DVR/STB Troubleshooting
Dalans
Enthusiast - Level 1

I have been having some issues with my service or DVR since the new guide/firmware update last year.

The first issue is that an average of 50% of my DVR recordings will have a glitch in them:

Jogging forward or fast forward causes the program to end and return to the recording menu.

Not channel specific or time specific; could be any recording.

Steps taken to resolve this issue:

Auto fix STB issues under In Home Agent - no change.

Auto fix DVR issues under In Home Agent - no change.

Power cycling STB - no change.

Called into support and they sent out a replacement DVR - issue seemed to be resolved for around a month but reoccurred.

The above process was repeated with the new DVR/STB with no change.

I have also tried turning Program Chaptering On/Off and the problem still occurs regardless of this setting. One thing that I have noticed is that during the affected recordings the information bar will often disappear completely or have the incorrect recording time (IE when playing a 30 minute recording and pressing Info button the program will show 10:00/1:30:00 or 10:00/0:00:00 as if the DVR does not know how long the recording is actually). The jog forward or fast forward causing the program to end usually occurs after 10 minutes of record time. This issue is very annoying as it defeats part of the purpose of the DVR and being able to skip through the program.

The second issue that I am having is intermittent issues with what seems like signal quality and delays changing channels:

Turning the DVR on and changing channels usually results in anywhere from a 30 sec to 2 minute delay (DVR stays on the selected channel or goes to a black screen until the DVR processes the channel change and goes to the selected channel).

Seems to occur when changing from a local channel to a premium or HD channel or vice versa (3 to the HD 503 or any channel to 70 or 76).

At times the signal seems to drop out and I get a lot of audio freezing and some artifacting in the picture.

The channel change/audio skip or freeze usually occur once or twice an hour.

Steps taken to resolve this issue:

I did a search and found that some users had success changing or turning off the SD override feature, I have tried Off, 480i, 480p and Stretched - no impact on channel change delay or audio/video freezing.

Auto fix STB/DVR with In Home Agent - no change.

These issues are very frustrating and hard to pin down from a diagnostic standpoint. Each time I call into support when the issue is occurring the Menu Diagnostics or STB/DVR reset throws a red herring in that the problem seems solved until the next day when the problems start again or I have a DVR full of recordings that I cannot fast forward through. No offense but I am tried of going through Level 1 phone support and running through the book resolutions only to solve the problem temporarily. If anyone can shed some more advanced light on this issue, it would be greatly appreciated.

Edit for formatting.

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Re: DVR/STB Troubleshooting
Anthony_VZ
Master - Level 3

What you are describing in both scenarios is a signal disruption. Please unscrew the coax cord from both ends (from the DVR and from the wall). Make sure the tips are good and straight. Screw both back on. If you are still having troubles, then try using a different coax cord all together. If you are still having troubles, it might be a problem with the wall jack or the main splitter. For further assistance with those, please send me a private message.

Re: DVR/STB Troubleshooting
Dalans
Enthusiast - Level 1

Update for followup:

After many troubleshooting steps (checking all connections, replacing cables, replacing splitter, resetting ONT) a tech was scheduled to help troubleshoot the issue. He checked the signal quality which was at a +10 so he replaced the Motorola HD DVR QIP 7216 1 with a Cisco CHS 435HDC. I have not had any interrupts, lockups, artifacting or audio drop outs since.

With all the researching and after speaking to the tech the issue seems to be related to the Motorola boxes and the update to the guide software last year, IIRC firmware 1.9.

Thanks go to Anthony in helping me troubleshoot the issue and getting a tech scheduled to fix the problem.

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Re: DVR/STB Troubleshooting
Anthony_VZ
Master - Level 3

Great! Glad to hear they were able isolate the problem to the box and the replacement fixed your problem. Reach out anytime you need our assistance.

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