# To "c" or Not to "c"?



## tyketime (Oct 18, 2003)

I am currently still on 3.1.5f with my phoneline unplugged. I have really avoided any of the 6.x updates until I felt most of the problems were worked out. But this DST 6.3c patch has me in a bind.

As I understand it, without the patch, my Season Passes will work fine. Which will be 75% of my recordings. That's all good!

But I also do a fair amount of manual recordings - mainly sporting events. Because I live on the East Coast, I don't believe I have the option to manually adjust my timezone "to the east" one hour.

So... here are my two questions:

1. Others of you in my similar situation - is this reason enough to reconnect and get the update?

2. Since I didn't get/activate 6.x, how do the updates occur? I understand the patches are passed down via the satellite and "triggered/activated" via the phone call. Are all of the updates still sitting somewhere on my HR10-250? Are patches incremental or cumulative? I KNOW this is stupid, but bear with me on this one - Is there any chance I could get just the DST patch applied without the other ones (ala Microsoft's incremental hotpatch fixes where you can literally choose which ones to apply or not). Or will it see the 6.3c patch, then realize it hasn't updated with 6.3a & 6.3b, and apply them all back-to-back-to-back?

Ugh... I'm really struggling on making the decision and would appreciate any guidance/input from you.

Thanks!


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## jgjackson (Oct 27, 2006)

I don't think this is a reason to update. Surely you can add/subract 1 hour from times in your head to convert between standard and dst for a couple weeks.

The killer for 6.3 for me is that as far as I can tell from the postings on this board, you can't use TiVo suggestions because as soon as the disk fills up, it starts deleting your most recent recordings rather than the ones it's supposed to. Everyone who seems satisfied with 6.3 does not use TiVo suggestions. At least, I've never seen anyone say they are having no problems and have TiVo suggestions turned on. 

As far as I've seen here too, DirecTV has never acknowledged the problem, so I don't expect it ever to be fixed.


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

I have had no problems with 6.3b, but then I also don't use automatic recording of suggestions. For me, I have enough SPs that I don't need Suggestions. I do look at the list now and then and pick some I want to record. 

I think 6.3c includes all of the previous updates, so it won't need to do them in order. If you are really concerned, then backup your 3.1.5f version so you can restore it if needed.


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## tyketime (Oct 18, 2003)

Thank you for your replies so far, and I look forward to hearing from any others.

I don't use auto-record on suggestions, so that wouldn't be the deal breaker for me.

I did think of another question regarding manual recordings. Is there a difference technically in how the recordings are set-up and stored in the To-Do List in any of the following three ways (and would all of these fall under the one-hour adjustment for DST?):

1. Look through the Program Grid, select a show and choose to record that specific show.

2. Look through my Wishlist for a particular show, and choose to record that date/time.

3. Actually go into the "Record by Date or Time" menu option and choose the show from there.

Thanks again...


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## gworkman (Feb 6, 2006)

I'm on 6.3b and have suggestions turned on. I haven't seen the issue of programs being deleted improperly.


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## Indiana627 (Jan 24, 2003)

jgjackson said:


> The killer for 6.3 for me is that as far as I can tell from the postings on this board, you can't use TiVo suggestions because as soon as the disk fills up, it starts deleting your most recent recordings rather than the ones it's supposed to. Everyone who seems satisfied with 6.3 does not use TiVo suggestions. .


I have suggestions turned on and have not had any problems since I got 6.3b. There was a problem with 6.3a. I got 6.3b in early January and got 6.3c this week. Also no audio dropouts since 6.3b.


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## Sir_winealot (Nov 18, 2000)

I have 3 HR10's, and until recently had let only 1 update to 6.3x. I've now plugged in the phone line and let the other 2 update. It's only been about a week, but I haven't seen any problems and felt confident enough in what I've seen posted to go ahead and let it happen.


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## majones (Sep 6, 2001)

Same here. I've had my HR10 unplugged for months after 6.3a trashed the one this one replaced. I plugged in the phone line a couple of days ago and noticed this morning it was 'Pending Restart.' 

Fingers are crossed that all goes well with 6.3c.


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

jgjackson said:


> The killer for 6.3 for me is that as far as I can tell from the postings on this board, you can't use TiVo suggestions because as soon as the disk fills up, it starts deleting your most recent recordings rather than the ones it's supposed to.


It does not delete your most recent recordings, you end up with some short recordings. There is a big difference. The short recordings mainly happen HD OTA.


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## amoneys2k (Nov 2, 2006)

rminsk said:


> It does not delete your most recent recordings, you end up with some short recordings. There is a big difference. The short recordings mainly happen HD OTA.


I've seen this with 6.3b. Anyone with 6.3c have any luck with this being fixed? I know the update is said to only include DST updates, but we never get the full story...

-A$


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## tivoboy (Jan 14, 2002)

So, without the C update, what are we 3.1f dwellers going to experience? No proper recordings?


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

tivoboy said:


> So, without the C update, what are we 3.1f dwellers going to experience? No proper recordings?


Season passes and wishlists will still record fine. The incorrect time will be displayed and manual recordings by time and channel will be at the wrong time.


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## Indiana627 (Jan 24, 2003)

rminsk said:


> It does not delete your most recent recordings, you end up with some short recordings. There is a big difference. The short recordings mainly happen HD OTA.


I never saw this with 6.3b and at least 80% of my recordings are HD OTA. There definitely were problems with 6.3a, but for me all have been fixed with 6.3b/c.


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## Paul_PDX (Nov 12, 2002)

I have been on 6.3a and 6.3b for some time( 6.3c since yesterday ) and suggestions have never caused me any issues with deleting either my season passes or one off recordings.


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## jclem22 (Feb 24, 2005)

I'm sitting on the fence on this issue. I have 2 HR10s, one with 3.15(and phone unplugged), and the other with 'b' with 'c' on the way tonight (or so it appears). I neither use nor want 'suggestions' (I have a wife for that!), so that isn't an issue for me. My concerns are the non-recording of SPs that I have had recently with 'b'. Hopefully, 'c' will make that go away and if so, then I'll try to update my 3.15 and get back the folders and speed.


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

Indiana627 said:


> I never saw this with 6.3b and at least 80% of my recordings are HD OTA. There definitely were problems with 6.3a, but for me all have been fixed with 6.3b/c.


It still has the same problem in 6.3b. I do not have 6.3b yet and can not test.


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## boltjames (Dec 21, 2002)

rminsk said:


> Season passes and wishlists will still record fine. The incorrect time will be displayed and manual recordings by time and channel will be at the wrong time.


Is this "wrong time" issue just for a few weeks (shift in old/new DST's) or is this going to be a problem for six months until the next clock change?

I haven't gone near any of the 6.x updates and will continue to avoid them so long as what you're talking about is just a two or three week situation.

BJ


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

It sounds like it will last for a couple weeks, until the conversion table in your Tivo finally matches real DST, which would be from March 17th to the first Sunday in April. IOW, DST will shift earlier than the Tivo is currently programmed for, and by April it will sync back up.

But do not take this lightly. DISH once had a DVR of mine screwed up in this very same manner, where time was off by an hour. They never could fix it, and it eventually pushed me to DTV. I could do manual recordings with it, but scheduled recordings were a complete nightmare. As a hypothetical example, to get it to work (on today's schedule, for instance) I would have to set it to record "Studio 60..." if what I really wanted to record was "Heroes". That was loads of fun. Especially when deciphering the recorded programs list, which now reflected an incorrect title for every program. But as rminsk says, since Tivo is title-based rather than time-slot based, it might still sail through without much trouble.

I'm hoping that holding onto 3.1 won't affect me. Those smart enough, er...lucky enough to be living in Arizona shouldn't feel a thing. But then I wouldn't bet the farm, either.


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## rcbray (Mar 31, 2004)

boltjames said:


> Is this "wrong time" issue just for a few weeks (shift in old/new DST's) or is this going to be a problem for six months until the next clock change?
> 
> I haven't gone near any of the 6.x updates and will continue to avoid them so long as what you're talking about is just a two or three week situation.
> 
> BJ


Plugged in my phone line and went directly from 3.1.5f to 6.3c two days ago. So far, no problems. We've recorded around 10 programs (mostly OTA HD). We have 35 SP's. Play backs have revealed no issues of any kind. Only difference is that now we have folders and it was faster when I changed some priorities on the Season Pass Manager.

Of course, I should probably keep my mouth closed. After this post, it will probably go to hell today.


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## fasTLane (Nov 25, 2005)

rcbray, Have you noticed any difference in OTA reception and/or channel changing speed, going from 3.1f?


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## bpratt (Nov 20, 2004)

> It sounds like it will last for a couple weeks, until the conversion table in your Tivo finally matches real DST, which would be from March 17th to the first Sunday in April.


DST starts the second Sunday in March this year which is March 11th.  It ends the first sunday in November.


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## the_scotsman (Jul 28, 2005)

My box is on 6.3b. Love the speed but....

I discovered yesterday that my most recent recordings are being deleted in favour of new recordings despite the oldest deletable recording being over a year old. I do not have suggestions switched on. 

Called DTV and the CR told me that they had never heard of this (yeah, right) but a C&D everything should fix it. It had better work or I'll be one very unhappy customer!


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## jgjackson (Oct 27, 2006)

the_scotsman said:


> My box is on 6.3b. Love the speed but....
> 
> I discovered yesterday that my most recent recordings are being deleted in favour of new recordings despite the oldest deletable recording being over a year old. I do not have suggestions switched on.
> 
> Called DTV and the CR told me that they had never heard of this (yeah, right) but a C&D everything should fix it. It had better work or I'll be one very unhappy customer!


Yep, that's the classical description of the problem that's been reported here repeatedly. C&D will fix it until you fill the disk again. That's why people who don't have suggestions turned on don't usually run into the problem, they usually don't have a full disk.


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## comp4pod (Dec 31, 2004)

I have 3 HR10's. I let 2 go to 6.3a and 6.3b. My main complaint was a lagging fast forward and rewind, as well as 30sec skip. There was a delay. I record mostly sports and found it annoying. I also had short recordings and multiple reboots. I went back to 3.1.5f on those 2 HR10's and all is well now.


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## cjb (Jan 26, 2002)

I have 2 HR10's. I upgrade both to 6.3a when it first came out and experienced both audio dropouts and missed/short recordings. I decided to go back to 3.1.5f (thanks to dvrupgrade.com) and have been there until last past Friday. I decided to put 6.3c (with PTVnet, also from dvrupgrade) on one of them, and it seems to be working fine. I'm going to give it another week or two before I upgrade the other box to 6.3c.

I'll update this thread if I run into any issues with 6.3c...

-CJ


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

bpratt said:


> DST starts the second Sunday in March this year which is March 11th. It ends the first sunday in November.


Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's not the issue, but maybe we can break it down for you.

What is actually of concern is when the time changes to DST as compared to when your Tivo is programmed to expect the change, and those dates differ by about 2-3 weeks, unless you allow 6.3c or live in Arizona. Once DST goes into effect there will be an offset issue, which will last only until the Tivo reaches the originally-expected DST shift point. From that point until this fall the new and old DST will be in sync, so the issue will be moot at that point. Of course a similar issue will arise in the fall, but hopefully 6.3z will be stable by then  .


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## Todd (Oct 7, 1999)

Well, after avoiding 6.3x for many months, I finally decided to take the plunge to 6.3c today with the DST problems around the corner. So far so good. I haven't seen any problems yet. It's not that much faster than 3.1.5f though....

Keeping my fingers crossed!!


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## BigBearf (Aug 18, 2005)

Have had 6.3c on 3 HR10s for about 10 days and so far no problems. I have expanded drives in all and have the original drives as backup and is certainly not that hard to revert to 3.1.5f if need be so. 

BigBearf


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## Mr. Bill (Jan 18, 2006)

Has anyone noticed that the guide is slower than with b? 

I can swear that it takes longer to paint in the shows now, after the channel list has painted, than before.


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## fjwagner (Jan 22, 2006)

Mr. Bill said:


> Has anyone noticed that the guide is slower than with b?


NO.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

had my first short recording under any 6.x software this week on C. Had C since Sunday

shark thurs night stopped at 25 but thankfully i saw it and got the rest from the queue


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## tyketime (Oct 18, 2003)

I've been hesitant to post because I didn't want to jinx myself, but since I started this thread...

I plugged my phone in and forced a manual call. In short order I had graduated from 3.1.5f to 6.3c. I've been on the new version for a little over a week, and I've only experienced one problem. Last Thursday, American Idol didn't record because "someone didn't allow the receiver to change channels". I had Survivor recording on the other tuner at same time. And that one worked fine. My concern was that we were not watching TV at the time. I looked over at the box around 8:15 and noticed the record light on, so figured everything was cool. It wasn't until the weekend when I discovered the error and found the message in the History section. Can't necessarily blame it on the new version... can't rule it out either.

So except for that episode, I've been happy with the upgrade. I now have my folders (that my other Tivo box has had for years), and the speed for setting recordings is considerably quicker than before. Of course, I really did this to avoid the whole DST "issue".

I'll be knocking on wood when I submit this post, but so far... so good... YMMV


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

C:

went away, ran out of space, and now 2 things were recorded and deleted right away today. While i'm not necessarily unhappy about not losing old stuff...my wife isnt happy she missed her stuff today

edit, i'm wrong, assumed she had checked suggestions and we were out of space..i see we have 60 suggestions yet 2 programs from abc OTA philly were deleted today. Whew, i thought i had totaled stuff before we left. This is just a C mistake, not running out of space


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## ddruker (May 17, 2004)

I have 3 units with 6.3C. All upgraded to 2 drives w/ 800 Gigs each. All working great.


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## rminsk (Jun 4, 2002)

ddruker said:


> I have 3 units with 6.3C. All upgraded to 2 drives w/ 800 Gigs each. All working great.


Do you have suggestions turn on? Is your drive completely filled with suggestions?


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## sluciani (Apr 21, 2003)

I had no trouble with my 4 HR10's upgraded to 6.3c. While I had about 45 season's passes on my main HR-10, I did have suggestions off (on all 4 units) and the disks were rarely full.

I've since switched to HR20's and the very occasional sub-second audio "hiccupping" that I reported elsewhere and attributed to the 6.3c upgrade is apparently a transmission issue, because I get it on the HR20's as well. Different h/w and s/w. /steve


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## ddruker (May 17, 2004)

I do have suggestions turned on for all three units. I don't know how to tell if the hards drive are"all filled up" with both my season passes and suggestions - one of the things I wish they would add is a disk space meter. 

I do reboot the units once every two weeks or so, but other than that don't do any housekeeping, and all three seem to work just fine.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

now my C tivo rebooted the past day and all of a sudden i can surf the entire todo list without a flaw..hasn't been like that in months, it would always flicker back to page one. but wifes SP for her soap didnt work right..had to manually record it


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

lucky me, now had a partial recording. thankfully was watching during the show and caught the rest in the queue...and my wife said the todo list flipping back started again.


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