# Two THR-22 bugs?



## Klankster (Aug 13, 2004)

I'm seeing two bugs with the THR-22 that are really irritating and am wondering if anyone else has seen them:

1) Watching a show with nothing recording, the unit warns that that it needs to change the channel to record a show I have scheduled. It then changes the channel I'M WATCHING to do the recording -- but the other tuner is NOT IN USE! The old Tivo used to warn that it needs to change the channel on the tuner I am not watching to record a scheduled program, which was of course no problem. Or it would change the channel I'm watching if it had to record two programs at the same time, which is OK, obviously. When this bug happens I have to manually re-tune to the channel I was watching, and of course it disrupts the viewing. I cant imagine this bug is in there.

2) This one is UNBELIEVABLY annoying. We'll be watching live TV, and say the phone rings, so we pause live TV to deal with the call. When we finish up with the call, we go to unpause the Tivo and it WON'T UNPAUSE. You have to change the channel up and down to get the show back. But when this happens, if you try to pause again, it will get stuck again and won't unpause. You can also see that no buffer is stored (obvious if you leave it paused for several minutes -- there is no buffer indicated on the timeline) Sometimes, if I change to the other tuner and tune the channel there, pausing and unpausing works again.

I'd like to know if anyone else with a THR-22 has seen these issues. Overall the unit works great but when it does this stuff, it's a royal PITA.


----------



## TonyTheTiger (Dec 22, 2006)

1) Mine will do this occasionally, but usually, it is recording a suggestion on the other tuner, so can't change that.

2) This is likely a fault with your machine and not a bug as if it was happening to everyone, you can be sure this forum would be full of complaints. It has been noted that it happens occasionally, but not often enough to even be called a 'bug'.


----------



## Klankster (Aug 13, 2004)

Thanks. On #1, I suspected that it was a "suggestion" recording, and since we almost never watch any of those, I turned off the recording of suggested programs. Seems to have stopped the problem.

On #2, I have noticed that when it happens I have been able to correct it by:


Tuning to a different channel on the "stuck" tuner
Switching to the other tuner
Changing the other tuner's channel to the one I was watching

Usually this gets things back in order. Darn strange.


----------



## in2news (Jul 2, 2012)

I've had a THR22 for about a week. My Series 3 was a far superior product in build quality. I'm now experiencing buffer issues. I can't back up live tv without it locking up. Same issue as others reported. I feel like I'm a beta tester with this box. My Directv Tivo 8 years ago was an amazing product. I wish the folks at Directv and Tivo would get off there asses and make a quality product with the features the consumer wants rather continue this pissing match of money. The Tivo experience is the best in the industry and Directv the best channel lineup. Stop fighting each other and work together...If you build it the people will come. And in the meantime at least issue a patch so this piece of crap works as well as my 2005 Directv Tivo. I'm not even going to address the build quality on the peanut remote. I hope that 12 cents they saved on each one was worth it.


----------



## jefro (Jul 4, 2012)

Mine does some of the same things. Only mine records every day at the same time. Says it is recording enhanced content. Has canceled a recordings I had scheduled. Call directv several times they say it is some thing tivo pre-loaded. It does it every day 2-3 times a day.


----------



## technojunkie (Mar 15, 2000)

My suggestion list does not show the shows I have placed thumbs up on at the topofthe list. All my previous tivos did. What's wrong?


----------



## phord (Jun 21, 2012)

Klankster said:


> 2) This one is UNBELIEVABLY annoying. We'll be watching live TV, and say the phone rings, so we pause live TV to deal with the call. When we finish up with the call, we go to unpause the Tivo and it WON'T UNPAUSE.


Mine does this a couple of times per day.

Today it will not record the Olympics on NBC no matter what I do. It will not pick up a buffer when watching it live. When I record it, it claims to be recording it but it actually records nothing (zero-length program). I tried switching tuners by changing this one to a different channel and then changing the other one to NBC, but it did not help.

Usually I can fix this by simply changing up one channel and then changing back. But this time that is not working.

What a piece of <expletive>!

I can't believe how frustrating this Tivo is. I do think Directv has no interest in making this a successful product. The installer told me it's the first Tivo he has installed.

Argh!

--
Phil


----------



## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

I have not seen either of these issues with my THR22, that's not say the issues don't exist.


----------



## sdaniel105 (Nov 25, 2009)

Anyone have the problem with sound over HDMI.

Sound fine as long as I leave the TV on. Turn it off and no sound. Picture fine. Pull out HDMI cable and plug it back in immediately and sound comes back.

Have tried turning off Dolby Digital as suggested by others. No luck.

TV Works fine with DirecTV HD DVR. Brand new Magnavox LED/LCD TV.

Any suggestions?

Sean


----------



## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

This is a common HDMI handshake issue, though I'm surprised that your other DirecTV DVR doesn't have the same problem. I have a THR22 and an HR21, which are identical, hardware-wise, and have no HDMI issues, though both feed an A/V receiver rather than a TV directly. Often when people run into this they find that using a powered HDMI switch cures the problem.


----------



## mjitkop (Oct 3, 2002)

I confirm that I have these 2 bugs too. I got four THR22 units installed in June as a new customer. Since almost day 1, one of them immediately had bug #2 with no buffering of live TV and freeze on pause. Until today, this was the only one that had this issue so I was convinced that this particular unit was defective. However, another one experienced the same buffer/freeze issue. I called DirecTV and I was told that this is a known problem and that their "engineering team is working on solving the issue."

Add to the list of bugs:

3) Show not recorded because "the TV signal was not available" (something to this effect) when I know for a fact that this was not the case.


----------



## jimandre (Dec 28, 2007)

THR-22 - Also having problems reported above with frozen pause and clipped/canceled recordings plus a couple more issues.

1. Live TV: no buffer, pause locks, cannot play. Change channel then back, same behavior.
2. Schedule recording. Periodic no recording or clipped recording ( 4 minutes or so).
3. Occasional while watching live TV, press record button, does not record.
4. Occasional, scheduled program records but no video - black screen/no audio for duration of show. Confirmed good channel.

Unable to replicate any conditions that lead to these bugs.
Long-term Directv Tivo user. Have tried all corrections.


----------



## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

Your #4 is one I have as well. Since we almost never watch live TV, haven't seen 1 and 3, and have not noticed #2.


----------



## Cantankerous (Feb 16, 2013)

Having the stuck pause problem now on certain channels. I don't see any solutions. Anyone solve this issue.


----------



## elmofongo (Jan 2, 2007)

Same issue here. No buffering on certain channels and pausing will wedge.


----------



## celtic pride (Nov 8, 2005)

sorry to see all the problems you tivo folks are having,this reminds me of the conspiracy theory about directv causing all these problems on purpose because they want all the tivo users to switch to their own dvrs (like the genie). Ironiclly i''m thinking of going back to directv next fall,and i absolutely love tivo,But if i go back i think i'll just get the genie. Maybe i'll get lucky and directv will fix the problems by then , better yet i hope they have a 4 or 6 tuner tivo by then so i can still have tivo instead of the genie which seems to be an awesome dvr in its own right.


----------



## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

celtic pride said:


> sorry to see all the problems you tivo folks are having,this reminds me of the conspiracy theory about directv causing all these problems on purpose because they want all the tivo users to switch to their own dvrs (like the genie). Ironiclly i''m thinking of going back to directv next fall,and i absolutely love tivo,But if i go back i think i'll just get the genie. Maybe i'll get lucky and directv will fix the problems by then , better yet i hope they have a 4 or 6 tuner tivo by then so i can still have tivo instead of the genie which seems to be an awesome dvr in its own right.


For the vast majority of us, the Genie HDDVR and Clients work just fine. Odds are they will for you, too.


----------



## Sheffield Steve (Jun 11, 2010)

All my issues went away when I installed a Band Stop Filer at the receiver.

$4 on Amazon, etc



Cantankerous said:


> Having the stuck pause problem now on certain channels. I don't see any solutions. Anyone solve this issue.


----------



## jfpuse (Feb 11, 2002)

Just like the original poster's #2 issue, my father in-law was telling me something was wrong with his new THR-22. I saw it for myself.

You pause live TV, then try to unpause it and you get no response. No rewind, no unpause, and you can see that there is no live TV buffer to "rewind" back to even though you had the same channel on for two hours.

The only way we see to get out of it is to change channels away from what is basically a frozen display, then go back to your original channel. However by then you missed the very show you paused.

I tried technical support with no luck. Is anyone aware of this as being on any radar to get fixed? I don't know where else to turn but here for advice.


----------



## mjitkop (Oct 3, 2002)

See my previous post from 8/29/2012. When I spoke with DirecTV back then about these issues, supposedly their engineering team was working on fixing the problems. 

7 months later, I'm not convinced that this is the case.


----------



## chamelea (Feb 19, 2004)

I can confirm the list of 4 problems. In fact, it occurs to me that the blank recordings are a result of having a "record" scheduled on a tuner that has lost its buffer. I can't recall for sure, but I think I've actually tried "recording" when a tuner's buffer is lost, and the blank recording was the result.

Also confirm the other solution I've seen here - red reset button clears the problem.



Sheffield Steve said:


> All my issues went away when I installed a Band Stop Filer at the receiver.
> 
> $4 on Amazon, etc


I've seen no other reference to a band-stop filter as a solution. Surely cannot complain about the cost, but I'm curious exactly which device might work? There are different ones available, some even recommended for DirecTV. But on those websites, none are suggested for the THR-22. What is the logic that might support this as a solution?


----------



## Sheffield Steve (Jun 11, 2010)

I saw a reference to on solidsignals blog saying that "they will solve problems you didn't even know you had".

I thought for $5 why not give it a try. For me it worked!

http://forums.solidsignal.com/showthread.php/3477-You-really-need-to-use-a-band-stop-filter


----------



## mjitkop (Oct 3, 2002)

Sheffield Steve said:


> I saw a reference to on solidsignals blog saying that "they will solve problems you didn't even know you had".
> 
> I thought for $5 why not give it a try. For me it worked!
> 
> http://forums.solidsignal.com/showthread.php/3477-You-really-need-to-use-a-band-stop-filter


Thanks for the info. I have 4 THR-22's and 1 HR24 in my setup. Do I need to get 4 band stop filters, one for each THR-22?


----------



## Sheffield Steve (Jun 11, 2010)

I directly connected the filter to the receiver, so yes you would need four

Prior to that I had the dish power supply next to the receiver. Maybe that was causing some sort of interference to the DVR. Who knows!

What I do know is that I had constant issues with the system, including pixelation, loss of satellite signals, blank recordings, etc. I was rebooting at least weekly. As soon as I added the filter all started working fine and has been for months now.

Just a thought, but why don't you try adding a filter to just two of them and conduct a controlled experiment?


----------



## Valleymitch (Apr 26, 2013)

I too am having the same live pause problem on both of my units. When I called DirecTV tech support they also told me that they had never heard of this issue. They said that they will find a fix or get TIVO involved in fixing the bug. After reading this forum I am convinced I will need to fix it myself and not wait for what could be years. I am ordering the Band Stop Filter BSFR01 from eBay for $2.88/free shipping tonight. At least if it doesn't fix the problem it was a fairly inexpensive experiment. I'll post again and let you know if it worked.



mjitkop said:


> See my previous post from 8/29/2012. When I spoke with DirecTV back then about these issues, supposedly their engineering team was working on fixing the problems.
> 
> 7 months later, I'm not convinced that this is the case.


----------



## litzdog911 (Oct 18, 2002)

Valleymitch said:


> I too am having the same live pause problem on both of my units. When I called DirecTV tech support they also told me that they had never heard of this issue. They said that they will find a fix or get TIVO involved in fixing the bug. After reading this forum I am convinced I will need to fix it myself and not wait for what could be years. I am ordering the Band Stop Filter BSFR01 from eBay for $2.88/free shipping tonight. At least if it doesn't fix the problem it was a fairly inexpensive experiment. I'll post again and let you know if it worked.


You can get BBC filters from DirecTV for free.


----------



## frankygamer (Mar 19, 2002)

I think it's safe to say the reunion of TiVo and DirecTV has been nothing but a big farst. The THR-22 has been out how long without a firmware update? 16 months? How many DirecTV receivers hit the market and don't get any updates for 16 months? And regardless of what of what the DirecTV fanboys say, it is a DirecTV DVR. It says so on the box, the bill, the GUI, etc. 

TiVo sees no value for improvements vs the risk of DirecTV denying any updates. I assume TiVo is fine with this as they get some $$$ out of the no litigation clause in the contract. More $$$ then investment of improvements of the THR22 vs the risk of DirecTV pulling the plug. DirecTV is happy as they can use the TiVo name and bait and switch customers their products.

I guess this is all fine but being one of the idiots why fell for the THR22, I definitely feel screwed by both companies but since it's a DirecTV receiver, I put more blame on them for providing a unsupported product. I've been jumped on that I should of known what the THR22 was and wasn't but who would have expected 16 moths without a update? Would the DirecTV fanboys be accepting of a 16+ month and counting 'no update' period of time on any other receiver?

I sent my THR-22's back and went back to cable with the minimal DirecTV package until the cancellation fee makes sense.

The HR34/Genie or whatever they call it is a great DVR on it's own but it still is in constant catch-up mode with TiVo Premier features that honestly aren't a big deal for most on a DVR. But that still doesn't clear DirecTV of releasing the THR22 using the TiVo name without support. The crappiest answer to why there are no updates to the THR22 is saying just buy a HR34. Completely ignores the real issue of releasing a DirecTV receiver with TiVO Lite without being upfront this product was not going to be supported.


----------



## BOBCAT (Nov 28, 2002)

Valleymitch,
That is the standard line from D* tech support, "Oh, We never heard of that issue before"
They probably read that line from a script just like the CSA's do.
Most of the time, they will just offer you $10 off of your bill for 6 months, tell you that they will look in to it for you, then you will never hear back from them.


----------



## xoraclez (Sep 22, 2008)

Just to add a little more info to this "bug". I've noticed this live buffer problem only happens on certain channels. 

It mostly happens on sports channels (like NHL network), and goes away on its own after some time.
Next time it happens, I'll double check to see if the same behavior occurs on my HR-34. 

When attempting to record a program on a channel with this problem, the error message in the log shows "Program not recorded, this channel was removed from your lineup", even though clearly I am able to view this channel "live".

I've done some searches and have not been able to conclusively identify if a "broadcast flag" is being used to prevent DVR recording of the channel, but suspect this may be the cause, and therefore it may not be a "bug".


----------



## Valleymitch (Apr 26, 2013)

I spoke with DirecTV tech support again. They are still reading from their script saying that the programmers are working on this issue and will have it fixed very shortly. I told them that was BS since the internet has been talking about this issue for over a year with no fix to date. They had no answer to that but were very nice and apologized for our unhappiness.

I tried the band stop filter with no success. All it did was cause me to lose some channels. I tried the tech support advice of "turning off/unplugging the receiver for four hours so that it would reset itself and look for software updates". Unplugging it definitely worked better than the standard reboot. So far it seems to be working but...this is an intermittent issue so who knows how long it will work?

Bottom line is that we are still TIVO interface fans and prefer losing the program transfer/streaming features vs going to the DirecTV interface which I agree is always playing catch up to TIVO. If all I need to do is unplug the receiver for four hours every now and then I guess I'll have to live with that. But I'm calling them back next week and get my monthly bill reduced for a while. I will say that DirecTV is good at customer retention.


----------



## Klankster (Aug 13, 2004)

Valleymitch, can you look at your system information and let us know what version of software your unit is using? If it updated, I'd like to know what the version number went to so I can check mine and see if I have the same one.

Our THR-22 has been having the buffer loss all day today and my wife and I are sick of it. The "four hour" thing would be great if it works.

I also reported this to DirecTV today, for all the good that will do.


----------



## midas (Jun 1, 2000)

I did get an update this morning. The version number is 01B5.


----------



## Klankster (Aug 13, 2004)

Cool. Please let us know if you see the "dead buffer" bug -- I checked and mine is still on 018A; I'm going to try to force an update tonight, I think.


----------



## midas (Jun 1, 2000)

Klankster said:


> Cool. Please let us know if you see the "dead buffer" bug -- I checked and mine is still on 018A; I'm going to try to force an update tonight, I think.


I don't watch much live TV, and with the sporadic nature of that bug, I've only seen it twice. So i probably won't be the best test bed.


----------



## Klankster (Aug 13, 2004)

My unit updated to 01B5 yesterday morning. (Fingers crossed)...


----------



## mjitkop (Oct 3, 2002)

All my 4 THR-22s have the latest software version 0x01B5.
Last Friday I installed band-stop filters at the input of all of them.

On Monday, one of them experienced a blank recording just like before.
Yesterday, another one had the same issue.
Today, another one had the live buffering issue.

So, for me, the new software version hasn't fixed the issue, and the band-stop filters haven't helped at all either.

Conclusion: it seems to me that it must be a software bug.


----------

