Anyone have issues with a DVR?

[Linda/MA]

We've had a HD DVR with Comcast for almost a year. I love, love, love my DVR. However, it does some weird things. The picture started freezing during playback and then the system would reboot. I would get no sound on the HD channel and switch to the regular channel with sound and then back to the HD, and it would be fine. After about of month of this, with it getting worse each day, I called Comcast and they came and replaced the box. Of course, I lost all the shows that I had recorded. Anyway, that box was doing the same thing, we called again, and this tech said it had to do with our signal. He adjusted that and it seemed to work fine, but now it's starting to do similar things again. I was just sitting here with the TV off and the sound came on for a couple of seconds and then turned off. What's going on? Anyone else have these kinds of issues????

 

[bicker]

Howdy neighbor. You probably have the Motorola 34xx/64xx. They're "okay", but clearly they're very buggy. It doesn't have to do with your signal, or anything like that. Comcast is just trying to fix your problem for you, by trying to address the things that they can address, but I suspect the problems are really related to the fact that the software isn't perfect (no software is, really, though some software is less perfect than others), and those kinds of problems affect all of us who have or had the 34xx/64xx HD DVRs.

You do have a choice.

1) You can live with it. This is a legitimate option -- lots of us lived with it, and many folks continue to live with it.

2) You can switch to the TiVo Series 3 DVR, with CableCards from Comcast. This is a superior device, by far. However, it is brand-new so a small percentage of customers are encountering great difficulties getting it working, often due to problems on Comcast's side, but I suspect there's enough blame to go around. Also, it's $800 plus $16 per month, plus $2.75 per month for the CableCards.

3) You can try to find one of the older stand-alone HD DVRs. I think Sony made one a few years back, but couldn't make a profit on it, so they stopped making them. They aren't easy to use like the TiVo, but they're more reliable than the Motorola. And, there is no monthly fee. Of course, you have to find them, and when you can, they're still pretty expensive.

Remarkably, there aren't any other good options.

 

[Frantasmic]

I've switched out my Dish DVR (low end unit) 3 times in the last year.

Since most of the taped stuff is my kids, we don't sweat it much since it will all be on again in a few days.

It definitely helps to remember to turn off the DVR. They last longer when they aren't constantly having to do the internal timing and taping, I have surmised.

 

[bicker]

Uh, the standard recommendation regarding the Motorola 34xx/64xx is to NEVER turn them off. It screws them up significantly, making them more prone to error. Check out the warning in bold, here:

Many of the software problems first encountered by users can be remedied by remembering one simple rule: Don't turn off the DVR.

Source: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#Software.2C_Firmware_or_Hardware

This is from the WikiBook for the DVR, located here: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR

The WikiBook is very helpful in getting to understand the device, what you can and cannot expect from it, and how to get the most out of it.

 

[MoniqueU]

I used to have trouble with my Dish tv units all the time. Not a problem so far on my Direct tv units.

 

[Linda/MA]

Howdy neighbor. You probably have the Motorola 34xx/64xx. They're "okay", but clearly they're very buggy. It doesn't have to do with your signal, or anything like that. Comcast is just trying to fix your problem for you, by trying to address the things that they can address, but I suspect the problems are really related to the fact that the software isn't perfect (no software is, really, though some software is less perfect than others), and those kinds of problems affect all of us who have or had the 34xx/64xx HD DVRs.

You do have a choice.

1) You can live with it. This is a legitimate option -- lots of us lived with it, and many folks continue to live with it.

2) You can switch to the TiVo Series 3 DVR, with CableCards from Comcast. This is a superior device, by far. However, it is brand-new so a small percentage of customers are encountering great difficulties getting it working, often due to problems on Comcast's side, but I suspect there's enough blame to go around. Also, it's $800 plus $16 per month, plus $2.75 per month for the CableCards.

3) You can try to find one of the older stand-alone HD DVRs. I think Sony made one a few years back, but couldn't make a profit on it, so they stopped making them. They aren't easy to use like the TiVo, but they're more reliable than the Motorola. And, there is no monthly fee. Of course, you have to find them, and when you can, they're still pretty expensive.

Remarkably, there aren't any other good options.

Thanks for your reply. I guess we'll stick with Comcast and learn to live with it. We just have to get in the habit of not turning the DVR off. We're so used to using the "All On" button, it's hard to change. I have looked into FIOS, but since we have underground wiring on our street, it's not available yet. The only thing I didn't like about FIOS was that if you don't have a converter box, you can only get the basic channels you would get with an antenna. I don't need a converter box in my kitchen or bedrooms. BTW, bicker, we truly are neighbors. I'm in Woburn!

 

[Beth76]

We had this problem with only one of our boxes (we have two). We have DVR through our cable company and they came out to "fix" it a couple of times. Finally on the last time the guy figures out that we just had too many TVs attached to the main cable outlet. The signal just wasn't making it to my tv. So we had to get some sort of box/outlet and it's been fine ever since.

 

[mill4023]

We've got a Scientific Atlanta HD DVR through Time Warner. The first one they gave us had the hard drive die after a few months. The replacement works fine, but judging by the way it sounds, I won't be surprised if it's hard drive dies soon also.
Time Warner's DVR service works, but it's a pain. Back in Oregon, we had Charter Cable with their MOXI DVR service and it was so much nicer. I've thought about Tivo, but it's so expensive for the HD box. So we'll be sticking with TWC and just have them replace the box if it dies.

 

[disneymac]

Well, now I can't decide if I'm happy that I'm not the only one or sad because we have to learn to live with this!!

 

[bicker]

The only thing I didn't like about FIOS was that if you don't have a converter box, you can only get the basic channels you would get with an antenna. I don't need a converter box in my kitchen or bedrooms.

Eventually, televisions will all have CableCard slots (unless the law changes again), and it will no long be necessary to have a converter box to receive all digital channels.

BTW, bicker, we truly are neighbors. I'm in Woburn!

I live on the border.