Basically it is power that has voltage spikes and fluctuations that can cause problems with the DVR, such as lock ups. Adding a UPS or surge protector can eliminate the spikes and give you "clean power".
Is Directv DVRs that bad?
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Basically it is power that has voltage spikes and fluctuations that can cause problems with the DVR, such as lock ups. Adding a UPS or surge protector can eliminate the spikes and give you "clean power".
I have 2 DVR's so far and no real issues with them. But to say that D*'s strength is signal strength??? I guess if you have a dish thats perfectly aligned. My 5lnb has been worked on 3 times and 99c only reads in the 70's. The biggest problem I see with D* is trying to get that dish right on everyones house.
Last time I checked 70s on a poorly aligned DirecTV 5lnb dish are still better than the 30s on a perfectly aligned Dish 1000.
Dirty power is all your home appliances injecting crappy harmonic modulations thru the neutral wiring in your breaker box that can effect all highly sensitive audio/video equipment. Have you ever seen your TV flicker when your refrigerator kicks on? Mine use to. For the last 5 years, I've had a BPT 2500watt balanced power conditioner for my system and not only were my home power probelems solved, having this conditioner resulted in a clearer picture and much more audio resolution on my 6.1 sound system.
As for my HR20-100 HD DVR, absolutely no issues with the DVR, just crystal clear HD recordings which for me was a blessing from heaven.:up I'll just add that this conditioner simply cleans the noise in the power, it's not a surge protecter nor will it deal with fluctuating voltages.
Cheers,
Robin
Dirty power is all your home appliances injecting crappy harmonic modulations thru the neutral wiring in your breaker box that can effect all highly sensitive audio/video equipment. Have you ever seen your TV flicker when your refrigerator kicks on? Mine use to. For the last 5 years, I've had a BPT 2500watt balanced power conditioner for my system and not only were my home power probelems solved, having this conditioner resulted in a clearer picture and much more audio resolution on my 6.1 sound system.
As for my HR20-100 HD DVR, absolutely no issues with the DVR, just crystal clear HD recordings which for me was a blessing from heaven.:up I'll just add that this conditioner simply cleans the noise in the power, it's not a surge protecter nor will it deal with fluctuating voltages.
Cheers,
Robin
And what did that cost ?
5 years ago the tag was $995,,,, now $1795 but this conditioner has 10 outlets and I do have my whole A/V system running thru it. I'll take this unit to my grave.
Audiophile & Home Theater Power Conditioners from Balanced Power Technologies
My audio system alone runs $25,000 so I take clean power very seriously.
Cheers,
Robin
I dont ever notice any fluctuations like that. I'm getting crystal clear hd recordings. Knock on wood
this is correct. and they're going to get better. the next HD DVR that D puts out will have a way better start than the HR20&21 series. When E began making their own dvr's it wasn't perfect either so D will get right!
Another thing I like about the HR21 is the fact that it puts each recording in folders. I LOVE THAT! The 622 just lined them up in order they were recorded. Also, if a show is recording and you want to stop the recording and delete it, HR21 will give you the option to stop/keep or stop/delete. With the 622, you stopped the recording, then you had to go to recordings to delete the unwanted recording. Not a big deal, just more convenient. All in all, the more I use it, the more I like it better than the 622.
I am very disappointed in my DTV HD DVR. Been with DirecTV for about 12 years. When we got our HDTV the HD Tivo was available but it was pricey and we knew that it would be obsolete at some point, the DTV HD DVRs were new and all reports was that they were very problematic - so we stayed away.
Last fall, I felt that the HD DVRs had come a long way and that they were now reliable. Initially we were pleased, it worked well. But with each subsequent software release we have had more and more issues - and reading on this and other forums I find that we are not alone.
If we plug in the ethernet cable (required for VOD) our HD DVR will lockup frequently - so we keep it disconnected from the network. Frequent blank recordings, occasionally it will be very sluggish / unresponsive to remote commands, it will on occasion start searching for signal on a clear sunny day - even though signal strengths are all high (and there are no trees near the dish) - other HD Receivers and DVRs (we have 1 standard DTV DVR and 2 older DTV Tivo units) have no signal problems - just the HD DVR.
A reliable HD DVR is important to us, we work multiple jobs and we just want a DVR that we can set and forget - at this time DTV does not offer a reliable HD DVR solution - unfortunately we still have over a year left on our commitment. Even though we have been with DTV for 12 years we are considering paying the cancellation fee and walking away so that we can get an HD DVR that works.
Last fall, I felt that the HD DVRs had come a long way and that they were now reliable. Initially we were pleased, it worked well. But with each subsequent software release we have had more and more issues - and reading on this and other forums I find that we are not alone.
If we plug in the ethernet cable (required for VOD) our HD DVR will lockup frequently - so we keep it disconnected from the network. Frequent blank recordings, occasionally it will be very sluggish / unresponsive to remote commands, it will on occasion start searching for signal on a clear sunny day - even though signal strengths are all high (and there are no trees near the dish) - other HD Receivers and DVRs (we have 1 standard DTV DVR and 2 older DTV Tivo units) have no signal problems - just the HD DVR.
A reliable HD DVR is important to us, we work multiple jobs and we just want a DVR that we can set and forget - at this time DTV does not offer a reliable HD DVR solution - unfortunately we still have over a year left on our commitment. Even though we have been with DTV for 12 years we are considering paying the cancellation fee and walking away so that we can get an HD DVR that works.
Have you called DirecTV and reported all these problems with your DVR to see if they will replace it? Not saying you don't have these problems but the only problem I have similar to yours is the slow response on my HR21 with a AM21, my two HR20's have no problems and all are connect to my internal network.
Sigh - yes I know I have to call before I can think about leaving. I used to not mind calling DTV (didn't have to call often) but my last couple of calls have been less then pleasant. Our last installation, along with the guy who had to come out to fix the installation also was a disappointment. And I've read many folks with similar problems who have not gotten resolution after calling in.
So I am dreading placing the call - much like one dreads a root canal or a visit to the DMV. But I know that I must give them a chance to rectify the situation. I have been sort of hoping to start reading about folks with similar problems who actually got results - soft of give me a bit of hope before I make the call.
How bright the future is depends on which DVR you have.
Lately, people are having new firmware problems with R15's
That may be, but it will be fixed. After all, two pages of problems in a forum concerning a model of DVR that is out there by the hundreds of thousands does not mean the future won't be bright and the problem won't be fixed.
I've got 3 R15's in my house and an HR21 and I haven't had ANY of the problems that these people are reporting - and I'm not running any CE software yet.
Well I placed the call tonight to DirecTV to try to get my HD DVR issues resolved - it went better than expected (but my expectations were low) but of course there were problems and nothing is resolved.
Call in - get the voice recognition system, some companies have good ones, DirecTV not so good. I tried "Tech Support DVR" - I got put into a cue to to talk to a regular rep - on hold 10 minutes or so. Immediately she realized I needed tech support - back into another cue another 10 minutes or so.
With Tech Support I brought up 2 issues:
1) The blank recordings - tech support rep said that this is a known software issue - they are waiting for a software fix (she did not say that there was a software fix). She asked me some questions (what brand of TV did I have, what channels did I see it on the most etc.) it seemed that they didn't know the cause but were still gathering information - at least they recognize it as a problem.
2) The lockups. The HD DVR will lockup every day or so. Power button won't work, most of the time the reset button won't work, I have to unplug and plug it back in. I had previously read a few posts that indicated that disconnecting it from the network would resolve the problem. A couple months ago I unplugged the network cable, lockups stopped. If I plug the network cable back in, it will work (can download VOD) but within 24 hours it will lockup. Tech Support rep said she had never heard of it and could find no information in the system on that specific problem (So this problem doesn't appear to be on DTV's radar). For this one she said she would transfer me to a group that trouble shoots VOD network issues.
Back into the cue, five minutes or so I'm on with the next guy. Now this guy's focus was working with network issues, he said he had never heard of this issue. He felt that it was a hardware problem - I can buy that - since the problem doesn't seem to be that widespread - there may have been a bad batch of network controllers that a handful of us got. He says I need a new DVR. I am on the protection plan so now I have to get transferred to them. He says he will update the ticket with the information.
Back in the cue - another 10 minutes or so. Now the guy in protection plan answers - I explain the problem again, he looks at my ticket and says that he has to wait for the ticket to get updated - that was it. I'm not on hold, I can hear some noises in the distance - it was like the phone was put down. I wait it out, after 30 minutes or so, nothing - I say "Hello, anyone there" - I do this numerous times, no one is there, it appear to have been forgotten. I hang on a few more minutes and then decide it isn't worth it (you don't just forget about a customer for half an hour). so I hangup.
I wait a few minutes and call back, I say Protection Plan and get put into a cue, after 20 minutes no one has picked up. Patience is wearing thin, I figure I will try back in a day or two. Hopefully the ticket was indeed updated and I won't have to bounce from department to department again.
I figure with the protection plan it shouldn't be that big a deal to get them to ship a new unit. My only concern is that we have an HR20 with the built in OTA receiver. OTA was very important to us, DTV does not carry our local CBS station. When we went with the HD DVR installation we made installation of an OTA antenna part of the deal (we supplied the antenna - DTV covered the installation). It seems that they are mostly shipping HR21s now where the OTA receiver is an extra cost accessory. I feel that if they are going to ship us an HR21 that they need to include the OTA receiver to fully replace what we have - I don't know if that will be an issue or not.
Call in - get the voice recognition system, some companies have good ones, DirecTV not so good. I tried "Tech Support DVR" - I got put into a cue to to talk to a regular rep - on hold 10 minutes or so. Immediately she realized I needed tech support - back into another cue another 10 minutes or so.
With Tech Support I brought up 2 issues:
1) The blank recordings - tech support rep said that this is a known software issue - they are waiting for a software fix (she did not say that there was a software fix). She asked me some questions (what brand of TV did I have, what channels did I see it on the most etc.) it seemed that they didn't know the cause but were still gathering information - at least they recognize it as a problem.
2) The lockups. The HD DVR will lockup every day or so. Power button won't work, most of the time the reset button won't work, I have to unplug and plug it back in. I had previously read a few posts that indicated that disconnecting it from the network would resolve the problem. A couple months ago I unplugged the network cable, lockups stopped. If I plug the network cable back in, it will work (can download VOD) but within 24 hours it will lockup. Tech Support rep said she had never heard of it and could find no information in the system on that specific problem (So this problem doesn't appear to be on DTV's radar). For this one she said she would transfer me to a group that trouble shoots VOD network issues.
Back into the cue, five minutes or so I'm on with the next guy. Now this guy's focus was working with network issues, he said he had never heard of this issue. He felt that it was a hardware problem - I can buy that - since the problem doesn't seem to be that widespread - there may have been a bad batch of network controllers that a handful of us got. He says I need a new DVR. I am on the protection plan so now I have to get transferred to them. He says he will update the ticket with the information.
Back in the cue - another 10 minutes or so. Now the guy in protection plan answers - I explain the problem again, he looks at my ticket and says that he has to wait for the ticket to get updated - that was it. I'm not on hold, I can hear some noises in the distance - it was like the phone was put down. I wait it out, after 30 minutes or so, nothing - I say "Hello, anyone there" - I do this numerous times, no one is there, it appear to have been forgotten. I hang on a few more minutes and then decide it isn't worth it (you don't just forget about a customer for half an hour). so I hangup.
I wait a few minutes and call back, I say Protection Plan and get put into a cue, after 20 minutes no one has picked up. Patience is wearing thin, I figure I will try back in a day or two. Hopefully the ticket was indeed updated and I won't have to bounce from department to department again.
I figure with the protection plan it shouldn't be that big a deal to get them to ship a new unit. My only concern is that we have an HR20 with the built in OTA receiver. OTA was very important to us, DTV does not carry our local CBS station. When we went with the HD DVR installation we made installation of an OTA antenna part of the deal (we supplied the antenna - DTV covered the installation). It seems that they are mostly shipping HR21s now where the OTA receiver is an extra cost accessory. I feel that if they are going to ship us an HR21 that they need to include the OTA receiver to fully replace what we have - I don't know if that will be an issue or not.
Renceward, sounds like a day to test your patience, should have to put up with it. I'd recommend that you send what you put in your post to ellen.filipiak@directv.com, she's a VP in the customer area. It really doesn't go to her but to the executive offices and you should get a phone call back within 24 hours, they are very interested in hearing about customer service issues like this so they can try to prevent them from happening in the future, and they might even be able to get your problem fixed.
I may do that when everything is all done. But more DirecTV fun. Last night we noticed searching for signal on a few stations 206, 501, 537 (there could be more but those are the ones I found). I realized that these are the stations that just switched satellites.
So I call in on this (don't bring up the other issues just yet) We go through all the signal strength tests, some numbers are low - so they setup an appt for a technician to come out on Tuesday.
After that call is complete, I call back and say "Protection Plan' about five minutes on-old. Rep can see that I have a technicial coming out but says that there is nothing on my account about replacing the DVR. She sees that I talked to the VOD team, but no mention about replacing DVR, she offers to transfer me back. I agree, but bail while I'm in the queue - I figure that having two problems going at once is just going to cause more confusion. Since I will have to go through everything with the VOD team again, I will wait until after the tech is here on Tuesday. I don't expect anything that he will do will fix the network issues - so after we fix the searching for signal problem, I will plug the network cable back in, let the DVR lock up again and then call back to the VOD team and start over on that issue.
So I call in on this (don't bring up the other issues just yet) We go through all the signal strength tests, some numbers are low - so they setup an appt for a technician to come out on Tuesday.
After that call is complete, I call back and say "Protection Plan' about five minutes on-old. Rep can see that I have a technicial coming out but says that there is nothing on my account about replacing the DVR. She sees that I talked to the VOD team, but no mention about replacing DVR, she offers to transfer me back. I agree, but bail while I'm in the queue - I figure that having two problems going at once is just going to cause more confusion. Since I will have to go through everything with the VOD team again, I will wait until after the tech is here on Tuesday. I don't expect anything that he will do will fix the network issues - so after we fix the searching for signal problem, I will plug the network cable back in, let the DVR lock up again and then call back to the VOD team and start over on that issue.
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