# Recording Problems on DirecTV DVRs with TiVo Service



## drew2k

*** 
Bumped up on 02/20//2007 - problem seems to be cropping up again for DirecTV receivers with TiVo DVR Service.
***

Many DirecTV DVRs with TiVo service have had problems recording from Season Passes, WishLists, and even One-Time Recordings (a recording set by selecting a title). These problems first started being reported around 12/18/2006 12/01/2006.

I am posting this here to provide a heads-up that there are known problems and there are a couple of fixes you can try that may prevent you from missing your recordings. Please take all other discussion about these problems to the appropriate DirecTV forums or the threads listed below.

Many threads have been started about this, with primary symptoms being those shown below:


Your To Do List will be completely empty even though the guide shows the program meets all of your recording criteria.
Wish Lists do not return matches, but if you search by name or look in the guide, you will find your program.
Your To Do List will indicate a program is scheduled to record, but later you will find out it did not, and recording history shows "Someone in your household modified the season pass", when no one had.
Your To Do List history is full of "Program will not record" entries, reporting "someone in your household modified ..."
Your System Information page shows that indexing happened more than 36 hours ago.

Some fixes to try:

Restart your receiver and wait about an hour for indexing to occur.
Force TiVo to make a service call (phone home) and wait about an hour for indexing to occur.

The forced re-indexing seems to repopulate the To Do lists and return full functionality of Season Passes and WishLists, but you will have to check your TiVo To Do list every day (and even throughout the day) to ensure your To Do list is set properly.

To guarantee a program records, you can use TiVo like a VCR and do a manual Record-By-Time-and-Channel (ex: Record Channel 7 from 9 PM to 10 PM). So far, no one has reported that this has failed to work, but remember that this solution will not help if your program is moved to a different night or time slot.

Here are some threads discussing these problems:

 Not recording -- "Someone modified the season pass?!?!" 
 No guide data! 
 Search, Season passes and Wishlists cease to function 
 What DTV "admits" to knowing
 All season passes not recording -- WTF ? 

If anyone has suggestions, I will gladly update this list with new "symptoms", "fixes" and links to discussions threads.


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## vegaspl

I Have 3 DTV HD TiVo's. In addition to many of the problems reported here, I have come across what to me is somewhat serious.

Occasionally, some SP programs will appear in the NP list as if it was recorded. However, when I select it from the NP list it shows all info as it should, EXCEPT Duration: 0:00

Obviously nothing got recorded. It does not show up in the View Recording History.

Fortunately, in most instances I have the program also recorded on another TiVo as a backup.

Unfortunately, I have been seriously ill for some time, so I have not been visiting the forums as I had in the past.


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## tem

GD it ... this is happening to me AGAIN.

It's been going on since at least at the beginning of December.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=329587


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## cheesesteak

24 doesn't even show up when I Search By Title, nor does an actor wishlist of "Sutherland" bring back any results. They've really fubar'd this.


A couple of minutes later...
I did a reset. At least I can force it to call home now. Haven't been able to do that for a couple of days. It kept saying it was already connected or something like that.


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## JohnDG

vegaspl said:


> I Have 3 DTV HD TiVo's. In addition to many of the problems reported here, I have come across what to me is somewhat serious.
> 
> Occasionally, some SP programs will appear in the NP list as if it was recorded. However, when I select it from the NP list it shows all info as it should, EXCEPT Duration: 0:00
> 
> Obviously nothing got recorded. It does not show up in the View Recording History.


Bug with the new release: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=323234

jdg


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## dbuchthal

JohnDG said:


> Bug with the new release: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=323234
> 
> jdg


I see these problems with 3.1.5f, so it's not tied to the new release.


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## TonyD79

I saw empty wishlists the other day (Keyword only) that fixed themselves a few hours later. The wishlists didn't even "think." They immediately came back empty. Actor and category wishlists still worked.

That was with 6.3a, BTW.

With 6.3b I am getting shortened TDL but the shows show up on the Season Pass Manager as gong ti record. We will see.

Edit: My shortened TDL list just went full length again.

Something must be happening with the indexing.


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## spooniep

I'm in the CHicago market, and something really odd happened with my program data on my HR10-250 this weekend. Several programs that I have season passes for are not showing up in the to do list. What's really weird is that the programs show up in the main guide menu, but when you view the program in the Season Pass, it says "no upcoming programs". For instance, a new episode of Desperate Housewives was on 7-1 tonight, and I was able to manually record it from the guide. But my Season Pass didn't pick it up. Same thing happened with Family Guy on 32-1 today. From what I can tell, this is only happening on some local channels, but I"m not certain if it's happening with other programs.

I did a search for several other ABC programs and while they show up in the guide, they're not found when I search for them. I also noticed that some other programs that were scheduled to record (such as the "24" season premiere on 32-1), which have now disappeared.  

I've never had this problem before this weekend. Help!


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## phox_mulder

Yup, same problem.

Spend a couple hours reading the numerous threads in the DirecTV HD TiVo and DirecTV TiVo forums, it might alleviate some stress.


phox


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## spooniep

With all of the problems I've had with my HR10-250 since the 6.3 upgrade, now this, I think I may be ready to take the HR20 plunge. I already have the 5 LNB dish anyhow. I just hate the idea of not having a TiVo and dual buffers, but if the damned TiVo is gonna skip programs now, me thinks I have no choice.


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## sluciani

spooniep said:


> With all of the problems I've had with my HR10-250 since the 6.3 upgrade, now this, I think I may be ready to take the HR20 plunge. I already have the 5 LNB dish anyhow. I just hate the idea of not having a TiVo and dual buffers, but if the damned TiVo is gonna skip programs now, me thinks I have no choice.


Did you see *Dbucthal's * post above? Sounds like it's a possible guide data incompatibility problem, because the problem exists with 3.15f as well. /s


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## allan

I just discovered this bug last night, when I noticed House wasn't recording. I don't know how badly it's messed up, but I know 24 isn't on my ToDo!


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## jeff125va

I'm having this problem to some degree. Fortunately it's not resulting in EMPTY To Do Lists, but it's strange that it's not. One of my HD-TiVos doesn't seem to be having the problem at all; the other has it with some shows, but not even the entire series - e.g., The Office records one week, but not the next. Grey's Anatomy is in my To Do list this week for the Friday re-airing, but not the original on Thursday.

I can go through my recording history and add the missing episodes (last night's House, e.g.) via the "Other Recording Options" option, but when I go to "View Upcoming Episodes" that one doesn't show up. Also, there's a little (smaller font) message in the episode description telling me that the episode won't record and that I should add check (i.e. check-mark) the channel in my channel list, even though it's already checked.


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## drew2k

^ BUMP

Lots of shows are returning after several weeks of repeats or preemptions, so a lot of people may suddenly find they're missing recordings on their DirecTV TiVo boxes...


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## berryb

cheesesteak said:


> 24 doesn't even show up when I Search By Title, nor does an actor wishlist of "Sutherland" bring back any results.


I had the same exact problem, even including a Wishlist search for Kiefer Sutherland. So I went through the Guide and told it to record Sunday's first two episodes as a Season Pass.

Result: Both Sunday and Monday's shows are in my To Do List, ready to Record.

BUT, the Season Pass Manager for my new "24" Season Pass ONLY shows 13 older episodes in the Upcoming Episodes list, and does not include the two new two-hour upcoming shows. Wild, isn't it!


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## jmhmcse

samething.... 

after weeks of reruns and such =new= programs are returning and are not being recorded.

searching by title i find only about 30 programs listed; where normally there are (nearly) hundreds for each letter

have done the 'reboot' and 'phone home' but to no avail.

NOT a happy camper


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## Bilbrey

Is there a particular update that is failing? (do we know the version?)

What machines are affected? (DSR6000's, HR10-250's, etc?)

Let's see if we can narrow down what is happening...

Brett


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## Anubys

Bilbrey said:


> Is there a particular update that is failing? (do we know the version?)
> 
> What machines are affected? (DSR6000's, HR10-250's, etc?)
> 
> Let's see if we can narrow down what is happening...
> 
> Brett


all Tivo boxes, basically...the only ones not affected are the non-Tivo ones (e.g. R15, HR20...etc.)...it's not a software problem, it's a guide problem...AFAIK

seems that the guide was changed/enhanced for the benefit of the non-tivo boxes... so now Tivo can't read the guide correctly...I think D* will return the guide to the old way until Tivo writes a software upgrade that can read the "new" guide...


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## Bilbrey

Anubys said:


> all Tivo boxes, basically...the only ones not affected are the non-Tivo ones (e.g. R15, HR20...etc.)...it's not a software problem, it's a guide problem...AFAIK
> 
> seems that the guide was changed/enhanced for the benefit of the non-tivo boxes... so now Tivo can't read the guide correctly...I think D* will return the guide to the old way until Tivo writes a software upgrade that can read the "new" guide...


Thanks.

Sigh, I'm surprised this made it throught testing...


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## drew2k

Bilbrey said:


> Thanks.
> 
> Sigh, I'm surprised this made it throught testing...


Start reading here regarding testing ...


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## martso

I thought I was the only one with Season Pass problems on the HR10-250 until I found this forum.
How do I force a phone call to reset the the guides?
Thanks,
Martin


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## Anubys

martso said:


> I thought I was the only one with Season Pass problems on the HR10-250 until I found this forum.
> How do I force a phone call to reset the the guides?
> Thanks,
> Martin


welcome to the forum!

forcing a call won't reset the guides...are you sure you're asking the right question?

the best advice for SP problems right now is to set your recordings manually (go to the guide, select the show you want, and tell it to record)...this seems to work...

this has proven to be the least unreliable way to get things to work...heck, DirecTV says they fixed it and the reports of problems seem to be coming at a slower pace...not sure if people just stopped complaining or if the problem is going away...


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## drew2k

Martin - I have found it easier just to restart the TiVo, which will force the data re-index within a couple of hours.

To do the restart, go to Messages & Settings > Restart or Reset System > Restart the Recorder. Press :down: :down: :down: [ENTER]. It will restart in less than 10 minutes, and you will obviously not be able to record while the system is restarting.

After the system restarts, go to Messages & Settings > System Information and page-down to the bottom, to look for the date of last indexing. Most people have found that this date gets updated within two hours after the restart, and the To Do list will start filling up again.

(If you prefer to "force a call", go to Messages & Settings > Settings > Phone > Connect to the DVR service now.)


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## martso

Thanks Anubys & Drew, 
My problems started a few weeks ago and I was still experiencing problems today. I had been canceling Season Passes and then re-entering them and also filling in with manual recordings right up until this afternoon.
I will try and reset the DVR overnight tonight.
Martin


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## jeff125va

My problem seems to have gone away. My To Do List for the next 10 days or so is fully populated. My only RH entries now are for 3-way conflicts, 28-day rule, etc. My work-around was pretty simple, I was just able to add the missing recordings from the Recording History "won't record" entries. I am almost certain, from double-checking the guide, that none of my missed recordings didn't at least have an RH entry. Also, fortunately only one of my HD-TiVos was affected, and my DirecTV DVR wasn't either, of course.


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## Waldorf

This bit me last night on my HR10-250...

I missed Earl, The Office, OC, etc... in history, they all said "Someone in your household modified the season pass"

Luckily the series one picked them all up fine, but in standard def, of course..

I think this is a conspiratorial plot by DTV to get us to warm up to the HR20


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## berryb

Waldorf said:


> This bit me last night on my HR10-250...
> 
> I missed Earl, The Office, OC, etc... in history, they all said "Someone in your household modified the season pass"
> 
> Luckily the series one picked them all up fine, but in standard def, of course..
> 
> I think this is a conspiratorial plot by DTV to get us to warm up to the HR20


I first noticed these missing programs on our HR10 right after I had just stuffed two new 400Gb drives in it. My first assumption was it was something I'd done wrong??? But I'd backed up my Season Passes on our DSR704 during that HR10 upgrade, so when I checked, some of the very same shows were missing on it, as well!

After reading most of these sad stories and various how-to advice, I've finally settled on the process of *Every single night * before shows are scheduled to record, I go through the "View Recording History" looking for any that say "Won't Record." If they say the "Someone in your household modified . . . " I fix it with the "More Recording Options" selection and tell it to "Record this episode." I know that's a Pain-in-the you know what - BUT so far it's solved my missing show problem!

Days have gone by before I've had to correct another "Won't Record," but I continue to check. Just now, as I was going through the process to make sure I had the correct Menu wording to explain the method, I found another one for tonight! 

I've also had at least one occasion when a Season Pass has just plain vanished  and I've had to recreate it. So I've now made a paper-listing of my Passes which I review from time-to-time. So far it's only 'lost' just that one, 'Pass' but I'm still very leery!


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## drew2k

Reports are starting to crop-up again that Season Passes and WishLists are again not being recorded. 

The problems in December and January were resolved when DirecTV, which had been enhancing the guide data, stopped that in mid-January, which seemed to restore full functionality of SP and WL recording. As far as I know, DirecTV has not resumed supplementing the guide data, so it's a mystery what the problem is this time.

Just play it safe and start reviewing your To-Do History again ...


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## Anubys

drew2k said:


> Reports are starting to crop-up again that Season Passes and WishLists are again not being recorded.
> 
> The problems in December and January were resolved when DirecTV, which had been enhancing the guide data, stopped that in mid-January, which seemed to restore full functionality of SP and WL recording. As far as I know, DirecTV has not resumed supplementing the guide data, so it's a mystery what the problem is this time.
> 
> Just play it safe and start reviewing your To-Do History again ...


shoot...I don't touch my TV except on friday and saturday nights...I count on Tivo to record everything I want during the week...this is a PITA 

thanks for the warning...


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## berryb

Anubys said:


> shoot...I don't touch my TV except on friday and saturday nights...I count on Tivo to record everything I want during the week...this is a PITA
> 
> thanks for the warning...


As I said earlier, "Days have gone by before I've had to correct another "Won't Record," but I continue to check." But it is STILL occasionally happening, so if you have any shows during the week that you simply cannot miss, I'd suggest you continue to check.

I used to count on TiVo and I hope to be able to, again - BUT this is NOT like the TiVo of old, now that DTV is minding the store! 

Good Luck, Bert


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## gastrof

drew2k said:


> Reports are starting to crop-up again that Season Passes and WishLists are again not being recorded.
> 
> The problems in December and January were resolved when DirecTV, which had been enhancing the guide data, stopped that in mid-January, which seemed to restore full functionality of SP and WL recording. As far as I know, DirecTV has not resumed supplementing the guide data, so it's a mystery what the problem is this time....


Obviously, DirecTV is sabotaging the TiVos so's to force people with their service to adopt DireTV DVRs.

They're corrupt and evil and likely agents of a foreign power trying to destroy the way of life we know and love.

It's so clear.

Can't any of you see this?


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## Bilbrey

Well, now I'm getting upset...

I have an HR10-250 that has started to randomly reboot showing me the "Welcome. Powering up..." screen. The system reboots back to normal operation, but what gives?.

This started with the latest SW update, and happens while I'm using the machine. I was navigating the menus just now and whoops, restart.

Grrr!!!!!!


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## vegaspl

Has anyone noticed that there are GAPS in the Guide's listings? Example: Many listing times would jump from one time to one 8-10 hours later. 

Just like it would if the channel went off the air at times, and then back on again hours later.


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