# Record light on but nothing recording



## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

I noticed last night that the record light on my R15 was on but nothing was being recorded. I didn't have anything scheduled at that time either. A later scheduled recording worked as normal.

Does the record light have any other function?


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

When you noticed this did you go into MYVOD to see what was happening? DTV is starting to turn on the Showcase portion of MYVOD. The REC light may have been on while it was recording one of the two Showcases we all have received.

To my knowledge the REC light doesn't mean anything else other than the unit is recording.


----------



## LI-SVT (May 18, 2006)

My R15 did the same thing once. The next time it recorded a scheduled show I had problems. The show could not be watched. Then the same thing happened with the next recording. Long story short I had to format the HD:nono: The R15 lives in the bedroom now, I am tired of all the bugs. I primarily use an HR10-250 now. I hope you do not have the same problem.


----------



## andyr (Feb 23, 2006)

I had a similar problem the other night.

My wife called me into the living room because the R-15 was acting strange.

I was wanting to change the channel to record a PPV that we hadn't set to record. It also thought it was recording something else, but I couldn't get it to cancel the recording of the PPV. I agreed to the record then went to the guide and changed the channel. It gave me the warning that changing the channel would require deleting the PPV so I chose that option.

I figured everything was fine and handed the remote back to wifey and went back to the other room to the computer.

It was supposed to record the new Brad Garrett sit-com (the name escapes me at the moment). I tried to watch this show yesterday and I could not watch it. I goes to a black screen and the R-15 starts acting whacked out again. I finally got it back to the guide and everything is ok again. Or at least until it starts acting strange again. LOL


----------



## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> When you noticed this did you go into MYVOD to see what was happening? DTV is starting to turn on the Showcase portion of MYVOD. The REC light may have been on while it was recording one of the two Showcases we all have received.
> 
> To my knowledge the REC light doesn't mean anything else other than the unit is recording.


Yes, I checked the VOD. The only thing there was the DVR Plus instructional video, which has been there for a while.


----------



## cybok0 (Jan 5, 2006)

andyr said:


> I had a similar problem the other night.
> 
> My wife called me into the living room because the R-15 was acting strange.
> 
> ...


recently every day i have to reset it either it wont turn on or the channell wont change pi**ing me off.but almost every time the rec. light is on.and when i go to the to do list the same show and same time is schedual to record on both tuners.


----------



## rlambert7 (Feb 7, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> When you noticed this did you go into MYVOD to see what was happening? DTV is starting to turn on the Showcase portion of MYVOD. The REC light may have been on while it was recording one of the two Showcases we all have received.
> 
> To my knowledge the REC light doesn't mean anything else other than the unit is recording.


This has happened on my R15 at least twice in the last two days: record lite on, but nothing in MyVOD indicates that anything is being recorded. This same thing happened to many customers several weeks ago.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

I will agree with you on that. Just as I was reading your post I noticed my R15's REC light was on while it was in standby. The HD activity light (remember I have my drive in an external enclosure) was blinking like crazy. So I took the unit out of StandBY to see what it was recording. 10:34 MST and it was recording nothing. Nothing in MYVOD and nothing in the TDL until 11:00pm.

So Earl, why would we be seeing the REC light on (and seeing HD activity) when there's nothing recording? I just went through the entire guide and did not see any (R) on any show.


----------



## klwillis (Apr 11, 2006)

This could be the start of the VOD content being pushed to the R15.

I have the REc light on also and don't see anything in my showcases or MyVOD.

Keith



Wolffpack said:


> I will agree with you on that. Just as I was reading your post I noticed my R15's REC light was on while it was in standby. The HD activity light (remember I have my drive in an external enclosure) was blinking like crazy. So I took the unit out of StandBY to see what it was recording. 10:34 MST and it was recording nothing. Nothing in MYVOD and nothing in the TDL until 11:00pm.
> 
> So Earl, why would we be seeing the REC light on (and seeing HD activity) when there's nothing recording? I just went through the entire guide and did not see any (R) on any show.


----------



## cybok0 (Jan 5, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> So Earl, why would we be seeing the REC light on (and seeing HD activity) when there's nothing recording? I just went through the entire guide and did not see any (R) on any show.


I think Earl likes it over at HR20 land now.


----------



## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

I think that they push out VOD content a little bit at a time. Your R15 will record the pieces, and only after all has been received will it show up in the Showcase VOD. Also, possibly, they can control what appears. They push the programming out, but you don't see it until the flip the switch.

Carl


----------



## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

Check your Showcases. Mine now has 3 shows there. The new one is about the new Championship Gaming shows, about 1:44 in lenght.


----------



## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

cybok0 said:


> I think Earl likes it over at HR20 land now.


Yes, I have been spending a lot of time over in the HR20 land.
But I also have been spending a lot of time OFF the boards in general, working on my very neglected "to-do list".... I have a ton of side projects that I need to complete for a bunch of people...

As for the Light.

1) The record light will be on if the unit is receiving a VOD, however it won't show up in MyVod until it is completely downloaded

2) Or.. the unit could simply be confused (Doesn't happen that often any more, but it can)... one way to check is to start two recordings, then cancel them.

I have sent an email with a note stating that if it is a VOD recording, the record light should NOT be on, as to avoid this very confusion.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Earl Bonovich said:


> 2) Or.. the unit could simply be confused (Doesn't happen that often any more, but it can)... one way to check is to start two recordings, then cancel them.


I tried that after my last post in this thread. When I cancelled both records the light went off.


----------



## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

The light was on again last evening. When I checked today, there were two new entries in "Showcases". Possibly the first time there was a glitch, since Showcases only had the R15 video, which has been there for a while.


----------



## nneptune (Mar 30, 2006)

bobnielsen said:


> I noticed last night that the record light on my R15 was on but nothing was being recorded. I didn't have anything scheduled at that time either. A later scheduled recording worked as normal.
> 
> Does the record light have any other function?


Mine did that today.
Stupid R15!


----------



## pentium101 (Nov 19, 2005)

The recording light on the Tivo unit also comes on whenever it is downloading showcases or looking for a software update.

In this case, the rec light is functioning as a status light.


----------



## Jim Reid (May 30, 2006)

Samething with me? Record Light on last nite till 11pm.... Nothing new in Showcases? Nothing set to record in my VOD? 
__________________
R15/300


----------



## nneptune (Mar 30, 2006)

The light is on again!
Now it's every night at midnight.


----------



## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

We're getting showcases every night right now. It's that Computer Gaming competition thing...


----------



## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

I have 4 items in my Showcases as of this morning.


----------



## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

Bobman said:


> I have 4 items in my Showcases as of this morning.


5 here. 3 Championship Gaming things, 1 CD USA and the How to use your DVR thing.


----------



## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

I have 4 - 2x Championship Gaming, 1x CD USA Episode 34 and the DVR Training one.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

I also have 11 NFLST showcases, highlights of games. They're the same 4 minute highlights we get as Showcases on the Tivo units.


----------



## Jim Reid (May 30, 2006)

:eek2: Again last night. Now I have three items in my Showcase! No way to delete this junk? It has an expiration date on each one... One is going to expire on 12/31...DT* junk 

I got the same as Clint above! CD USA #34... which should delete tonite/today?
___________________________________
I can do without it.. 
R15/300


----------



## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Jim Reid said:


> No way to delete this junk?


Why is everyone concerned that they can't delete this stuff (besides it making it cleaner)? The only concern would be if the downloads mess up my normal recordings. As long as they don't do that and don't sit there for two min's after playing the recordings I don't care about them.


----------



## rlambert7 (Feb 7, 2006)

Clint Lamor said:


> I have 4 - 2x Championship Gaming, 1x CD USA Episode 34 and the DVR Training one.


I have those, too. There does not seem to be a way to delete them.


----------



## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

I am missing the Gaming episode #2, I have #1 and #3.

I want some movies or something to start being added. All its being used for now, unless you have the NFLST, is commercials for DirecTV offerings.


----------



## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

rlambert7 said:


> I have those, too. There does not seem to be a way to delete them.


There is no way to delete them at all, they delete themselves on their expiration date.

They aren't cutting into your 100hrs of recording time so what's the big rush to delete them?


----------



## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

I always delete movies after I watch them, or if I decide not to watch them. No, the showcases do not cut into our recording time, but they make the hard drive more full--probably slows it down, could cause problems.

The unwanted recordings stay in the "My VOD" that comes up in the quick menu and make it more difficult to use.

I have to ask--why do you folks NOT want the capability to delete? Nomally customers want MORE user versatility, not less.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Bobman said:


> I am missing the Gaming episode #2, I have #1 and #3.
> 
> I want some movies or something to start being added. All its being used for now, unless you have the NFLST, is commercials for DirecTV offerings.


I've got all 3 of the gaming shows but still 11 of the 12 NFL highlights. Thought maybe the missing one would have come down last night.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

RunnerFL said:


> There is no way to delete them at all, they delete themselves on their expiration date.
> 
> They aren't cutting into your 100hrs of recording time so what's the big rush to delete them?


You've got a 160GB drive. 100GB of that is for your recordings, 60GB is for Showcases/VOD. It's not cutting into your recording time. Although it would be nice to be able to delete the showcases as you watch them just to keep things clean.


----------



## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

paulman182 said:


> I have to ask--why do you folks NOT want the capability to delete?


I think its simply bacause VOD from every other provider works the exact same way. You cant change or delete any VOD content as thats the point of it, Video On Demand and always there until the next month (usually).


----------



## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> I've got all 3 of the gaming shows


Just checked lunchtime and I now have all three.


----------



## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

It's no biggie, but I didn't realize that "Demand" meant they can demand you keep it until they kill it.


----------



## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

paulman182 said:


> It's no biggie, but I didn't realize that "Demand" meant they can demand you keep it until they kill it.


This isn't any different than Tivo's showcases, is it? I understand wanting to delete them to keep it neat but since I can't control what I get there anyway it doesn't really matter to me.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

cabanaboy1977 said:


> This isn't any different than Tivo's showcases, is it? I understand wanting to delete them to keep it neat but since I can't control what I get there anyway it doesn't really matter to me.


Yes it is. Tivo's showcases will record maybe 4-5 minutes of something to get you to request material from an advertiser or set a show to record if you're interested in it. It will help you setup SPs without the need to search for a show that they showcase.

R15/HR20 Showcases or VOD download complete shows. Not really working yet but eventually you will see 60GB of VOD movies/shows that you will probably need to pay for. Even the CD USA episodes are one hour. Once you watch it, it stays there.

Bottom line is Tivo Showcases = clips to get you to watch or record items you are interested in. R15 Showcases = DTV sends you what they want you to watch or think you will watch.

I will never watch these CD USA shows and I would like the option to Thumbs Down them so I didn't get any more. Shouldn't the VOD logic attempt to determine what individual users watch and download VOD shows to their units based on their likes and dislikes?

Just to add a little more on CD USA....this is DTVs attempt to get into programming which I don't believe they have the talent to do. If the CD USA shows had a theme, like Blues, Jazz, 90s or dead artists I may be interested in watching some of those. But each show is a mix of good, bad and very, very ugly. I don't have time to spend watching a 1 hour show for only two performances.

Note to the DTV programming staff: Who are you marketing CD USA to? I'm 46 and have my interests in music. But it seems each episode of yours has a very unplanned mixture of very different styles of music. If you going for the 13-17 year old group you hit on some segments. If your going for the 23-28 year old group you get those with other segments. But I haven't seen any pattern to your target market. Perhaps you should produce each episode with a theme and a target market. Oh, but that would involve DTV taking any market studies or surveys which they don't seem to know how to do.


----------



## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> Yes it is. Tivo's showcases will record maybe 4-5 minutes of something to get you to request material from an advertiser or set a show to record if you're interested in it. It will help you setup SPs without the need to search for a show that they showcase.
> 
> R15/HR20 Showcases or VOD download complete shows. Not really working yet but eventually you will see 60GB of VOD movies/shows that you will probably need to pay for. Even the CD USA episodes are one hour. Once you watch it, it stays there.
> 
> ...


I didn't realize all the Tivo ones where clips. I've only looked at them once or twice so I assumed they were the same. I do like the feature that it will setup SL's for you (I did that with The Class). The other Tivo feature that I've found nice the the Thumbs up to setup a SL during a commerical preview for a show. I wish the R15 had that.

I do agree that if they are going to push content to us that it would be nice to set some sort of option on if we like them or not. That might be a issue because they don't require the phone line for the R15 so how would they get the info? Good idea thought.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

cabanaboy1977 said:


> I do agree that if they are going to push content to us that it would be nice to set some sort of option on if we like them or not. That might be a issue because they don't require the phone line for the R15 so how would they get the info? Good idea thought.


Unfortunately that will never work as they send their VOD to the masses, not to individual customers.

I just wish DTV would give up on VOD as even cable users don't use it much. The only reason it's on the R15 and HR20 is to compete with cable's VOD. Personally, I don't need VOD as I have a DVR and I thus can create my own VOD library....the original intent of the DVR. Let me network my DVRs and view shows from another DVR in the house and that's all I need.


----------



## DukeBX (Aug 25, 2006)

I had the same light problem this morning. It was (or so i thought) recording the tyra banks show. I went to see if I picked it to record by mistake,but I didn't see anything. There was nothing there that was recording at 10am. What I finally did was press the Red button and then it was gone when it rebooted itself. I also had the same thing happen to me last week.The two times it happened,I said to myself, "What the hell am I recording "? Kinda weird.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

DukeBX said:


> I had the same light problem this morning. It was (or so i thought) recording the tyra banks show. I went to see if I picked it to record by mistake,but I didn't see anything. There was nothing there that was recording at 10am. What I finally did was press the Red button and then it was gone when it rebooted itself. I also had the same thing happen to me last week.The two times it happened,I said to myself, "What the hell am I recording "? Kinda weird.


Folks, the REC light does come on when the unit is recording material. So now that the Showcases are working, it will be on when you have nothing set to record. It is working properly. 
*
How about everyone leave it alone?????*

Now that Showcases are working to some extent it will do exactly what Tivo units do when they record Showcases or suggestions.....turn on the REC light.

Why bother resetting the R15 just because the REC light is on?

BTW Duke, this was not directed at you, only a general message for everyone. But it doesn't seem to be a bug to me nor wired. Just normal operation.


----------



## speedy4022 (Jan 26, 2004)

Every time this has happen to me the record light went out and their was a new showcase item I have 4 things in showcases


----------



## dtv757 (Jun 4, 2006)

yea i had the same thing happen this morning. nothing was recording in the LIST but the red light was on. then i went to test the signal and a message poped up saying i was interrupting the championship game program on ch 1010+ so i just let it record.

i personaly like this VOD thing but they need to get more movie and other content up there. when will we see starz ON DEMAND. on this website it says its coming soon http://www.hdtvtechno.com/dbslineup.htm


----------



## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> I just wish DTV would give up on VOD as even cable users don't use it much. The only reason it's on the R15 and HR20 is to compete with cable's VOD. Personally, I don't need VOD as I have a DVR and I thus can create my own VOD library....the original intent of the DVR.


Very true, seems more like they should be pushing MYVOD to non-DVR's. All they would need to do is put in a small HD. Maybe that's what they should do. Have one receiver like the HR20 and make it with easy to remove tuners and HD's (same idea as a hot swap HD bay) so they can have one unit with different options. For the person that just wants a stand alone receiver they can put in a small 60GB HD and if they want to upgrade to a DVR they just send out a new HD or if they want to upgrade to HD they just send out new tuners.



Wolffpack said:


> Let me network my DVRs and view shows from another DVR in the house and that's all I need.


This is really what is going to make or break me with staying with D*. We don't have FIOS in this area yet but my understanding is that FIOS already has this. I've been wanting this since I setup up my second DVR way back when. If FIOS or God for bid cable gets here and has a good working MRV option before D* does I'm there.


----------



## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> I just wish DTV would give up on VOD as even cable users don't use it much.


Just dont use it then.  Dont go to the showcase tab and you wont have to be bothered with it. It doesnt use any of our 100 hours and I am certain some will enjoy having DirecTV's version of VOD.

I just dont get why everyone expects DirecTV's VOD to work differently than VOD from every other provider out there.


----------



## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

Wolffpack said:


> Let me network my DVRs and view shows from another DVR in the house and that's all I need.


No one is stopping you.  Run the cables like I did. I can watch whats on my R-15 or R-10 in any room in the house that has a TV.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Bobman said:



> Just dont use it then.  Dont go to the showcase tab and you wont have to be bothered with it. It doesnt use any of our 100 hours and I am certain some will enjoy having DirecTV's version of VOD.
> 
> I just dont get why everyone expects DirecTV's VOD to work differently than VOD from every other provider out there.


I know I don't have to use it, but regardless getting this to work is taking development resources away from projects like getting the DVR functions working correctly. I'd rather have bugs fixed than watch gaming or CD USA episodes.


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Bobman said:


> No one is stopping you.  Run the cables like I did. I can watch whats on my R-15 or R-10 in any room in the house that has a TV.


Do you see how many DVRs I have active? Not very practical.


----------



## TheTooleMan (Apr 9, 2006)

I've been meaning to ask why I have these programs on the quick menu that I cannot access from MyVOD. So I should look at the Showcase?

Can anyone explain what "Showcase" is, in DirecTV terms? Just a bunch of crap they push out to us? And we can't delete it. Nice feature.

Does recording a Showcase program use one of my two tuners? What if I scheduled two recordings for the same time, and then D* wants to DEMAND my R15 record one of the dumb-ass programs they push out to me?

Brother...
:bang


----------



## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

TheTooleMan said:


> Does recording a Showcase program use one of my two tuners?


Yes, but only when its not in use so you will not miss any of your recordings. If you read earlier in this thread you can see where some of us received shows 1 and 3 in a series but show 2 came later the next day where others received all 3 in the proper order. The reason why is we had shows recording that night.


----------



## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

In a perfect world, it would download stuff you might like, based on your viewing habits. In reality, you get what they want you to get. And, you can't get rid of it until they allow you.


----------



## TheTooleMan (Apr 9, 2006)

qwerty said:


> In a perfect world, it would download stuff you might like, based on your viewing habits. In reality, you get what they want you to get. And, you can't get rid of it until they allow you.


NOW THAT'S A SERVICE I REALLY WANT! :grrr:


----------



## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

So how would make this system work? Would it call in and tell them your viewing habits? Would it know what you watch and store your viewing habits then deny recording on a show if it doesn't deem that show to fit your viewing habits? I like the idea but I also hate Tivo suggestions as it always recorded things I never had any interest in seeing so I shut them off.



TheTooleMan said:


> NOW THAT'S A SERVICE I REALLY WANT! :grrr:


----------



## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Tracking viewing habits would be a perfect use for Showcases. I know many folks hate Tivo Suggestions but what you have to remember is that when you refer to viewing habits it's viewing habits of the entire unit, not your personal viewing habits.

If you have 2 or 3 individuals that use the same DVR you'll see a wide range of suggestions. That's the primary reason everyone in our household has their own DVR. If you start mixing Sports Center with Judge Judy, Mythbusters and Oprah you'll end up with one nasty selection of suggestions.

Tivo attempted to handle this by giving the customer Thumbs. If you started seeing suggestions that were way off base you would give it 1-3 Thumbs down. If you liked the suggestion give it 1-3 Thumbs up. No DVR will be able to predict viewing habits on it's own and if a customer doesn't help the process along by fine tuning the suggestions they will end up useless.

I had one of my Tivos tuned in pretty darn good up until about a month ago. Grand kids were coming over for a bit and I noticed a Tom & Jerry marathon on so I record about 4 hours of T&J. BOOM, next thing I know I've got cartoon suggestions coming out the ying-yang. So now when I see those I go in and thumbs down those suggestions and I'm gradually taking back my DVR.

Of course Suggestions and Thumbs are Tivo patents so that's an issue that would have to be addressed. But my point here is that this technology can work but not on it's own. There needs to be some type of customer feed back mechanism to make corrections to the viewing habits the DVR is tracking.

But having a system like that in place could allow the DVR to ignore Showcases that don't match the viewing habits it has stored locally. No need to send info to the mother ship, just have it pick and choose which Showcases it will keep. If you don't like sports you tell it to ignore all sports.


----------



## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Clint Lamor said:


> So how would make this system work? Would it call in and tell them your viewing habits? Would it know what you watch and store your viewing habits then deny recording on a show if it doesn't deem that show to fit your viewing habits? I like the idea but I also hate Tivo suggestions as it always recorded things I never had any interest in seeing so I shut them off.


I think the point is we all want the HD space for our own use but since that's not going to happen we might as well get stuff we might want to see. How that would happen I don't know. Internet, phone line, morse code?


----------



## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

One of the ways I was thinking of is this. I would guess most everyone here has a DirecTV.com account, well you log into your account and it shows you each DVR, for the DVRs that can have the showcases you fill out a profile about viewing habits or types of shows you want put on that DVR, then this is sent to the DVRs memory or access card and it can then choose or deny based on that profile you filled in online.

I also wouldn't mind advertisements in there if they fit this same profile, like if I say I like football, home building shows, hockey, sitcoms, and things of this nature I don't want adverts for fem hygiene products or things like that. Seems like a good way to get some advertising dollars for things I would like and maybe get money for shows that are PPV type things that I would actually like.


----------



## sheridan1952 (Mar 16, 2006)

Clint Lamor said:


> One of the ways I was thinking of is this. I would guess most everyone here has a DirecTV.com account, well you log into your account and it shows you each DVR, for the DVRs that can have the showcases you fill out a profile about viewing habits or types of shows you want put on that DVR, then this is sent to the DVRs memory or access card and it can then choose or deny based on that profile you filled in online.
> 
> I also wouldn't mind advertisements in there if they fit this same profile, like if I say I like football, home building shows, hockey, sitcoms, and things of this nature I don't want adverts for fem hygiene products or things like that. Seems like a good way to get some advertising dollars for things I would like and maybe get money for shows that are PPV type things that I would actually like.


Is that the way it is, or are you making a suggestion?


----------



## tong (May 22, 2006)

bobnielsen said:


> I noticed last night that the record light on my R15 was on but nothing was being recorded. I didn't have anything scheduled at that time either. A later scheduled recording worked as normal.
> 
> Does the record light have any other function?


Come to think of it mine did that a week or 2 back also


----------



## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

Clint Lamor said:


> One of the ways I was thinking of is this. I would guess most everyone here has a DirecTV.com account, well you log into your account and it shows you each DVR, for the DVRs that can have the showcases you fill out a profile about viewing habits or types of shows you want put on that DVR, then this is sent to the DVRs memory or access card and it can then choose or deny based on that profile you filled in online.
> 
> I also wouldn't mind advertisements in there if they fit this same profile, like if I say I like football, home building shows, hockey, sitcoms, and things of this nature I don't want adverts for fem hygiene products or things like that. Seems like a good way to get some advertising dollars for things I would like and maybe get money for shows that are PPV type things that I would actually like.


When I posted, I was thinking along the same lines. I decided to keep the post simple with opt-in, opt-out though. :lol:


----------

