Anyone having issues with DirecTV and an HD-PVR?

[Skirge01]

I realize that polls generally get very limited responses, but this question has been bugging me for a while now. My experience on the forum has led me to believe that most people having issues with their HD-PVR are not using DirecTV. In turn, this has led me to suspect that most problems (barring hardware issues with the HD-PVR) are due to the STB or the provider's broadcast. So, I was hoping to poll the community and see if anyone with DirecTV is currently having issues with their HD-PVR.

If you are having issues, please post them in a response.

So that everyone is clear about the choices:

Choosing "No issues with the HD-PVR" means that everything is fine with the HD-PVR itself. You might be having issues which are unrelated to the HD-PVR, though.

Choosing "Issues with the HD-PVR's IR blaster" means that you're having issues with the HD-PVR which may or may not be affecting your recordings, but are most likely due to the IR blaster itself. In essence, this means that DirecTV is not the cause.

Choosing "Issues with the HD-PVR recording programs" means that you are having issues with the HD-PVR and either know that it is the cause or you have not been able to rule it out yet. This means that DirecTV may be the cause.

[HelenWeathers]

I did have a few glitchy recordings a few months ago that turned out to be the result of a failing STB. Replaced the box - no more issues. Definitely STB related - not HD PVR related.

[BobPhoenix]

I put down that I have problems recording but they can go months without a problem to at most as often as one every two weeks. But to me that is still a problem. I'm also still on the original 5.1 audio drivers and SageTV 6.6 as well. So I'm expecting it to be perfect when I upgrade.

[mtyme]

I haven't had a single issue since I moved from WHS and 6.6 to W7 and the beta 17. Using newest drivers for the HDPVR

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

I put down that I have problems recording but they can go months without a problem to at most as often as one every two weeks. But to me that is still a problem. I'm also still on the original 5.1 audio drivers and SageTV 6.6 as well. So I'm expecting it to be perfect when I upgrade.

Is it a hard lock where you need to power cycle the HD-PVR or just blips in the recording? The reason I ask is because of the known issue with the HD-PVR where it needs to restart when the audio changes from stereo to 5.1 or vice versa.

[trini0]

No problems here..

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

Is it a hard lock where you need to power cycle the HD-PVR or just blips in the recording? The reason I ask is because of the known issue with the HD-PVR where it needs to restart when the audio changes from stereo to 5.1 or vice versa.

I've had hard locks where the recording doesn't stop and I get 10+ hours on one channel. Hard locks where HD-PVR stops recording but Sage just thinks a recording is still happening. And I've also just had blips in the recording. I have three of them - one was from the first run - but I believe I rma'd that one. The last one I bought was the newer fanned model. None of these is predictable and I suspect it is from the audio change or actual STB problems rather than a HD-PVR problem. Since I almost wasn't able to get DirectTV put in because of trees I suspect most of my glitches are from signal problems. That is why I record multiples of everything I can and then delete the bad ones.

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

I've had hard locks where the recording doesn't stop and I get 10+ hours on one channel. Hard locks where HD-PVR stops recording but Sage just thinks a recording is still happening. And I've also just had blips in the recording. I have three of them - one was from the first run - but I believe I rma'd that one. The last one I bought was the newer fanned model. None of these is predictable and I suspect it is from the audio change or actual STB problems rather than a HD-PVR problem. Since I almost wasn't able to get DirectTV put in because of trees I suspect most of my glitches are from signal problems. That is why I record multiples of everything I can and then delete the bad ones.

Those are some interesting details. Have you been able to narrow it down to specific HD-PVRs, channels, or STBs? Also, are the HD-PVRs on separate USB channels? My thoughts include bad cables (USB or audio), bad STB, bad HD-PVR, and a conflict with using the same USB channel for multiple HD-PVRs. So, if there's anything to rule any devices out, the culprit may show itself. Also, what are you using for changing channels?

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

Those are some interesting details. Have you been able to narrow it down to specific HD-PVRs, channels, or STBs? Also, are the HD-PVRs on separate USB channels? My thoughts include bad cables (USB or audio), bad STB, bad HD-PVR, and a conflict with using the same USB channel for multiple HD-PVRs. So, if there's anything to rule any devices out, the culprit may show itself. Also, what are you using for changing channels?

As far as I can tell all of the USB-ports on the back are on the same HUB so I could have a problem that way. But other than that I've swapped the HD-PVR's around and had problems with each so it doesn't appear to be specific to an individual one for the general hickups. The hard lock where it wouldn't stop recording was on the one I RMA'd so that is most likely the cause. It eventually stopped when I discovered that I couldn't connect to the server and the disk was completely full. A month or so later the HD-PVR was no longer being recognized by any PC I connected it to. Since then I've only had a couple lockups and they were ones that Sage showed a recording going on but the HD-PVR was dark (no red record light or the blue top light). To fix I would cycle the HD-PVR and if that didn't work restart the PC. As to what I am using to change channels: USB-UIRT.

[Polypro]

No problems going on 2 months since install. Using serial (Paterson) to change channels. D* boxes set to 720p and capturing S/PDIF. Newest drivers. IR windows taped, and USB right off the motherboard.

P

[BobPhoenix]

Just had a lockup where the recording didn't stop got an extra 45 minutes I'll have to trim out. Just after upgrading to SageTV 7 and the newest drivers. This is the classic driver lockup according to the reply I got from SageTV. Going to have to lock it to 720P or 1080i. I know I had that at one time but I suspect reboots have disabled it. And see if I get any other symptoms. I want 5.1 so I may have to just live with the lockups if that is causing it.