you could always think about becoming a paying "dbstalk club member". $15 for one yr or $25 for 2 yr membership.


I agree. I asked about this today as well. For the money, DBSTalk has routinely and regularly provided far superior support than DirecTV ever has.


----------



## syphix

prospero63 said:


> I agree. I asked about this today as well. For the money, DBSTalk has routinely and regularly provided far superior support than DirecTV ever has.


+1,000


----------



## opfreak

MicroBeta said:


> As has been thoroughly discussed, it has nothing to do with any updates. There are DVRs that didn't get any kind of update last night, and DVRs that have different firmware versions then what was pushed last night.
> 
> Let it go people. There exactly zero evidence to say it's an update issue and plenty to say it's not.
> 
> Mike


I never said it was a firmware update. Just an update, DTV sent data out last nigth that crashed the ystem.

Data DTV sends out should be checked for this.


----------



## Alan Gordon

Milkman said:


> I hope that DirecTV is going to take precautions to prevent this from happening in the future, especially since this isn't the first time it has happened.
> 
> Some of the posts I have read here are really something. Some of you are making this sound like the end of the world. We should really try to keep this situation in perspective. After all, there are a lot more severe things happening right now that we should be focusing on, such as:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Let's just relax and take a step back for the moment. I am just as critical of DirecTV a lot of the time, but in the grand scheme of things, this is nothing.


I'm not happy about today's events, but you pretty much summed up my thoughts!

I got enough stuff going on in my real life that I have to worry about, and once you add on world events...

... well, it's a PITA, but nothing more...

~Alan


----------



## Carl Spock

Somebody's losing their job over this.


----------



## Doug Brott

syphix said:


> I think many people's gripe today is that this has happened twice before in recent history, and DirecTV hasn't solved the issue (i.e., patched the boxes to ignore corrupt data or force a reboot when corrupted). We pay all pay hefty bills to DirecTV (some over $1200 per year) and its frustrating when the service is not working, regardless of the reasoning.


Watching TV is still not a necessity .. I get that there is frustration.


----------



## RAD

Carl Spock said:


> Somebody's losing their job over this.


Well, since IIRC this is the third time in the past couple years that this has happened, I wish they'd just figure out what causes the problem and fix it.


----------



## runner26

Done deal, padner. This site saved me about $100 worth of grief this morning alone. My wife likes her Racheal Raye in the morning! I will enlist asap, I need this site because when something like this happens, you know what we get from Directv? A big ole' juicy NADA!!!!!


----------



## FHSPSU67

prospero63 said:


> I agree. I asked about this today as well. For the money, DBSTalk has routinely and regularly provided far superior support than DirecTV ever has.


But like all businesses, Directv simply can't afford to be paying CSRs $40 an hour to get the best and the brightest, or our bills would be astronomical and Directv would be out of business quickly.:backtotop


----------



## clueless

Many are saying it's not the new software's problem causing the issue but that it's bad guide data... BUT shouldn't the software do some kind of bound/edit checking to make sure the data won't hose up the system.

Kinda like not blaming MS for security holes caused by buffer overflows.

Of course this issue could have been in the software since V1.


----------



## Sander

. . . was still playing current show. Could not bring up any menu item or ever shut down.

RBR cured the problem.


----------



## susanandmark

Doug Brott said:


> Watching television is a choice .. not a necessity. Many people in the country choose to NOT pay for TV and NOT have a TV at all .. They are all alive and well today.


Wow, way to absolutely miss the point. I do pay for DirecTV and, as such, that service should work. I never suggested DirecTV "pay me" to watch TV (or, frankly, for anything else). All of the above stemmed from a post by someone who broke down their service into per hour costs. I said it made AT LEAST AS MUCH SENSE to factor OUR time per hour, vs service cost per hour.

My point was simply that I didn't "choose" to have to spend all this rebooting, and rebooting and, in many cases, rebooting twice more, my machines, DirecTV's poor programming (or bad luck or abuse by outside forces since DirecTV is blameless to many here) forced me to do that in order to use the service I already pay for.


----------



## Xsabresx

How many folks posting here (including myself) do you suppose were scrambling to get the tv back on simply to pacify their "better half"?


----------



## Doug Brott

t_h said:


> Besides communicating a problem poorly and leaving doubt and uncertainty, the next worst thing you can do is minimize the problem and suggest the customer is overreacting to the matter. The only outcome of that is an angry customer who feels marginalized.
> 
> I know, I know. You dont work for them. But it seems that you either stayed in a holiday inn last night or play a directv employee on television or something.


Hmm .. You KNOW I don't work for DIRECTV yet I'm minimizing a DIRECTV problem? Look, DIRECTV has problems right now .. I didn't cause it, nor even know about it until long after it happened. I was actually sleeping (quite soundly) when all of this started and found out when I visited DBSTalk this morning.

It sucks, but the fix is pretty easy .. Being here means you know how to fix it. Being "out there" means you have to call DIRECTV to get the solution .. or perhaps find us here.

If I were woken 2 hours early to fix the DVRs .. I'd be a bit miffed as well. I wasn't .. I slept through it all .. I'm not miffed. Sorry you had troubles this morning.


----------



## FHSPSU67

Sander said:


> . . . was still playing current show. Could not bring up any menu item or ever shut down.
> 
> RBR cured the problem.


Be sure to do TWO resets within 30 min to flush the guide data.


----------



## Alan Gordon

FHSPSU67 said:


> But like all businesses, Directv simply can't afford to be paying CSRs $40 an hour to get the best and the brightest, or our bills would be astronomical and Directv would be out of business quickly.:backtotop


I recently found out that there is a DirecTV call center in Albany, Georgia.

Sometimes the best and the brightest aren't available to DirecTV!  

~Alan


----------



## Barry in Conyers

FHSPSU67 said:


> But like all businesses, Directv simply can't afford to be paying CSRs $40 an hour to get the best and the brightest, or our bills would be astronomical and Directv would be out of business quickly.:backtotop


What does CSR pay have to do with anything? This problem was not caused by CSR's and cannot be corrected by CSR's.

As Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".


----------



## FHSPSU67

Alan Gordon said:


> I recently found out that there is a DirecTV call center in Albany, Georgia.
> 
> Sometimes the best and the brightest aren't available to DirecTV!
> 
> ~Alan


Maybe I'd un-retire and move down that way


----------



## opfreak

FHSPSU67 said:


> But like all businesses, Directv simply can't afford to be paying CSRs $40 an hour to get the best and the brightest, or our bills would be astronomical and Directv would be out of business quickly.:backtotop


not ever csr needs to be a best and brightness. They just need a handfull, that can both make disscusions. And give the others talking points.


----------



## FHSPSU67

Barry in Conyers said:


> What does CSR pay have to do with anything? This problem was not caused by CSR's and cannot be corrected by CSR's.
> 
> As Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".


The original post I replied to was more global in nature. Not referring specifically to today's issue.


----------



## Smitty1960

Woke up to 2 dead DVRs this morning. Took advice from this forum and did 2 RBRs within 30 minutes of each other, and now all is well. Sucks that so many people were having issues this morning. I'd be interested in finding out what the cause was. If it wasn't for this forum, I'd still be scratching my head in wonder, and the wife would still be yelling at me because she can't watch her soaps. Thanks again DBSTalk.


----------



## Xsabresx

susanandmark said:


> Wow, way to absolutely miss the point. I do pay for DirecTV and, as such, that service should work. I never suggested DirecTV "pay me" to watch TV (or, frankly, for anything else). All of the above stemmed from a post by someone who broke down their service into per hour costs. I said it made AT LEAST AS MUCH SENSE to factor OUR time per hour, vs service cost per hour.
> 
> My point was simply that I didn't "choose" to have to spend all this rebooting, and rebooting and, in many cases, rebooting twice more, my machines, DirecTV's poor programming (or bad luck or abuse by outside forces since DirecTV is blameless to many here) forced me to do that in order to use the service I already pay for.


I guess I just see things differently. I would probably want to be compensated for my time if I actually spent any time on this. I saw that the boxes werent working and yanked the plugs. They powered up and I reset them again. What are we talking 15-20mins? Coming to this site pretty much confirmed what I already knew.

I have actually spent more time defending that this wasnt really a big deal than I did getting my service back on.....which was totally my choice.


----------



## Jeremy W

I can't believe this is *still* an issue. Clearly the quality control at DirecTV is still lacking.


----------



## Carl Spock

MicroBeta said:


> Let it go people. There exactly zero evidence to say it's an update issue and plenty to say it's not.


What I'm waiting for is the post where someone complains that the problem is the software update and that it has happened twice before. :grin:


----------



## GenTso

Could it have been corrupted parental guide data? I noticed that's gone.


----------



## susanandmark

susanandmark said:


> Do you think any consumer reporters have DirecTV HD DVRs? If so, I smell a bunch of (well deserved) bad press coming DirecTV's way!


http://consumerist.com/2010/06/directv-update-causing-many-customers-boxes-to-crash.html

http://www.inquisitr.com/75141/direct-tv-customer-service/

http://www.geekosystem.com/directv-hd-dvr-problems/


----------



## sbelmont

I was planning on going home at lunch today... Guess I just added something else to my todo list when I get there. Thanks DBSTalk


----------



## FHSPSU67

GenTso said:


> Could it have been corrupted parental guide data? I noticed that's gone.


That data will likely come around a little later.


----------



## syphix

GenTso said:


> Could it have been corrupted parental guide data? I noticed that's gone.


That info, along with onDemand and others, will take 24-48 hours to populate after a guide date flush.


----------



## Doug Brott

Xsabresx said:


> How many folks posting here (including myself) do you suppose were scrambling to get the tv back on simply to pacify their "better half"?


<raises hand> .. plus my parents who live back on the East Coast.


----------



## susanandmark

Xsabresx said:


> I guess I just see things differently. I would probably want to be compensated for my time if I actually spent any time on this. I saw that the boxes werent working and yanked the plugs. They powered up and I reset them again. What are we talking 15-20mins? Coming to this site pretty much confirmed what I already knew.
> 
> I have actually spent more time defending that this wasnt really a big deal than I did getting my service back on.....which was totally my choice.


We have 5 HD DVRs. Each took at least two reboots. Two took four. That's two hours of my morning--even multi-tasking by running back and forth from room to room--when I had plenty else to do. (Of course, now I'm just wasting time reading comments on the Internet, so obviously the value of my time, in that respect, is questionable. Regardless, there is still a big difference between me choosing to waste time and DirecTV's screw-up wasting it for me.)

When you've got a whiney two-year-old out of his routine (milk and "Calliou" starts every morning), that's less than fun. They're not that good at waiting even "15-20 minutes," as you suggest, let alone the 30 it actually took. (Let's face it, two-year-olds aren't good at waiting 5 seconds.)

I am glad this forum is available or, like I said earlier, I would have no idea what was going on or why or that it effected all my receivers.


----------



## loowaters

took a couple rbr's but i'm up and going. big thanks to all you guys that figured it out.


----------



## runner26

FHSPSU67 said:


> Not a charge, but you could always think about becoming a paying "dbstalk club member". $15 for one yr or $25 for 2 yr membership.


A stupid question and completely off topic, for which I apologize but I am not clear on how to join DBStalk.


----------



## Starrbuck

No responses to remotes on HR20, HR21, and HR22 here. Resetting receivers now.


----------



## Carl Spock

susanandmark, with a two year old hanging onto your leg, you get a pass.


----------



## mung

So what do I do when one of my HR22-100s won't get past the step 1 of 2 after the lockup from last night? Can't get support because of all of the calls for the normal error. Already unplugged the ethernet, the other HR22-100 that is on the same dish came back after the double resets and has good signal.

I hope they don't have to send me a new box.


----------



## Doug Brott

susanandmark said:


> http://www.geekosystem.com/directv-hd-dvr-problems/


!rolling .. Gotta laugh at this one .. They blame the "Whole Home DVR Service" press release as the reason for the lockups.

Whole Home has been up and running since 5/13 (with it's own variety of issues) .. Nothing "technical" was done between yesterday and today to even be a consideration as the cause.

That's kinda funny. :lol:


----------



## Stuart Sweet

mung, try unplugging for 15 minutes and plugging back in.


----------



## prospero63

I cringe whenever I have to cite Ina Fried (read the page, the whole page) but here's more press.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20007077-56.html


----------



## Doug Brott

runner26 said:


> A stupid question and completely off topic, for which I apologize but I am not clear on how to join DBStalk.


There is no obligation to join the DBSTalk club, but if you wish to do so you can do it here:

http://www.dbstalk.com/payments.php


----------



## jrodfoo

Doug Brott said:


> <raises hand> .. plus my parents who live back on the East Coast.


Yeah I've tried to get a hold of my Dad back in PA before he goes and does something that will make it worse. No answer at the house, hopefully he just got mad and left it be for now :lol:


----------



## susanandmark

Doug Brott said:


> !rolling .. Gotta laugh at this one .. They blame the "Whole Home DVR Service" press release as the reason for the lockups.
> 
> Whole Home has been up and running since 5/13 (with it's own variety of issues) .. Nothing "technical" was done between yesterday and today to even be a consideration as the cause.
> 
> That's kinda funny. :lol:


My point was that it's bad press and I've venture to guess it's just the beginning. (Things usually move from blogs to mainstream, not the other way around.) Again, you're pretty good at willfully missing points it AND giving DirecTV a pass on, well, everything.

Honestly, I've seen born again Christians less blindly devoted to their religion than people on this forum are about DirecTV.


----------



## AMike

I had problems with my 2 HR20's and HR22's this morning like everyone else. I initially thought that the receiver had gone bad since changing channels was becoming an issue on one of the receivers. I did my work prior to reading the solution here. For my first receiver, I initially did a RBR, then once the receiver was back online, I had a blank screen. I then unplugged the unit, and powered it back on. It began to work, so I repeated the process on each of the receivers. All is good here now.

I agreed with some of the earlier posters that there should have been some QA on this before releasing this update to the public. Or if it was known that the units were going to freeze after the update, there should have been instructions e-mailed, or a notification posted on the DirecTV website. The downside of course would be the negative publicity, but I personally think it makes DirecTV look worse that it occurred in this manner.


----------



## dclarke

WOO HOO only 9500 more posts and we catch up to the vaunted D12 thread, keep er goin boys!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## C-I-O

- Yesterday 
the MRV & the "official ding of the bell"? (no pun intended BUT quite the reality on the wall streets of Nominal Corporate GREED).

- Today.
Deny, lie, with fools all to defend.

What are they the leader in?
NOTHING But sports.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

AMike said:


> I had problems with my 2 HR20's and HR22's this morning like everyone else. I initially thought that the receiver had gone bad since changing channels was becoming an issue on one of the receivers. I did my work prior to reading the solution here. For my first receiver, I initially did a RBR, then once the receiver was back online, I had a blank screen. I then unplugged the unit, and powered it back on. It began to work, so I repeated the process on each of the receivers. All is good here now.
> 
> I agreed with some of the earlier posters that there should have been some QA on this before releasing this update to the public. Or if it was known that the units were going to freeze after the update, there should have been instructions e-mailed, or a notification posted on the DirecTV website. The downside of course would be the negative publicity, but I personally think it makes DirecTV look worse that it occurred in this manner.


All the info I have says this had nothing to do with the software update.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

AMike said:


> I agreed with some of the earlier posters that there should have been some QA on this before releasing this update to the public.


For the nTH time...

- There is QA for the software updates.
- There is a testing regiment for the software updates
- As noted, this issue has impacted systems that: Didn't get the software update, have been running the software update for days/weeks.... it is not related to the software update.


----------



## Carl Spock

dclarke said:


> WOO HOO only 9500 more posts and we catch up to the vaunted D12 thread, keep er goin boys!!!!!!!!!!!!


 This thread will be more like a ballistic missle than a satellite launch. Way up fast and just as fast down.


----------



## VHS or Beta

R22-100 at the office took four reboots before it finally came back.

I'll have to see how mine at home are doing after I get off work. I'll bet they're not recording any of my shows today, though.


----------



## susanandmark

prospero63 said:


> I cringe whenever I have to cite Ina Fried (read the page, the whole page) but here's more press.
> 
> http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20007077-56.html


Gotta love DirecTV's legal weasel speak ...

"For its part, DirecTV says it is looking into the issues. 'We are aware of the issues that may be affecting some of our HD DVRs and are currently working to identify the problem and provide our customers with a resolution,' a representative told me in a statement. 'We apologize for any inconvenience that this may be causing.'

Because we "may" be having "issues." Or it may all be in our minds. Geez!


----------



## hilmar2k

susanandmark said:


> We have 5 HD DVRs. Each took at least two reboots. Two took four. That's two hours of my morning--even multi-tasking by running back and forth from room to room--when I had plenty else to do. (Of course, now I'm just wasting time reading comments on the Internet, so obviously the value of my time, in that respect, is questionable. Regardless, there is still a big difference between me choosing to waste time and DirecTV's screw-up wasting it for me.)
> 
> When you've got a whiney two-year-old out of his routine (milk and "Calliou" starts every morning), that's less than fun. They're not that good at waiting even "15-20 minutes," as you suggest, let alone the 30 it actually took. (Let's face it, two-year-olds aren't good at waiting 5 seconds.)
> 
> I am glad this forum is available or, like I said earlier, I would have no idea what was going on or why or that it effected all my receivers.


Calliou is far more annoying than having to reboot my DVR's twice each.


----------



## Scott951

I have tried to unplug my HR-20 3 times and RBR 2 times. Still nothing. During the initialization process (step one of two), I get an error message with a code of "14-266". Does anyone know what this means?

My wife did this for me as I am still at work. I am dreading calling later as I imagine I will be on hold a long time with everyone calling.

Thanks!


----------



## Sander

Did RBR's, hard reboots, RBR's again and still problems persisted.

HR20-700 and HR 21-200.

Apparently there was an update on the HR20-700 last night. Software version 03DF at 3:28AM.

However, no update on the HR21-200. Version 03DE, 11:26p, 5/15.

After multiple RBR's and power-on/power-off's, both systems seem to be finally working properly.


----------



## sigma1914

susanandmark said:


> My point was that it's bad press and I've venture to guess it's just the beginning. (Things usually move from blogs to mainstream, not the other way around.) Again, you're pretty good at willfully missing points it AND giving DirecTV a pass on, well, everything.
> 
> Honestly, I've seen born again Christians less blindly devoted to their religion than people on this forum are about DirecTV.


Why do continue here, then? All you've done is complain repeatedly and add nothing helpful. It took you 2 hours to do RBRs?  Your kid missed a show...OMG, will the child be ok? Get over it...move on.


----------



## rock819

I just don't get it, I have had problems for a month now with my HR20-700 everything from audio drop outs to the guide leters being unreadable, last night my reciever froze up several times and now this morning i had to do a rbr twice and unplug it once to get it to work IM tired of this all I want is a working dvr after all I do pay for a service and watching tv should not be this hard. I called last week and the csr had me do a hard reset and that helped for a couple of days but now its back to the same thing when my dvr works the picture is great but......


----------



## drpjr

Doug Brott said:


> Many people in the country choose to NOT pay for TV and NOT have a TV at all .. They are all alive and well today.


 That is just a rumor that has been floating around the internet for years.


----------



## syphix

C-I-O said:


> - Yesterday
> the MRV & the "official ding of the bell"? (no pun intended BUT quite the reality on the wall streets of Nominal Corporate GREED).
> 
> - Today.
> Deny, lie, with fools all to defend.
> 
> What are they the leader in?
> NOTHING But sports.


Nice first post. Get back under your bridge.


----------



## Xsabresx

hilmar2k said:


> Calliou is far more annoying than having to reboot my DVR's twice each.


I wasnt gonna go there, but yeah....

I already did my time with Caillou. Thankfully kids grow (might be the only time I ever say that)


----------



## NorfolkBruh

heck this downtime, while inconvenient, has gotten me free DECA, SWM, a month free service, 6 mos programming upgrade at no increase in price, 2 years free HD (without autopay!)


----------



## opfreak

Earl Bonovich said:


> For the nTH time...
> 
> - There is QA for the software updates.
> - There is a testing regiment for the software updates
> - As noted, this issue has impacted systems that: Didn't get the software update, have been running the software update for days/weeks.... it is not related to the software update.


So what happened then?

Did directv send some data out to recivers last night? Yes
Did this data crash dtv recivers? Yes
Was this data different then preivous data? Yes

therefor, DTV sent out some update last night that caused the boxes to crash.

Is that really so hard to understand?

Is DTV really not responsilbe for checking data they send through their systems to make sure it works?

Or are you claiming, nothing was updated last night, and by some freak accident all/most DTV boxes locked up?


----------



## cptpez

hello,

Have three receivers - all were down this mornign (see my post on page 1)

I got two up through multiple RBRs

The third is a problem. It stays stuck on the "step one of 2" stage.

I have tried multiple RBR's, Unplugging it, leaving it unplugged for several minutes, and switching the Line 1 & 2 (at only the receiver - not the wall)

Still stuck.

This reciever has a history of doing odd things (not showing MLB package games consistently, guide data dissappearing)

Is the current stuck status something started by this morning glitch, but aggravated by some problem with my wiring that is limiting the sat signals?

Any suggestions would b appreciated. 

P.S. - this is the newest box of the three. I am not sure of the model number (at work now)


----------



## C-I-O

sigma1914 said:


> Why do continue here, then? All you've done is complain repeatedly and add nothing helpful. It took you 2 hours to do RBRs?  Your kid missed a show...OMG, will the child be ok? Get over it...move on.


Susan and mark can "see". Maybe? AND have reserve to defined - Principle?

The rest here for the most part are classified as,
the general synopsis of :
_The chosen to be blind,
Leading the blind._
Nothing More.


----------



## TonySCV

Earl Bonovich said:


> For the nTH time...
> 
> - There is QA for the software updates.
> - There is a testing regiment for the software updates
> - As noted, this issue has impacted systems that: Didn't get the software update, have been running the software update for days/weeks.... it is not related to the software update.


With all due respect Earl (and you are due plenty).. this is the _last_ thing anyone experiencing the problem wants to hear. People are guessing at a lot of incorrect problems/solutions due to a lack of information.

People want to know:

1. What (if anything) they can do to fix it themselves.
2. If the answer to #1 is nothing, an ETA for when DirecTV will have the problem fixed. 
3. If the answer to #2 is "I don't know", then regular updates that involve DirecTV admitting that they screwed up and they have everyone available working on the problem will go a long way until you have an answer for #2.


----------



## scott72

Obviously this is a company wide issue. I'm sure they'll get it straightened out soon. I just wonder if we'll have to reboot again or will it automatically be fixed?


----------



## phox_mulder

3 HR21's, one HR20.

All dead this morning.

RBR'd all of them and waited till I had picture and sound.

All 3 HR21's I was able to do menu resets on, and once they came back on the guide was empty for the rest of the day, so I assumed the menu resets worked.

HR20 was still unresponsive to remote and front panel after the RBR, so had to RBR again, and once it made it all the way back on was fine with an empty guide.

IMHO, menu reset is a lot nicer on the system, so I prefer to do that if possible.

Plugs for all three are pretty buried, so glad the RBR worked.


phox


----------



## Jeremy W

opfreak said:


> Or are you claiming, nothing was updated last night, and by some freak accident all/most DTV boxes locked up?


He's claiming it wasn't a software update, because it wasn't. It was corrupted guide data.


----------



## tonyd79

t_h said:


> Hmm, my Harvard Business School training said otherwise. Its been awhile so I might have a poor recollection but I believe the first four things were to communicate to the customer that you were aware of the problem, what you knew about it, and that you were working on a fix along with a time/date when you would communicate again.


Havard Business School exists for one thing and one thing only, maximize quarterly revenues.

In the REAL world, any time you spend describing the problem to a manager or to a customer service rep is time wasted on fixing the problem.

I have asked some managers here if they want me to fix the problem (and I explain it later) or do they want to talk about it and let the problem sit unfixed for that amount of time. They always choose the former.

That so called communication gets in the way UNTIL you are free enough to do so. In a rapidly developing situation, you cause more confusion by trying to keep people up to date when you may or may not have information.

What you are saying makes sense when you have the time to do so. For a long term problem or one that will take some time to fix.

Look at it this way: when a fire breaks out at your house, do you want the firemen to put the fire out or do you want them to give press briefings on the fire?


----------



## Canesfan12

I have a HD dvr and it's not responding to anything. Anyway I tried to call DTV but I guess everyone is trying to call them lol cause it's been busy for a good 10 mins now.


----------



## sigma1914

C-I-O said:


> Susan and mark can "see". Maybe? AND have reserve to defined - Principle?
> 
> The rest here for the most part are classified as,
> the general synopsis of :
> _The chosen to be blind,
> Leading the blind._
> Nothing More.


Try again, in English.


----------



## Xsabresx

Earl Bonovich said:


> For the nTH time...
> 
> - There is QA for the software updates.
> - There is a testing regiment for the software updates
> - As noted, this issue has impacted systems that: Didn't get the software update, have been running the software update for days/weeks.... it is not related to the software update.


How many zeros in nTH?


----------



## irdmoose

I too have been having issues with my receivers. I have 2 HR21-200's and 1 HR22-100. All three have been having odd issues over the past few months, but we chalked it up to bad software since they haven't happened since the 0x3de update.

This morning all 3 DVR's experienced the same non-responsive situation. The HR22 required two RBRs two power cord yanks and a third RBR to return to functionality, but the two HR21's only required a RBR to work. I'm thinking about calling support and seeing if they would be willing to send us one of the shiny new HR24's since we've been with DirecTV since 2002.


----------



## Jon J

My standard response when my receiver(s) lock is an RBR. I was halfway through the second one this morning when this site was waking up and I discovered I was not alone. Although it did take three reboots to get back up to speed I don't see this as a major system failure as some seem to do.

I suspect few technologically advanced systems as DirecTV are completely bulletproof though they do strive to be.

I just don't find pushing a red button two or three times that difficult considering the enjoyment I receive from DirecTV.

JMNSHO.


----------



## psweig

It's really too bad that all of you were not around in the early days when some DVRs were fried, I lost my Sls regularly and I had to redo all the SLs while the faint smell of smoke wafted around the room. I certainly prefer a couple of RBRs to that.


----------



## David MacLeod

my god....
those that got update weeks ago: affected.
those that got it last night: affected.
those on higher version: affected..

yup got to be the update..


----------



## mluntz

Correction. Both recievers HR20-700 (0x3df), HR22-100 (0x3de) locked up. Both recieved updates this morning. Funny thing though, no blue light on the HR22 indicating update.


----------



## Carl Spock

prospero63 said:


> I cringe whenever I have to cite Ina Fried (read the page, the whole page) but here's more press.
> 
> http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20007077-56.html


Actually, that's a great blog post. She doesn't blame the problem on bad software, tells her readers how to solve it with a double RBR, and even goes through how to back up a recording.

Yeah, DirecTV could have come up with a better word than a corporate-speak "issues". A fifteen year old has issues. These boxes are broken.


----------



## Sander

scott72 said:


> Obviously this is a company wide issue. I'm sure they'll get it straightened out soon. I just wonder if we'll have to reboot again or will it automatically be fixed?


Just to see what DirecTV was advising, I called to see if there was a recorded response to fix.

The recording said to do a RBR. Wait a few minutes for the RBR to actually start rebooting the system. Then, when the picture comes back or a grey screen appears, do a second RBR. This should fix the problem, according to them.

I had to do this a number of times, including power-on. power-off, for the problem to finally resolve.


----------



## scott72

susanandmark said:


> My point was that it's bad press and I've venture to guess it's just the beginning. (Things usually move from blogs to mainstream, not the other way around.) Again, you're pretty good at willfully missing points it AND giving DirecTV a pass on, well, everything.
> 
> Honestly, I've seen born again Christians less blindly devoted to their religion than people on this forum are about DirecTV.


Wow, you'd think DirecTV came over and kicked your dog or something. You know cable never goes out so feel free to switch. :nono2:


----------



## Alan Gordon

sigma1914 said:


> Try again, in English.


He called you (and others... perhaps myself included) "blind". 

~Alan<~~~~~~~~Who has been called worse...


----------



## dclarke

Jeremy W said:


> He's claiming it wasn't a software update, because it wasn't. It was corrupted guide data.


one of my dvrs update 6/3 the other last nite and both locked up today so probably not the update at fault


----------



## preachtrue

Multiple RBR's didn't help the remote to work. Had to unplug for 10 seconds, after reboot everything is working fine.


----------



## sigma1914

Alan Gordon said:


> He called you (and others... perhaps myself included) "blind".
> 
> ~Alan<~~~~~~~~Who has been called worse...


Thanks, bud. I lost my troll decoder ring.


----------



## matt

I was pissed because I just bought one off of ebay and activated it yesterday. I thought it was dead and I was trying to figure out how it took out my HR20 with it 

I bet the phones are ringing off the hook at D*!


----------



## Alan Gordon

Carl Spock said:


> Yeah, DirecTV could have come up with a better word than a corporate-speak "issues". A fifteen year old has issues. These boxes are broken.


"Broken" implies they need fixing.

In this case, "issues" is a better word since the "issues" can be fixed by rebooting twice within a window of time.

I did get a kick out of the writer commenting on the message about call volume since I get that message 50% of the time when I call. 

~Alan


----------



## C-I-O

sigma1914 said:


> Try again, in English.


I said:
"Go long horns?"

or.. was it 
"see spot run?"

:lol:

Anyway,
Ever been in one of these horse races and ran the race _*without*_ those Blinders on?


----------



## scott72

preachtrue said:


> Multiple RBR's didn't help the remote to work. Had to unplug for 10 seconds, after reboot everything is working fine.


Mine did too for a few minutes, but then locked up again.


----------



## t_h

sigma1914 said:


> Why do continue here, then? All you've done is complain repeatedly and add nothing helpful. It took you 2 hours to do RBRs?  Your kid missed a show...OMG, will the child be ok? Get over it...move on.


Why does anyone post anything at all then? :lol:

Sounds like she's upset, as am I. Folks saying over and over again what is or isnt the cause and that its no big deal seems to be the pointless parts of the discussion.

This wasnt as simple as a couple of reboots for us. I unplugged and replugged the dvr twice and just got a momentary blue light and then nothing. I figured at that point that the dvr had died. So I pulled the tv and stand out from the wall, disconnected all the wires, and tried a third replug with no connections just to see if that'd help. It didnt. So I called directv and got no response. Swell. Then I spent 20 minutes installing directv2pc on my htpc so I could presumably play the shows from the upstairs dvr and get everyone else in the houses morning routine going. Big hassle since I had to create a new email account to get yet another activation code for the software and I misspelled the email name I created so I had to do the whole thing twice to install and activate it. Then it wouldnt work either. It saw the upstairs dvr but wouldnt play anything, giving me the oh-so-helpful "an error has occurred!". Nice job on the error handling and reporting there boys!

Thats when I checked the upstairs dvr and found it was dead too. Pair of unplug/replugs did nothing, no lights.

Now I'm wondering if the power outage we had two days ago may have killed both dvr's and I'm looking to see if I can find the pieces of paper with all our series links written on them and trying to call directv again to get another non answer.

In the meanwhile, my 5 year old is asking me every 20 seconds if its fixed yet. He's not eating and my wife is getting ticked about that. I'm getting ticked that I'm being asked the same questions every 20 seconds.

That was, in fact, about 2 hours worth of aggravation. I still havent pushed the tv and all the wires back up to the wall. I'm grumpy and tired.

You feelin' me now?


----------



## sigma1914

C-I-O said:


> I said:
> "Go long horns?"
> 
> or.. was it
> "see spot run?"
> 
> :lol:
> 
> Anyway,
> Ever been in one of these horse races and ran the race _*without*_ those Blinders on?


Is bamatech the ranter back?


----------



## susanandmark

Alan Gordon said:


> "Broken" implies they need fixing.


And you're implying that, after three such instances hit the majority of users in the past year that something doesn't need to be fixed?

Look, this isn't the end of the world. It's not even the worst thing, I'm sure, that will happen to me today. But dragging out a ladder to climb up and reset the stupidly placed theatre room box, digging around behind my massive jumble of cords in our entertainment center (the space shuttle, my husband says, has less wires) to pull the plug on another, lying on my back to and shimmying under the armoire to unplug the one in bedroom, etc., etc. and on and on isn't the best way to start my day.

Oh and, by the by, posting "get a life" is the equivalent of "I know you are but what am I" in terms of conversational debate, either online or in face to face conversation. Posting "get a life" is actually far less helpful, and infinitely more indicative or having too much time on one's hands, than articulating a valid complaint. I mean, if it's all so useless and unimportant than why did you bother to read it in the first place, let alone reply?


----------



## scott72

Alan Gordon said:


> "Broken" implies they need fixing.
> 
> In this case, "issues" is a better word since the "issues" can be fixed by rebooting twice within a window of time.


I don't think we can determine at this point whether they are "broken" or just have "issues".


----------



## prospero63

tonyd79 said:


> Look at it this way: when a fire breaks out at your house, do you want the firemen to put the fire out or do you want them to give press briefings on the fire?


It's not either or. People want both. They want the folks who are responsible for putting out the fire to put out the fire and the folks who are responsible for communication the status to communicate the status. It's really a quite simple concept.


----------



## bossfan50

Yes this is inconvenient. But I am happy that it happened this morning and not tonight during the NBA finals game. Go Celtics!


----------



## Earl Bonovich

opfreak said:


> So what happened then?
> 
> Did directv send some data out to recivers last night? Yes
> Did this data crash dtv recivers? Yes
> Was this data different then preivous data? Yes
> 
> therefor, DTV sent out some update last night that caused the boxes to crash.
> 
> Is that really so hard to understand?
> 
> Is DTV really not responsilbe for checking data they send through their systems to make sure it works?
> 
> Or are you claiming, nothing was updated last night, and by some freak accident all/most DTV boxes locked up?


In the context of the reply... the one I was responding to.. .was referring to the software update... and that is what I am replying to.

So is that so hard to understand?

Do you really think DTV doesn't check the data before it goes out?
Obviously something happened... no one is saying it didn't.

BTW... if we refer to guide updates as "an update last night"... then your boxes receive updates 24/7 every moment of the day.


----------



## prospero63

Carl Spock said:


> Actually, that's a great blog post. She doesn't blame the problem on bad software, tells her readers how to solve it with a double RBR, and even goes through how to back up a recording.
> 
> Yeah, DirecTV could have come up with a better word than a corporate-speak "issues". A fifteen year old has issues. These boxes are broken.


And she has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley


----------



## hilmar2k

This thread is hilarious. My DVR's were down for 20 minutes. A couple RBR's and all is well. People are awfully worked up about little things today.


----------



## DarinC

MicroBeta said:


> If it is the guide data then we might need to point the finger at Tribune first and DirecTV second...I'm just sayin' :grin:


Tribune _may _ (or may not) be responsible for providing bad data, but DirecTV is _definitely _responsible for designing DVRs that completely lock up just because guide data is bad. _Especially _since this has happened before. They've had plenty of time to either: a) develop firmware that is capable of dealing with such an error in a much more graceful manner, or if that is somehow impossible, b) develop an upstream filter on their end that checks the data for errors before broadcasting it. The concept that something as simple as an error in guide data can bring down nearly their entire (DVR equipped) customer base is crazy to me. _Particularly _if that data is provided by a 3rd party. If the data itself is out of your control, then it's especially important that your hardware can deal with the inevitable glitches in it.


----------



## Goodwrnch03

Earl Bonovich said:


> For the nTH time...
> 
> - There is QA for the software updates.
> - There is a testing regiment for the software updates
> - As noted, this issue has impacted systems that: Didn't get the software update, have been running the software update for days/weeks.... it is not related to the software update.


To Earl, Doug. Stuart, and all others who contribute in a HELPFUL manner:

Give up you will never please these people on here, becasue most of them have no life and just want something to complain about.

I know i am not on here very much; but when i need answers this is where i come. I have three DVR's, discovered the problem at 12:35 EST and by 1:05 EST all was corrected and back working. Those who know me say i am short tempered and have a hot head, but i have worked with electronics and programming for 20+ years and these things happen.

Thanks for what you do, it is much appreciated; and to those who just want to complain, GET A FREAKIN LIFE, it is TV for God's sake.


----------



## sigma1914

t_h said:


> ...
> You feelin' me now?


Sorry your kid & wife don't listen & don't have patience. :shrug:


----------



## prospero63

bossfan50 said:


> Yes this is inconvenient. But I can't believe all the b*tching and moaning for having to push a red button twice. But I am happy that it happened this morning and not tonight during the NBA finals game. Go Celtics!


<sarcasm>Right, because if it interfered with you seeing the Lakers crush the Celtics, well then it would be *****ing time. But since it was only Cailalou (or whatever it's called) shut your mouths and worry about the oily birds. Or something. </sarcasm>

It has nothing to do with pushing a red button twice and doesn't even have anything to do with time. It has to do with paying for a service and having a reasonable expectation of reliability to see that once again an apparently systemic failure within DirecTV's ENG process has once again reared it's ugly head.


----------



## Carl Spock

Carl Spock said:


> Yeah, DirecTV could have come up with a better word than a corporate-speak "issues". A fifteen year old has issues. These boxes are broken.





Alan Gordon said:


> "Broken" implies they need fixing.
> 
> In this case, "issues" is a better word since the "issues" can be fixed by rebooting twice within a window of time.


Valid point.

It's just that I'm a reliability fanatic. I don't care how good something sounds/looks or how many features it has. When it doesn't work, it's useless. It's the reason I could never be a CE'er. To be involved with the Cutting Edge program, you have to be willing to have your equipment not work right. In fact, you have to expect it. That would drive me crazy. I demand equipment work or get the heck out of my house.

This morning my DVRs were more like rocks than a computer. They were broke.

I'm the one who had issues! :grin:


----------



## adamson

All is well with me today....hi earl


----------



## jsmuga

Goodwrnch03 said:


> To Earl, Doug. Stuart, and all others who contribute in a HELPFUL manner:
> 
> Give up you will never please these people on here, becasue most of them have no life and just want something to complain about.
> 
> I know i am not on here very much; but when i need answers this is where i come. I have three DVR's, discovered the problem at 12:35 EST and by 1:05 EST all was corrected and back working. Those who know me say i am short tempered and have a hot head, but i have worked with electronics and programming for 20+ years and these things happen.
> 
> Thanks for what you do, it is much appreciated; and to those who just want to complain, GET A FREAKIN LIFE, it is TV for God's sake.


+1


----------



## DarinC

hilmar2k said:


> This thread is hilarious. My DVR's were down for 20 minutes. A couple RBR's and all is well. People are awfully worked up about little things today.


Understandable, coming from a customer who: a) is not away from home; b) visits or even knows about DBSTalk, and c) even knows what a RBR is. Unfortunately, I would say you are in the minority.


----------



## opfreak

Earl Bonovich said:


> In the context of the reply... the one I was responding to.. .was referring to the software update... and that is what I am replying to.
> 
> So is that so hard to understand?
> 
> Do you really think DTV doesn't check the data before it goes out?
> Obviously something happened... no one is saying it didn't.
> 
> BTW... if we refer to guide updates as "an update last night"... then your boxes receive updates 24/7 every moment of the day.


Given the results of today.

Its obivous that DTV didnt check the data.


----------



## C-I-O

Alan Gordon said:


> He called you (and others... perhaps myself included) "blind".
> 
> ~Alan<~~~~~~~~Who has been called worse...


Nope.
Not you so dont be confused.
TIVO is a far superior product.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

David MacLeod said:


> my god....
> those that got update weeks ago: affected.
> those that got it last night: affected.
> those on higher version: affected..
> 
> yup got to be the update..


Hey, what's with using logic to come to a conclusion. !rolling

Mike


----------



## texz71

All my HR23-700's were running fine. no problems here! Running latest CE.


----------



## hilmar2k

prospero63 said:


> <sarcasm>Right, because if it interfered with you seeing the Lakers crush the Celtics, well then it would be *****ing time. But since it was only Cailalou (or whatever it's called) shut your mouths and worry about the oily birds. Or something. </sarcasm>
> 
> It has nothing to do with pushing a red button twice and doesn't even have anything to do with time. It has to do with paying for a service and having a reasonable expectation of reliability to see that once again an apparently systemic failure within DirecTV's ENG process has once again reared it's ugly head.


So none of your other service providers ever are out of service? Power ever go out? Restaurant out of prime rib? Internet go down? Landscaper fail to show up when he was supposed to?

Stuff happens. You gotta deal with it. Man, complaining for the sake of complaining today.....:nono2:


----------



## Mike Bertelson

C-I-O said:


> Susan and mark can "see". Maybe? AND have reserve to defined - Principle?
> 
> The rest here for the most part are classified as,
> the general synopsis of :
> _The chosen to be blind,
> Leading the blind._
> Nothing More.


Meaning What? :scratchin

Mike


----------



## dre2112

I woke up to a dead DVR, did the 2x unplug/restart deal and all is well but now my remote wont respond. I know it's working because it works on my TV to power on/off and volume, but to the DVR it's absolutely unresponsive


----------



## Mike Bertelson

prospero63 said:


> <sarcasm>Right, because if it interfered with you seeing the Lakers crush the Celtics, well then it would be *****ing time. But since it was only Cailalou (or whatever it's called) shut your mouths and worry about the oily birds. Or something. </sarcasm>
> 
> It has nothing to do with pushing a red button twice and doesn't even have anything to do with time. It has to do with paying for a service and having a reasonable expectation of reliability to see that once again an apparently systemic failure within DirecTV's ENG process has once again reared it's ugly head.


I agree with "reasonable expectation of reliability", and for me, DirecTV has been leaps and bounds more reliable than my local cable company.

Mike


----------



## SoCool

Been there, done that, got the tee shirt! ZDouble reboot did not work. 02468 did! Thought we were hit with some sort of electron ray this morning when all three systems were down, the two h23's were not affected.


----------



## rocket68

The message that I got after 2 reboots was that I was now able to get 3D due to this update.


----------



## hilmar2k

DarinC said:


> Understandable, coming from a customer who: a) is not away from home; b) visits or even knows about DBSTalk, and c) even knows what a RBR is. Unfortunately, I would say you are in the minority.


If I didn't visit DBSTalk I would have called DIRECTV and they would have walked me through a couple of RBR's. If you aren't bright enough to be able to follow the following directions, I'm not sure how you remember to breathe:

1. Push red button behind door on front of receiver
2. Wait for live TV to return
3. Repeat step one

Seriously, I understand it is easier for me than most, but nothing more than an inconvenience for anyone with fingers.


----------



## t_h

tonyd79 said:


> Havard Business School exists for one thing and one thing only, maximize quarterly revenues.


A pretty good way to do that is to have happy customers. Customers are happy when they know whats going on.

Directv has a whole raft of people...thousands of them in fact...who have nothing to do with finding and fixing software bugs. Any one of them could provide more information on the problem.

But clearly your an engineer that just wants to fix things and isnt interested in or knowledgeable in in the communication aspects of the customer-vendor relationship. Not that theres anything wrong with that.


----------



## Insomniac2k

My HR20 was out, wouldn't power-up. I unplugged it and plugged it back in, it took a while for anything to com up on the screen (I also did not understand that the second hard reset was supposed to happen during the startup, not after it finished and live TV was playing). Doing a second reboot now.

Also, I first noticed my SD DirecTiVo was frozen. Coincidence?


----------



## hilmar2k

t_h said:


> A pretty good way to do that is to have happy customers. Customers are happy when they know whats going on.
> 
> Directv has a whole raft of people...thousands of them in fact...who have nothing to do with finding and fixing software bugs. Any one of them could provide more information on the problem.
> 
> But clearly your an engineer that just wants to fix things and isnt interested in or knowledgeable in in the communication aspects of the customer-vendor relationship. Not that theres anything wrong with that.


http://twitter.com/DIRECTV


----------



## DogLover

TonySCV said:


> With all due respect Earl (and you are due plenty).. this is the _last_ thing anyone experiencing the problem wants to hear. People are guessing at a lot of incorrect problems/solutions due to a lack of information.
> 
> People want to know:
> 
> 1. What (if anything) they can do to fix it themselves.
> 2. If the answer to #1 is nothing, an ETA for when DirecTV will have the problem fixed.
> 3. If the answer to #2 is "I don't know", then regular updates that involve DirecTV admitting that they screwed up and they have everyone available working on the problem will go a long way until you have an answer for #2.


While I know this thread is long, you only have to read a page or two (any page or two) and you find out that if you reboot the machine twice, it comes back up and works. There are a few exceptions, but the problems is fixed for the vast majority with those actions.

For the vast majority of customers this must be an incredibly frustrating problem. However, there is not much excuse for the posters here to not know what to do about the situation.


----------



## Alan Gordon

Alan Gordon said:


> "Broken" implies they need fixing.





susanandmark said:


> And you're implying that, after three such instances hit the majority of users in the past year that something doesn't need to be fixed?


I don't remember any previous instance. Either it didn't affect me, or it affected me so little that I don't remember it.

That being said, I'm not implying that at all. If this is a case of bad guide data, DirecTV needs to figure out how to stop this from happening again. Read below for what I WAS implying.



scott72 said:


> I don't think we can determine at this point whether they are "broken" or just have "issues".


I'm at work. My DVRs are still probably having "issues".

I'd be willing to bet (if I had any money) that once I eventually get home and reboot the units twice, my DVRs will continue to work normally.

That doesn't sound broken to me! 



Alan Gordon said:


> Look, this isn't the end of the world. It's not even the worst thing, I'm sure, that will happen to me today. But dragging out a ladder to climb up and reset the stupidly placed theatre room box, digging around behind my massive jumble of cords in our entertainment center (the space shuttle, my husband says, has less wires) to pull the plug on another, lying on my back to and shimmying under the armoire to unplug the one in bedroom, etc., etc. and on and on isn't the best way to start my day.


Perfectly understandable!

My HR20-700 will be easy for me to unplug, but the HR23-700 will be more difficult. As I stated earlier, it's a PITA...

~Alan


----------



## Earl Bonovich

opfreak said:


> Given the results of today.
> 
> Its obivous that DTV didnt check the data.


No it is not... it is obvious in your definition of the situation.
But you do not have all the facts to the situation.

Plain and simple. Something went wrong.
Doesn't mean that data wasn't checked.


----------



## QuickDrop

I'm just adding my name to the list who had to RBR because of freezes this morning. I know for a fact that I got the3D update on at least one box last night. So far I've had to reset two of my boxes.


----------



## RAD

Sander said:


> Just to see what DirecTV was advising, I called to see if there was a recorded response to fix.
> 
> The recording said to do a RBR. Wait a few minutes for the RBR to actually start rebooting the system. Then, when the picture comes back or a grey screen appears, do a second RBR. This should fix the problem, according to them.
> 
> I had to do this a number of times, including power-on. power-off, for the problem to finally resolve.


When you said wait for the picture to come back did you wait for the box to completly reboot and back to normal TV or did you do the 2nd reboot while it was still in the boot up process within the 30 minute reboot window?


----------



## NorfolkBruh

hilmar2k said:


> If I didn't visit DBSTalk I would have called DIRECTV and they would have walked me through a couple of RBR's. If you aren't bright enough to be able to follow the following directions, I'm not sure how you remember to breathe:
> 
> 1. Push red button behind door on front of receiver
> 2. Wait for live TV to return
> 3. Repeat step one
> 
> Seriously, I understand it is easier for me than most, but nothing more than an inconvenience for anyone with fingers.


*IF you could get through to DTV! Took me several hours and I'm a premier long time customer! Had to say CANCEL to the automated system to get through!*


----------



## prospero63

hilmar2k said:


> So none of your other service providers ever are out of service?


Nope, they go out from time to time. When they do, I call and get a service credit.



> Power ever go out?


Every now and again. When it does, I call and get a service credit.



> Restaurant out of prime rib?


Actually, no. I guess I eat at better places than you are hitting?



> Internet go down?


Not very often. When it does though, I call and get a service credit. You getting the trend yet? I pay for a service with an expectation that the service is going to be provided in a reliable fashion. When it's not, and especially when by all appearances a systemic process failure is contributing to the unreliability, I make sure to get a service credit. It lets the company know, even if by a few dollars, that I expect to get what I pay for, nothing more and nothing less. When a lot of consumers do that, those couple of bucks add up.



> Landscaper fail to show up when he was supposed to?


One did. Got rid of him and got a new one. He's much better. Haven't had any problems to speak of, give him a nice bonus every Christmas because of the good work he always does.



> Stuff happens. You gotta deal with it. Man, complaining for the sake of complaining today.....:nono2:


Yep, stuff happens. That doesn't mean that, to steal a line from old Clayton Williams, "Rape is like bad weather. As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." Yeah, stuff happens. But that doesn't mean you just lie back and enjoy it.

BTW, that's a true quote from a Texas gubernatorial candidate back in 1990 or so...


----------



## Earl Bonovich

t_h said:


> A pretty good way to do that is to have happy customers. Customers are happy when they know whats going on.
> 
> Directv has a whole raft of people...thousands of them in fact...who have nothing to do with finding and fixing software bugs. Any one of them could provide more information on the problem.
> 
> But clearly your an engineer that just wants to fix things and isnt interested in or knowledgeable in in the communication aspects of the customer-vendor relationship. Not that theres anything wrong with that.


But clearly that raft, has to wait for the okay from someone that is waiting to find out the root cause... so they can update once, and not multiple times.

Clearly happy customers like to know what is going on... but not have it change a dozen times before it gets there.

Obviously you are social engineer that is focused on just one part of the bigger picture. Not that there is anything wrong with that.


----------



## JMII

Yep two RBR required on my two HR20-700 this AM. Wife was not happy and she was ready to call DirecTV. I assumed a RBR might fix it so I gave that a shot. Like any computer when all else fails... REBOOT.

This is first update in a LONG time that has hosed my boxes but its still scary when your TV is blank and you fear all of your recorded shows are GONE.


----------



## 2dogz

Doug Brott said:


> The software download last night is unrelated to the lockup problem this morning. Once you restart twice, the problem is gone.


You might want to rethink this statement, goofy IT guy.

It appears that new software's data sturcture definitions of disk cached data does not match that of the older version software. Luckly, it only takes two rbr resets to clear out all that old data (schedules, etc.) to allow new software to rebuild the data to its own new specification.

Geez, think of the havoc if the fix required a truck roll to everyone's house.


----------



## hilmar2k

NorfolkBruh said:


> *IF you could get through to DTV! Took me several hours and I'm a premier long time customer! Had to say CANCEL to the automated system to get through!*


That's a problem. You'd think a standard recording to advise everyone on how to fix the problem would be in order.

Either way, hardly the end of the world.


----------



## prospero63

MicroBeta said:


> I agree with "reasonable expectation of reliability", and for me, DirecTV has been leaps and bounds more reliable than my local cable company.
> 
> Mike


I don't measure them against any other company. That leads to the old "you're the least crappy of the bunch, you win" result. I've had DirecTV for a decade or so. To be honest, my local cable company may well be the best in reliability that's ever been known to man. That's irrelevant when I measure DirecTV's reliability. I know what my expectations are. When DirecTV fails to meet them, I let them know. I let them know here because I know it gets read, and I let them know when I call and demand a credit. It's really a very simple thing...


----------



## opfreak

Earl Bonovich said:


> No it is not... it is obvious in your definition of the situation.
> But you do not have all the facts to the situation.
> 
> Plain and simple. Something went wrong.
> Doesn't mean that data wasn't checked.


Your right, the data was checked, incorrectly.


----------



## sigma1914

susanandmark said:


> And you're implying that, after three such instances hit the majority of users in the past year that something doesn't need to be fixed?
> 
> Look, this isn't the end of the world. It's not even the worst thing, I'm sure, that will happen to me today. But dragging out a ladder to climb up and reset the stupidly placed theatre room box, digging around behind my massive jumble of cords in our entertainment center (the space shuttle, my husband says, has less wires) to pull the plug on another, lying on my back to and shimmying under the armoire to unplug the one in bedroom, etc., etc. and on and on isn't the best way to start my day.


Couldn't you pull the unit out a few inches and pull power from the unit?


----------



## hilmar2k

JMII said:


> Yep two RBR required on my two HR20-700 this AM. Wife was not happy and she was ready to call DirecTV. I assumed a RBR might fix it so I gave that a shot. Like any computer when all else fails... REBOOT.
> 
> This is first update in a LONG time that has hosed my boxes but its still scary when your TV is blank and you fear all of your recorded shows are GONE.


No worries, your streak is intact (since for the millionth time it wasn't an update that caused the issue).


----------



## Carl Spock

prospero63 said:


> Yep, stuff happens. That doesn't mean that, to steal a line from old Clayton Williams, "Rape is like bad weather. As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." Yeah, stuff happens. But that doesn't mean you just lie back and enjoy it.


  I'm not trying to play moderator, but as a simple poster on this board, do you think you could dial it back a hair?


----------



## Alan Gordon

Carl Spock said:


> Valid point.
> 
> It's just that I'm a reliability fanatic. I don't care how good something sounds/looks or how many features it has. When it doesn't work, it's useless.


Believe it or not, I'm the same way. 

~Alan


----------



## FHSPSU67

dre2112 said:


> I woke up to a dead DVR, did the 2x unplug/restart deal and all is well but now my remote wont respond. I know it's working because it works on my TV to power on/off and volume, but to the DVR it's absolutely unresponsive


You must do the two reboots within a 30 min period to flush the Guide data.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

2dogz said:


> You might want to rethink this statement, goofy IT guy.
> 
> It appears that new software's data sturcture definitions of disk cached data does not match that of the older version software. Luckly, it only takes two rbr resets to clear out all that old data (schedules, etc.) to allow new software to rebuild the data to its own new specification.
> 
> Geez, think of the havoc if the fix required a truck roll to everyone's house.


Actually... that is not true.

The software upate does change the guide data structure, but not the process of how to clear out the data that is stored on the drive.

It matches the same "process" that has been in place for several years now.

The flag to "keep" the data around, isn't set until a certain level of guide data has been re-validated after a reboot.

Hence why it only takes two reboots. Once to start the guide data validation step, the second to trigger a full flush and re-download.


----------



## prospero63

hilmar2k said:


> No worries, your streak is intact (since for the millionth time it wasn't an update that caused the issue).


Since folks are so certain about what didn't cause the issue, how about sharing what did?


----------



## azarby

Got hit here also with the lock up on the HR21 and HR23. Both the H24 and HR24 were fine. There was one good benefit from this . It convinced my wife that it was time to order another HR24 form Solid Signal. Order placed this morning.

bob


----------



## jdspencer

dre2112 said:


> I woke up to a dead DVR, did the 2x unplug/restart deal and all is well but now my remote wont respond. I know it's working because it works on my TV to power on/off and volume, but to the DVR it's absolutely unresponsive


Do the double RBR as stated before.


----------



## scott72

rocket68 said:


> The message that I got after 2 reboots was that I was now able to get 3D due to this update.


The message I got was that I was now active for MRV and I've not signed up for it yet. :scratchin


----------



## Earl Bonovich

opfreak said:


> Your right, the data was checked, incorrectly.


Obviously... we can go back and forth on this as long as we both have access to a computer.


----------



## hilmar2k

prospero63 said:


> Since folks are so certain about what didn't cause the issue, how about sharing what did?


You're joking, right? How many dozens of posts in this very thread said it was bad guide data?


----------



## scott72

RAD said:


> When you said wait for the picture to come back did you wait for the box to completly reboot and back to normal TV or did you do the 2nd reboot while it was still in the boot up process within the 30 minute reboot window?


I rebooted a 2nd time a few minutes after the 1st one started and now mine is working fine.


----------



## prospero63

Carl Spock said:


> I'm not trying to play moderator, but as a simple poster on this board, do you think you could dial it back a hair?


Er. That's news. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Williams

The implication of the original poster was that it's no big deal, to just get over it. Clayton Williams, for all eternity, provided a quote that forever will be the most effective response illustrating just how ludicrous that kind of position actually is.


----------



## FHSPSU67

2dogz said:


> You might want to rethink this statement, goofy IT guy.
> 
> It appears that new software's data sturcture definitions of disk cached data does not match that of the older version software. Luckly, it only takes two rbr resets to clear out all that old data (schedules, etc.) to allow new software to rebuild the data to its own new specification.
> 
> Geez, think of the havoc if the fix required a truck roll to everyone's house.


Then why did it affect receivers that got no update?


----------



## Alan Gordon

scott72 said:


> The message I got was that I was now active for MRV and I've not signed up for it yet. :scratchin


SCORE!!! 

~Alan


----------



## DogLover

azarby said:


> Got hit here also with the lock up on the HR21 and HR23. Both the H24 and HR24 were fine. There was one good benefit from this . It convinced my wife that it was time to order another HR24 form Solid Signal. Order placed this morning.
> 
> bob


 Good for you!


----------



## Directvlover

I can't believe that Directv hasn't posted a bulletin on their website front page...or for that matter sent out a blast email to all subscribers (whom they have email addresses for) with info about this. It's a little ridiculous. My brother in law had no idea how to fix the issue. I informed him. Also when i went home for lunch my cleaning lady said she noticed her tv's were out this morning too...i told her what was up so she can fix it when she goes home tonight. Directv has got to know that most people are not like us, and are mostly clueless with this kinda stuff.


----------



## prospero63

hilmar2k said:


> You're joking, right? How many dozens of posts in this very thread said it was bad guide data?


Nope, I'm not joking at all. How was the guide data bad? Folks have tried to guess at the lack of various checks and validations on the guide data. They've tried to guess as to whether the guide data should even be capable of hard locking the DVR. I've not seen a single response that actually independently affirms what exactly "bad guide data" means. As a point of minutia though, if the guide data is updated by DirecTV that would sure seem to qualify as a bad update (albeit not the same as a system update).


----------



## scott72

prospero63 said:


> I don't measure them against any other company. That leads to the old "you're the least crappy of the bunch, you win" result. I've had DirecTV for a decade or so. To be honest, my local cable company may well be the best in reliability that's ever been known to man. That's irrelevant when I measure DirecTV's reliability. I know what my expectations are. When DirecTV fails to meet them, I let them know. I let them know here because I know it gets read, and I let them know when I call and demand a credit. It's really a very simple thing...


Go ahead and demand your 5-10 dollar credit, but the next time you want a deal on a new piece of equipment or a sports package, don't cry when you're denied.


----------



## Carl Spock

azarby said:


> Got hit here also with the lock up on the HR21 and HR23. Both the H24 and HR24 were fine. There was one good benefit from this . It convinced my wife that it was time to order another HR24 form Solid Signal. Order placed this morning.
> 
> bob


 Tell her a new set of golf clubs would also have been unaffected.


----------



## jovac

Thanks for this thread. I at first thought one of my DVR's had shot craps, then noticed that none were working. Prior to calling DTV customer support which would have taken some time, I checked here and found the answer I needed. All is well with a quick double RBR on each DVR. This site and it's contributors are a great asset. Anyone saying different should think back to the days when all we had was a phone and an 800 number. Stuff breaks and all we can hope for is a quick convenient resolution. Thanks to all.


----------



## sigma1914

prospero63 said:


> Nope, I'm not joking at all. How was the guide data bad? Folks have tried to guess at the lack of various checks and validations on the guide data. They've tried to guess as to whether the guide data should even be capable of hard locking the DVR. I've not seen a single response that actually independently affirms what exactly "bad guide data" means. As a point of minutia though, if the guide data is updated by DirecTV that would sure seem to qualify as a bad update (albeit not the same as a system update).


People here who work for Directv and those who have inside sources said it's not software. Period.


----------



## mung

After trying all day I just got off the phone with D* and they said that I just have to wait until the techs figure out how to fix it and send a new software patch down. They won't send out any new equipment or adjust any bills until they have it fixed. So now I get to just sit and watch my rcvr say Step 1 of 2 for the next few days until they figure it out. Couldn't be the bedroom one has to be the one on the main TV. Guess I have to switch them now.

All I can say is they better do some kind of compensation for the time this box is down.


----------



## Doug Brott

2dogz said:


> You might want to rethink this statement, goofy IT guy.
> 
> It appears that new software's data sturcture definitions of disk cached data does not match that of the older version software. Luckly, it only takes two rbr resets to clear out all that old data (schedules, etc.) to allow new software to rebuild the data to its own new specification.
> 
> Geez, think of the havoc if the fix required a truck roll to everyone's house.


Hmmm .. Let me think .. Nope .. The software update overnight has nothing to do with the lockups this morning. It's been confirmed to me by 3 different folks @ DIRECTV today. My statement still stands.

Besides, the empirical evidence suggests that this isn't version dependent. I'd agree the software should probably handle it .. BUT .. it didn't. Assuming this is some sort of bug, it's a bug in all versions, not just the one that was downloaded last night. As a result .. The lockup is NOT related to the software download last night.


----------



## hilmar2k

prospero63 said:


> Nope, I'm not joking at all. How was the guide data bad? Folks have tried to guess at the lack of various checks and validations on the guide data. They've tried to guess as to whether the guide data should even be capable of hard locking the DVR. I've not seen a single response that actually independently affirms what exactly "bad guide data" means. As a point of minutia though, if the guide data is updated by DirecTV that would sure seem to qualify as a bad update (albeit not the same as a system update).


But guide data is always being updated. You can't call that *an* update, more like one long, continuous update.

I doubt we'll ever find out exactly what was wrong with the guide data, nor can we expect to. We were told what the problem was.


----------



## scott72

Alan Gordon said:


> SCORE!!!
> 
> ~Alan


Yea I'm sure I'm also going to score a new 3$/month charge too..:lol:


----------



## lshank

Now, every time I push the Guide button on the remote, I can't help thinking, "Will it work?" I wonder how long this thinking will last....


----------



## prospero63

scott72 said:


> Go ahead and demand your 5-10 dollar credit, but the next time you want a deal on a new piece of equipment or a sports package, don't cry when you're denied.


There seems to be some confusion here. This isn't a unilateral position. When new equipment comes out that I really want, I'm more than happy to pay for it. That's my responsibility in this. I pay my bill when it's due and I pay for the services I receive. DirecTV's responsibility is to provide said services, and to provide them in a manner of reliability that I find acceptable. When they don't, I expect to receive a credit as an indicator of their inability to meet my expectations. If they did it enough, I'd take all my money elsewhere (instead of just 5-10 dollars here or there). If more customers did this however, DirecTV (and any other company) would find themselves with a significant financial incentive to make the kinds of improvements people want. Imagine if 5 million customers asked for a $5 credit. Sure, $5 is nothing. $5 times 5 million.... well, now you are talking some serious cash.


----------



## Directvlover

I did just notice that on Directv's twitter they posted something about it. 3 hours ago.


----------



## prospero63

sigma1914 said:


> People here who work for Directv and those who have inside sources said it's not software. Period.


OK, so which is it then. You seem to be stating definitively that it's not a software update, not guide data, nothing to do with software at all. Other folks have strongly implied that it's the guide data (i.e. software). Given that, is it any wonder that folks see the press release of changes yesterday and jump to the occams razor conclusion of "this changed, that failed, that must have failed because of this change"?


----------



## dre2112

Directvlover said:


> I can't believe that Directv hasn't posted a bulletin on their website front page...or for that matter sent out a blast email to all subscribers (whom they have email addresses for) with info about this. It's a little ridiculous. My brother in law had no idea how to fix the issue. I informed him. Also when i went home for lunch my cleaning lady said she noticed her tv's were out this morning too...i told her what was up so she can fix it when she goes home tonight. Directv has got to know that most people are not like us, and are mostly clueless with this kinda stuff.


It's right there on the front page


----------



## prospero63

hilmar2k said:


> But guide data is always being updated. You can't call that *an* update, more like one long, continuous update.
> 
> I doubt we'll ever find out exactly what was wrong with the guide data, nor can we expect to. We were told what the problem was.


I got a guy two posts (I think) up from you proclaiming it's not software at all. That leaves hardware and operator error, yes?


----------



## DogLover

prospero63 said:


> Since folks are so certain about what didn't cause the issue, how about sharing what did?


What we know from people's experience here (no insider info):

People experienced the problem that just received the software update, have not received the newest update, or have had the update for some time. This would lead us to believe that the update itself is not the primary cause of the problem.

People who have rebooted twice in 30 minutes have the problem go away. We know this procedure forces a flush and reload of guide data. This would lead us to believe that something in the guide data caused the problem.

If we want to get into some speculation:
Since the units were unresponsive to input, that there was a high priority task that was either in some sort of loop, not ending what it was supposed to be doing or waiting for something to happen that wasn't going to happen. (This is speculation based on my experience with programming, not in any way related to DVR programming.)

I'm not sure we have any other hard facts to go on, but that facts do seem to lead us down a certain path.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

prospero63 said:


> I don't measure them against any other company. That leads to the old "you're the least crappy of the bunch, you win" result. I've had DirecTV for a decade or so. To be honest, my local cable company may well be the best in reliability that's ever been known to man. That's irrelevant when I measure DirecTV's reliability. I know what my expectations are. When DirecTV fails to meet them, I let them know. I let them know here because I know it gets read, and I let them know when I call and demand a credit. It's really a very simple thing...


Let me clarify my post for you.

Over the last eight years I've found DirecTV to be very reliable. I've had very few problems and have had very good service. To be fair, I've never had an instance to call about an issue so I can't really speak to their CSRs but everything else has been great.

The fact that I haven't had to call for support in eight years says a lot.

Apply your standards to this how ever you like, but for me DirecTV has been as reliable as anything else in my life...and before the sarcastic remarks start, yes I have high standards and would drop them in a heart beat if I wasn't happy.

Mike


----------



## FHSPSU67

t_h said:


> But clearly your an engineer that just wants to fix things and isnt interested in or knowledgeable in in the communication aspects of the customer-vendor relationship. Not that theres anything wrong with that.


Speaking for myself and all engineers, I resent that stereotype!


----------



## susanandmark

scott72 said:


> Go ahead and demand your 5-10 dollar credit, but the next time you want a deal on a new piece of equipment or a sports package, don't cry when you're denied.


Yeah, because people who complain about company-caused problems deserve to be punished. How dare they?

That's what's wrong with America today. The corporations have too little power and influence over consumers. Heck, some of them are scraping by with mere billions in profits while others are forced to sustain themselves solely on our tax dollars. I heard that DirecTV's new CEO may only make $35.5 million over the next three years. Sheesh, you can barely buy decent beach houses in both the Hamptons and Santa Barbara for that. And then what do you do about the ski chalet and the private jet?


----------



## t_h

sigma1914 said:


> Sorry your kid & wife don't listen & don't have patience. :shrug:


You're right, a major vendor suffers frequent system wide failures, and the real problem is quite clearly a behavioral issue with my family members.

I believe I now remember quite clearly why I dont bother posting here. There is no way to have a legitimate discussion with shills and trolls.


----------



## curt8403

this must be a serious issue as we are approaching 666 posts today


----------



## mchaney

sigma1914 said:


> People here who work for Directv and those who have inside sources said it's not software. Period.


Properly working (non-defective) hardware CANNOT lock up without software, so regardless of what cause this (firmware or guide data) it IS a software problem, PERIOD!

Mike


----------



## sigma1914

prospero63 said:


> OK, so which is it then. You seem to be stating definitively that it's not a software update, not guide data, nothing to do with software at all. Other folks have strongly implied that it's the guide data (i.e. software). Given that, is it any wonder that folks see the press release of changes yesterday and jump to the occams razor conclusion of "this changed, that failed, that must have failed because of this change"?


Guide data isn't software updates.


----------



## Old Guy

I lost the esata drive (Seagate Free Agent Pro) on my HR20-700 and can't get it to boot back up.
It goes to the internal no matter what I do.
2 rbr, unplug and wait (both the box and the esata)

I'm at a loss...


----------



## AMike

TonySCV said:


> With all due respect Earl (and you are due plenty).. this is the _last_ thing anyone experiencing the problem wants to hear. People are guessing at a lot of incorrect problems/solutions due to a lack of information.
> 
> People want to know:
> 
> 1. What (if anything) they can do to fix it themselves.
> 2. If the answer to #1 is nothing, an ETA for when DirecTV will have the problem fixed.
> 3. If the answer to #2 is "I don't know", then regular updates that involve DirecTV admitting that they screwed up and they have everyone available working on the problem will go a long way until you have an answer for #2.


Agreed. It is the last thing that we want to hear. I see a message on my screen that states my receiver is now updated which leads me to it is due to a software update that occurred overnight.


----------



## Jon J

Doug Brott said:


> The software update overnight has nothing to do with the lockups this morning. It's been confirmed to me by 3 different folks @ DIRECTV today. My statement still stands.


Easily provable in my case since both my HR20s received software updates overnight and locked up. My HR21 updated over a week ago but still locked up. Setting everything straight took two very tiring button pushes and about 20 minutes.


----------



## hilmar2k

prospero63 said:


> I got a guy two posts (I think) up from you proclaiming it's not software at all. That leaves hardware and operator error, yes?


Guide data isn't software...it's data. Maybe the software should have been able to handle it, but the underlying issue is the bad data.


----------



## sigma1914

mchaney said:


> Properly working (non-defective) hardware CANNOT lock up without software, so regardless of what cause this (firmware or guide data) it IS a software problem, PERIOD!
> 
> Mike





sigma1914 said:


> Guide data isn't software updates.


^ again.


----------



## prospero63

dre2112 said:


> It's right there on the front page


I'm not seeing it. I see them proclaiming that they stomp Comcast (because you know, if you can't be the best, at least be better than Comcast), but I didn't see anything on www.directv.com or support.directv.com.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

prospero63 said:


> There seems to be some confusion here. This isn't a unilateral position. When new equipment comes out that I really want, I'm more than happy to pay for it. That's my responsibility in this. I pay my bill when it's due and I pay for the services I receive. DirecTV's responsibility is to provide said services, and to provide them in a manner of reliability that I find acceptable. When they don't, I expect to receive a credit as an indicator of their inability to meet my expectations. If they did it enough, I'd take all my money elsewhere (instead of just 5-10 dollars here or there). If more customers did this however, DirecTV (and any other company) would find themselves with a significant financial incentive to make the kinds of improvements people want. Imagine if 5 million customers asked for a $5 credit. Sure, $5 is nothing. $5 times 5 million.... well, now you are talking some serious cash.


But when you ask for said credit... do you ask for the exact amount that you were out?

If you pay $100 a month, and were out for 2 hours... that equates to pennies... not $5. Or do you just ask for a "credit".

And I mean that for all the providers you listed earlier, that you demand a credit from...


----------



## Dolly

Well I had a devil of a time trying to get our HR20-100 to work again.
At first I couldn't even do an RBR--I had to unplug the receiver about three or four times. Then the 1st RBR I was able to do got me to rebuilding schedule guide and that was it. The 2nd RBR worked FINALLY! If I hadn't been a member of this Forum I wouldn't have had a clue what to do! Because I couldn't get anybody to answer at D*! DBSTALK is the best Sat. Forum there is :sunsmile: Thanks to everybody :sunsmile:


----------



## DogLover

prospero63 said:


> OK, so which is it then. You seem to be stating definitively that it's not a software update, not guide data, nothing to do with software at all. Other folks have strongly implied that it's the guide data (i.e. software). Given that, is it any wonder that folks see the press release of changes yesterday and jump to the occams razor conclusion of "this changed, that failed, that must have failed because of this change"?





prospero63 said:


> I got a guy two posts (I think) up from you proclaiming it's not software at all. That leaves hardware and operator error, yes?


I think part of the misunderstanding is that I would never consider guide data software. Software is usually taken to mean the programming instructions. It's also called firmware for the DVRs, because the software is stored on ROM, rather than on the harddrive. The software would be the instructions that say "if this program matches a series link, then record it", while both the guide information and the actual program stream are data.

So when people say it's not software, they are talking about the instructions, not the data that the instructions manipulate.


----------



## prospero63

sigma1914 said:


> Guide data isn't software updates.


What is it then? It's not software, it's not hardware, I'm not aware of another type. Data? Data is software.


----------



## hilmar2k

prospero63 said:


> I'm not seeing it. I see them proclaiming that they stomp Comcast (because you know, if you can't be the best, at least be better than Comcast), but I didn't see anything on www.directv.com or support.directv.com.


I don't see it either. They should put something up regarding it. But I doubt they want prospective customers to see the problem, so..... :shrug:


----------



## Doug Brott

opfreak said:


> Given the results of today.
> 
> Its obivous that DTV didnt check the data.


Yes, I believe for the most part this is a true statement. DIRECTV does not check the data .. That is Tribune's job.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

TonySCV said:


> With all due respect Earl (and you are due plenty).. this is the _last_ thing anyone experiencing the problem wants to hear. People are guessing at a lot of incorrect problems/solutions due to a lack of information.
> 
> People want to know:
> 
> 1. What (if anything) they can do to fix it themselves.
> 2. If the answer to #1 is nothing, an ETA for when DirecTV will have the problem fixed.
> 3. If the answer to #2 is "I don't know", then regular updates that involve DirecTV admitting that they screwed up and they have everyone available working on the problem will go a long way until you have an answer for #2.


My reply has nothing to do with what "people" want to know.

But to the reply in this discussion thread, that continue to point at the SOFTWARE update as the issue... that is it... it is not a reply to help those that have the issue... but to make sure the issue is focused on the cause, not something else.


----------



## hilmar2k

prospero63 said:


> What is it then? It's not software, it's not hardware, I'm not aware of another type. Data? Data is software.


No, data is data. Software instructs, data is just a pile of information.



> The term data means groups of information that represent the qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data (plural of "datum", which is seldom used) are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which information and knowledge are derived. Raw data refers to a collection of numbers, characters, images or other outputs from devices that collect information to convert physical quantities into symbols, that are unprocessed.


----------



## LameLefty

This has got to be one of the most over-the-top threads I've ever seen here.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

AMike said:


> Agreed. It is the last thing that we want to hear. I see a message on my screen that states my receiver is now updated which leads me to it is due to a software update that occurred overnight.


Sure... and it is understandable why you would come to the conclusion... hence why my posts, and all the others that have the same thing.... have put the information out there that it was NOT the software update.

So why is that the "last" thing you want to here, when the first thing you concluded was that it was a software update?

As noted... multiple times now... the fix, for you... that have come here to get information on the situation is to do a double reboot... that is probably the information you are looking for..

And hence why it is posted on the main page of this site.


----------



## Alan Gordon

t_h said:


> You're right, a major vendor *suffers frequent system wide failures*, and the real problem is quite clearly a behavioral issue with my family members.


*SERIOUSLY?!?!*

Your DirecTV and my DirecTV must be two different companies?!

~Alan


----------



## curt8403

LameLefty said:


> This has got to be one of the most over-the-top threads I've ever seen here.


Yes it certainly is


----------



## t_h

FHSPSU67 said:


> Speaking for myself and all engineers, I resent that stereotype!


I made no such stereotype. I specifically said 'an engineer that doesnt want to deal with customers or customer communications'. I made no implication that engineers cant or dont want to talk to customers. His comments made it clear that all he wanted to do was fix the problem, that nobody needed to hear anything about it until he was done fixing it, and that any time spent on anything other than fixing it was wasted time.

I disagreed with that perception, because its simply not the way to do things and expect happy customers.

Before you get your panties in a further bunch, I was on the Vax development team and worked for the guy who invented ethernet while we were inventing it. I have better engineering chops than most people, although a lot of it is rather historic in nature.

So, I was more pointing out some individual shortcomings rather than mislabeling an entire species.

But I know how to talk to customers too.


----------



## Villager

Old Guy said:


> I lost the esata drive (Seagate Free Agent Pro) on my HR20-700 and can't get it to boot back up.
> It goes to the internal no matter what I do.
> 2 rbr, unplug and wait (both the box and the esata)
> 
> I'm at a loss...


Most likely, the transformer for the FreeAgentPro has gone bad. Call Seagate and request a replacement for the power cord (transformer) under warranty. Is the FAP getting power? Are the lights on?


----------



## Earl Bonovich

prospero63 said:


> What is it then? It's not software, it's not hardware, I'm not aware of another type. Data? Data is software.


Data is not software... Data is Data.

Software interprets Data.


----------



## t_h

Alan Gordon said:


> *SERIOUSLY?!?!*
> 
> Your DirecTV and my DirecTV must be two different companies?!


If you get the directv that hasnt had three specific instances of all their receivers freezing up in the last year, requiring customer intervention to get them working again, then yes, we have two different directv's.

I dont believe that dish, comcast, tivo or any other television provider has hosed down all their customer premise equipment even once in the last handful of years, if ever. Let alone three times.


----------



## mtxguy74

Gonna attempt to break this down:

Imagine your directv box is a windows PC. 
The software is Excel. 
The data is the spreadsheet that causes Excel to crash when run.


----------



## prospero63

Earl Bonovich said:


> But when you ask for said credit... do you ask for the exact amount that you were out?
> 
> If you pay $100 a month, and were out for 2 hours... that equates to pennies... not $5. Or do you just ask for a "credit".
> 
> And I mean that for all the providers you listed earlier, that you demand a credit from...


To be honest, I tend to let the conversation go however it goes. I treat it a bit like haggling. I know what the real cost was. I know what I always start with (one month free. I get billed monthly, refund me monthly). Sometimes vendors do that. Other times they don't. If DirecTV offers me a month free, I'll take it. If they offer me $5 I'll take that too. It's less about the money and more about the message. Again, it has nothing to do with oil in the gulf, what's more important in the grand scheme of life, etc. It's simply customer service and doing right by the customer. For all DirecTV's faults, I've been with them for 10 years because by and large they have always done right by things. Now, sometimes it's taken more carrot than stick to make it happen (and the more stick I need, the more money I expect), but they have always come through.

I'll give you a great case in point. When the hurricane hit Houston a few years ago, my cell phone would only work on roaming mode. For the better part of 3 days, that's what I had to use to communicate. I waited for my sprint bill and was prepared to have to fight with them about how I wasn't about to pay roaming fees because Verizon (or whoever) managed to keep their towers up but Sprint couldn't. I get the bill, and all the roaming charges were proactively reversed. That ended any kind of discussion on my part, and has helped keep me as a Sprint customer despite some periodic moments of stupidity on their part...


----------



## Mike Bertelson

FHSPSU67 said:


> Speaking for myself and all engineers, I resent that stereotype!


As an engineer, so do I.

Mike


----------



## Carl Spock

opfreak said:


> Given the results of today.
> 
> Its obivous that DTV didnt check the data.





Doug Brott said:


> Yes, I believe for the most part this is a true statement. DIRECTV does not check the data .. That is Tribune's job.


I hope you aren't implying that it isn't still DirecTV's responsibility, Doug.

I don't contract with the Tribune company. I contract with DirecTV.


----------



## FHSPSU67

t_h said:


> I made no such stereotype. I specifically said 'an engineer that doesnt want to deal with customers or customer communications'. I made no implication that engineers cant or dont want to talk to customers. His comments made it clear that all he wanted to do was fix the problem, that nobody needed to hear anything about it until he was done fixing it, and that any time spent on anything other than fixing it was wasted time.
> 
> I disagreed with that perception, because its simply not the way to do things and expect happy customers.
> 
> Before you get your panties in a further bunch, I was on the Vax development team and worked for the guy who invented ethernet while we were inventing it. I have better engineering chops than most people, although a lot of it is rather historic in nature.
> 
> So, I was more pointing out some individual shortcomings rather than mislabeling an entire species.
> 
> But I know how to talk to customers too.


My apologies in that case But TonyD certainly has a point that a manager getting in the way of problem solving becomes a bigger problem than the actual Hardware/software problem. I, and my co-engineers, certainly experienced that many times.


----------



## 2dogz

Earl Bonovich said:


> Actually... that is not true.
> 
> The software upate does change the guide data structure, but not the process of how to clear out the data that is stored on the drive.


A mismatch in data definitions between software releases or general screw up in attempt to redefine the data (rearrange data, make room for new data), same effect. You gotta clear the disk cache to get things working again if you screw up.


----------



## prospero63

hilmar2k said:


> No, data is data. Software instructs, data is just a pile of information.


Why, I meet your wikipedia challenge!!! 



> Computer software, or just software, is the collection of computer programs and *related data* that provide the instructions telling a computer what to do


----------



## scott72

prospero63 said:


> There seems to be some confusion here. This isn't a unilateral position. When new equipment comes out that I really want, I'm more than happy to pay for it. That's my responsibility in this. I pay my bill when it's due and I pay for the services I receive. DirecTV's responsibility is to provide said services, and to provide them in a manner of reliability that I find acceptable. When they don't, I expect to receive a credit as an indicator of their inability to meet my expectations. If they did it enough, I'd take all my money elsewhere (instead of just 5-10 dollars here or there). If more customers did this however, DirecTV (and any other company) would find themselves with a significant financial incentive to make the kinds of improvements people want. Imagine if 5 million customers asked for a $5 credit. Sure, $5 is nothing. $5 times 5 million.... well, now you are talking some serious cash.


And my point is you have to pick your battles. I'd rather let this slide, but when I request a discount on Extra Innings like I did this year I usually get rewarded. So, the bottom line for me is, demand my 5-10 dollars credit for today, or get EI for half price for a savings of $100 like I did this season? So as you can see, no confusion on my part where the true savings is.


----------



## DarinC

hilmar2k said:


> If I didn't visit DBSTalk I would have called DIRECTV and they would have walked me through a couple of RBR's. If you aren't bright enough to be able to follow the following directions, I'm not sure how you remember to breathe


You seemed to miss the fact that most couldn't get through to DirecTV. You also seemed to miss my point that many or most wouldn't know there was a problem until they came home from work or even vacation, to discover their missing recordings. Sure, it's only TV, but many pay in excess of $100/month for it, so it obviously has some importance to many subscribers.

As a side note, my reply to you was civil, as I merely pointed out that most customers probably don't have the benefit of DBStalk to work through these issues. Not sure why you felt your point couldn't be made without throwing in some personal insults.


----------



## curt8403

scott72 said:


> And my point is you have to pick your battles. I'd rather let this slide, but when I request a discount on Extra Innings like I did this year I usually get rewarded. So, the bottom line for me is, demand my 5-10 dollars credit for today, or get EI for half price for a savings of $100 like I did this season? So as you can see, no confusion on my part where the true savings is.


 wow, since there are thousands and thousands with this issue, a 5$ credit per account would run into the serious money.


----------



## prospero63

scott72 said:


> And my point is you have to pick your battles. I'd rather let this slide, but when I request a discount on Extra Innings like I did this year I usually get rewarded. So, the bottom line for me is, demand my 5-10 dollars credit for today, or get EI for half price for a savings of $100 like I did this season? So as you can see, no confusion on my part where the true savings is.


Why settle? Seriously. Get the credit because they failed to deliver what they were supposed to. And guess what? Then go get EI for half price too. I've honestly never in 10 years had a problem with DirecTV getting what I have asked for when I have asked for it. It's how they keep me a customer.


----------



## scott72

prospero63 said:


> Data is software.


No it's not. Software is a set of instructions that manipulates data.


----------



## JeffBowser

This thread is a great example of how some people have a warped or lost sense of perspective....

I RBR'd my DVR's twice while I was home for lunch. Major life changing crisis averted, thanks DBSTalk!


----------



## sigma1914

prospero63 said:


> Why, I meet your wikipedia challenge!!!


Wikipedia? :lol: 

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=software

 *software*, ((computer science) written programs or procedures or rules and associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system and that are stored in read/write memory) "the market for software is expected to expand"


----------



## Alan Gordon

t_h said:


> If you get the directv that hasnt had three specific instances of all their receivers freezing up in the last year, requiring customer intervention to get them working again, then yes, we have two different directv's.


Like I said previously, I honestly don't remember this. 

I may _vaguely_ remember it once before (if I'm not getting mixed up), but I KNOW it hasn't happened to me three times. 

~Alan


----------



## hilmar2k

DarinC said:


> You seemed to miss the fact that most couldn't get through to DirecTV. You also seemed to miss my point that many or most wouldn't know there was a problem until they came home from work or even vacation, to discover their missing recordings. Sure, it's only TV, but many pay in excess of $100/month for it, so it obviously has some importance to many subscribers.
> 
> As a side note, my reply to you was civil, as I merely pointed out that most customers probably don't have the benefit of DBStalk to work through these issues. Not sure why you felt your point couldn't be made without throwing in some personal insults.


I already repsonded to this and agreed that it is a problem if you can't get through to DIRECTV.

I made no insults directed at you. My point was that it was ridiculously easy to solve the problem, once you knew the solution. My intention was not to direct that at you, so my apologies if that's how it read.


----------



## prospero63

curt8403 said:


> wow, since there are thousands and thousands with this issue, a 5$ credit per account would run into the serious money.


There's 18 million subscribers, right? Let's assume a mere 10% have the problem. Well, I'm Texas educated, but my Texas math says that's a big number. :lol:


----------



## pappy97

Had the problem too this morning. Before even checking here, I unplugged once and got nothing. Then I unplugged again and asked my wife to check and sure enough, she said it was working fine.

Then I come here and discover the double unplug trick to fix this. I was relieved to see something here and not have it be that our DVR in the living room (Where my wife primarily records stuff) crapped out. When I explained to my wife this morning, when we thought a service call might be needed, that if the DVR has to be replaced, everything she taped is gone, she had a look of horror on her face. Glad that it wasn't the case, but now she knows (fully grasps?) that not only are the recordings only going to last if we have DirecTV, that also they will last until the hard disk fails in the DVR.

My wife and I were bracing for no TV in the living room for several days, but we said "Thank god it was only the summer TV season!"


----------



## syphix

prospero63 said:


> There's 18 million subscribers, right? Let's assume a mere 10% have the problem. Well, I'm Texas educated, but my Texas math says that's a big number. :lol:


$9 million in credits? I don't think that's gonna happen!


----------



## joshjr

Carl Spock said:


> I hope you aren't implying that it isn't still DirecTV's responsibility, Doug.
> 
> I don't contract with the Tribune company. I contract with DirecTV.


I have contacted Tribune a few times in the past. Trust me it gets fixed faster that way. Most people you talk to at D* dont have a clue who updates the guide data.


----------



## Doug Brott

sigma1914 said:


> People here who work for Directv and those who have inside sources said it's not software. Period.


To clarify, it's not related to the software update that occurred last night. One could certainly argue that the receiver shouldn't freeze due to corrupted data, though .. But .. that's not what most people have been saying.


----------



## scott72

prospero63 said:


> Why settle? Seriously. Get the credit because they failed to deliver what they were supposed to. And guess what? Then go get EI for half price too. I've honestly never in 10 years had a problem with DirecTV getting what I have asked for when I have asked for it. It's how they keep me a customer.


The chances of me receiving that half price EI reward is diminished however if I call up and demand a credit for a service outage for today. Are you seriously going to disconnect your service if they refuse your $5 credit? I doubt it. For me it's simple dollars and cents. I receive more money in my pocket by letting this go and collecting my reward when I want a new HD DVR or sports package.


----------



## Alan Gordon

joshjr said:


> I have contacted Tribune a few times in the past. Trust me it gets fixed faster that way. Most people you talk to at D* dont have a clue who updates the guide data.


I have contacted Tribune a few times in the past. I never received any replies though! 

~Alan


----------



## ItsMeJTO

OH MY . !!!!


----------



## brritz

I had these problems and after the reboots I still have one of the tuners that will not receive any of the national HD channels. Anybody else have this issue?


----------



## pfp

Doug Brott said:


> Yes, I believe for the most part this is a true statement. DIRECTV does not check the data .. That is Tribune's job.


It should be DirecTV's job to ensure their DVR can't be bricked by Tribune's data.


----------



## jovac

"This thread is a great example of how some people have a warped or lost sense of perspective....

I RBR'd my DVR's twice while I was home for lunch. Major life changing crisis averted, thanks DBSTalk!

Amen.


----------



## prospero63

sigma1914 said:


> Wikipedia? :lol:
> 
> http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=software
> 
> *software*, ((computer science) written programs or procedures or rules and associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system and that are stored in read/write memory) "the market for software is expected to expand"


He cited a wikipedia quote. So I did too. That's OK though. I'll meet your dictionary challenge!!!!

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/software



> soft·ware
> /ˈsɔftˌwɛər, ˈsɒft-/ Show Spelled[sawft-wair, soft-] Show IPA
> -noun
> 1.
> Computers. the programs used to direct the operation of a computer, as well as documentation giving instructions on how to use them. Compare hardware (def. 5).
> 2.
> *anything that is not hardware but is used with hardware, esp. audiovisual materials, as film, tapes, records, etc.: a studio fully equipped but lacking software*.
> 3.
> Television Slang. prepackaged materials, as movies or reruns, used to fill out the major part of a station's program schedule.


Further though, data. Plural of datum. Datum. "He's a good looking fella, you ought to datum".



> da·tum
> /ˈdeɪtəm, ˈdætəm, ˈdɑtəm/ Show Spelled[dey-tuhm, dat-uhm, dah-tuhm] Show IPA
> -noun,pluralda·ta  /ˈdeɪtə, ˈdætə, ˈdɑtə/ Show Spelled[dey-tuh, dat-uh, dah-tuh] Show IPA for 1-3, da·tums for 4, 5.
> 1.
> a single piece of information, as a fact, statistic, or code; an item of data.


Now, I've never actually looked at DirecTV's guide data, but I've looked at a *lot* of other data, and at it's core is a bunch of code. It's code used by other code, but it's still code. And it's all software by virtue of the fact that it's not hardware.


----------



## namja

All 3 of my HD DVRs were also "dead" when I woke up this morning. Had to unplug, wait a bit, plug back in, reboot. Then I had to RBR again just to make them work.

If this isn't buggy software, what could it be? It's affecting millions of people across the country.


----------



## DogLover

prospero63 said:


> Why, I meet your wikipedia challenge!!!


With all due respect to wikipedia, in common language software and data *are* different.

Now to be fair, it is a good idea to make certain values "data", rather than instruction. For example: The text that is displayed on a screen. You mgiht not want that hardcoded into and instruction. You would put it into a file or other data structure, so that it could be easily and safely changed when marketing decides they want different text on a screen. In that way, you can say that the text is "data", but that it is part of the "software". In that way wikipedia is correct.

However, in the case above, this data is generally static. It may change more often than the software, but doesn't change all the time. It could be made part of the instructions, but it is better programming for it not to be. It is part of the the action.

The case of guide data is very different. It is contantly changing. It is part of what is being acted upon. It is not software.


----------



## scott72

syphix said:


> $9 million in credits? I don't think that's gonna happen!


And if it does, prepare for a very large monthly increase later this year on all packages.


----------



## Barry in Conyers

DirecTV sent out *SOMETHING* in the data stream that locked up most of their HD DVR's.

Whether it was software or guide data or something else is irrelevant to the paying customer; *it should not have happened.*

IIRC, this is at least the third time this same general scenario has happened in the last 12-18 months. Again, whether it was software or guide data or something else is irrelevant; it should not have happened the first time, much less the second or third time.

OK D*fenders, attack!!!


----------



## FHSPSU67

brritz said:


> I had these problems and after the reboots I still have one of the tuners that will not receive any of the national HD channels. Anybody else have this issue?


It would be best to start a new thread and list your satellite signals on that receiver (both tuners) 103c and 99c.


----------



## prospero63

syphix said:


> $9 million in credits? I don't think that's gonna happen!


1.8 million people call and ask for a service credit, and I'd take you up on that. That's been my point the entire time. If as consumers folks accept failure, then they are going to get failure. If they demand (and the only way they can do it is with money) accountability, the company suddenly has a really compelling reason to "do better".


----------



## curt8403

things seem to be getting a bit nasty. Let's not let this turn into a knockdown Dragout.


----------



## namja

The software, if it was working properly, should reject all bad data and not freeze up. If the software freezes up because of bad data, then that's bad software.


----------



## Doug Brott

Carl Spock said:


> I hope you aren't implying that it isn't still DirecTV's responsibility, Doug.
> 
> I don't contract with the Tribune company. I contract with DirecTV.


Are you suggesting that DIRECTV get all over Tribune on this in support of it's customers .. Good suggestion


----------



## prospero63

scott72 said:


> And if it does, prepare for a very large monthly increase later this year on all packages.


Is that the reason for DirecTV's increases earlier this year? Is your implication that if we were to all accept failure with abject silence that DirecTV would never increase their fees? Because I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with people getting credits for service interruption and everything to do with supply, demand and what their user base will accept.


----------



## Doug Brott

2dogz said:


> A mismatch in data definitions between software releases or general screw up in attempt to redefine the data (rearrange data, make room for new data), same effect. You gotta clear the disk cache to get things working again if you screw up.


This was happening on ALL versions .. This was not related to the software update overnight.


----------



## DogLover

Doug Brott said:


> Are you suggesting that DIRECTV get all over Tribune on this in support of it's customers .. Good suggestion


I think that's a good suggestion, too. If the bad data come from Tribune, then DirecTV should be having some serious discussions with them! Some that list the monetary cost of this bad data.


----------



## jonny4

I have 3 HD-DVR's not working and on the same day WoW decided to do a 24 hour maintenance on the server I play on and on the day it is pouring down rain outside. I guess I will head to the mall and maybe go see a movie.


----------



## sigma1914

:lol: Lots of naysayers here seem to be an experts on how to run the Directv boxes. I hope you all are coding software out there...you'd be billionaires with your ability to write uncrashable code.


----------



## Doug Brott

prospero63 said:


> Why, I meet your wikipedia challenge!!!


Your phone book contains data (the numbers) .. The hardware is the paper, your hand/arm and your eye .. The software is "open book, find page, read number" ..

Is that clear?


----------



## DeweySat

My daughter called from Las Vegas and said both DVR's were locked up. I just checked ours (Arizona), and they were too. I re-booted both, and they started to work, but would not accept commands from the remotes. These are HR21's. Looks like a really serious problem. I have never seen anything this bad before. No TV tonight I guess.



namja said:


> All 3 of my HD DVRs were also "dead" when I woke up this morning. Had to unplug, wait a bit, plug back in, reboot. Then I had to RBR again just to make them work.
> 
> If this isn't buggy software, what could it be? It's affecting millions of people across the country.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

All fair points. But at the end of the day I think you'll find service restored for 99.999% of subscribers, and you'll find that DIRECTV's uptime record is as good or better than any other multichannel provider. This is just one of those days, and I urge everyone to be cool and calm about it. 

A word to Mr. "in Conyers" ... you're right that outages shouldn't happen. In the end they do. I'm not suggesting we all storm the gates of El Segundo for it, nor am I suggesting that we lay down and allow the marketing steamroller to turn us into DBSTalk jerky. Something in the middle seems like a much better answer.


----------



## Xsabresx

prospero63 said:


> 1.8 million people call and ask for a service credit, and I'd take you up on that. That's been my point the entire time. If as consumers folks accept failure, then they are going to get failure. If they demand (and the only way they can do it is with money) accountability, the company suddenly has a really compelling reason to "do better".


Seriously. You have to be a personal injury attorney. The answer to everything isnt "hittin em in the wallet".

Virtually everything has an acceptable failure rate. When dealing with electronics, software, and hardware and data nothing is 100% fail-proof. Things do happen sometimes. Expecting things to never go wrong is setting the bar way too high. Why do you think Directv has an entire tech support department? Because things go wrong on occasion. Expecting compensation every time things go wrong is absurd in my opinion, especially when we are talking a couple of hours.


----------



## scott72

prospero63 said:


> Is that the reason for DirecTV's increases earlier this year? Is your implication that if we were to all accept failure with abject silence that DirecTV would never increase their fees? Because I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with people getting credits for service interruption and everything to do with supply, demand and what their user base will accept.


It has everything to do with the bottom line. Common business sense tells you that if they shell out millions in refunds for today, they're going to recover that money in some fashion, most likely in increases. Again, I choose to pick my battles and this is one I will let D* win, but I will be back to fight another day when I want a new piece of equipment or a discount on a sports package.


----------



## hilmar2k

DeweySat said:


> My daughter called from Las Vegas and said both DVR's were locked up. I just checked ours (Arizona), and they were too. I re-booted both, and they started to work, but would not accept commands from the remotes. These are HR21's. Looks like a really serious problem. I have never seen anything this bad before. No TV tonight I guess.


As stated over and over again, you need to restart twice.


----------



## HarleyD

opfreak said:


> Given the results of today.
> 
> Its obivous that DTV didnt check the data.


Obivous?

Now who's not checking.


----------



## prospero63

DogLover said:


> The case of guide data is very different. It is contantly changing. It is part of what is being acted upon. It is not software.


If it's not software though, then by process of elimination it must be hardware. But it's definitely not hardware. I'll freely concede I'm being intentionally obtuse on the point of not differentiating software as data and software as executable code. Mostly I did it because I found it a little annoying that folks we so dismissive of this situation being a result of code (how's that for bridging the gap) that DirecTV (or one of it's contracted providers) pushed to a bunch of receivers.


----------



## roadrunner1782

Wow! I'm a day late and dollar short with this thread. I woke up this morning after falling asleep with the TV on last night to find my HR22 on live tv. (nothing strange) I then hit the list button to find I had an update. (who cares I thought) When I hit ok the screen went black and stayed that way. No big deal even though The Sopranos was recording, I went to the bathroom and came out to find I was back to live tv again. I hit the list button again and realized the HR22 wasn't responding to any remote commands or the front panel, so I gave it a whack and yelled you POS and RBR'd again. Finally it worked right and I set my episode of The Sopranos to record again when it aired later in the day, and life goes on!


----------



## Carl Spock

Doug Brott said:


> Are you suggesting that DIRECTV get all over Tribune on this in support of it's customers .. Good suggestion


If I was DirecTV, I'd have a penalty clause in my contract with the Tribune Company for mess-ups like this.

Maybe they do.


----------



## DogLover

sigma1914 said:


> :lol: Lots of naysayers here seem to be an experts on how to run the Directv boxes. I hope you all are coding software out there...you'd be billionaires with your ability to write uncrashable code.


Yeah, someone out here has a quote about making things foolproof. You only find bigger fools.

While I agree in principle that software should never lock up because of bad data, I also know how difficult that is to pull off in practice.

And let's not forget that some of these units are pretty slow already. Adding more checking on data that is constantly being downloaded in the background can only slow them down. The purist in me bristles at this next statement. It might be worth a few crashes, rather than slowing the boxes down with additional data checking. (I've just been thrown out of the good programmers' club.)


----------



## tivoboy

yep, happened to me this AM. Box wouldn't start, wouldn't even turn on. Hit the red, it rebooted but then NOTHING STILL. I did it again and it SEEMED to make it through. I was about to chalk it up to the CRAP SOFTWARE UPDATE that we got last week, but I guess this was a NEW problem. 

I think that about does it.


----------



## JayB

Doug Brott said:


> .. The software is "open book, find page, read number" ..


Technically, wouldn't that be "wetware"?  (just couldn't help myself)


----------



## primetime

Got up the this morning and noticed all three HD DVR's were locked up, rebooted all three, nothing worked yet. Tried the 4th DVR, a SD version in the work out room, and it fired right up so I knew my dish wasn't having problems due to the overnight storm. Reached around back and unplugged the HD DVR again, it rebooted just like normal and the picture popped on. Did the other two afterwards, total time spent, less than 15 minutes counting the running between 3 floors and not spilling my coffee. Two of the receivers booted while I was in the shower. Annoying? Sure, crisis? Nah, just reboot whenever a receiver locks up, that is all you'll get from DirectTV customer service at first anyway so why waste time on the call until you try it at least 2x, it will fix 90%+ of problems.

I got the notice of 3D and enhanced parental controls or what not on the screen, thought it was slighly unusual since I got all those same announcements on the software download over a week ago.

BTW the talk of a $5 credit to say 10MM subs, isn't as crippling as exaggerated here. DirecTV had $1 Billion of free cash flow in the first quarter and plans on increasing levereage to be more in line with peers (Dish is levered at 2.5x which is DTV's goal, Time Warner Comcast are even higher) which will create over $12 billion of cash to return to shareholders.


----------



## Milkman

My receiver just RBR'd on its own.


----------



## Greg Alsobrook

From DIRECTV's Twitter:



> @DIRECTV - We are in the process of implementing a fix for today's HD DVR issue. Your receiver may reset itself but this is expected.


----------



## doo4usc

Both DVR's just went off..Looks like update


----------



## tlrowley

My two boxes just rebooted themselves - is D* trying a remote fix? I had already got them up and running after the dust-up this morning.


----------



## Doug Brott

Just heard .. DVRs may start rebooting ...


----------



## prospero63

It would appear that DirecTV just pushed the national reboot.


----------



## namja

sigma1914 said:


> :lol: Lots of naysayers here seem to be an experts on how to run the Directv boxes. I hope you all are coding software out there...you'd be billionaires with your ability to write uncrashable code.


No one's saying that they need to make it uncrashable. Just pointing out that when it did crash because the software is buggy. I'm not saying I can write the software better, but I am saying that I know when the software is to blame.

If bad data can crash the box, then it's the software's fault. Period.


----------



## mung

The childish back and forth about software or not and credit or not has taken over the thread. What people fail to realize is that there are a few of us out here that have worn out our reset buttons and still don't have working boxes. I just switched my boxes and the one box is still stuck at step 1 of 2.

As I am typing this the working box just rebooted on it's own. Wonder if they just pushed something out.


----------



## toofastgtp

My HR20 just locked up again and rebooted by it self.


----------



## hilmar2k

Let's hope the software push fixes things. This thread is getting tiresome.


----------



## compnurd

yup


----------



## FRANKDK2

just RBR on its own.


----------



## B Newt

Right now my receiver just rebooted by itself. I must be getting a software update.


----------



## rob5819

I had the problem earlier this morning, two resets fixed it. Now (11:50am Pacific), both my DVRs just rebooted on their own while I was watching tv with no prompting. Is this DTV sending a reboot out to fix the problem for others?


----------



## sigma1914

Panic time part II...boxes just restarted. :lol:


----------



## NorfolkBruh

for sure! ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!


----------



## CTJon

After going through all that and running fine for about 5 hours my HR22 just rebooted itself. 

This is going to be a trying day.


----------



## cb7214

same here mine just rebooted


----------



## dirwuf

Mine is rebooting on its own at this moment


----------



## Avder

Dammit to hell I was watching something and had already rebooted twice to fix mine.


----------



## Janice805

Well, here we go again. 11:53 AM in California and my main HR23-700 just went off AGAIN. Rebooting now. I need to go my other 3 DVR's.


----------



## namja

prospero63 said:


> It would appear that DirecTV just pushed the national reboot.


Two of my boxes just rebooted (the third is on standby and I don't wanna check just yet).


----------



## RAD

Doug Brott said:


> Just heard .. DVRs may start rebooting ...


OK, does that mean we'll be seeing two reboots in the next 30 minutes to make sure the guide flushes or will it only be one?


----------



## Matt L

2:55 Pm all my receivers are being reset, no option to stop it...


----------



## camo

Well looks like they just did a full reboot of all receivers.


----------



## onan38

2:54pm est HR21-100 just started to reboot on its own.anyone else?


----------



## DMRI2006

Rebooting here as well!


----------



## SFNSXguy

I did the "double RBR" and hour or so ago.

Both my HR20-700s are rebooting on their own at the moment.


----------



## bossfan50

doo4usc said:


> Both DVR's just went off..Looks like update


Ditto, my receivers are currently getting an update. Looks like people who have day time recordings set up will get hosed today which is where I do agree with people being upset.


----------



## LameLefty

B Newt said:


> Right now my receiver just rebooted by itself. I must be getting a software update.


Not necessarily. Directv can force a restart without a software load.


----------



## ptuck874

and blank it goes  this time, nothing but the box was on, no output, going through restart again


----------



## robdec

Both my receivers just rebooted on their own


----------



## Blurayfan

All three of my DVRs just rebooted on their own.


----------



## adam1115

Everything was working fine for a few hours, and it just rebooted itself.

UGGGH!

"A problem has been detected in the storage device"


----------



## kikkenit2

I didn't read this whole thread but after multiple reboots all 6 of my hr20-xx worked fine. Now directv just rebooted all 6. I can't watch tv. I bet they reset them all! Damn.:eek2:


----------



## 408SJC

Did the two rbr on all hr's working fine but it seems Directv reset all boxes again automatically.


----------



## joshjr

Alan Gordon said:


> I have contacted Tribune a few times in the past. I never received any replies though!
> 
> ~Alan


I have called them several times but mine was all about data for local channels. I asked for who updates the guide data for D* and then I give them specific information about the problem and what channels and its fixed within 24 hours each and every time.


----------



## irdmoose

All 3 of my HD DVRs RBR'd themselves. After all of the issues I've been having over the past few months I'm starting to get pretty ticked. I hate Comcrap and Dish sucks balls, but when AT&T gets uVerse out in my area I may seriously consider switching after this.


----------



## perkolater

My receiver just locked up again. Unreal.


----------



## prozone1

all 3 of mine at the same time


----------



## FourDoor

Hmmm this is odd. After rebooting my receivers this morning to get them up and running again (which took quite a while since I have 3 HD-DVRs) all 3 of them just rebooted on their own.

I guess DTV just sent out a refresh/reboot signal to the hd-dvrs just now.


----------



## ptuck874

nevermind, lol, everybody posted the same time, man, put up a java chat when these things happen  lol


----------



## sore_bluto

Both of my HR20-700s just spontaneously rebooted.


----------



## Miller

Both my HR22 and HR 23's were locked up this morning. I had to pull the plug then do a rbr. Now my HR23 just rebooted it's self. Are they pushing a fix?


----------



## wideglide36

Three of my receivers were working after the reboot fix but they're now rebooting on their own.

What gives with that!


----------



## DBSooner

I was watching that! Thanks D*


----------



## Carl Spock

Not that I predicted this back in post #160. :nono: No, no, not me.


----------



## FourDoor

LOL I type too slow for you guys. :lol:


----------



## montanaxvi

HR21 did two RBR on it this morning around 9am and just had it reboot itself in thee middle of a program.

Hope this cures the problem. I'm still not able to call into CS, I get an "all circuits are busy message"


----------



## slapshot1959

Reboots here as well.


----------



## notnufbw

tlrowley said:


> My two boxes just rebooted themselves - is D* trying a remote fix? I had already got them up and running after the dust-up this morning.


Same here......all 4 HR receivers that I rebooted twice this morning to get up and running with working Guide, etc................now all are rebooting on their own....if you know what I mean.

VR


----------



## wilbur_the_goose

Wife just e-mailed:
Just wanted you to know that all of a sudden both DirecTV receivers went black and then rebooted at the same time. I don't know why this happened, but I'm sure you'll check the forums out later.
-----------------
See - she knows where to go for the most up to date D* info - dbstalk.com!


----------



## 2dogz

All the ladies watching their soaps are just freaked.


----------



## SDimwit

1:55 pm central, both my HR20-700 & my HR 22-100 crapped out .
Mediacom is looking better by the minute.


----------



## Doug Brott

RAD said:


> OK, does that mean we'll be seeing two reboots in the next 30 minutes to make sure the guide flushes or will it only be one?


I have no idea .. I heard this from my wife .. :lol:


----------



## namja

Back up now. The remote is much more responsive on both TVs (the living room TV was lagging a lot even after 2 reboots).


----------



## pfp

Carl Spock said:


> If I was DirecTV, I'd have a penalty clause in my contract with the Tribune Company for mess-ups like this.
> 
> Maybe they do.


If I were DirecTV, I'd make sure that bad Tribune data couldn't cripple my DVR.

They apparently didn't.


----------



## GirkMonster

I was late for court this am...I am relieved to know that I am not alone, my equipment isn't failing and there's an easy fix. I had actually stumbled onto the unplug/replug solution by accident on my HR22...it was the only way to break the spell that had been cast on it.

Figures this would be the morning my wife hit the treadmill early!


----------



## usnret

Mine just rebooted too. Wonder if this is a D "fix"??


----------



## GregLee

My HR20 has just reset, presumably triggered by D*. I expect it will do it again in a few minutes


----------



## Stuart Sweet

DIREC*TV* - Breaking News: DIRECTV's twitter feed says that your DVRs may reboot sometime soon, and this is part of fixing the issue.


----------



## gtbuzz

i had the same issues this morning. followed the directions on the dbstalk main page (2 rbr's within 30 minutes) it it works for a while. about 2 or 3 times now my receivers have randomly locked up. both picture and audio die and receiver becomes unresponsive. need to rbr again.

what gives??


----------



## CopyCat

2:57PM and all 3 DVRs are resetting, great more interruptions :nono2:

But I guess it helps those that are not home so their DVRs will be working when the get there.


----------



## Rakul

All of my HR2x's just rebooted here.


----------



## Bit_fiddler

ok - this is crossing over into the annoying side of things. I went through the wtf is going on stage this morning and unplugged/plugged my 4 DVRs and listened to LOML and my 3 yo whine about their TV shows. Thank-you whomever for DBSTalk so I could find out what is going on and how to fix it. Did the double boot and things ran fine for several hours. Working at home this afternoon, playing back a show from the internal disk, and all of a sudden the screen goes black, then all of the lights go off on the DVR. It just reset itself! 

Anybody else having their DVR's reset themselves this afteroon?


----------



## dlugatch

All 3 of my receivers rebooted themselves after I did a double reboot earlier in the day. Help. My wife is blaming me!:lol:


----------



## scott72

doo4usc said:


> Both DVR's just went off..Looks like update


Now I'm curious as to what happens to my HD DVR in the basement that is currently not hooked up at all due to an expected carpet lay in that particular room. I can't help but wonder if it will get an update when it's back up at all and if it will have similar problems.


----------



## j2fast

From Directv via twitter at 2:52PM EDT:



> We are in the process of implementing a fix for today's HD DVR issue. Your receiver may reset itself but this is expected.


ETA: Darn, Stuart already beat me to the punch....


----------



## lgb0250

Mines still in the process of rebooting. Tried to call the 5000 and got nothing but a busy signal? Glad I don't own this stock. This seems like a major system blunder that's going to cause a major PR clean up. JMHO.


----------



## adam1115

Stuart Sweet said:


> DIREC*TV* - Breaking News: DIRECTV's twitter feed says that your DVRs may reboot sometime soon, and this is part of fixing the issue.


Except it was working fine, and now the thing won't boot.

Awesome.


----------



## camo

Yeap! I think they will follow the first boot with a second soon to follow.


----------



## bigmouthindc

Have they ever initiated a reboot in the middle of the day before? Some advertisers are going to be throwing a hissy fit. QVC sales are probably taking a hit.


----------



## mishababy

ok so seriously my tv was working fine for like 2 hours and then all of the suddent it reboots not only int he middle of watching a show but in the middle of recording another and I call and put on HOLD for excess of 14 minutes FIX THIS S&^% now grrrrrr im getting peed off because i cant even use the freaking dvr to watch shows grrrrrrrrrr


----------



## lance30276

Earl, Did you have the honor of pushing the "magic" button???


----------



## DogLover

prospero63 said:


> If it's not software though, then by process of elimination it must be hardware. But it's definitely not hardware. I'll freely concede I'm being intentionally obtuse on the point of not differentiating software as data and software as executable code. Mostly I did it because I found it a little annoying that folks we so dismissive of this situation being a result of code (how's that for bridging the gap) that DirecTV (or one of it's contracted providers) pushed to a bunch of receivers.


I just don't accept the assumption that there is only hardware and software. There is hardware, software, and data. I still think that's the best way to communicate with people about programming, but we can agree to disagree on that.

I know that it may be annoying that folks dismissed the situation being code so quickly. As a manager I had to listen to programmers say that it couldn't be their code that was the problem, even when that was all that was changed. As a progammer, you have to assume it's your code change until proven otherwise.

However, sometimes you do prove otherwise. I saw the evidence very quickly that it was not likely a code problem, but then putting those clues together in a production support environment was one of my strengths. I'm not a DVR programmer, but I thought the clues were obvious enough, assuming the early reports were accurate. Since others with more knowledge about the DVR were coming to the same conclusion, it seemed reasonable to keep with that like of thinking.

BTW, at least 2 of my boxes have rebooted while typing this. Need to go check what's going on.


----------



## Hdhead

***************All my boxes just rebooted on thier own. Is this the fix**************


----------



## DBSooner

bigmouthindc said:


> Have they ever initiated a reboot in the middle of the day before? Some advertisers are going to be throwing a hissy fit.


Yes. Not the first time this has happened. It's been awhile since it has though.


----------



## kikkenit2

Carl Spock said:


> Not that I predicted this back in post #160. :nono: No, no, not me.


Flushing is a well chosen word for what just happened. Usually means a bad thing.


----------



## rahlquist

sigma1914 said:


> :lol: Lots of naysayers here seem to be an experts on how to run the Directv boxes. I hope you all are coding software out there...you'd be billionaires with your ability to write uncrashable code.


As a developer I have to say hogwash.

The IBM compatible PC is known to crash in spectacular fashion because its an open spec, the hardware can vary wildly and we expect the same software to work on it.

The Apple platforms are known to crash less because they are a 'walled garden' they control the OS and the Hardware.

Directv controls the Hardware and the Software, and to a major extent the Data. They should be able to better prevent guide crashes but they do seem to happen every 12-18 months.

And no my code isnt always 100% perfect but I'd sure be embarrassed if someone entered a phone number into a database and it nuked the whole country....

Just Sayin...


----------



## georule

namja said:


> No one's saying that they need to make it uncrashable. Just pointing out that when it did crash because the software is buggy. I'm not saying I can write the software better, but I am saying that I know when the software is to blame.
> 
> If bad data can crash the box, then it's the software's fault. Period.


Oh, I'd agree with that --and note that usually the way you find it out is by having it happen. 

Bad data that doesn't crash the box can still create unhappy, however (inaccurate guide data or whatever), and is still to be earnestly avoided for its own sake.

But sure, asking the software to be robust enough to not just take a dump or freeze over bad data is absolutely a design goal of any piece of software that aspires to be described as mature enough for widescale production use.


----------



## lgb0250

This is the second reboot for me today. Will be interesting to hear the "official explanation" when it comes.


----------



## onan38

Better to do it now than in primetime.


----------



## RAD

Doug Brott said:


> I have no idea .. I heard this from my wife .. :lol:


Looks like the reboot command also caused a guide cache flush.


----------



## pfp

lgb0250 said:


> This is the second reboot for me today. Will be interesting to hear the "official explanation" when it comes.


unlikely to be one


----------



## David MacLeod

whats really funny is the fix for this issue was posted 5 minutes before this 800+ post thread even started 
http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=2489168&postcount=15


----------



## pfp

onan38 said:


> Better to do it now than in primetime.


:up:


----------



## dparisoe

I'm also a developer and I agree 100% with rahlquist.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

lgb0250 said:


> This is the second reboot for me today. Will be interesting to hear the "official explanation" when it comes.


I wouldn't expect much of an explanation. It' will probably be pretty vague. :shrug:

Mike


----------



## Maleman

Just got home and powered on my components and there was a guide progress bar? Some sort of download.

Anyways everything seems fine.

Does anyone what the hech happened? Seemed to be quite widespread.

Thanks


----------



## Bob Coxner

This official reboot went very quickly compared to the RBRs I had to do earlier today.


----------



## pfp

MicroBeta said:


> I wouldn't expect much of an explanation. It' will probably be pretty vague. :shrug:
> 
> Mike


UTH


----------



## camo

Anyone know why the new HR24's were not effected by what ever caused the lock up problem? I'm really leaning toward the boogie man as being the culprit.


----------



## prospero63

Xsabresx said:


> Seriously. You have to be a personal injury attorney. The answer to everything isnt "hittin em in the wallet".


Nah, I'm an unabashed capitalist. You are correct, the answer to everything isn't hit them in the wallet, but that doesn't mean it's not the answer to some things.



> Virtually everything has an acceptable failure rate. When dealing with electronics, software, and hardware and data nothing is 100% fail-proof. Things do happen sometimes. Expecting things to never go wrong is setting the bar way too high. Why do you think Directv has an entire tech support department? Because things go wrong on occasion. Expecting compensation every time things go wrong is absurd in my opinion, especially when we are talking a couple of hours.


I don't watch TV all the time. Should I then expect DirecTV to not charge me for those times? What's good for the goose is good for the gander. DirecTV (rightly) expects me to pay them for a service I use (even if I don't happen to be using it at any given time). I (rightly) expect them to not charge me for a service I can't use. I mean seriously, why would I pay for something I can't use? As I mentioned, I'm an unabashed capitalist. I like my money.


----------



## HarleyD

Wow. Just...wow.

I've never seen more people exerting more time and effort complaining about a problem than it would take to just correct the problem.

I've been working with advanced electronics for many years. Things happen sometimes for no apparent reason and that sometimes take days to correct.

Pressing the reset button...twice. That's about one of the easiest fixes I've run across. It's even easier than Ctrl+Alt+Del. By one keypress. 

I have had the occasional odd issue with D* STBs since I became a subscriber. 9 times out of 10 the solution is to reset the receiver, either via a press of a button or unplugging the unit and counting to 15. 

So, since this a time-worn and proven method for correcting ISSUES with a box I don't understand why all the hue and cry over this.

Is it because it the problem so widespread?

Would these folks still be so outraged if they believed that they were the only one experiencing a problem that was so easily corrected? Or would they be relieved that the box was not "dead" and was so easily revived.

I know that for my part, I was relieved that my box was merely confused and not broken. And this was before I found out that it was a widespread issue. Learning that only made me more relieved because it told me my box wasn't acting flaky as a prelude to a hard, irretrievable failure.


----------



## mung

So they forced a reboot and that's great but that didn't do anything for the box that is stuck at Step 1 of 2. 

Wonder how long I will have to wait until they send me a new box and I lose all of my saved shows.


----------



## prospero63

scott72 said:


> It has everything to do with the bottom line. Common business sense tells you that if they shell out millions in refunds for today, they're going to recover that money in some fashion, most likely in increases. Again, I choose to pick my battles and this is one I will let D* win, but I will be back to fight another day when I want a new piece of equipment or a discount on a sports package.


So since it's not a battle you would fight, no one else should? I'm confused. If this was to happen during a packers game, would it suddenly be worth it? Let's say it took your expensive (but discounted) sports package out. Would that be "just cause"?


----------



## Tom Robertson

camo said:


> Anyone know why the new HR24's were not effected by what ever caused the lock up problem? I'm really leaning toward the boogie man as being the culprit.


The HR24s were affected, tho perhaps not at the same rate for some reason.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## Hdhead

So does this reboot mean that people who never turned there TV's on today will never know anything happened? Hope so.


----------



## prospero63

Carl Spock said:


> If I was DirecTV, I'd have a penalty clause in my contract with the Tribune Company for mess-ups like this.
> 
> Maybe they do.


I'd be shocked if they don't.


----------



## Tom Robertson

Hdhead said:


> So does this reboot mean that people who never turned there TV's on today will never know anything happened? Hope so.


Quite likely.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## HarleyD

prospero63 said:


> Nah, I'm an unabashed capitalist. You are correct, the answer to everything isn't hit them in the wallet, but that doesn't mean it's not the answer to some things.
> 
> I don't watch TV all the time. Should I then expect DirecTV to not charge me for those times? What's good for the goose is good for the gander. DirecTV (rightly) expects me to pay them for a service I use (even if I don't happen to be using it at any given time). I (rightly) expect them to not charge me for a service I can't use. I mean seriously, why would I pay for something I can't use? As I mentioned, I'm an unabashed capitalist. I like my money.


You are paying for access to the programming, not the programming itself. You have 24x7 access to programming and that is what you are paying for.


----------



## VHS or Beta

Anyone can make a mistake. It's the actions following the mistake that make the difference.

Why doesn't DirecTV:
- have a recording on their phone line as soon as it picks up fully disclosing the problem and providing the solution?
- hava a message prominently posted on their website fully disclosing the problem and providing the solution?

And why is DirecTV being so weasely with their language? "We are aware of the issues that may be affecting some of our HD DVRs..." That's just evasive. It fails to describe the problem and says only HD DVRs are affected when in fact it looks like SD units were locked up too (like my R22). "...and are currently working to identify the problem and provide our customers with a resolution." They already knew the solution when that was published. 

Those are the kinds of things that make people angry and distrustful, more than the actual mistake itself. DirecTV looks like they're just trying to cover their asses with that kind of corporate gobbledygook. Don't lie, don't conceal, just be upfront and honest. You'll earn a hell of a lot more respect from your customers that way.


----------



## Janice805

All finally rebooted, but my HR23-700 is SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOWER than it's ever been before, and, after this morning's reboot, my GUIDE DATA went out further than now. What the heck? Now, GUIDE DATA is only a few hours? If that.


----------



## Villager

The externally initiated update (about 2 PM CT) is complete, and all seems well on HR21-100. No software update involved. It is showing the same version as last Friday night.


----------



## MikeW

mung said:


> So they forced a reboot and that's great but that didn't do anything for the box that is stuck at Step 1 of 2.
> 
> Wonder how long I will have to wait until they send me a new box and I lose all of my saved shows.


I have an R22 that takes f o r e v e r to get past this step. 20 minutes this time. It just now went on to step 2. Maybe you will be so lucky.


----------



## Tom Robertson

Janice805 said:


> All finally rebooted, but my HR23-700 is SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOWER than it's ever been before, and, after this morning's reboot, my GUIDE DATA went out further than now. What the heck? Now, GUIDE DATA is only a few hours? If that.


The systems will be slow for a few hours as it rebuilds the guide database.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## DarinC

Carl Spock said:


> Not that I predicted this back in post #160. :nono: No, no, not me.


I had you beat at post #82.


----------



## Janice805

Thanks Tom, but Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... (2) recordings at least screwed up. Trying to smile but having trouble.


----------



## Carl Spock

My HR20-700 is now working well. It was real clunky earlier today, missing a lot of remote commands. Not any more, after this system reboot.


----------



## prospero63

DogLover said:


> I just don't accept the assumption that there is only hardware and software. There is hardware, software, and data. I still think that's the best way to communicate with people about programming, but we can agree to disagree on that..


I mentioned this to someone in a PM. I think where folks are getting wrapped around the axel is that they are using the term "software" as an interchangeable term for only one of the definitions of software. In short, they are saying software when they mean programs/executable code. There truly is hardware and software. And within software you have programs and data.


----------



## scott72

prospero63 said:


> So since it's not a battle you would fight, no one else should? I'm confused. If this was to happen during a packers game, would it suddenly be worth it? Let's say it took your expensive (but discounted) sports package out. Would that be "just cause"?


If it happened during a Packer game I'd be pissed sure, but unless it was for days I can honestly tell you I wouldn't demand a refund, simply because I know I'm going to get mine at a later date.


----------



## SDimwit

HarleyD said:


> You are paying for access to the programming, not the programming itself. You have 24x7 access to programming and that is what you are paying for.


By that logic, if (as was the case today) i am cut off from access to that service, I should not have to pay whatever the cost of that time period is. Especially since the denial of that access was due to something I had nothing to do with.


----------



## Tom Robertson

Janice805 said:


> Thanks Tom, but Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... (2) recordings at least screwed up. Trying to smile but having trouble.


Ouch and sorry. Venting is permitted.


----------



## scott72

HarleyD said:


> You are paying for access to the programming, not the programming itself. You have 24x7 access to programming and that is what you are paying for.


Half correct. I'd venture to say you're paying not only for access, but for the programming as well.


----------



## DarinC

bigmouthindc said:


> Have they ever initiated a reboot in the middle of the day before? Some advertisers are going to be throwing a hissy fit. QVC sales are probably taking a hit.


Everyone should be thankful it was in the middle of the day. One of the other times this hapened, they rebooted them during prime time.


----------



## NewView

My HR21-200 was out this morning about 7:30am EST & I did the receiver reset x2 as suggested and that fixed the problem . . . been watching TV all day.

But NOW after the DirecTV remote reset I'm getting audio static on some channels, effectively making them unwatchable.


----------



## Carl Spock

Carl Spock said:


> Not that I predicted this back in post #160. :nono: No, no, not me.





DarinC said:


> I had you beat at post #82.


Damn you! I had two posters ready to give me $50 for tonight's Lotto numbers. :new_cussi


----------



## Dolemite

So is this problem related to the new 3-D software update or not? 

I went to bed with four perfectly working HR22's and now after the software update that came at 3AM all four boxes have needed multiple manual reboots and now an automatic reboot to get a functioning picture. 

If this isn't related to the software update the coincidence is amazing.

If it is related to the update then whoever Q&A'd it should be FIRED, ASAP.


----------



## prospero63

HarleyD said:


> You are paying for access to the programming, not the programming itself. You have 24x7 access to programming and that is what you are paying for.


Almost. I have 24x7 access to programming except during those times that DirecTV is responsible for outages that preclude my ability to access the programming. Why pay for 24x7 access to something when it's not 24x7? Every month a bill comes in based on 24x7 access. And most months, I had 24x7 access and pay the bill. But sometimes I didn't have 24x7 access, and that was a result of DirecTV action (or inaction, or contractor, I don't really much care my business is with DirecTV). And when that sometimes happens, just like it's only fair all those other times I pay for the full 24x7, it's only fair to pay for something less than the full 24x7 since that's all that was delivered.


----------



## krusty

Hmm, first time I've ever had my 2 DVR's reboot at EXACTLY the same time. happened when I changed the channel on my HR21 during lunch.

Also had to RBR twice due to the same HR21 being unresponsive to the remote this mornig. It was still showing a channel just couldn't change channel, turn it off, nothing.

I wouldn't expect any kind of acknowledgment from D* on this. They never admit to problems, I'm sure to avoid having to compensate anyone and provide any official comment that the competition can use against them.


----------



## FourDoor

namja said:


> Back up now. The remote is much more responsive on both TVs (the living room TV was lagging a lot even after 2 reboots).


I had the same issue with remote response.

boxes dead in the AM: No remote response
Reboot 1: Laggy remote response then no remote response at all
Reboot 2: Laggy remote response (both IR and RF remotes)
Reboot #3 from DTV: Faster and hopefully back to normal


----------



## Tom Robertson

Dolemite said:


> So is this problem related to the new 3-D software update or not?
> 
> I went to bed with four perfectly working HR22's and now after the software update that came at 3AM all four boxes have needed multiple manual reboots and now an automatic reboot to get a functioning picture.
> 
> If this isn't related to the software update the coincidence is amazing.
> 
> If it is related to the update then whoever Q&A'd it should be FIRED, ASAP.


The software update did not affect this situation. Many DVRs were affected that had not yet received the update.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## Lord Vader

Indeed. Mine among them.


----------



## Rage187

sucks. I'm sure it wasn't intential but this update/lock up killed my external HDD. I went to go reboot my receiver and could hear a clicking coming from the housing. Rebooted everything and it is a goner.

My 2 year commitment is over. Have 2 HR20s but won't update until I can have the HMC30 and a couple of thin clients.

Still a little sore about the loss of my drive.grrr, I wasn't filling it up but it had the latest American Pickers on it...


----------



## davidatl14

Janice805 said:


> Thanks Tom, but Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... (2) recordings at least screwed up. Trying to smile but having trouble.


Feel for people like Janice & rage187 that are seriouly troubled but stops short of getting the ambulance chasers involved.

As for the refund seekers and posters calling out for Johnny Edwards to save them.

Sad that this sense of entitlement has worked it's way into the day to day life of some people in today's society.

Hopefull this reboot will fix the problem without any further actions. If not and further action is required I do beleve the Sun will still come up in the morning.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

DarinC said:


> Tribune _may _ (or may not) be responsible for providing bad data, but DirecTV is _definitely _responsible for designing DVRs that completely lock up just because guide data is bad. _Especially _since this has happened before. They've had plenty of time to either: a) develop firmware that is capable of dealing with such an error in a much more graceful manner, or if that is somehow impossible, b) develop an upstream filter on their end that checks the data for errors before broadcasting it. The concept that something as simple as an error in guide data can bring down nearly their entire (DVR equipped) customer base is crazy to me. _Particularly _if that data is provided by a 3rd party. If the data itself is out of your control, then it's especially important that your hardware can deal with the inevitable glitches in it.


I agree the firmware should do a better job of error checking. I'm not sure how that's supposed to happen but it shouldn't lock up the receiver.

Mike


----------



## QuickDrop

Tom Robertson said:


> The software update did not affect this situation. Many DVRs were affected that had not yet received the update.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


I'm not sure if this fully supports that position, but my DVR worked for 3 hours after I got the software update. It wasn't until around 6 AM that it froze up.


----------



## irdmoose

I can say honestly after the forced DirecTV reboot of my 2 HR21's and 1 HR22, that all 3 dvr's are running slower. I've both RBR'd and power cycled my personal HR21, and it's still slow. After all of the issues I've had in the past (I have 34 pages of notes on these issues and didn't have the time to call over the past few months), I'm going to take the time today and call. This is ridiculous, and can probably be traced back to DirecTV deciding to make their own crappy DVR rather than sticking with the FAR SUPERIOR TiVo DVRs.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

I'd call that coincidence.


----------



## DeweySat

hilmar2k said:


> As stated over and over again, you need to restart twice.


Here's what happened in my case. I did the first re-boot which brought the picture back, but remotes still dead. I was going to do the second re-boot, but the lunch bell was ringing. When I went to eat, I noticed that both DVR's had the blue circles going around. When I finished with lunch, I came back to the living room, and the blue circles were steady. I turned on the TV, and Voila! Both DVR's working fine. Maybe it just takes some patience after the first reboot. BTW, my DVR's are HR-22's, not HR-21's. Sorry about that.


----------



## bobcamp1

It's not a Tribune problem -- my Tivo has been chugging away this entire time.

This was a D* problem. Unless the Tivo mothership does a quick check somehow and rejects the latest Tribune update if it fails a test.


----------



## HarleyD

SDimwit said:


> By that logic, if (as was the case today) i am cut off from access to that service, I should not have to pay whatever the cost of that time period is. Especially since the denial of that access was due to something I had nothing to do with.


OK, there are 1440 half hour periods in a 30 day month.

What does 1/1440th of your bill come to? In my case it comes to $.0875.

You're getting pretty worked up over less than 9 cents.

By all means, call D* and demand your dime. But be sure to post a transcript of that call here. It'll be great.

Even if you were without access for 6 hours that's just over a buck. Are you really feeling that ripped off over a dollar? Tell me what wondrous things you could have done with that dollar if only you hadn't squandered it on DirecTV.


----------



## Richierich

Tom Robertson said:


> The software update did not affect this situation. Many DVRs were affected that had not yet received the update.
> Cheers, Tom


So just what did Directv do that Screwed everything up because mine worked Perfectly before the Download so I have a hard time believing that it wasn't the software download unless they did something else at the same time but you will never tell us, will you???

Directv always keeps us in the dark when they could just admit their mistake and it would die a quicker death than keeping us uninformed.


----------



## JeffBowser

This really bears repeating - I am stunned at how people are getting so twisted in a knot over this.


----------



## Doug Brott

bobcamp1 said:


> It's not a Tribune problem -- my Tivo has been chugging away this entire time.
> 
> This was a D* problem. Unless the Tivo mothership does a quick check somehow and rejects the latest Tribune update if it fails a test.


TiVo has been affected by Tribune data that did not affect the HR2x ..


----------



## JLester

I am out of town, but noticed the problem before I left this morning. I was running behind and did not have time to troubleshoot it. If the receivers are locked up, will the DirecTV remote reboot fix still reboot them? I hope I do not get home later this week to find that none of our shows recorded. Did anyone's receivers come back up and working without you intervening manually?


----------



## loek

I noticed a link on the DirecTV main page now related to the problem.

"Follow these steps to resolve issues you may be experiencing with your receiver."


----------



## 2dogz

MicroBeta said:


> I wouldn't expect much of an explanation. It' will probably be pretty vague. :shrug:
> 
> Mike


Yeah. D* has been advising BP on media relations.


----------



## LameLefty

Regarding the concept that data should never be able to lock up software, I agree that that would be true in the ideal world.

However, we don't live in the ideal world. Research "Zero Day Exploit" and spend a few months catching up with the many ways in which real software often chokes on real bad data.


----------



## Alan Gordon

bossfan50 said:


> Ditto, my receivers are currently getting an update. Looks like people who have day time recordings set up will get hosed today which is where I do agree with people being upset.


That's assuming they have recordings set up during the day... not to mention assuming that they've already rebooted twice. Otherwise, they now have a better shot at getting their recordings than they did prior to the reboot.



joshjr said:


> I have called them several times but mine was all about data for local channels. I asked for who updates the guide data for D* and then I give them specific information about the problem and what channels and its fixed within 24 hours each and every time.


They're better about answering phones than E-mail then...



kikkenit2 said:


> Flushing is a well chosen word for what just happened. Usually means a bad thing.


Try being unable to flush for a few days due to a messed up septic tank. Then see how you feel about flushing!  

~Alan


----------



## onan38

JeffBowser said:


> This really bears repeating - I am stunned at how people are getting so twisted in a knot over this.


+1 As long as i wake up tomorrow morning breathing its going to be a good day. :lol:


----------



## prospero63

davidatl14 said:


> Sad that this sense of entitlement has worked it's way into the day to day life of some people in today's society


Since when did paying for a service and expecting the service to be delivered and if it isn't to expect a refund become a sense of entitlement?!?! Heck, a point could strongly be made that if anyone has a sense of entitlement, it's DirecTV expecting folks to pay in full for something that wasn't delivered in full.


----------



## SDimwit

that doesn't account for the fact that I pay for 27*7 access solely so I can record/ watch programming that is only available during that 1 30 minute period.
Besides, If I screw up at work, and your french fries get burned...


----------



## prospero63

HarleyD said:


> You're getting pretty worked up over less than 9 cents.


That's 1.6 million dollars. That worth getting worked up about?


----------



## prospero63

SDimwit said:


> Besides, If I screw up at work, and your french fries get burned...


Then you must be working at the place always running out of prime rib!!


----------



## HarleyD

prospero63 said:


> Almost. I have 24x7 access to programming except during those times that DirecTV is responsible for outages that preclude my ability to access the programming. Why pay for 24x7 access to something when it's not 24x7? Every month a bill comes in based on 24x7 access. And most months, I had 24x7 access and pay the bill. But sometimes I didn't have 24x7 access, and that was a result of DirecTV action (or inaction, or contractor, I don't really much care my business is with DirecTV). And when that sometimes happens, just like it's only fair all those other times I pay for the full 24x7, it's only fair to pay for something less than the full 24x7 since that's all that was delivered.


Is your phone bill prorated if you experience an outage? Your electric bill? Internet?

You folks amaze me. How much of your access is wasted while you post complaints on the internet?

By all means call D* and ask for a credit to offset the half-hour you were denied access.


----------



## mdavej

davidatl14 said:


> Sad that this sense of entitlement has worked it's way into the day to day life of some people in today's society.


This is totally different. In the political sense, entitlement means people expecting something for nothing. But in this case we pay good money for DirecTV and expect it not to trash our recordings or worse.

I've got egg on my face today big time because I just talked my parents into getting DirecTV. Then I get a call from my mom and spend an hour trying everything (besides unplugging because the plug is hard to get to). RBR and power button didn't do anything BTW. So she's stuck. She can't get through on the phone, and there's nothing on the web site indicating a widespread problem. Since RBR has never failed in the years I've had D*, all indications are her box has simply died. No reason to go searching the internet for that. Just keep trying to get D* on the phone to arrange for a repair or replacement.

Luckily, I eventually stumbled on this thread, but it shouldn't have to be that way. If the phone lines are clogged and they have a major issue like this, they sure as heck better at least put something on the website.


----------



## LameLefty

prospero63 said:


> Since when did paying for a service and expecting the service to be delivered and if it isn't to expect a refund become a sense of entitlement?!?! Heck, a point could strongly be made that if anyone has a sense of entitlement, it's DirecTV expecting folks to pay in full for something that wasn't delivered in full.


My bill last month was roughly $150. Even assuming I was deprived of service for a FULL DAY (which I have not, since I've been at work since before 7:00 this morning anyway, but assuming for the sake of argument I was), I'd have been deprived of less than $4.97 worth of the service. My actual, tangible damages are, as we say in my trade, di minimis.


----------



## HarleyD

prospero63 said:


> That's 1.6 million dollars. That worth getting worked up about?


Not to you it isn't $1.6M.


----------



## HoTat2

Hey ...

After I used a double RBR to restore my receivers this morning, an HR21-200, R22-200, and a HR22-100, now I just received a random reboot at least on my HR21 right in the middle of a program I was watching (The Frisco Kid) and it now appears the picture and graphics are all slanted to the right.

You can really notice this on SD channels where the left pillar bar is larger than the right causing a proportionate part of the image to to be cut off by the right bar.

I now have about a 1:1 aspect ratio off center SD picture now 

The HD images are slanted to the right as well but still fill the screen.

What the heck is going on?


----------



## wilbur_the_goose

How much you wanna bet that this was caused by that parental control data from that new provider, "Common Sense Media".


----------



## ndole

:icon_cry: OMG They had to reset my receiver!
:icon_cry: OMG They had to swap my receiver and I lost the whole season of (insert show here) that I didn't catch up on!


----------



## DarinC

sigma1914 said:


> :lol: Lots of naysayers here seem to be an experts on how to run the Directv boxes. I hope you all are coding software out there...you'd be billionaires with your ability to write uncrashable code.


I certainly understand the sentiment that no one can guarantee "uncrashable code". But IMO, this situation is a stretch of "nothing's perfect". If this were the first time this has happened, it'd be one thing. At that point, the light bulb should have turned on that guide data _can _lock the boxes, and they should work on preventing that in the future. I have no inside knowledge of exactly what that guide data looks like, but I have to expect that it's reasonably simple. It's doubtful that there's anyone at Tribune trying to hide little scripts in the guide data to bring down DirecTV boxes. To the best of my knowledge, this is at least the 3rd time this has happened, and it's been at _least _a year since the first time. There HAS to be a limited number of vulnerabilities that COULD exist in something as simple as guide data, and it should be too hard or take too long to identify those, and patch them. After all, this is a relatively closed system. It's not like we are using our DVRs to unwittingly run executables cleverly hidden as porn. All the data that gets to our DVRs passes through DirecTV first. It's a very limited list of data, and it *should *all have very clearly defined structure. It's also important to note that, as best as I can recall, this hasn't affected the HR10s, nor have I ever heard of this affecting other systems. I just can't imagine what the excuse is for this to continue happening.


----------



## Tom Robertson

richierich said:


> So just what did Directv do that Screwed everything up because mine worked Perfectly before the Download so I have a hard time believing that it wasn't the software download unless they did something else at the same time but you will never tell us, will you???
> 
> Directv always keeps us in the dark when they could just admit their mistake and it would die a quicker death than keeping us uninformed.


I do not have nor expect to have full access to "what did it." So I know I won't be able to answer. Sorry.

What I can do is read the posts here that clearly indicates every variation of HD DVR model/software had the problem.

That is why I'm certain this was not related to the upgrades that happened last night.

I do not know if this was a software problem or a data problem (I have my guess). Either way, it sure is a huge problem for customers. And that is unfortunate.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## kojak32

My two dvr's rebooted at 3pm. But I don't understand why one said it got an update today at 3pm and the other said it got the update on June 3rd. Same model receivers and same software update and they were both updated with this software on June 3rd. Strange!


----------



## PatrickGSR94

So my wife called this morning and said the living room DVR wouldn't come on. I was like "I dunno" and said I'd have to look at it later. Bedroom HD box (non-DVR) works fine.

However a co-worker reports their standard box (non-DVR, probably not HD) also had issues. This is what prompted me to look on here and found this thread.

So apparently it hasn't affected only DVR boxes.


----------



## Motley

Crap..I'm not home now and have things that are setup to record before I get home.


----------



## SDimwit

HarleyD said:


> Is your phone bill prorated if you experience an outage? Your electric bill? Internet?
> 
> You folks amaze me. How much of your access is wasted while you post complaints on the internet?
> 
> By all means call D* and ask for a credit to offset the half-hour you were denied access.


actually, your electric bill IS prorated if you experience an outage. Unless of course you are stupid enough to go out and spin your meter manually, in which case you get what you deserve. I get credited when my cellphone drops during a call. I have also complained about internet outages.

I can guarantee D* is going to get paid by whom ever is found to be responsible for this fuxup, I happen to believe that payment should trickle down to the people most affected.


----------



## Tom Robertson

wilbur_the_goose said:


> How much you wanna bet that this was caused by that parental control data from that new provider, "Common Sense Media".


While I ain't bettin' that is an interesting thing to consider. And I'm sure DIRECTV is definitely looking into this (and all other) aspect(s).

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## Stuart Sweet

PatrickGSR94 said:


> So my wife called this morning and said the living room DVR wouldn't come on. I was like "I dunno" and said I'd have to look at it later. Bedroom HD box (non-DVR) works fine.
> 
> However a co-worker reports their standard box (non-DVR, probably not HD) also had issues. This is what prompted me to look on here and found this thread.
> 
> So apparently it hasn't affected only DVR boxes.


I don't know the extent of the issue but considering how closely H21/H23 receivers are tied to their HR2x brethren, it wouldn't surprise me.


----------



## rahlquist

LameLefty said:


> Regarding the concept that data should never be able to lock up software, I agree that that would be true in the ideal world.
> 
> However, we don't live in the ideal world. Research "Zero Day Exploit" and spend a few months catching up with the many ways in which real software often chokes on real bad data.


OMG!!! Are you saying that someone hacked into DirecTV's secure system, uploaded a zero day exploit to the satellite and hosed everyone watching general hospital today?

Oh wait, completely different scenario, the data D* pays Tribune to provide borked their software. All in house. Again, shouldn't be possible (or at least should be much more rare that it is) with good version controls and testing of data and proper data validation on the data entry side.


----------



## Richierich

Tom Robertson said:


> Either way, it sure is a huge problem for customers. And that is unfortunate. Cheers, Tom


Well, it would be Nice if they could Email those of us signed up for Email Notification so I would have known about the problem. If it weren't for the fact that I am a member here in this great forum I would not have known unless I went to Directv.com and logged in to get the info.


----------



## Athlon646464

wilbur_the_goose said:


> How much you wanna bet that this was caused by that parental control data from that new provider, "Common Sense Media".


Holy Crap! I wonder if that was where the bad Guide Data could have come from. I've read nearly all of this thread, and you're the first to raise that possibility. :eek2:


----------



## Tom Robertson

Motley said:


> Crap..I'm not home now and have things that are setup to record before I get home.


My DVRs still recorded things even while "locked" up this morning. So I have hopes you will be fine unless they were to record a few minutes ago, when they might have a gap.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## Stuart Sweet

rahlquist said:


> (...)Again, shouldn't be possible (or at least should be much more rare that it is) with good version controls and testing of data and proper data validation on the data entry side.


And I've been saying since day 1 that there is no quality control in guide data. The stations can mess it up, the content providers can mess it up, Tribune can mess it up... and there's practically no accountability up and down the line. I know people on the local station end, as well as all the way up the line and everyone just points fingers.

There is simply not any of the quality control on the origination end that there really needs to be.


----------



## Villager

Another reboot just started at 2:48 PM CT


----------



## prospero63

HarleyD said:


> Is your phone bill prorated if you experience an outage? Your electric bill? Internet?


Er, yes. They all are. How else would they know how to bill me?



> You folks amaze me. How much of your access is wasted while you post complaints on the internet?


I'd recon the same as yours.



> By all means call D* and ask for a credit to offset the half-hour you were denied access.


I will, but I'll wait till tomorrow when things die down and get my free HD as well.


----------



## blusgtone

Looks like i lost my external too, keeps error checking. HR20-700. Anybody got theirs back?


----------



## onan38

From Directv's customer agreement: (a) Service Interruptions. Service may be interrupted from time to time for a variety of reasons. We are not responsible for any interruptions of Service that occur due to acts of God, power failure or any other cause beyond our reasonable control. However, because we value our customers, for an interruption of a significant length of time that is within our reasonable control, upon your request we will provide what we reasonably determine to be a fair and equitable adjustment to your account to make up for such Service interruption. THIS WILL BE YOUR SOLE REMEDY AND OUR SOLE DUTY IN SUCH CASES.


----------



## prospero63

LameLefty said:


> I'd have been deprived of less than $4.97 worth of the service. My actual, tangible damages are, as we say in my trade, di minimis.


What's DirecTV's "damages" if their 18 million customers ask for thier $4.97? Is it sill, as you say in your trade, di minimis? If so, what trade are you in, because I'm clearly in the wrong one...


----------



## prospero63

HarleyD said:


> Not to you it isn't $1.6M.


But it was never about me. It was about DirecTV.


----------



## Hutchinshouse

Wow! 35,000+ views in this thread in less than 1/2 day. Crazy!


----------



## Tom Robertson

richierich said:


> Well, it would be Nice if they could Email those of us signed up for Email Notification so I would have known about the problem. If it weren't for the fact that I am a member here in this great forum I would not have known unless I went to Directv.com and logged in to get the info.


The interesting thing is DIRECTV's issue is already causing the media to not only comment on the outage, but _also how DIRECTV used social media to handle it!_ From the Chicago Tribune Newsblog:


> We've previously posted information about how submitting consumer complaints through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can be a successful way to achieve results, but that method seems to be even more effective today with DirecTV, a satellite TV provider and video service.


Cheers,
Tom


----------



## ndole

prospero63 said:


> What's DirecTV's "damages" if their 18 million customers ask for thier $4.97? Is it sill, as you say in your trade, di minimis? If so, what trade are you in, because I'm clearly in the wrong one...


None. Because most D* subs have enough common sense to understand the situation.


----------



## mdavej

Stuart Sweet said:


> And I've been saying since day 1 that there is no quality control in guide data. The stations can mess it up, the content providers can mess it up, Tribune can mess it up... and there's practically no accountability up and down the line. I know people on the local station end, as well as all the way up the line and everyone just points fingers.
> 
> There is simply not any of the quality control on the origination end that there really needs to be.


Agreed. But the buck stops with DirecTV. They have to make the software handle guide data errors without crashing, period. This has bitten them too many times. There's really no excuse for it.


----------



## prospero63

Stuart Sweet said:


> And I've been saying since day 1 that there is no quality control in guide data. The stations can mess it up, the content providers can mess it up, Tribune can mess it up... *and there's practically no accountability up and down the line*. I know people on the local station end, as well as all the way up the line and everyone just points fingers.
> 
> There is simply not any of the quality control on the origination end that there really needs to be.


Hey Stuart. What do you figure if DirecTV had to pony up 1.6Mil in customer credits that they'd be hot to trot for accountability?


----------



## sdirv

prospero63 said:


> What is it then? It's not software, it's not hardware, I'm not aware of another type. Data? Data is software.


Not even on it's best day......

I got up this morning, saw my DVR was dead......made coffee, logged in here, had a cup of coffee while I read a bit. Rebooted my DVR X2, everything's working again......

At noon the thing re-booted on it's own......

BFD...........my DVR was unusable for about 30 minutes, I'm not going to call D* and demand my $.09 in credit. I may have been inconvenienced for 30 minutes (or maybe I wasn't)......again...BFD.

I'm interested though in how you get credits on your electric bill if the power goes out....since I only pay for the power I use, when the power goes out I don't use any.....<shrug>


----------



## prospero63

onan38 said:


> From Directv's customer agreement: (a) Service Interruptions. Service may be interrupted from time to time for a variety of reasons. We are not responsible for any interruptions of Service that occur due to acts of God, power failure or any other cause beyond our reasonable control. However, because we value our customers, for an interruption of a significant length of time that is within our reasonable control, *upon your request we will provide what we reasonably determine to be a fair and equitable adjustment to your account to make up for such Service interruption*. THIS WILL BE YOUR SOLE REMEDY AND OUR SOLE DUTY IN SUCH CASES.


That's crazy talk. It has nothing to do with a service contract, it's a sense of entitlement by golly!!!!


----------



## Richierich

ndole_mbnd said:


> None. Because most D* subs have enough common sense to understand the situation.


Explain that to my Wife when she complains about losing her Favorite Recording!!! :lol:


----------



## ThomasM

Doug Brott said:


> Both reboots MUST occur within 30 minutes .. If they don't then each reboot is as if the one before it never happened. Additionally, you have to make sure that after the first reboot it comes all the way back up to Live TV .. When it does, just hit the red button again .. After the second restart you should be good.


Bzzz! Wrong!

My R22-200 was locked up like everyone else's. I didn't notice it until 9AM CDT when it was supposed to record a show but the orange record light wasn't on. Did a RBR and it came back but since it was locked up I did a soft (menu) reboot just to be sure. Everything then seemed OK but I just noticed a little while ago that it's panel lights were on meaning it rebooted itself AGAIN all by itself.... Guide is still mostly empty but at least it's working again...for a little while.


----------



## prospero63

ndole_mbnd said:


> None. Because most D* subs have enough common sense to understand the situation.


Can I whip out my Clayton Williams quote again? If it's inevitable, just lay back and enjoy it...


----------



## Carl Spock

Please don't.


----------



## prospero63

Tom Robertson said:


> The interesting thing is DIRECTV's issue is already causing the media to not only comment on the outage, but _also how DIRECTV used social media to handle it!_ From the Chicago Tribune Newsblog:
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


Their twitter response was actually pretty solid. The rest... not so much...


----------



## ndole

richierich said:


> Explain that to my Wife when she complains about losing her Favorite Recording!!! :lol:


I could say the same about my wife! Lol.
But technically I'm the sub, not her. So my reasoning stands. :lol:


----------



## sdirv

t_h said:


> If you get the directv that hasnt had three specific instances of all their receivers freezing up in the last year, requiring customer intervention to get them working again, then yes, we have two different directv's.
> 
> I dont believe that dish, comcast, tivo or any other television provider has hosed down all their customer premise equipment even once in the last handful of years, if ever. Let alone three times.


How many have had a satellite fail to make proper orbit??? :lol:


----------



## Alan Gordon

ThomasM said:


> Bzzz! Wrong!
> 
> My R22-200 was locked up like everyone else's. I didn't notice it until 9AM CDT when it was supposed to record a show but the orange record light wasn't on. Did a RBR and it came back but since it was locked up I did a soft (menu) reboot just to be sure. Everything then seemed OK but I just noticed a little while ago that it's panel lights were on meaning it rebooted itself AGAIN all by itself.... Guide is still mostly empty but at least it's working again...for a little while.


DirecTV sent a fix just a little bit ago. It restarted your DVR.

~Alan


----------



## Hutchinshouse

*Netflix and Roku had a glitch too over the weekend*:

June 8, 2010, 07:58 AM:
Did you have problems streaming Netflix to your Roku player last weekend? Many people did. I had a brief issue with getting my queue to load; I had to exit the Netflix channel and re-enter it a couple of times before everything loaded properly. It wasn't a huge deal and I quickly forgot about it. *Netflix hasn't forgotten, though, and they're trying to make up for the issues people had by offering a 5% discount off this month's Netflix bill*. They sent out an email with the subject line: "We're sorry you may have had trouble watching instantly via your Roku Streaming Player."

Full story: http://www.itworld.com/personal-tec...g-good-roku-streaming-troubles?source=itw_rss

*It would be cool if DIRECTV echoed this type of damage control.*


----------



## sdirv

prospero63 said:


> Why, I meet your wikipedia challenge!!!


No you didn't.......


----------



## sigma1914

ThomasM said:


> Bzzz! Wrong!
> 
> My R22-200 was locked up like everyone else's. I didn't notice it until 9AM CDT when it was supposed to record a show but the orange record light wasn't on. Did a RBR and it came back but since it was locked up I did a soft (menu) reboot just to be sure. Everything then seemed OK but I just noticed a little while ago that it's panel lights were on meaning *it rebooted itself AGAIN all by itself....* Guide is still mostly empty but at least it's working again...for a little while.


Everyone's unit got another reboot.


----------



## gator1234

OK so they did a 2nd restart this afternoon to fix the problem from last night. So everything was working fine this morning after two restarts. Now that they did it again this afternoon, the remote no longer works. So here I go again doing the 4th restart for the day. 

What the heck is going on with these guys at Directv. They just can't seem to get it right.


----------



## Villager

The second externally initiated reboot of the afternoon is now complete. (Started ~2:48 CT; completed 3:01 CT.) Software not replaced but guide cache empty and repopulating. HR21-100


----------



## onan38

Just ran system test on HR21-100 shows code 82-426 satellite configuration problem. anyone else seeing this?


----------



## scott72

prospero63 said:


> But it was never about me. It was about DirecTV.


So you could care less if the refund actually came to you or not? If D* donated your refund to charity you'd be happy, because all you want is for D* to take a hit due to this outage?


----------



## xmetalx

prospero63 said:


> What's DirecTV's "damages" if their 18 million customers ask for thier $4.97? Is it sill, as you say in your trade, di minimis? If so, what trade are you in, because I'm clearly in the wrong one...


Actually, it wouldnt even be close to 18 million subs.. remember, only HDDVR models were affected. how many subs have an HDDVR? I don't know the actual figure, if I had to guess I'd say MAYBE 10 million, and probably less then that even. Also, most subs bills range from $60-80/month, not $150 like he is paying..

And how many, out of that 10 million, will actually notice, or call to get reimbursed? 20-30%??

So, $2.6 average per sub ($80/mo average), and if a total of 3 million subs (30% of 10million, give or take) call in, thats about 7.8 million dollars. Yeah, I'm sure that's chump change for them.


----------



## ThomasM

Tom Robertson said:


> That is why I'm certain this was not related to the upgrades that happened last night.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


Well, you are SORT of right. My R22-200 got the forced software update on 6/2 at 2:33AM and ever since it's been randomly rebooting itself. (But not every day) At first, I scratched my head trying to remember if I'd turned it off (standby) when I found the panel lights on, but the third time I knew it was rebooting. Up until last night, however, it didn't lock up or lose the guide data.

Prior to the software "upgrade", the unit was working flawlessly never restarting or missing a recording.


----------



## prospero63

Hutchinshouse said:


> *Netflix and Roku had a glitch too over the weekend*:
> 
> June 8, 2010, 07:58 AM:
> Did you have problems streaming Netflix to your Roku player last weekend? Many people did. I had a brief issue with getting my queue to load; I had to exit the Netflix channel and re-enter it a couple of times before everything loaded properly. It wasn't a huge deal and I quickly forgot about it. *Netflix hasn't forgotten, though, and they're trying to make up for the issues people had by offering a 5% discount off this month's Netflix bill*. They sent out an email with the subject line: "We're sorry you may have had trouble watching instantly via your Roku Streaming Player."
> 
> Full story: http://www.itworld.com/personal-tec...g-good-roku-streaming-troubles?source=itw_rss
> 
> *It would be cool if DIRECTV echoed this type of damage control.*


Customer service?!?! That's crazy talk. All you DirecTV customers need to just lay back and enjoy it. Be thankful you aren't on Comcast or Dish...


----------



## rjsimmons

I got the forced restart too, no second restart...now I have the same problem that I did this morning. Both HD/DVRs locked up.


----------



## pfp

ndole_mbnd said:


> :icon_cry: OMG They had to swap my receiver and I lost the whole season of (insert show here) that I didn't catch up on!


I'm sure DirecTV will send out the box set DVD or blu-ray (if you have HD access) right away.


----------



## SDimwit

sdirv said:


> ...I'm interested though in how you get credits on your electric bill if the power goes out....since I only pay for the power I use, when the power goes out I don't use any.....<shrug>


I was referring to the fact that during an electrical outage, your meter doesn't spin therefore you are not charged for electrical service during said outage. Unless, of course, you are stupid enough to go spin your meter manually.


----------



## ndole

pfp said:


> I'm sure DirecTV will send out the box set DVD or blu-ray (if you have HD access) right away.


:lol: I've actually had someone suggest that to me once!
I laughed all the way back to my big blue van.


----------



## LameLefty

rahlquist said:


> OMG!!! Are you saying that someone hacked into DirecTV's secure system, uploaded a zero day exploit to the satellite and hosed everyone watching general hospital today?


Nice strawman. Go burn it, why don't you? :lol:

While you're at it, parse the Guide data and figure out the myriad ways something that complicated can break a database requiring a system restart.


----------



## prospero63

scott72 said:


> So you could care less if the refund actually came to you or not? If D* donated your refund to charity you'd be happy, because all you want is for D* to take a hit due to this outage?


No, I want it to come to me, but I'd settle for a charity. It has nothing to do with wanting DirecTV to take a hit due to this outage. It has to do with customer service and being a customer service oriented organization. DirecTV isn't one. They are pretty atrocious really. Here's what a customer service organization does.

As consumers, we have zero direct influence on DirecTV (or any other service provider). The only influence we wield is that which comes from the money in our pockets. And while the money in my pocket isn't much, you get a few million folks pooling their money and suddenly it adds up. To a lot. And if in doing so DirecTV's management say "jesus f'n christ, this cost us x dollars!??! We've got to change the way we do business. We can't sit up on our mountain thumbing our nose at our customers. They deserve to be treated better" then the objective is met.


----------



## LameLefty

prospero63 said:


> What's DirecTV's "damages" if their 18 million customers ask for thier $4.97? Is it sill, as you say in your trade, di minimis? If so, what trade are you in, because I'm clearly in the wrong one...


Since only about half of their customers have HD service, and less than that have HD DVRs, even fewer of whom ever actually record much during the middle of the day . . . I'd say you need to make sure you're in a trade that doesn't require higher math functions.


----------



## Bruceski44

If your expectations have been diminished to the point where you accept this chronic low reliability, I'm happy for you. But do not disparage those of thus that demand more. If this vendor spent less time developing fancy niche applicatioons and more time verifying data integrity and solving the many problems of dropouts, slow response, missed recordings, and lockups and improved their reliability to be on order with other vendors (TiVO for example) none of us would be complaining here. This is not rocket science and it is not unreasonable to expect better reliability than has been provided.

Was anyone affected by the recent Blackberry SNAFU? That was a major news item because it was unusual and affected so many people. This will not be a news item because it is not unusual and shame on you all for accepting this poor quality.

Why don't I just leave then? Well NFLST has me held hostage. And don't get me started on that...


----------



## camo

gator1234 said:


> OK so they did a 2nd restart this afternoon to fix the problem from last night. So everything was working fine this morning after two restarts. Now that they did it again this afternoon, the remote no longer works. So here I go again doing the 4th restart for the day.
> 
> What the heck is going on with these guys at Directv. They just can't seem to get it right.


Haven't had a second reboot yet. They may be doing sections at a time instead of everyone. Or they decided to leave the HR24's out. Thats the only receiver I have running.


----------



## prospero63

xmetalx said:


> Actually, it wouldnt even be close to 18 million subs.. remember, only HDDVR models were affected. how many subs have an HDDVR? I don't know the actual figure, if I had to guess I'd say MAYBE 10 million, and probably less then that even. Also, most subs bills range from $60-80/month, not $150 like he is paying..
> 
> And how many, out of that 10 million, will actually notice, or call to get reimbursed? 20-30%??
> 
> So, $2.6 average per sub ($80/mo average), and if a total of 3 million subs (30% of 10million, give or take) call in, thats about 7.8 million dollars. Yeah, I'm sure that's chump change for them.


I seriously doubt a 7.8 million dollar loss, even to DirecTV would be "chump change". And if it is, then it really underscores my point even more. Make them feel it, and they will change how they do business. Stop settling for being better than Comcast in customer service and get back to being the best in customer service.


----------



## ndole

Bruceski44 said:


> If your expectations have been diminished to the point where you accept this chronic low reliability, I'm happy for you. But do not disparage those of thus that demand more. If this vendor spent less time developing fancy niche applicatioons and more time verifying data integrity and solving the many problems of dropouts, slow response, missed recordings, and lockups and improved their reliability to be on order with other vendors (TiVO for example) none of us would be complaining here. *This is not rocket science* and it is not unreasonable to expect better reliability than has been provided.
> 
> Was anyone affected by the recent Blackberry SNAFU? That was a major news item because it was unusual and affected so many people. This will not be a news item because it is not unusual and shame on you all for accepting this poor quality.
> 
> Why don't I just leave then? Well NFLST has me held hostage. And don't get me started on that...


Technically it sort of is.


----------



## sdirv

DBSooner said:


> I was watching that! Thanks D*


I was moving THAT movie from the DVR to a DVD when "they" decided to reboot. Another blank DVD into the trash can.......


----------



## ThomasM

I like probably many other DirecTV subs would be more concerned that my DVR's hardware or my satellite system was failing after the lockup-reboots since most of the people affected don't visit DBSTALK.COM for the real situation.

Since they use TVMAIL all the time lately for silly promotions, why didn't they send out a TVMAIL stating "there is nothing wrong with your DVR-we are controlling all the reboots" (and sign it "the control voice").


----------



## David MacLeod

Hutchinshouse said:


> *Netflix and Roku had a glitch too over the weekend*:
> 
> June 8, 2010, 07:58 AM:
> Did you have problems streaming Netflix to your Roku player last weekend? Many people did. I had a brief issue with getting my queue to load; I had to exit the Netflix channel and re-enter it a couple of times before everything loaded properly. It wasn't a huge deal and I quickly forgot about it. *Netflix hasn't forgotten, though, and they're trying to make up for the issues people had by offering a 5% discount off this month's Netflix bill*. They sent out an email with the subject line: "We're sorry you may have had trouble watching instantly via your Roku Streaming Player."
> 
> Full story: http://www.itworld.com/personal-tec...g-good-roku-streaming-troubles?source=itw_rss
> 
> *It would be cool if DIRECTV echoed this type of damage control.*


yup, caused issues here for a bit. queue wasn't only thing affected but was most prevalent.
caused me 15 minutes of issues, no biggie. was surprised to see the email last night.

would be nice to hear what causes these just to help us help others.


----------



## tlrowley

rjsimmons said:


> I got the forced restart too, no second restart...now I have the same problem that I did this morning. Both HD/DVRs locked up.


Yep, me too. With my two reboots earlier in the morning, things appeared all right. D* decides to "fix" the problem, and now it's back. *sigh*


----------



## rodgiddens

I just fixed fixed my HR22 with one reboot. My HR23 required 2 but that was earlier in the day.


----------



## SDimwit

camo said:


> Haven't had a second reboot yet. They may be doing sections at a time instead of everyone. Or they decided to leave the HR24's out. Thats the only receiver I have running.


nope, mine haven't gotten the second reboot yet, and they are 20-700 & 22-100.


----------



## scott72

prospero63 said:


> No, I want it to come to me, but I'd settle for a charity. It has nothing to do with wanting DirecTV to take a hit due to this outage. It has to do with customer service and being a customer service oriented organization. DirecTV isn't one. They are pretty atrocious really. Here's what a customer service organization does.
> 
> As consumers, we have zero direct influence on DirecTV (or any other service provider). The only influence we wield is that which comes from the money in our pockets. And while the money in my pocket isn't much, you get a few million folks pooling their money and suddenly it adds up. To a lot. And if in doing so DirecTV's management say "jesus f'n christ, this cost us x dollars!??! We've got to change the way we do business. We can't sit up on our mountain thumbing our nose at our customers. They deserve to be treated better" then the objective is met.


Well good luck with your mission, but you calling in and demanding a refund isn't going to change the way the world tilts on it's axis as far as D*'s world is concerned. It's just not. But if it makes your day then go for it. We all approach this in a different manner. Like I said I'll be back another day to claim my prize and it will be worth a lot more than a couple hours of service loss.


----------



## irdmoose

sdirv said:


> How many have had a satellite fail to make proper orbit??? :lol:


Sorry, but after reading this... I just have to say... "That's what she said!" :lol:


----------



## ndole

sdirv said:


> I was moving THAT movie from the DVR to a DVD when "they" decided to reboot. Another blank DVD into the trash can.......


Which studio produced that movie that you're copying? It's probably protected.


----------



## Tom Robertson

DIRECTV's facebook page now has:


> DIRECTV There was a transmission glitch that occured early this morning affecting some of our HD DVRs. DIRECTV has fixed the problem and has automatically reset the affected receivers. There is nothing further that you need to do. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this has caused them.


Cheers,
Tom


----------



## Bruceski44

Posted by NDOLE_MBND: "Technically it sort of is."

don't pretend you're the only one who understands how it works.


----------



## irdmoose

sigma1914 said:


> Everyone's unit got another reboot.


Ok, don't call me a troll, but, "That's what she said!"... (last one... I promise.


----------



## prospero63

LameLefty said:


> Since only about half of their customers have HD service, and less than that have HD DVRs, even fewer of whom ever actually record much during the middle of the day . . . I'd say you need to make sure you're in a trade that doesn't require higher math functions.


Without knowing their numbers, all I can do for reliability sake is present the worst case scenario. I'm not Tony Hayward after all...


----------



## tlrowley

and heeeeere's the second reboot on my HR20. The HR22 upstairs seems okay, but I might have missed the 2nd automatic reboot.


----------



## Athlon646464

I only had time to do the '2' reboot option on 2 of my DVRs before I left for work this morning.

I planned on doing my other HR21 now when I got home, but the blue lights were on (were not when I left the house) and it is working fine.

It looks like the restart they pushed this afternoon fixed even locked up units. I'll bet most subs will never know what happened today!


----------



## Tom Robertson

ThomasM said:


> Well, you are SORT of right. My R22-200 got the forced software update on 6/2 at 2:33AM and ever since it's been randomly rebooting itself. (But not every day) At first, I scratched my head trying to remember if I'd turned it off (standby) when I found the panel lights on, but the third time I knew it was rebooting. Up until last night, however, it didn't lock up or lose the guide data.
> 
> Prior to the software "upgrade", the unit was working flawlessly never restarting or missing a recording.


Actually I am right. You are describing a wholly different problem that "might" have been related to the upgrade.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## irdmoose

Ok... is anyone else having the slow channel change issue now? I've rebooted 3 times in the last half hour and it's still going slow. *sigh*


----------



## SDimwit

There goes the second reboot on the 22-100...
So help me, if this isn't resolved before Glee tonight...


----------



## perkolater

Just rebooted on its own... AGAIN. So, that makes two forced reboots an hour and a half apart.


----------



## ndole

SDimwit said:


> There goes the second reboot on the 22-100...
> *So help me, if this isn't resolved before Glee tonight...*


Going to throw a hissy? :lol:


----------



## SDimwit

ndole_mbnd said:


> Going to throw a hissy? :lol:


Come on over and find out. :eek2:


----------



## sdirv

SDimwit said:


> Besides, If I screw up at work, and your french fries get burned...


You wouldn't serve them to me...they'd get dumped in the trash and you'd make another batch.......

And I doubt there'd be a 38+ page discussion about it anywhere on the internet.


----------



## stephenC

SDimwit said:


> Come on over and find out. :eek2:


I help you give this guy a real Lady Gaga.


----------



## prospero63

sdirv said:


> You wouldn't serve them to me...they'd get dumped in the trash and you'd make another batch.......
> 
> And I doubt there'd be a 38+ page discussion about it anywhere on the internet.


Clearly you underestimate the power of the internets. This here internet is serious business...


----------



## DarinC

irdmoose said:


> Ok... is anyone else having the slow channel change issue now? I've rebooted 3 times in the last half hour and it's still going slow. *sigh*


Since rebooting twice in a row will delete the guide data, and since the units may slow down a bit while they're re-acquiring guide data, continued reboots may not be the ends to your desired means.  You may just have to suffer through it for a bit.


----------



## ThomasM

(Yawn) What a hassle now that I have to duplicate all those PRIORITIZER entries on my R15's to be sure I don't miss any of my favorite shows and can see what programming is coming past tomorrow.


----------



## Tom Robertson

SDimwit said:


> There goes the second reboot on the 22-100...
> So help me, if this isn't resolved before Glee tonight...


I'm not sure I can help you, but I hope everyone's DVRs are happy long before _Glee_ tonight.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## SDimwit

sdirv said:


> You wouldn't serve them to me...


And THAT is precisely my point.


----------



## TDK1044

I got home and my DVR had received a software upgrade at 3.28 PM. Everything on my DVR is working perfectly. All recordings and future recordings are present.
My Guide seems to be rebuilding.


----------



## Xsabresx

> Originally Posted by onan38 View Post
> From Directv's customer agreement: (a) Service Interruptions. Service may be interrupted from time to time for a variety of reasons. We are not responsible for any interruptions of Service that occur due to acts of God, power failure or any other cause beyond our reasonable control. However, because we value our customers, for an interruption of a significant length of time that is within our reasonable control, upon your request we will provide what we reasonably determine to be a fair and equitable adjustment to your account to make up for such Service interruption. THIS WILL BE YOUR SOLE REMEDY AND OUR SOLE DUTY IN SUCH CASES.





prospero63 said:


> That's crazy talk. It has nothing to do with a service contract, it's a sense of entitlement by golly!!!!


The part that wasnt originally bolded said "interruption of significant length". Guess who determines significant length. Right, Directv does. Anything outside of that can be deemed as a sense of entitlement.


----------



## katesguy

Called Directv and they have a recording to reboot twice to clear. Am trying to see if that works any longer than 30 minuites. Have RBR'd 5 times so far today.


----------



## kocuba

SDimwit said:


> There goes the second reboot on the 22-100...
> So help me, if this isn't resolved before Glee tonight...


I'll be hiding in the garage if it is not fixed by then. I'll then bring in all new drywall to fix all the holes. :lol:


----------



## prospero63

Xsabresx said:


> The part that wasnt originally bolded said "interruption of significant length". Guess who determines significant length. Right, Directv does. Anything outside of that can be deemed as a sense of entitlement.


The only way to know the answer to that question is to call them. Indeed, that's your responsibility... No, folks are tossing around "sense of entitlement" to give some kind of air of morale superiority and draw inferences to political rhetoric of late...


----------



## perkolater

Oh darn... I guess this means my wife's recording of Oprah is now pooched. Is it wrong that even though this will mean my wife isn't going to be happy.... part of me is smiling?


----------



## SDimwit

kocuba said:


> I'll be hiding in the garage if it is not fixed by then. I'll then bring in all new drywall to fix all the holes. :lol:


If I had to live in Cle... nevermind. 
GO BLUE ! :grin:


----------



## Athlon646464

irdmoose said:


> Ok... is anyone else having the slow channel change issue now? I've rebooted 3 times in the last half hour and it's still going slow. *sigh*


Give it some time to finish some of the background stuff its doing since your last restart. That background stuff (rebuilding your Guide for example) could be slowing things down for you.


----------



## irdmoose

DarinC said:


> Since rebooting twice in a row will delete the guide data, and since the units may slow down a bit while they're re-acquiring guide data, continued reboots may not be the ends to your desired means.  You may just have to suffer through it for a bit.


Yeah... I've been suffering with stupid issues like this for months... so a couple hours probably won't hurt. It's a good excuse to get out and do some house work. I just realigned my dish since the 99 Conus and 103 Conus A and B were both pretty low. Now all signals are 75+ with most over 85.

Side note and slightly off-topic question: Is there an easy way to figure out what transponders should be lit up for me on 99(s) and 103(s)? That way I know I'm not forcing my dish to pickup errant transponders. (I'm in the Sacramento, California market)


----------



## ndole

irdmoose said:


> Yeah... I've been suffering with stupid issues like this for months... so a couple hours probably won't hurt. It's a good excuse to get out and do some house work. I just realigned my dish since the 99 Conus and 103 Conus A and B were both pretty low. Now all signals are 75+ with most over 85.
> 
> Side note and slightly off-topic question: Is there an easy way to figure out what transponders should be lit up for me on 99(s) and 103(s)? *That way I know I'm not forcing my dish to pickup errant transponders*. (I'm in the Sacramento, California market)


I wouldn't be too worried about that fella.


----------



## billsharpe

Jon J said:


> My standard response when my receiver(s) lock is an RBR. I was halfway through the second one this morning when this site was waking up and I discovered I was not alone. Although it did take three reboots to get back up to speed I don't see this as a major system failure as some seem to do.
> 
> I suspect few technologically advanced systems as DirecTV are completely bulletproof though they do strive to be.
> 
> I just don't find pushing a red button two or three times that difficult considering the enjoyment I receive from DirecTV.
> 
> JMNSHO.


You're a lot more laid back than I am. Of course I had to pull the plug three times to get my unit working properly. Fortunately, the entertainment unit is on wheels and is relatively easy to move.


----------



## sdirv

SDimwit said:


> I was referring to the fact that during an electrical outage, your meter doesn't spin therefore you are not charged for electrical service during said outage. Unless, of course, you are stupid enough to go spin your meter manually.


And I was referring to a comment made by "Prospero" about demanding credits from his electric company when his power went out......


----------



## SubSlr08

I got the update early this AM - woke up to a dead HR. First reset came back on the internal disk so pulled the plug and came up on the external SATA. Everything was OK until I went to the menu - it locked up solid and wouldn't respond to the remote. Pulled the plug and it came up again and seems OK except for SLooooooW response to the remote. 
Oh - and I usually listen to the audio channels on my stereo via the optical output . . . it's not working either.... 
What is going on over there???????????????????
HELP------------------


----------



## sacalait

Just got home @ 4EST and both receivers received the auto correction and are even recording the afternoon shows that they were scheduled to record. 

Thank goodness my wife won't miss her General Hospital.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

OK, I've let one or two comments slide because I've been busy helping people. However, I'll say this once:

*Political talk stops now.* That includes our current and former Presidents and anything controversial like oil spills that doesn't belong in this thread.

Thank you.


----------



## SDimwit

Xsabresx said:


> The part that wasnt originally bolded said "interruption of significant length". Guess who determines significant length. Right, Directv does. Anything outside of that can be deemed as a sense of entitlement.


If you read the phrase immediately following the quote you used you will find this... I'll leave it in context for you.

Originally Posted by onan38 View Post
From Directv's customer agreement: (a) Service Interruptions. Service may be interrupted from time to time for a variety of reasons. We are not responsible for any interruptions of Service that occur due to acts of God, power failure or any other cause beyond our reasonable control. However, because we value our customers, for an interruption of a significant length of time that is within our reasonable control, upon your request we will provide what we reasonably determine to be a fair and equitable adjustment to your account to make up for such Service interruption. THIS WILL BE YOUR SOLE REMEDY AND OUR SOLE DUTY IN SUCH CASES.

So, apparently, If I don't complain to them, they do nothing. Therefore I shall make a request of them as I am contractually entitled to.
:nono2:


----------



## Stuart Sweet

No problems, and not directed specifically at anyone. We have a lot of new people here today and not everyone knows the rules.


----------



## davidatl14

Xsabresx said:


> The part that wasnt originally bolded said "interruption of significant length". Guess who determines significant length. Right, Directv does. Anything outside of that can be deemed as a sense of entitlement.


Exactly.

I am a Netflix/Roku sub also. I appreciate their timely professinal response also.

What has happened today( I had two recordings dinged) qualifies as a minor inconvience. Nothing more.

Back in February I had a electrical problem burned out multiple (5)HDDVR's LNB's and one TV.

D took care of everything on their end. Could not have been more attentive or professional or timely in their response.

That is Quality Customer Service about something that actually qualifies as a problem.

This is a minor annoyance and I stand by the assertion that people looking for refunds for what has transpired today are indeed a damning indictment of today's society with the well honed collective sense of entitlement.

JMO


----------



## RobertSeattle

As they say:
To Err is Human, to Really screw up you need a corrupted Guide Data download!


----------



## Lord Vader

Stuart Sweet said:


> ... not everyone knows the rules.


As a veteran NCAA Baseball Umpire, I am quite used to such a situation.


----------



## SDimwit

davidatl14 said:


> Exactly.
> 
> I am a Netflix/Roku sub also. I appreciate their timely professinal response also.
> 
> What has happened today( I had two recordings dinged) qualifies as a minor inconvience. Nothing more.
> 
> Back in February I had a electrical problem burned out multiple (5)HDDVR's LNB's and one TV.
> 
> D took care of everything on their end. Could not have been more attentive or professional or timely in their response.
> 
> That is Quality Customer Service about something that actually qualifies as a problem.
> 
> This is a minor annoyance and I stand by the assertion that people looking for refunds for what has transpired today are indeed a damning indictment of today's society with the well honed sense of entitlement.
> 
> JMO


That certainly is your right, but, you could also argue that IF Directv decides to do nothing to make whole the injured parties, that is a "damning indictment of today's society with the well honed sense of entitlement"


----------



## prospero63

davidatl14 said:


> This is a minor annoyance and I stand by the assertion that people looking for refunds for what has transpired today are indeed a damning indictment of today's society with the well honed sense of entitlement.
> 
> JMO


It has nothing to do with a sense of entitlement. That's being tossed around for morale superiority alone. The contract we all signed with DirecTV says it's the responsibility of the consumer to make the call. It's the responsibility of DirecTV to make the determination. There's nothing "sense of entitlement" about that. Each party in the contract is fulfilling their rightful role. That's free enterprise in it's most perfect form.


----------



## James Long

Lord Vader said:


> As a veteran NCAA Baseball Umpire, I am quite used to such a situation.


I was going to ask if you were the ump at the Tigers game last week, but that would be MLB.

Nobody's perfect.


----------



## davidatl14

SDimwit said:


> That certainly is your right, but, you could also argue that IF Directv decides to do nothing to make whole the injured parties, that os a "damning indictment of today's society with the well honed sense of entitlement"


Point taken.

Not exactly how I would look at it but reasonable assertion none the less.

As to the post that follows(#992) the text quoted above,

Victimhood running amok.


----------



## billsharpe

hilmar2k said:


> If I didn't visit DBSTalk I would have called DIRECTV and they would have walked me through a couple of RBR's. If you aren't bright enough to be able to follow the following directions, I'm not sure how you remember to breathe:
> 
> 1. Push red button behind door on front of receiver
> 2. Wait for live TV to return
> 3. Repeat step one
> 
> Seriously, I understand it is easier for me than most, but nothing more than an inconvenience for anyone with fingers.


Those are wonderfully simple directions and I already know how to breathe, but they didn't work for me.

1. The red button was unresponsive. I had to unplug/plug the unit.
2. Live TV never returned. I unplugged/plugged the unit again.
3. Live TV still didn't return. Since I couldn't reach DirecTV on the phone, I unplugged/replugged one more time. This time it worked.

Simple? Sort of, but a waste of about an hour's time in all. I'm sure it would have taken much more time to straighten this out if I had reached a CSR.

This sort of stuff has happened before. I would think by now DirecTv would have figured out some way to fix their system.

I still don't see anything on DirecTV's main web page about this, although I did find a support message about the problem by searching for "reboot." They really could do better than that!


----------



## Nabisco

Well i got a crap load of calls today and i found that if you do a hard reset, then when it boots up to the part where it says hello, do another hard reset and everything will work properly when it comes back on!


----------



## onan38

onan38 said:


> Just ran system test on HR21-100 shows code 82-426 satellite configuration problem. anyone else seeing this?


*Bump*


----------



## ndole

The free market is decided like this:

If you don't like the good or service, you stop buying it. If enough people do this, the provider is forced to change or crumble.

So, don't gripe and complain. If it's such an egregious inconvenience because some bad code got in the stream, and you lost Oprah this afternoon, don't have a hissy fit about it, just find something that suits you better.


----------



## Tom Robertson

onan38 said:


> *Bump*


I think the answer is no.

You might want to start a new thread about this problem so you can get the help and attention it needs.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## Bofurley

The same problem with my HR 20-700, had to unplug it twice before it started working.
All seems well now.


----------



## SDimwit

ndole_mbnd said:


> The free market is decided like this:
> 
> If you don't like the good or service, you stop buying it. If enough people do this, the provider is forced to change or crumble.
> 
> So, don't gripe and complain. If it's such an egregious inconvenience because some bad code got in the stream, and you lost Oprah this afternoon, don't have a hissy fit about it, just find something that suits you better.


If it doesn't bother you as much as it bothers others step away from the computer and quit being so condescending. Espicially with that big look at me I'm a DirecTV QC Technician banner.


----------



## billsharpe

Earl Bonovich said:


> No it is not... it is obvious in your definition of the situation.
> But you do not have all the facts to the situation.
> 
> Plain and simple. Something went wrong.
> Doesn't mean that data wasn't checked.


Everyone agrees that something went wrong.

It's unlikely that DirecTV will tell us exactly what went wrong.

The first-described "fix" doesn't work for everyone. I, for one, couldn't use the reset button. I unplugged the unit and no live picture came up. It took three reboots before my receiver worked.

The lack of any information about the problem on DirecTV's main web page is deplorable.

Yes, DirecTV is still better than cable systems but they're losing ground now...


----------



## mx6bfast

Posted at just after 7 am today and just now had the time to read this thread again. 26 pages, hahahaha!

Anyways, even though 2 of my hr20's were stuck on a channel when I get home should they be good to go or do I still need to do the 2 in 30 reboots?


----------



## Bruceski44

ndole_mbnd said:


> The free market is decided like this:
> 
> If you don't like the good or service, you stop buying it. If enough people do this, the provider is forced to change or crumble.
> 
> So, don't gripe and complain. If it's such an egregious inconvenience because some bad code got in the stream, and you lost Oprah this afternoon, don't have a hissy fit about it, just find something that suits you better.


There are no barriers to competition in a free market. What we have here is a monopoly as long as DTV is the only one offering the full NFLST.

A rational provider may also be influenced by dissent and complaints. Maybe you're immune to complaints, you likely hear more than I do.


----------



## billsharpe

NorfolkBruh said:


> *IF you could get through to DTV! Took me several hours and I'm a premier long time customer! Had to say CANCEL to the automated system to get through!*


At least you got that far. I got three "call cannot be completed at this time, please try later" messages and gave up. Came to this forum to find out what was going on.


----------



## prospero63

ndole_mbnd said:


> *The free market is decided like this:
> 
> If you don't like the good or service, you stop buying it. If enough people do this, the provider is forced to change or crumble.*
> 
> So, don't gripe and complain. If it's such an egregious inconvenience because some bad code got in the stream, and you lost Oprah this afternoon, don't have a hissy fit about it, just find something that suits you better.


That's exactly my point. How do you affect change? You uphold your end of the contract and expect them to uphold theirs.


----------



## billsharpe

prospero63 said:


> Nope, they go out from time to time. When they do, I call and get a service credit.
> 
> Every now and again. When it does, I call and get a service credit.
> 
> Actually, no. I guess I eat at better places than you are hitting?
> 
> Not very often. When it does though, I call and get a service credit. You getting the trend yet? I pay for a service with an expectation that the service is going to be provided in a reliable fashion. When it's not, and especially when by all appearances a systemic process failure is contributing to the unreliability, I make sure to get a service credit. It lets the company know, even if by a few dollars, that I expect to get what I pay for, nothing more and nothing less. When a lot of consumers do that, those couple of bucks add up.
> 
> One did. Got rid of him and got a new one. He's much better. Haven't had any problems to speak of, give him a nice bonus every Christmas because of the good work he always does.
> 
> Yep, stuff happens. That doesn't mean that, to steal a line from old Clayton Williams, "Rape is like bad weather. As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." Yeah, stuff happens. But that doesn't mean you just lie back and enjoy it.
> 
> BTW, that's a true quote from a Texas gubernatorial candidate back in 1990 or so...


Geez, I like your style!


----------



## georule

Hdhead said:


> So does this reboot mean that people who never turned there TV's on today will never know anything happened? Hope so.





Tom Robertson said:


> Quite likely.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


Gosh, I hope so. Silly me, originally this morning I worked thru it myself without ever coming here, having assumed it was a local problem on my box rather than a "run in circles/scream and shout" national problem.

Then a little later I came here to check on something else (D10) and saw this thread, and realized it could have saved me a few minutes at least (I tried power-off reboots first instead of RBRs, but didn't get my remote to come back that way).

But I do shudder to think of the non-technical, non-DBSTalk users lighting up D* CSR lines over this; so if they're getting home from work now and don't even notice anything happened, that'd be very good for all concerned. . .


----------



## Bit_fiddler

SDimwit said:


> If it doesn't bother you as much as it bothers others step away from the computer and quit being so condescending. Espicially with that big look at me I'm a DirecTV QC Technician banner.


I have to agree with you.... And despite his disclaimer on his opinions being his, with the large banner declaring he is a DirecTV employee, it DOES reflect poorly on DirecTV.

imho


----------



## billsharpe

hilmar2k said:


> You're joking, right? How many dozens of posts in this very thread said it was bad guide data?


Has DirecTV itself admitted that?


----------



## SDimwit

Bit_fiddler said:


> I have to agree with you.... And despite his disclaimer on his opinions being his, with the large banner declaring he is a DirecTV employee, it DOES reflect poorly on DirecTV.
> 
> imho


While it is recommended, technically, you don't "HAVE" to agree with me.


----------



## tonyd79

Bruceski44 said:


> There are no barriers to competition in a free market. What we have here is a monopoly as long as DTV is the only one offering the full NFLST.


Really? You mean the fast food market is not free? I cannot buy a Whopper at McDonald's.


----------



## Lord Vader

James Long said:


> I was going to ask if you were the ump at the Tigers game last week, but that would be MLB.
> 
> Nobody's perfect.


I WISH I was making as much as Jim Joyce makes!


----------



## Stuart Sweet

And now we get into the monopoly discussion. One player in a multi-player market can not have a monopoly. Vertical integration is perfectly legal and every player in the multichannel industry uses vertical integration for its hardware.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

billsharpe said:


> Has DirecTV itself admitted that?


No any don't expect a detailed explaination. I certainly seems like guide data because it reacts like previous guide data glitches.

Mike


----------



## SDimwit

tonyd79 said:


> Really? You mean the fast food market is not free? I cannot buy a Whopper at McDonald's.


Your analogy would hold _slightly_ more water if you could order a reasonably comparable NFL package from other TV providers. You can after all order a Big Mac or even a Quarter Pounder with cheese @ McD's...


----------



## tonyd79

SDimwit said:


> Your analogy would hold _slightly_ more water if you could order a reasonably comparable NFL package from other TV providers. You can after all order a Big Mac or even a Quarter Pounder with cheese @ McD's...


You have the CFL and the NCAA and High School Football. It is a reasonable comparison. The free market set up the NFL on DirecTV via Sunday Ticket. Anything that would force the NFL to go to other providers would not be a free market. See, a decision by two companies to enter into an agreement without any influence from government is the DEFINITION of a free market.

Sheesh.


----------



## SDimwit

tonyd79 said:


> ... Anything that would force the NFL to go to other providers would not be a free market. ...


The same _could_ be said about anything (translate this roughly to Exclusivity agreement) that would prevent the NFL from adding aditional providers.


----------



## lugnutathome

Software and the data it manages have a strange relationship. Since it all is a binary pile-o-stuff that a clock passes and counts. Boiled down its just bits being on or off... All being interpreted by layers of software that are themselves just bits being on or off. At time one affects the other in unexpected ways.

I've seen user data throw computers into command stream modes. I've seen user input at such furious rates that the application software interpreted the input as command key sequences.

The fact that guide data threw receivers into a locked (and full upright) :nono: position is not surprising. It is surprising it hasn't happened more often.

Should the firmware do a better job at error detection and handling? Nice to think so but if the packet framing in the guide data just lost a single piece of it's ID framework, how is the system supposed to know informational from command stream data?

Probably this sort of error detection would be best served pre distribution to the receivers...

Just something as simple as a single missing enclosing quote and suddenly there is hamburger on the hard drive.

Don "and me without access to any mustard" Bolton



MicroBeta said:


> I agree the firmware should do a better job of error checking. I'm not sure how that's supposed to happen but it shouldn't lock up the receiver.
> 
> Mike


----------



## tonyd79

SDimwit said:


> The same _could_ be said about anything (translate this roughly to Exclusivity agreement) that would prevent the NFL from adding aditional providers.


No, it cannot.

You do not understand what a free market is? A free market means no GOVERNMENT interference. An exclusivity agreement is a result of a free market decision.

You, the customer, then decide if you want to buy the product.

Free market.

Or we can just redefine every word and every phrase until it makes no sense from one person to another....


----------



## re7martin

ndole_mbnd said:


> The free market is decided like this:
> 
> If you don't like the good or service, you stop buying it. If enough people do this, the provider is forced to change or crumble.
> 
> So, don't gripe and complain. If it's such an egregious inconvenience because some bad code got in the stream, and you lost Oprah this afternoon, don't have a hissy fit about it, just find something that suits you better.


So, let me get this straight, you WORK for DirecTV and you expect to keep your job with insipid and insulting posts like this while disclaiming your opinions as NOT those of your employer?

Further, you are apparently in the "QC" department which, if decoded correctly, means you share some responsibility for the "Quality Control" function at DirecTV.

AND, if I have correctly read the posts here, the problem seems to be the result of code that was NOT controlled for quality before being released into the wild.

I suspect that YOU may find out how the "free market" decides who keeps his/her job and who does not. Better to have kept your mouth shut on this one, Dud!


----------



## davidatl14

DirecTV would have to actually Own the NFL to make Suday Ticket an example of a Monoply.

Any and all Providers were free to bid on the ST Package.


----------



## TomF

Well, it appears that this thread has gone wildly off track. Moderators!


----------



## tonyd79

davidatl14 said:


> DirecTV would have to actually Own the NFL to make Suday Ticket an example of a Monoply.
> 
> Any and all Providers were free to bid on the ST Package.


Oh, you mean like Comcast and the Phillies, 76ers and Flyers.

Add: BTW, anti-monopoly laws restrain a free market, making it less of a one.


----------



## TomF

And it continues ...


----------



## CenturyBreak

tonyd79 said:


> You have the CFL and the NCAA and High School Football. It is a reasonable comparison. The free market set up the NFL on DirecTV via Sunday Ticket. Anything that would force the NFL to go to other providers would not be a free market. See, a decision by two companies to enter into an agreement without any influence from government is the DEFINITION of a free market.
> 
> Sheesh.


We're waaayyyyy off-topic here, but what the hell: with the CFL and NCAA, who would ever need the NFL? :grin:

Mind you, I'm a Canuck currently residing on the East side of the Niagara River, so that explains my otherwise irrational love for *exciting* football instead of the No Fun League.   :icon_cool

Okay, now: :backtotop


----------



## ndole

re7martin said:


> So, let me get this straight, you WORK for DirecTV and you expect to keep your job with insipid and insulting posts like this while disclaiming your opinions as NOT those of your employer?
> 
> Further, you are apparently in the "QC" department which, if decoded correctly, means you share some responsibility for the "Quality Control" function at DirecTV.
> 
> AND, if I have correctly read the posts here, the problem seems to be the result of code that was NOT controlled for quality before being released into the wild.
> 
> I suspect that YOU may find out how the "free market" decides who keeps his/her job and who does not. Better to have kept your mouth shut on this one, Dud!


 :welcome_sto DBSTalk.
I'm just a big believer in the free market, and was explaining how it works.
I don't want anyone to leave Directv, or any other provider over a code mishap and a couple of reboots. My point was simply that it's really not worth making a big fuss over.


----------



## richiephx

What happened today gives new meaning to the term....cutting edge technology.


----------



## Doug Brott

<modhat>
Guys .. Let's either talk about the lockup issues, the ensuing discontent, or the remedies involved .. But if it's not about the HR2x lockup issues .. You're in the wrong thread. Please move to an appropriate thread or create a new one in the appropriate forum.

Thank You.</modhat>


----------



## Tony Chick

Maybe I missed the fun, the front-panel lights on both my HR20 and HR21 were lit so it seems they rebooted sometime during the morning. Both seem to be working but a little slow, but I haven't had to reset them manually.


----------



## prospero63

Tony Chick said:


> Maybe I missed the fun, the front-panel lights on both my HR20 and HR21 were lit so it seems they rebooted sometime during the morning. Both seem to be working but a little slow, but I haven't had to reset them manually.


I think the general consensus is that's to be expected while the guide rebuilds, etc.


----------



## henryld

Tony Chick said:


> Maybe I missed the fun, the front-panel lights on both my HR20 and HR21 were lit so it seems they rebooted sometime during the morning. Both seem to be working but a little slow, but I haven't had to reset them manually.


+1


----------



## Doug Brott

The systems were all sent a reboot signal that flushed the GUIDE cache .. This will cause the system to run a little sluggish as it rebuilds the full data tree .. The restart happened about 3 hours back, but the system will remain sluggish for 12-24 hours ..


----------



## curt8403

Doug Brott said:


> The systems were all sent a reboot signal that flushed the GUIDE cache .. This will cause the system to run a little sluggish as it rebuilds the full data tree .. The restart happened about 3 hours back, but the system will remain sluggish for 12-24 hours ..


 +1


----------



## cover

ndole_mbnd said:


> :welcome_sto DBSTalk.
> I'm just a big believer in the free market, and was explaining how it works.
> I don't want anyone to leave Directv, or any other provider over a code mishap and a couple of reboots. My point was simply that it's really not worth making a big fuss over.


I strongly disagree. It is worth making a fuss over. This cost me half an hour of time today. Multiply that by the many thousands of customers that were apparently affected and multiply that by any arbitrary hourly $ figure and it will be pretty big cost.

Moreover, I think it is a blatant example of a more fundamental problem - software quality control on the HR2x series has never been up to snuff. Thankfully I still have an HR10 going on my account so my wife could watch TV this morning while my 2 HR20s were dazed and confused.

I know the HR20 has more features than the HR10 and in some ways is it a little easier to use. In other ways it is harder to use. But, bottom line - and this is the most important thing to me - the HR20 has never been as reliable at doing its basic job as the HR10 and the SD DirecTiVos I owned before that.

I am considering trying cable with a TiVo again. Not because I like Comcast better - I don't. But I'm just tired of dealing with missed recordings, tuner flakiness (false 771s), audio dropouts and other issues with the HR2x series DVRs.


----------



## Bitgod

Saw my dvr lights on, so first thing I did was come here.  Tried watching a recorded show and it kept freezing, it finally shut off. So powered off the dvr and external drive, sit a minute, plugged them back in. It's already frozen once on the same show I was watching, so trying another show to see what happens. ...and it just froze.

So those apologists saying this is just a "half hour of my time" are wrong, this is now a hassle and will be a full-on problem if this causes problems with watching basketball tonight.


----------



## mdavej

ndole_mbnd said:


> The free market is decided like this:
> 
> If you don't like the good or service, you stop buying it. If enough people do this, the provider is forced to change or crumble.
> 
> So, don't gripe and complain. If it's such an egregious inconvenience because some bad code got in the stream, and you lost Oprah this afternoon, don't have a hissy fit about it, just find something that suits you better.


That's infantile behavior. How does information flow from consumers to producers if nobody ever complains? If you order your steak medium at a restaurant and it arrives rare, do you just get up and leave, never to return, and tell all your friends to boycott? Or do you complain, and give the restaurant a chance to fix it? Most people do the latter, get what they paid for, and everybody is happy.

So in your perfect, zero-complaint, free-market world, D* screws up, nobody utters a word about it and just drops their service. They loose 10 million subs in one day and go bankrupt. Now everybody has to get Dish. Is that what you want? :nono2:


----------



## hidefman

ndole_mbnd said:


> :icon_cry: OMG They had to reset my receiver!
> :icon_cry: OMG They had to swap my receiver and I lost the whole season of (insert show here) that I didn't catch up on!


Are you really a QC tech for DirecTV? With the posts I have seen from you today, you would be a former QC tech for DirecTV. To use the President's words for the BP CEO, you wouldn't work for me with comments like that.

You need to get off your high-horse and try to help customers, not put them down. Sorry, now back to topic.


----------



## mjbvideo

What a joke. My HR22-100 rebooted at least twice this afternoon. It was locked up before that and I had to pull the power cord out in order for it to reboot. Then it locked up again.
Wonderful POS - the adventure continues.


----------



## John4924

I have an HR20/700 and in the reboot, software version 0x3df was downloaded. Is there any information of what is in this version?

Thanks & cheers,
John


----------



## Athlon646464

mjbvideo said:


> What a joke. My HR22-100 rebooted at least twice this afternoon. It was locked up before that and I had to pull the power cord out in order for it to reboot. Then it locked up again.
> Wonderful POS - the adventure continues.


Because D* sent a signal to restart your DVR, that was normal. Those two reboots are what fixed the issue. You should be OK now.

The 2 you had to do earlier were required if you wanted to fix it on your own.


----------



## Athlon646464

John4924 said:


> I have an HR20/700 and in the reboot, software version 0x3df was downloaded. Is there any information of what is in this version?
> 
> Thanks & cheers,
> John


http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=177549


----------



## re7martin

ndole_mbnd said:


> :welcome_sto DBSTalk.
> I'm just a big believer in the free market, and was explaining how it works.
> I don't want anyone to leave Directv, or any other provider over a code mishap and a couple of reboots. My point was simply that it's really not worth making a big fuss over.


Here's how it REALLY works:

I PAY DirecTV more than $200 every month. I have two DirecTV DVR's, two HR10-250s connected via external antenna, and six more standard receivers. I installed my own cascade because the DirecTV installers didn't know how, and the local DirecTV decision makers wouldn't authorize the SWM for my installation when it first came out. I have been a DirecTV subscriber since 2002 and an HD early adopter. I was paying for HD when the only advertisers were CBS and DirecTV!

I EXPECT it to WORK! ALL THE TIME!

My money doesn't suddenly lose its value to DirecTV, and I can't decide to stop sending my payent and expect to continue receiving programming!

If YOU work for DirecTV, you get paid because people like me subscribe!

If you think the market works any OTHER way, you're not just wrong, you're in the wrong business!

Again, you should have held your peace on this one, Dud!


----------



## Blackhawk32

WOW! so i tried the 2RBR... that seemed to work, then the my HR21-100 with a external HD rebooted itself about every half hour. then i got a blue screen saying something like "problem detecting storage advice. reset may fix it.... if not call DTV... diagnosic code:14-228." i pressed the red button, reboot... seemed fine for awhile, then the screen would freeze, then reboot... so i called DTV.

he wanted me reset the unit and warned me i would lose everything recorded. i didn't want to do that so we disconnected the external HD. he had me press record and down.... and that didn't work, so they are sending me a new DVR in 2 days.

i bummed i might lose all my recorded shows.

*Isn't there a way to have a new HDDVR not reformat an external HD?*


----------



## Richierich

ndole_mbnd said:


> The free market is decided like this:
> 
> If you don't like the good or service, you stop buying it. If enough people do this, the provider is forced to change or crumble.
> 
> So, don't gripe and complain. If it's such an egregious inconvenience because some bad code got in the stream, and you lost Oprah this afternoon, don't have a hissy fit about it, just find something that suits you better.


This is Total Crap!!! If you don't complain how is Management going to know there is a Problem (they should check it but they get busy).

You are doing them a Watchdog Favor by Complaining and pointing out their deficiencies and they should be Grateful!!!

Directv will Never Admit what the Problem is but is is Obvious since they are Requesing that we Reboot Twice or they do it for us!!!


----------



## cover

re7martin said:


> I EXPECT it to WORK! ALL THE TIME!


I'd even be willing to live with a weird problem or two every couple of months. But I shouldn't have to reboot every couple of days as I've had to do lately with my HR20s.

I miss the peace of mind of knowing that my DirecTiVo boxes would "just work" with nothing more than a reboot every few months.


----------



## irdmoose

re7martin said:


> ...
> Again, you should have held your peace on this one, Dud!


So... it's a bright, beautiful day outside. How's everyone's HR2x's working now that the poisoned guide data's been flushed? Mine's still running a bit on the sluggish side, but I'd bet that it's still doing housekeeping from the multiple reboots etc.


----------



## cover

Blackhawk32 said:


> i bummed i might lose all my recorded shows.


Kind of stinks that external hard drives are linked to the physical DVR hardware and not the DirecTV account.


----------



## namja

What we learned today:

(1) Most likely, bad data caused the software to crash, therefore it was the software's fault. Software should have better validation process.
(2) Rebooting twice (or maybe 3x) should fix the problem.
(3) If something goes wrong with your Directv box, check this forum first before calling Directv. Or try Directv's twitter as they're pretty good about responding to customers.
(4) Things like this are bound to happen. It's not just Directv. Anyone who uses the computer on a semi-regular basis should know that electronic devices often require restarts. You'll find similar problems with DISH, cable, FIOS, etc.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

cover said:


> I'd even be willing to live with a weird problem or two every couple of months. But I shouldn't have to reboot every couple of days as I've had to do lately with my HR20s.
> 
> I miss the peace of mind of knowing that my DirecTiVo boxes would "just work" with nothing more than a reboot every few months.


You should not have to reboot every couple of days. You should start a thread and we'll help troubleshoot your issue.

Having to reboot every couple of days is abnormal. You have an issue that needs to be addressed.

Mike


----------



## Casey21

georule said:


> Gosh, I hope so. Silly me, originally this morning I worked thru it myself without ever coming here, having assumed it was a local problem on my box rather than a "run in circles/scream and shout" national problem.
> 
> Then a little later I came here to check on something else (D10) and saw this thread, and realized it could have saved me a few minutes at least (I tried power-off reboots first instead of RBRs, but didn't get my remote to come back that way).
> 
> But I do shudder to think of the non-technical, non-DBSTalk users lighting up D* CSR lines over this; so if they're getting home from work now and don't even notice anything happened, that'd be very good for all concerned. . .


+1 I felt the same way this morning for the poor folks who don't know how to reboot or check a great site like this for information. I feel really sorry for them. We recently had one dvr die and then when my husband said the another one wasn't working this morning my heart stopped. I quickly checked the refurbed dvr and it also didn't work. at that point i knew it wasn't our issue and checked this site for information.


----------



## blusgtone

How did this kill so many external drives?


----------



## spartanstew

My HR21-100 (the one that lost everything on the external), just rebooted again at 5:35PM CST


----------



## cover

blusgtone said:


> How did this kill so many external drives?


I'm willing to assign plenty of blame to DirecTV for this problem, but I have to think that the external drive issues are just a coincidence and probably would have happened on the next reboot anyhow.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

blusgtone said:


> How did this kill so many external drives?


You scared me there for a second. I just checked my HR21 and the external is fine.

Those with a problem my try powering down the receiver, then power down the drive, restart the drive, and then restart the receiver.

Mike


----------



## carlsbad_bolt_fan

Didn't read all 42+ pages of this thread, but count me among those who had a dead HR20-700 this morning. Restarts didn't help at the time. So, I just thought it died. No biggie I thought as I replaced it with the HR20-700 I was using in my office (which was working just fine). Well, I set it up and it goes through it's boot-up and then BLACK SCREEN. DAMN...well...maybe a bad BBC? So I grabbed the ones in my office, connected those, restarted and BINGO! All was well. Then just for grins, I grabbed two of the 12 that D* sent me long ago and hooked up the other HR20 in my office. Been working fine ever since. 

Didn't get chance to go online here as I've been busy with clients.

No other reboots as of yet. Just glad all is working well.

Glitches happen, yes. Should they? In a perfect world, no. But this is far from a perfect world.


----------



## Carl Spock

This board has suddenly gotten very boring.

Would somebody out at Castle Rock please stumble over an extension cord or do something to cause a system-wide problem again, please?


----------



## pmisra08

I am on my third hard reboot. Remote does not work, getting no satellite info on 2 and I just found out (a little too late) that I might lose all content on my external drive. Bad tech day. I just want this resolved before the World Cup.

has anybody else received the searching for satellite signal in 2 (771). Third hard reboot finished no resolution. HR21/200.

Please help.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

pmisra08 said:


> I am on my third hard reboot. Remote does not work, getting no satellite info on 2 and I just found out (a little too late) that I might lose all content on my external drive. Bad tech day. I just want this resolved before the World Cup.
> 
> has anybody else received the searching for satellite signal in 2 (771). Third hard reboot finished no resolution. HR21/200.
> 
> Please help.


You could aslso try to power off (unplug) for 15-20 minutes...then power up again.


----------



## camo

pmisra08 said:


> I am on my third hard reboot. Remote does not work, getting no satellite info on 2 and I just found out (a little too late) that I might lose all content on my external drive. Bad tech day. I just want this resolved before the World Cup.
> 
> has anybody else received the searching for satellite signal in 2 (771). Third hard reboot finished no resolution. HR21/200.
> 
> Please help.


Try swapping the satellite input cables. If the error changes to sat 1, that means there is a problem with the cable/dish/switch. If sat 2 is still having problems, could be a bad HR


----------



## spartanstew

MicroBeta said:


> You scared me there for a second. I just checked my HR21 and the external is fine.
> 
> Those with a problem my try powering down the receiver, then power down the drive, restart the drive, and then restart the receiver.
> 
> Mike


Didn't work for me. Lost my entire 1TB drive (60% full) and all that goes with it. Quite the bummer.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

spartanstew said:


> Didn't work for me. Lost my entire 1TB drive (60% full) and all that goes with it. Quite the bummer.


Curious....how long did you power downt he unit and drive before restarting?

In the past, a number of folks reported cases where anything less than 30 minutes would not work or work well - and those who did had the external drives recover fine.

Then there's also the drive "correction" diag utility...


----------



## eweiner1

One has to ask the question: Don't the "mensa candidates" at Directv have the intelligence to first test software upgrades before hitting the "send" button and disrupting things out in TV land? Then again, would it have been too much to ask if they first notified us by utilizing the "TVmail" function that they were letting the little kiddies at Directv loose again? Just wondering.


----------



## pmisra08

tech support at directv has hung up on me four times. i am getting extremely frustrated. after 4 reboots still no resolution. original remote will not function but older remote works. still getting no satellite signal in 2. i will try swapping sat cables.

tech support has dropped the ball.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

eweiner1 said:


> One has to ask the question: Don't the "mensa candidates" at Directv have the intelligence to first test software upgrades before hitting the "send" button and disrupting things out in TV land? Then again, would it have been too much to ask if they first notified us by utilizing the "TVmail" function that they were letting the little kiddies at Directv loose again? Just wondering.


If you read the whole thread you'll see that this was not a firmware upgrade issue.

It happened to all HR2x's, except the HR24, regardless of firmware version.

Mike


----------



## SDimwit

Dear D*,
You might find it beneficial to set up a computer or two to check new incoming data for errors that could lead to nationwide crashes like this before you let said data onto the system. (If this is what actually caused this mess)

Sincerely,
Someone who spends a lot of time troubleshooting/ repairing very expensive manufacturing equipment.


----------



## Hutchinshouse

Just got home. One of my units (HR20-700) is dog slow. Slowest I've ever seen. It's been rebooted three times today already. Looks like number four is needed.


----------



## SDimwit

eweiner1 said:


> One has to ask the question: Don't the "mensa candidates" at Directv have the intelligence to first test software upgrades before hitting the "send" button and disrupting things out in TV land? Then again, would it have been too much to ask if they first notified us by utilizing the "TVmail" function that they were letting the little kiddies at Directv loose again? Just wondering.


Referring to the people that work hard to insure you the best television experience they can as "mensa candidates", is a bit condescending and more than a little childish. I have complained about this issue my fair share. But, as someone who has for 17 years worked with integrated systems, I've seen plenty of times that an unexpected side effect snuck up and bit someone south of the belt. I'm not saying that they don't need their feet held to the proverbial fire, but attacking their intelligence is going a bit too far IMHO.

Your mileage may vary,
Joe


----------



## eweiner1

MicroBeta said:


> If you read the whole thread you'll see that this was not a firmware upgrade issue.
> 
> It happened to all HR2x's, except the HR24, regardless of firmware version.
> 
> Mike


You're correct. I didn't not read through all the replys, but I still have to wonder what kind of checks and balances Directv has in place (obviously not many) to prevent that snafu that occurred this morning.


----------



## Mike Bertelson

eweiner1 said:


> You're correct. I didn't not read through all the replys, but I still have to wonder what kind of checks and balances Directv has in place (obviously not many) to prevent that snafu that occurred this morning.


Amazing how you "obviously" know this was so easily preventable. Why don't you write to DirecTV and explain to the "Mensa Candidates" how they could have prevented this.

Mike


----------



## SDimwit

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Curious....how long did you power downt he unit and drive before restarting?
> 
> In the past, a number of folks reported cases where anything less than 30 minutes would not work or work well - and those who did had the external drives recover fine.
> 
> Then there's also the drive "correction" diag utility...


Uhh... I think you meant to say 30 seconds? No?


----------



## Rage187

blusgtone said:



> How did this kill so many external drives?


I was on page 36 I think, but it killed my FAP 750 external HDD. Sucks.


----------



## tbh999

Add me to the group of crashed HR20's. A RBR didn't fix the problem, but pulling the plug did...


----------



## jasonblair

MicroBeta said:


> If you read the whole thread you'll see that this was not a firmware upgrade issue.
> 
> It happened to all HR2x's, except the HR24, regardless of firmware version.
> 
> Mike


It happened to ALL of them? When I got home from work, my HR23 had the blue ring on, which usually happens when a software upgrade happens in the night... But it's working fine. Not slow, no reboot.


----------



## tonyd79

SDimwit said:


> Referring to the people that work hard to insure you the best television experience they can as "mensa candidates", is a bit condescending and more than a little childish. I have complained about this issue my fair share. But, as someone who has for 17 years worked with integrated systems, I've seen plenty of times that an unexpected side effect snuck up and bit someone south of the belt. I'm not saying that they don't need their feet held to the proverbial fire, but attacking their intelligence is going a bit too far IMHO.
> 
> Your mileage may vary,
> Joe


Amen.

I have posted something to this affect once before...

I am an engineer in the computer business, dealing with design data coordination across various engineering sites and I know how a lot of this stuff works and I am amazed at how intricate the technology is and how massive the data is and how complicated the hardware, software, programming, logistics of getting data from hundreds of sources with hundreds of agreements in place and how well it all works.

Then we get people who expect perfection with all the potential failure points. Even six sigma results in errors every so often....

Overall, I tip my hat to DirecTV and their engineers and to DishNetwork and their folks and Tivo and their folks and to Fios and their people and, to a lesser extent (  ), Comcast and their people.


----------



## djrobx

DirecTV waited WAY too long to throw the "reboot switch". 

Incidentally, thank you DBStalk, for reporting this on the front page. I caught the story early this morning and was able to walk my mom through the double restart process before she discovered it on her own and panicked. Saved both of us a lot of stress.


----------



## Tom Robertson

jasonblair said:


> It happened to ALL of them? When I got home from work, my HR23 had the blue ring on, which usually happens when a software upgrade happens in the night... But it's working fine. Not slow, no reboot.


The blue ring comes on anytime the unit reboots. Yours obviously was rebooted during the day.

Cheers,
Tom


----------



## Doug Brott

eweiner1 said:


> You're correct. I didn't not read through all the replys, but I still have to wonder what kind of checks and balances Directv has in place (obviously not many) to prevent that snafu that occurred this morning.


I'm sure the people at the highest levels are asking this very question.


----------



## Drucifer

kojak32 said:


> My two dvr's* rebooted at 3pm*. But I don't understand why one said it got an update today at 3pm and the other said it got the update on June 3rd. Same model receivers and same software update and they were both updated with this software on June 3rd. Strange!


Same here for my three HR21s


----------



## Alan Gordon

As usual, Swanni's barking up the wrong tree again... 

~Alan


----------



## tooloud10

This morning I saw rings lit up on all three boxes this morning, usually indicating a software update. RBRed an HR23-700 twice and it works fine. HR20-700 had no problems at all by the time I checked it. Third box had major stuttering problems before finally locking up two days ago and was diagnosed as needing replacement by D* on Sunday. That box took the update and now works but is dog slow and still stutters.


----------



## Doug Brott

kojak32 said:


> My two dvr's rebooted at 3pm. But I don't understand why one said it got an update today at 3pm and the other said it got the update on June 3rd. Same model receivers and same software update and they were both updated with this software on June 3rd. Strange!


There are a number of factors that might prevent a receiver from getting a download as DIRECTV doesn't set all of them to go right away. The "download new" flag was probably set on the forced restart sent out this afternoon.


----------



## am7crew

All mine were on when I woke up, turned them off then they wouldnt turn back on until I reset then.


----------



## Newshawk

Alan Gordon said:


> As usual, Swanni's barking up the wrong tree again...
> 
> ~Alan


And this surprises you how?


----------



## jasonblair

Tom Robertson said:


> The blue ring comes on anytime the unit reboots. Yours obviously was rebooted during the day.
> 
> Cheers,
> Tom


I live alone... Are you saying it rebooted spontaneously? Or did DirecTV trigger it? If it really was all locked up this morning while I was at work, how could DirecTV trigger a reboot? Seems like they'd only be able to trigger a reboot if the system was in working order.


----------



## LameLefty

Got home today and found all five of my HR2x boxes had rebooted but are operating normally. No lost recordings either (even on my HR21-700 with its 1TB eSATA). Glad I wasn't recording anything when the lockups happened but even more glad that it was taken care of before I got home.


----------



## LameLefty

jasonblair said:


> I live alone... Are you saying it rebooted spontaneously? Or did DirecTV trigger it? If it really was all locked up this morning while I was at work, how could DirecTV trigger a reboot? Seems like they'd only be able to trigger a reboot if the system was in working order.


Directv triggered it.


----------



## prospero63

Doug Brott said:


> I'm sure the people at the highest levels are asking this very question.


That may be the best info I've seen yet. :goodjob:


----------



## Alan Gordon

Alan Gordon said:


> As usual, Swanni's barking up the wrong tree again...





Newshawk said:


> And this surprises you how?


I never said I was surprised... 

~Alan


----------



## tvjay

MysteryMan said:


> My HR22/100 received their latest download (0x3de) last night.


Same here, I almost called DirecTV until I saw this forum. I had to pull the power and then do a RBR after it booted up cause it wouldn't respond. Totally weird if you ask me.


----------



## Doug Brott

jasonblair said:
 

> I live alone... Are you saying it rebooted spontaneously? Or did DirecTV trigger it? If it really was all locked up this morning while I was at work, how could DirecTV trigger a reboot? Seems like they'd only be able to trigger a reboot if the system was in working order.


Apparently something was working, but clearly video & remote command weren't working .. DIRECTV definitely triggered the restart.


----------



## rahlquist

Stuart Sweet said:


> And I've been saying since day 1 that there is no quality control in guide data. The stations can mess it up, the content providers can mess it up, Tribune can mess it up... and there's practically no accountability up and down the line. I know people on the local station end, as well as all the way up the line and everyone just points fingers.
> 
> There is simply not any of the quality control on the origination end that there really needs to be.


Well maybe with Google TV coming Tribune will have to pay more attention to detail.


----------



## Alan Gordon

rahlquist said:


> Well maybe with Google TV coming Tribune will have to pay more attention to detail.


Though I am not aware of how Google TV would pressure Tribune into paying more detail... I wouldn't hold your breath for the above.

Tribune already has competition, and I don't consider them any better.

Though, some of Tribune's issues are the fault of the stations/networks, and not Tribune.

~Alan


----------



## SDimwit

Doug Brott said:


> Apparently something was working, but clearly video & remote command weren't working .. DIRECTV definitely triggered the restart.


Remote video! Can they see into my living room? :nono:


----------



## diggerg56

Guess I missed all the fun. Got home from work about 4pm, turned on TV and switched to the DVR, (HR20) there was a screen up saying that new features were available including 3D and everything is working OK. A couple things didn't record during the day that should have. Other than that...Good to go with our two HR20's.
When I checked History it showed the software update was downloaded at 3:18AM.


----------



## rahlquist

LameLefty said:


> Nice strawman. Go burn it, why don't you? :lol:
> 
> While you're at it, parse the Guide data and figure out the myriad ways something that complicated can break a database requiring a system restart.


Sorry Lefty couldn't resist poking at your smoke and mirrors there. You know as well as I do a zero day exploit is a long way from a DB coding Boo Boo. Obviously someone was able to come to a logical conclusion as to what the problem was in order to know to send the flush and reboot. Perhaps that same logic could be put into a validation routine to prevent the bum data from ever being transmitted in the event of a validation failure.

Proactive is always better than reactive.

The only difference between forethought and hindsight is when you bother to think things through.

In the end its just TV


----------



## Drucifer

irdmoose said:


> Ok... is anyone else having the *slow channel change issue now?* I've rebooted 3 times in the last half hour and it's still going slow. *sigh*


Yes


----------



## rahlquist

Alan Gordon said:


> Though I am not aware of how Google TV would pressure Tribune into paying more detail... I wouldn't hold your breath for the above.


Google tends to creep into an arena, cautiously. Once Google TV is implemented and you can easily "search for programming" online, overt tv guide databases and on local UPnP, DLNA and other services, then if a company wants to remain relevant, well lets just say garbage in will likely mean out with the trash.


----------



## PCampbell

Is it over yet! :eek2::lol:


----------



## onan38

PCampbell said:


> Is it over yet! :eek2::lol:


There's always tomorrow. :lol:


----------



## HiDuck

Tygh said:


> How about they send out an email as well. I have no desire to follow DTV on Twitter and be spammed even more with ads.


 So you would rather be spammed with ads in your email? :grin:


----------



## spartanstew

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Curious....how long did you power downt he unit and drive before restarting?
> 
> In the past, a number of folks reported cases where anything less than 30 minutes would not work or work well - and those who did had the external drives recover fine.
> 
> Then there's also the drive "correction" diag utility...


Well, at first all I did was a RBR and that wiped it. Afterwards I tried other things, including keeping it powered off for 15 minutes (not 30 though) and there was no brining anything back.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

Folks, it seems like we're winding down on this topic. I'll leave the thread open until tomorrow morning provided there's still something relevant to say.


----------



## Doug Brott

SDimwit said:


> Remote video! Can they see into my living room? :nono:


Yup .. That's what the blue ring is for, didn't you know that? .. :sure:


----------



## barryb

Stuart Sweet said:


> Folks, it seems like we're winding down on this topic. I'll leave the thread open until tomorrow morning provided there's still something relevant to say.


I have been trying to come up with something relevant for the past hour... and from what I have come up with: the great picture I am watching on my TV right now is getting in the way of that.

Stuff happens. People get upset. We get over it. We watch TV. I guess it could have been worse... I could have been you today Mr. Shadow.


----------



## rjay717

My HR21-700 is back online, but it lost favorite channels, all series manager shows and all recordings. The list is completely empty.


----------



## phox_mulder

Of my 4 HR2X's, I only have an external hooked to my HR20-100.
(mainly due to HR20 being much faster than the 3 HR21's)

WD My DVR Expander, 1 TB, TiVo approved (originally bought it for my S3 TiVo).

It survived my 2 RBR's, as well as however many reboots DirecTV pushed on it, I wasn't home keeping track after the initial 2 RBR's.

Chalk that up to 1 external making it through the day.

As far as the number of these systemwide events in the past 3 years, I distinctly remember 3 instances.

1 was software related, 2 were guide data related.


phox


----------



## DCSholtis

MysteryMan said:


> UNRESPONSIVE UNITS...Had this problem with my HR22/100 this morning. Try doing two back to back resets. This seems to correct the problem.


This worked for me too. I had my DVR set to record a movie off Showtime only to wake up to find out the box was unresponsive but the DVR was still recording Showtime some 6 hours later. 2 RBRs corrected it.


----------



## mung

So now that everyone is happy and has their DVRs working how do I get mine fixed? Hit the reset button at around 3:30, went out got back at 9:00 and guess what, still at Step 1 of 2. I guess I should call support again and see if I get someone who will believe that what I have going on is more than the normal frozen DVR.


----------



## Carl Spock

mung, pull the plug and wait fifteen minutes. Plug it back in and see what happens. 

You don't say what kind of receiver you have, but consecutive red button reboots, which was the initial solution, didn't do the trick for my HR20-700. I had to reload the software to get mine to work.


----------



## FHSPSU67

rjay717 said:


> My HR21-700 is back online, but it lost favorite channels, all series manager shows and all recordings. The list is completely empty.


Give it a little time and you may see things start to re-populate.


----------



## mung

I had it unplugged for 15min when I switched it out with the other box. It's a HR22-100. How do I reload the software? I haven't opened these up or anything like that. Is there any way to get past the waiting for satellite stuff to get into the menu and see what is going on with the box?

Waiting on hold for support right now to see if they might be able to tell me something other than wait until we have a fix for it, this time.


----------



## kikkenit2

Stuart Sweet said:


> Ah, the familiar refrain....
> 
> every time there is an update, there is going to be a percentage of those with hardware that they didn't know was flaky, or a condition that wasn't fully tested (because there are 20 million possible different equipment combinations) etc. etc. etc.
> 
> Things will improve. This will pass. The overall trend has shown us that.


And over half of those 20 million boxes lock up all at once and you claim it's no big deal. Stewart you lose a lot of hard earned respect with statements like this. My last software update was may 25. A simple program guide problem shuts me down twice today and it's no big deal. Well the busy signal I got all day calling them was. The fools are the people that don't read this forum.


----------



## mung

OK. So support said "its supposed to be fixed" I said "yep but it's not". So she talked me through the scan disk and the box had no clue I was even hitting anything on it. Just booted like normal and got stuck again. So they are sending me a new box. Might have the service I pay for back by Thursday if I am lucky. Good thing I have an antenna on the roof and can still use my TV until they send me the new box. Also a good thing I didn't wait around any longer for the magic fix that the first support person said would happen. I knew there was no way they could get into the box if it wasn't fully booted.

They are being very nice though and aren't going to charge me anything or extend my contract, to send me a replacement box for the one they hosed. I really should be grateful for that. 

This is almost as good as when Dish shutoff the channels that we watched the most because of their dispute over what would have amounted to $1.00 extra a month. Didn't ask me if I was willing to pay that extra dollar to not have my kids bugging me because they were without cartoon network for a week. That was the day I switched to DirecTV. I have to admit it's better than Dish but it's still not great.

But hey customer service has gone in the toilet over the past few years and it's all OK. The stories I could tell about horrible customer service in just the past month......I wish I could treat my customers like that and still keep my job.


----------



## Bitgod

It seems like sometimes you have to reset it enough times. It seems like my unit is ok now, after the 3rd time I pulled the power and let it sit.


----------



## BKC

Cool thread :lol:


----------



## drpjr

Stuart Sweet said:


> Folks, it seems like we're winding down on this topic. I'll leave the thread open until tomorrow morning provided there's still something relevant to say.


I would like to make an observation before this thread goes away. It would appear that about 4:30am pst D had a major system wide problem. I think I can safely say it created a widespread panic and a firestorm of posts here not to mention crashing D's customer service. At about 6:30am pst MicroBeta reported a widely sucessful fix (2 consecutive RBRs) for the problem. At about 12:00pm pst D implemented a systemwide fix which by reports here seems to have done the job. It would appear that the ability to deliver the remedy took much longer than to actually identify what the problem was. So to sum it up: From first report D was able to identify the problem, solve the problem and deliver a fix for the problem- In less than eight hours. I don't have anything of this magnitude to compare with but the last time sombody ran over a Comcast distribution box in my neighborhood it took three days to regain internet/cable service and that only affected about 6000 homes. I will let you all draw your own conclusions on this issue but I know what side of the fence I come down on.


----------



## marker101

Don't even care. Stuff happens...sometimes you have to break something to fix it. I wasn't watching TV at all this morning/afternoon. It works as it should now. Life goes on.

99.9% uptime guarantee still good.


----------



## MadMac

Am I the only one who didn't experience this?


----------



## Tom Robertson

drpjr said:


> I would like to make an observation before this thread goes away. It would appear that about 4:30am pst D had a major system wide problem. I think I can safely say it created a widespread panic and a firestorm of posts here not to mention crashing D's customer service. At about 6:30am pst MicroBeta reported a widely sucessful fix (2 consecutive RBRs) for the problem. At about 12:00pm pst D implemented a systemwide fix which by reports here seems to have done the job. It would appear that the ability to deliver the remedy took much longer than to actually identify what the problem was. So to sum it up: From first report D was able to identify the problem, solve the problem and deliver a fix for the problem- In less than eight hours. I don't have anything of this magnitude to compare with but the last time sombody ran over a Comcast distribution box in my neighborhood it took three days to regain internet/cable service and that only affected about 6000 homes. I will let you all draw your own conclusions on this issue but I know what side of the fence I come down on.


Excellent summary.
Might I also add that not only did MicroBeta do an awesome job helping people in this thread, DIRECTV had the instructions on their website for a dual reboot very early this morning too.

Thanks,
Tom


----------



## viperlmw

SDimwit said:


> Uhh... I think you meant to say 30 seconds? No?


No, he meant 30 min. It took me that long once on a 750 gig Seagate in an MX-1. Thought I had lost everything after several rbr, then unplug (actually, I'm on a wall switch, so it's convenient) for 2 min, then 10 min, then finally 30 min and it came back.


----------



## ricochet

rahlquist said:


> Well maybe with Google TV coming Tribune will have to pay more attention to detail.


Why do people think this was caused by bad data coming from Tribune? Maybe I've spent too much time parsing weird SCTE-65 tables in MPEG streams but it seems much more likely that the tables DirecTV generates and inserts in the stream were somehow improperly formed rather than the data contained in those tables being bad.


----------



## Jeremy W

ricochet said:


> Why do people think this was caused by bad data coming from Tribune?


Anything to take some of the blame away from DirecTV.


----------



## vbedford

You should call and tell them you want a HR24 Mung.

Don't let them kick you around anymore.

Mung,

It ends today it ends now.


----------



## DCSholtis

Just got an apology email from D* a few minutes ago for the receiver problems today. Nice touch by D*.



> Dear Daniel,
> 
> You may have experienced a transmission glitch to your DIRECTV service. DIRECTV has fixed the problem and automatically reset the receivers. There's nothing further that you need to do. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this technical issue has caused.
> 
> Our promise is to provide you with the best television experience, and to resolve any issues that might arise as quickly as possible.
> 
> Thank you for being a valued DIRECTV customer.


----------



## Lord Vader

Doug Brott said:


> Yup .. That's what the blue ring is for, didn't you know that? .. :sure:


Then I think I better stop watching TV naked from now on.


----------



## Doug Brott

Jeremy W said:


> Anything to take some of the blame away from DirecTV.


As far as I know, the GUIDE data is sent directly from Tribune through some magic tunnel into our receivers .. Still ..

regardless of cause, the boxes really shouldn't be locking up. I hope that whatever happened this time can be fixed so that we don't see it ever again.

And before you go there .. each of the previous two times were unrelated to each other (despite what it looked like) and I suspect that this time is unrelated to what happened the first two times as those have already been corrected .. Still doesn't make it "good" by any stretch.


----------



## Jeremy W

Doug Brott said:


> And before you go there .. each of the previous two times were unrelated to each other (despite what it looked like) and I suspect that this time is unrelated to what happened the first two times as those have already been corrected .. Still doesn't make it "good" by any stretch.


The fact that each of the three times have been unrelated is almost worse than if it were the same problem each time. This just means that the code to handle incoming guide data is very fragile, and DirecTV is just playing a game of Whack-A-Mole whenever a problem pops up. That is a ridiculously horrible software development practice.


----------



## Doug Brott

Jeremy W said:


> The fact that each of the three times have been unrelated is almost worse than if it were the same problem each time. This just means that the code to handle incoming guide data is very fragile, and DirecTV is just playing a game of Whack-A-Mole whenever a problem pops up. That is a ridiculously horrible software development practice.


:shrug: let's just say it's not as simple as you suggest .. but I certainly agree that it shouldn't happen.


----------



## Dolly

We have had D* since 1995 and this is the only time I have NEVER been able to get ANYONE on the phone at D*. So with all that time gone by I'm not going to hold this time against D*. We have more trouble with power outages than anything and since we live in a subdivision with only electric power that is a BIG DEAL! Also who keeps asking for more money and I mean A LOT more money--our power company :raspberry We are on the 2nd rate hike now with 2 more to go this year! So D* you still have my love :heart:


----------



## bigjoelee

Well seems one of my recievers is totatlly messed up. I have a HR21-200 and a HR22-100, the HR21 worked fine and no noticable problems, but late tonight my wife called me in to fix her box, she said it has been makeing a loud whirling sound for a day (WTF maybe ask about it) well the tv said the reciever was in standby, it wouldn't come out of it.
1. I did RBR, started coming back but stopped on checking satalites
2. RBR 2x in a row, same thing
3. unplugged waited, same thing
4. RBR then 02468 and redo the firmware, same thing
5. calling now

hopefully I wind up with a HR24 out if this. I patiently wait for anyone with any other suggestions while I wait for CSR.


----------



## mdavej

MadMac said:


> Am I the only one who didn't experience this?


What makes you think you didn't?


----------



## johns70

I can't believe there's 45 pages for this thread in less than 24 hours.


----------



## TEN89

same here


----------



## texasmoose

I service folks' 401k plans that work @ D*, needless to say not any of their 'Active' employees were calling to check on Loan availability or Hardship withdrawals today. Only past & recently terminated employees were calling. That hasn't happened once in the 2 years I've been servicing their accounts. 

My wife is still po'd about her soaps not recording. Don't we all love wifey aggro?!?!?!? NOT!!!! At least Soapnet is still around for the moment, but not in HD, but it'll have to do.


----------



## al_capone909

Dear XXXXXX,

You may have experienced a transmission glitch to your DIRECTV service. DIRECTV has fixed the problem and automatically reset the receivers. There's nothing further that you need to do. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this technical issue has caused.
Our promise is to provide you with the best television experience, and to resolve any issues that might arise as quickly as possible.
Thank you for being a valued DIRECTV customer.


----------



## Carl Spock

mung, I hope you have your problems solved by now. If not:



mung said:


> I had it unplugged for 15min when I switched it out with the other box. It's a HR22-100. How do I reload the software?


Reboot the receiver. When the blue lights turn on again, press 0-2-4-6-8 with deliberation on your remote. Do it once. It should cause your receiver to reload the software. Sometimes the receiver misses the command and you have to go through the reboot cycle one more time and try again.



> I haven't opened these up or anything like that.


Don't. No user serviceable parts inside and you void your lease.



> Is there any way to get past the waiting for satellite stuff to get into the menu and see what is going on with the box?


There is a utility menu which you get to by pressing and holding the Record and Select buttons on the front panel of the receiver (not the remote) just after a reboot, when the blue lights first come on. I'm not sure it will tell you anything.



> Waiting on hold for support right now to see if they might be able to tell me something other than wait until we have a fix for it, this time.


Best of luck, mung. Write if you need more help.


----------



## MysteryMan

SYSTEM CHECK...Ran a system check since yesterday's double reboot. Receiver speed back to normal. All systems are functioning except Cast & Crew feature. Names are given but no photo or background information provided. Hopefully this will return soon.


----------



## DogLover

ricochet said:


> Why do people think this was caused by bad data coming from Tribune? Maybe I've spent too much time parsing weird SCTE-65 tables in MPEG streams but it seems much more likely that the tables DirecTV generates and inserts in the stream were somehow improperly formed rather than the data contained in those tables being bad.


I'm just guessing, but wouldn't wouldn't a box have to be tuned to the bad MPEG stream for it to cause a problem with the box? I would think that would not result in such a widespread outage.

Since the guide data is common to everyone, it seems like an obvious first assumption to think it is "guide" data. (And the probably includes data such as the channel mappings that are not from Tribune, but the average user would lump into "guide" data.)

Whatever it was, whether the bad data came from outside or inside, the buck stops at DirecTV. It is their customers that were affected. It will be up to them to make their systems more robust at handling unexpected conditions.


----------



## RACJ2

While traveling, I had the problem with my HR22 that my Slingbox is connected to. Had to talk my wife through an RBR at 6 am, so I could watch my local morning news.

There is a link on the D* website that says "Follow these steps to resolve issues you may be experiencing with your receiver. It now takes you to a page that says it has been resolved [link].



> HD DVR transmission glitch has been resolved.
> 
> There was a transmission glitch that occurred early this morning (June 8) affecting some of our HD DVRs. DIRECTV has fixed the problem and has automatically reset the affected receivers. There is nothing further that you need to do. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this has caused them


.


----------



## Valve1138

Nope. My dvr was just fine through all of this.


----------



## mcbeevee

My DVR's were working fine before I left for work yesterday morning, and were working fine (all powered on) when I got home. If I had not read this thread, I would have never known there was any type of problem!


----------



## Richierich

mcbeevee said:


> My DVR's were working fine before I left for work yesterday morning, and were working fine (all powered on) when I got home. If I had not read this thread, I would have never known there was any type of problem!


That is because Directv issued a command to reboot your DVRs twice before you got home which corrected the situation.


----------



## Carl Spock

mcbeevee said:


> My DVR's were working fine before I left for work yesterday morning, and were working fine (all powered on) when I got home. If I had not read this thread, I would have never known there was any type of problem!


Which undoubtably was the average DirecTV customer experience regarding this problem.

I liked yesterday here, though. :grin:

_Can we do it again, Daddy? Huh...huh? Can we do it again?_


----------



## mx6bfast

Does this ever come up during CE's?


----------



## SmittyLax6

I have an HR22-100 that is just stuck on Checking Satellite Settings. Just says this will take a few minutes for hours.

I did RBR then unplugged it for 15 min and then let it sit unplugged overnite. 

Still the same thing. 

Can someone walk me through the 02468 thing. A previous post said do that 'deliberately' which I'm not sure what that means. Do you hold the button for 2 seconds each? Please help. If that doesn't work, I'll have to call which I really don't want to spend an hour doing. 

Thanks. 

Smitty


----------



## bigraj

had to reset dvr Hr21 2 times before the reciever completely came back operational thought I had was going to have to DTV:lol:


----------



## Davenlr

When the blue light comes on, just hit 0 2 4 6 8 and wait for the second screen. It should come up an say "Found new software". If it doesnt, hit the red button and try again.

Its possible in the reboot the DVR satellite settings got corrupt, and it doesnt have your correct satellite type stored. See if the 0 2 4 6 8 works, and let us know.

By Deliberately, he meant, in order, without much time between the keypresses. They should all be about 1/2 second apart.


----------



## MysteryMan

Carl Spock said:


> Which undoubtably was the average DirecTV customer experience regarding this problem.
> 
> I liked yesterday here, though. :grin:
> 
> _Can we do it again, Daddy? Huh...huh? Can we do it again?_


Yesterday there seemed to be more concern over the receiver crash then the rest of the world's problems combined!


----------



## Mike Bertelson

MysteryMan said:


> Yesterday there seemed to be more concern over the receiver crash then the rest of the world's problems combined!


True, but what else would be discussed here? :grin:

Mike


----------



## SmittyLax6

Davenlr said:


> When the blue light comes on, just hit 0 2 4 6 8 and wait for the second screen. It should come up an say "Found new software". If it doesnt, hit the red button and try again.
> 
> Its possible in the reboot the DVR satellite settings got corrupt, and it doesnt have your correct satellite type stored. See if the 0 2 4 6 8 works, and let us know.
> 
> By Deliberately, he meant, in order, without much time between the keypresses. They should all be about 1/2 second apart.


thank you so much. I will try it tonight when I'm home.


----------



## Xsabresx

MysteryMan said:


> Yesterday there seemed to be more concern over the receiver crash then the rest of the world's problems combined!


Meh we probably need a distraction from actual drama once in a while


----------



## Directvlover

Yesterday over lunch i went home and got all 3 dvr's working fine..then after I left to go back to work D* rebooted them all again. Well when i came home my 2 HR-23's were fine ....however my hr20 wasn't happy. After about 5 reboots I forced the software download and that is when it finally became all happy again. I was like, "Thanks Directv....i had it handled and then you go and screwed me up again."


----------



## reubenray

My wife was set to cancel D* yesterday when we got home and all of her recordings on the external hard drive was gone. The external hard drive was not being picked up. But after three hard reboots plus a hard reboot of the external hard drive everything was back.


----------



## CTJon

Refunds for outages? If Microsoft did that I could retire and Microsoft would be out of business.
It bothers me that these outages occur. There is no reason for untested anything going out. Having been in the "programming" business all my life this and some of the problems that exist in some code released in the past shows me that DirecTV really doesn't do the kind of software/hardware testing and QA that a small company does an not certainly not one of this size. Really how tough is it to send guide data in advance to a set of test boxes and see what happens. This wasn't one of those 1 out of every 100,000 boxes failed. Sounds as all or almost all of most series locked up.
My .02


----------



## afulkerson

I had my HR20-100 up and running, after two reboots, at 7:30 yesterday. My two HR24-500 did not have the problem. 

Some time in the afternoon DirecTv rebooted all HRxx's. They had no way to know that I had fixed my problem earlier that day so they rebooted all receivers. :new_smili


----------



## CTJon

tonyd79 said:


> Amen.
> 
> I have posted something to this affect once before...
> 
> I am an engineer in the computer business, dealing with design data coordination across various engineering sites and I know how a lot of this stuff works and I am amazed at how intricate the technology is and how massive the data is and how complicated the hardware, software, programming, logistics of getting data from hundreds of sources with hundreds of agreements in place and how well it all works.
> 
> Then we get people who expect perfection with all the potential failure points. Even six sigma results in errors every so often....
> 
> Overall, I tip my hat to DirecTV and their engineers and to DishNetwork and their folks and Tivo and their folks and to Fios and their people and, to a lesser extent (  ), Comcast and their people.


If this affected a few units then I would agree with you. I don't expect bug free software. However, this is ALL units and not a FEW and should have been caught. If I were the CIO at DirecTV, and still had my job this am, the release manager and QA manager would be looking for jobs this am.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

CTJon, I understand where you're coming from but I think the issue was a little more complex than that. I suspect your Darth Vader-like approach would not have led to a long-term solution.


----------



## GregE

Anyone else lose season passes (or whatever they are called by DirecTV)? I lost over half of mine.


----------



## VARTV

GregE said:


> Anyone else lose season passes (or whatever they are called by DirecTV)? I lost over half of mine.


It's called *Series Manager* and I'm glad I saw your post. I did lose one series recording...


----------



## Directvlover

Called this morning and was very polite and just asked if D* was offering any service credits for the outage. She said a service credit would amount to about $1.37....so she instead offered me $5 off my bill for the next 6 months. I accepted. $30 works for me. I forgive you Directv.


----------



## Gary*W*

My HR20-100 is working fine now but the two shows I recorded Monday night "Nurse Jackie" and "Saving Grace" had a glitch in playback. They would get about 10 or 12 minutes into recording and then jump back to the beginning. I can jump past the glitch and watch what comes after but still missing about a minute or two of each show. I watched "Nurse Jackie" live on Showtime HD (east) and everything was fine. But last night when the wife tried to watch we discovered the issue. All older recordings are fine and last nights recordings are fine.

Does this have anything to do with the "Transmission Glitch" yesterday?


----------



## Hutchinshouse

Hutchinshouse said:


> Just got home. One of my units (HR20-700) is dog slow. Slowest I've ever seen. It's been rebooted three times today already. Looks like number four is needed.


My 4th reboot finally got my HR20's speed back to normal.


----------



## tonyd79

CTJon said:


> If this affected a few units then I would agree with you. I don't expect bug free software. However, this is ALL units and not a FEW and should have been caught. If I were the CIO at DirecTV, and still had my job this am, the release manager and QA manager would be looking for jobs this am.


That is not realistic. Especially since the problem was fixed within a few hours. Things happen. Unexpected errors are unexpected because they are unexpected.

Let's see. Netflix just had a server problem that affected all its streaming customers.

Networks lose live feeds all the time.

Computers have gone down that stopped credit card processing at national department store chains.

I have experienced times when ISPs have gone down for the entire country.

Things can happen. If you fire people evertime something happens, no one in this country would have a job. (No jokes about that we are heading that way anyway.)

Besides, my point was to marvel at how magnificent the whole set up is. Sit back and realize how much has to go RIGHT for us to just be able to sit back and watch TV programming when and how we want to do so with all the choices of shows.


----------



## DarinC

So... was anyone who had "issues" with a unit with an external drive present during the reboots/issues? I had a commitment directly after work yesterday, so I didn't get home until late last night. The HR21 we have that was running off an internal drive apparently was fine (presumably after the DirecTV forced reboots), but my partner said the unit with the external drive was complaining about errors in the storage device, and it prompted him to clear and delete everything, but it still didn't work after that (stuck in the HD utility screens). When I got home, it still had the spinning lights like it normally has when going through those errors. I was too tired, and went to bed. But this morning, the ring was solid, so I turned the TV on briefly, and it appeared to be working.

So my question is, did it really detect issues in the _external _drive, or does anyone know if it's likely that after the forced reboot that it would incorrectly attach to the internal drive? The internal drive in that machine is bad. I just attached an external drive to it 10 days ago, because that was the easiest/quickest way to get it going again. I'm a bit troubled by the number of reports of problems with external drives after this fiasco, but I'm _hoping _that possibly, the errors it was reporting were actually from the (bad) internal drive.


----------



## JMII

VARTV said:


> It's called *Series Manager* and I'm glad I saw your post. I did lose one series recording...


I need to double check but the wife reported it was recording "old shows". In other words episodes that had already been recorded weeks (or even months) ago, watched and deleted were now suddenly being recorded again. Maybe this was because the guide data was still updating.

Got the "we are sorry" email from DirecTV, which was nice as at least they admit something bad happened. In the past the only reason I knew I had a common problem was this forum.


----------



## Xsabresx

DarinC said:


> So... was anyone who had "issues" with a unit with an external drive present during the reboots/issues? I had a commitment directly after work yesterday, so I didn't get home until late last night. The HR21 we have that was running off an internal drive apparently was fine (presumably after the DirecTV forced reboots), but my partner said the unit with the external drive was complaining about errors in the storage device, and it prompted him to clear and delete everything, but it still didn't work after that (stuck in the HD utility screens). When I got home, it still had the spinning lights like it normally has when going through those errors. I was too tired, and went to bed. But this morning, the ring was solid, so I turned the TV on briefly, and it appeared to be working.
> 
> So my question is, did it really detect issues in the _external _drive, or does anyone know if it's likely that after the forced reboot that it would incorrectly attach to the internal drive? The internal drive in that machine is bad. I just attached an external drive to it 10 days ago, because that was the easiest/quickest way to get it going again. I'm a bit troubled by the number of reports of problems with external drives after this fiasco, but I'm _hoping _that possibly, the errors it was reporting were actually from the (bad) internal drive.


All I can tell you is I have a 1TB connected to my HR20-700 and had no issues.


----------



## Xsabresx

JMII said:


> I need to double check but the wife reported it was recording "old shows". In other words episodes that had already been recorded weeks (or even months) ago, watched and deleted were now suddenly being recorded again. Maybe this was because the guide data was still updating.
> 
> Got the "we are sorry" email from DirecTV, which was nice as at least they admit something bad happened. In the past the only reason I knew I had a common problem was this forum.


Mine has been doing that for weeks. There has been a lot of generic guide data so the box thinks it is a new recording.


----------



## bobcamp1

johns70 said:


> I can't believe there's 45 pages for this thread in less than 24 hours.


Why not?

Those who know of this forum always check here when their box is acting funny before calling D* just to make sure it isn't some silly system glitch affecting everyone. It was. Which is why everyone is talking about it. Hence the length of this thread.


----------



## rjay717

rjay717 said:


> My HR21-700 is back online, but it lost favorite channels, all series manager shows and all recordings. The list is completely empty.


To be more precise I have 2 units with external hard drives. One came back without any issues after 3 reboots. The other, the HR21-700, came back with the external drive working just fine. It just had everything wiped out. It was as if I had just opened the box and started the unit for the first time. Besides the above mentioned issues I lost 30 second skip and tips and guide scrolling were turned back on.


----------



## deano

Suffered the lock up on both of my HR20-100 receivers and then the 3 PM restart. Since then I'm getting unable to find signal on several HD channels ie Discovery, HDNET and others that I've no issues with before. Has anyone else experienced this?


----------



## gfrang

My hr-23 has been working fine after two rbr's, the software update is for 3D but i won't be buying a new tv or 3D glasses.


----------



## Doug Brott

Gary*W* said:


> My HR20-100 is working fine now but the two shows I recorded Monday night "Nurse Jackie" and "Saving Grace" had a glitch in playback. They would get about 10 or 12 minutes into recording and then jump back to the beginning. I can jump past the glitch and watch what comes after but still missing about a minute or two of each show. I watched "Nurse Jackie" live on Showtime HD (east) and everything was fine. But last night when the wife tried to watch we discovered the issue. All older recordings are fine and last nights recordings are fine.
> 
> Does this have anything to do with the "Transmission Glitch" yesterday?


No, your issues (whatever they may be) are unrelated to the glitch.


----------



## nn8l

deano said:


> Suffered the lock up on both of my HR20-100 receivers and then the 3 PM restart. Since then I'm getting unable to find signal on several HD channels ie Discovery, HDNET and others that I've no issues with before. Has anyone else experienced this?


My daughter told me she was experiencing the same problem yesterday before I got home from work. I also lost signal on the national HD channels last Saturday during a light rain, so I'm not sure what the problem is/was. Normally it takes a real heavy rain for me to lose signal.


----------



## blusgtone

DarinC said:


> So... was anyone who had "issues" with a unit with an external drive present during the reboots/issues? I had a commitment directly after work yesterday, so I didn't get home until late last night. The HR21 we have that was running off an internal drive apparently was fine (presumably after the DirecTV forced reboots), but my partner said the unit with the external drive was complaining about errors in the storage device, and it prompted him to clear and delete everything, but it still didn't work after that (stuck in the HD utility screens). When I got home, it still had the spinning lights like it normally has when going through those errors. I was too tired, and went to bed. But this morning, the ring was solid, so I turned the TV on briefly, and it appeared to be working.
> 
> So my question is, did it really detect issues in the _external _drive, or does anyone know if it's likely that after the forced reboot that it would incorrectly attach to the internal drive? The internal drive in that machine is bad. I just attached an external drive to it 10 days ago, because that was the easiest/quickest way to get it going again. I'm a bit troubled by the number of reports of problems with external drives after this fiasco, but I'm _hoping _that possibly, the errors it was reporting were actually from the (bad) internal drive.


HR20-700 with 1tb external keeps getting drive error, scans no errors found and then starts over again and again


----------



## jodyguercio

So this mass reboot happened before a while back right? BEFORE D12 went online right? So in that time what has changed........I wonder.......that's it stop fixing D10, put everything back the way it was, and this won't ever happen again.

Please note that the above was posted all in fun. In no way am I saying that D12 was to blame. Things happen, directv fixes them, and our entertainment goes on.


----------



## mung

No such luck on the software reinstall. It went through the reinstall then got stuck at Step 1 again. I guess the box is fried somehow. Don't know why a few of us had this happen. I guess I lost all of my shows and schedules.


----------



## Stuart Sweet

mung, there's always a possiblity that a reboot will prove too much for weak hardware. This is true with computers of all types.


----------



## susanandmark

More in the news on yesterday's issues ...

http://twit.tv/tnt


----------



## Doug Brott

susanandmark said:


> More in the news on yesterday's issues ...
> 
> http://twit.tv/tnt


care to summarize? I don't want to listen to a 42 minute podcast.


----------



## ricochet

DogLover said:


> I'm just guessing, but wouldn't wouldn't a box have to be tuned to the bad MPEG stream for it to cause a problem with the box? I would think that would not result in such a widespread outage.
> 
> Since the guide data is common to everyone, it seems like an obvious first assumption to think it is "guide" data. (And the probably includes data such as the channel mappings that are not from Tribune, but the average user would lump into "guide" data.)
> 
> Whatever it was, whether the bad data came from outside or inside, the buck stops at DirecTV. It is their customers that were affected. It will be up to them to make their systems more robust at handling unexpected conditions.


I wasn't disputing that guide information received by the boxes caused them to become confused. I was trying to differentiate the raw data received from Tribune from the actual MPEG tables that DirecTV creates from the data and inserts into the data stream. If you go to a restaurant and your steak is burned, it isn't the fault of the butcher that sold the meat to the restaurant.

In another post somebody (Doug?) hypothesized that Tribune provides the data in a form ready to mux directly into the data stream. I guess this is possible but it surprises me a little. If that is the case I'm real curious to know if the tables were malformed or if they just did something differently and the DirecTV boxes didn't handle it properly.

I agree that no matter where the problem lies it is DirecTVs responsibility.


----------



## JTIGHE

D is unable to get this reciever to reboot. Cannot force it to reload new software. It was running multiroom with DECA connections had 2 HR24's and 1 HR22 networked together.. 0248 does not work D cannot get unit to reload new software.. We are still dead. It has been refered to D engineering...


----------



## Drucifer

The slowness that was there all yesterday in channel changing, appears to be gone now. Matter of fact, I might even say it appears to be quicker then I'm normally use to.

Was there another reboot during the night?


----------



## Athlon646464

Drucifer said:


> The slowness that was there all yesterday in channel changing, appears to be gone now. Matter of fact, I might even say it appears to be quicker then I'm normally use to.
> 
> Was there another reboot during the night?


Sounds like your box finished it's indexing in the 'background'.


----------



## susanandmark

Doug Brott said:


> care to summarize? I don't want to listen to a 42 minute podcast.


It's at the beginning. The first story, if I remember right. It's a podcast I listen to regularly anyway, which is why I heard it to begin with and thought some people here might be interested. Basically they just described the problem. Both hosts said they were DirecTV customers. One was affected and one was not.

EDITED TO ADD: One of the two (who is also Good Morning America's consumer reporter) did say DirecTV was not too forthcoming when asked for comment.


----------



## teknophyle

jal said:


> All mine are dead also. One I got working after several red button resets. After all this time, and after the CE program, one would think Directv could finally get these boxes working correctly. Bring back TIVO!


My two HD_DVR's were dead and I had to unplug for 60 seconds and reboot which took 4 1/2 minutes and now everything is fine. Also I called DirecTv about the free HD for a year promotion and since HD is in my package they gave me a $10.00 credit for a year off my package. So instead of $79.00 it's 69.00 a month.


----------



## DogLover

ricochet said:


> I wasn't disputing that guide information received by the boxes caused them to become confused. I was trying to differentiate the raw data received from Tribune from the actual MPEG tables that DirecTV creates from the data and inserts into the data stream. If you go to a restaurant and your steak is burned, it isn't the fault of the butcher that sold the meat to the restaurant.
> 
> In another post somebody (Doug?) hypothesized that Tribune provides the data in a form ready to mux directly into the data stream. I guess this is possible but it surprises me a little. If that is the case I'm real curious to know if the tables were malformed or if they just did something differently and the DirecTV boxes didn't handle it properly.
> 
> I agree that no matter where the problem lies it is DirecTVs responsibility.


OK. Just was confused when you said MPEG tables. I woudn't have thought that they'd use MPEG compression on guide data. (I would have thought that there were better compression schemes for that type of data.) Or is this MPEG acronym different from the compression scheme used for the video stream?


----------



## prospero63

Directvlover said:


> Called this morning and was very polite and just asked if D* was offering any service credits for the outage. She said a service credit would amount to about $1.37....so she instead offered me $5 off my bill for the next 6 months. I accepted. $30 works for me. I forgive you Directv.


I called and the CSR offered $5 off for 3 months out of the gate, which I took. Now he's looking into the "HD for life" discount for me.


----------



## Stanley Kritzik

al_capone909 said:


> Dear XXXXXX,
> 
> You may have experienced a transmission glitch to your DIRECTV service. DIRECTV has fixed the problem and automatically reset the receivers. There's nothing further that you need to do. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this technical issue has caused.
> Our promise is to provide you with the best television experience, and to resolve any issues that might arise as quickly as possible.
> Thank you for being a valued DIRECTV customer.


That's good enough for me. (I got the same e-mail today.)

Stan


----------



## sigma1914

prospero63 said:


> I called and the CSR offered $5 off for 3 months out of the gate, which I took. Now he's looking into the "HD for life" discount for me.


Tell him it's not for life for current subs...It's listed as 24 months.


----------



## Athlon646464

sigma1914 said:


> Tell him it's not for life for current subs...It's listed as 24 months.


I called today on another issue (change of package) and got the HD $10 reduction for 24 months for signing up for auto-pay.


----------



## prospero63

sigma1914 said:


> Tell him it's not for life for current subs...It's listed as 24 months.


Yep. He's checking eligibility, etc. right now.


----------



## fertree

Just my luck! 2 days ago a wind storm blew over my dish. I spent hours trying to get it right but the HR20-100 just wouldn't work right. Was it the dish??The LNB??? NO! It was damned DTV and I didn't know it!


----------



## prospero63

prospero63 said:


> Yep. He's checking eligibility, etc. right now.


Took a transfer to another group, but it's all done.


----------



## blucas95

blusgtone said:


> HR20-700 with 1tb external keeps getting drive error, scans no errors found and then starts over again and again


Crap. You're NOT making me feel better... 3 or my HD-DVR's came back just fine - including one HR20-700 with a 1TB external drive. I have another HR20-700 with 1TB external that game me the drive scan error.

The bad news is that it was at 79% yesterday afternoon after the reboot and like an idiot I didn't let it finish and did a RBR before checking the forums to see why the receiver had restarted itself. At 8:00 this morning (it had been running for 11.5 hours - it was STILL at 39%. If it's still there when I get home I might try and boot of the internal drive to see how that goes.

Luckily it was my back-up DVR and if the programs are lost, we'll survive. Really didn't want to spring for ANOTHER TB drive however...


----------



## DarinC

blusgtone said:


> HR20-700 with 1tb external keeps getting drive error, scans no errors found and then starts over again and again


That's what my unit was doing when the internal drive went bad. And it SOUNDS like what it was doing yesterday after the pushed reboot when connected to the new external drive. But you know how it is when trying to get info from less technically inclined members of the household. It's just that damned DirecTV thingy screwing up again. :sure:


----------



## Stuart Sweet

What it comes down to, is honestly the tests that it runs, both for internal and external, are very "judgmental." A drive that may be marginal for other things won't pass muster with some of these tests. In fact a drive that may have passed six months ago might not pass now, because the tests are even more "judgmental." If you think about it, it would be cool if they could put up a message saying "Your drive is failing. Watch everything now because it's going to go anytime." But you know, people would ignore that and then the drives would fail anyway. 

The thing about these tests is that they do repair a lot of things before they become impossible to fix.


----------



## blucas95

Stuart Sweet said:


> What it comes down to, is honestly the tests that it runs, both for internal and external, are very "judgmental." A drive that may be marginal for other things won't pass muster with some of these tests. In fact a drive that may have passed six months ago might not pass now, because the tests are even more "judgmental." If you think about it, it would be cool if they could put up a message saying "Your drive is failing. Watch everything now because it's going to go anytime." But you know, people would ignore that and then the drives would fail anyway.
> 
> The thing about these tests is that they do repair a lot of things before they become impossible to fix.


I hear you. Good news is that it had found 0 errors at the 79% mark yesterday before I foolishly rebooted it. I'm just fearing an infinite loop of scans and all those lost recordings.


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## Radio Enginerd

I may have missed it but what was the RCA for yesterday's outage?


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## Stuart Sweet

Probably bad guide data.


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## veryoldschool

Stuart Sweet said:


> Probably bad guide data.


You mean because flushing the guide data [double reboot] cleared the problem?


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## Richierich

veryoldschool said:


> You mean because flushing the guide data [double reboot] cleared the problem?


YES!!!


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## Richierich

blusgtone said:


> HR20-700 with 1tb external keeps getting drive error, scans no errors found and then starts over again and again


I would Boot up without the External Drive Plugged in and see how that works.

If that is okay then I would Fully Power Up the External Hard Drive and then Plug it in and Boot Up the DVR.


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## SmittyLax6

JTIGHE said:


> D is unable to get this reciever to reboot. Cannot force it to reload new software. It was running multiroom with DECA connections had 2 HR24's and 1 HR22 networked together.. 0248 does not work D cannot get unit to reload new software.. We are still dead. It has been refered to D engineering...


I think I'm in the same boat. I just tried the 02468 and that didn't work. I guess I have to call and get a new box. I only had this one for 5 months. This sux.

Smitty


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## ricochet

DogLover said:


> OK. Just was confused when you said MPEG tables. I woudn't have thought that they'd use MPEG compression on guide data. (I would have thought that there were better compression schemes for that type of data.) Or is this MPEG acronym different from the compression scheme used for the video stream?


I should have been more clear. They are different things. An MPEG-2 transport stream (I believe DirecTV uses a slightly modified version) carries a lot of stuff, most of which is audio and video streams. These audio and video streams are compressed using MPEG2, MPEG4, Dolby Digital, AAC - really could be almost anything. However there is a ton of control information in the stream, more than I think anyone who hasn't worked with transport streams would ever imagine. All this control information (conditional access tables, program association tables, program map tables, etc.) is used by the receivers to figure out where everything is and what you have access to.


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## MysteryMan

My HR22/100 is almost back to normal after yesterday's "merth & meriment". Reaction speed has returned and receiver now has the new parental feature. Cast & Crew feature is not providing information but hopefully this will return soon.


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## MysteryMan

Radio Enginerd said:


> I may have missed it but what was the RCA for yesterday's outage?


DirecTV's website is calling it a transmission glitch.


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## Stuart Sweet

That's a great term, it could mean a lot of things.


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## MysteryMan

Stuart Sweet said:


> That's a great term, it could mean a lot of things.


Ya gotta love their public relations department!


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## dfd

Can I use that term if my payment is late ?


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## Stuart Sweet

You can certainly try. I don't know if it will get you very far, though.


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## MysteryMan

Just got a phone call from DirecTV. It was a recording with a apology for yesterday's "transmission glitch".


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## eahmjh

Just got this email. I guess they admitted to the problem

You may have experienced a transmission glitch to your DIRECTV service. DIRECTV has fixed the problem and automatically reset the receivers. There's nothing further that you need to do. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this technical issue has caused.







Our promise is to provide you with the best television experience, and to resolve any issues that might arise as quickly as possible.







Thank you for being a valued DIRECTV customer.


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## Dazed & Confused

I didn't even know there was a problem until noticing this thread, but that probably had something to do with not turning a TV on since last night. :lol: I did happen to notice that one of the receivers reset itself during the day. Do you think maybe I can get something free for my lost service if I call? Maybe something like free HD for two years?


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## billsharpe

MysteryMan said:


> DirecTV's website is calling it a transmission glitch.


I'm pretty sure they used the same term the last time this sort of stuff happened. Creative they're not. Informative they're not. Apparently, though, the automatic downloads yesterday fixed the system for most users who hadn't already sweated over fixing it themselves.

Most days here the TV set doesn't go on until after 5 pm, but yesterday I tried to watch a recording at 6:30 am and discovered a nonresponsive DVR instead.


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## Xsabresx

MysteryMan said:


> My HR22/100 is almost back to normal after yesterday's "merth & meriment". Reaction speed has returned and receiver now has the new parental feature. Cast & Crew feature is not providing information but hopefully this will return soon.


I'll meet you in the middle. I am getting cast and crew info but have yet to see the common sense rating stuff


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## MysteryMan

Xsabresx said:


> I'll meet you in the middle. I am getting cast and crew info but have yet to see the common sense rating stuff


Wanna Swap?


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## Richierich

MysteryMan said:


> DirecTV's website is calling it a transmission glitch.


Yes and BP OIL is calling their Disaster an Oil Transmission Glitch but it ain't working very well!!! :lol:


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## MysteryMan

Now getting partial cast & crew info.


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## hdtvfan0001

Here's an interesting twist....

I just got a recording call from DirecTV apologizing for the outage.

A nice gesture.


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## Drucifer

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Here's an interesting twist....
> 
> I just got a recording call from DirecTV apologizing for the outage.
> 
> A nice gesture.


I really hate calls while I'm eating dinner.


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## Skyboss

I unplugged all of mine and restarted them. All is back to normal.


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## adam1115

Oh GREAT, now my HR burst into FLAMES! I had to put it out with a fire extinguisher. Now it's giving me some crazy error code!

I did the RBR 15 times, unplugged and replugged the external drive 25 times over and over. I tried plugging the power cord in backwards, I licked the coax and ethernet cables and plugged them back in.

I think the problem is with the dish, I'm going to go out and whack it with a broom.


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## ciurca

adam1115 said:


> Oh GREAT, now my HR burst into FLAMES! I had to put it out with a fire extinguisher. Now it's giving me some crazy error code!
> 
> I did the RBR 15 times, unplugged and replugged the external drive 25 times over and over. I tried plugging the power cord in backwards, I licked the coax and ethernet cables and plugged them back in.
> 
> I think the problem is with the dish, I'm going to go out and whack it with a broom.


ROTFLMAO. Thanks.


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## rcruz2525

I have disconnected the power 2 times and I still can’t get the receiver to boot... HR23 
It is stock on the screen Step 1 of 2 ....


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## gomezma1

Woke up yesterday unaware of what was happening. Tried to turn on my R22 with remote or power button on box with no success. Was beginning to get angry but decided to unplug it for 30 seconds. Rebooted and came on. Tried to use remote to change channels with no success. Tried to use controls on box with no change. Used reset button and started to respond to remote. Got email today about the problem. Did not watch TV today since I work nights. I hope the glitch is fixed.


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## Barry in Conyers

adam1115 said:


> Oh GREAT, now my HR burst into FLAMES! I had to put it out with a fire extinguisher. Now it's giving me some crazy error code!
> 
> I did the RBR 15 times, unplugged and replugged the external drive 25 times over and over. I tried plugging the power cord in backwards, I licked the coax and ethernet cables and plugged them back in.
> 
> I think the problem is with the dish, I'm going to go out and whack it with a broom.


Maybe the best post in this entire miserable thread!


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## tonyd79

billsharpe said:


> Apparently, though, the automatic downloads yesterday fixed the system for most users who hadn't already sweated over fixing it themselves.


I don't think there was a download, just a reboot. Probably after a cleanup of guide data so it would not occur again.


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## rcruz2525

Talking to Directv now and they just took my receiver number, they said it will be fix but they don’t know how long it will take!! 
Mean while I ask to be transfer to customer service to see if I can get free HD…


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## Doug Brott

It's been fun, but I think we've reached the useful life of this thread .. It's time to close it down.


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