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HR21-700 Problems??

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  • HR21-700 Problems??

    Any problems to share concerning the HR21?? After reading around I decided I wanted the HR20 and placed my order as such via DirecTV... In their usual chimpanzee like attention to detail they showed up with an HR21 AFTER they already installed the new 5lnb dish... I figured I had little choice but to try it and sure enough the first day it locked and rebooted itself a few times... I let that go too and on day 3 it erased some but not all of my season passes (or whatever they call them now)... I called again but got no where... On day 4 it refused to let me rewind a show that was showing via live TV... If I hit rewind or fast forward it simply locked but if I let it play it seemed fine... I reset the system and it seemed to fix it...

    Last night however, day 6 - I attempted to watch a show that was in the process of recording... It started at 8 and I started watching it at about 8:05... When I started it, it began the show locked... I tried it 3 or 4 times with the same results... I powered the unit off and on and it did the same thing... It continued to report it was still recording it but it would not allow me to watch the recording of it... If I exited "list" and turned it on live it was fine... I waited until 9 and tried it once it was no longer recording... It would still not let me watch it... Just a locked still picture with no sound... I reset the system and once reset the recording was no longer even in the list to be viewed... It was simply gone...

    All in all I'd call this system junk so far but I want to be sure before I quit it completely and go back to my HR10... They are coming out to realign my dish today but I am not hopeful...

  • #2
    You might just try resetting the unit. Reboot, and at the first gray screen enter

    0 2 4 6 8

    from your remote. See if that helps.
    Been here a long time . . .

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    • #3
      What does the numbers make the unit do?

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      • #4
        Reload the latest software.
        Been here a long time . . .

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        • #5
          I am giving up... I have had DirecTV here twice now and they realigned the dish and replaced the unit and still the same stuff is happening... It is locking on playback mostly now... It locks about 1 second into playing things from the list... If you reset it all is fine for a couple hours or so and then it all starts again... At times it also locks when playing a live show that has been paused...

          The funny part is that when I called to return everything DirecTV tried to tell me I could but that I'd still be locked into the 2 year commitment that came along with the upgrade... I'm not sure how dumb you have to be to work at DirecTV but it must be pretty far down the food chain... Nevertheless, I am sure even they will understand what happens next if they don't right this wrong... I will never pay them another dime for programming or their ridiculous "policy"... You see I too have a policy and it is to not do business with thieves and/or scumbags...

          Good luck with your HR-21's... If you ask me they are junk and very simply - don't work...

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          • #6
            Tell us how it goes - we often hear that they do intend to uphold the two year contracts.
            Been here a long time . . .

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            • #7
              yes the just don't have the same veracity to make sure their stuff works... regardless, it will end with them doing what is right or my never answering another of their communiqués regardless of what it says or how it comes... I will trash it as soon as I see it is from DirecTV... The funny part is I have been with this company for 7 year and have hated them 6... They are liars and thieves but had something no one else did... The YES network and as a Yankee fan in central Mass there was no alternative... Last season however the Yankees went crazy so I am expecting a less than good year... With that, I am fresh out of reasons to care about what DirecTV wants... I honor my deals and pay my way but I don't pay for something someone fails to provide... That is a fool's errand and I am not a fool... I will give them a reasonable period to see and then I will file a complaint with the BBB and stop all communications / payments… They can work it out with the BBB and they can communicate it then to me… This is still America and we still have fair business laws and not even DirecTV can circumvent that… People let them get away with it and that is why they “uphold” that side of contracts without upholding theirs… In that they might try to make me do it but they will surely fail – that I can promise…

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              • #8
                It's funny... I have had DirecTV since 2002 for the same reason you mentioned about the YES network. Originally Cablevision on Long Island refused to carry and I switched somewhat reluctantly. About 6 months ago I decided to switch back and get a Tivo HD (which didn't work correctly, something with the CableCards). After one week I switched back. I have never had a problem with DirecTV and have found them helpful when I have billing questions. I never lose my signal, except during really really bad weather when you probably shouldn't have the TV on anyway. The channel lineup is second to none and they have way more HD then anyone else. So for me it's what's not to like?

                I'd love for them to make nice with Tivo again so that I would have a Hi-Def Tivo in addition to my Hughes SD Tivo, but my HR-21 has been no problem at all. In fact just yesterday they added a software upgrade that made it more user friendly. For example the closed captioning is now a one button easy move. They added a quick jump in the menu to get you to a specific date and time. The added more folder options and a few other things I haven't seen yet.

                All in all I would just ask them for a new box. It's leased and they have to replace it if you get it from DirecTV...

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                • #9
                  I agree... The only area I think DirecTV lacks in is the customer service area (and by lack I mean they are not just bad - their numbers are in the negative)... Their DVR stinks user friendly wise but is wonderful programming wise... Aside from the lock-ups it is well worth the pain...

                  As for Tivo, it was obviously created for people who love TV by people who love TV... I am sure DirecTV thought they could do it as well and keep the money they would have had to pay Tivo but they are so very wrong... DirecTV is a business and it shows in everything they do (and don't do)...

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                  • #10
                    I have 2 HR21's. The 1st one was just after the started deployment of the units. I also have a 2nd one that is only 6 months old. I have no problems with either one.

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                    • #11
                      As of one week of use,no trouble with my HR-21

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                      • #12
                        Good - seems like the problems are all resolved.
                        Been here a long time . . .

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                        • #13
                          I am still have the same problems... 2 HR21's and 2 drive upgrades later and the system still bogs down to ridiculously slow for remote control inputs... While recording an HD show and watching live TV or watching something already recorded the inputs on the remote are carried out in order but with lots of seconds and quite often MINUTES between them... (e.g. I tell it to fast forward at speed 3 and it begins ff-ing at 1... 30-60 seconds later it moves to speed 2 and so on to 3 the same way)... At times it takes the HR-21 over a minute to reflect the inputs... While I was using the external drive these were so slow I thought it was locking up... With this internal drive they don't take as long but they are still ridiculously longer than they should be and I if they don't ease up soon I'll be using my HR10-250 again... It sounds like a truck coming down the road and only has a few HD channels but it is much much better than this junk HR21 and/or the junk software DirecTV is trying to pass off as a pseudo TIVO... The difference between TIVO and DTV DVR is the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing a bullet... They are not even in the same league... My guess is that the DirecTV software is as much a mess as the rest of DirecTV and that it is never going to work any better than it does now...

                          Any way you cut it, this HR21 stinks (IMHO)...

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                          • #14
                            Figured I'd better follow up with an accurate ending to this saga... In preparing my HR-21 for its return I erased everything and returned all the settings to the factory defaults... To reset the network settings I had to unhook the RJ-45 type network cable that connected the HR-21 to my cable modem (for "On Demand" downloads)... After doing so I noticed that the problem simply stopped... No more lags, no more locks, etc... I have run this now for about 2 weeks and have run it through just about every combo of recording and playing all definitions and am convinced the entire problem was the network connection... As a matter of fact, if I rehook up the network cable the problem begins again...

                            Hopefully this will spare someone else some problems and/or troubles... The "On Demand" is still pretty shallow so living without it is really no problem at all...

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                            • #15
                              Wow - OK - so the network connection brings down the HR21. How was the rest of the network? Did that part suffer when the HR21 was attached?
                              Been here a long time . . .

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